Approached the Meander

December the 3th.

We proceeded on our journey, and the first part of this day’s ride was very unpleasant, as we had for three miles a bad causeway to travel over till we approached the Meander,1 over which there was a wooden bridge of considerable height and length, without battlements and very narrow ; and the construction of it appeared so feeble, that we did not cross it without apprehensions. Here we paused to view this celebrated stream, and bring to our recollection the great events which took place on its banks and will perpetuate its name. Here we fancied we trod the ground where the great Antiochus sustained a total overthrow from Lucius Scipio one hundred and fifty years before Christ,1 in which] he lost fifty thousand foot and four thousand horse with fifteen elephants.

At twelve we reached a poor village called Zachonona about fifteen miles from Magnesia. We had sent our mules with the baggage forward. As we reached this place before them, and had not passed them on the road, we were seriously alarmed, and apprehended that the black slave who was with the baggage had either run off with our effects or was plundered. We remained for two hours in this painful suspense, and were at length relieved by the arrival of the negro, who had taken a different road, by which he had gone several miles out of his way. After having blamed each other for having separated from him, as he had in his possession every valuable and all our money, we resolved to be more prudent for the future.

Attack on our cold provisions

We retired to a kind of barn, where we made a violent attack on our cold provisions. We removed part of our valuables from the trunks and secured them in [our] own pockets. Here we were honoured with a visit from the Governor of the village, accompanied by fifty other Turks, who all appeared in uniform misery. They seated themselves on the ground around us and entertained themselves with admiring our fire-arms, which, we were pleased to find, they were sensible of being well loaded.