| Show r t. t 5 0 c i t Science has I f I 0 found in the i Dead Sea whose saline 2 s. s waters are said to cover a S Sodom d m and a. a A Gomorrah the elements clements needed to tomake 1 make its arid shores bloom 4 like the rose y 1 11 b wa a T T r r y f I 1 i o e v y I Y S. S 1 l li t wr W 13 Dead a Sea a to Give S Sll ll 1 L LIFE I F E to EARTH EAR I i r 1 I By Robert Merrill I THE THE Dead Sea somber Sea somber subject of ancient ancient an- an dent legends reflecting the dread its name implies implies is is to become a factor inthe in inthe the industrialism of our bustling twentieth twentieth century Out of those salty waters which legends say cover the damned and destroyed destroyed destroyed de de- de- de cities of Sodom and Gomorrah may come fertilizing potash products up from their depths where the i- i superstitious supers still see a pillar that was once the wife of Lot may rise wealth untold in sodium chloride magnesium bromide and other minerals that serve modern man Such is the promise read in a recent announcement that efforts will soon be made to exploit the vast mineral wealth of that ancient inland sea According to dispatches from Jerusalem an official statement has been published asserting that in view of the existence in the waters of the Dead Sea of certain minerals minerals minerals min min- easy to obtain and to lo market the crown agents of the colonies acting on behalf of the Government of Palestine are prepared to receive applications for forthe forthe forthe the grant of rights to undertake opera- opera The announcement was not unexpected Among the men who make it their business business business busi busi- ness to roam the world in search of mineral products there has been common for years the knowledge that in the soil of the Holy Land lies wealth awaiting only the entrepreneur to uncover and distribute it Recently there has been ii intensive prospecting through the county coun coun- ty y l by financiers of England and ales Pales alestine alestine tine line as well weIl as by a an American oil com com- pany According to the dispatches from Jerusalem it is understood that because of possible competition the Government has decided to invite tenders from all interested parties before granting a con con- cession DR T R. R JOSEPH SILVERMAN of New NewYork NewYork v York of the one American leaders I of the Zionist movement has described the rich strata of gypsum to be found in inthe inthe in inthe the Jordan Valley VaIley the phosphate of lime lima in Judea the petroleum beds lying under the soil between and the Dead Sea the peat in the marshes of The Dead Sea ea itself he found rich in minerals Its water he says contains 24 per cent of salt apart from bromides soluble chlorides phosphates and gypsum in indefinite quantities The potash pota h of the Red Sea ran his recent statement is said to be inexhaustible inexhaustible-at at least su to supply the needs of the world for years Bitumen also has been seen seen- on the shores and floating on th the surface of this sea Sulphur has been found in the South Jordan Valley VaIley as well as copper and some gold To the chemist as well welI as to the prospective prospective pros pros- developer of the mineral re resources resources re- re sources of that ancient Jake lake the following following follow follow- in ing analysis of its waters by Dr Bernays holds a deep interest f Calcium carbonate 1000 grains Calc Calcium sulphate grair y nitrate grains chloride grains Sodium chloride grains grabs Calcium chloride 46 grains Magne Magnesium S LIm chloride grains Magnesium l bromide grains grain Iron and aluminum oxIdes ox ox oxides x- x id ides s grain 1 Organic m matter l ter water of crystallization loss grains I R Total r residue per gali gal- gal I I r 1 i r for lor groins rl r. Dead Sea to roo intimately concerned t J t L Ii w I'll V D III Ancient Lake in in Palestine Legendary Site of the I Wicked Cities of Sod Sodom m and Gomorrah May Y Yield eld Rich Mineral Wealth Stores and Stores of of Pot Potash to Fertilize World World Food Food Crops with the history of two great religions is i in reality an inland lake in Southeastern Southeastern Southeastern South South- eastern Palestine into which the Jordan flows It forms a part of the deepest chasm on earth and has no outlet The Jordan Valley Vaney begins to sink below sea sealevel sealevel sealevel level some ninety miles to the north of its mouth By the time it reaches the Dead Sea it ft is approximately feet below isea level To the east of the lake rises rises- the high hight t plateau of M Moab ab familiar familial to all Bible readers It was Vas there that the great Jewish leader in the dawn of history went up unto Mount Nebo to th the top of Pisgah that is over against Jericho And it was there that Moses died and was buried buried- By Nebo's lonely mountain On this side Jordans Jordan's wave wave To the west rises the plateau of Judea The shores of the lake are in inmany inmany inmany many places abrupt There is little vegetation vegetation or animal life Dead Sea receives daily from the THE THE Jordan and ancl other streams some gallons of water Because of years of evaporation and the absence of outlet its waters are salty to a remarkable remarkable remark remark- able degree Tho solid matter Blatter that collects col collects