Taurus Mountains

“ Description of the Taurus Mountains [43] and the river Euphrates.
Why the mountain shines at the top, from half to a third of the night, and looks like a comet to the inhabitants of the West after the sunset, and before day to those of the East. ”

“ West of Ararat high hills extend along the Black Sea between which and the Taurus range lies the plateau of Asia Minor reaching to the Aegean Sea, the mountains along the Black Sea, on which are the Olympus and Ida of the ancients rise to 6000 or 7000 ft., the Taurus is more lofty—reaching 8000 and 10,000 ft.—both ranges decline in altitude as they approach the Mediterranean. ”

“ Still further up, we came to orchards of walnut and plum trees, and vineyards There were no houses, but the inhabitants, who were mostly Turcomans, live in villages during the winter, and in summer pitch their tents on the mountains where they pasture their flocks. Directly over this quiet pastoral vale towered the Taurus, and I looked at once on its secluded loveliness and on the wintry heights, whose bleak and sublime heads were mantled in clouds. From no point is there a more imposing view of the whole snowy range. ”

“ Among the heights of Taurus, and in the midst of rocks and precipices for the most part inaccessible, is a hollow and fertile plain divided into several valleys. The inhabitants cultivate this plain, but live among the overhanging heights of the mountains, or in caves. They are for the most part armed, and accustomed to make incursions into the country of other tribes, their own being protected by mountains, which serve as a wall. ”

“ It is in the Shatin Dagh [424] that the bend to the west-south-west is effected, which may be followed through a series of volcanoes into the Anti-Taurus and the Mediterranean range. The outer line is formed by the grand half-circle of the Kurdish mountains; from the parched plains about Diarbekr you see them, as from the well of an amphitheatre, covered or capped with gleaming snow. This principal chain of Taurus extends to the coast of Syria, and emerges from the sea in the island of Cyprus and in many a headland and island of the Anatolian coast. ”

“ This splendid range of mountains, better known as Mount Amanus, forms a main branch of the Taurus system, from which it is divided only by the valley of the Pyramus. It separates Syria from Cilicia on the west, and touching the sea near Alexandretta follows the coast south-westward, until arrested by the broad valley of the Orontes. The average height of the chain is from four to six thousand feet, while some of its peaks reach almost to the snow-line. ”

“ Mountains.—The Taurus range, perhaps the most important feature in Asia Minor, runs the whole length of the peninsula on the south, springing east of Euphrates in the Armeno-Kurdish highlands, and being prolonged into the Aegean Sea by rocky promontories and islands. It attains in Lycia an altitude of 10,500 ft., and in the Bulgar Dagh (Cilicia) of over 10,000 ft. The average elevation is about 7000 ft. East of the Bulgar Dagh the range is pierced by the Sihun and Jihun rivers, and their tributaries, but its continuity is not broken. ”

“ In the same manner, the mountains of Taurus and Imaus divide Asia into two parts; which mountains begin on the Mediterranean, in 36 or 37 degrees of north latitude, over against the islands of Rhodes and Cyprus, and extend eastwards to the sea of China. Thus, likewise, the mountains of Atlas in Africa divide the tawny moors from the black moors, or negroes who have frizzled hair. These mountains begin at Mount Moies , near the desert of Barca, and extend under the tropic of Cancer to the Atlantic ”

“ We had now reached the highest ridge of the hilly country along the northern base of Taurus, and saw, far and wide before us, the great central plain of Karamania. Two isolated mountains, at forty or fifty miles distance, broke the monotony of the desert-like level: Kara Dagh in the west, and the snowcapped summits of Hassan Dagh in the north-east. Beyond the latter, we tried to catch a glimpse of the famous Mons Argeus, at the base of which is Kaisariyeh, the ancient Cæsarea of Cappadocia. This mountain, which is 13,000 feet high, is the loftiest peak of Asia Minor. ”

