00 feet, although they lie in a very little
higher latitude. They assign, as a reason for this, the exceptionally dry
region in which Ararat is situated. Mr. Bryce ascended the mountain on
September 12, when the snow-line was at its very highest, the first large
snow-bed he encountered being at 12,000 feet. Our own ascent being made as
early as July 4,--in fact, the earliest ever recorded,--we found some snow
as low as 8000 feet, and large beds at 10,500 feet. The top of Little
Ararat was still at that time streaked with snow, but not covered. With so
many extensive snow-beds, one would naturally expect to find copious
brooks and streams flowing down the mountain into the plain; but owing to
the porous and dry nature of the soil, the water is entirely lost before
reaching the base of the mountain. Even as early as July we saw no stream
below 6000 feet, and even above this height the mountain freshets
frequently flowed far beneath the surface under the loosely packed rocks,
bidding defiance to our efforts to reach them. Notwithstanding the
scarcity of snow-freshets, there is a middle zone on Mount Ararat,
extending from about 5000 feet to 9000 feet elevation, which is covered
with good pasturage, kept green by heavy dews and frequent showers. The
hot air begins to rise from the desert plain as the morning sun peeps over
the horizon, and continues through the day; this warm current, striking
against the snow-covered summit, is condensed into clouds and moisture. In
consequence, the top of Ararat is usually--during the summer months, at
least--obscured by clouds from some time after dawn until sunset. On the
last day of our ascent, however, we were particularly fortunate in having
a clear summit until 1:15 in the afternoon.

Among the crags of the upper slope are found only a few specimens of the
wild goat and sheep, and, lower down, the fox, wolf, and lynx. The bird
and insect life is very scanty, but lizards and scorpions, especially on
the lowest slopes, are abundant. The rich pasturage of Ararat's middle
zone attracts pastoral Kurdish tribes. These nomadic shepherds, a few
Tatars at New Arghuri, and a camp of Russian Cossacks at the well of
Sardarbulakh, are the only human beings to disturb the quiet solitude of
this grandest of nature's sanctuaries.

The first recorded ascent of Mount Ararat was in 1829, by Dr. Frederick
Parrot, a Russo-German professor in the University of Dorpat. He reached
the summit with a party o