MOUNTAIN. 
the fame materials. From Mr. Bruce's defcription of 
thefe mountains, it would appear that they are compofed 
of Terpentine, and not of calcareous, marble. 
Table. Mountain. See vol. viii. p. 678. 
MOU'NTAIN, adj. Found on the mountains; per¬ 
taining to the mountains; growing on the moun¬ 
tains : 
Now for our mountain fport, up to yond hill, 
Your legs are young. ShakeJ'peare's Cymbeline. 
You may as well forbid the mountain pines 
To wag their high tops, and to make a noife. 
When they are fretted with the gulls of heav’n. ShaUefp. 
MOUNTAIN ASH'. See Sorbus. 
MOUNTAIN BLU E. See the article Mineralogy, 
vol. XV. p. 4.91. 
MOUNTAIN BUT'TER. See vol. xv. p. 474 - 
MOUNTAIN COR'K. See vol. xv. p. 445. 
MOUNTAIN EB'ONY. See Bauhinia. 
MOUNTAIN FLAN'. See vol. xv. p.445. 
MOUNTAIN of FOR'FY DA'YS, a mountain of 
Judea, fituated in the plain of Jericho, to the north of 
that city. According to the abbe Mariti’s defcription, 
the fummit of it is covered neither with Ihrubs, turf, nor 
earth; it confifts of a folid mafs of white marble, the 
furface of which is become yellow by the injuries of the 
air. “ The path by which who afcend to it (fays our 
author) fills one with terror, as it rifes with a winding 
courfe between two abyfles, which the eye dares fcarcely 
behold. The path is at firlt pretty broad ; but it at length 
becomes fo confined, that one can with difficulty place 
both feet upon it at the fame time. When we had attended 
a little higher, we found an Arab ft retched out on the 
path, who made us pay a certain toll for our paffage. 
Here the traveller requires courage. One of the parapets 
of the path being broke, we clung to the part which re¬ 
mained until we had reached a final 1 grotto, fituated very 
commodioufly, as it gave us an opportunity of recovering 
our breath. When we had relied ourfelves a little, we 
purfued our courfe, which became ftill more dangerous. 
Sufpended almoft from the rock, and having before our 
eyes all the horror of the precipice, we could advance 
only by dragging one foot after the other; fo that, had 
the fmallell fragment given way under us, we ffiould have 
been hurried to the bottom of this frightful abyfs. This 
mountain is one of the high ell in the province, and one of 
its moil facred places. It takes its name from the rigorous 
fall which Chrift obferved here after having triumphed 
over the vanities of the world and the power of hell. In 
remembrance of this miracle, a chapel was formerly con- 
llrufled on the fummit of the mountain. It may be feen 
from the plain; but we could not approach it, as the path 
was almoft entirely deftroyed. It, however, may be ac- 
ceffible on tic other fide of the mountain, which we did 
not vilit. A great many fcattered grottos are feen here; 
in one of which, according to Quarefmius, were depofited 
the bodies of leveral anchorets, which are ftill entire. I 
have heard the fame thing aflerted in the country, but 
I could never meet with any perfon who had feen them. 
Here we enjoyed the mod beautiful profpe£i imaginable. 
This part of the Mountain of Forty Days overlooks the 
mountains of Arabia, the country of Gilead, the country 
of the Ammonites, the plains of Moab, the plain of Je¬ 
richo, the river Jordan, and the whole extent of the 
Dead Sea. It was here that the devil laid to the Son of 
God, “ All thefe kingdoms will I give thee , if thou wilt fall 
down and icor/hip me .” 
MOUNTAIN GREE'N. See vol. xv. p. 491. 
MOUNTAIN HE'ATH. See Saxifraga'. 
MOUNTAIN IN'DIANS, Indians of North America, 
in lat. 65. N. Ion. 127. to 130. W. 
MOUNTAIN of INSCRIPTIONS, or Written 
Mountain, a fuppofed mountain or chain of mountains, 
in the wildernefs of Sinai; on which, for a great extent of 
Vol. XVI. No. 1099. 
