March 13th.
Our friends accompany us to Khaifa and Carmel this morning, and we may anticipate a pleasant ride round the head of this bay.
What dark and sluggish stream is this we are approaching?
River Belus
It is the Nahr Naaman — the Belus, which Pliny says has its origin in a lake called Cendevia. He speaks of its insalubrity, and no doubt the fevers which afflict Acre have their origin in the marshes of this stream. It rises below Shefa 'Amr in large fountains, now called Kurdany, which drive a number of mills. This Kurdany is, doubtless Pliny's Cendevia. It is, in fact, a large marsh, called a lake by the same sort of courtesy that dignifies this brook with the name of river. The evil qualities of the water, and also its dark color, are derived from the marshes at the head of it. I came near being swamped in its fathomless depths of mire. The lake is made, like that of Hums on the Orontes, by a strong and ancient dam across the lower end of the marshes. The whole area may be three miles in circuit, and the river at the mills is quite as large as here at the sea. The entire length is not more than six miles. It is pleasant to be able to confirm the statement of Pliny about this lake, for its existence has been denied by modern travelers.
Pliny repeats the story about the discovery of glass by sailors cooking their dinner on the sand at the mouth of this river. What have you to say to that?
Discover of Glass
When descending from Yerka to Acre several years ago, I noticed that the rock for many miles had a vitreous appearance, as if it had actually been smelted in some grand furnace of nature, and needed only to be melted over again and refined to make it genuine glass. The idea occurred to me at the time, that the disintegration of this vitreous rock might have furnished the glassy particles in the bed of the Belus and other brooks which fall into the sea along this part of the coast, and which first led to the discovery of glass; or, if these sailors supported their saucepans on pieces of rock placed round the fire, they might have melted so as to give the first hint which led to the discovery. The story may therefore have some foundation in fact.
Bay of Acre
This sandy beach, so smooth and solid, is one of the finest places in the world for a gallop, and there is always something exhilarating in a ride round the head of this bay. The city behind; Carmel, with its holy traditions, in front; the long reach of perfectly level shore, with men and animals diminishing in the distance either way down to the size of kittens; the broad bay opening out upon the boundless sea, with its boats and ships; these sandy downs, with feathery reeds running far inland, the chosen retreat of wild boars and wild Arabs, all combine to excite the mind and enliven the spirits.
Then there is just enough of insecurity to keep the imagination in full play.
Robbers
The Arab robber lurks like a wolf among these sand-heaps, and often springs out suddenly upon the solitary traveler, robs him in a trice, and then plunges again into the wilderness of sand-hills and reedy downs, where pursuit is fruitless. Our friends are careful not to allow us to straggle about or lag behind; and yet it seems absurd to fear a surprise here — Khaifa before, Acre in the rear, and travelers in sight on both sides. Robberies, however, do often occur, just where we now are. Strange country! and it has always been so. There are a hundred allusions to just such things in the history, the Psalms, and the prophets of Israel. A whole class of imagery is based upon them. Thus, in Psalm 10:8-108He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. 9He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. 10He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. (Psalm 10:8‑10): “He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.” And a thousand rascals, the living originals of this picture, are this day crouching and lying in wait all over the country to catch poor helpless travelers. You observe that all these people we meet or pass are armed; nor would they venture to go from Acre to Khaifa without their musket, although the cannon of the castles seem to command every foot of the way. Strange, most strange land! but it tallies wonderfully with its ancient story.
Shipwrecks
I see many wrecks of ships along this shore, and here are two not yet buried beneath the sand. They have been cast away by this last storm. To what do you attribute the insecurity of this anchorage. I have heard captains complain that there is something — either harsh seaweed or sharp rocks — which corrodes the cables. Others say that the bottom is not good and the anchor drags. My own opinion is, that the real cause of so many disasters is found in the nature of the shore and of the interior.
