Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. V, No. XXIX., October, 1852 — John Shaqi
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. V, No. XXIX., October, 1852Various
Religion
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. V, No. XXIX., October, 1852
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
Soon after the party in the boats had landed, the camel with his
attendants arrived, and they all encamped on this spot for the night.
The scene which presented itself when the arrangements had been made
for the night was, as usual in such cases, very solemn and impressive.
The tents stood among the trees. The Arab watch-fires were burning. The
boats were drawn up upon the shore. The dark and sombre mountains rose
like a wall behind the encampment; while the smooth and placid sea was
spread out before it, reflecting with a sort of metallic lustre the
silver radiance of the moon. The stillness, too, which reigned around
seemed strange and fearful, it was so absolute and profound.
In the morning, the party, after breakfasting under the trees on the
shore, resumed their voyage. After proceeding a few miles along the
coast, they saw an Arab on the beach. The Arab hailed the party, and
they attempted to communicate with him, but could not understand what
he said. At one place they stopped to examine a mass of ruins which
they saw standing a short distance up the mountain side. The ruins
proved to be the remains of a wall, built to defend the entrances to
several caves which opened in the face of the precipice directly behind
them. The caves were perfectly dry, and one of them was large enough to
contain twenty or thirty men. There were openings cut from them through
the rock to the air above, intended apparently to serve the purpose of
chimneys. These caves were in the wilderness of En-gedi.
In fact, the boats were now drawing near to their place of destination.
At noon they arrived at the spot, and the party landing, unloaded the
boats and hauled them up upon the shore. They selected a spot for their
encampment on the little plain at the foot of the cliffs, not far from
the place where the stream descends to it from the mountain above. They
found that the gardens and other marks of vegetation which Robinson had
observed at the time of his visit, had disappeared; in other respects,
every thing corresponded with his description. The water was gushing
from the fountain as copiously as ever, and was disappearing as rapidly
in the sands of its thirsty bed, after running its short and foaming
course along its little dell. After a brief survey of the scene, the
ground was marked out, the tents were pitched, and the stores deposited
within them; the boats were hauled up and examined for repairs, and all
the arrangements made for a permanent encampment; for this was to be
the head-quarters of the expedition during all the remaining time that
they were to spend upon the sea. They named it "Camp Washington."
EXPLORINGS.
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