s been the scene of so much
misery and conflict. As monuments of two extreme events in this historic
period, two spots might have attracted our attention--one right below us,
the ruins of Artaxata, which, according to tradition, was built, as the
story goes, after the plans of the roving conqueror Hannibal, and stormed
by the Roman legions, A. D. 58; and farther away to the north, the modern
fortress of Kars, which so recently reverberated with the thunders of the
Turkish war.

We were suddenly aroused by the rumbling of thunder below us. A storm was
rolling rapidly up the southeast slope of the mountain. The atmosphere
seemed to be boiling over the heated plain below. Higher and higher came
the clouds, rolling and seething among the grim crags along the chasm; and
soon we were caught in its embrace. The thermometer dropped at once below
freezing-point, and the dense mists, driven against us by the hurricane,
formed icicles on our blistered faces, and froze the ink in our
fountain-pens. Our summer clothing was wholly inadequate for such an
unexpected experience; we were chilled to the bone. To have remained where
we were would have been jeopardizing our health, if not our lives.
Although we could scarcely see far enough ahead to follow back on the
track by which we had ascended, yet we were obliged to attempt it at once,
for the storm around us was increasing every moment; we could even feel
the charges of electricity whenever we touched the iron points of our
alpenstocks.

Carefully peering through the clouds, we managed to follow the trail we
had made along the gradually sloping summit, to the head of the great
chasm, which now appeared more terrible than ever. We here saw that it
would be extremely perilous, if not actually impossible, to attempt a
descent on the rocks along its treacherous edge in such a hurricane. The
only alternative was to take the precipitous snow-covered slope. Planting
our ice-hooks deep in the snow behind us, we started. At first the strong
head wind, which on the top almost took us off our feet, somewhat checked
our downward career, but it was not long before we attained a velocity
that made our hair stand on end. It was a thrilling experience; we seemed
to be sailing through the air itself, for the clouds obscured the slope
even twenty feet below. Finally we emerged beneath them into the glare of
the afternoon sunlight; but on we dashed for 6000 feet, leaning heavily on
the trailing-stocks