because too their presence might secure for us a better reception, among the Arabs of that region. We therefore authorized the Sheikh to offer ten Piastres for each man for the whole time, without provisions. Some spoke of them as Haweitât, and some as 'Alawîn; the latter are indeed a subdivision of the former; but these individuals were not 'Alawîn of Sheikh Husein's tribe. Monday, May 28th. We rose before 4 o'clock, hoping to set off early. Very soon the grating sound of the hand-mill was heard from a cave not far off, where an Arab family had taken up their abode during the harvest.' In spite of our hopes, and notwithstanding all our former experience, our patience was this morning not a little tried by the dilatoriness of the Arabs. They had yesterday made the fairest promises, that they would come with the camels at evening and sleep at our tent, in order to be ready for an early start; yet only one came; and it was nearly 7 o'clock this morning before they all arrived. Then nothing was ready. The saddles had to be put in order, and some of them re-stuffed with straw. Then one camel had to be shaved; that is, the hair of its lips and face was regularly shaved off with a sharp knife, being occasionally lathered with spittle; the head was then anointed, apparently on account of some disease. It seemed also not yet to be fixed, who should go with us. At last it appeared that only four men instead of five were going; and these mere cameldrivers, no one of whom was a Sheikh nor a responsible person. On learning this we declined going in that manner; and ordered the loading of the camels to be stopped. At length Sheikh Hussân, who had come to see us off, agreed to take us to the place where Sheikh Sâlim (who had come with us on Sat1) See p. 181, above. urday) was reaping; and if the latter would not go, he promised to accompany us himself. We consented to the four men the more readily, because the five Haweitât or 'Alawîn had accepted our offer and now presented themselves, a set of thievish-looking ragamuffins as one would wish to see. We accordingly set off at 7 o'clock, and travelling South for fifteen minutes, came to the field of reapers, where we stopped for another hour. Here it was finally arranged, that Sheikh Hussân should go with us; and leaving his gala-dress and his sleek mare, and sending for his long gun, he joined us on foot in the common Arab costume. We thus mustered nine armed men, besides our two servants; who also felt their importance somewhat augmented, by being now regularly intrusted each with a gun and pistol. From this point three sites of ruins were visible, viz. Jenbeh, at the foot of the mountain and now directly under the encampment of the Jehâlîn; el-Kuryetein' also at the foot of the mountain; and el-Beyûdh on a low hill more to the left. All these are only foundations of small villages, or merely caves.3 Another similar site, el-Khuneifit, was spoken of somewhere on the left of our road. We finally set off at a quarter before 9 o'clock, on a course nearly due South through the rolling plain, along a small shallow Wady. After three quarters of an hour, there was on our right a small site of foundations and walls of round stones, called et-Taiyib, with the remains of a dam in the Wady, apparently for a 1) El-Kuryetein, 'the two c ties,' seems to suggest the Kerioth (cities) of Josh. xv. 25, in the South of Judah; unless the latter is to be united with the next name and read Kerioth-Hezron, as Reland suggests. Palaest. pp. 700, 708. 2) This name would seem to correspond to the 'Al-baid' of Irby 3) They bore as follows; Jen- reservoir. Here too a hill called Tell 'Arâd, which we had seen for some time in the S. S. W. seemed not more than an hour distant; a barren looking eminence rising above the country around. This marks, without much doubt, the site of the ancient city Arad, situated in the South of Judah; whose inhabitants drove back the Israelites as they attempted to penetrate from Kadesh into Palestine; but were afterwards subdued by Joshua.' The Arabs said indeed, that there were now no ruins upon or near it, but only a cavern. We did not visit it, but the name is too decisive to admit of question.2 Proceeding on the same course, we came at 10 o'clock, to another similar site of rude foundations and walls, called Ehdeib, still on the bank of the shallow Wady, which here bears the same name. Fifteen minutes further on, the Wady turns to the East, and runs to the Dead Sea, which it enters under the name of es-Seyâl, between Birket el-Khŭlîl and Sebbeh.3 At 11 o'clock we passed a circular space blackened by fires and the manure of animals, and marking the place of a recent encampment of the Dhullâm. These Arabs, in the spring, pasture in this tract in common with the Jehâlîn; their proper territory lies further West towards Beersheba, where both they and the Tiyâhah water in common.