Snow lay on the ground beneath us. At first in patches, then becoming more frequent it covered the winding path. A hail storm came on. A cutting wind whistled through the gorge. The sudden difference between the heat at Khoi, and the cold in the Kotoor Pass, struck a chill to our very bones. We had been marching for six hours; there were still five more ere we could reach a resting-place.
Dismounting from our horses, we ran by their side, and tried to restore the circulation in our bodies. The rapid changes of climate in this part of Asia Minor are very dangerous to travellers. The natives have a saying: "A chill in the evening is death in the morn." If any one experiences a chill, and does not succeed in becoming warm again immediately, he is certain to feel some ill-effects. We passed by another hot-spring; it issues from the bank of the Kotoor river. The guide, borrowing my tin, dismounted, and began to wash his mouth.
"Why are you doing that?" I inquired.
"For tooth-ache," was the reply.
We now learnt that the Kurds have an implicit belief in the efficacy of this water for such complaints.
CHAPTER XXV.
Kotoor—The Quarantine station—The medical officer in charge—The Governor of Kotoor—A Russian disguised as a Persian—Mineral wealth—The Russians would like this territory—A stepping-stone to Bagdad and Mosul—A loyal Kurd—Aleshkert—The people there take the strongest side—Moullah Hassan—Kurdish merchants—The postman—His mule—The mule in the water—My new yellow trousers—The saddle-bags in the river—Nestorian villages—How to buy a wife—Exchange and barter—A horse and two sheep—Van—The Pacha—The barracks—The garrison—Bitlis.
I was not sorry to reach Kotoor. The track had been very bad for the last half of our journey. An eleven hours' march made under such circumstances is tiring for man as well as beast.
There is a quarantine station in the town. The medical officer in charge has to examine all people travelling from Persia to Turkey by this route. This is done to prevent persons suffering from cholera or plague spreading these maladies throughout the Sultan's dominions.
The governor of Kotoor was a Persian by birth. His father had been in the Shah's service, but had changed his allegiance and enabled the Sultan to take possession of some land round Kotoor, which originally belonged to Persia. He now informed me that the Persians were forming a military camp at Salmas, and said that probably this was being done with the connivance of Russia.