The Prophet of Khoi.--Climate.--Effects of great Elevation
above the Sea.--The Genus Homo.--African Gold-diggings.--Sale
of a Family.--Site of Paradise.--Tradition of Khosref
Purveez.--Flowers.--A Flea-antidote.--Origin of the Tulip.--A Party
at the Cave of Ferhad, and its Results.--Translation from Hafiz.
The atmospheric peculiarities of this climate are such, that the
weather, as a general rule, may be considered as on the way from bad
to worse. Earthquakes more or less severe are often felt. A severe
one occurred in the year 1843, and in the same year the town of
Khoi was almost entirely destroyed by one of these awful convulsions
of nature. A circumstance occurred on that occasion which was very
remarkable, if true. A dervish or fakir of distinguished sanctity felt
himself about to die, and, calling his friends and disciples around
the couch of skins on which he lay, he prophesied that a terrible
disaster was about to fall upon the town of Khoi; that the lives
of many would fall into the hands of Monkir and Nakir on that day;
but that those faithful believers who accompanied his body to the
tomb would be permitted to escape from the sword of the avenging
angel for his sake. The old man died, and, being held in universal
reverence, the greater part of the inhabitants of Khoi followed his
corpse to the burial-ground, which was situated at some distance from
the town. While absent on this pious errand, a tremendous earthquake
suddenly reduced the city to ruin. So complete was the destruction
that hardly a house was left standing, and many of those who had
remained at home perished in the fall of their habitations, while
those who had accompanied the body of the dervish to the grave were
saved from the disaster, as he had prophesied.
This is a wonderful story; I heard it at the time, and was very much
struck with the peculiar circumstances of the case. Its accuracy would
be difficult either to prove or to disprove, but the history as I
have narrated it was current at the time when the earthquake happened.
Pillars of dust, like those of sand seen in the deserts of Africa
and Arabia, are supposed to be the works of evil spirits, and
often stalk like giants across the plain. The deep narrow valleys
and ravines which slope down from the elevated plateau of Erzeroom,
are unhealthy and pestilential in the extreme, while the inhabitants
of the upper country enjoy good health enough. Here the corn returns
about five-fold to the labor of the sower: one being retained for seed,
four bushels is the extent of the profit of the husbandman for one
which he had sown. The summer, though very short, is hot and parching,
the thermometer being usually about 84, though it rises occasionally,
I think, to nearly 90. The cold in winter is commonly 16 degrees below
zero of Fahrenheit, and is often colder. The mercury in my thermometer,
which was not calculated for such a climate, quietly retired into
the ball in the autumn, and never came out again while I remained at
Erzeroom. The great height of the town above the sea was exemplified
in a practical manner to me on my first arrival. I was in a state
of constant wrath about the tea: the tea was excellent, of the very
best quality, but the decoction thereof was always a failure. In
vain was the kettle placed upon the fire by my side; in vain did
the semavar, the best of tea-urns, boil and steam. Double, double,
toil and trouble! the fire burned and the caldron bubbled, but the
tea was vapid. As for the eggs, I don't know how long it took to boil
them till the white was fixed. The reason of all this only occurred
to me one day when I put my finger into some almost boiling water,
which by no means scalded me--for water boiled at 196° of Fahrenheit,
as we were between 7000 and 8000 feet above the level of the sea;
and, consequently, though boiling and steaming away, it was not hot
enough to produce the effects of water boiling at the heat of 212°,
which is the temperature at which it boils in London.
Nature has provided a kettle of her own, in a hot spring at Elijé,
near which place I was informed that there was a rock against which
iron stuck of its own accord--a rock of loadstone; but I never had
an opportunity of verifying this report.
The natural history of the highlands of Armenia is particularly
interesting, and rich in flowers hardly known to Europeans, and in the
prodigious quantities of birds which breed on the plain of Erzeroom,
and in the valleys and water-courses of the neighborhood.
The quadrupeds are not numerous; the climate is too rigorous for those
not provided with thick furs to protect them from the tremendous cold.
The fish consist only of a sort of barbel, which is found in the
high waters of the Euphrates, and of three kinds of trout, swarming
in the lesser streams and rivulets which flow down from the snowy
mountain-tops.
To commence with the highest order of mammalia: some extraordinary
specimens of the genus Homo are to be met with in many parts of the
East, generally in the character of Frank doctors. Erzeroom was not
wanting in productions of this kind. The character of these adventurers
is in every instance precisely alike: they are all sharp and so-called
clever men, speaking several languages correctly, with a smattering of
general knowledge, but understanding nothing perfectly, and all wanting
in the same two qualities--judgment and principle, the consequence of
which want is, that not one in a hundred succeeds in life, and, after
passing through a series of strange changes of fortune, they usually
die unlamented, as poor as when they began their erratic career.
