80 



MOUNTAINS MOURADGE A D'OHSSON. 



America. One ridge extends through the isthmus 

 of Darifii to North America, where it runs north- 

 ward along the western coast, sending oft' different 

 branches eastward into the interior, which, in all 

 probability, join the mountain ridges of Northern 

 Asia, in the extreme north. The highest known 

 summits are of the Himalaya in Thibet (particularly 

 the Dholagir, or White mountain), which has been 

 made, by one measurement, 26,872 feet, by another 

 28,015 feet high. The perpendicular height above 

 the level of the sea, of a peak belonging to the 

 Mustag mountains, in Central Asia, measured by the 

 English colonel Crawfurd, is about 26,500 feet ; 

 that of Chimborazo, according to Humboldt, 21,440; 

 that of Mauna Kaah, on the Sandwich islands, 18, 400 ; 

 of Cayambourco, 20,OOO ; of Antisana, 19,150 ; of 

 Pinchinca, 15,940 (all three near Quito); of the 

 farm-house of Antisana, the highest place inhabited 

 by men, 13,434 ; of the city of Quito, 9560 ; of 

 Mont Blanc, 15,680 ; of Ophyr, in Sumatra, 13,842; 

 of Loucira, in the French department of the Upper 

 Alps, 14,450; of Aiguille de 1'Argentiere, 12,804; 

 of St Gothard, 9075 ; of ^Etna, 10,936 ; of Furca, 

 14,040; of the Brocken, 3716; of the valley of 

 Chamouni, 3463 ; passage of Mont Cenis, 6773 ; of 

 the city of Geneva, 1220. The heights of these 

 mountains are inconsiderable in proportion to the 

 great mass of the earth, the spherical form of which 

 is not essentially altered by them ; for the height of 

 Chimborazo is not, to the diameter of the earth, in 

 the proportion of 1 to iOOO. The form of moun- 

 tains is generally conical, that is, gradually tapering 

 from the base upward, and terminating in a more or 

 less pointed peak. The Alps, in Switzerland and 

 Savoy, consist of an enormous collection of different 

 mountains, disposed in several parallel chains. The 

 highest of these chains is in the middle ; those which 

 rest on them diminish in height in proportion as they 

 recede from the main branch. The highest ridge 

 consists of steep rocks, which, with the exception of 

 the declivities, are everywhere covered with ice and 

 snow. Between the masses of rocks, that crown the 

 highest chain, in pyramidal forms, are valleys, in 

 which the snow, and ice proceeding from the half- 

 melted snow, never thaws, even in summer, because 

 of their high situation. Lower down, on both sides 

 of the main branch, long wide valleys descend, 

 which in summer are decked with a beautiful green, 

 and, where their situation is not too high, are 

 partly planted with corn and fruit-trees, partly used 

 for pasturage. To these green vales deep and 

 narrow passages descend from the high rocky valleys. 

 These passages are filled with everlasting ice, and 

 bear the name of glaciers (q. v.). Those chains 

 of mountains which border on the main chain, pre- 

 sent the same appearances, only on a smaller scale ; 

