Rev. H. B. Tristram on the Ornithology of Palestine. 247 



and then gave up the reckoning in despair. In one morning 

 Messrs. Shepherd and Upcher brought down five birds with 

 their rifles, in the Wady Hamam, all of which were skinned the 

 next day by Mr. Bartlett — a piece of taxidermy we flattered our- 

 selves not easily to be surpassed, at least in quantity. 



Few ravines can surpass in grandeur these gorges, although 

 they are wholly without the setting of mountain scenery. The 

 Wady Hamam is celebrated in Jewish history as the stronghold 

 of a powerful band of rebels and robbers, who for years set at 

 defiance all the power of Herod and the Romans. On either 

 side the cliff's rise to a perpendicular height of more than 1000 

 feet, perforated and honeycombed by a multitude of caverns, 

 holes, and narrow passages, with broken galleries and arches 

 almost suspended in mid air, with their basements worn away by 

 the action of time on the soft limestone. Again and again the 

 troops of Herod were defeated by these robbers, until, at length, 

 parties of soldiers, armed with grappling-irons, were let down 

 by chains in boxes. These succeeded in effecting a lodgment, 

 and dragging out the defenders with their hooks, dashed them 

 down the precipice. The caverns were again fortified at the 

 commencement of the war with Titus; but from that day to this 

 have remained the undisturbed home of the Griffbns, which have 

 appropriated galleries and chambers, whether outer or inner, 

 to their domestic purposes, while even the neighbouring shep- 

 herds superstitiously shrink from investigating them. Travel- 

 lers have ridden past these wondrous labyrinths with only a 

 slight notice, and so probably might we, had we not discovered 

 them to be tenanted so much to our mind. Alas ! Herod^s 

 army had neglected to leave us their boxes and chains, and we 

 had to recommence the siege on our own resources. Day after 

 day, from the 13th of March, we devoted a week to the assault ; 

 and well were we rewarded, though even at that period many of 

 the nests contained young. Our dragoman, Giacomo Georgio, a 

 Greek islander, was, fortunately for us, the very best rock-climber 

 I ever saw, and by his aid we collected about twenty eggs. In no 

 nest did we ever find more than a single egg or young bird. A 

 couple of mules laden with ropes were sent round to the crest, 

 and directed by signals from below ; the end of a cord weighted 