The adventures of one old gentleman, with whom I was acquainted here,
was so extraordinary and uncommon, that a history of them would fill a
volume. After this man's death, it appeared that he was not himself,
but somebody else; and his true name being the same as that of a
person I had met, many years before, at Wadi Halfa, or at Assouan,
high up the Nile, made me suspect that these two persons were the
same. One half of this character certainly died in a khan at Erzeroom;
but as I do not know whether the other half is dead, or whether the
two were really one or not, I must forbear the strange narration of
their lives, for fear something might meet the eyes of their friends
or relations--if they had any--who, perhaps, may be under the pleasing
delusion that their respected relative was an honor to their name.
I must, however, relate a little anecdote of the Egyptian half
of my acquaintance. At Assouan, below the Cataracts, I saw
an extraordinary-looking boat, built of bits of hard wood, like
iron-wood, each about two feet long, caulked or cemented in the
seams with reeds and mud, precisely in the manner in which the
ancient boats are represented in the hieroglyphics. This strange
vessel was of large size, and was navigated by a crew of blacks,
of a tribe with which I was not acquainted. The proprietor of the
ship was dressed in a much worn and old-fashioned Turkish dress; his
cabin was carpeted with lion-skins; his cushions were the skins of
some small deer, stuffed. He was very civil, and spoke in the French
language to me, while he gave his orders to his servants in a dialect
which bore little resemblance to Arabic, but which belonged to some
distant region of the interior of Africa, where he had been living
many years. His personal servants were the handsomest negroes I had
ever seen: though they were dressed as men, I found they were girls;
one, who was beautiful, was his wife. He was an interesting personage,
and appeared on friendly terms with his black attendants, who looked
forward with great glee to the wondrous sights which they were to see
at Cairo. After listening to some curious stories of the manners and
customs of the black nations of the interior, unknown to Europeans,
he showed me three or four strongly-made iron-bound chests, which,
on being opened, proved to be full of gold, to the amount of some
thousands of pounds; some was in nuggets, but most part of it was
in the form of rings the size of bracelets, and others the size of
large heavy finger-rings, all of pure gold. These rings were passed
as money, and were of the exact form of those used for the same
purpose by the ancient Egyptians, and of the rings found in Celtic
and British tombs. Independent of their intrinsic value, they were
exceedingly curious; and he said gold might be procured in great
quantities in the mountains beyond Darfoor. Here, then, is an opening
for some future diggings, and an object to promote discoveries in the
centre of Africa. My informant was a European, of the same nation and
the same name as the person whom I met at Erzeroom, but I now doubt
whether the two were or were not the same. Some time afterward I made
inquiries at Cairo about this singular adventurer, when I heard that
he had sold his strange vessel, his wife, his servants, and his crew,
to their astonishment and dismay, for they did not consider themselves
as slaves, and he had taken his departure for Europe with his gold
rings and the produce of the sale of his confiding family.
It may not be generally known that Erzeroom is supposed to be the
site of the terrestrial paradise. The reason of this supposition is
deduced from the fact of so many great and famous rivers taking their
rise in this exalted region.
About three hours from Erzeroom, passing the ancient monastery of
Kuzzul Vank, on the way to Tortoom and Kars, a rocky top of a mountain
rises about two thousand feet above the plain, and consequently
about ten thousand feet above the level of the sea. Standing on one
spot upon this mountain, the traveler can see the sources, beneath
his feet, of the Euphrates, the Araxes, and the river which falls
into the Black Sea in the pestilential neighborhood of Batoum; one
river falling into the Persian Gulf, one into the Caspian, and one
into the Black Sea. The traditions of the country relate that the
flowers of paradise bloomed in luxuriant splendor in this now barren
region till the days of Khosref Purveez. This mighty Persian monarch,
"the Great King," was encamped upon the banks of the Euphrates, on
the plains of Erzeroom, when a messenger arrived from the Prophet
Mohammed, then an insignificant pretender, offering this magnificent
sovereign protection if he would give up the religion of his fathers
and embrace the faith of Islam. Khosref Purveez, in derision, threw the
letter from the prophet into the waters of the river, when Nature, in
dismay, withered all her trees and flowers, and the bounteous stream,
which formerly bestowed wealth and abundance to the country on its
shores, shrank into its bed, and, refusing to fertilize the earth,
cold, and frost, and barrenness have been ever since the consequence
of the impiety of the Persian king: not only this, but the days of his
ancient empire were numbered; and in the days of Yesdijird, a few years
after this event, the blacksmith's apron, the victorious standard of
Persia, fell into the hands of the Mohammedan general, at the great
battle of Kudseah, where the sun of Persia set to rise no more.
