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prostration consequent on the severe privations | Lieutenant Lynch, "we saw the Supply stand
and great exposure to which they were unavoida- out to sea. Shall any of us live to tread again
bly subjected." Besides these few men, Lieuten- her clean familiar deck? What matters it! We
ant Dale and Midshipman Aulick were attached to
the expedition; and the commander had with him
his son, who took charge of the herbarium. Thus
the party consisted in all of fourteen persons, to

are in the hands of God, and, fall early or fall late,
we fall with his consent." There was certainly
room for serious reflection. The fates of the un-
happy Costigan, and more recently of Lieutenant

thoughtless sailors felt its influence :

whom were subsequently added, as volunteers, Mr. Molyneux, both of whom perished of fever caught
Bedlow and Dr. Anderson, the former at Constan- on the Dead Sea, were but too well calculated to
tinople, and the latter at Beirut, where also an damp the spirits of the adventurers. Even the
interpreter was acquired in the person of an intel-
ligent native Syrian called Ameuny. We should
like to know whether this was the person of the
same name who, a few years back, studied in
King's College, London. We feel almost sure
that this is the same person; and, in that case,
we know that he was qualified to render far great-
er services to the expedition than he has credit
for on the face of the narrative.

The Supply sailed from New York on the 21st of November, 1847, and reached Smyrna on the 18th February, 1848. From Smyrna the officers of the expedition proceeded to Constantinople in the Austrian steamer, with the view of obtaining from the sultan, through the American minister, permission to pass through a part of his dominions in Syria, for the purpose of exploring the Dead Sea, and of tracing the Jordan to its source. The account of this journey occupies too much space; and even the writer of the lesser account, although avowedly remaining behind at Smyrna, treats us to an account of Constantinople, prepared, it would seem-like the other notices of places which he is fond of thrusting in-from those invaluable authorities, the geography books for the use of schools.

The commander had the honor of an audience of the young sultan, and manifests some disposition to plume himself upon the republican freedom of his demeanor. There is, we must say, much bad taste of this sort throughout the book. We are also indulged with some rather twaddling observations upon the character of the sultan, and

We had been told, (it is stated in the Montague book,) that there never was an expedition planned to explore the Dead Sea which had prospered, some fatality, like the unerring dart of an eagle, had always pounced upon its brave fellows; they had been sick, and lingered but a short while, and had died in this unfriendly climate; or had been attacked by the bloodthirsty Arabs, plundered, and then murdered. These things had taken place so recently, that the murderer has scarce sheathed his sword-the smoke from his pistol has scarce died away in the atmosphere the unerring spear has scarce stayed from its quivering and the blood of the murdered has scarcely yet been dried up by the prevailing heat, or absorbed by the surrounding

earth. But we Yankee boys, &c.

The first difficulty of a practical nature was how to get the boats across to the Sea of Tiberias. The copper boat, we should have noticed. was named Fanny Mason, and the other, Fanny Skinner-two very pretty and appropriate names for the navigation of the Sea of Death. The boats, mounted on the trucks, were laden with the stores and baggage of the party, and all was arranged most conveniently-only the horses could not be persuaded to draw. The harness was also found to be much too large for the small Syrian horses; and although they manifestly gloried in the strange equipment, and they voluntarily performed sundry gay and fantastic movements, the operation of pulling was altogether averse to their habits and inclination. What was to be done? Oxen might have been tried, and we have

the impending downfall of the Turkish empire. no doubt that they would have performed the

The latter is a subject on which we are sorely tempted to have our say too; but we will not at this time allow even Lieutenant Lynch to seduce us from our proper theme. The desired authorization was granted; and the sultan even appeared to manifest some interest in the undertaking, and requested to be informed of the results.

Thus armed with all necessary powers, the officers returned to Smyrna, rejoining the Supply, which sailed the next day (March 10) for the coast of Syria, and, after touching at Beirut and other places, came to anchor in the Bay of Acre, under Mount Carmel on the 28th.

