Travels and Researches in Crete

Chapter I

Mount Ida. — Ascent to the summit. — Its flora. — Its geological structure. — Devonshire Chough. — The Ibex. — A moving mountain. — Sunset view from the summit. — Comfortless night. — Stormy morning. — Return to the shepherds' cave.

Chapter II

Descent from Ida. — Zones of vegetation. — Village of Vorus. — Native conferences. — Pashley's ' Travels ' ; its deficiencies. — Reflections on the Revolution for Independence 20

Chapter III

Gnossus and Gortyna. — Candia founded by the Saracens — enlarged by the Venetians. — Its fortifications. — The great Siege of Candia by the Turks. — Gallant defence and surrender. — Reflections on the siege. — Khania supplants Candia as the present capital of Crete 26

Chapter IV

Dapper's Plan of the Siege. — The Cemetery. — St. George's Gate. — Lepers at ditto. — Youthful leper. — Married lepers and child. — Neglect of the lepers. — Lepers' village. — Reflections. — Due de Beaufort. — Pasha's tomb. — Turkish superstitions. — Sculptured sarcophagus at the St. George's Gate 3" CONTENTS. VI PAGE 77

Chapter V

Mahomedans of Crete. — Greek the common language. — Close association of the creeds — its natural effects. — An enlightened pasha, intrigue against him. — Over-estimate of the Greek population. — Greek rising, and persecution of the Mahomedans. — The Sfakians — their dialect — its Hellenic connexion shown by the late Col. Leake 47

Chapter VI

Gnossus — its site — its few remains at present — cause of this. — The Labyrinth. — Plutarch's account of the Minotaur and Labyrinth. — Ancient tombs at Gnossus — its ancient ports of Amnisus and Heracleion 58

Chapter VII

Gnossus an early seat of Art and Learning before Greece. — Sculpture by Dædalus.— Subsequent celebrity of Cretan art. — Its coins remarkable for art and for their imperfect surface and form. — Eminent Cretan sculptors. — A Cretan Venus. — A Cretan head of Zeus. — Leonardo da Vinci's picture 68

Chapter VIII

Mount Iuktas, the burial-place of Zeus ; route to it. — Turkish Monastery. — Three dervishes. — View from Mount Iuktas. — Rhaucus. — Valley of Arkhancs — its hospitable inhabitants. — Tranquil nights ; their treachery to the traveller.

Chapter IX

Ancient cities of Lyttus and Lycastus.— Position of the latter at Astritzi.— Thenæ.— Plain of Pediada; ascent to the site of Lyttus from it.— The description of the site and its remains — its inscription — its coins CONTENTS. VII 109

Chapter X

page The Plain of Lascthe — its fertility and salubrity — it contained no ancient City, and therefore belonged to Lyttus. — Descent to Khcrsoneso. — Ruins of an ancient aqueduct and road from Lyttus to Khersoneso. — Nuniniulitic fossils. — Ruins of Khersoneso. — Yestiges of a church or cathedral. — Tessellated fountain at the port. — Ancient theatre. — A Freshwater deposit 100

Chapter XI

The Mirabella district and uplands. — The Carobor Locust-tree flourishes in this district. — The nutritious properties of its fruit. — The food of St. John in the wilderness. — Malia Bay and village. — Ancient site on the coast of the bay. — Discovery of scales of gold. — Probable site of a temple to Britomartis. — Site of Miletus. — Extensive cavern near it. — The harbour and fortress of Spina Longa. .

Chapter XII

The ruins of an early Cretan city upon the Isthmus of Spina Longa, and of Naxos over it. — The identity of the former with Olontion. — Its ruins.* — Its ancient port at Kalokythia. — The ruins and whetstone-quarries of Naxos. — The quarries of Elunta. — The ancient Bishopric of Allyngus recognized here 121

Chapter XIII

The routes between Mirabella and Spina Longa, and also to Kritza. — The upland basin of Lakonia. — A remarkable site over it. — The very early character of the ruins. — Identity with Olus and Olerus. — The Olerian Minerva, her celebrated temple and festival. — Wooden statue to Britomartis, by Dædalus. — Kritza the present capital of the Mirabella. — Its fine situation. — The site of Minoa identified at the head of the Gulf of Mirabella. — The few- CONTENTS. VIII TAGE ness of its remains explained by a recent submergence of the eastern half of Crete 130

