86

POPULATION OF HEBRON.

plore the land of Canaan, and was afterward assigned to Caleb for his good conduct on that occasion. It was subsequently the capital of David's kingdom, before the capture of Jerusalem, which, as a more central position, became afterward the seat of government. Absalom made Hebron his headquarters in his unnatural rebellion against his father. It was one of the cities assigned to the Levites for a residence and a city of refuge; "but the fields and villages thereof were given unto Caleb." From its strong position in the "hill country of Judah," and its proximity to regions occupied by the Bedouins, it has ever been, and it still is, a place of great military importance. It is now, as in the days of David and Absalom, a focus of discontent; and there is no place in his dominions where the Pacha of Egypt finds more difficulty in subjecting the people to his iron rule.

I was not able to obtain any satisfactory information with regard to the present population of Hebron. The Jewish rabbi and his friend, who appeared to possess some degree of intelligence, thought it could not amount to above four or five thousand. The extent of the city and the number of houses would lead to the belief that it might contain three times as many inhabitants. Many of the houses, however, are unoccupied, and a great many people have abandoned the city in consequence of the disasters brought upon it by the frequent rebellions and tumults of which it has lately been the theatre. During the last year it was for some time occupied by a body of irregular troops, who were in arms against the Pacha of Egypt, and the whole region was just now again agitated by an insurrection, headed by the sheik of one of the small towns, distant only a few hours' ride from Hebron. It was suppressed, with some bloodshed, by a body of soldiers, who were ordered to march upon this place, I believe from Nablous, and whose presence here fills the peaceable part of the popula

AGRICULTURE AND TRADE.

87

tion, especially the Jews, with serious apprehensions for their safety. The rebel sheik and his followers have fled to the Desert.

Hebron was stormed by the Egyptian army, under Ibrahim Pacha, in the year 1834, when it was in rebellion against the government. The peaceable inhabitants were the chief sufferers in the scenes of violence and pillage which ensued. It is not surprising that so many disasters should have produced a general feeling of insecurity, and led to the partial depopulation of Hebron. Its trade and manufactures have suffered in an equal degree, and many of the shops are quite deserted. There are still some manufactories of glass, and the products of the vineyards and fruit-trees, which cover all the valleys and arable land in the vicinity, form the basis of a considerable commerce. The grapes, which now appear in the bazars in the form of raisins, are uncommonly large and fine. Olive-trees are very numerous in the neighbourhood, and quite equal in size and appearance to any I have ever seen. I also observed many fig, quince, and apricot trees, all very fine. The vines and fruit-trees are, for the most part, enclosed in small fields or gardens, with stone lodges in the midst for the accommodation of the cultivator, or the persons who are stationed there to guard the fruit at the season of its maturity. The sides and tops of the mountain, though very stony, are covered with rich pasturage; and a great numbar of cattle, sheep, and goats, which, almost without exception, are large and fat, form another important branch of the industry and wealth of Hebron. The hill country of Judah is rough and mountainous; but it is highly productive, and, under a paternal government, would be capable of sustaining a large population.

April 8, 1840. The ride from Hebron to Bethlehem, performed on horses, usually takes five hours. We set out at half past seven o'clock. The road was excessively bad,

88

THE ROAD TO JERUSALEM.

and the attempts which have been made to improve it, by making a kind of rough pavement for the first two miles from Hebron, have made it much worse. This pavement, which is of hard limestone, and worn perfectly smooth by long use, was so slippery, after the rain of the previous day, that it was with the utmost difficulty the camels which carried our baggage, and the donkeys which we were compelled to ride, all the horses in the place having been previously engaged, could keep their feet. The cultivation continues in this direction for a considerable distance from Hebron, and the hillsides are covered with fig-trees and vines. The vineyard and olive grounds were also extensively sown with wheat.