The expedition men, with the stores, the tents, and the boats, having landed, an encampment was formed on the beach, and the Supply departed to deliver to the American squadron the stores with which it was charged, with orders to be back in time for the reembarkation of the exploring party. "With conflicting emotions," writes

task well; but they were all engaged in the la-
bors of the field, it being now "the height of
seed-time," (which must be a mistake for harvest,)
and Lieutenant Lynch generously hesitated to
withdraw them from that essential labor. He
was thinking of taking the boats to pieces, though
most reluctant to adopt that course, when the idea
of trying whether camels might not be made to
draw in harness crossed his mind. The experi-
ment was tried; and all hearts throbbed with
gratitude as the huge animals, three to each,
marched off with the trucks, the boats upon them,
with perfect ease. It was a novel sight, witnessed
by an eager crowd of the natives, to whom the
successful result disclosed an unknown accom-
plishment in the patient and powerful animal,
which they had before thought fit only to plod
along with a heavy load upon his back.

This difficulty, and some others, thrown in
their way by the Governor of Acre, being removed,

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the party at length set forth from the coast on the | allied Bedouins, with the cattle, proceeding along

4th of April. They were accompanied by "a fine old man, an Arab nobleman, called Sherif Hazza of Mecca, the thirty-third lineal descendant of the prophet." As he appeared to be highly venerated by the Arabs, Lieutenant Lynch thought it would be a good measure to induce him to join the party; and he was prevailed upon to do so with less difficulty than had been anticipated. Another addition to the party was made next day in the person of a Bedouin sheikh of the name of Akil, with ten well-armed Arabs. This person, described as a powerful border sheikh, had become known to them at Acre, and on now visiting him at his village of Abelin, he was induced to attend the expedition "with ten spears," which, with the sheikh and sherif, and the servants of the latter, made fifteen Arabs in all. The exploring party itself amounted to sixteen, with the interpreter and cook; so that altogether, with the Arabs gallantly mounted, with their long tufted spears, the mounted seamen in single file, the laden camels, and the metal boats, with flags flying, mounted on carriages drawn by huge camels, the party presented rather an imposing aspect. "It looked," says the commander, proudly, "like a triumphal

march."

Some difficulty was experienced in getting the boats over the broken and rocky upper country, the roads being no better than mule tracks; but by breaking off a crag here, and filling up a hollow there, and by sometimes abandoning the road altogether, difficulties were overpassed, and the whole equipage reached the brink of the slopes overlooking the basin of the Galilee lake. How to get them down into the water was still some question. Took all hands up the mountain to get the boats down. Many times we thought that, like the herd of swine, they would rush precipitately into the sea. Every one did his best, and at length success crowned our efforts. With their flags flying we carried them triumphantly beyond the walls [of Tiberias] uninjured, and amid a crowd of spectators, launched

them upon the blue waters of the sea of Galileethe Arabs singing, clapping their hands to the time, and crying for backshish but we neither shouted nor cheered. From Christian lips it would have sounded like profanation. A look upon that consecrated lake ever brought to remembrance the words, "Peace, be still!" which not only repressed all noisy exhibition, but soothed for a time all worldly care. Buoyantly floated the two “Fannies,” bearing the stars and stripes-the noblest flag of freedom now waving in the world. Since the time of Josephus and the Romans no vessel of any size has sailed upon this sea; and for many, many years but a solitary keel has furrowed its surface.-P. 162.

This "solitary keel" is, it appears, the same that the party bought for six pounds, and put in repair to relieve the other boats in transporting the baggage. It was called "Uncle Sam;" and on the 10th of April the boats were pushed off from the shelving beach, and sought the outlet of the Jordan; Uncle Sam, rowed by Arabs, being preceded by his two fair daughters-Fanny Mason leading the way, closely followed by Fanny Skinner; the

the shore, under the command of Lieutenant Dale. The real business of the expedition here commenced, and aware of this, the commander made a division of labor, assigning to each officer and volunteer his appropriate duty. Mr. Dale was to make topographical sketches of the country; Dr. Anderson was to make geological observations and collect specimens; Mr. Bedlow was to note the aspect of the country on the land route and the incidents that occurred on the march; Mr. F. Lynch was to collect plants and flowers for the herbarium: to Mr. Aulick, who had charge of the Fanny Skinner, was assigned the topographical sketch of the river and its shores; and Lieutenant Lynch himself, in the Fanny Mason, undertook to take notes of the course, rapidity, color, and depth of the river and its tributaries, the nature of its banks, and of the country through which it flowed-the vegetable productions, and the birds and animals which might be seen, and also to keep a journal of events.