Their Cause
The high ridge of Carmel runs far down southeast, and between it and the mountains of Galilee on the north there is a narrow opening into the great plain of Esdraelon. Owing to this physical formation, the west sea wind is drawn inward with tremendous violence, and any accident happening to a ship's cable or anchor, she must inevitably come right on shore. There is no possibility of working out to sea. And although the headland from Carmel juts far into the bay to the northwest, yet the direction of the low flats of the Kishon along the base of the mountain draws the gales round this point into the bay, and they sweep down past the town of Khaifa toward the southeast with awful violence. The roadstead is wholly insecure in a gale from the west, and still more so during one from any intervening point between that and the north. You need not wonder, therefore, at the wrecks strewn along the shore, nor at the vast extent of these sandy downs, which stretch inland farther than we can see.
Eagles and Carcass
Here we have a confirmation of that proverb of our Lord, “Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together” (Matt. 24:2828For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. (Matthew 24:28)).
Are those huge birds eagles? Not all. Those smaller ones, of a dull white and yellow color, are a species of vulture; they are a more gross and a much tamer bird. The eagles, you observe, have all retired to the tops of those sand-heaps, while the vultures only hop a little way up the beach as we approach.
ILLUSTRATION
I did not know there were so many eagles in all this country. They must have gathered together from a great distance. And what “carcass” is this that has assembled such a congregation on the sea-beach?
Nothing but an immense turtle which the storm threw out on the shore. You observe that his old back is covered with large and very strong barnacles, of a species which I find only on these turtles.
Baldness of the Eagle
Do you notice that these eagles have no feathers on the head and upper part of the neck?
Allusion in Micah
This reminds me of the advice of Micah to the houses of Achzib back yonder on this very shore: “Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle” (Micah 1:1616Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee. (Micah 1:16)).
They are a hideous-looking bird.
The Kishon
But here we are at the Mukŭtta, as that “ancient river” (Judg. 5:2121The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength. (Judges 5:21)), the Kishon, is now called. It is somewhat curious that both Kishon and Kŭtta are mentioned by Joshua as cities in this neighborhood; the one is the ancient Hebrew, and the other the modern Arabic name of the river. You would scarcely suppose, from the depth of the current, that one may pass along the beach three months hence and find no river at all; and yet so my experience proves. The first time I came this way I crossed the Kishon in a boat, and swam the horses; the next time there was no river, not even a rill to be found. This is explained by referring back to the inward winds I have spoken of. These ever drive the waves, loaded with sand, up against the mouth of the river, and, as soon as the dry season reduces its volume, the waves overcome it, and a large sand-bank dams up the stream; the river then spreads out into a large marsh, and slowly percolates through the sand, and thus finds its way to the sea. It is strong enough now, however, and if we watch not our opportunity and choose our path wisely, following the sand-bank at its mouth, we shall fare badly between it and the waves, which come rolling in to swell its dimensions. Safely over, let me call your attention to this singular delta, with its apex at the junction of the river with the sea, and its base resting against the foot of Cannel. It is planted with picturesque and solemn palm-trees, the finest grove of the kind in Syria.
Khaifa
Khaifa has much improved since my first visit twenty-three years ago; and, as the steamers between Beirût and Jaffa touch here, it must increase up to a certain point; but the natural advantages with reference to the interior are not great, and it will never become a large city, unless a railroad from the east should terminate at it; then, indeed, it would speedily expand into a vast emporium. This may be the Sycamenon mentioned by Greek and Roman geographers, though the distance from that place to Acre, according to the Itineraries, was at least twice as great as from Acre to Khaifa.
Convent of Carmel
We have no occasion to stop here, for there are no antiquities about it except rock tombs, sad our object is to visit the convent on the mountain. It will take us forty minutes to climb it; but the view, widening as you ascend, and ever changing, will richly repay any amount of toil; and at the convent we shall rest and refresh ourselves at the refectory of these Carmelite monks. The establishment is, indeed, quite as much a hotel as a house of prayer.
Having now satisfied our curiosity and our appetites, we may pay our bill, and leave to others more in love with such matters the task of describing this great castle-convent, with its twenty monks chanting Latin to nobody, around holy places whose history is fabulous.
A Key Laid on a Shoulder
Our friend Scander has unconsciously exhibited an illustration of Isaiah 22:2222And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. (Isaiah 22:22), which struck me very forcibly: “And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” The key with which Scander opened his magazine was large enough for a stout club, and it might well be laid on his shoulder.