In a little less than an hour from Hebron we passed the ruins of a village which lay near our route upon the left. At half past nine we were opposite to a ruinous tower on the left, and directly after are a fountain and some ruins on the right. The road continued to be very rough and labo̟rious, abounding in steep places, and always obstructed with rocks and loose stones. Its direction is north, or a little east of north, and, as this is the shortest and apparently the most practicable route from Hebron to Jerusalem, it was, beyond all reasonable doubt, the great ancient thoroughfare between those important cities. It is manifest that here was never a good road, which could only have been made at great labour and expense, and by such excavations and constructions as must have left very traceable vestiges through all succeeding ages. The kings and nobles of Israel must have been content to ride on horseback, and dismount occasionally to lead over the worst part of the way.

That this region once supported a numerous population, is very evident from the frequency and extent of ruined terraces and dilapidated towns. It is now abandoned and desolate at the distance of about two miles from Hebron.

RUINED VILLAGES AND TOWERS.

89

The hills are covered with the prickly oak and some other stunted trees, which furnish Bethlehem and other villages with fuel. We saw a large number of women employed in collecting the wood and carrying it to the market. Hardly any of the sticks exceeded one or two inches in diameter. They bind them into large bundles with ropes made of camels' hair or coarse black wool, and bear them upon their backs, securing them by bringing the rope across the forehead. Several of these females were young girls of handsome features and fair complexions, though they generally look haggard and overworked. They carry these heavy loads from five to ten miles, and we passed scores of them all along our way to Bethlehem.

About eleven o'clock we came to another ruinous village. Here is a reservoir to collect and preserve the rain-water, upon which, in the entire want or scarcity of living fountains, this country must ever have been chiefly dependant. Here, too, is a ruinous tower, and some olive-trees and other marks of cultivation adorn this now forsaken spot. A little farther on, upon the summit of a hill to the left of our route, stands another ruined tower, the work of the Saracens or their enemies the Crusaders, or, perhaps, of an epoch still more remote. The frequency of these military remains shows clearly that this was an important and frequented route at the time of their construction, and they ought, perhaps, to be regarded as memorials of the grievous calamities with which wars and revolutions have blighted this once prosperous region. We passed a second reservoir soon af ter, close by the wayside, and about noon were opposite to another on the left of the route.

At the distance of about five hours from Hebron, after winding along a narrow, rocky valley for some time, we saw some extensive ruins in a deeper valley on our right, which are, probably, the remains of a monastic establish

ment.

90

THE POOLS OF SOLOMON.

A little farther on, and one hour from Bethlehem, are the Pools of Solomon. They consist of three vast, quadrangular basins, which occupy a hillside sloping eastward, and so arranged that the water which passes from the upper or western basin is received by the second, from which it passes into the third. I was unable to measure them, but they are stated to be, respectively, three hundred and eighty, six hundred, and six hundred and sixty feet in length, by a variable breadth of about two hundred and seventy feet.* They are walled with square stones and lined with a coat of cement, the whole having the appearance of great antiquity. The bottom is formed of the natural rock, which slopes to the east.

The principal fountain, from which these pools are supplied, is distant from the upper reservoir some thirty or forty rods. It was closed with stones, but I have since learned from a gentleman who has carefully explored the interior, that the entrance leads, by a considerable descent, into two vaulted rooms, formed of several stone arches, with one of brick. The water of four springs or sources is collected here, and conducted into another subterranean reservoir, near to the pool. From this the largest portion of the water passes into an aqueduct, the channel of which is formed of earthen pipes, secured in a line of substantial and wellcemented masonry, which winds along the sides of the mountains, in order to maintain the proper level until it reaches Jerusalem. This is a stupendous work, considering the age in which it was probably achieved, and is, perhaps, the oldest aqueduct in existence. It gives us a high idea of the state of the arts among the Jews at that early day, and exhibits the character and policy of the greatest and wisest of their kings in a very favourable light. The * Dr. Robinson gives their dimensions as follows: Lower Pool, length, 582 feet; greatest breadth, 207 feet; depth, 50 feet. Middle Pool, length, 423 feet; greatest breadth, 250 feet; depth, 39 feet.

Upper Pool, length,

380 feet; greatest breadth, 236 feet; depth, 25 feet.-Researches, v. ii., p. 165.