Chapter XIV

The ancient port of Olus at St. Nikolo, not Minoa. — Ruins of a Venetian castle, and of the ancient town of Camara, at St. Nikolo. — A deep pool adjacent to its old port. — A copious source at Almyro, and legends connected with it. — The two other Cretan almyros, or brackish sources. — The singularity of their situations, and of the mountainfeatures over them, a result of uniform geological conditions 142

Chapter XV

The Gulf of Mirabella, and the isthmus at its head. — Characteristic features, their influence upon the earliest inhabitants. — The Eteo-Cretes and Mount Dicte. — The northern route into the Sitia. — The ruins at Leopetra. — The ruined Venetian town and bay of Sitia. — The probable site of Etea 152

Chapter XVI

Journey up the Valley of Sitia to Præsus. — The site a fine one, but vestiges few upon it. — Its ancient name still retained. — Dicte shown by Strabo to have been proximate to it. — Its site at Kopra Kephalo — Ancient cisterns and ruins. — Faithless wives in the Sitia, and easy divorce. — Cretan marriage ceremonies 103

Chapter XVII

The upland plain and village of Kataleone. — Hospitality of a Turkish family. — The plain and village of Khadra. — Rebuilding a church. — A hospitable Greek couple. — Description of their habitation ; its furniture, comforts, and condition. — The little tormentors of travellers. — Leave Khadra. — A Venetian villa. — Return to Sitia Bay .... CONTENTS. IX PAGE 188 200

Chapter XVIII

The north-east extremity of Crete. — The Yanisades Islands. — Cape Salmone, doubtful application of the name. — The Topler Monastery. — Eremopoli the ancient Etera. — Its description. — Probably also called Arsinoe. — Its convenient situation for Alexandrian traders. — Relics of a præptolemaic age. — Numerous inscriptions. — Copper coins . .

Chapter XIX

Corruption of ancient Cretan names. — The modern name of Lasethe derived from Lyttus, as Sidero from Etera. — The Necropolis of Etera. — Sepulchral vases. — Ancient tombs and tombstones. — Volcanic protrusions. — Palaio Kastron. — Middle-age stronghold. — Vestiges of a city at the time of Minos. — The ancient name not determined. — Inscription at the Topler Monastery. — A cairn. — Local winds . .

Chapter XX

Sponge-divers on the coast of Crete. — Aristotle's knowledge of sponges derived from the ancient sponge-divers. — The temperature of the Mediterranean deeps. — The large adulteration of the sponge with fine sand. — Practice of diving by the young children of sponge-divers. — A fleet of sponge-fishers at work, their mode of operation. — The inconveniences and accidents they are subject to. — The shark's occasional appearance. — Account of a large shark near a sponge-bank 215

Chapter XXI

The east coast of Crete. — Gorge of Karouba. — Zakro Bay. — Cyclopean remains. — The ancient Itanus. — Destruction of it and Præsus by the Hierapytnians. — The ancient name still applied to a neighbouring village. — The coins of Itanus. — The appropriate emblems upon them. — Site of the small town of Ampelus. — Routes to return to Ierapetra 2'3'2 CONTENTS. X TAGE

Chapter XXII

The Kouphonisi Islands. — Roman ruins. — Ancient statue. — The Island of Ophiusa. — Cretan pirates in early times. — Roman and Rhodian war against them. — The haunt of Algerine pirates. — An English traveller taken by one. — Captain Manias. — His piratical deeds as a Sfakiot chieftain. — His death in my service. — A character, but not a type of the race. — A patriot's grave 241

Chapter XXIII

Return to Ierapetra. — Its situation and natural facilities for forming a good port. — Its importance in early Cretan times. — Its three theatres. — its three harbours. — An inscription with the name of the city. — A lepers' village. — Yisit to the village. — The neglect of the lepers by the Cretans. — The Chapel of the Holy Cross upon a Mountain. — Misdirection of mind and means. — Constant resort of the sick to the ships for medical aid. — Their wants and wounds attended to by the doctor. — The good physician's pleasures 253

Chapter XXIV

Discovery of two sarcophagi. — Their purchase and removal to the British Museum. — A ghost story. — Description of the larger sarcophagus. — The situation in which the sarcophagi were found, not in situ. — Conjectures upon their origin and original sites , . 274

Chapter XXV

The viUage of Anatoli. — Valley of Myrto. — Village of Malia within it. — Tournefort's " simpling " journey to it. — Route from Girapetra to Arvi. — A giant's tomb. — Pashley's learned description of the conflict of Otos and CONTENTS. XI PAGI* Ephialtes, sons of a giant, against the god Ares. — Pro trusion of porphyritic trap. — Site of the temple of Jupiter Arbius. — Cleft mountain over it. — -The probable origin of the temple at its base. — Geological notice of the adjacent coast deposits. — Keraton Rock and Bay. — Vast number of olive-trees. — Route to Viano. — Viano the ancient Biennus. — Route towards the Messara. — Roman aqueduct. — A fighting Turk.— Tchifoot Kastelli 289

