The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-11-28
ASCENDING MOUNT ARAFAT.

A Bold Englishmnn's Daring and Dangerous
Fent-Pu-hing through Clouds nnd up
CraGs nnd Icy Clitf. TO the Top Of Mount
Arnrut-A Thrilling scene Fiyidly De-
scribcd.
From the plain of the Araxes, where
the Armenians place the lost Paradise
of man, rises nn extinct volcano of i'm
measurable antiquity, its peak being
1900 feet high, soaring suddenly from
the platform, which is but two or three
thousand feet above the sea it's snow
line Mt the elevation of Il, 600 feet, tree
less, waterlcss, solemn and solitary, one
of the sublimest objects on the face OF
the earth. It is Ararat, the mountain of
The Ark, the ancient sanctuary of the
Armenian faith, the centre OF the once
famous kingdom, now the cornerstone
of three great empires. On the top of
it's lower peak, Little Ararat, the do
minions of the czar, the sultan and the
shah, the territories Of the three chief
forms of faith that possess western and
northern Asia, converge to point. No
mountain save Sinai has such sacred
associations, and Sinai itself has less of
legendary lore attached to it. Persians,
Tnrtars, Turks and Kurds regard tho
mountain with reverence as genuine as
that of the Christian races, for it's
majesty, it's solitariness, and because they
all believe in the deluge and the patri-
arch, "faithful found" They are all
equally persuaded that " Massis " is
inaccessible ;" they are not to be con-
vinced by any testimony, not that OF
Parrot, OF Aftonomof. or of Abich-who
respectively assembled Ararat in 1929,
1884 and 1S45-of Gen. Choazk and his
party, and the Englishmen who assembled
in 1856 and it now appears that they
reject that of Mr.. Bryce, who performed,
in September Of last year, the extra
ordinary feat of ascending the mountain
of the Ark alone.
Mr.. Bryce had sci out on the ascent
from Aralykh, with companion and an
escort of six armed Cossacks, accom-
panied by IN interpreter; but the Co.'S
sacks failed them early in the nndertak-
ing having no notion of the Importance
of time, no notion Of carrying baggage,
and propensity, perfectly good humor-
ed, but r,linous to the purpose of the
expedition, to sit still, smoke, and
chatter. Kurds and Cossacks, after a
certain point, became equally useless as
guides, for the former never 60 higher
on the mountain than the limits of pas
ture, and the latter have no motive togo
nearly SO high. When they had reached
height of $4,000 feet, and everything
lay below them, except Little Ararat op-
posite, and the stupendous cone that
rose from where the friends We're sitting,
it's glittering SHOWS aud stern black
crags of lava standing up perfectly
clear in sea of clolldless blue; when
they had noted the landmarks carefully,
and agreed to meet about nightfall at
that spot, having notion that the Co.'S
sacks, who were now widely scattered
about the slope, wonld Mt least bring
them safely down into the plain, the
travellers parted, and Mr.. Bryce com
menced his solitary ascent of the awful
peak, held by the Armenians to be
guarded by angels from the profaning
foot of man, and by the Kurds to be the
haunt of Jim who take vengeance on
mere human disturbers Of their rcvclry.
At eight o'clock he started, c:rry!ng
with him his ice aX, some crusts OF
bread, n lemon, small flask OF cold tea,
four hard-holed eggs, and few meat
lozenSes, OH the perilons Journey, whose
dangers were of the most Formidable
kind, tho unknown, and, climbing away
to the left along the top of Il ridge, came
to n snow-bel, lying over loose broken
stones and sand, So latiguing to cross
that he almost gave in on the far side Of
it. There he found solid rock, however,
and the summit of Little Ararat began
TO sink, and that meant real progress.
At ten o'clock he was looking down upon
it's small flat top, studded with Jumps of
rock, but bearing no trace OF a crater.
Up to this point one Cossack and one
Kurd had accompanied him-tlley were
nightly amused by the ice ax, and
curious as to its use-but the kurd
stopped now, shivering Oh the verge of
q long, treacherous SHOW slope, in which
steps had to be cut, and afterward the
Cossuck, who had crossed the SNOW
slope, looked up Mt the broken cliff
above them which had to be scaled, and
shook his head. Mr.. Bryce made him
understand by pantomime that he was
to return to the bivouac below, babe him
farewell, and set his face to the great
peak, Little Ararat now lying 1000 feet
below the eye. He climbed the crags
which had appalled, the Cossack, and
emerged on stright slope of volcanic
stones, which rolled about SO that he
slipped down nearly as much as he went
up; and here the breathlessness and
fatigue became extreme, owing to the
thinness of the air, and "the practical
question was whether, with knees Of
lead, and gasping like fish iii Il boat,
he would he able to get any further"
There was no raslness in Mr.. Bryce's
great courage. He sat down, ate an
egg, and resolved that when three o'clock
should come, or he should come to II
"bad place" he would turn back, let
the summit he ever SO near.
Going on again, he turned and got on
another rock rib, working his laborlous
way over toppling crags Of lava, until,
perhaps, the grandest sight Of the whole
mountain PRESENTED itself. At his foot
was deep, narrow, impassanle gully,
in whose bottom SHOW lay, where the
inclination was not too stccp.x Beyond
it line of rocky towers, red I'm and
terrible, ran right toward IT, lmlnIt.
its upper enl lost in the clouGls through .
which, as mt intervals thcy' broke or .
shifted, one could lcscry, far, far above.
n wilderness of snow. Had kurd ever
Travelled SO far, he might have taken tins !
for the palace of the Jim. Then came |
the struggle between the imagination, !
longing to feast itself upon the majesty
and the wonder Of the scene, and the rS- /
ireuccs of the tremendous task of III" ,
ascent Mr.. Bryce found that the strain ,
on the observing senses seemed too I
great for fancy or emotion +" have amy
scope. This WAS race against time, N !;
which he could only scan the cliffs for 4 !;
route, refer constantly TO his watch, llus- !
band his strength by morsels of fool !
taken Mt frequent intervals. ami en- !
tlcnvor to conceive how Il particular I.
block or bit Of slope would look when
seen the other way in descending.
Climbing on and on, sometimes erecting |
little piles OF ;tune TO mark the way, like |
Porcct without his brothers so absorb !
ed that the solemn grandeur OF the /
scenery impressed him less than on many !
less striking mountains, the solitary |
traveller consumed the precious hours !
until he found himself NJ the top of the
rock rib, and on the edge of a precipicr,