A Trip through the Eastern Caucasus, with a chapter on the languages of the country ... With maps, etc

Preface

. The Eastern Caucasus is still a region so little known to English tourists that perhaps it is worth while to describe even a six weeks' tour. The notes made were slight. But the main chain of the Caucasus was twice crossed by passes little used, except by natives. The wall of Derbend and the highly interesting art village of Kubachi were more completely, though still insufficiently, explored than it has fallen to the lot of English travellers before me to accomplish. As few, save the "personally conducted," can travel in a new country without wishing to know something of the language, especially in " the Mountain of Languages," I have added a chapter on the structure and affinities of the seven best known tongues of the Eastern Caucasus, and drawn deductions therefrom. Perhaps some one may be induced thereby to deal with the subject more thoroughly hereafter.

Here I ought to express my great obligation to his Excellency M. de Staal, for kindly giving me a letter to the Governor-General of the Caucasus, his Excellency Prince Dondukoff Korsakoff. Through his Excellency's courteous instrumentality I was furnished with a circular letter in Russian and Arabic to all in authority, wherever I wished

PREFACE.

. to go. The mere production of it acted like a charm, insuring me at every place the utmost hospitality. I have brought back nothing but pleasant recollections of the Russian nachalniks, native naibs, and yihzbashis with whom I came in contact, and only regret that I am never Hkely to have an opportunity of repaying their cordiality by hospitality in this country. London, May 31, 1889. A LIST OF THE FOREIGN WORDS OCCASIONALLY USED. Beshmet, a close-fitting garment with an upright collar, fastened by hooks and eyes as far as the waist, and ter minating in long skirts which reach to the knee or even to the ankles. It is of any colour, and is worn below the cherkeska. Burka, an armless cape of shaggy black felt reaching to the knee or even lower, and secured round the neck by a couple of thongs or laces.

Chai, a river (Tatar). Cherhcsha, a collarless outer garment of stronger stuff than the beshmet, and reaching below it. It is cut open at the chest, and is fastened at the waist by three or four hooks and eyes. On each side of the breast is a diagonal row of small, deep pockets for holding cartridges. Now a days they are filled with wooden or metal cylinders ornamented with silver tops. This garment is of dark colour, very often black. Dukhan, a wayside store and wine-shop. The word is of Arabic origin, but is used by the Georgians, Tatars, and Persians. Rhcvi, a Georgian word for valley : from it is formed Khevsur, the name of a people in the upper Aragva valley. Klii, water, river (Chechents). Kinjal, a dagger, more than two feet long, worn in front of the body. LIST OF FOREIGN WORDS OCCASIONALLY USED.

X Kurgan, a tumulus on the steppe (Russian). Mta, a mountain (Georgian). Nachalnik, the governor or head of a district or department (Russian). Naib, a native officer or lieutenant in charge of several villages (Arabic). Bapak, a tall sheepskin hat, either black or white (Tatar). Bir, a place of pilgrimage ; generally the tomb of a saint (Tatar, Persian). Bud, 40 lbs. (Russian). Qcli, a gorge (Georgian). Rouble: a paper rouble was worth just two shillings when I was in the Caucasus. Shishlik, kabobs (Tatar). Starshind, the head man of a village (Russian). Telega, a small open waggon without springs (Russian). Troika, a three-horse travelling carriage (Russian). Verst, a distance of about five furlongs, and a trifle longer than a kilometre (Russian). Vodka, a spirit distilled from grain or from potatoes (Russian).

Yuzbashi, the native head of a village, literally the head of a hundred (Tatar). In transcribing foreign words — ch = ch in church. kh = German ch. zh = j in the French word Jean. j = j in John. The vowels have their European value ; the stress accent is marked by ' over a vowel. CONTENTS.

