contain the elements of Samachonitis, the Greek name for the Hûleh. It is, however, pronounced as though written with a koff (guttural k) instead of kaf, and in that case it is the name for the bush summāk, the sumach of the tanner. Whatever be the origin and relations of the name, the position is beautiful, and it is supplied with a fine spring of water, flowing out from the base of the hill. Half an hour farther south are ruins called Joaiza, and there we encamped for the night, near the tent of the Emeer Hussein el Fudlethe supreme chief of all the Arabs in that part of the Jaulan. He is a young man of quiet manners and modest deportment, of few words, but sincere and truthful-all remarkable exceptions in his race and station. He traces his pedigree back directly to Mohammed, and the highest sheikhs and emeers of the Jaulan kiss his hand in acknowledgment of his superior rank. We were received with great respect; fresh coffee was roasted, and a sheep brought up, slaughtered, and quickly cooked before our tent, and the extemporaneous feast spread for us in presence of the emeer. Though he did not literally run to the herd and bring it himself, others did at his bidding, and the whole affair brought the patriarch Abraham most vividly to mind. Like our emeer, he dwelt in tents, and his dependents were encamped about him with their flocks and herds.

There were not more than thirty tents at this encampment, and, upon inquiry, I found, to my surprise, that the people were nearly all the slaves of the emeer. They and their ancestors have belonged to his family for so many generations that all trace of their real origin is lost. Their complexion also has softened into the bronze of the genuine Arab, and the negro features are almost obliterated. The true Bedawîn, however, never intermarry with them, though the villagers and artisans who settle among them occasionally do. They are the property of the emeer in a restricted sense, and so are the flocks and herds which they are permitted to hold, and he does not hesitate to take what he wants, nor can they refuse his demands, whatever they may be. But then custom, or law, or both, utterly forbids him

ARAB SLAVES CAMP SCENE.

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to sell them. I inquired into all these matters the next day as we rode through the country under the protection and guidance of his head-servant, who reminded me constantly of "Eliezur of Damascus." In answer to my question, he exclaimed, in indignant surprise, "Sell us! istugfar AllahGod forbid!" They are, in fact, the home-born servants of the very ancient house of el Fudle, and, like the three hundred and eighteen in Abraham's family, they are his warriors in times of need, which, in one way or another, happens almost daily. They seem to be attached to the emeer, or rather, perhaps, to his family name, rank, power, and honor. Their own honor, safety, and influence all depend upon him. I was almost startled to find that the emeer was entirely governed by one of his own slaves. He does nothing of himself; and this modern Eliezur not only disposes of his master's goods, but manages the affairs of government very much as he pleases. All the Arabs of the Hûleh and Jaulan greatly fear and court this chief servant. He is shrewd, efficient, and sometimes cruel; nor is any man's life safe if its owner becomes obnoxious to Master Dauk. But a truce to him and his master. Other matters about this encampment of genuine Ishmaelites were equally interesting.

In the evening the flocks began to concentrate around this Joaiza from every part of the surrounding desert. It was a noisy, lively, and really beautiful scene. The young

donkeys, calves, kids, and lambs that had been kept up during the day, now let out from the folds, rushed bleating and braying every which way, seeking their parents. They were finally shut in, and every thing in the camp became quiet except the dogs. These kept up an incessant and angry barking all night long; and I understood that there were supposed to be robbers lurking about, who, but for these watchful sentinels, would carry off lambs, and even camels, from the outskirts of the encampment.

These dogs of the Bedawîn are extremely fierce, and it is not a little dangerous, as I have repeatedly experienced, to come upon an encampment in the night. They are an indispensable part of the shepherd's equipage, and appear to

have been so even in the time of Job. And, by the way, this Jaulan was Job's country. His flocks and herds roamed over these same wild "walks," and were exposed to the very same dangers that now task the courage of these Arab shepherds. In these inaccessible ravines were the lion's den, the tiger's lair, and pits for bears and wolves; and across these vast plateaus the flying bands of Sabean robbers roved in search of plunder. The country, the people, the manners and customs, remain unchanged from remote antiquity. Job was a great emeer of the Hauran; and if he were there now, he might find the same kind of enemies to plunder and kill, and even natural phenomena very similar to the great fire that burnt up the sheep, and the mighty wind from the wilderness that overturned the houses of his children. Destructive fires often sweep over the desert, and angry hurricanes hurl to the ground the habitations of man. I would not, however, be understood to bring down the patient man of Uz to a level with the modern emeers of Arabia. He was an agriculturist as well as shepherd; an honest man, and not a robber; one that feared God and eschewed evil, and not a fanatical follower of the false prophet.

The night air at Joaiza was keen and cold; indeed, there was a sharp frost, and ice appeared on all the little pools. about the camp. Jacob had experience of such alternations between blazing sun and biting frost. In the day the draught consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep. departed from me, was the indignant reply to his avaricious father-in-law.1 In the present case the cold was owing mainly to the great elevation of the Jaulan-not less, on an average, than two thousand five hundred feet above the sea. It is a grand volcanic plateau, comparatively level, but with a line of singular tells running from Hermon southward to the Jermuk. The first is Tell Ahmar, south of Lake Phiala. Three miles south of this is Tell Sheikha, then Tell Burm, next the great double Tell Aramein-the north peak called Aram, and the south Abu Nidy. About four

1 Gen. xxxi. 40.

LINE OF. TELLS-DESERT OF THE JAULAN.

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miles farther south is Tell Yusuf, and next it Tell el Khanzîr. Tell el Farus is the last and the loftiest of the list. Few persons, I presume, ever ride over the hills of Galilee without admiring these tall, sugar-loaf landmarks on the eastern side of the Jordan, and wishing to know their names and character. To such, at least, the above list will be satisfactory; and the only additional statement I have to make in regard to them is that, though seen at such a great distance they appear small, they are, in reality, rough volcanic mounts, and some of them very respectable mountains. Beyond them, eastward and southward, stretch the vast and fertile plains of the Hauran, now and always the granary of Central Syria and Northern Arabia. The Jaulan, however, is entirely given up to pasturage, and, from the nature of the soil and climate, it will continue to be so, although there are places which might be cultivated with any kind of grain, and orchards would flourish every where. It is exceedingly well watered in all parts, except the region between the Lakes Phiala and Tiberias. There the fountains and streams dry up early in spring, and the weary traveler must carry his water-bottle with him if he would not be "consumed with drought."

We started early next morning with a letter and guide from the emeer to Sheikh Fareij, whose camp was somewhere, about a day's journey in the desert southward of Joaiza. In that general direction our guide led us across endless fields of lava, and most of the time without any road that I could see, or my horse either. We crossed many tracks, however, which led down to the Hûleh, to Jisr Benat Yacobe, and to this Butaiha, and encountered numerous wadies, some shallow, others deep and ugly, which descend -to the Jordan and the lakes. For the first hour we were surrounded by the droves and flocks of the emeer, and I noticed a shepherd kindly carrying in his 'aba a new-born lamb, and a woman sedulously teaching a young calf what its mouth was made for, and how to manage its spasmodic legs. Such acts not only remind one of the patriarchs who dwelt in tents and tended cattle, but also of that Good Shep