Chapter XXVI

Tchifoot Kastelli. — The supposed site of Arkadia. — Pashley's erroneous views regarding its position. — Pliny's description of its fountains. — Tchifoot Kastelli proves to be only a middle-age fortress. — Probable origin of the name. — - Return to the tent. — Informal on of other ruins.* — Proceed to them. — Identify then* as Arkadia. — Their description 310

Chapter XXVII

The Messara plain. — Its two rivers. — Proceed to Panagia. — Mussulman hospitality. — The effects of the Greek movement against the Turks during the past year. — Disappointing visit to reported ruins over Panagia. — Search for the Homeric Rhytion. — Discover ruins at Rotas. — Identify the site as Rhytion.— Kastelli the ancient Stelæ. — Sudsuro the ancient Priansus. — Its situation. — Sudsuro Bay. — Rock chapel 327

Chapter XXVIII

Rock grotto and chapel of Niketas. — Barbary corsair.— Miraculous escape of some Cretans from the pirates. — The flight of a Cretan virgin. — The river Sudsuro. — A waterfall.— The city of Lebena. — Temple of Æsculapius. — The ruins of the city CONTENTS.

Appendix

I. PAGE On Cretan and modern Greek. (By Viscount Strangford.) . . 355

APPENDIX.

II. The capture of a Protestant divine by an Algerine corsair, in the seventeenth century ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME I. Page view or the town OF candia Frontispiece. COIN OP GNOSSUS 5 VIEW FROM MOUNT IDA, LOOKING WEST .... to face 1G SCULPTURED DRAMATIC SCENE ON A SARCOPHAGUS AT CANDIA 40 a Cretan venus to face 72 VIEW OF KHERSONESO „ 106 VIEW OF THE SITE OF OLONTION „ 128 PLAN OF GOOLAS, THE ANCIENT OLUS 129 CYCLOPEAN HOUSE AT GOOLAS (woodcut) 141 ArIEW OF EREMOPOLI, THE ANCIENT ETERA 193 VIEW OF PALAIO KASTRON 208 sponge-divers at work • . . . to face 222 ArIEW OF IERAPETRA „ 254 SCULPTURED SARCOPHAGUS — THE DISCOVERY OF ACHILLES AT THE COURT OF LYCOMEDES 279 ACHILLES LAMENTING THE LOSS OF PATROCLUS 281 PLAN OF SARCOPHAGUS-CHAMBER (woodcut) 282 CLEFT MOUNTAIN OF AHVI 295 GROUND-PLAN OF ARKADIA to face 321 VIEAV OF LEBENA 351 MAP — EASTERN PART OF CRETE at the end.

INTE0DI7CTI0N. Having in May 1851, been appointed to succeed my lamented Commander, the late Captain Graves, in the direction of the Mediterranean Survey, I took com mand of the 'Spitfire,' a paddle steamer, and pro ceeded in her first to Crete, to complete its general survey, which had been previously commenced by him. I was joined by all the surveying-staff of Captain Graves, and by Lieutenant (now Commander) G. Johnstone as the executive officer, my former companions in the Survey; and by their able assistance the survey of Crete would have been brought to a conclusion in the end of the year 1853, but for its sudden interruption in the middle of the season, by my recall to prosecute surveys, which the prospective Russian war rendered more immediately necessary, in the waters of approach to Constantinople and the Black Sea. The Cretan charts were in consequence necessarily put aside until after the Crimean war, and VOL. I. b

Introduction

. until other surveys that resulted from that war, viz. at the Danube, &c, had been completed and published. Several journeys were made by me through Crete, during the progress of its survey, in company with some of the officers or alone, either with the view to co-operate in parts of its detail, or to collect reliable information regarding the local names, population, and ancient cities, many of them being as yet undis covered or undescribed, and in consequence having an important connexion with the completion of its geographical and topographical description. The results of the journeys are briefly thrown together in the following chapters. The most gratifying part of an important work or task is when the director and responsible head of it has it in his power to do full justice to the zeal and ability of those whom he has had the good fortune to have under his command during its progress.

