this pass is a conical hill still bearing the name of Tell Arad, probably the site of the ancient town.-All these circumstances lead me to place the site of Kadesh in the great valley below, near the fountain El-Weibi or one of the neighboring springs. Here it would be near the border of Edom, opposite a broad passage leading up through the eastern mountains, and in full sight of Mt. Hor. That the Israelites must have approached Palestine through the Wady Araba, is a necessary conclusion from the mountainous character of the district on the West of this valley, through which no road has ever passed.

Our further way to Hebron led us by the sites of Arara, the Aroer of Judah; and Melh, where is a fine well and the traces of a town, not improbably the ancient Moladah or Malatha. At Hebron we remained a day and a half; being obliged to send for horses to Jerusalem.

We left Hebron again on the 6th of June, taking now a S. W. course by the large village Dûra, the Adora of Josephus ; and descending the mountain to El Burj, a ruined castle of which we had heard much, but where we found no trace of antiquity. Hence we bent our course northward among the hills; and passing again through Jedna, rested for a time at Terkumieh, the Tricomias of former ages; leaving Beit Jibrin on our left. We lodged now a second time at Beit Nettif; and the next morning descending N. N. W. we came to the site of the ancient Bethshemesh in the opening of Wady Sărâr into the plain. The place is now called Ain Shems, although no fountain exists there; but the situation corresponds to the Scriptural accounts; and there are evident traces of a large city. From this point we turned our course N. W. into the plain, in search of the ancient and long lost Ekron. After travelling in this direction for four hours, we arrived at the large village Akir, an Arabic name corresponding to the Hebrew Ekron. The situation too corresponds with the accounts of Eusebius and Jerome. There are now no remains of antiquity visible; probably because the ancient houses, like the modern hovels, were built not of stone, but of earth.

From Ekron to Ramleh is two hours. Here we lodged, and the next day proceeded to Jerusalem by the camel-road, which also is the ancient Jewish and Roman way, over Lûd (Lydda), Gimzo, Lower and Upper Bethhoron (now Beit Ur), and Jib or Gibeon. The pass between the two villages of Bethhoron is a steep and rugged ascent of some 1500 feet, up the point of

a ridge between deep vallies. It is the ancient road; and has in several places steps hewn in the rock. The present shorter and less feasible route between Ramleh and Jerusalem, appears not to have been in use in the time of the Romans.-Looking down from Upper Bethhoron, a broad valley is seen in the S. W. issuing from the mountains and hills into the plain; while on the ridge that skirts its S. W. side, is seen a village called Yalo, the Arabic form for the Hebrew Ajalon. This then is probably the spot, where Joshua in pursuit of the five kings, having arrived at or near Upper Bethhoron, looked back toward Gibeon and down upon the valley before him, and uttered the command: "Sun, stand thou still on Gibeon; and Moon, in the valley of Ajalon!"

We found Jerusalem still shut up on account of the plague; and therefore pitched our tent in the Olive-grove North of the city, before the Damascus gate. Here we were joined by our travelling companion and Mr. Lanneau, who had performed their quarantine of seven days. Our other friends held communication with us from the wall; and once came out to meet us, under the charge of a guardiano or health-officer.

VII. FROM JERUSALEM NORTHWARDS TO NAZARETH, TIBERIAS, AND BEIROUT.

If my feelings were strongly excited on first entering the Holy City, they were hardly less so, on leaving it for the last time. As we had formerly approached repeating continually the salutation of the Psalmist: "Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces;" so now we could not but add "For our brethren and companions' sakes we will now say, Peace be within thee!" Her palaces indeed are long since levelled to the ground, and the haughty Moslem now treads her glory in the dust! Yet as we turned to look again from the high ground North of the city, I could not but exclaim: "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King!" One long, last look, and then turning away I bade those sacred hills farewell forever!

We left Jerusalem July 13th on mules. At Bireh we diverged from the Nablous road to the left, in order to visit Jifna, the Gophna of Josephus. It lies in a deep valley; and near it are the ruins of a large Greek church. By a circuitous route we

came to Sinjil for the night. Next morning we diverged again to the right of the usual road, in order to examine an ancient site called by the Arabs Seilûn. We reached it in an hour from Sinjil, and found it to correspond entirely to the ancient Shiloh, which Josephus also writes Siloun (ovv). We fell into the usual road again near Khan Lubban, and crossed the fine though narrow plain, on the West side of which is the village Lubban, the ancient Lebonah.

The country now began to assume a new aspect. The mountains in general are less lofty and less steep; while the vallies open out into fertile plains or basins surrounded by hills. Two hours before reaching Nablous, we entered upon the southern end of such a plain, running off N. N. E. four hours in length and nearly an hour in breadth. About the middle of the western side of this fine plain, are seen the eastern ends of Gerizim and Ebal, 800 to 1000 feet high; between which runs the narrow valley of Nablous in a direction nearly N. W. The city of Nablous lies half an hour within the valley, and directly on the water summit; the waters of the eastern part of the city flowing east into the plain, while the fine fountains on the western side send off a pretty brook towards the western sea. We visited here the Samaritans; and one of them accompanied us to the top of Gerizim, and pointed out their Kebla and other sacred places. On this summit are traces of a considerable town; and also the remains of a large and strong fortress of

stone.