-We were now gradually ascending a broad swell of land. At 115' was another small ruin, called el-Museik, similar to those before mentioned. We reached the height of the swell or broad ridge at 11h 50', near another site of ruins, and a mound or low Tell on our right, called Rujeim Selâmeh. Here we halted for half an hour for refreshment and to survey the country. We had here an extensive view of the district through which we had passed, as far back as to the mountain-ridge we had crossed on Saturday, which extended far along on our right towards the S. W.' Its furthest point in that direction, a steep low bluff, now bore about West; and seemed almost to close up the plain towards Beersheba. Yet such is not the case; for the Wady es-Seba' has its head on this side of the mountain, in the district around Milh, and passes off around the bluff. The Tell by Milh was pointed out; and also another hill near a place called 'Ar'â rah; both of which we visited on our return.2 Before us, the country exhibited the same general features as that in our rear.3 Setting off again at 12h 20', we passed in ten minutes another small site of foundations, called Sudeid. Our course was now in general about S. E. At 1 o'clock Rujeim Selâmeh bore N. 40° E. and Tell etTawâneh, a marked point near Ma'în, N. 5° W. The country continued to bear the same general character as that we had traversed; except that we had found it all day becoming more and more barren, and assuming more the features of the desert. It was here hilly and intersected by small ravines, but without precipices; and had been thinly covered with a slight growth of grass, now dry. 1) Lord Lindsay says, the Arabs called this ridge Jebel el-Kuryetein; Letters Vol. II. His Arabs had probably been speaking of elKuryetein and therefore named the mountain so. On the north side of it, they would very likely have called it in the same way Jebel Ma'in or Jebel Kurmul. We could not find that the ridge had a distinct name. 2) See under June 3d and 4th. 3) Here at Rujeim Selâmeh we took bearings: Encampment of the Jehâlîn N. 15° W. Tell 'Aråd N. 55° W. el-Milh about W. 'Ar'arah S. 70° W. At ten minutes past 2 o'clock, we reached the brow of the first descent or offset towards the Dead Sea, a steep declivity of seven or eight hundred feet, leading down to another broad tract still several hundred feet above the level of the sea. Here are a few traces of rude foundations, the site of a former village called ez-Zuweirah el-Fôka, "Upper Zuweirah." Leaving the camels to descend by the usual circuitous pass, we struck off a short distance to the right along a ridge projecting somewhat towards the S. E. on the point of which are the ruins of a square massive tower, once probably a watch-tower. Here a wide prospect spread itself out before us, over the southern part of the Dead Sea and the southern Ghôr; in which we at once recognised all the features that had already become so familiar to us at 'Ain Jidy.' Below us, still between us and the sea, lay the broad elevated tract above mentioned, thickly studded with white conical hills and short ridges of limestone and chalk of fantastic shapes, presenting the aspect of a frightful desert. It seemed here but a short distance across this tract; but from the foot of the first pass we travelled nearly four hours, and encamped without reaching the shore. Beyond lay Usdum, a low dark ridge, running off nearly S. S. E. along the shore, and then turning almost S. W. Here the long peninsula with its isthmus was on our left; and Sebbeh could not have been far distant, though it was not now visible, nor did we at any time get sight of it. The south end of the sea lay before us in perfect distinctness, opposite the S. E. angle of Usdum; and we could now mark the wet and slimy surface of the ground along the Ghôr, which had deceived us at 1) Compare generally the description of this part of the Dead Sea as seen from the cliff over 'Ain |