But the value of these detailed surveys will speak for themselves, and for the several officers whose names are now attached to them. And to the harmony that existed must be attributed, without doubt, a large share of those good results that followed. For in such a special service, as in every expedition of enterprise and research, where the zeal, talent, and interest of every officer is required to be enlisted and maintained, under various trying circumstances that are incident to such services alone, the maintenance

INTRODUCTION.

. 3 of accord and good-fellowship is the key to their endurance and perseverance, and the consequent har mony and perfection of the work. Labour, under such conditions and circumstances, becomes light and pleasant ; and men then need no other stimulus than the sense of duty to urge them to the fullest energy and exertion. For then the higher feelings, emanating from a conviction of the important and enduring value of such labours to the general navigator and for the advancement of general knowledge and science, become better developed and more operative in all. My acknowledgments are therefore here heartily given to all. But it is my special pleasure to refer to the labours of my old coadjutor and companion, Lieutenant (now Commander) Mansell, ofthe 'Firefly,' and also to Lieutenant Wilkinson, of H.M.S. 'Medina,' by both of whom the greater part of the coast-line and topographical detail has been obtained; and no less to Mr. (now Staff Commander) Stokes, the able master and observer, who has been also associated with me in the Levant Survey for many years ; and to Lieu tenant Brooker likewise, for his assistance in the surveys of Crete.

And as all have now their names attached, in their appropriate places, to the several plans and charts of it to which they have contri buted, that official recognition must be as gratifying to them, as it is to me thus prominently to mark, in e

INTRODUCTION.

. this Introduction to a general description of the Island of Crete, my individual appreciation of their responsible labours. But a work of purely local and limited research, with the aim of preserving a few topographical and anti quarian facts, and without dashing adventure or touching incidents, cannot be expected to excite much general interest. Yet as some few, perhaps, of the next generation as well as the present may find these records and facts of use to them as travellers or universal students, I am induced to give them for their advantage and appreciation, which is the most flattering result I can hope from my labours. The map is a reduction of the Admiralty Charts of Crete, published from our Surveys. To Viscount Strangford I am specially indebted for the translation of the modern Greek and Cretan vocabulary given in the Appendix, and published at Athens by M. Chourmouzes Byzantios in 1842.

To the Rev. Churchill Babington, of St. John's College, Cambridge, also, I am indebted for a learned Appendix upon the several new inscriptions that were found in the island. I have to lament much delay both in the time of commencing and the completion of this book, through press of other duties ; and its publication has been further deferred, through a long indisposition, and my absence from England. COIN OF GNOSSUS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM

Chapter I. Mount Ida

— ASCENT TO THE SUMMIT — ITS FLORA — ITS GEOLO- GICAL STRUCTURE — DEVONSHIRE CHOUGH — THE IBEX A MOVING MOUNTAIN — SUNSET VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT — COMFORTLESS NIGHT — STORMY MORNING RETURN TO THE SHEPHERDS' CAVE. It is now some few years ago that, on the last day of May, I found myself standing upon the summit of the Cretan Ida. The enthusiastic scholar will per haps envy me this privilege, entertaining a sentiment of veneration for a spot so sacred in classical antiquity as the birthplace of Jupiter, according to the writings of some ancient authors who have treated of the my thology and traditions of the heroic ages. The view from its summit, at 8200 feet above the MOUNT IDA. sea, over a great part of the length and breadth of this fine island is a magnificent one certainly ; but I must undeceive the reader at once, by assuring him that it was no classical enthusiasm that carried me at this season to its snow-capped summit ; I was there in furtherance of a scientific object only, viz. the ob taining the observations that were required for a complete triangulation over the southern islands of the Greek archipelago, and for the survey of Crete itself, in connexion with them.

To say that I felt no enthusiasm on the occasion would not be true. But mine unfortunately arose from no learned interest in the mythological features and faith of the men of the time of Minos. It had little to do with those who fed its fabled history with the story of the Minotaur, and the conquest of the beast by the Athenian Theseus. The object of my mission had sufficient interest in itself to excite a feeling of enthusiasm, from an anti cipation of its future utility, from the opportunity afforded me of studying some of the grander features of nature, and from the varied interests connected with the examination and exploration of a new field. Besides, who has ever gained the region of snow, at a level of 8000 feet, with the sea, laving the shore, lying almost at his feet, or has attained any great elevation after great toil, without feeling the extreme pleasure of having his fatigue and exertion rewarded by the ASCENT TO THE SUMMIT. 7 magnificence of the bird's-eye view obtained by his labours 1 Or who can prevent the mind from then soaring, like the eagle that hovers over the summit he is upon, as he first beholds the diminutive and now silent, but yet busy, world below, and thus feels the buoyant freedom of a temporary release from its vani ties, intrigues, and bustle ] Enthusiasm is, however, hardly the appropriate term for one's feelings on such an occasion ; for it is mixed with awe, with admiration, or with gratitude as the eye first reposes on the plunging descent beneath, upon the vast expanse and beautiful scene around, or reflectively peers into the ethereal space above.