Chapter I. From Tiflis To Nukha

Preparations — Marienthal — Kakheti — Tsqali — Alazan River — Bielokani— Zakatali — Nukha — Old Persian Palace — Horses — Tatar Mill — Armenian Church at Kish — The Lesgians and their Linguistic Groups ... ... ... ... p. \

Chapter II. From Nukha To Akhti

Shin — Crossing the Main Chain — Bivouac at the Summit — The Dogs — A Caravanserai — Burj — Music — Khnoi — The Needless Alarm of the " Incubus " — Tunnel — Women's "Work — Akhti — Its Hot Springs — Transfer of Disease by Rags — Visit to the Russian Governor ... ... ... ... . .. p. 30

Chapter III. From Akhti To Gumuk

Rich Pasture — Poudre de Muse — Kurakh — Lunch with the Naib — Gelkhan — Doctoring the Yuzbashi — Obstacles in the Way of becoming a Haji — Richa — More doctoring — Voluble Tatar Woman — Ejection of an Intruder — Chirakh — Hailstorm, and how to disperse it — Alakhwan Mountain — Poor Students — Cattle Plague — Rights of Pasturage — Kokma Chai Valley and Change of Scenery — Khosrek — The Naib of Kull — Further Change of Scenery — Gumuk — Its Natural Strength — Old Mosque and Illuminated Koran — The Children — Dinner at the Russian Governor's — Language Difficulty — Homicides — Supper at a Native House ... ... ... ... p. CONTENTS.

Chapter IV. From Gumuk To Botlikh

A Boy Guide— The Keuchar Valley— The First Sight of Gunib— Khotoch and its Inhabitants — Pleasant Landscape — The Last Wishes of the " Incubus " — The Governor of Gunib — A Natural Fortress — Collection of Antiquities — The Kara Dagh Defile — The Four Koisu Rivers — A Toilsome Ascent — Khunsiik— Captain Ivanoff's Hospitality — Habits and Customs of the Avars — Specimens of Native Art — Horse-flies — Kharaki — Its Hospitable Naib — Native Customs — Game Birds — Escape of a Prisoner — Intense Heat — Boys Bathing — Botlikh — Native Quarters ... ... ... p. 81

Chapter V. From Botlikh To Vozdvizhenskoe

A Procession of " Rain-makers " — Hospitality of Count Pallar — The Prison — Native Customs — Trepanning — Fine Scenery — Caught in the Mist — Andi — Losing our Way — Bivouac — The Picturesque Khulkhulau Valley — A Story of Robbery — Khorochoi and its Inhabitants — The First Chechents — Wooded Landscape — Veden — Road Patrol — Ersenoi Posting-house — Precautions against Crime — Shali — Dancing — A Handsome Woman — Fording the Argun — Vozdvizhenskoe — Horrible Quarters — Small-Pox — Akim's Adventures ...p. 110

Chapter VI. From Vozdvizhenskoe To Biso

Impenetrable Thickets — Fine Scenery — Travellers by the Way — Shatoi — Horses Straying — Getting Information — Within an Ace of a Fatal Accident — Osetan Traditions — Exchanging a Horse — Romantic Scenery — Towers — Lunch at Denkale — Itumkale — Maize Dumplings — Physicking the Natives — Bachik — Dancing — the Starshind of Kii — Shavings in lieu of Cigarette Papers — Another Exchange of Horses — The Despotic Uncle — Grand Scenery — Difficult Descent — Tieret — Towers — Picturesque Landscape — Jari — Snowy Peaks — Shatil — The Khevsurs — Primitive Chapel — Kastan — Church — Embroidered Raiment — The Summit of the Main Chain — Magnificent View of Snowy Peaks — Biso and its Inhabitants p. CONTENTS. XIII

Chapter VII. From Biso To Tiflis

Varied Foliage — Shoeing the Horses — Tiresome Ascent — An Ominous Encounter — Tioneti — Its Hotel— Old Fortress — Rainy Day — Religions and Customs of the Pshavs and Khevsurs — A Meandering Boute — Scanty Grass — A Filthy Resting-place — Akim's Stories — His Illness — Re-enter Tiflis p, 180

Chapter VIII. From Baku To Derbend

First View of Derbend — Its Declining Prosperity — A Tatar Beg — The Town Walls and Gates — Premeshki Kala — Prince Makaioff and his Collection — Mirza 'Ali Beg — The Friday Mosque described — The Cemeteries — The Age of the Wall of Derbend — Metagi — Kemakh — Bilgadi — How Pir Ganja received its Name — Gemeidi and its Cemetery — Babanu Kala — Skulls used as Talismans against the Evil Eye — Zil — Tatil — Legend about the Castle of the Seven Brothers — The Western End of the Wall — Difficulty of taking Bearings — Traditional Knowledge about the Wall — The Length of the Wall — Best Way of visiting it — Amjakhli Pir and its Pleasant Position p. 207

