53. Pisgah, put for the range of Mountains of Abarim, near to Nebo, Abarim, of which Pisgah was part; 21, 20. 54. By the way of Bashan to the plains of Moab by Jordan, near Jericho; Num. 21, 33. 22, 1. vs. 47. Plains of Moab by Jordan, near NOTE XL.-Page 243. ITINERARIES. In April, 1835, the Rev. E. Smith made a journey from Beirût along the coast to Yâfa, and thence to Jerusalem. There were ladies in the party, and they travelled leisurely. The following Nos. 1 and 2, are from imperfect notes of that journey. No. 3 is from the Rev. Mr Lanneau, drawn up from his own notes; and gives the usual rate between Jerusalem and Yâfa. In comparing Nos. 2 and 3 the leisure travelling of one party must be taken into account; as well as the fact, that in one case the direction of the journey was up the mountain, and in the other down. Bâb el-Wady NOTE XLI.-Page 423. EARTHQUAKE AT SAFED. The following is the Report of Mr Thomson mentioned in the text, so far as it relates to Safed. He reached that place on the 18th of Jan. 1837. The earthquake took place on the 1st of the same month. See Missionary Herald for Nov. 1837, p. 436 sq. "Just before we began to ascend the mountain of Safed, we met our consular agent of Sidon, returning home with his widowed sister. His brother-in-law, a rich merchant of Safed, had been buried up to his neck by the ruins of his fallen house, and in that awful condition remained several days, begging and calling for help, and at last died before any one was found to assist him! As we ascended the steep mountain, we saw several dreadful rents and cracks in the earth and rocks, giving painful indications of what might be expected above. But all anticipations were utterly confounded when the reality burst upon our sight. "Up to this moment I had refused to credit the accounts; but one frightful glance convinced me, that it was not in the power of language to overstate such a ruin. Suffice it to say that this great town, which seemed to me like a bee-hive four years ago, and was still more so only eighteen days ago, is now no more. Safed was, but is not. The Jewish portion, containing a population of five or six thousand, was built around and upon a very steep mountain; so steep, indeed, is the hill, and so compactly built was the town, that the roofs of the lower houses formed the street of the ones above, thus rising like a stairway one over another. And thus, when the tremendous shock dashed every house to the ground in a moment, the first fell upon the second, the second upon the third, that on the next, and so on to the end. And this is the true cause of the almost unprecedented destruction of life. Some of the lower houses are covered to a great depth, with the ruins of many others which were above them. From this cause it also occurred, that a vast number who were not instantaneously killed, perished before they could be dug out; and some were taken out five, six, and one (I was told) seven days after the shock, still alive. One solitary man, who had been a husband and a father, told me, that he found his wife with one child under her arm, and the babe with the breast still in its mouth. He supposed the babe had not been killed by the falling ruins, but had died of hunger, endeavouring to draw nourishment from the breast of its lifeless mother! Parents frequently told me, that they heard the voices of their little ones crying papa, mamma, fainter and fainter, until hushed in death; while they were either struggling in despair, to free themselves, or labouring to remove the fallen timber and rocks from their children. "What a dismal spectacle! As far as the eye can reach, nothing is seen but one vast chaos of stones and earth, timber and boards, tables, chairs, beds, and clothing, mingled in horrible confusion. Men everywhere at work, worn out and woe-begone, uncovering their houses in search of the mangled and putrified bodies of departed friends; while here and there, I noticed companies of two or three each, clambering over the ruins, bearing a dreadful load of corruption to the narrow house appointed for all living. I covered my face and passed on through the half-living, wretched remnants of Safed. Some were weeping in despair, and some laughing in callousness still more distressing. Here an old man sat solitary on the wreck of his once crowded house; there a child was at play, too young to realize that it had neither father nor mother, brother nor relative, in the wide world. They flocked around, us husbands that had lost their wives, wives their husbands, parents without children, children without parents, and not a few left as the solitary remnants of large connections. The people were scattered abroad, above and below the ruins, in tents of old boards, old carpets, mats, canvas, brush, and earth, and not a few dwelling in the open air; while some poor wretches, wounded and bruised, were left among the prostrate buildings, every moment exposed to death from the loose rocks around and above them. "As soon as our tent was pitched, Mr C. and myself set off