We had halted, the previous night, at an upland plain more than 2500 feet below the summit, and four or five miles to the eastward of it, and a little below the margin of the now fast-receding snow, as the sun was nearly in the solstice. The ascent from this upland basin or plain had occupied four hours and a half, following, as near as we could trace it, the brow of the main ridge leading to the summit, so as to avoid the depth of the snow in the hollows on either side, now sometimes treacherous from the sun's melting influence. The quaint but celebrated French botanist and tra veller, Tournefort, ascended the mountain a century and a half ago, in search of rare plants, but was not rewarded in accordance with his expectation, finding FLORA OF THE MOUNTAIN. the mountain then comparatively bare and without flowers.

The old mountain, however, is not barren of plants both rare and beautiful ; for it has its alpine as well as its peculiar vegetation, like all isolated and all such greatly elevated mountains. The indefatigable botanist, however, was a month too late in the time of ascent, its flowering season having passed. At the time of our visit, on every bare patch of soil from which the snow had disappeared but a few days, and indeed I may say hours, there sprung up many beautiful vari eties of bulbous plants, that flowered almost as soon as the snow disappeared from over them : one of these — a white-flowered variety of Fritillaria tulipifolia — not then in flower, I had afterwards the pleasure of seeing in bloom under the care of Mr. N. Ward, to whom several of the bulbs, which I had forwarded to my lamented friend Forbes, had been given, as well as to Sir William Hooker at Kew, where it also flowered.

It was as white as a snowdrop and as delicate as a wax plant. The rest of the plants gathered on Ida were, as was to be ex pected, similar to those we had found on the summits of the Lycian Taurus about the same time of the year. Dr. Pococke also ascended Mount Ida in the last cen tury, and about thirty years later than Tournefort ; but the learned Doctor's visit was in the month of August, when the vegetation was also gone from it. Both these celebrated travellers also ascended from the Monastery of Arkadia, at the north-west base of the mountain. FLORA OF THE MOUNTAIN. The upland basin in which we had bivouacked, and from which we now ascended on foot, was nearly two miles long, and from half a mile to a mile broad, with lesser plains at the same level in connexion with it. The natives called it Nida, Nidha, or Netha, which is evidently a corruption of the ancient name of the mountain, Ida, according to the modern Greek pro nunciation.

But the actual summit has for ages been called Psiloriti or Ypsiloriti ('Y-*£»jXo;oeiT*oi>). This upland basin, in which we had halted as the highest point to which our sure-footed mules could carry us, was just now also green as the meadow, from the fresh spring grass and herbage upon its surface — the snow having been absorbed by its soil but a few days previous, under the warmth of the mid-May sun. Our arrival, in fact, was with the earliest return of the shepherds and flocks that resort to its pasturage as the lowlands become parched by the heats of harvest-time, now in progress in the valleys below. The verdant upland basin was as refreshing to the eye as the fine bracing air of so elevated a region was to the feelings ; and its carpet of verdure was bespangled with patches of wild flowers, amongst which we were de lighted to find the Buttercup of our own English mea dows, or a species closely allied to it, that in some parts mellowed the verdure with its intermixed tints of gold*. * A pretty little Clausilia gathered here was recognized by Dr. Pfeiffer to be a new land-shell, and named by him Clausilia Idœa.

GEOLOGICAL STEUCTUEE. The pasturage of Ida, according to ancient fable, had the peculiar property of gilding the teeth of the sheep that fed upon it ; and I am told that the juices of its herbs or the pollen of its flowers certainly tinges them a little yellow at this season ; hence may be seen the solution of the fable — that is, if the scholar can be reconciled to such a matter-of-fact explanation. Mount Ida stands almost in the centre of Crete, and is insulated from the lesser ridges lying east and west of it. In one point of view — that is, from the north west and west — it has a striking appearance, from its fine conical form and towering elevation ; and on this account, as much as from its being the highest in the island by a few feet, it owed perhaps its repute amongst the ancients, and the fiction and fable which history and tradition have associated with it.