The descent of the river occupied above a week, as the bathing-place of the pilgrims, somewhat above the Dead Sea, was not reached until the night of the 17th. During this time the water party had generally, in the evening, joined the land party on the shore, and remained encamped until the morning. But little information concerning the river could be obtained at Tiberias, and it was therefore with considerable consternation that the course of the Jordan was soon found to be interrupted by frequent and most fearful rapids. Thus, to proceed at all, it often became necessary to plunge with headlong velocity down the most appalling descents. So great were the difficulties, that on the second evening the boats were not more than twelve miles in direct distance from Tiberias. On the third morning it became necessary to abandon poor Uncle Sam, from its shattered condition. It was seen that no other kind of boats in the world, but such as those which had been brought from America, combining great strength with buoyancy, could have sustained

the shocks they encountered. The boats were indeed sorely bruised, but not materially injured, and a few hours sufficed to repair all damages.

The immense difference between the levels of the Lake of Tiberias and the Dead Sea-the latter having been, by the best observations hitherto obtained, ascertained to be no less than 984 feet lower than the former-had recently been called in question both by Dr. Robinson and Carl Ritter. In the "Bibliotheca Sacra" for August, 1848, Dr. Robinson has a statement on the subject, which may be thus summed up :

The result of the survey made by Lieutenant Symonds of the royal engineers gives 1311-9 feet for the depression of the Dead Sea, and 328 for that of the Lake of Tiberias below the sea-level of the Mediterranean. Seeing that the distance between the two lakes does not exceed one degree, this would give to the river Jordan, which passes from the one to the other, a descent of 16.4 feet per mile. Of several rapid rivers, whose course is stated, the lower part of the Orontes, "roaring over

THE RIVER JORDAN AND THE DEAD SEA.

its rocky bed," and unnavigable, and the Missouri | rather, the cliffs and slopes of the risen uplands,

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present, for the most part, a wild and cheerless
aspect. The verdure-such as it is may only
be sought on and near the lower valley or imme-
diate channel of the Jordan. No one statement
can apply to the scenery of its entire course; but
the following picture, which refers to nearly the
central part of the river's course, some distance
below Wady Adjlun, is a good specimen of the
kind of scenery which the passage of the river
offers. It is also a very fair example of the style
in which Lieutenant Lynch works up the passages
he wishes to be most effective :-

at the Great Falls, are the only ones whose rapid-
ity of descent can compare with this. "But the
Jordan, so far as known, has neither cataracts nor
rapids, and its flow, though swift, is silent. Yet,
of the 984 feet of its descent in 60 geographical
miles, there is room for three cataracts, each equal
in descent to Niagara; and there would still be left
to the river an average fall equal to the swiftest
portion of the Rhine, including the cataract of
Schaffhausen." On these grounds Dr. Robinson
hinted there might probably be some error in the
calculation, affecting the results. We must admit
there was ample ground for the doubt thus ex-
pressed, and which the great Prussian geographer
declared that he shared-but seeing that a few
weeks were destined signally to subvert the whole
reasoning, and the doubt that rested on it, there is
a striking resemblance between this and Mr. Cob-
den's famous declaration respecting the unchange-through a lens.

able peacefulness of Europe. The great secret of
this depression is solved by our explorers on the
basis of the very facts whose non-existence Dr.
Robinson too hastily assumed. First, there are
rapids. The boats plunged down no less than
twenty-seven very threatening ones, besides a great
number of lesser magnitude; and then, although

the direct distance between the two lakes does not exceed sixty miles, yet the distance actually traversed by the stream in its course-found to be exceedingly tortuous-is at least 200 miles, reducing the average fall to not more than six feet in each mile, which the numerous rapids in that distance render very comprehensible. Thus the great depression of the Dead Sea below the Lake of Tiberias is established both by scientific calculation and by actual observation-by two independent lines of proof, which support and corroborate each other.