True; and I have seen keys more than twice as large. The material “house of David” was the stronghold of Zion, and such castles now have enormous wooden locks, with keys in proportion. I once spent a summer in an old castle whose great outer door had a lock and key which were almost a load to carry. This kind of lock is no doubt very ancient. Their construction is such that a false key can scarcely by any possible chance fit them, and the difficulty is increased in proportion to the number and eccentric position of the wards into which the movable metal drops are required to fall. The following cut will exhibit its nature more clearly than any amount of description can do.
ILLUSTRATION
Door Keys
These locks are placed on the inside of the doors of gardens and outer courts, and even on those of inner rooms in some places. To enable the owner to unlock them, a hole is cut in the door, through which he thrusts his arm and inserts the key. All the garden doors about Sidon are thus arranged, and such must have been the custom at Jerusalem in the days of Solomon. In Song of Solomon 5:44My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. (Song of Solomon 5:4), he makes the bride say, “My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door,” that is, she saw him thrust in his hand to unlock the door, that he might enter. Solomon well knew the perturbations and delightful agitations of love; and a much more trivial thing than the hand of the beloved, and a much less significant action than the one here mentioned, will start the heart leaping and fluttering in irrepressible ecstasy. But it is time to return, lest Acre's inexorable gate be locked against us, and there is neither hole in it through which we can thrust our hand, nor wakeful heart on the other side to be “moved” by it if we could.
March 14th.
Our ride to Shefa 'Amer today will complete the survey of this vast plain of Acre to the borders of Zebulun.
Almond-Tree
As there is nothing special to claim attention in this part of the plain, let me ask an explanation of several passages of the Bible which I have marked in my Bible readings at Acre. But first tell me what tree is this on our right, dressed out in white blossoms so early in the season?
ILLUSTRATION
That is the almond. It often blossoms in February and this early activity is repeatedly alluded to in the Bible. Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see the rod of an almond-tree. Then said the Lord, Thou hast well seen, for I will hasten my word to perform it” — just as this tree hastens to bud and blossom long before any other has begun to wake out of the repose of winter, and before it has put forth its own leaves.
Scripture Allusions
The same thing is implied, according to the general economy of miracles, in the selection of rods from this tree by Moses to be laid up in the tabernacle, in order to settle the controversy in regard to the family that should be clothed with the priestly office: “And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron, for the house of Levi, was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds” (Num. 17:88And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. (Numbers 17:8)). This was miraculous rapidity certainly; but a rod was selected for the purpose from that tree which, in its natural development, is the most expeditious of all; and not only do the blossoms appear on it suddenly, but the fruit sets at once, and appears even while the flowers are yet on the tree, buds, blossoms, and almonds together on the same branch, as on this rod of Moses.
In that affecting picture of the rapid and inevitable approach of old age drawn by the royal preacher, it is said that “the almond-tree shall flourish” or blossom (Ecc. 12:5). The point of the figure is doubtless the fact that the white blossoms completely cover the whole tree, without any mixture of green leaves, for these do not appear until some time after. It is the expressive type of old age, whose hair is white as wool, unrelieved with any other color.
Drinking up
And now my texts: What do you understand by such expressions as, “He drinketh up scorning like water?” (Job. 34:7).
This idiom is very common in Arabic. It seems natural to the Oriental mind to conceive of many operations under the idea of eating and drinking, which we connect more directly with some other sense than that of taste, or else mention abstractly. Thus they very commonly speak of eating a great rain when they have been thoroughly drenched in a shower; so also they eat a violent wind and a piercing cold. I frequently hear them say of one who has been bastinaded on the soles of his feet, that he has eaten fifty or five hundred sticks, as the case may be. In like manner, they drink many strange potions. In their self-conceit, they will offer to drink the whole course of scientific education in three months. Persons not particularly encumbered with modesty have assured me that they could drink the entire system of evangelical religion with even greater expedition.