gives to it bc besides id s saltiness buoy buor buoyancy buoyancy ancy and certain poisonous properties The human body oats floats on its it surface without exertion Because e Q of the large huge proportion of chloride and bromide o of magnesia i ii is impossible for animal life lifo to exist in its wat waters water r Fish Fisli are found in inthe inthe n the J Jordan but they thy peri I when thy they reach that inland s sFa u II except pt in one or two spots near the shore shor Scientists beE believe believe be be- E lieve ve that the only life me in to Il the lake Jake is composed of eonis sIma tetanus and rt ether ler bacilli found in its ifa mud For many years errs th there c was an aTI almost universal unive's l belief tb that t the from rom the lake were were wee fatal fata due po possibly to the thel l legend that don SodorA end and Gomorrah were buri buried d l beneath en ath it ad aad d to the nb b of If bird life ie in it in vicinity y Later inI iak ia- ia I k t i. i i A hi l. l to have assert asserted that both traditions traditions traditions tra tra- are founded in error although there are many persons who insist they c can ri see ancient ancient- palaces palace under the still surf surI surface ace ce References to the sea and the b basin sin in which it rests are contained in such early accounts as the patriarchal narratives narratives narratives narra narra- tives of Lot and Abraham To this day among the natives of that region the body of water is s. s known as Bahr Lut or 01 2 i v G a wi aS wa wv w a flu F f t f m The soil of Palestine is slowly being recovered and again made to bear crops The chemical elements wh which ch will greatly speed the efforts of the farmers wh who have gone back to toLand the Holy HolyLand Land are to be found in the Dead Sea science declares the Sea of Lot Later Greek writers niters gave it the name Dead Sea which we 0 use today Apart from the erroneous belief that Sodom and Gomorrah are under the lake there is an authentic l bit it of Jewish history history history his his- tory which associates a terr terrible ble tragedy with it On one shore shoie stands a huge rock half halfa a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide inaccessible except by narrow paths which a body of men must follow in single file Here in the old days J Jonathan nathan bu built lt a fortress which was later occupied temporarily by Herod the Great WHEN Jerusalem fell feU in 70 A A. D. D all that was left of the garrison fled to that fortress There the the soldiers soldiers were besieged by Flavius Silva one of the generals of Titus The R Romans mans built up banks of stone level with tho the edge dge of the rock On these they placed battering rams and after several years' years siege finally made a L breach in the walls I But ut the garrison refused to be taken pi soper Rather than yield the beleaguered ed soldiers determined to slay each elCh other Then men were drawn by lot to fall upon the rest After all the buildings had been fired the killing began mud ard when the Romans entered th they found only ny a woman and andi i ew children alive Fow Fw ships ship have ha l navigated the waters of of tha th Dead Sea Mention of boats on oni onit ont it t i a art ancient times is b made mada by both and anti Josephus Joephus o but In n modernA modern i i A f y o x r v r I L S' S w b days they are seldom seen there The absence of of boats also is attributed to the superstition that the air is poisonous Within the last century there have been a number humber of attempts to explore and study the lake in the interest of science In September of 1835 an adventurous adventurous adventurous ad ad- venturous Irishman named Costigan made an effort Shortly after embarking embarking embarking embark embark- ing on the exploring boat Costigan lost his entire supply of drinking water which was thrown overboard by a Greek servant to lighten the craft The servant had imagined of course that the lake itself would furnish the he necessary water Despite this loss the explorer circumnavigated circumnavigated circumnavigated circum circum- navigated the sea and reached Jericho where he was attacked by a severe sever fever of which he eventually died A second explorer Lieutenant Moly- Moly Mt Molyneaux neaux of the British Navy perished in 1847 when his party was attacked by Bedouins Bedouins' The most successful of the early at attempts attempts attempts at- at tempts was made by an American In 1847 Lieutenant Commander W. W F. F Lynch of the United States Navy applied for permission to make a thorough and systematic systematic systematic exploration of the Dead Sea His request was granted by the Navy Department and he was ordered to the command of the United States ship Supply Supply Supply Sup Sup- ply detailed for that service After selecting carefully his officers and crew Commander Lynch sailed from New York to Constantinople There through the American Minister he obtained obtained obtained ob ob- the Sultans Sultan's authorization to undertake the ex exploration and authority Jo In punishment for looking lookingback lookingback lookingback back Lots Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt and tradition tradition tradition tra tra- says the waters of the Dead Sea cover it The etching etching etching etch etch- ing is from a drawing