CHAPTER XLII. 
DJENIN. 
The great plain of Esdraelon is one of the finest tracts of 
country in the East. In its general aspect it reminded me 
of some of the vast plains in California, after the summer 
heats have withered up the grass. Some portions of the 
land seem to he rich and arable. We saw a few fields cov¬ 
ered with stalks of Indian corn, from which we inferred that 
this grain might he produced here in large quantities by 
proper cultivation. No part of Palestine that we had yet seen 
appeared so well calculated to sustain a large population. 
Railroads might he run through it at a very trifling cost, and 
an easy communication opened with the seaboard. In some 
places I noticed wild cotton, which naturally suggested 
thoughts of cotton mills. Tunnels might be cut through the 
mountains to Jerusalem, and a profitable trade thus opened 
with the inhabitants of Judea; and by removing the sands 
from the Desert the line of communication might be carried 
to Cairo, Suez, the East Indies, China, and California. The 
hot-baths of Galilee would be a pleasant place of retreat in 
the summer; and good hotels would soon spring up through¬ 
out the country as the blessings of civilization progressed. I 
sounded the inhabitants on the subject of annexation, but 
they did not seem disposed to discuss the question ; in fact 
the only answer they gave me was, backshish! There seem¬ 
ed to be no hope at all of reclaiming the poor creatures. 
Passed during the afternoon the villages of Yafa and El 
Mazraah, mere gatherings of hovels like bee-hives, situated on 
mounds or elevations, resembling islands in the plain; also, 
El Fuleh, a pretty looking village, picturesquely situated in 
a sort of oasis on the left. Stopped to refresh ourselves at 
