yond. At 2 o'clock a Wady came down directly from the mountain, (here half an hour or more distant,) bearing the same name, 'Arâif, and passing on W. S. W. to the Kureiyeh. Under one of its low banks the corpse of a man had been recently half-buried, and a few stones placed around; some of the toes and a few rags were visible; and our Arabs said the hyaenas would soon devour the body.

Proceeding on the same course N. N. W. we came at 3 o'clock to the top of the low ridge, running out W. from Jebel 'Arâif. Here we could look back over the desert tract we had just crossed, bounded on the S. by low hills at a great distance, the whole of it drained by the Kureiyeh into Wady el-'Arîsh. Before us was another plain, extending into the mountains towards the right and bounded on the N. by a line of higher hills about two hours distant. From this point in our road, Jebel 'Arâif bore N. 70° E. about a mile distant. Jebel Ikhrimm bore W. being separated from the ridge on which we stood only by Wady el-Kureiyeh. At a much greater distance in the W. N. W. appeared a high and longer mountain called Yelek; and more to the right, about N. N. W. another called el-Helâl. Both these last were said to be beyond Wady el-'Arish.

A short and steep descent now brought us in ten minutes to the bed of Wady el-Mâyein or el Ma'ein, which flowing along the northern base of Jebel 'Arâif and the ridge further West goes to unite with the Kureiyeh. It has its head far up among the mountains on the right; and in it are the wells of the same name already mentioned. Its bed bears evident traces of a large volume of water; and the flat plain beyond is much cut up by its torrents. The bed of the Wady and the adjacent part of the plain are covered with stones, some quite large, apparently brought down by VOL. I.

35

the waters from the mountains. Crossing the plain on a course N. we encamped at half past 4 o'clock at the foot of the line of hills which bound it on this side; Jebel 'Arâif bearing from our tent S. 55° E. in full view, about three miles distant. On this plain comes in the road from the Convent to Gaza, which passes by 'Ain and eth-Themed.-Our tent was pitched near a shallow water-course running off to Wady el-Mâyein, full of herbs and shrubs like most of the Wadys we had passed, and affording fine pasture for the camels. Among the shrubs of the desert, the Retem or broom was particularly abundant, and of a larger size than we had before seen it.

We had now left the country of the Haiwât, and entered that of the southern Tiyâhah. Here too ends the region or desert of the Tîh, through which we had been travelling ever since we left the 'Arabah. The territory of the Haiwât commences, as we have seen, at the northern ridge of Jebel et-Tîh; and extends northwards along and adjacent to the 'Arabah as far as to the mountains 'Arâif and el-Mukrâh; where the high ridge between rises like a wall and forms a boundary on this side. On the West of this tribe lies the country of the Tiyâhah, also extending from Jebel etTîh through the middle of the desert northwards beyond that of the Haiwât, to the vicinity of Gaza and Beersheba. The Tiyâhah are divided into the Beneiyât and the Sukeirât. Still further West are the Terâbîn, dwelling from the mountains near Suez to the region of Gaza; their main body being found not far distant from the latter place. This tribe is the strongest of all, and is closely leagued with the Tiyâhah.

The mountainous district North of Jebel 'Arâif and el-Mukrâh, and between el-'Arabah and the Tiyâhah, is inhabited by the 'Azâzimeh, who are in close alliance with the former tribe, and sometimes pasture

within their territory. Still further North along the Ghôr, are the Sa'îdîn or Sa'îdîyeh, the Dhullâm, and the Jehâlîn; the latter dwelling between Hebron and the Dead Sea. Our guides mentioned also the names of the Sawârikeh, the Jebârât, and the Henâjireh, as living in the same region; respecting whom we learned nothing further, and heard of them no more.—The above, so far as we could ascertain, are all the Arab tribes inhabiting the great western desert.