The character of the whole scene of this dreary waste was singularly wild and impressive. Looking out upon the desert, bright with reverberated light and heat, was like beholding a conflagration from a window at twilight. Each detail of the strange and solemn scene could be examined as

The larger narrative traces, with great and proper minuteness, the changing aspects and circumstances of the river at the successive stages of progress. These details are so numerous and so various that it is difficult to generalize them. We are, therefore, glad that Montague's sailor, in his more general and less responsible view, supplies a few lines, which, corroborated as they are by the commander, will serve our purpose well. He says

The mountains towards the west rose up like islands from the sea, with the billows heaving at their bases. The rough peaks caught the slanting sunlight, while sharp black shadows marked the sides turned from the rays. Deep-rooted in the plain, the bases of the mountains heaved the garment of the earth away, and rose abruptly in naked pyramidal crags, each scar and fissure as palpably distinct as though within reach, and yet we were hours away; the laminations of their strata resembling the leaves of some gigantic volume, wherein is written, by the hand of God, the history of the changes he has wrought.

The banks of the Jordan are beautifully studded with vegetation. The cultivation of the ground is not so extensive as it might be, and as it would be, if the crops were secured to the cultivator from the desperadoes who scour the region. The waters of the Jordan are clear and transparent, except in the immediate vicinity of the rapids and falls. It is well calculated for fertilizing the valleys of its There are often plenty of fish seen in its deep and shady course; but we see no trace of the lions and bears which once inhabited its thickets: now and then are to be seen footsteps of the wild boar, which sometimes visits the neighborhood.

course.

Toward the south, the ridges and higher masses of the range, as they swept away in the distance, were aerial and faint, and softened into dimness by a pale transparent mist.

The wide and deeply-depressed plain through which the river flows, is generally barren, treeless, and verdureless; and the mountains, or

The plain that sloped away from the bases of the hills was broken into ridges and multitudinous conelike mounds, resembling tumultuous water at " the meeting of two adverse tides;" and presented a wild and checkered tract of land, with spots of vegetation flourishing upon the frontiers of irreclaimable sterility.

A low, pale, and yellow ridge of conical hills marked the termination of the higher terrace, beneath which swept gently this lower plain with a similar undulating surface, half-redeemed from barrenness by sparse verdure and thistle-covered hillocks.

Still lower was the valley of the Jordan-the sacred river!-its banks fringed with perpetual verdure; winding in a thousand graceful mazes; the pathway cheered with songs of birds, and its own clear voice of gushing minstrelsy; its course a bright line in this cheerless waste. Yet beautiful as it is, it is only rendered so by contrast with the harsh, calcined earth around.-Pp. 232, 233.

Of the manner in which the rapids were passed, the following passage will afford an adequate notice :

At 10. 15 A. M., cast off and shot down the first rapid, and stopped to examine more closely a desperate looking cascade of eleven feet. In the middle of the channel was a shoot at an angle of about sixty degrees, with a bold, bluff, threatening rock at its foot, exactly in the passage. It would therefore be necessary to turn almost at a sharp angle in descending, to avoid being dashed in pieces. This

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rock was on the outer edge of the whirlpool, which | sometimes washed the bases of the sandy hills, at a caldron of foam swept round and round in circling other times meandered between low banks, gener

eddies. Yet below were two fierce rapids, each about 150 yards in length, with the points of black rocks peering above the white and agitated surface. Below them, again, within a mile, were two other rapids-longer, but more shelving, and less diffi

cult.

Fortunately a large bush was growing upon the left bank, about five feet up where the rush of the water from above had formed a kind of promontory. By swimming across some distance up the stream, one of the men had carried over the end of a rope, and made it fast around the roots of the bush. The great doubt was whether the hold of the roots would be sufficient to withstand the strain, but there was no alternative. In order not to risk the men, I employed some of the most vigorous Arabs in the camp to swim by the side of the boats, and guide them if possible clear of danger. Landing the men, therefore, and tracking the Fanny Mason up stream, we shot her across; and gathering in the slack of the rope, let her drop to the brink of the cascade, where she fairly trembled and bent in the fierce strength of the sweeping current. It was a moment of intense anxiety. The sailors had now clambered along the banks, and stood at intervals below, ready to assist us if thrown from the boat and swept towards them. One man with me in the boat stood by the line; a number of Arabs were upon the rocks and in the foaming water, gesticulating wildly, their shouts mingling with the roaring of the boisterous rapids, and their dusky forms contrasting strangely with the effervescing flood, and five on each side, in the water, were clinging to the boat, ready to guide her clear of the *hreatening rock if possible.