Tell Kezan
There are many similar expressions in the Bible which may claim our attention hereafter; at present let us turn up to that fine Tell, from whose summit we shall enjoy a good view of this celebrated plain. It is called Kezan, and was once a place of importance and strongly fortified. These broken columns show that it was also adorned with superb temples and other large edifices; but how utter the desolation that has laid these proud towers in the dust! It cannot be less than half a mile in circuit and a hundred feet high, after the degradation of many generations. There is one equally large farther north, called Birweh, and others even larger to the south. From the situation of these once fortified Tells, I suppose they were originally erected to command the passes into the interior. This is on the regular road to Nazareth. Tell Birweh is at the entrance into the district of Shaghûr, and Tells Daûk and Harnthîeh shut up the highway into the great plain of Esdraelon. They may have been held sometimes by the Gentiles of the seacoast, and at others by the Jews of Galilee, or both may have held such castles at the same time, to watch each other.
Landscapes like this can never lose their charm, and the memory of this one will not be displaced by others, be they ever so grand or striking.
Plain of Acre
We have made a long detour, not merely to see this tell, but also to escape the mud, for at this season a large part of the plain is wet and marshy.
Flowers
We must now hasten on to Shefa 'Amer. What an infinite array of flowers, fragrant and gay, adorn the plain! The anemones, and fiery poppies, and elegant orchises are specially conspicuous; and the humbler but sweeter hyacinths perfume the air with their spicy odors.
Birds
The birds, too, are merry and musical as spring and love can make them. “Every prospect pleases, and only man is vile.” There is something peculiarly sinister in the looks and ways of these peasants, and from this southward they bear a worse character than those of Lebanon. One reason no doubt is, that they are more oppressed by government, by wild Arabs, and by those who farm the country. These latter extort from them nearly all the produce of their lands in return for the doubtful advantage of having them stand between them and the officers of government. To secure this, they give these remorseless farmers of the revenue, thirty, forty, and even fifty per cent, on money thus advanced on their account. This kind of extortion has long cursed the country, for we find many allusions to it in the Bible. The farmer of a village has great powers accorded to him by contract, and enforced by government; he is, in fact, a petty tyrant, who takes all if he cannot otherwise get back what he has spent, and the iniquitous interest also. It is not strange, therefore, that these poor peasants, long subjected to such oppression, are a crabbed, ill-conditioned, and dishonest race. Treated without respect or mercy themselves, they are cruel to every body and thing under their power.
Tax-Gatherers
This system of tax-gatherers greatly multiplies the petty lords and tyrants, who eat up the people as they eat bread. And something of the same sort has always been known in the East. Solomon says, “For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof” (Prov. 28:22For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged. (Proverbs 28:2)). And the Arabs have a current anecdote of a wise man who used this imprecation upon his enemies: “Allah ketber mesheîkh kûm” — “May God multiply your sheikhs” — a fearful malediction! No more certain or expeditious plan to ruin one's enemies could be devised. The people familiarly ascribe such a calamity to the greatness of their sins. The multiplication of these lazy, licentious, and greedy rulers is, indeed, a sore visitation of God. One must have long and very closely observed the working of this mischief before he can even dream of the numberless ways in which these bad men corrupt, oppress, and ruin the people.
Though the proverbs of the wise king and the wise Arab are identical in meaning, it is not probable that the latter borrowed from the former. Experience and observation of the same calamity originated the identity of thought.
A Sweeping Rain
And the very next proverb of Solomon repeats almost the same idea: “A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain, which leaveth no food” (Prov. 28:33A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food. (Proverbs 28:3)). The illustrative comparison here is most impressive. It is founded upon a phenomenon which I have frequently seen, and sometimes felt. A small black cloud traverses the sky in the latter part of summer or the beginning of autumn, and pours down a flood of rain that sweeps all before it.