141 
fpace, the marble of which the mountain confifts is in- 
feribed with innumerable characters, reaching from the 
ground fometimes to the height of twelve or fourteen 
feet. Thefe were mentioned by a Greek author in the 
third century, and fome of them have been copied by 
Pococke, and other late travellers; but, after all, there is 
a very great uncertainty even of the cxiflenee of fuch moun¬ 
tain or mountains. The vaft number of thefe inferip- 
tions, the defert place in which they are found, and the 
length of time requisite for executing the talk, have in¬ 
duced a notion by no means unnatural, that they are the 
work of the Ifraelites during their forty years wandering 
in the wildernefs. Others are of opinion that they con¬ 
tain nothing of any importance; but confift merely of the 
names of travellers, and the dates of their journeys. 
Niebuhr, who viftted this country during his travels 
in the eaft, made every attempt in his power, though with¬ 
out fuccefs, to obtain a fight of this celebrated mountain. 
On applying to fome Greeks at Suez, they all declared 
that they knew nothing of the Written Mountain : they, 
however, directed him to an Arabian fheik, who had palled 
all his life-time in travelling between Suez and Mount 
Sinai; but he knew no more of it than the former. Un- 
derftanding, however, that a confiderable reward would 
be given to any perfon who would conduct them thither, 
this Arab directed them to another; who pretended not 
only to know that mountain, but all others upon which 
there were any inferiptions throughout the defert. On 
inquiring particularly, however, our travellers found that 
he was not to be depended upon ; fo that they were 
obliged to have recourfe to a fourth fheik, who by his 
converfation convinced them that he had feen mountains 
with inferiptions in unknown charafters upon them. It 
does not appear, however, that this perfon was very ca¬ 
pable, more than the reft, of leading them to the place 
they fo much wifhed for; though he conducted them to 
fome rocks upon which there were inferiptions in un¬ 
known characters. They are molt numerous in a narrow 
pafs between two mountains named Om-er-ridftein ; and, 
lays M. Niebuhr, “ the pretended Jibel-el-Mokatteb may 
poffibly be in its neighbourhood.” Some of thefe in¬ 
feriptions were copied by our author; but he does not 
look upon them to be of any confequence. “ They feem 
(fays he) to have been executed at idle hours by travel¬ 
lers, who were fatisfied with cutting the unpolifhed rock 
with any pointed inftrument, adding to their names and 
the date of their journeys fome rude figures, which be- 
fpeak the hand of a people but little {killed in the arts. 
When fuch inferiptions are executed with the defign of 
tranfmitting to pofterity the memory of fuch events as 
might afford inftruClive leflbns, greater care is generally 
taken in the preparation of the Hones, and the inferip¬ 
tions are engraven with more regularity.” 
When M. Niebuhr arrived at laft at the mountain to 
which the fheik had promifed to conduCl him, he did not 
find any inferiptions; but, on climbing up to the top, he 
found out an Egyptian cemetery, the ftones of which 
were covered with hieroglyphics. The tomb-ftones are 
from five to feven feet in length, fome Handing on end 
and others lying fiat; and “ the more carefully they are 
examined (lays he), the more certainly do they appear 
to be fepuichral ftones, having epitaphs inferibed on them. 
In the middle of thefe ftones is a building, of which only 
the walls now remain; and within it are liicewife a great 
many of the fepuichral ftones. At one end of the build¬ 
ing. Teems to have been a fmall chamber, of which the 
roof ftiil remains. It is fupported upon fquare pillars; 
and thefe, as well as the walls of the chamber, are co¬ 
vered with hieroglyphic inferiptions. Through the whole 
building are various bulls, executed in the manner of the 
ancient Egyptians. The fepuichral ftones and the bufts 
are of hard and fine-grained land-ftone.” M. Niebuhr is 
of opinion that this cemetery was not the work of the 
Egyptians themfeives, but of fome colony which came 
O 0 frons 
