Page:Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine.djvu/170

134 of these two formations that this deep glen had been hollowed out before it had been invaded by the waters of the sea. At a subsequent period these rose to a level of about 600 feet above the present surface; and while wearing down the walls of the valley allowed the beds of marl and gravel by which the valley itself was partially filled up to be accumulated; when again the waters fell away, and receded to their present level, the torrent channelled out its bed chiefly through these softer materials, which, by their lighter colours as well as by their composition, can be easily distinguished from the older limestone strata.

We passed the interesting ruins, described by Canon Tristram, and referred by him to the period of the Crusades, though referred by Dr. Robinson, to the Saracens, and continuing our course ultimately attained to the upper surface of the table-land. The sun was now setting, and we had yet several miles of broken country to cross before reaching our camp in the Wâdy el Abd. It soon became pitch dark; but fortunately two of our Arabs from Hebron were well acquainted with the path, which they tracked with wonderful sagacity; while our horses managed to keep their footing, even when sliding down into a rocky ravine, the floor of which was quite invisible, at least to my eyes; or when climbing some slippery bank. Mile after mile was traversed in the darkness, and yet no kindly light gleamed forth amid the encircling gloom to indicate the place of our camp. At length, as we were beginning to fear we had lost our way, or had passed the camping ground in the darkness, Gordon appeared on the top of a bank holding a lantern and pointing out the way. On arriving we found ourselves inside a stony glen, the floor of which had to be cleared of stones before the tents could be pitched, and nothing was prepared for our reception. Cold and weary with a march of twelve hours or more, we went down to join our Arab escort, who, seated around their fires, were preparing the evening meal. They politely welcomed us, spread their sheepskins on the ground for us to rest on, and then proceeded to prepare coffee for us ere partaking of any themselves. After awhile our tents were got ready, and throwing ourselves on our beds "tired nature's sweet restorer—balmy sleep," soon came to our relief.

The next morning we were up and off betimes, and we continued our ascent towards the table-land by a path which wound along the