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.
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