The East

by William Young Martin

We felt surprised and ashamed oftener than once to see our dragoman (who frequently rode considerably in advance) lead his followers right through a field of growing corn, without the slightest compunction or any consideration for the husbandman, merely to save a few minutes’ time in going to see some object or reach some desired path. The inhabitants seem so accustomed to submission under any and every Turkish oppression that no complaint nor opposition was offered. We seldom met the inhabitants in the country, and when we did I fear their muttered words were oftener curses than blessings. Our dragoman acknowledged this; only once he willingly gave us the translation, and on that occasion it was a very rich blessing, I think won by giving a woman with a donkey the pathway instead of monopolizing it, as is too much the rule both with Turks and other travellers.

The wild birds mentioned in Scripture are still to be seen, and small ones are numerous, as also are bees; but we rarely heard the singing of birds in the land. Wild beasts—the lion, the bear, and leopard—are almost never seen, except perhaps in Galilee and in the vicinity of Carmel, notwithstanding that the population is now very sparse. Another proof this, I think, that the country must formerly have afforded much greater cover amongst its trees and rank vegetation for those animals so frequently mentioned in Scripture (even though the multitude of its caves was as great as now), seeing the population was then so large.

Of rivers, streams, and fountains we find frequent mention, but now these are, with a few exceptions, dry as Kedron, except during the rainy season, consequent on the destruction of the trees, and so barrenness is the result. Still there are several springs even in Judea, and Samaria is better watered generally, but in neither are they utilized as they ought to be.

Never before did the immense importance of trees adequately impress itself upon my mind. In our country they certainly ameliorate the climate, but in lower latitudes they are really invaluable. Without them the rains wash away the soil from off the stony ground; but once planted wherever they can live, they by their own falling leaves gradually make soil out of the disintegration of the rocks. They attract rain, and by themselves and the vegetation which grows around they retain it for weeks, instead of its rushing down the bare hills in a single day, carrying off every loose grain of soil as at present. The same important purposes are served—to some extent—by snow, when the mountains are sufficiently high to retain it during the summer months, as Hermon does. Trees and vegetation generally are intimately connected with water and are mutually dependent, for if water fails they suffer, and if they are destroyed rain fails—a very obvious truth, but not appreciated by the Turks.

Even in our own country, I think every man who cuts down a tree should be bound to plant two young ones; but in the East generally, and even in Spain, the enormous evils resulting from an opposite policy are now apparent, and remind one of the men who, during the storm, are said to “pull down the rooftree of their house to feed the fire.” And so with the Turks. Instead of encouraging the rearing of trees, they tax the patriot who plants them! Truly some writers have well described this Government as “desolating.” The once learned and wise Caliphs have now degenerated into perhaps the worst Governors that exist, destroying the finest and fairest portion of the East, and as locusts eating up every green thing.

With vegetation, the “shepherd” of the Scriptures and his flocks have nearly disappeared. In our journeyings I did not notice over two dozen flocks, and they would at home be reckoned small ones. These consisted partly of sheep and partly of goats, and they did not intermingle, for the one seemed to keep to the right hand and the other to the left. One-half of the sheep are black and the other of a whitish-brown colour; and, as of old, they follow the shepherd and seem to know his voice. The common domestic fowls are pretty plentiful, but camels, horses, asses, and oxen by no means so; mules are now more rarely seen.

I have dwelt on these matters somewhat more than travellers generally do, because I think it is well that to its fullest extent the magnificent desolation of the land of Canaan should be fully acknowledged. I do not say that writers conceal the facts, but they generally dwell, I think, too much upon whatever is good and beautiful and fertile. From a pardonable sentimental feeling they unconsciously throw a poetic veil over the sad scene, so that readers I fear are not fully aware of the ruined condition of that grand old land physically, morally, and politically. But the unwelcome truth needs no apology, for it corresponds too well with the Scriptural predictions. And if these have proved so true to the letter, much more may we believe will its promised restoration to more than pristine beauty, fertility, and size. I once or twice noticed a tendency to sneer at this desolation, and I have since seen a letter from one of a small party of probably very young naval officers who, having obtained leave of absence from their commanding officer off Jaffa to go up to Jerusalem, reported the Holy City and the “whole thing a sell, equal to any of Barnum’s.” When reading over the grand old Book, let us hope they may yet come to see this matter in its true light, as I believe all candid men must who seriously consider it.

And thus, as already described, we journeyed on from day to day, further details of which are unnecessary. Our next point of interest was Jacob’s Well. It is situated at the foot of Mount Gerizim, distant from the city of Sychar, the capital of Samaria, about a mile. Here we dismounted, and sat down by the mouth of this famous well, wearied with our journey. Considering the circumstances of Jacob, and the difficulty of the work of digging a well so very deep, and in a manner which would do credit to any builder of the present day, it is no wonder that the woman of Samaria looked back with feelings of thankfulness to her father Jacob, “who gave us the well.”

This water seems to have been of rarely excellent quality, and whatever the Easterns consider as peculiarly valuable or sacred, they veil by erecting a dome or a tabernacle or other covering over it, as witness the holy sepulchre, the dome of the rock, the tombs of the prophets in the valley of Jehoshaphat, and hundreds of other instances elsewhere throughout Palestine. Here, accordingly, a small dome, or tabernacle, had been built by the Moslems, who venerate Moses and the prophets, but in course of years it had fallen down, filling up the well considerably, and as usual some rubbish remains, partially blocking up its mouth, with the aid of a number of the large stones, so that it is difficult to see into it. Moreover, every passing traveller seems to consider it necessary to pitch a stone into it. Notwithstanding all this it is still about eighty feet deep, and seven feet in diameter, with still a foot or so of water in the bottom. It is therefore extremely probable that originally the well had been very deep, as indeed the woman of Samaria states it to have been in her day—eighteen hundred years ago. In another century I believe it will be filled with stones up to the brim.

Seated round the well, just under the shadow of Mount Gerizim and in view of Joseph’s tomb adjacent, we listened with great interest to the 4th chapter of St. John’s Gospel, which Mr. Smith (one of our party) read, and the thrilling interest of the narrative will not soon be forgotten by any of us. “If,” said the Great Master, “thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain. And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” “This mountain” to which she referred now towered right over our heads, and was at that time the Holy Mount of the Samaritans. What a wonderful sermon—and then the Preacher!—and the audience was one poor woman, and she a Samaritan and “a sinner!”