We had now become so far acquainted with the general features of this region, as to perceive the reason, why all the roads leading across it from 'Akabah and from the Convent to Hebron and Gaza, should meet together in one main trunk in the middle of the desert. The whole district adjacent to the 'Arabah, North of Jebel 'Arâif and el-Mukrâh, as has been said, is mountainous; and is composed, as we afterwards found, of steep ridges running mostly from East to West, and presenting almost insuperable obstacles to the passage of a road parallel to the 'Arabah. In consequence, no great route now leads, or ever has led, through this district; but the roads. from 'Akabah which ascend from Wady el-'Arabah and in any degree touch the high plateau of the desert S. of el-Mukrâh, must necessarily all curve to the West, and passing around the base of Jebel 'Arâif el-Nâkah, continue along the western side of this mountainous

tract.

We felt assured, therefore, that we were now upon the ancient Roman road, as marked upon the Peutinger Tables, leading across this desert from 'Akabah to Jerusalem; whether it ascended from the 'Arabah by the route we had followed; or, as is more probable, kept along the 'Arabah for a time and then ascended through Wady Beyâneh. We inquired very minutely after the names of Rasa (Gerasa) and Gypsaria, the

first stations marked on the ancient road, and also mentioned by Ptolemy; but could find no trace of anything corresponding to them. Of the other stations, still North of us, Lysa, Eboda, and Elusa, as also Beersheba, we hoped to be able to give a better account; for our guides had already spoken of a Wady Lussân, of ruins called 'Abdeh and Khulasah, and of wells at Bîr es-Seba'.

In respect to the route of the Israelites in approaching Palestine, we here obtained only the conviction, that they could not have passed to the westward of Jebel 'Arâif; since such a course would have brought them directly to Beersheba, and not to Kadesh; which latter city lay near to the border of Edom.'

Tuesday, April 10th. Mounting at 5 o'clock, we ascended the line of hills immediately before us, by a very stony path, reaching the top in twenty-five minutes. We found the ridge to be broad; though we began soon to descend gradually through a small Wady. On our right and towards the N. E. was now a mountainous tract; consisting of steep limestone ridges running parallel to each other from E. to W. three or four hundred feet in height, and terminating towards the West in steep bluffs. Our course was still N. by W. parallel to the end of these bluffs and at no great distance from them, through a lower and more open region. Before us was another large Wady running West, and then another line of hills lower than the bluffs; and such continued to be the make of the land for the greater part of the day. At 61 35′ we came down upon Wady Lussân, a broad plain swept over by torrents descending from the mountains on the right and flowing to Wady el-'Arîsh. Our guides knew of no fountain or water in this valley; nor of

1) Num. xx. 16.

any ruins. The name, however, and perhaps the position, corresponds to Lysa, a station on the Roman road, lying according to Rennell about fifty-five geogr. miles from Ailah; from which place we had now travelled about thirty hours by a longer route. The ancient road could only have been, like ours, a caravan path; and Lysa and the other places marked upon it further S. were very probably mere stations, with a guard and a few tents or huts, and without water except as supplied from cisterns or from a distance. On our left, just as we reached the plain, were a few remains of rude walls, and foundations, which we regarded at the time as marking only the site of a former Arab encampment. But from the many similar remains which we afterwards saw along the road, I am now inclined to suppose, that they may have belonged to the substructions of Lysa.

We were fifteen minutes in crossing this plain, and at 6h 50 entered upon another tract of undulating hilly country, which indeed might almost be called mountainous. A path went off on the right, leading to some rain-water in the rocks at the head of Wady Jerûr; falling into our road again further on. In a few minutes more, the path from the fountain Mâyein, which left ours yesterday, came in from the right. We here entered a large plain, or basin, drained by a water-course near the middle, with its branches, called Wady el-Muzeiri'ah, running S. W. to the Lussân. This we reached at a quarter past seven. This whole basin was full of shrubs and vegetation, and seemed capable of tillage. Indeed, in several spots we saw traces of rude ploughing; and were told that in years

1) Comparat. Geogr. of Western Asia, I. p. 92.-It is marked in the Peutinger Tables at 48 R. M. South of Eboda, equivalent to

about 18 hours with camels. From Wady Lussân, however, to Eboda, we found only 14 hours.