In the low
country the heat is excessive, and even at the altitude of Trooditissa
the average, since the 1st of the month, had been at 7 A.M. 70.7
degrees--3 P.M. 77.3 degrees.
The birds that had sung so cheerfully upon our arrival had become
silent. There was a general absence of the feathered tribe, but
occasionally a considerable number of hoopoes and jays had appeared for
a few days, and had again departed, as though changing their migrations,
and resting for a time upon the cool mountains.
I frequently rambled among the highest summits with my dogs, but there
was a distressing and unaccountable absence of game; in addition to
which there was no scent, as the barren rocks were heated in the sun
like bricks taken from the kiln. The under-growth up to 4500 feet
afforded both food and covert for hares, but they were very scarce. A
peculiar species of dwarf prickly broom covers the ground in some
places, and the young shoots are eagerly devoured by goats; this spreads
horizontally, and grows in such dense masses about one foot from the
surface that it will support the weight of a man.
When grubbed up by the root it forms an impervious mat about three or
four feet in diameter, and supplies an excellent door to the entrance of
a garden, to prevent the incursions of goats or fowls. The Berberris
grew in large quantities, which, together with the foliage of the dwarf
ilex, is the goat's favourite food. Not far from the village of
Prodomos, upon the neighbouring heights, I found, for the first time in
Cyprus, the juniper, which appeared to be kept low by the constant
grazing of the numerous herds.
The walking over the mountains is most fatiguing, and utterly
destructive to boots, owing to the interminable masses of sharp rocks
and stones of all sizes, which quite destroy the pleasure of a
lengthened stroll. The views from the various elevated ridges are
exceedingly beautiful, and exhibit the numerous villages surrounded by
vineyards snugly clustered in obscure dells among the mountains at great
elevations above the sea. Prodomos is about 4300 feet above the level,
and can be easily distinguished by the foliage of numerous spreading
walnut-trees and the large amount of cultivation by which it is
surrounded.
There was no difficulty in gaining the highest point of the island from
our camp, as a zigzag rocky path led to the top of a ridge about 600
feet directly above the monastery, which ascended with varying
inclinations to the summit of Troodos, about 2100 feet above
Trooditissa; by the maps 6590 feet above the sea, but hardly so much by
recent measurement.
The moufflon, or wild sheep, exists in Cyprus, but in the absence of
protection they have been harassed at all seasons by the natives, who
have no idea of sparing animals during the breeding season. The present
government have protected them by a total prohibition, under a penalty
of ten pounds to be inflicted upon any person discovered in killing
them. In the absence of all keepers or guardians of the forests, it
would be difficult to prove a case, and I have no doubt that the natives
still attempt the sport, although from the extreme wariness of the
animals they are most difficult to approach. The authorities should
employ some dependable sportsman to shoot a certain number of rams which
are now in undue proportion, as the ewes with young lambs have been an
easier prey to the unsparing Cypriotes.
Absurd opinions have been expressed concerning the numbers of moufflon
now remaining upon the island, and it would be quite impossible to
venture upon a conjecture, as there is a very large area of the
mountains perfectly wild and unoccupied to the west of Kyka monastery,
extending to Poli-ton-Khrysokus, upon which the animals are said to be
tolerably numerous. There are some upon the Troodos range, but from all
accounts they do not exceed fifteen.
On 2nd July I started at 4 A.M. with a shepherd lad for the highest
point of Troodos, hoping by walking carefully to see moufflon among some
of the numerous ravines near the summit, which are seldom invaded by the
flocks of goats and their attendants. I took a small rifle with me as a
companion which is seldom absent in my walks, and although I should have
rigidly respected the government prohibition in the case of ewes, or
even of rams at a long shot that might have been uncertain and
hazardous, I should at the same time have regarded a moufflon with good
horns at a range under 150 yards, in the Abrahamic light of "a ram
caught in a thicket" that had been placed in my way for the purpose of
affording me a specimen.
On arrival at the top of the ridge above the monastery the view was
superb. We looked down a couple of thousand feet into deep and narrow
valleys rich in vineyards; the mountains rose in dark masses upon the
western side, covered with pine forests, which at this distance did not
exhibit the mutilations of the axe. At this early hour the sea was blue
and clear, as the sun had not yet heated the air and produced the usual
haze which destroys the distant views: and the tops of the lower
mountains above Omodos and Chilani appeared almost close beneath upon
the south, their vine-covered surface producing a rich contrast to the
glaring white marls that were cleared for next year's planting. The top
of Troodos was not visible, as we continued the ascent along the ridge,
with the great depths of ravines and pine-covered steeps upon either
side, but several imposing heights in front, and upon the right, seemed
to closely rival the true highest point.
