Chap. II.] 



ADAil'S PEAK. 



139 



peak, furtlier progress is effected by tlie aid of chains 

 securely riveted in the Hving rock.' As the pillar-hke 

 crag rounds away at either side, the eye, if turned down- 

 wards, peers into a chasm of unseen depth ; and so dizzy 

 is the elevation, that the guides discourage a pause, 

 lest a sudden gust of wind should sweep the adventurous 

 chmber from his giddy footing, into the unfathomable 

 gulfs below.^ An iron ladder, let into the face of a 

 perpenchcular chff upwards of forty feet in height 

 lands the pilgrim on the tiny terrace which forms the 

 apex of the mountain ; and in the centre of this, on 

 the crown of a mass of gneiss and hornblende, the sacred 

 footstep is discovered under a pagoda-like canopy, sup- 

 ported on slender columns, and open on all sides to the 

 winds. 



^ The iron chains at Adam's Pealc 

 are relies of so gTeat antiquity, that 

 in the legends of the Mahometans 

 they are associated with the name of 

 Alexander the Great. Ibn Batuta, 

 in his account of his ascent of the 

 Peak in the fom-teenth centmy, speaks 

 of coming " to a place called the 

 * Seven Caves,' and after this to the 

 ' Ridge of Alexander/ at which place 

 is the entrance to the mountain. The 

 mountain of Serendil) is one of the 

 highest in the world ; we saw it from 

 sea, at the distance of nine days. 

 "When we ascended it, we saw the 

 clouds passing between us and its 

 foot. On it is a gi-eat number of 

 trees, the leaves of which never fall. 

 There are also flowers of various 

 colours, with the red rose (lihoduden- 

 dron ?). There are two roads on the 

 mountain leading to the Footprint ; 

 the one is known as 'the way of 

 Baba,' the other as 'the way of Mama,' 

 by which they mean Adam and E\e. 

 At the foot of the mountain there is 

 a minaret named after Alexander, 

 and a fomitain of water. The ancients 

 have cut something like steps, upon 

 which one may ascend, and ha\e 

 fixed in iron pins, to which cliains are 

 appended, and upon these those who 

 ascend take hold. Of these chains 



there are ten in number, the last of 

 whicli is tenned ' the chaiu of wit- 

 ness,' because when one has arrived 

 at this and loolcs down, the frightful 

 notion seizes him that he will fall.'" — • 

 Lee's Translation, eh. xx. p. 18'.). 



AsiiEEF, a Persian writer of the 

 fifteenth centmy, in a poem, quoted 

 by Sir William Ouseley, in which he 

 celebrates the exploits of Alexander 

 the Great, ^^Zaff'cr Namah Sckanderi,^' 

 introduces an episode, in whicli the 

 conqueror and his companion Bolinus 

 (by whom is supposed to be meant 

 Apollonius of Tyan.a) devise means 

 whereby they nuxy ascend the momi- 

 tain of Serendib, " lixmg thereto 

 chains with rings and rivets made of 

 iron and brass, the remains of which 

 exist even at this day, so that travel- 

 lers, by their assistance, are enabled 

 to climb the moimtain and obtain 

 glory by finding the sepulchre of 

 Adam, on whom be the blessing of 

 God." — Travels, vol. i. p. 57. 



^ Incredible as it may seem, ele- 

 phants make their way to this fright- 

 ful elevation; ajid Major Skiimer 

 assures me that on one occai^ion, in 

 1840, the unmistakeable traces of one 

 were found on tlie neck of the fearful 

 rock which sustains the sacred Foot- 

 step. 