The Arabs call it sale; we, a waterspout, or the bursting of a cloud. In the neighborhood of Hermon I have witnessed it repeatedly, and was caught in one last year which in five minutes flooded the whole mountain side, washed away the fallen olives — the food of the poor — overthrew stone walls, tore up by the roots large trees, and carried off whatever the tumultuous torrents encountered, as they leaped madly down from terrace to terrace in noisy cascades. Every summer threshing-floor along the line of its march was swept bare of all precious food, cattle were drowned, flocks disappeared, and the mills along the streams were ruined in half-an-hour by this sudden deluge. Wherever it came it “left no food behind it” (Prov. 28:33A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food. (Proverbs 28:3)). And such is the oppression of a poor man that oppresseth the poor. These landlords, and sheikhs, and begs, and emirs, are generally poor, hungry, greedy, remorseless, and they come in successive swarms, each more ravenous than his predecessor. On a gigantic scale, every hungry pasha from the capital is such a sale, sweeping over the distant provinces of the empire. Vast regions, formerly covered with golden harvests in their season, and swarming with people full of food and gladness, are now reduced to frightful deserts by their rapacity.
The people of this country have an intense hatred of usury and the usurer, possibly connected with these farmers and their unrighteous exactions. But the mere taking of interest, and not the rate, is regarded as a sin by most people. It is prohibited altogether by Mohammed, who seems to have understood the Mosaic precepts in this strict and literal sense, as, indeed, nearly all Oriental Christians do. We read in Exodus 22:25-2725If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. 26If thou at all take thy neighbor's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: 27For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious. (Exodus 22:25‑27), “If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. If thou at all take thy neighbor's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: for that is his covering only; it is his raiment for his skin; wherein shall he sleep?” But, notwithstanding this abhorrence of both the deed and the doer, nothing is more common. Everybody borrows who can, all lend money who have it, and the rate is enormous. Twenty-five per cent is common. I have known fifty, sixty, and even a hundred per cent asked and given. The taking of pledges, even “from the poor,” is equally common; but I never knew them to be restored “by that the sun goeth down,” though for the very poor, who sleep in their ' aba or outer garment, and have no other “raiment for their skin,” it would be a very humane requisition. During the day, the poor, while at work, can and do dispense with this outside raiment, but at night it is greatly needed, even in the summer. The people in this country never sleep without being covered, even in the daytime; and in this, experience has made them wise, for it is dangerous to health. This furnishes a good reason why this sort of pledge should be restored before night; and I could wish that the law were still in force.
Pledges or Pawns
In Deuteronomy 24:10-1310When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. 11Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. 12And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge: 13In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God. (Deuteronomy 24:10‑13) we have these precepts repeated, with some additions, as, “Thou shalt not sleep with his pledge”; also, “Thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dust lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.” A most kind and admirable precept, given to secure the poor man from having the privacy of his family rudely violated by these remorseless usurers. The strict laws regulating Oriental intercourse sufficiently guard the harems of all but the very poor. When the money-gatherer goes to any respectable house, he never rudely enters, but stands “abroad” and calls, and the owner comes forth to meet him, and, if convenient — if there are no women in the way — he is invited in. The divine law here throws its shield over the poor debtor's habitation, and protects his family from insolent intrusion, a thing intolerably humiliating in the East.
Ox-Goad
No wonder that people oppressed and robbed as these peasants are, become dishonest and cruel, and even vent their pent-up rage on everything under their control. Observe that plowman armed with his long goad, with which he belabors and pricks his tiny oxen, as if it afforded peculiar pleasure to torment them.
Shamgar
I have examined this implement of husbandry with much curiosity, and no longer wonder that Shamgar could convert it into a destructive weapon of war. His was, no doubt, very large, — made so purposely in those days when the Jews were not allowed to provide arms for defense. A strong pole ten feet long, with a sharp chisel at the butt end, would be a formidable spear, wielded by the strong arm of the son of Anath. But he must have been a giant, to kill six hundred Philistines with such a weapon, or, indeed, with any other.
Scripture Allusions
This goad is an indispensable accompaniment of the plow. The upper end, with its pointed prick, serves instead of rein and lash to guide and urge on the lazy ox; and the other end with its chisel, as you call it, is used to clean off the share from earth and weeds, and to cut the roots and thorns that catch or choke the plow. It was to sharpen this part of the goads that the Philistines permitted the Jews to have a file in the early days of Saul (1 Sam. 13:2121Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads. (1 Samuel 13:21)). The references to the goad in the Bible are numerous and interesting. Solomon says that “the words of the wise are as goads” (Eccl. 12:1111The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. (Ecclesiastes 12:11)) to guide and keep in the right path (or furrow), and to stimulate the indolent to exertion.
