THE ALMA-LEE-DAGLER. 
683 
moment of commencing our ascent, we were a little alarmed by 
a party of Turkish horsemen coming down upon us ; but seeing 
our Tatars, they pulled up ; else, I dare say, these gentry, like 
most of their adventurous brethren, would not have lost any fa¬ 
vourable occasion for plunder. After much parley, we separated. 
Having proceeded some way, in approaching a narrow pass, Sedak 
observed the heads of several men peering over the rocks. I 
lost no time in pointing them out to the Tatars, who, drawing 
back, confessed they did not like their appearance. On this 
symptom, I desired Sedak to ask our little Esop, who was armed 
up to the teeth, to ride forward with him and myself, “ to feel 
our way !” We did so, and the men, seeing us gallop towards 
them, disappeared amongst the higher parts of the ravine. Our 
guide, as well as ourselves, thought they had taken post there for 
no good purpose; and expressed his belief, that, had we not 
shewed something of a bold front, or that they supposed the 
horsemen in sight were part of our company, we might have had 
more difficulty in making them forsake their first station. In half 
an hour from Lori we passed a village called Orgi, whence we 
began another very arduous ascent, carrying us along the sum¬ 
mits of an apparently endless chain of hills, most of which were 
partially clothed with juniper-trees and dwarf-oak. The direc¬ 
tion of our path seemed extremely varied, but its main point was 
much to the northward. At four o’clock our descent commenced 
into a valley of similar cultivation with that of Lori; and after 
following its windings nearly due south, we halted just as the day 
closed, in a small village at the foot of a range of hills called the 
Alma-lee-Dagler; part of the same we had purposely avoided on 
account of their noted robbers. Considering the wild situation 
of the place, we got pretty tolerable lodging for the night, though 
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