Chapter IX. From Derbend To Kubachi And Back

Native Traditions about Kubachi — Majalis and its People — A Jew's Horses— Urkurak — Sighting Kubachi — Amusements on a Holiday — The Language of the Inhabitants — Their own Name for themselves — The Tombstones — Sculptured Stones described — Old Brass-work described — A Brass Stand identical with one in the South Kensington Museum — Brass Chargers of German Manufacture— The Modern Art of Kubachi described — Reasons of its Decline — A Gnostic Ring— Collections of Pottery — A Mediæval Arab Author on the People of Kubachi — Their Mode of Sepulture— Bad Harvest— Return to Derbend — Hints for Tourists CONTENTS.

Chapter X. Grammatical Structure And Affinities

The Ud, Kiirin, Hiirkan, Kasikumiik, Avar, Chechents, and Tush Languages — Sources of Information — Their Geographical Position — The Categorical Letters — Examples — The Plural — Cases Suffixes — Adjectives — Comparison — Numerals — Personal Pronouns — Demonstrative Pronouns — The Verb — Moods and Tenses — Participles and Gerunds — Syntax — Colloquial Expressions — Vocabulary Recapitulation — Deductions p. MAPS. Daghestan and the Eastern Caucasus, showing the Author's route ... ... ... ... ... To face p. 1 The Wall of Derbend and its vicinity ... ... „ ,, 296 Ethnographical Map of the Eastern Caucasus ... ,, „ 372 PLATES. Group of Five Lesgians. From a Photograph. Frontispiece Plate I. A Lesgian „ „ „ To face p. 52 „ II. Group of Chechents „ „ » 124 „ III. Group of Chechents women ., ,, ,, ,, 134 ,, IV.

Group of Tush men, one on horseback „ „ „ 174 „ V. Tush women From a Photograph „ „ 178 „ VI. The Author, Mejid, Akim „ „ ., 206 ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. FIG. PAGE 1. A wild Goat sculptured on a wall. From a Sketch ... 234 2. Bas-relief of a Bear followed by a Fox „ „ ... 267 3. Bas-relief of a Lion and a wild Boar (?) „ „ ... 268 4. An Eagle holding a bird in its talons 2 a wild animals over a prostrate human figure : a man holding some- 1 Folding thing in his hand ... From a Rubbing. >plate to 5. Two male figures with a horse between them ,, V face p. 271 6. Two birds surrounded by a border „ / 7. Lion rampant following a wild Boar ... ... 274 8. A horseman shooting with a bow ... ... ... ILL US TRA TIONS. PAOK 9. Two men, one holding a wine-cup and flagon 10. A Horseman cutting down a Bear ... 277 278 11.

A seated figure 280 12. A man seated cross-legged .. 282 13. Part of an inscription on a brass charger 14. Modern ornamentation of a Scabbard 15. A gnostic (?) gem 283 285 Slxsn/brdJs, Gossg!- MritsaJsf-, Lonsdsssx, London * Edward Stanford, 26 & 27 Cookspur St.. Charing ('posh, S.W.

Chapter I. From Tiflis To Nukha

Preparations — Marienthal — Kakheti — Tsqali — Alazan Eiver — Bielokani — Zakatali — Nukha — Old Persian Palace — Horses — Tatar Mill — Armenian Church at Kish — The Lesgians and their Linguistic Groups. Tiflis, My 1888. — Tiflis has been so often, so well, and so recently described, that for me to add my small quota of information would be most unnecessary. I reached it towards the end of June, with the intention of making a riding tour through the mountains, but with the vaguest notions of what to expect and which route to take. My first business was to purchase the sections of the five-verst map for the mountain country between the Georgian military road and the Caspian.1 From it I traced out a line of march very much at hazard. So far as I could judge 1 These, however, can be obtained beforehand through Stanford in Cockspur Street.

B from the map, I selected the least beaten tracks, the by-ways of the Eastern Caucasus. It was an object, too, to pass through the country of the Avars and Chechents, for I had taken a cursory glance at the grammars of both their languages before leaving home. With the aid of a little com mis voyageur out of place, a native of Riga, who came from Moscow with me as interpreter in Russian, I bought the few articles necessary for the projected journey. They consisted of three Chechents saddles and saddle-bags, two Georgian costumes, a kettle, an iron tea-pot, two saucepans, a lantern, tea, sugar, and a few other small articles. I had besides two guns and a photographic apparatus brought from Moscow. The latter was bought at the instigation of the commis voyageur, who affirmed falsely he knew how to pliotograph.