The Fanny Mason, in the mean while, swayed from side to side of the mad torrent like a frightened bird, straining the line which held her. Watching the moment when her bows were in the right direction, I gave the signal to let go the rope. There was a rush-a plunge-an upward leap, and the rock was cleared the pool was passed! and half full of water, with breathless velocity, we were swept safely down the rapids. Such screaming and shouting! The Arabs seemed to exult more than ourselves. It was in seeming only. They were glad-we were grateful. Two of the Arabs lost their hold, and were carried far below us, but were rescued with a slight injury to one of them. Pp. 189, 190.

The following, which is one of the best descriptions, has reference to an earlier portion of the river's course, about one third from the lake of

Tiberias:

For hours in their swift descent the boats floated Here and there were spots of solemn beauty. The

down in silence the silence of the wilderness.

numerous birds sang with a music strange and manifold; the willow branches were spread upon the stream like tresses, and creeping mosses and clambering weeds, with a multitude of white and silvery little flowers, looked out from among them; and the cliff swallow wheeled over the falls, or went at his own will, darting through the arched vistas, and shadowed and shaped by the meeting foliage on the banks; and above all, yet attuned to all, was the

ally fringed with trees and fragrant with blossoms. Some points presented views exceedingly picturesque-the mad rushing of a mountain torrent, the song and sight of birds, the overhanging foliage and glimpse of the mountains far over the plain, and here and there a gurgling rivulet pouring its tribute of crystal water into the now muddy Jordan; the western shore was peculiar from the high calcareous limestone hills which form a barrier to the stream when swollen by the efflux of the Sea of Galilee during the winter and early spring; while the left and eastern bank was low and fringed with tamarisk and willow, and occasionally a thicket of lofty cane, and tangled masses of shrubs and creeping plants, gave it the appearance of a jungle. At one place we saw the fresh track of a tiger [leopard?] on the low clayey margin, where he had come to drink. At another time, as we passed his lair, a wild boar started with a savage grunt, and dashed into the thicket; but for some moments we tracked his pathway by the shaking cane, and the crashing sound of broken branches.

The birds were numerous; and at times, when we issued from the shadow and silence of a narrow and verdure-tinted part of the stream into an open bend where the rapids rattled and the light burst in, and the birds sang their wilderness song, it was, to use a similie of Mr. Bedlow, like a sudden transition from the cold, dull-lighted hall, where gentlemen hang their hats, into the white and golden saloon, where the music rings and the dance goes on.-Pp. 212, 213.

The passage of the river was accomplished without any real opposition from the neighboring Arabs-all hostile demonstration being apparently held in check by the manifest strength of the party. Some friendly intercourse, indeed, took place at different points. We observe generally that the explorers, with their minds preoccupied with ideas of North American Indians, greatly underrate the position, character, and knowledge of the Arabs. Indeed, they are plainly called "savages;" but they are not savages, unless the patriarchal fathers of Scripture history which no one ever thought. This misapprehension of the Arabs is, of course, exhibited in a still more exaggerated form in the narrative of Mon

were savages,

tague's sailor, whose less cultivated perceptions are still more obtuse. He ventures to say in one place that the Arabs wondered how the boats could walk the waters without legs!

All this that relates to the Jordan is new, valuable, and important. It is the real, great work of the expedition. We absolutely knew next to nothing

about the river between the two lakes before, except just below where it leaves the upper lake, and just above where it enters the lower; but here the whole river is set forth before us, and all the mysteries connected with its course are completely solved. For this, the cominander is well entitled to the gold medal by the Royal Geographical Society, which we should hope will be awarded to

music of the river, gushing with a sound like that him. In the Dead Sea, the additions to our of shawms and cymbals. There was little variety knowledge are less striking and important. The in the scenery of the river; to-day the streams | lake had been viewed at nearly all points by differ