by Gustave Dore Doreto to caU callon on local officials for all necess' necess necessary ry supplies and protection In April of 1848 the American naval officer reported by dispatch to the Navy Depar Department ment his arrival at the Sea of Galilee and his purchase of two river riverboats riverboats riverboats boats for the voyage down the winding Jordan to its mouth By the of April the party had reached the Dead Sea For a month the expedition explored edthe ed edthe the lake experiencing burning heat and blinding storm At times the temperature temperature temperature tempera- tempera ture rose to degrees The mens men's clothes and skin they reported were covered with salt their eyes were irritated irritated by the saline matter in n the air and they suffered extreme discomfort from a constant stant sulphurous odor Despite these difficulties the Dead Sea was explored through all aU its length and breadth from the mouth of the Jordan to its lower extremity Members of of- the expedition m made de soundings and daily thermometric barometric and hygrometric ric investigations By barometric measurements measurements measurements meas meas- they found the surface of the Dead Sea to be a little more than 1300 feet below the surface of the e neighboring Mediterranean They determined the volcanic nature of the surrounding rocks gathered slabs of bitumen along the shores scaled the cliffs of Moab and andr r reached ached the city of that overlooked overlooked overlooked over over- looked the sea Much more was done shedding light lighton on the geology the flora and fauna and the special typography of the coasts Finally in May Mar the explorers were satisfied Then with worn bodies cracked lips and inflamed eyes Commander Lynch and his men began their homeward journey by wa way t of Jerusalem and Jaffa They returned to the United States in December 1848 with only one man l missing issing He had been buried in Pales Pales- tine The record of the exploration was filed with the Secretary of the Navy It was on these observations that all later scientific study oc 01 0 the area was based It is now known that the Dead Sea occupies a sink on three sides by precipitous and barren mountains mountains moun- moun moun moun- that it is almost the shape and o to e 0 b 1 size of Lake Geneva in Switzerland seven forty-seven miles in length and nine and anda a half miles wide at its maximum width Near the center it is less than two miles wide At the northeast corner not far from the mouth of the Jordan soundings show a depth of twelve feet The variation variation variation varia varia- tion in depth during the year is often as much as twenty feet according to the rainfall At the southeast of the lake is a ridge of pure rock salt five miles long and feet high A pillar that rises beside it is one of several objects pointed out outto outto outto to tourists as the remains of Lots Lot's wife This deposit of fossil salt is said aid to contain contain contain con con- tain the highest percentage of chloride of sodium found anywhere in the world WHILE THILE the promise of oil and precious VY metals in Palestine arouses wide in interest interest interest in- in terest it is the possibility of virtually unlimited supplies of potash resources which has attracted the greatest atten atten- tion For says science without potassium neither animals nor plants could live The tremendously important place that the potassium compounds have in agriculture was interestingly demonstrated demonstrated demonstrated demon demon- in this country several years ago when experiments showed that their use as fertilizers doubled the potato yield Cotton rust is attributed to in insufficient insufficient insufficient in- in sufficient potash supply When the s oil is drained of potash compounds the crops starve and with them the men and women dependent on the crops Without renewal of potash nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil says the recent statement of the Engineering Foundation the raising of crops from which food and clothing come cannot be continued indefinitely Potash is also used for many industrial and domestic purposes In 1923 the United States consumed short tons of crude potash salts all but 4 per cent imp imported from Germany and France The war threw the United States upon its own resources for potash as for many other chemicals previously obtained obtain obtain- ed from Europe Geologists and chemists chemists chemists chem chem- sought potash from all possible sources and had some success In 1918 the banner year there were plants producing tons mostly from Nebraska Nebraska Nebraska Ne Ne- braska salt lakes and nd as a product by-product from manufacture of sugar salt cemen cement and steel Small SmaIl quantities were obtained obtain obtain- ed from kelp wool washings wood ashes and distillery wastes from the minerals alunite and from silicate silicate silicate sili sili- cate rocks In 1922 there were twelve plants In September of that year potash went on the tariff free list The in industry industry industry in- in almost vanished but the situation situation situation situa situa- tion is different from that before the war var Persons interested d are now informed in informed informed in- in formed of great resources in this country country country coun coun- try a and d a |
