164 AKARAT. 



General Cliodzko's account of the existence of a small 

 glacier near the top, by telling us that there was a river 

 there which stood still on account of the cold. General 

 Chodzko ascended the highest peak of Alagoz, when 

 employed on the military map of the Caucasian provinces, 

 in 1847. He describes the top as exceedingly small, and 

 the final scramble as more fatiguing than difficult. The 

 second summit he pronounces altogether inaccessible. 



The Colonel welcomed us back most cordially, and 

 invited us to stay and rest ; but we were anxious to get to 

 Erivan, and so, after paying off our Kurds, wished him 

 good-bye, and rode on to the feny. The Persian owners 

 of the horses had demurred to being taken on to Kamarlu 

 as part of the day's work, and we had compromised the 

 question, by promising them a ' backsheesh ' on our arrival 

 there. At the ferry they refused to go any further ; we 

 sur23rised them by paying no heed to their noise, and 

 taking the horses over with us. At the second branch we 

 found the leaky boat replaced by a rude log-raft, buoyed 

 on inflated skins, on which we crossed, some Kurds swim- 

 ming our horses over. The scene was otherwise unchanged, 

 except that the Kurd girls were even prettier specimens of 

 their race than those we had seen before. The sun was 

 scorchingiy hot as we rode into Kamarlu, and we were 

 glad to throw ourselves down for half an hour on the 

 wooden benches, in a cool room, while our ' telegas ' were 

 prepared. The Persians having persisted in their resolve 

 not to cross the river, we left their horses in the charge of 

 the postmaster, and set out to drive the two terribly rough 

 stages into Erivan, where we arrived, sore and sorry, about 

 sunset. 



June lOi^ to 12t/i, Erivan. — We sent out Paul to make 

 enquiries, and endeavour to conclude a bargain for horses, 

 to enable us to ride back to Tiflis, by country- roads, for we 



