Having gained the heights on the left bank of the river, we struck obliquely across the plain, in the direction of the Akh Dagh, which shone in the softening glow. It is well named the white mountain, being composed of hard calcareous rock, which scarcely supports a trace of vegetation. Seen from in front, it forms a chain many miles in length, inclined, roughly speaking, towards south-east. It has been carved out into valleys of great depth, from which rise a succession of bold peaks. This portion of the plain of Khinis is little cultivated, and in a most haphazard manner. There is, however, an abundance of water, and, if stony, the soil is fairly fertile. From time to time we were compelled to turn aside from a patch of corn which already was in ear. The large Armenian village of Kozli was seen reposing on the basal slope of the Akh Dagh. Another Armenian settlement, that of Yeni Keui, lay directly upon our course. The day was drawing to a close as we approached Dedeveren, a Kurdish village where we decided to camp. We had been travelling through a country which was typically Armenian--a spacious plain, quite treeless, but clothed with warm and delicate hues, and framed in the distance by mountains of great individuality. In one direction it was Bingöl; in another Khamur; while Sipan stood so high that he could be seen from the river valley, always a ghostly presence in the sky. We pitched our tents a little distance west of the village, and looked across its stacks of tezek and wreathing smoke to the dim white form of Sipan. It is characteristic of Kurds that they never approach one another if they have anything to communicate. They remain at a distance and shout. Such clamour is at its height towards evening, when the flocks and herds are brought in from the pastures. Groups of gaily-dressed people had gathered round us; a little boy, stepping forward, makes an offering of a snow-white rabbit. The setting sun sheds a glow of orange and amber above the horizontal outline of Bingöl. A single group of clouds, torn into tatters, as by a storm, repose motionless against the lights of the western sky. As those lights wane a crescent moon has risen above the white mountain, and a little dew falls. Soon the watchman sends his long-sustained cry into the night, arousing the bark and howling of the dogs.