We Ascended The Stream For A Short Distance, Until, Tempted By
Two Or Three Large Plane-Trees, We Halted For Luncheon Beneath Their
Shade.
The river, which occasionally flooded sufficiently to bring down
heavy timber when felled among the mountains, flowed through an
extremely rich but narrow valley, which extended into a glen between
their precipitous slopes until it became a mere ravine.
The mass of
mountains in this district, which form a succession of wild and
impassable steeps, is marked upon Kiepert's map as "unexplored." They
were originally pine-forests, but the destruction of timber has been
carried to such an excess that comparatively few trees remain. With my
glass I could distinguish large trunks that lay rotting upon the ground,
where they had pitched among the stems, and roots of trees that had been
already felled; these had been rolled from the steep heights above, but
having been caught in their descent to the torrent below by the opposing
stumps, they had been abandoned, and other trees had been felled in
their stead, where the inclination was more favourable for their
transport.
This portion of the coast should be thoroughly explored by practical
miners, as it is rich in minerals. I procured some fine specimens of
pyrites of copper, which the natives mistook for silver; and should a
mineralogical investigation be made by the authorities, I feel sure that
the metallic wealth of Cyprus will be discovered between Caravastasi and
Poli-ton-Krysokhus.
It was late before our baggage animals appeared, and when they at length
arrived, Iiani's venerable camel was missing.
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