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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



roasting the sacrifice, and in procuring 

 the necessary wood and brush for fuel. 



The ascent to the camp spot on Geri- 

 zim requires usually an hour, whether 

 mounted or on foot. Nablus is left be- 

 hind by a path leading up from its west- 

 ern suburbs, and passing the Samaritan 

 cemetery, an open field, its rocky and 

 stone-strewn surface overgrown with 

 weeds on which donkeys and cattle may 

 be seen browsing. The trail leads up in 

 short, stiff, winding courses through a 

 slight depression where olives and other 

 trees grow vigorously. The way soon 

 becomes so steep that beasts as well as 

 pedestrians are forced to halt at intervals 

 for breath. But the time is not wasted, 

 for the view of the town in its glaring 

 whiteness below, fringed with verdant 

 gardens and nestling between the twin 

 mountains, is a scene truly beautiful. 



THE ENCAMPMENT OE THE ISRAELITES 



Once up this steep ascent, the ridge is 

 gained. Along it the path, now fairly 

 level, leads to a slight depression in the 

 saddle, where suddenly the visitor sees 

 before him more than forty white Egyp- 

 tian and Damascus tents, the only ver- 

 itable Israelitish encampment of religious 

 significance in the world. 



A pity it is that these more modern 

 tents are used instead of the primitive 

 goat-hair ones of the Bedouins, which 

 would more nearly, if not entirely, re- 

 semble those used during the Exodus. 



To the east, towering above the en- 

 campment, is the loftiest of Gerizim's 

 peaks, crowned with ruins, a spot where 

 once temples stood. 



It is Passover eve. Selected sacrificial 

 lambs are contentedly wandering about, 

 unconscious of their impending fate. 

 They have been purchased some days in 

 advance of the Passover, in obedience to 

 the law, "in the tenth day of this month 

 they shall take to them every man a 

 lamb. . . . Your lamb shall be with- 

 out blemish, a male of the first year. . . . 

 And ye shall keep it up until the four- 

 teenth day of the same month." 



But the scene is not quiet. Scores of 

 people, non-Samaritan, young and old, 

 have come up to "smell the air," for to 

 the Xablus people, and especially for the 



lads, it is a day of excitement not to be 

 missed. 



The camp ground is a small, elongated 

 field, the property of the Samaritans. 

 No special system is observed in pitching 

 the tents, beyond leaving a path between 

 the two uneven rows. Each family has 

 one tent ; a few have two. 



At the eastern extremity of the camp 

 is the kinisch (synagogue), where the re- 

 ligious rites are observed while in camp. 

 It is a small, oblong plot surrounded by 

 a low rubble wall except to the east, 

 where terrace above terrace, now much 

 dilapidated, rises in step form to the 

 mountain crest beyond. 



THE TRENCH-ALTAR 



At the northern end of this space, or 

 prayer inclosure, a trench has been dug 

 and lined with uncut stone. "An altar of 

 earth shalt thou make unto me. . . . 

 And if thou wilt make an altar of stone, 

 thou shalt not build it of hewn stone ; for 

 if thou lift up thy tool upon it. thou hast 

 polluted it." 



Across this altar two large copper ket- 

 tles, filled with water, are placed. Beyond 

 the northeastern end of the inclosure, 

 and higher than its level, is the tanoor, 

 or ground oven, for the sheep-roasting. 

 It is a pit, the depth equal to a man's 

 height, from five to six spans in diam- 

 eter, and lined in a circular form, like a 

 well, with rough stones. Here the rock 

 crops out so near the surface that, in 

 order to get the tanoor deep enough, it 

 has to be built partly above the surface 

 and a terrace filled in about it. thus of 

 necessity elevating it above the rest of 

 the space devoted to the Passover ob- 

 servances. 



It is about three hours before dark as 

 we arrive, and since the Samaritan time 

 starts its count from sunset, let us forget 

 our Western watches while we remain on 

 Gerizim's heights. 



On approaching the camp, one of the 

 first things to attract our attention is the 

 cloud of smoke pouring forth from the 

 tanoor and curling skyward from beneath 

 the kettles, for five hours of steady heat 

 produced by burning "saris" brush and 

 thorn bushes are required before the 

 oven is ready for fleecing the sheep. 