But when seen from the north and north-east, its long diameter is brought in view, and then it has not so noble and grand an aspect, having a long and undulating crest rising gradually, from its eastern extreme, towards the summit, which lies nearer its western. The south and south-west faces of the mountain are very steep, being the upraised side ; and the uplifting agent, which was a mass of serpentine, has protruded or forced itself out there, forming a respect able mountain, but in comparison to Ida a mere hill at its foot ; whilst on the north and north-east the face descends in a series of ridges and terraces, like so GEOLOGICAL STEUCTUEE. many steps between the summit and base, and repre senting probably so many faults, dislocations, and up liftings of its strata. The substratum is mainly a mass of stratified limestone, with occasional interspersed beds of shale, which altogether attains a thickness of at least 5000 or 6000 feet.

Between the serpentine at the south base and the upper limestones there also crops out a series of older or altered shales and lime stone of probably 1000 feet in thickness. The precise geological age of this has not yet been demonstrated by fossil evidences ; for although an English traveller in the island, of the last century, Dr. Varyard, de scribes some fossils found by him at the foot of Ida which would seem to correspond with Belemnites, and indeed calls them so, we did not in our ascent or de scent find any fossils. The summit is formed of thinly stratified grey lime stone, which easily splits into large slabs, the whole dipping to the north-east at a small angle. With these slabs a small hovel, called a church, and dedicated to the Holy Cross (Agios Stauros), has been erected upon the summit, at the instigation of an old priest of My lopotamo, in consequence of a command he is said to have received to that effect in a dream.

But the only indication of its sacred character was our finding, within a small hole at its east end, a fragment of some earthen vessel, with a few pieces of charcoal and incense. In my ascent to it I was accompanied by Colonel THE DEVONSHIEE CHOUGH. Drummond Hay, late of the 42nd Regiment, who was then on leave and a guest of Captain Graves. He was a keen sportsman and a patient and earnest ornitholo gist ; and his enthusiasm and interest in his favourite pursuit was brought to the highest pitch of delight on the evening of our arrival in the plain of Netha, by unexpectedly finding there a few of the true Devon shire Jackdaw or Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus), of the skin of which he was deficient in his fine collection of British birds, owing to its peculiar limited location to the south-west of England, and whose list of birds observed by him in Crete is given in the Appendix to the 2nd volume.

It was singular to find it here, when it had been so often sought for elsewhere by the indefatigable ornithologist. But, in selecting Crete for a location, it had instinctively resorted for breed ing to an elevation of the mountain that possessed climatal conditions adapted to its nature. When we reached the summit, the snow had melted from off the Chapel, as well as for several hundred yards along the crest of the peak on either side of it. Several bulbs were in flower upon these bare patches, which, with a few scattered tufts of a closely matted and prickly plant, that grew in the form of a sponge, and seldom larger than one, were all the vege tation that was capable of growing upon the bleak crest of Ida ; and when we first sighted it, a group of Agrimia, a species of Ibex, that had been browsing THE IBEX. 13 upon the scanty pasture, were standing motionless upon its pinnacle.

We had seen several others in the ascent, some forty in all ; but they were too wary of any approach of man. They were not to be taken even by a Highland deer-stalker and keen sportsman like my friend and companion Drummond, but bounded away, as soon as we were perceived, over snow and steep, crag and precipice, until they had gained another commanding peak far out of reach of gun and rifle, and there again they watchfully grouped themselves with their ponderous and sabre-shaped horns curved in relief against the western sky. Crete and the uninhabited islet of Anti-Milo are the only islands of the archipelago in which the Ibex is found ; and their introduction into the latter island must have been from Crete. Several Hares were seen also during the ascent, all of which were started from their forms on the open snow — a spot their instinct seems to lead them to prefer during the day, from the bad lie of their scent upon it; and they seemed to be a smaller species than the Hare of the lowlands.

The summit of the mountain gained, the necessary observations for the distant triangulation were immediately commenced, but were only partially completed after several hours' trial at the theodolite, through the unfortunate and unexpected rising of a mist around us, or an occasional settling of a cloud upon the distant AN UNFOETUNATE MIST. peaks. The important angles to the more distant islands usually visible from Ida could not, therefore, be taken satisfactorily ; and it was so necessary and desirable to obtain them, if possible, after the time, labour, and expense incurred in ascending to the summit of the mountain with our instruments, that I felt it ne cessary to remain the night, hoping that at sunset or sunrise, as we had often experienced before, the clouds would temporarily descend or lift from the mountain top and also from the summits of the distant islands.