Among the rocks, not far from Erzeroom, is an artificial cavern, hewn
out of the mountain side by Ferhad, the successful rival of Khosref in
the affections of the beautiful Shireen. It was here--or others say at
Beysittoon--that Ferhad threw himself from the precipice on hearing
the false intelligence that Shireen was dead; and that famous beauty
herself died on seeing the remains of the mighty Khosref, who had been
murdered by his own son Schiroueh out of jealousy and love for her.
From the tops of the mountains surrounding Erzeroom the snowy summit
of Mount Ararat can be seen--another monument in the history of the
cradle of the human race, and at its feet the town of Nackchevan was
built by Noah, on his descent from the ark. This was the first city
built by man after the Flood, according to Armenian, and I think also
Mohammedan, tradition.
Some slight remains of paradise are left, even to our days, in the
form of the most lovely flowers, which I gathered on the very hill
from whence the three rivers take their departure to their distant
seas. Though one of them has a Latin scientific name, no plant of
it has ever been in Europe, and by no manner of contrivance could
we succeed in carrying one away. This most beautiful production
was called in Turkish, Yedi kartash kané (Seven brothers' blood),
in Latin, Ravanea, or Philipea coccinea, a parasite on absinthe,
or worm-wood. This is the most beautiful flower conceivable: it is
in the form of a lily, about nine to twelve inches long, including
the stalk; the flower and stalk, and all parts of it, resembling
crimson velvet; it has no leaves; it is found on the sides of the
mountains near Erzeroom, often in company with the Morena Orientalis,
a remarkable kind of thistle, with flowers all up the stalk, looking
and smelling like the honeysuckle. Another beautiful flower found
here has not been described. It grows among rocks, and has a tough
carroty root, two feet or more in length; the leaves are long grassy
filaments, forming a low bush, like a tussock of coarse grass; under
the leaves appear the flowers. Each plant has twelve or twenty of them
(like large white-heart cherries on a stalk), in the form of a bunch
of grapes, eight or ten inches long; these flowers are merely colored
bladders holding the seed. An iris, of a most brilliant flaming yellow,
is found among the rocks, and it, as well as all the more remarkable
flowers of this country, blooms in the spring soon after the melting
of the snow--that is to say, about June.
Piré otou, a herb, which is sold here in powder (Anthemis rosea,
aut carnea), instantly kills fleas and other insects, and would be
invaluable to travelers in warm climates. We possessed a certain
little dog called Fundook (a nut), who held the important position of
turnspit in our kitchen: he was a wise dog, with a look of dignity
about him like a dog in office, and one that had something on his
mind and knew more than he would say. He turned out his elbows and
turned in his toes, and sat at the door in a solemn attitude when
not employed on the business of the nation. In the pursuit of his
vocation he became sadly vexed with fleas, and his dignity suffered
from the necessity of scratching with his hind leg, just like a
common, vulgar dog. Commiserating his condition, one of the grooms
went to the expense of five paras (one farthing sterling), with
which he purchased two good handfuls of powdered leaves of Piré otou,
the effect of which was magical: in one minute every flea was dead,
and Fundook swaggered into the kitchen quite a renovated dog.
It may not be generally known that the tulip owes its origin to the
blood of Ferhad, which was sprinkled on the ground when he threw
himself from the rocks in despair, on hearing of the death of his
glorious Shireen. In this story we see how one beautiful idea is
copied and admired by mankind in the most distant regions, times, and
circumstances, for this is the same tradition as that of the Anemone,
which, in classic lore, arose from the blood of Adonis while Venus
was weeping for his loss.
Upon a day we gave a party at the cave of Ferhad; this was a rare
function; parties were not common at Erzeroom.
"When the Orient sun arose, and shed his golden beams o'er the
snowy peaks of the mountains of the East, Apollo on that day must
have reined in his steeds in wonder at the unwonted stir that was
taking place at Erzeroom, as Aurora withdrew the purple veil of night
from the features of fair mother Earth, refreshed with the slumbers
she had enjoyed under the guardianship of Endymion. She of the rosy
fingers doubtless started up in beautiful surprise at the bustle and
the activity displayed beneath her gaze. Phoebus, not resisting the
pleasure of curiosity, gazed down in all his glory on the Armenian
plain, where horses neighed, and cattle lowed, and hasty marmitons
laded ox-eyed oxen with bright coppers from the kitchen shelves;
wains were there laden with wide tubs of cooling snow; cooks, in
a perspiration, swore deep oaths; the voice official of Fundook was
heard yelping and barking in the morning breeze, and under Sol's first
rays a caravan set forth in long, dark outline, winding o'er the plain
of Erzeroom." For the rest, see Homer, unpublished edition, cap. x.