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occasional generalizations of details, which the reader of such a work is entitled to expect, and which, it might be thought, might have been easily given as a general retrospect of the whole, is the great defect of the book. Dr. Robinson, in his really great work on Palestine, after giving the details of his explorations, pauses on every vantage-ground to survey the scene, and to state the general effect and character of the whole. But nothing of the kind is attempted by our author, who seems to have been either ignorant of this necessity, or to have lacked the skill to supply it. The sea-custom of keeping an account of minute particulars and observations from day to day in the log-book, tends to create a habit of correctly observing and registering small details, but is perhaps unfavorable to the formation or cultivation of the faculty of generalization. On the other hand, there are men who can only

ent travellers; the comparison of whose statements furnished a sufficiently correct idea of the figure and directions of the lake, and of the peculiar phenomena which it offers. In most respects, therefore, the business here was not to discover anything new, but to verify previous accounts; and, in most respects, all the accounts given by the best of former travellers-especially such as subvert the old traditions of the lake-are abundantly confirmed, and settled beyond all further doubt or question. In fact, the navigation of the lake in boats is not a new thing-it having been previously done by an Irishman, Costigan, and more recently by an Englishman, Lieut. Molyneux, of H. M. S. Spartan. Indeed, the latter officer had also performed the same passage down the Jordan; and had he lived to impart to the public the fruit of his observations, the interest of the present expedition would have been forestalled, and its facts anticipated at all points. It is to the credit of Lieut. Lynch that he manifests a full consciousness of the claims of his predecessors. He even gives the name of Point Costigan to one of the points of the peninsula, towards the south of the Dead Sea, and of Point Molyneux to the other; and it is certainly not the least of our obligations to these officers, that their prior claims, in all probability, prevented these spots from being ornamented with the names of Fanny Mason and Fanny Skinner, if not of Uncle Sam. It is bad enough as it is, to see an ancient and a sacred soil thus desecrated with any modern and Frankish names. Dr. Robinson would have ascertained the native names of those places; and our explorers might, if they had chosen, have done the same, by the aid of so accomplished and excellent an interpreter as Mr. Ameuny. We hope this sort of folly will end here. It is quite enough that the geographical nomenclature of half the world is ruined by this frightful bad taste, without the sacred land itself being exposed to the same deep abasement.

See things in the gross,

Being much too gross to see them in detail.

One of this sort is Montague's sailor, who, being incapable of following the observations of his commander, and being, as it seems, only partially acquainted with other than the most obvious results, states general impressions rather than particulars; and we are not sure but that in this way he renders to the common reader the general effect of the whole much more effectively than his commander, whose account alone is, however, here of any scientific value. It has seemed to us, indeed, that this part of Montague's book is better done than any other. He here makes a most distinct impression, and, but for the egregious blunders into which he falls whenever stating what men know from reading, we might suppose that in this portion of the work he had access to better information than in other parts. This writer does not lack power of observation; and his errors are mostly in those allusions to "things in general," in which only a man possessed of assured knowl. edge from reading and study, can be always correct. We are not sure that the blunders made in allusions of this sort-which are as plenty as blackberries-and the disgust one feels at the vile slang which turns up every now and then, tends to create an under-estimate of the truthfulness of many observations on matters that fall within the fair scope of an intelligent seaman's knowledge.

The expedition spent no less than twenty-two nights upon the lake. During this time the whole circuit of it was made, including the back-water at the southern extremity, which had never before been explored in boats. Every object of interest upon the banks was examined; and the lake was crossed and recrossed in a zigzag direction through its whole extent, for the purpose of sounding. The figure of the lake, as laid down in the sketchmap, is somewhat different from that usually given to it. The breadth is more uniform throughout; it is less narrowed at the northern extremity, and less widened on approaching the peninsula in the south. In its general dimensions it is longer, but is not so wide as usually represented. Its length by the map is forty miles, by an average breadth of about nine miles. The observations and facts, from day to day, are recorded in Lieut. Lynch's book; and it is by reading them that the reader must realize the impressions which the survey is designed to produce, for the author does not take the trouble to combine his results in one clear and connected statement; indeed, the want of these

The only passage in which Lieutenant Lynch attempts to furnish us with something like the result of his exploration is this :

We have carefully sounded the sea, determined its geographical position, taken the exact topography of its shores, ascertained the temperature, width, depth, and velocity of its tributaries, collected specimens of every kind, and noted the winds, currents, changes of the weather, and all atmospheric phenomena. These, with a faithful narrative of events, will give a correct idea of this wonderful

body of water as it appeared to us.

From the summit of these cliffs, in a line a little north of west, about sixteen miles distant, is Hebron, a short distance from which Dr. Robinson found

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