Kicking Against the Pricks
Our Lord, in his address to Saul, says, “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:55And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. (Acts 9:5)) — a proverbial expression, taken from the action of an unruly ox, which, when pricked by the goads, kicks back in anger, and thus wounds himself more deeply. Commentators on this passage have collected many examples of the use of this exact figure by classic authors. Thus Euripides says, “I, who am a frail mortal, should rather sacrifice to him who is a god, than, by giving place to anger, kick against the goads.”And so Terence: “These things have come to my recollection, for it is foolishness for thee to kick against a goad.” The proverb is exceedingly expressive, and one which conveys to all the world where the goad is known a most important lesson. The particular force of the expression is unhappily lost by our translation. It is folly, certainly, to kick even a stone against which one May have dashed his foot, and still more so to do this against thorns that may have pierced us. But there is a deeper lesson in this proverb. The ox kicks back against the goad with which he has been intentionally pricked in order to bring him into the right path, or to prompt him to the necessary activity, just as that plowboy is constantly guiding and stimulating his team. To kick back, therefore, is not merely impotent and injurious folly, but it is rebellion against him who guides. This is the precise lesson which our Lord intended to teach, and which heathen poets and moralists have drawn from the proverb, or rather from the basis in agricultural life which suggested it.
Shefa ‘Amer or Shefr-Am
But our journey lags, and we shall need the goad ourselves to remind us that pleasant discourse will never bring us to Shefa 'Amer. It has an imposing appearance, with its large castle and houses of white stone.
Is there any mention of this place in the Bible?
None that I know of; nor has it yet been identified with any historic name. In old Arabic authors it is written Shefr-am, and this looks like that Kefraim which Eusebius says was six miles north of Legio. May it not also mark the site of that Haphraim which was assigned to Issachar? (Josh. 19:1919And Hapharaim, and Shion, and Anaharath, (Joshua 19:19)). If it was none of these, then I know nothing about its history. The remains of an old church, and those of some other buildings near it, indicate both antiquity and importance, and so do the tombs in the rocks. The situation is conspicuous, and the surrounding country delightful. The inhabitants may number two thousand — a mingled population of Druses, Moslems, Jews, and Christians, who not only farm these hills and valleys, but trade with other towns, and with the Arab tribes of the Desert. This oak wood extends northward beyond the district of Shaghûr, and southward to the plain of Sharon, and is one of the largest forests in the country. It also abounds in ancient sites — Beit Lahm, Yafa, Semmûnia, and many others, which we may visit hereafter. At present we must return to Acre.
These days of bright warm weather have wakened up the instinct of the wild geese, and prompted them to set out rather early on their annual migration to the north. Milton introduces this custom of certain birds in that divine conversation on the creation, book seven:
The eagle and the stork
On cliffs and cedar-tops their eyries build.
Part loosely wing the region; part more wise,
In common, ranged in figure, wedge their way,
Intelligent of seasons–
with mutual wing
Easing their flight....the air
Floats as they pass, fanned with unnumber'd plumes.”
Migration of Birds
This is natural, beautiful, and even accurate. The eagles still on cliffs their eyries build, and storks on cedar-tops; and in their migrations, the storks loosely wing the region, as you saw this morning in that immense disorderly caravan that passed over Acre, going to tempt the frozen north quite too early, in the season; and here these noisy geese, more wise, ranged in figure, wedge their way.
Storks
These migrations always interest me, particularly those of the storks. They come in countless flocks; the air floats as they pass, fanned by unnumbered plumes. But that they or any other birds ease their flight with mutual wing, is more than I am prepared to believe. As to the stork, concerning which the tale is generally told, it is simply impossible.
