ut? The reply was "It is safe;" but the
whole conversation consisted of four words in the question, and one in
the answer.

Over a precipitous and broken rocky hill,--the worst piece of road I ever
met with,--till we came suddenly upon the grand savage scenery of the
Ghor, with the eastern barrier of the mountains of Gilead. The river
Jordan is not visible, as is the case in most parts, till one almost
reaches the banks.

Here the vegetation had changed its character,--leaving all civilisation
of olive-trees behind, and almost all consisting of oak and hawthorn. We
had instead the _neb'k_ or _dom-tree_, and the _ret'm_ or juniper of
Scripture; the heat excessive.

At the junction of the Valley with the Ghor are three Roman milestones,
lying parallel and close side by side,--all of them in the shape and size
stereotyped throughout the country. This, then, was probably a measured
station of unusual importance; and from it the acropolis of Bethshan just
comes into view. This is known in the country by the name of _El
Hhus'n_.

The ground was in every direction covered with black basalt fragments,
among which, however, was corn stubble remaining; and we were told that
the crop belonged to the people of Tubas.

We kept upon a straight path leading directly up to Beisan, which all the
way was intersected by running streams issuing from the hills on our
left, and going to the Jordan.

The water was not often good for drinking; but at most of these rivulets
our attendant, Suliman Bek's horseman, alighted to say his prayers, out
of fright on account of the Arab Bedaween.

Tabor N.W. and Hermon N.E. were both prominent objects in the landscape,
with the town of Beisan between the two,--the ground abounding in the
kali plant and neb'k trees, with bright yellow fruit, from which we
frequently saw clearly desert camels cropping the lower branches,
notwithstanding the long and sharp thorns upon them.

We marched straight on, from one ancient artificial mound to another,
with Beisan before us, the streams all the way increasing in width and
rapidity,--some of them bordered, or even half-choked, with a jungle of
oleander in flower, hemlock, gigantic canes, wild fig-trees, neb'k, and
tangled masses of blackberry. Some of them we had to ford, or even leap
our horses over. We were surprised at such torrents of water rushing
into the Jordan at such a season of the year.

Reached Beisan at half-past six,--a wild-looking pl