168 
ELLYR1AN VILLAGES PALISADED . 
[chap. it. 
We were now in the very gorge of that chain. Below 
ns, in the valley, I observed some prodigious trees 
growing close to a Hor (ravine), in which was running 
water, and the sides of the valley under the mountains 
being as usual a mass of debris of huge detached rocks, 
were thronged with villages, all strongly fortified with 
thick bamboo palisades. The whole country was a series 
of natural forts, occupied by a large population. 
A glance at the scene before me was quite sufficient; 
—to fight a way through a valley a quarter of a mile 
wide, hemmed in by high walls of rock and bristling 
with lances and arrows, would be impossible with my 
few men, encumbered by transport animals. Should 
the camels arrive, I could march into Ellyria in twenty 
minutes, make the chief a large present, and pass on 
without halting until I cleared the Ellyria valley. At 
any rate I was well before the Turks, and the forced 
march at night, however distressing, had been successful. 
The great difficulty now lay in the ravine that we had 
just crossed; this would assuredly delay the caravan 
for a considerable time. 
Tying our horses to a bush, we sat upon a rock 
beneath the shade of a small tree within ten paces of 
the path, and considered the best course to pursue. 
I hardly liked to risk an advance into Ellyria alone, 
before the arrival of my whole party, as we had been 
