LIONS. 19 



As it was here that Sir Charles Fellows 

 heard of live Lycian lions, necessary elements in 

 the construction of the Chimaera in its popular 

 form, we made anxious inquiries on the sub- 

 ject, and the more so, because having asked 

 everywhere else about Cragus, we had not heard 

 of any. The peasant with whom we lodged was 

 more than eighty years old, and familiar with all 

 the wild animals, but knew nothing of live lions, 

 though quite aware of the general aspect of the 

 animal. Another man who was in the hut at the 

 time, and had travelled in Egypt, where he had 

 seen a lion at Alexandria, declared there was 

 none in this country. From the people here, 

 however, we heard of no less than nineteen 

 quadrupeds living on or about Mount Cragus. 



Leaving Tortucar we ascended the valley to 

 its upper termination, which is a precipice of 

 great height overhanging the sea. Up this pre- 

 cipice winds the ancient zig-zag road, marked by 

 Captain Beaufort in his chart of the coast of 

 Karamania. We descended it to examine some 

 ruins at the base. These were mostly middle- 

 age, but there were also three sarcophagi of 

 white marble, resembling the Parian in grain, the 

 only ones of that material we met with in Lycia, 



c 2 