On the way from Nablous to Samaria, where the road turns up the hills to the right, there is in the valley an ordinary Arab aqueduct, which leads the waters of the brook to an overshot mill. This Richardson and others have magnified into an ancient Roman bridge! At Samaria the large ruined church evidently is the work of the Knights Templars; as is testified by the frequent crosses of this order. Many columns also remain of the ancient temples; and a long colonnade extends around the southern base of the hill, for more than half a mile.-We now took the road to Jenîn, on the border of the great plain of Esdraelon; passing on our way the former robber fortress Sanûr, now a heap of ruins.

We crossed the great plain from Jenîn to Nazareth by a route somewhat East of the usual one; passing through Zer'in, the ancient Jezreel, and Sôlam, the ancient Shunem; which Jerome also writes Sulem. At a distance on the S. W. edge of the

plain, are seen Ta'annuk and Lejyun, corresponding to the ancient Taanach and Megiddo. The eastern part of the plain of Esdraelon has never yet been correctly laid down in the maps. Two mountain ridges run out into it from the East, commencing near the brow of the Jordan-valley, and extending westward to near the middle of the plain. The southern ridge is Gilboa, the northern is the Little Hermon of Jerome. They divide the eastern half of the plain into three parts; of which the northern and southern decline towards the West, and their waters flow off to the Kishon, while the middle portion, between Gilboa and Hermon, slopes to the East, and its waters descend to the Jordan through a broad valley or plain at Bisan, the ancient Bethshean. Jezreel stood on the southern brow of this central valley; in which are copious fountains. One of these is now called Jalûd, the Tubania of the Crusaders, and doubtless the ancient fountain of Jezreel.

From Nazareth we went to the summit of Mt. Tabor, where we spent an afternoon and night enjoying the wide prospect, and dwelling upon the associations connected with this beautiful mountain. Here the remains of a large fortress are visible, evidently of Saracenic origin. We descended by way of the Mount of Beatitudes (so called) and Hottin to Tiberias. The walls of this city were thrown down by the earthquake of Jan. 1837; and still lie in ruins. A single sail-boat now exists upon the lake; but we tried in vain to hire it for an excursion.-We had intended to proceed directly to Damascus ; but learned at Tiberias that the Druses of the Ledja and of Antilebanon were in a state of insurrection, so that all the routes from this quarter to Damascus were unsafe. We proceeded however to the North end of the lake; passing by Mejdel (Magdala), the plain Gennesareth with its round fountain, the ruined Khan-Minya, and the remarkable ruins of Tel Hûm. We encamped near where the Jordan enters the lake; and explored the eastern plain, and the site of the ancient Julias, the northern Bethsaida. We made minute and persevering inquiry throughout the whole country, after the ancient names Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazin; but no trace of them remains among the Arab population. If former travellers have heard them, it must have been from the monks of Nazareth or their dependents.-We now bent our course to Safet, which was destroyed by the earthquake of Jan. 1, 1837, and is still little more than a heap of ruins. Here we waited a day for intelligence; hoping yet to be able to visit

Damascus. But the account became more threatening; and we were compelled to turn our faces towards Beirout by the way of Tyre and Sidon.

While at Safet, we went to a point an hour North of the town, whence we could see the Castle of Banias and overlook the whole plain and lake of the Hûleh. The latter is but one lake, eight or ten miles long by four or five miles broad; the northern half being a mere tract of marsh covered with tall reeds or flags. Between this lake and that of Tiberias, the Jordan flows in a narrow valley, and forms no intervening lake. On the way from Safet to Tyre, nearly two hours N. W. of Safet, we saw the crater of an extinct volcano; which was probably the central point or Ableiter of the great earthquake of the preceding year, by which Safet and the adjacent villages were destroyed. -We reached Beirout June 26, 1838; and thence returned to Western Europe by Alexandria, Smyrna, Constantinople, and so across the Black Sea and up the Danube to Vienna.

ARTICLE IX.

THE ANTE-COLUMBIAN HISTORY OF AMERICA.

By Henry R. Schoolcraft, Esq. Detroit, Michigan.

Antiquitates Americanae, sive Scriptores Septentrionales Rerum Ante-Columbianarum in America. Samling af de i Nordens Oldskrifter indeholdte Efterretninger om de Gamle Nordboers Opdagelsesreiser til America fra det 10de Aarhundrede.-Edidit Societas Regia Antiquariorum Septentrionalium. Hafniae, 1837. 4to. pp. 479.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE, by the Editor.

[A very brief notice of this learned and interesting work appeared in the Repository for April 1838. Since that time we have not found it convenient to take up the subject of its important disclosures, until Mr. Schoolcraft has consented to favor us with the present Article. The work, however, has been in the country some eighteen months, and several notices of it have appeared; but it has excited less interest than the importance and attractive character