A Far-Traveled Stork
They are a strange bird, however, as any one can learn by looking into their history. They take a prodigious range in their migrations. In the year 1846, a stork, becoming weary on its return from the distant south, alighted on that mountain near Safed, and was captured. Great was the astonishment of the captors to find a silver locket suspended round its neck. They took it to the governor, and he sent it to the Pasha of Acre, who forwarded the locket to our consul in Beira. It contained a letter from Octavia, a young countess of Gotzen, in Germany, to the effect that this stork had for several years built its nest on an old turret of her castle; that this year the turret fell and injured the bird. She had it kindly cared for, and, when well enough to follow its companions, let it go, with the locket on its neck. The enclosed letter contained a request that whoever found the bird or the locket should send the writer word at any cost, as she had a great curiosity to trace it in its wanderings. The consul wrote to the young lady, giving all the particulars; for which, in due time, he received a handsome acknowledgment. All this is simple fact, of which I myself was cognizant. The poor stork died, and perhaps it had never recovered entirely from its misfortune at Octavia's castle, and this compelled it to halt at Safed, where it was captured. These singular birds do not breed in Syria, but pass over it to Asia Minor, and into Northwestern Europe, where they not only build in fir or pine trees upon the mountains, but also enter cities and villages, and make their nests on houses, castles, and minarets. I saw multitudes of them in Brusa, which, indeed, seemed to be a favorite resort. Many stories are told in regard to their intelligence, their partiality to Moslem towns, where they are held sacred; and also about their fidelity kindness to the old, the sick, and so forth.
Domestic Jealousy
Take the following anecdote for a specimen: A stork built on a house in or near Brusa, and the owner put the egg of a duck in the nest. Great was the consternation and indignation of all storkhood in the place when the unknown duck was hatched. They assembled in noisy conclave round the nest, and, after a boisterous debate, not only the duckling was condemned to death, but the poor female stork also was torn to pieces by the other members of the community. I give the story as I heard it, without vouching for its truth. It is certain, however, that they are very strict, and even jealous in their domestic habits.
ILLUSTRATION
It is also true that they are partial to the Moslem villages; indeed, they are themselves a sort of Moslems more ways than merely in their annual pilgrimages towards Mecca.
Habits of the Stork
They are a solemn, austere bird; stand for hours in one position, as if immersed in deep meditation, and do not hesitate to strike their sharp bill into anything or person that disturbs them. They are of a dull white color, with blackish feathers in various parts, have a slender body perched on tall legs, and a sharp bill at the end of a long neck, adapting them to wade in reedy marshes, and dive to the bottom to seize their prey. They live on frogs, mice, lizards, snakes, and all kinds of reptiles, which they seize with the rapidity of lightning. Owing to their diet, their flesh is coarse and unsavory, and it was no great loss to the Jews to have it forbidden, as it is in Leviticus 11:1919And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. (Leviticus 11:19) and Deuteronomy 14:1818And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. (Deuteronomy 14:18). The Druses, however, and some few others, do eat it, but by the great majority of the country it is rejected.
Nest on Cedar-Tops
The habits of this bird were known to David, who taught Milton that it built its eyries in “cedar-tops” (Psa. 104:16-1716The trees of the Lord are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted; 17Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house. (Psalm 104:16‑17)). And Jeremiah says, “The stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times, and so do the turtle, and the crane, and the swallow” (Jer. 8:77Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord. (Jeremiah 8:7)); and this is still true. But these birds, “intelligent of seasons,” have no settled calendar, and are yell liable to be deceived by early warm weather. The poor little swallows were chattering about some days ago, and they will certainly find that they are quite too early.
Flight of the Hawk
While on the subject of birds and their migrations, let me inquire to what particular thing the author of Job refers when he asks, “Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?” (Job. 39:26). I suppose this variety of hawk migrates like other birds; but why particularize only their return south, and not their going to the north?
There is a very singular reason for it. I have often seen them returning South during the latter part of September, but never saw them migrating northward. I can only account for this by supposing that in going they straggle along in single pairs, and at no particular time, or else by some distant interior route, but that when their young are grown they come back southward in flocks; but even then they do not fly in groups, as do cranes, geese, and storks, but keep passing for days in straggling lines, like scattered ranks of a routed army. Here and there, as far as eye can reach, they come, flying every one apart, but all going steadily to the south. Job therefore states the fact just as he had seen it, and as you may also, on Lebanon, next September.