of the Old World. 419 



clad summit the sky seemed to rest. It appeared 

 so distinctly defined that I did not imagine it was 

 more than fifteen miles off, and was much surprised 

 when our guide assured me that it was nearly twelve 

 saat, or about three times that distance. 



Our route now became much more difficult for the 

 horses, as we had to make our way for several miles 

 in an easterly direction along the tortuous ridge of 

 this range, sometimes clambering up craggy cliffs so 

 steep that every moment I was afraid of my horse 

 losing his balance and falling backwards with me, 

 and at other times having to descend rocky slopes 

 and ledges with scarcely any inequalities in their 

 surface to afford foothold. Often the men had 

 infinite trouble with their animals before they could 

 get them to attempt some of the descents ; and fre- 

 quently one of them, slipping, would come sliding 

 against the rest, knocking others off their legs, which 

 it required great exertion and floundering to regain. 

 I took care to avoid such accidents by keeping well 

 ahead; but sometimes even my horse, which was 

 remarkable for its surefootedness, would come on to 

 his knees and remain a fixture, fearing, if he stirred, 

 to roll down the whole way. We avoided all the 

 higher peaks, which were covered with snow, and 

 tried to preserve our level as much as possible, 

 although at times we traversed valleys so walled-in 

 that the rays of the sun could never penetrate except 



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