MOUNTAINS

Burning Mountains. See ÆTNA, HECLA, VESUVIUS, and VOLCANO. Marble Mountains. Of these there are great numbers in Egypt, from which, though immense quantities have been carried off for the multitude of great works erected by the ancient Egyptians; yet, in the opinion of Mr. Bruce who passed by them in his journey to Abyssinia, there is still such an abundant supply, that it would be sufficient to build Rome, Athens, Corinth, Syracuse, Memphis, Alexandria, and half a dozen more of such cities. The first mountain of this kind mentioned by Mr. Bruce is one opposite to Terfowey, consisting partly of green marble, partly of granite, with a red blush upon a grey ground, and square oblong spots. Here he saw a monstrous obelisk of marble, very nearly square, broken at the end, and nearly 30 feet long and 19 feet in the face. Throughout the plain there were scattered small pieces of jasper, with green, white, and red spots, called in Italy dispro sanguineo; and all the mountains upon that side seemed to consist of the same materials. Here also were quantities of small pieces of granite of various kinds, as well as porphyry, which had been carried down by a torrent, probably from the ancient quarries. These pieces were white mixed with black spots, and red with green veins and black spots. All the other mountains on the right hand were of red marble, but no great beauty; those on the opposite side being green marble, probably of the serpentine kind. This, he says, was one of the most extraordinary sights he ever saw. The former mountains were of a considerable height, without a tree, shrub, or blade of grass upon them; and this looked exactly as if it had been covered over with Havannah and Brazil snuff. Proceeding farther on, he entered another desile with mountains of green marble on every side. The highest he saw appeared to be composed of serpentine marble; having a large vein of green jasper spotted with red running through about one-third of its thickness. It was extremely hard; so that it did not yield to the blows of a hammer, though it was evident that it had formerly been quarried; and there were channels for bringing water, which terminated Mountain. nated in this quarry of jasper; "a proof (says Mr Bruce) that water was one of the means used in cutting those hard stones." On these mountains, our author observes, that "the porphyry shows itself by a fine purple sand without any gloss upon it, though the colour is very agreeable to the eye. It is mixed with the white sand and fixed marble of the plains. Green and unvariegated marble is also found in the same mountain with the porphyry. The marble is brittle for some inches where the two veins meet; but the porphyry is as hard as in other places. The granite appears like a dirty brown stone covered with sand; but this is only the change made upon it by the sun and weather; for on breaking it, the colour appears to be grey with black spots, and a reddish cast on the surface. The reddish colour appears to be impaired by exposure to the atmosphere; but is recovered upon polishing it anew. It is in greater quantity than the porphyry, and nearer to the Red Sea. The granite is next to the porphyry, but never joined with it in the same mountain. Being covered with a reddish sand, it looks as if the whole mountain were covered with brick-dust." There is likewise a kind of red marble with white veins, which our author has seen at Rome and likewise in Britain. The common green, called serpentine, looks as if it were covered with Brazil snuff. Along with this green he saw two samples of the beautiful kind called Isabella; one of them with the yellowish cast of Quaker-colour, the other of that bluish cast called rose-colour; and these two seemed to divide the mountains with the serpentine. Here also he saw the vein of jasper; but had not time to determine whether it was the same with that called bloody-jasper or blood-stone or not. The marble of greatest value, however, is that called Verde Antico, which is of a dark-green colour with white spots. It is found, like the jasper, in the mountains of the plain green serpentine, and is not discoverable by the dust or any particular colour upon it. "First (says Mr Bruce) there is a blue flaky stone exceedingly even and smooth in the grain, solid, and without sparks and colour. When broken it is something lighter than a slate, and more beautiful than most kinds of marble; it is like the lava of volcanoes when polished. After lifting this we come to the beds of verde antico; and here the quarrying is very obvious; for it has been uncovered in patches not above 20 feet square. Then, in another part, the green stone has been removed and another pit wrought." In other places of the plain he saw pieces of African marble, but no rocks or mountains of it. He supposes it to be found in the heart of some other coloured marble, and in strata like the jasper and verde antico; and, as he suspects, in the mountains of Isabella marble, especially of the yellowest sort. This vast store of marble is placed on a ridge, whence there is a descent to the east and west, so that it could be conveyed either to the Nile or the Red Sea. The level ground and hard fixed gravel are proper for the heaviest carriages; so that any weight whatever might easily be conveyed to the place of embarkation. In the more distant mountains also he observed the same care taken to facilitate the carriage: for the defiles between those mountains he supposes not to be natural but artificial openings; and he observed the roads from them Mountain. to the Nile to be cut with a descent of about one foot in 50 at most; so that, all the way down, the carriages must have moved with as little draught as possible, at the same time that the vast friction would prevent any undue acceleration; to which also some other means