“ In spring the grass on the rolling plains is soon parched. So when the hot sandstorms blow in the lower steppe the scorching heat is carried right up to the foot of the mountains. On the other hand, since the spurs of the Taurus bring the winter cold a long way south, and the cold increases from west to east as we leave the mild coast of the Mediterranean, far down into the Mesopotamian plain the influence of the snow-covered ridges can be felt, and in the higher parts of the plain snow and ice are not infrequent ”

“ This Taurus is that mountain which, with many others is said to be the ridge of Mount Caucasus; but wishing to be very clear about it, I desired to speak to some of the inhabitants of the shores of the Caspian sea, who give evidence that this must be the true Caucasus, and that though their mountains bear the same name, yet these are higher; and to confirm this in the Scythian tongue Caucasus means a very high [Footnote 68: Caucasus; Herodot Kaoxaais; Armen. Kaukaz.] peak, and in fact we have no information of there being, in the East or in the West, any mountain so high. ”

“ The shadow of this ridge of the Taurus is of such a height that when, in the middle of June, the Sun is at its meridian, its shadow extends as far as the borders of Sarmatia, twelve days off; and in the middle of December it extends as far as the Hyperborean mountains, which are at a month's journey to the North [75] . And the side which faces the wind is always free from clouds and mists, because the wind which is parted in beating on the rock, closes again on the further side of that rock, and in its motion carries with it the clouds from all quarters and leaves them where it strikes. ”

“ Passing between these, we ascended to the shelf dividing the waters of the Cydnus and the Sihoon. From the point where the slope descends to the latter river, there opened before me one of the most glorious landscapes I ever beheld. I stood at the extremity of a long hollow or depression between the two ranges of the Taurus — not a valley, for it was divided by deep cloven chasms, hemmed in by steeps overgrown with cedars. On my right rose a sublime chain, soaring far out of the region of trees, and lifting its peaked summits of gray rock into the sky. ”

“ Striking our tent in the gardens of Tarsus, we again crossed the Cydnus, and took a northern course across the plain. The long line of Taurus rose before us, seemingly divided into four successive ranges, the highest of which was folded in clouds; only the long streaks of snow, filling the ravines, being visible. The outlines of these ranges were very fine, the waving line of the summits cut here and there by precipitous gorges — the gateways of rivers that came down to the plain. In about two hours, we entered the lower hills. They are barren aud stony, with a white, chalky soil ”

“ There are two divisions of the range, the Taurus on the south and the Anti-Taurus running northeast. Snow-covered mountain-tops are numerous, rising above thick forests that everywhere mantle the mountain sides. ”

“ The summit of Gray's Peak is a favorable viewpoint from which to study the complexion, the idiosyncrasies, if you please, of individual mountains, each of which seems to have a personality of its own. Here is Gray's Peak itself, calm, smiling, good-natured as a summer morning; yonder is Torrey's, next-door neighbor, cruel, relentless, defiant, always threatening with cyclone or tornado, or forging the thunder-bolts of Vulcan. Some mountains appear grand and dignified, others look like spitfires. ”

“ The sheaves were drawn to the threshing-floor on sleds, and we could see the husbandmen in the distance treading out and winnowing the grain. Over these bright, busy scenes, rose the lesser heights of the Taurus, and beyond them, mingled in white clouds, the snows of the crowning range.
The road to Tarsus, which is eight hours distant, lies over an unbroken plain. Towards the sea, there are two tumuli, resembling those on the plains east of Antioch. Stone wells, with troughs for watering horses, occur at intervals of three or four miles ”

“ The sun was intensely hot, and for hours we jogged on over the dead level, the bare white soil blinding our eyes with its glare. The distant hills were lifted above the horizon by a mirage. Long sheets of blue water were spread along their bases, islanding the isolated peaks, and turning into ships and boats the black specks of camels far away. But the phenomena were by no means on so grand a scale as I had seen in the Nubian Desert. On the south-western horizon, we discerned the summits of the Karaman range of Taurus, covered with snow. ”