 for their tops likewise consist of pointed rocks, 

 separated by such deep and narrow passages, which, 

 even in summer, are covered with ice and snow, and 

 to which succeed verdant valleys. The farther the 

 chains recede from the main chain, the more do they 

 diminish in height. Every thing bears a milder 

 aspect. The tops of the single mountains are more 

 rounded ; the mountains themselves are decked with 

 u beautiful green, and, by degrees, lose themselves in 

 the plains. Countries covered with high mountains 

 present, in the summer, different climates at different 

 slevations, within a very narrow compass. We may 

 ascend gradually from flourishing and delightful val- 

 leys, decorated with corn, fruit-trees, and vines, to 

 pastures covered with odoriferous Alpine plants, and, 

 near the declivities, with evergreens, and perceive 

 the vegetation diminishing and dwindling as we ad- 

 vance, till, at last, all organic life ceases, and the 

 cold prevents all further progress. The elevation of 



this region of perpetual winter is different in different 

 latitudes ; it is higher in warm countries, and lower 

 in cold climates. That the air is colder on the moun- 

 tains than it is in the plains, is evident from what has 

 been said. This is to be attributed partly to the re- 

 flection of the sun's rays from the surface of the 

 earth in plains, and its consequent accumulation in 

 the lower strata of the atmosphere, but partly also 

 to the greater density of the air, which is susceptible 

 of being warmed in a higher degree than the thinner 

 air of the mountains. That the air on the mountain!, 

 is purer is certainly true ; but that it is healthier also, 

 can be admitted only in regard to a moderate height. 

 At a great height, an indescribable oppression, com- 

 bined with great weakness, seizes upon the whole 

 body a phenomenon which Saussure attributes to 

 the diminished pressure of the air upon the vessels, 

 and their consequent loss of elasticity. The interior 

 of mountains is known only so far as it has been laid 

 open to the miner in working mines. See Denaix's 

 Tableau orographique de I Europe (Paris, 1826, 2 

 vols.) ; see also the articles Alps, Andes, Cordilleras, 

 Himalaya, &c. For a comparative view of the prin- 

 cipal elevations in the Eastern and Western hemi- 

 spheres, with their heights in English feet, as ascer- 

 tained by the best authorities, see Plate. 



MOURADGEA D'OHSSON, IGNATIUS, born in 

 Constantinople, was descended from a rich Armenian 

 family. He entered into the service of the Swedish 

 embassy, at the Ottoman Porte, and by his talents at- 

 tained the highest diplomatic honours. He was made 

 charge d'affaires, knight of the order of Vasa, and, 

 in 1782, minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraor- 

 dinary. His knowledge of the Arabic and Turkish 

 languages gave him the means of acquiring informa- 

 tion respecting the Ottoman empire from the very 

 sources. He resolved upon writing a history of Selim 

 II. ; but this was superseded by his plan of giving 

 a full picture of the Ottoman empire. To this work 

 he devoted himself with the greatest zeal and perse- 

 verance, and with great difficulty succeeded in col- 

 lecting the first authentic information from a preju- 

 diced, servile, and jealous people, respecting the 

 national customs and habits, the interior of the serag- 

 lios, the mosques, and the private life of a Turk. 

 With the materials which he had obtained, he pro- 

 ceeded to Paris in 1784, where he prepared his work 

 for the press, and published it, in 1788 and 1789, in 

 two volumes, under the title of Tableau general de 

 V Empire Ottoman. This work completely answered 

 the expectations which had been formed respecting 

 it. The beauty of the typography and the engrav- 

 ings occasioned an expense which exceeded the pro- 

 ceeds of the sale ; but D'Ohsson, who possessed a 

 large fortune, was willing to make sacrifices for the 

 embellishment and perfection of his work. The 

 revolution interrupted his literary activity, and he 

 returned to Constantinople. Selim III., who honoured 

 knowledge, allowed the two volumes which were 

 published to be presented to him, and, far from being 

 displeased at the disclosure of some secrets, gave 

 orders to facilitate the learned writer's researches, 

 by affording him the necessary information. After a 

 long sojourn in Constantinople, D'Ohsson returned 

 to Paris, where he found hardly any traces of his large 

 property. Even the buildings where he had deposited 

 the copies of his work, and the plates, drawings, &c., 

 had been destroyed and plundered. Without suffering 

 himself to be depressed by these misfortunes, he de- 

 vised a still greater plan, which had in viewan histo- 

 rical picture of the whole East, and became entirely 

 absorbed in his desire to execute it. In 1804, he had 

 completed two volumes of his Tableau historique de 

 V Orient, when the war with Sweden made him appre- 

 hensive of another interruption. He asked and 