must have contributed: But thus, he thinks, it may be explained how such immense blocks might have been removed as were employed in the ancient Egyptian works. Mountains of marble and porphyry are not peculiar to Egypt, for they are likewise to be met with in the north of Scotland; and in the Western Isles there are likewise such quantities of these materials to be met with, as, in the opinion of Mr Williams, would be sufficient to serve all Europe. Written Mountain, Mountain of Inscriptions, or Jebel-al-Mokatzeb, a supposed mountain, or chain of mountains, in the wilderness of Sinai; on which, for a great extent of space, the marble of which the mountain consists is inscribed with innumerable characters, reaching from the ground sometimes to the height of 12 or 14 feet. These were mentioned by a Greek author in the third century, and some of them have been copied by Pococke and other late travellers; notwithstanding which, there is still a very great uncertainty even of the existence of such mountain or mountains. The vast number of these inscriptions, the defert place in which they are found, and the length of time requisite for executing the task, has induced a notion by no means unnatural, that they are the work of the Israelites during their forty years wandering in the wilderness. Others are of opinion that they contain nothing of any importance, but consist merely of the names of travellers and the dates of their journeys. M. Niebuhr, who visited this country about 30 years ago, made every attempt in his power, though without success, to obtain a sight of this celebrated mountain. On applying to some Greeks at Suez, they all declared that they knew nothing of the written mountain: they, however, directed him to an Arabian sheik, who had passed all his lifetime in travelling between Suez and Mount Sinai; but he knew no more of it than the former. Understanding, however, that a considerable reward would be given to any person who would conduct them thither, this Arab directed them to another; who pretended not only to know that mountain, but all others upon which there were any inscriptions throughout the desert. On inquiring particularly, however, our travellers found that he was not to be depended upon; so that they were obliged to have recourse to a fourth sheik, who by his conversation convinced them that he had seen mountains with inscriptions in unknown characters upon them. It does not appear, however, that this person was very capable, more than the rest, of leading them to the place they so much wished for; though he conducted them to some rocks upon which there were inscriptions in unknown characters. They are most numerous in a narrow pass between two mountains named Om-er-ridstein; and, says M. Niebuhr, "the pretended Jebel-el-Mokatzeb may possibly be in its neighbourhood." Some of these inscriptions were copied by our author; but he does not look upon them to be Mountain of any consequence. "They seem (says he) to have been executed at idle hours by travellers, who were satisfied with cutting the unpolished rock with any pointed instrument, adding to their names and the date of their journeys some rude figures, which bespeak the hand of a people but little skilled in the arts. When such inscriptions are executed with the design of transmitting to posterity the memory of such events as might afford instructive lessons, greater care is generally taken in the preparation of the stones, and the inscriptions are engraven with more regularity." When M. Niebuhr arrived at last at the mountain to which the sheik had promised to conduct him, he did not find there any inscriptions; but on climbing up to the top, he found nothing there but an Egyptian cemetery, the stones of which were covered with hieroglyphics. The tomb-stones are from five to seven feet in length, some standing on end and others lying flat; and "the more carefully they are examined (says he), the more certainly do they appear to be sepulchral stones, having epitaphs inscribed on them. In the middle of these stones is a building, of which only the walls now remain; and within it are likewise a great many of the sepulchral stones. At one end of the building seems to have been a small chamber, of which the roof still remains. It is supported upon square pillars; and these, as well as the walls of the chamber, are covered with hieroglyphic inscriptions. Thro' the whole building are various busts executed in the manner of the ancient Egyptians. The sepulchral stones and the busts are of hard and fine-grained sand-stone." M. Niebuhr is of opinion that this cemetery was not the work of the Egyptians themselves, but of some colony which came from Egypt, and had adopted the manners and customs of the people. He supposes that it might have been built by the Arabs who had conquered Egypt under the shepherd kings and adopted the Egyptian manners during their residence there. As it must have belonged to an opulent city, however, he owns that there is a great difficulty in accounting for the existence of such a city in the midst of a desert. The translator of Volney's travels ascribes these inscriptions to the pilgrims which visit Mount Sinai. But to this, as well as to every other conjecture, there is this objection, that whether the inscriptions be well executed or not, whether they contain matters of importance or not, they ought to have been written in a language which somebody could understand; but from the copies that have been taken of them by Dr Pococke and others, it does not appear that they could be explained either by him or any other person. When Dr Clayton, bishop of Clogher, visited this part of the world about the year 1723, he expressed the greatest desire to have the matter concerning this written mountain or mountains ascertained, and even made an offer of £500 Sterling to any