the south of the lake, the shore is a long and
narrow strip between the mountain and the sea.
In a few minutes more we reached an angle in
the cliffs, where the beach cannot be more than
thirty yards in width. Here is a mound of
stones, evidently the debris of some work of
man.* When we had passed this, the view
to the front was again hidden by a projecting
rock some half mile distant; but our attention
was now engaged by the long range of salt
cliffs on our right. At its foot lay huge
detached blocks of salt, dark layers of which, in
the heights above, were to be seen alternating
with beds of limestone.

* The place is called Um-Zoghal, and has been
declared by M. de Saulcy to furnish traces of the
ruins of Sodom.

The Jebel Usdum is a saddle-backed ridge
some four hundred feet in height, and about
five miles in length. On the eastern side, facing
the sea, the cliffs are steep and abrupt, but on
the west the ridge is only separated by a
considerable depression from the wilderness of
Judæa, as we had observed whilst crossing the
plain to the north.

The cliffs and the coast soon curved
considerably to the east, the former now appearing
to terminate at a distance of about three miles.
Immediately before this point is a cave, where
we halted to rest. I happened to ride on, and
was surprised to find that the ridge does not
end there, but strikes away to the S.S.W.,
extending for some distance, although with a
gradual depression towards the plain. On
rounding these rocks the sense of silence and
solitude was most profound.

Here, at the extreme south-west corner of
the lake, is a marshy bay composed of sloppy
salt, and presenting the appearance of half-
thawed snow, but of a pinkish hue.

Leaving the cave, we retraced our steps as
quickly as possible to the mouth of the Wady,
where we had been robbed. After passing this,
there was just sufficient light left to enable us
to notice three distinct lines of beach, which
were again observed at intervals before we
reached Ain Jidy. The highest is about fifty
feet above the lake. Continuing our ride along
the foot of the mountains for another hour and
a half, the camp-fire was at length espied on
some bold cliffs overhanging the lake. But it
seemed as though we should never reach it, for
tire place had been well chosen; being
inaccessible except by the precipitous path we had
to follow, and by a similar one from the other
side.

That night there was only one skin of water
in the camp, and it was intensely foul; our
beds were soaked, and we were wearied with
twelve hours' ride. To add to our misfortunes,
one of us set his tent on fire, although it was
soon put out. But the Bedouin furnished us
with an extraordinary example of endurance;
not one of them thought of sleeping. During
the whole of that dreary night they sat and
watched, and when the morrow came, and with
it intolerable thirst, they were ready as ever to
start, and toiled on through the day (without a
murmur) under a broiling sun and over burning
rocks.

During the morning we noticed some porcupine
quills—a circumstance which tends to refute
the old popular belief that no animal life can
exist in the immediate vicinity of the Dead Sea.
But the idea has long since been exploded by the
experience of other travellers. It is curious
how often nature partially compensates for the
blessings which in certain regions she withholds.
An instance of this was afforded by a peculiar
growth on the rocks—most revolting in appearance
—which the Bedouin declared possessed a
marvellous effect in allaying thirst. They knelt
down and licked it eagerly from the naked
cliffs. We were told that it is peculiar to these
shores, and certainly never saw it again during
our travels in Syria. About noon we found
ourselves nearly opposite the middle of the
peninsula, which forms a remarkable feature in
the lake. It presents a light-coloured appearance,
and although as a whole it is raised but
a very few feet above the level of the sea, the
sides are steepish near the water's edge. The
heat was becoming intense, and the glare from
the barren rocks almost intolerable. We now
parted from our baggage, directing the men
to proceed along the shore till they reached
Ain Jidy, which lay sunk beyond the furthest
headland we could see: our path led us more
to the left, and placed between us a mass of
white deposit, resembling mortar, which extends
for miles along the foot of the mountains,
furrowed and worn by countless streams from the
wilderness above. A specimen was analysed on
our return to England, and found to contain no
less than 6.88 per cent of salts, soluble in water,
viz. chlor. sodium, 4.559, chlor. calcium, 2.08,
chlor. magnesium, 0.241. Bromine was
distinctly found.

We halted to dismount beneath the towering
cliff of the ancient Masada, which the Arabs
call Sebbeh—one of the most attractive objects
of our journey. Owing to its magnificent
position, its romantic history, and the mystery
which has hung over its actual site for ages,
the fortress of Masada ranks very high in
interest amongst the ruins of Palestine.
Following a steep and winding path up the rocks
to the north, in about thirty minutes we gained
the first level of the Judæan wilderness. The
summit of the cliff is inaccessible from this
region, except by one saddle-backed ridge of
shingle on the west, terribly steep. It was
reached in another quarter of an hour, and
found to be a table-land some mile in
circumference, and surrounded by a wall which on the
north-west is strengthened by towers. The
face of the precipice on this side is full of tombs
and caves. An old pointed archway, very perfect
and picturesque, leads into the enclosure, where
we found four distinct ruins; one of these on
the north presents the appearance of the apse
of a church; we also noticed tanks to collect
the water. Quantities of mosaic lay scattered