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.  And the proof of this is that the inhabitants of the countries to the West see the rays of the sun illuminating a great part of its summit for as much as a quarter of the longest night.  And in the same way, in those countries which lie to the East.

OF THE STRUCTURE AND SIZE OF MOUNT TAURUS.

[Footnote 73:  The statements are of course founded on those of the ‘inhabitants’ spoken of in 1. 67.] 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.  And it is always full of thunderbolts from the great quantity of clouds which accumulate there, whence the rock is all riven and full of huge debris [Footnote 77:  Sudden storms are equally common on the heights of Ararat.  It is hardly necessary to observe that Ararat cannot be meant here.  Its summit is formed like the crater of Vesuvius.  The peaks sketched on Pl.  CXVI-CXVIII are probably views of the same mountain, taken from different sides.  Near the solitary peak, Pl.  CXVIII these three names are written goba, arnigasar, caruda, names most likely of different peaks.  Pl.  CXVI and CXVII are in the original on a single sheet folded down the middle, 30 centimetres high and 43 1/2 wide.  On the reverse of one half of the sheet are notes on peso and bilancia (weight and balance), on the other are the ‘prophecies’ printed under Nos. 1293 and 1294.  It is evident from the arrangement that these were written subsequently, on the space which had been left blank.  These pages are facsimiled on Pl.  CXVIII.  In Pl.  CXVI-CXVIII the size is smaller than in the original; the map of Armenia, Pl.  CXVIII, is on Pl.  CXIX slightly enlarged.  On this map we find the following names, beginning from the right hand at the top:  pariardes mo (for Paryadres Mons, Arm.  Parchar, now Barchal or Kolai Dagh; Trebizond is on its slope).