304 The National Geographic Magazine 



shores of the lake, and were entertained 

 at dinner by the Molokani, as the mem- 

 bers of one of these sects are called. 

 Our repast was quite elaborate for that 

 part of the country. It consisted of 

 soup made from corned beef and cab- 

 bage, all being served in one dish, with 

 whipped sour cream as a sauce ; fresh 

 trout from the lake, and boiled chicken. 

 The last would have been very delicious 

 had it not been for the sauce of sour 

 cream and horseradish, which gave it a 

 flavor which none but the educated taste 

 could appreciate. One of the desserts 

 consisted of watermelon, muskmelon, 

 and pears cut into small pieces, mixed 

 with grapes and plums, covered with a 

 hot syrup and sensed in hollowed-out 

 segments of melon rind. Grapes and 

 melons grow to perfection in the irri- 

 gated fields on the Armenian plateau. 



While passing through the village I 

 had stopped to look at a very cunning 

 baby, but what was my surprise during 



dinner to be told that I was wanted by 

 some peasants in the front yard. There 

 I found lined up before the door, under 

 the generalship of the mother of the 

 baby I had admired, several women 

 dressed in their best Sunday clothes, and 

 each one with a highly polished and care- 

 fully dressed babe in her arm. Never 

 having attended a baby show, I can 

 safely say that this was the proudest set 

 of women I had ever seen. Unfortu- 

 nately these people are very supersti- 

 tious, fastening blue beads not only upon 

 their children, but also upon their ani- 

 mals, to ward off the evil eye. They 

 were afraid of my camera, and departed 

 hurriedly when they saw it pointed their 

 way, only three succeeding in making' 

 politeness overcome fear. 



For many miiles after leaving the lake 

 there was not a tree or a shrub to break 

 the monotony of the scene as far as the 

 eye could reach. The plain is a dreary 

 waste of ancient lava. The houses oft- 



At Jelenovka 



