My Three Days In Gilead | Page 6

the train move south, I, too, am
sure of going.

"Through Bashan"

CHAPTER II.
At the time of this writing there is a railroad extending from Damascus
to Mecca, but at the time of my visit the terminus was at Mezarib, a
small town about fifty miles south of Damascus, near the northern
boundary-line of Gilead. It was in my plan to travel that distance by rail;
hence my presence at the city railroad station.
The ride to Mezarib, through Bashan, especially that part of it now
known as the Hauran, is one of more than ordinary interest. For the first
twenty-five miles the land is literally covered with black basaltic rocks,
as is also part of the remaining distance. How it is cultivated I can
scarcely understand, for I am sure that the American horse could not be
made to serve well here. But I was told that the natives do cultivate it,
and that they raise excellent crops of grain. When I looked upon them
at work with their crude wooden plows and brush harrows, and then
heard that they raise excellent crops of grain, I was satisfied that the
land must be very fertile; and I was reminded of a certain humorist's
remark about the fertility of some land in Kansas, of which he said,
"All you need to do is to tickle the ground with a hoe, and it will laugh
with a big harvest." Farther on the rocks almost entirely disappear, and

there is spread out a beautiful valley, extending far to the south, whose
fertility and pasturage attracted the Israelites on their march to Canaan,
and which, ever since, has caused the name "Bashan" to be a synonym
for "plenty." And, because of its abundant production of grain, which
finds a ready market in Damascus, it has been aptly called the "granary
of Damascus."
The manner in which this grain is put on the market is quite novel to
me. I see hundreds of camels loaded with large sacks of grain moving
with slow, swinging tread toward Damascus, or returning unloaded to
the desert. The camels proceed in single file, usually ten or more in a
train, and each is led by means of a rope fastened to the animal next in
front--the rope of the foremost of all being fastened to the saddle of a
donkey, on which the owner, or driver, usually rides. Many grindstones
also are shipped from this country, one large stone constituting a load
for a camel. This land is, also a great grazing region, and for more than
three thousand years Bashan has been celebrated for its fine breed of
cattle.
Some distance south of Damascus I cross the headwaters of the Pharpar
River, whose clear, sparkling water Naaman considered much more
suitable for a general's bath than the muddy water of the Jordan. At my
place of crossing an athlete could clear the stream at a single bound.
The distant scenery deserves more than a passing notice, though but
little more can be given here. Off to the west, in plain view, is Mount
Hermon, whose towering, snow-capped summit in all probability
looked upon the transfigured person of the Son of Man. To the east is
the Lejah, in, or near which is Edrei, where Og, the giant king of
Bashan, was slain in the attempt to hold his realm against the
home-seeking Israelites under the leadership of Moses. South of the
Lejah are the Hauran Mountains, now occupied by the Druses, a people
of a peculiar religious faith--a faith which is a mixture of Mohammedan,
Christian, and Zoroastrian elements. One of their beliefs is that the
number of souls in existence never varies. "Accordingly, all the souls
now in life have lived in some human form since the creation, and will
continue to live till the final destruction of the world." To them prayer

is thought to be an unwarrantable interference with the Almighty. They,
having colonized this mountain, are at present causing the Turkish
government much trouble. They number about 90,000, and are almost
continuously at war with the neighboring Bedouin tribes. And because
of the feuds which prevail here, it is expected, and I believe is a matter
of law, that all visitors to this region must have an escort either of
soldiers or Bedouins. Were not robbery and bloodshed so prevalent in
the East-Jordan country, its ruins and scenery would attract hundreds of
tourists where now but a few ever suffer their curiosity or interest in
Bible lands to turn them aside from the beaten paths of travel. In my
course I pass through a portion of the land of which we read in Deut.
3:3-5, noted for its many "rock cities." I look upon the ruins of a
number of these, but