My private impression is that he took his first lesson in the shop where the camera was purchased. I certainly heard the man tell him, in answer to a question, how to distinguish between the sensitized and the reverse side of a glass plate. He made some ludicrous failures in the Crimea, and all the time he was with me in the Caucasus — it was not long, as I had to get rid of him — he never took a single photograph. The investment was a dead failure. On my return to Tiflis I found I could easily have engaged a competent photographer to come with me ; but the information came too late. He also engaged for me a Georgian, named David, who spoke Russian and gave out that he knew Lesgian and Tatar, to act as interpreter in Daghestan ; and an Oset * of the name of Akim to look after the horses. He spoke Russian and Tatar well, and turned out an invaluable servant.

My original intention had been to ride from Tiflis to Nukha, and near there to cross the main chain. But I was dissuaded from this on two grounds. First, that it was wearisome, and not worth while riding more than two hundred versts across the level, and at this season extremely hot, plain of Georgia. Secondly, I was assured on the best authority that mountain horses are cheaper and more easily pro cured at Nukha. Accordingly arrangements were made to post as far as that town. About 5 a.m. on July 2nd, two posting telegas, each drawn by three horses, drew up in front of the hotel. In less than half an hour the baggage was in, everything roped tight, and we were jolting at a rapid pace over the rough pavement in the direction of the bridge. The morning wras bright and clear, offering a great contrast in this respect to the gray, turbid waters of the Kur or Mtkvari, as the Georgians term it.

While passing over, the little commis voyageur, in the tone of a man who thinks he has done some thing very clever — his usual tone by the bye — in formed me he had made David swear on the Bible to defend our lives at the risk of his own; for he 1 The word is often written with a double s. The Georgian form is Osi for a single person, and Oseti for the country they inhabit. The Eussian words are Osetin and Osetia. In English one might quite well use Os. The people call themselves Ir. B fully believed he was undertaking a very dangerous enterprise in crossing the mountains into Daghestan. He was quite taken aback when I laughed at him for being such an ass, and never alluded to the subject again. If I had referred to the incident a few days later, he would have indignantly repudiated having ever thought of anything so stupid, and replied that I had totally misunderstood him.

That was a way he had. Our direction now lay towards the east, and soon we had Tiflis with its old rocky citadel and its crowded bazaars, peopled by strange-looking men. behind us. To me it used to be a standing riddle to try to make out what nationality each belonged to. There was little use asking the Armenian guide, for to him all Mussulmans were Tatars, though they might have been Lesgians, Avars, or any of the peoples of Daghestan. After jolting through the town it was a comfort at last to leave the paved streets and get upon the comparatively smooth road. Before us lay a huge uncultivated plain, covered with sun-scorched grass, and stretching far away to the east and south-east. Beyond the river to the right lay a line of grayish brown hills of uniform altitude, scored by a thousand ravines, each brought into prominence by a dark, sharply-defined shadow.

The general aspect was that of barrenness and desolation. Now and then we met droves of cattle, and carts drawn by buffaloes, plodding slowly along, attended by very rough-looking men. At Orkhevi we changed horses. The hills to the south of the Kur were now pale and gray as we were gradually receding from the river. The next station, Vaziani, was reached at 8.30 a.m., where there was a fine view to the south. The extreme background was formed by a grand mountain chain, tipped with snow, succeeded by lower parallel ranges of pale delicate gray. A line of hills of a warm ruddy tint filled the nearer middle distance im mediately on the other side of the Kur, while the foreground was enlivened with bright patches of cultivation and plots of golden maize ready for the sickle. One of the many boasts of the little commis voyageur was, that when travelling he never went to sleep, he was always on the alert.

On this occasion, how ever, the July sun was too much for him, for before we reached Vaziani he had already entered upon his first sleep. As a matter of fact he was generally the first to lie down, invariably the last to get up in the morning. Besides this, he used to sleep while the horses were resting, for he was easily knocked up and quite unfitted for rough travelling. On leaving Vaziani the road immediately ascends, and at last we found ourselves on a plateau of black earth, partly under cultivation, with a fine range of hills in front. The bed of the Kur was now com pletely out of sight, as the river bends away so far to the south. A thick belt of poplars and fruit-trees lay athwart the road at some distance ahead. Ensconced in this verdure stood the German colonies of Mari enthal and Freudenthal, on the banks of the Iora river.