to visit the wounded. Creeping under a wretched covering, intended for a tent, the first we came to, we found an emaciated young female lying on the ground, covered with the filthiest garments I ever saw. After examining several wounds, all in a state of mortification, the poor old creature that was waiting on her lifted up the cover of her feet, when a moment's glance convinced me that she could not possibly survive another day. The foot had dropped off, and the flesh also, leaving the leg-bone altogether bare! Sending some laudanum to relieve the intolerable agony of her last hours, we went on to other but equally dreadful scenes. Not to shock the feelings by detailing what we saw, I will only mention one other case; and I do it to show what immense suffering these poor people have endured, for the last eighteen days. Clambering over a heap of ruins, and entering a low vault by a hole, I found eight of the wounded crowded together under a vast pile of crumbling rocks. Some with legs broken in two or three places, others so horribly lacerated and swollen as scarcely to retain the shape of mortals; while all, left without washing, changing bandages, or dressing their wounds, were in such a deplorable state, as rendered it impossible for us to remain with them long enough to do them any good. Although protected by spirits of camphor, breathing through my handkerchief dipped in it, and fortified with a good share of resolution, I was obliged to retreat. Convinced, that while in such charnel-houses as this, without air but such as would be fatal to the life of a healthy person, no medicines would afford relief, we returned to our tent, resolving to erect a large temporary shed of boards, broken doors, and timber, for the accommodation of the wounded. The remainder of our first day was spent in making preparations for erecting this little. hospital. "Jan. 19th. This has been a very busy day, but still our work advanced slowly. We found the greatest difficulty to get boards and timber; and when the carpenters came, they were without proper tools. In time, however, we got something in the shape of saws, axes, nails, and mattocks; and all of us labouring hard, before night the result began to appear. The governor visited and greatly praised our work, declaring that he had not thought such a thing could have been erected; and that the government had not been able to obtain half so good a place for its own accommodation. Some of the wounded were brought and laid down before us, long before any part of the slight building was ready for their reception; and are now actually sheltered in it, although it is altogether unfinished. After dark, I accompanied the priest, to visit the remainder of the Christian population of Safed. They were never numerous, and having lost about one half of their number, are now crowded into one great tent. Several were wounded; to these we gave medicine. Some were orphans, to whom we gave clothing; and the poor people had their necessities supplied, as well as our limited means would justify. Among the survivors is a worthy man, who has long wished to be connected with us, and in whom we have felt much interest. He applied about a year ago to have his son admitted to our high school; but he was then too young. When I left Beirût, it was my intention to bring this lad with me on my return, should he be alive; but alas! the afflicted father has to mourn not only his death, but that of his mother, and of all his beloved family but one. "The earth continues to tremble and shake. There have been many slight, and some very violent shocks, since we arrived. About three o'clock to day, while I was on the roof of our building nailing down boards, we had a tremendous shock. A cloud of dust arose above the falling ruins, and the people all rushed out from them in dismay. Many began to pray with loud and lamentable cries; and females beat their bare breasts with all their strength, and tore their garments in despair. The workmen threw down their tools and fled. Soon, however, order was restored, and we proceeded as usual. I did not feel this shock, owing to the fact that the roof of the shed was shaking all the time. Once, however, the jerk was so sudden and violent, as to affect my chest and arms precisely like an electric shock. "Jan. 20th. Having finished our work, collected the wounded, distributed medicine and clean bandages for dressing the wounds, and hired a native physician to attend the hospital, we left Safed about half-past one o'clock P. M. and after a pleasant ride of five hours and a half, encamped before the ruins of Tiberias. "The destruction of life at Tiberias has not been so great, in proportion to the population, as at Safed; owing mainly to the fact, that Tiberias is built on a level plain, and Safed on the declivity of the mountain. Probably about seven hundred perished here, out of a population of twenty-five hundred; while at Safed, four thousand out of five thousand Christians and Jews were killed; and not far from one thousand Mussulmans.' "" |