Page:Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine.djvu/143

 broken into by the river channels), and from its base stretches a plain covered partly, over the eastern side, by a forest of small trees and shrubs extending northwards to Es Safieh, and partly by vegetation affording pasturage to the numerous flocks of the Arabs who settle down here during the cooler months of the year. It is impossible to doubt that at no remote period the waters of the Salt Sea, though now distant some ten miles, washed the base of these cliffs; and a rise of a few feet would submerge this verdant plain, and bring back the sea to its former more extended limits.

From this position, also, the white terrace of Khashm (Jebel) Usdum, cleft by a thousand fissures, and channelled by innumerable furrows, is seen projecting from the sides of the loftier limestone terraces of the Judæan hills; and towards the east similar terraces of whitish alluvial deposits are seen clinging to the sides of the Moabite hills, or running far up the deep glens which penetrate the sides of the great table-land. In these terraces, the upper surfaces of which reach a level of about 600 feet above the waters of the Salt Sea, we behold but the remnants of an ancient sea-bed, which must originally have stretched from side to side far into the area now occupied by its waters. We naturally put to ourselves the question, "Since this sea has no outlet, what has become of the materials which have disappeared?"

On descending towards the plain we came upon numerous flocks of black goats and white sheep, tended by women in long blue cloaks, the invariable colour of women's dresses amongst the Arabs; and our way lay pleasantly through glades and thickets of small trees and bushes, green even at this time of year, but how much more so would they be in a few weeks hence after the winter rains. Through these our long train of camels wended their way, headed by Sheikh Ali, and cropping the tender twigs of the shrubs, till we reached the lower plain on which were pitched the winter camps of some hundreds of Bedawins. Presently, our party being observed from the camps, a group of merry children, with a few elders, came trooping up and arranged themselves along our line of march, regarding us with eager curiosity. It was the first group of Arab children I had seen, and a very pretty sight it was; and as I passed along they returned my "sabâh-l-khair" with a hearty chorus of little voices which was very