THE FOED OF THE ARAXES. 153 



tlie moon liad risen, and the steppe looked wonderfully 

 weird in its liglit, with Ararat and Alagoz looming like 

 ghosts in the background. We slept at Sadarak, where 

 Paul and rran9ois had got some supper ready for us. 



June 6th. — We drove two stations to Kamirlu, where we 

 were to turn off for Aralykh, the village and Cossack 

 station nearest Ararat, separated from us by ten versts 

 and the Araxes. I had a note for the postmaster, and he 

 made no difficulty about giving us carts, although Aralykh 

 is not on a regular post-road. We soon saw we were 

 approaching the river, by the swampiness of the ground, 

 from which the water had but just retreated. The Araxes 

 is here divided into three branches : the main stream is 

 crossed by a ferry-boat ; the two smaller branches are 

 generally easily fordable, but now offered considerable 

 difficulty. At the first our baggage was carried on men's 

 heads, who waded across whilst we plunged in, cart and 

 all. Though our small ark was nearly floated away in the 

 struggle, we came out in safety on the other side. A 

 hundred yards further we reached the second branch, the 

 only means of crossing which was a leaky old boat, and 

 the delay in the traffic caused a most picturesque scene of 

 uproar and confusion. This ferry, though on no great 

 caravan route, is much frequented by the nomad Kurds, 

 who are constantly changing their pastm^e-grounds. These 

 people are the Arabs of the mountains, and are nearly as 

 striking as their better-known relations. Hundreds of 

 them now lined the bank, in their bright and picturesque 

 costumes, with their tents rolled up ready for crossing, 

 their wives and daughters seated on the heaps of baggage, 

 and their camels and flocks lying down or straying 

 around. The men, who were fhie-looking felloAvs, wore 

 gay-coloured dresses, and carried queer old weapons in 

 their broad belts. The girls were almost all pretty nut- 