Nothing could look more charming at a distance. Though we drove rapidly through the settlements, it was easy to see they have lost something of their pristine cleanness and tidiness, and acquired a certain slovenliness of exterior. The population too is no longer homogeneous, for both Georgians and Tatars have begun to settle there, and in course of time the German element will disappear. Here the road takes a turn to the right, aud with the Iora on our left we followed on to Sartachala, where we got a rough sort of breakfast. The next stage was over a hot, level, cultivated plain, traversed by the Iora, which we crossed by a bridge. The country is said to have been formerly covered with forest, and the driver pointed to a belt of trees in proof of his assertion. On the north side of the level ground many villages could be seen nestling among the lower slopes of the wooded hills which bounded the view in that direction.

About 2 p.m. we arrived at the post-house of Kakobeti, though the town of that name is at some distance off. It did not take long to change horses, and a short drive of thirteen and a half versts, partly over rolling ground, brought the party to Kachreti, the fifth station from Tiflis. The station-master said there was a short cut to avoid the steep ascent by zigzags up to the town and fortress of Signakh, and gave the necessary directions to the driver. Accord ingly, after a drive up and down hill between fields of ripe corn, part of which was cut, we turned sharp to the left and took a northerly direction. The scenery began to get more interesting and rugged. We crossed a ridge of hills ; soon were following down a narrow valley with steep wooded sides, and passed flocks of sheep watched by savage dogs and wild-looking boys.

At length a welcome sight burst upon us — the main chain of the Eastern Caucasus. There it stood like a snow-streaked, jagged wall of pale, almost diaphanous, violet gray hue, not much darker in tone than the pale blue sky above it. If at any period of the year it presents terrors to those seeking to cross it, now it seemed to have none. It looked more like a thin veil between Asia and Europe that could be lifted without an effort. Following the valley we descended to Bakurchikh. Now we were in the centre of Kakheti, where the best wine in Georgia is made ; a smiling, rich, and populous country, very different from the barren plain outside Tiflis. It reminded me of Tuscany. Here figs, pome granates, mulberries, walnuts, and vines grow in rich profusion. Everywhere houses and villages are dotted over the landscape.

Enormous earthenware pots, as much as a yoke of oxen can draw, were standing near the houses. They use them for keeping wine in. The Georgians are great wine-drinkers, and no doubt all travellers are told, as I was, the story of a man whose daily allowance was one vedro, or fifteen bottles. By taking the road we did we avoided the fortress of Signakh altogether. It lay on the hill to our right. On the left was a fine fertile, well-cultivated plain, that stretched as far as the foot of the main chain of mountains to the north. Our course gradually turned southwards, and the drive up and down hill through this rich garden country, literally flowing with wine, to the next station was delightful. The station-house was an isolated building where two roads cross, and I understood the postmaster to say it was called Tsqali (on the map Tznuri).

He induced me to stop there for the night, though it was not very late, by saying the bridge over the Alazan was in a dangerous state, and could only be crossed by daylight ; further, that it was impossible to sleep at the next station from the swarms of mosquitoes. He was a Georgian by birth ; did all he could to make things pleasant, besides giving me a short lesson in Georgian pronunciation, as I had a Georgian vocabulary with me. He lamented his poverty and the smallness of his salary, but other wise seemed pretty well contented with the ■world in general. July 3rd. — Before sunrise we were already trotting briskly along across the dead level plain that extends as far as the outliers of the main chain of the Caucasus. What surprised me most was the absence of cold and mist in those early morning hours.

I thought we should have been bathed in a sea of mist, as we certainly should have been in Italy. It was not till we had crossed the Alazan and got upon a long stretch of wet ground, covered with a dense growth of wood, that the cold began to make itself felt, and thin films of mist to hover over the surface of the soil. In about half an hour after leavino* our o night quarters -we reached the turbid waters of the Alazan, slowly rolling between soft, muddy banks, and halted at the bridge. It looked in very rickety condition, though not impassable. A knot of men, who were standing about, were anxious to unload the tarantasses and carry the baggage over piece-meal. This seemed unnecessary. Their services were declined, and we effected the perilous passage on foot without mishap. Now we entered the soppy, wooded tract of country of which mention has been made, and in doing so encountered swarms of flies and mosquitoes.