literary person who would undertake the journey and endeavour to decipher the inscriptions; but no such person has appeared, and the existence of the mountains is testified only by the superior of a convent at Cairo, who gave that mentioned in the beginning of this article. Until that part of the world, therefore, become more accessible to travellers, there is but little hope that we can come to any certainty in the matter. M. Niebuhr plainly, from his own accounts, had not influence enough with the Arabs to show him almost any thing, as they refused to conduct him even to the summit of Mount Sinai. White Mountains. See New Hampshire. Mountains of the Moon, a chain of mountains in Africa, extending themselves between Abyssinia and Monomotapa, and receiving the above denomination from their great height. Mountains of the Lions, also in Africa, divide Nigritia from Guinea, and extend as far as Ethiopia. They were styled by the ancients the mountains of God, on account of their being greatly subject to thunder and lightning. Mountain of Forty-days; a mountain of Judea, situated in the plain of Jericho to the north of that city. According to the Abbe Mariti's description, the summit of it is covered neither with shrubs, turf, nor earth; it consists of a solid mass of white marble, the surface of which is become yellow by the injuries of the air. "The path by which you ascend to it (says our author) fills one with terror, as it rises with a winding course between two abysses, which the eye dares scarcely behold. This path is at first pretty broad, but it at length becomes so confined, that one can with difficulty place both feet upon it at the same time. When we had ascended a little higher, we found an Arab stretched out on the path, who made us pay a certain toll for our passage. Here the traveller requires courage. One of the parapets of the path being broke, we clung to the part which remained until we had reached a small grotto, situated very commodiously, as it gave us an opportunity of recovering our breath. When we had rested ourselves a little, we pursued our course, which became still more dangerous. Suspended almost from the rock, and having before our eyes all the horror of the precipice, we could advance only by dragging one foot after the other; so that had the smallest fragment given way under us, we should have been hurried to the bottom of this frightful abyss. "Proceeding a little farther, we found a second grotto, the entrance of which was about nine feet in breadth. It would be of considerable size, were not about two-thirds of it filled up by part of the roof, which had tumbled down. This grotto conducts to another, which we had the curiosity to enter, but we were almost stifled by the great number of bats which were fluttering up and down in it. Being desirous of retreating almost as soon as we had entered, they flew in such numbers around us, that they in a manner covered our whole bodies; but they luckily made a passage for themselves, and suffered us to breathe with freedom. By the glimmering light which reached this grotto, we perceived that the bottom of it was covered to the height of a hand-breadth with the excrements of these animals; and we remarked some niches in the sides of it, which gave us reason to conclude, that it had once served as a sepulchre to the ancient anchorites. This is the more probable, as the other grotto appears by the remains of an altar and of some Greek paintings to have been formerly a church. In the right corner there is a large cistern, the platter of which retains its original solidity, though broken Mountains broken in a few places. In the left corner there is a small stair which conducts to a third grotto. This is much longer and broader than any of the former, and its walls are ornamented also with Greek paintings, which represent the twelve apostles in their natural size. Their figures, however, are so much changed, that one could scarcely distinguish who they are, were it not that their names are written in Greek characters upon the glory which surrounds their heads.—At the farther end of this grotto stands a square altar a little damaged; above which is an oval painting of the Annunciation, in perfect preservation. The chisel has been employed to render these grottos regular and smooth; and it appears that they were inhabited by a certain number of hermits, who devoted themselves to a life of contemplation. No writer has been able to tell us who the founder of this hermitage was.—Nicephorus and Eusebius, who have described all the churches and religious places of Palestine and Judea, do not speak of these chapels. "This mountain is one of the highest in the province, and one of its most sacred places. It takes its name from the rigorous fast which Christ observed here after having triumphed over the vanities of the world and the power of hell. In remembrance of this miracle, a chapel was formerly constructed on the summit of the mountain. It may be seen from the plain, but we could not approach it, as the path was almost entirely destroyed. It, however, may be accessible on the other side of the mountain, which we did not visit. A great many scattered grottos are seen here; in one of which, according to Quaresmius, were deposited the bodies of several anchorites, which are still entire. I have heard the same thing asserted in the country, but I could never meet with any person who had seen them. Here we enjoyed the most beautiful prospect imaginable. This part of the Mountain of Forty Days overlooks the mountains of Arabia, the country of Gilead, the country of the Ammonites, the plains of Moab, the plain of Jericho, the river Jordan, and the whole extent of the Dead Sea. It was here that the devil said to the Son of God, 'All these kingdoms will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.'"