“ A view from any of the trails will explain why. The great rock spines are more precipitous than elsewhere, the glaciers more broken; and the summit is fronted on either side by a huge parapet of rock which hurls defiance at anything short of an airship. Doubtless, we shall some day travel to Crater Peak by aeroplanes, but until these vehicles are equipped with (p. 054) runners for landing and starting on the snow, we shall do best to plan our ascents from the south or east side.
Paradise Valley or "Park," and Tatoosh Mountains, from slope below Paradise Glacier. ”

“ From this celestial height one may see more than a hundred miles in every direction, far away to the ocean on the west and into the great Inland Empire on the east. The snow-capped peaks already noted are seen toward the south, Mount Olympus to the northwest, and Baker, Shuksan, Stuart, and Glacier Peak to the north; while the Mother, the Sluiskin, the Sourdough Mountains, and the Tatoosh Range near by seem like mere foothills, between eight and nine thousand feet below. No grander or more inspiring view may be observed anywhere in the world. ”

“ Speeches were made on the summit, and resolutions passed to confirm the names Gray’s and Torrey’s peaks given in 1862 by Dr. Parry, who was himself happily with the party. The ascent is not as difficult as in most mountains of that height, as one can ride on horseback to the top in August, when the snow lies only in patches; the trail is mostly over the rough shale, and for a month or two the summit, though over 14,000 feet, is almost bare. ”

“ Northwards and eastwards extended in glorious and shining array the magnificent chain of the Alps; glacier upon glacier, peak upon peak, range upon range of splendid mountains. Eastwards a fine rocky peak without a name and Mount Darwin, and looking south-westwards down the Tasman Glacier, from whence we had toiled our laborious way, the eye could follow the course of the great ice stream for twelve or thirteen miles, flanked by the grand mountains which sent down their tributary ice streams to join the mass in the valley below. ”

“ We ascended by a steep hill from the river bottom, which is sandy, to a volcanic plain, around which lofty hills sweep in a regular form. It is cut up by gullies of basaltic rock, escarpments of which appear everywhere in the hills. This plain is called the Taih prairie, and is sprinkled with some scattered pines. The country is now far more interesting to a traveler than the route along the Snake and Columbia rivers. To our right we had always the mountains, from the midst of whose dark pine forests the isolated snowy peaks were looking out like giants. ”

“ Instead of groping along in a deep and narrowly contracted defile, where the only outlook was heavenward, now we glided along up the sides of a deep ravine, rising higher and higher, getting a wider and wider view of the surrounding country, until, after twisting around the sides of the mountains, and passing around more horseshoe curves than we ever dreamed of, we finally reached the top of the range of mountains, eleven thousand six hundred feet above the sea. ”

“ In such a climate heights like these are quite insignificant, and they would not offer at any season an obstacle of much importance to an army operating from the lowlands in the direction of the Armenian plains. This sinking-down of Taurus has been accompanied, as indeed one might expect, by volcanic action on a considerable scale. The Karaja Dagh, which lies to the south-west of Diarbekr, is not a mountain of much relative height. You may ride at a trot across its long-drawn undulations, admiring the sea-like expanse of the plains around. ”

“ It is difficult to convey any just impression of the scene from the summit of the Finsteraarhorn: one might, it is true, arrange the visible mountains in a list, stating their heights and distances, and leaving the imagination to furnish them with peaks and pinnacles, to build the precipices, polish the snow, rend the glaciers, and cap the highest summits with appropriate clouds. ”

“ To the north was a level plain, above which the crater-shaped cone of Tauhara rose in rugged grandeur. To the east rolled away the wide expanse known as the Kaingaroa Plains, clothed in a mantle of waving tussock grass; while south-easterly the long line of the Kaimanawa mountains stretched across the country, their tall, pointed peaks looking like the Sierras of Southern Spain. ”

“ Two days afterward, finding myself not yet acclimated, I joined a company who were making a day’s wagon-trip to Whiteside, the highest peak in the immediate vicinity of Highlands; a real mountain, said to be five thousand feet in height, but looking considerably lower to my eye, its surroundings being all so elevated, and the southern latitude, as I suppose, giving to it a more richly wooded, and consequently less rugged and alpine appearance than belongs to New England mountains of a corresponding rank. ”