Every man we met carried a small branch in his hand to use as a fly-disperser. It was well we had passed the night where we did, and had not pushed on to the next post-station, where we now found ourselves for a few minutes. It takes its name from the Chiaur rivulet hard. by. For the next ten versts or so the road lay through a level country covered with scrub, and at the Russian settlement of Mikhaelevo turns to the right and follows in a south-easterly direction to Nukha. We were now close up to the southern counter-forts of the main chain, but could only now and then get a glimpse of its snowy tops. We soon sighted the village of Lagodekhi. Its shady orchards and gardens give it a most blissful appearance. For anything suggestive of coolness and shadow on a broiling July day is as grateful to the mind as it is to the eye.

Long rows of statuesque poplars emphasize its situation, and seemed to lend it a dignity it would not otherwise have possessed. On entering the village, with the exception of a few Russian soldiers, for there are barracks in the place, we saw very few of the inhabitants. The posting house is thirteen versts from the last station, and in a few minutes we were again on the move, for the change of horses was quickly accomplished. The road on the whole was not bad, though now and then the nearly dry bed of a water-course, two or three hundred yards wide, hari to be crossed. It was like driving over an avalanche of small boulders, but the horses never jibbed, and the tarantass seemed equally used to it. The jolting kept one awake, and gave the muscles a little needful exercise. The view to the left was restricted to the scrub-covered spurs of the main chain.

But turning to the right the eyes could wander over a great stretch of flat and scarcely cultivated country. This was bounded in the distance by a mountain range of delicate blue, the outline of which was for a considerable distance so horizontal that, if suddenly seen between two bushy trees in the foreground, one might easily take it for a sea horizon. For several versts the road was lined on both sides by walnut-trees, and at the posting-station of Bielokani there was one of enormous size, affording ample shade for man and beast. I was told the meaning of the word Bielokani in Georgian is " skin of a bear cub," but I suspect this is an example of " folk-etymology." The village is mainly inhabited by Lesgians, the first I had seen knowing for certain they were such. Their type of face is distinctly different from that of the Georgians, being much rounder and paler.

They wear on their heads tallish, very bushy white sheep-skin hats (papak), while the Georgians either -wear a black papak or a low cloth cap, not unlike the pork-pie hat of thirty years ago. Soon after leaving the village we had to cross a boulder-covered water-course about four hundred yards in wTidth, then another less extensive one half way between Bielokani and the next post-house. The horses must have been sorry for themselves. They were probably better pleased with the last few miles of the road, which ran between luxuriant orchards, full of all sorts of fruit-trees, especially of mulberries and walnuts, completely shading the route. In front of many of the houses were piles of cocoons, for silkworms are much cultivated in this part of the country. We soon entered the town of Zakatali, a small commercial centre of some importance.

It is dominated by a fortress, built upon a commanding height and garrisoned by Russian troops. It was far too hot to think of paying it a visit on foot, and I am not sure whether it is an old native citadel or was built by the Russians. The town is inhabited by a mixed population of Lesgians, Armenians, Georgians, and Tatars. I was told that about 20,000 puds — a pud is 40 lbs. — of walnuts were exported yearly to the great fair of Nizhni Novgorod, and about 12,000 puds of cocoons were collected in the neighbourhood and sent to Nukha, there to be spun into silk. A few years ago large quantities of cocoons and silkworm eggs used to be exported to Marseilles, but now the trade has entirely ceased. From the size of the place the post-station offered rather better accommodation than usual at such places, so here we lunched and rested for a couple of hours.

The road was said to be much cut up by water courses as far as Giullak, aud the postmaster declared five horses must be attached to each tarantass. We started at a hand-gallop through the paved streets of Zakatali, and caused a momentary sensation to the listless townspeople. Near some of the water-courses, where water could be got for irrigation, were considerable fields of rice. In other respects the water-courses were less formidable diffi culties than the postmaster had led me to expect. The route often lay between shady trees, and some of the Tatar villages were almost entirely hidden by foliage. The aspect of the hills that bounded the view to the south had changed considerably. They seemed to be covered with sand, and to be utterly barren. By this time we had left the districts in habited by Georgians, and had entered one settled by Tatars, Lesgians, and Armenians.