M. Before us, a little to our left, was _Hhubeen

[Nangle]

Banks in the interior. The crevasse through which it issues is wild and
romantic in the extreme. High cliffs of basalt are the confines of the
water. This, on reaching the plain, is parted with several streams, (to
compare great things with small,) in the fashion of the Nile or the
Ganges; which the Jordan is not, either at its entrance into this lake
or its entrance into the Dead Sea. All the streams are fringed with
oleander; and, in the extreme heat of the day, the horses enjoyed not
only their drinking, but their wading through the rolling water. This
was the boundary between Bashan and Gilead, through the latter of which
we had hitherto been travelling, and gave name to the great battle A.D.
637, where the victory obtained by the fierce _Khalid_ and the mild _Abu
Obeidah_ decided the fate of Palestine, and opened the way of the
Moslems to Jerusalem. Over an extent of four or five miles, before
reaching the Jordan, a rich harvest of wheat was being reaped upon the
plain. We first attempted to cross at _Samakh_, but finding it
impossible at that season, had to turn back to the ford at the broken
bridge, which the natives call the 'mother of arches,' (_Umm el
Kanater_;) and even there the water was still deep. Corn-fields and
flocks of sheep in every direction; but all the shepherds carrying
firearms. We most of us lay down on our breasts to drink greedily once
more from the dear old river; and then we crossed the Jordan into the
land of Canaan, going on to Tiber