The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-10-20
MOUNT ARAFAT.


aoknowledge since you know whore have
Travelled and where am now on my way
but not for all the gold which these temples
once contained would ever undertake again
TO ascend Mount Ararat, the accused noun
tain
II was De Thon who was speaking to us
three of his friends who werY seated with
him one superb moonlight night among the
ruins OF the temples of karnak, IN upper
Egypt After long ramble through those
mute vestiges of the ancient civilization OF
the PharnohS, we had all stretched ourselves
on the warm sand that the winds Of tho desert
had heapcd among the stones, ana each ono
seemed TO have given himself up To his own
special reveries. De Thon, whom a fortu-
nate chance had added 10 our little COM
pany on the shores Of the Nile when he was
making his final preparations Tor voyage
through tho country OF the Calais, had JUST
come up 10 join us as he had promised. And
it was hs-this dauntless explorer Of regions
hitherto unknown; this tall, powerfully
built fellow, six feet in his Moorish sandals
of red leather, whose superb figure and
proud bearing indicated no ordinary degree
Of energy, courage and darin.,, who was
openly confessing to having been overcome
by fear at least once in his life. II was GER
tainly very strange, to say the least OF IL.
He slowly seated himself on Il ruined col
umn half buried in the sand, and as If the
recollection of this adventure oyercame him
still, he began to relate it to us All the sur
roundings we're wonderfully in harmony with
his narrative. Behind us, the majestic chaos
of ruins; masses Of marble Jet black, and
milky white, aud around us the silence Of
that vast stretch II sand, only broken by the
distant howl Of the jackal and the hou hou OF
the owl
had just been through the whole Turco-
Russian campaign In Asia Minor and many a
time had fought side by side with my friends
the Georgians and the Kourdes. Assoon as the
var was ended stopped for time in Bay
azed. One day. do not know why, this
Colossus of the Caucasus, whose snowy sum
NIT rose before me, and on which had been
gazing inceSsantly, seemed to exercise per
feet fascination over me, and | determined
then and there TO make the ascent. have
always been apt to yield TO sudden impulses.
hurried 10 tho pasha, governor or tho town,
70 communicate my intention and ask his ad-
vice.
'Do not attempt it," he said. THAT
mountain Is haunted by evilspirits the Agri-
Dagh devours the impious who dare TO tread
the green turf on its sides. But know you,
II. de Thon, and you never will give up this
wild idea II you will go, choose twenty OF
my best sorsemen as an escort; they will ac-
company you to the foot of tho mountain, IL
you desire it, but not the boldest among them
would venture to set his foot on the side Of
- 10. Nnrll hla oil
rocks even the birds fec in terror" had
already in my service the Albanian whom
you have all seen on board my "dahabieh,"
and who would follow mo into the very jaws
of death One day whom his body was about
10 swing from the gibbet for one of those
ilnumerable peccadil.oes which cost mans
life In time Of war; | had interceded for
him and obtained his pardon. He sworo
eternal gratitude, and has shown himself
ready b. prove it by the Willingness with
which no has accompanied mo In my
perilous wanderings to the center of Africa.
SO ! determined to start with All, and
after n rough ride we reached the foot
of Mount Ararat. The chief of the escort,
who had frequently shaken his head in an
ominous manner as we rode along, now
Quilted us without uttering word TO wait
our return near Nakhitchevan, and we were
left entirely alone. We had brought pleil-
tiful supply Of provisions. These coniided
to little shepherd who was guarding his
flock not far from us, and made him promise
to keep them for us and meet us at the same
place on our return in the evening. Then we
started 10 make the ascent. Day was just
breaking, tho sky was pure, the atmosphere
Lai,, Ia
to return by twilight. How shall describe
tho ascent Ararat is more than 1000
feet high, and often rs we came upon tho
scoriapf its eruptons we seemed 10 be I'D
vnncing 20 the assault OF bare and totter-
Ing walls, which crumbled in fragments at
our feet Still We got along bravely, tri-
umphng over innumcrable difficulties, and
we finally drew near the summit Neverthe-
lees, by this time the sun had already passed
its zenith. During our journey We had
gradually exhausted the stock Of provisions
which we carried in our pockets, and to en-
able us TO struggle against the fatigue and
giddiness consequent upon the ascent wo had
emptied the last drop in our gourd | wal
about to give the order to start on our re-
turn, when my Albanian, who for some min.
utes had seemed very nervous and disturbed
as he scanned the soil closely, suddenly ex-
claimed:
"Master, where are tho stones"
"What stones do you meanf
''Why, tho stones that we could see above
us, from where we were standing few min
utes ago. Those on which Noah's ark rested
during the deluge-where are theyin
"You are crazy, Ali Do you not see that
they are covered by hundred feet Of snow
Come, don't stop to think about that-come
let US hurry To begin our descent, or night
will overtake us and SEQ clouds gathering
on the plain below"
THAT is very unfortunate replied he
"but We ought to DO able to see those stones
Woe to him who climbs 80 high on thi.
r4buntain and fails to touch with his d,and
the sacred rock from whence life descended
again upon the earth"
BY TINS time piercing, Icy wind began t.
blow.
10 now seemed to me at each step that my
feet were weighted down with hundred pound
weights; there was ringing In our ears, oul
breath came in quick gasps, and it was evi
dent that we must descend az quickly as pos
Hble TO avoid suffocation from the rarefac
ton Of the air. For awhile we proceedle,
without pause. We descended the slopes O
glaciers end stepped over the ridges Of oh
sidian, shining and slippery ~ glass, but sool
the clouds developed us, and we entirely LOB
t.x.nx al