The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1856-09-13
ASCENT OF MOUNT ARARAT

' STUART OF the British army In n
communication to the London Times, gives an In.
terss'ing account OF the ascent Of Mount Ararat
mado oy himself and four other Euglishmeu.
The party started on the llth of July. We Give
the following extract, which concludes the accoup,
of the ascent:
Wrapping ourselves In our rugs we passed tho
night as well as could be expected, and at peep Of
dawn on the l4th we resumed the ascent II cor.
tainly was toilsome and slow but was nevertheless
satisfactory.
From an elevation Of about IA, 900 feet above tho
sea we saw the sun rise In unclouded majesty.
lighting up simultaneously to eur view vast tracts
OF the Russian, Persian and Turkish empires
That was glorious sight never to be forgotten
About 200 feet from the summit we came upon
an oak cross that had been fixed there In the rock
by Prof Abich in the year ls45. Itwas In perfect
preservation, and the inscription In Russian char
acters was still legibls ,l
This was the most difficult part of our ascent
The distractions were frequent, and the climbing
at times perilous; but caution and perseverance,
enabled US to overcome every thing, and at9 A.
M we had the tion of standing on the
highest point OF tine mountain. Here / stuck to
the hiit in the snow kama, or short double.edged
sword. which we found at the foot of Abich's cross
Here also, as loyal Britons drank the health of
our beloved Qusen In brandy. Her Majesty will
perhaps deign to accept this expression Of ale.
glance on cousidering that hers is probably the first
name that has been pronounced On that solemn
height snce 1t was quilted by the great patriarch
OF the human race for record tradition exists
of the ascent having ever been made before al.
though repeatedly tried by men Of different coun
tries, both European and Asiatc. Prof. Abich
made several attempts but failed In ALL as is pro.
we'd by the position OF the CROSS by the testimony
of the natives. and even by the confession of his
own countrymen.
We descended ON the tracks Of the Others and
get back to the tents about p. NJ.
The whole SurIaea of Mount Ararat hon avi
dence of having been subjected to violent volcanic
action, being scanned and scored with deep ra.
vines The rocky ridges that protrude from the
snow are either basalt or tufa and near the sur.
face we found some bits ofpumice on spot which
still emits strong sulphurous smell.
The summit itself is nearly level of triangu-
lar shape the base being about two hundred yards
In length, the perpendicular about three hundred
The highest point is at the apex of the triangles
which points nearly doe west. Separz ted from
it by hollow is another point of nearly equal alti-
tude, and the base of the triangle is an elevated
ridge, forming third eminence. These three
points stand out in distinct relief on clear day
The snow on the top 10 almost as dry As powde
aud in walking over it we did not sink more than
half way to the knee. The impression left on my
mind is that the summit is extinct crater filed
with snow. We experienced no difficulty of re-
spiration, except being sooner blown by exertion
than we should have been at lower level The
cold was intense, and though perfect calm pre-
vailed at tho time at the foot of the cone, as we
afterwards learnt keen wind was blowing from
the west, which raised binding mist of fine snow
that prevented us taking any distant views
1t may be supposed, our success has created no
small sensation throughout the country The
fame of it preceded US wherever we went. Itwas
announced as . sort Of wonder to the caravans
travelling eastward, and the Kaimakan of Baya.
zed has made it the object Of special report to
Censtantinople.
From the sacred character of the mountain and
the traditions associated with it throughout the
East, identical as they with scriptural records
l am inclined to think that degree of Importance
will attach to this performance in popular estina
tion beyond what is due to . mere exhibition Of
nerve or muscle; and this no doubt, will tell in
favor Of our national prestige.
On the 18th we asce adsd Lesser Ararat but this,
being ordinary affair, does not call for detail
cd account. l would only observe that perha
from no other spot in the world can finer or more
extensive view be obtained. This view we had
the good fortune 10 enjoy to perfection, with
cloudlsss sky and clear atmosphere.
70 save your readers the trouble Of referring to
Gazettesr,I may state that The summit Of Greater
Ararat is II, 1913 feet above level and IA, 800
above the plain; frsm base Of conc to summit may
be above 5000 feet Lesser Ararat is 1898 feet
above sea level.