All the rank and fashion of the place were present; the rank rode on
horseback, the fashion followed in a cart drawn by four oxen--this
would sound better if it were called an araba--and therein was
contained all the beauty of the city of Erzeroom. The distance may
have been ten miles; some of the party got there in three quarters of
an hour, and others arrived in an hour and three quarters. Among the
distinguished guests were two philosophers, one of whom, having lately
arrived in these unknown regions, was remarkable for the glorious
colors of his waistcoat. This effulgent garment having been admired,
the answer was returned in the following mysterious sentence, as I well
remember, in a language unknown, as far as my knowledge is experienced,
in any nation upon earth: "Zést mon vamme, gui ma tonné ze chilet." Our
admiration of the chilet gave way before the announcement that the
carriage and four was approaching the cave, and all sallied forth
to receive the lovely damsels that it bore. Through many a quag,
o'er many a rock, and many a jolt had those oxen drawn the araba
for many a weary hour before they lay down in front of our cave; and
now it was the happy lot of those who got there first to hand out of
their carriage the admired beauties of Armenia. The carriage stopped,
and we were in readiness, our feelings of politeness screwed up to
the most perfect tone--
When the pie was opened,
The birds began to sing:
Wasn't that a dainty dish
To set before a king?
But the birds did not come out--there was much to be done before
that desired object was concluded: first, out came a cushion, then
a feather-bed, and then a pretty girl; then another cushion, then
another lovely damsel; then three or four more cushions, and another
feather-bed, and then the prettiest little girl of all jumped upon
the ground, half laughing and half smothered; for such dainty goods
would have broken all to bits on those rough roads, if they had not
been packed so carefully. The mother of the three graces accompanied
them, and, the party being assembled, the great business of life
commenced in earnest. Dolmas, and kieufté, and cabobs soon graced the
board--not that there was any board, but it sounds well. "Viands,"
that is, chickens, lamb stewed with quinces, and all manner of good
things, appeared and disappeared, to the wonder of certain hungry
Koords who happened to be passing, and who would have been run
through with the spits, if not devoured by Fundook, our brave ally,
if they had made a row. Corks from foreign bottles of champagne popped
in brisk salute. Cooks and kawasses, grooms, arabagis, eiwasses,
and heiwans followed the good example set them by their lords, and,
"fruges consumere nati," did their best to follow the end of their
creation. Then, and on that occasion only, did many a lantern-jawed,
hook-nosed Koord imbibe the unknown potations of Frangistaun. Then,
in glorious generosity, did the trusty marmiton dispense the bones
of slaughtered lamb, drumsticks of fowl, and crust of pie, whereof
repletion dire denied the power to partake. By staggering chiboukgis
pipes were next produced, and fragrant coffee, served on salvers
bright; and, on soft Persian carpets now reclined, the party enjoyed
the scene before them, passing an agreeable afternoon in each other's
society, accompanied, I thought, with some little flirtations between
some of the company, which, I suspect, left pleasing recollections
on their minds; for though I can not boast that any thing came of it
that day, yet not long afterward two marriages were declared between
some of those who assisted at the dinner in the cave of Ferhad; and
the most anxious chaperon will acknowledge that that was as much as
could be expected under the circumstances, seeing that there were
but two unmarried ladies of the company.
Afterward I found among my papers the following doleful ditty,
purporting to be a translation of Hafiz, on the fertile Persian subject
of Ferhad and Shireen; and as the reader is not obliged to read it
unless he likes to do so, I subjoin it in memory of the day that I,
for my part, passed so pleasantly with many agreeable companions
in this unfrequented spot. The accompaniment to the air having been
kindly undertaken by Fundook, the minstrel thus begins:
Hafiz, who pass'd his sunny hours
By the sweet stream of Mosellay,
Singing of vineyards and of flowers
To pass the fleeting time away,
Tells how the blood of Ferhad's wound
Had stain'd fair Nature's mantle green,
Sprinkling with ruddy spots the ground
Before the feet of fair Shireen.
The tulip from his blood arose
Beside her path in that sad hour.
Displaying how its leaves inclose
A goblet in each opening flower.
Then to the lips the goblet press,
Whose rim contains forgetfulness.
The vine, the glorious vine, arose,
Unscathed by crime, unchanged by woes,
Exulting in her charms;
Waving her tendrils in the breeze,
And clasping the rough, rugged trees
In her encircling arms.
With clustering grapes upon her brow,
Still as she binds each willing bough
Their welcome aid she gains;
On them she leans, but they confess
The power of her loveliness,
And glory in their chains.
Fill up the bright and sparkling bowl,
That cures the body, heals the soul.
No--be it not refused--
Hail to the vine! whose purple juice
Was sent on earth for mortals' use,
But not to be abused.
Still to the lips the goblet press,
Whose rim contains forgetfulness.
Forgetfulness, alas! 'tis this
That mortals hold the height of bliss
In this sad world of care;
For Memory through life retains
A catalogue of griefs and pains,
But little else is there.
Then to the lips the goblet press,
Whose rim contains forgetfulness.--Hafiz.