Show the salt mountain of palestine selah merrill L L D U S consul at jerusalem palestine possesses a remarkable salt mountain situated at the south end of the dead sea abe length of the ridge is six rolles with an average width of three quarters of a mile and the height Is not far from feet there are places where the over lying earthy deposits aie many feet in thickness but the mass of the mountain is composed of solid rock salt some of which is as clear as castal cr stal how far this deposit of salt extends below the of the ground no one at present knows at some points this ridge which Is on the shore of the dead sea approaches very close to the water and at others it recedes until it is fifty or more yards from it just here the water of the dead sea is much more salt than it is at the coith end where the jordan enters the take this salt is a government monopoly the same is true of the salt that la contained in solution in the dead sea lisell if arabs or the natives of the country were found getting salt from the shores of the dead sta or from this salt mountain they would be arrested at once most of the salt used in debrou jerusalem and elsewhere in this part of palestine comes from these sources but it ia gathered the direction of government officers and the revenue is supposed to go to the government in this salt mountain to say nothing of the salt of the dead sea there is a mine of wealth and if capitalists were allowed to come in and work it the prosperity of this pait of the country would thereby be greatly increased I 1 have examined personally this salt mountain and talked with the pasha of jerusalem who is also the governor of palestine as to the desirability of companies being formed whick should prepare this salt for use and ship it to the markets of the world baj at present the turkish government is hostile to any such project |