The MEA AND Transcaucasia J". B UCHA N TELFER R . N. ,(■•1 '.' .-lf"o '."^i-:^ A / % THE CRIMEA AND TRANSCAUCASIA VOL. /. (Thr ri^htf pj IransliUiou and of irprodurtion an- re.u-n-ed) \ < i < < THE CRIMEA AND TRANSCAUCASIA BEING THE NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY IN THE KOUBAN, IN GOURIA, GEORGIA, ARMENIA, OSSETY, IMERITIA, SWANNETY, AND MINGRELIA, AND IN THE TAURIC RANGE BY COMMANDER J. BUCHAN TELFER, R.N, F.R.G.S. ' Scribitur ad narrandum iion ad probandum' — QUINTILIANUS WITH TWO MAPS AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. I. HENRY S. KING & CO.. LONDON a y 511 V, I ■ TO M Y W I F E WHO APPEARS IN THESE PAGES AS K. AND TO WHOM I AM MATERIALLY INDEBTED IN THE COMPILATION OF THIS WORK THIS RECORD OF A PORTION OF OUR WANDERINGS IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED PREFACE. A THREE years' residence in the South of Russia, afforded the author the opportunity of visiting the Crimea and Trans- caucasia upon two occasions. In the compilation of this work, he has condensed his experiences by uniting- the two journe)s and making of them one tour to extend over a period of ninety-two busy days, the point of departure and of ultimate arrival being the commercial and important city of Odessa, a place that may now be reached from London via Cracow and Lemberg in four days and a half In his description of places and people, the author con- fines himself to what passed under his own personal obser- vation, admitting in a few instances only the accounts of eye-witnesses upon whose statements he believes he can implicitly rely ; however numerous, therefore, the imperfec- tions of his work, he hopes it may lay claim at least to fidelity of description. In |)ri(ling hims(;]t upon this excel- lence, he do(-s not b)- any means prdcnd to Iia\ing made viii PREFACE. any fresh discoveries ; indeed, he unhesitatinoly professes his anxiety to escape any such severe criticism as that once pronounced by a well-known and uncompromising moralist on the offering of one, young in letters — criticism, which, if his memory serves him well, was in such words as these : ' In diesem Buche findet man viel Wahres und Neues ; nur schade dass das Neue nicht wahr und das Wahre nicht neu ist.' The author's narrative is a simple statement of facts, in the relation of which he abstains from adding comments, or offering any decided opinion on the character of the people through whose country he passed, from a feeling that his intercourse with them was of too short duration. In his account, the author seeks to excite interest in the localities visited, by inserting such brief historical and ar- chaeological notices as could be gleaned in a limited space of time, and to demonstrate the feasibility of travelling with safety and tolerable comfort in regions rarely visited, yet second to none in their fascination, in their antiquarian and ethnological attractions, where also the botanist, the geologist, artist, mountaineer, and sportsman will find scope and every incentive in the pursuit of their avocations and pleasure. The works of Professor Brosset of St. Petersburg, of r RE FACE. ix Professor Ph. Briiiin of Odessa, and of Dubois de Mont- pereux, have been more especially largely consulted, and the author takes this opportunity of expressing his gratitude for the facilities afforded him by Professor Bruun, when desiring to consult the books in the University Library at Odessa. The Emperor of Russia is mentioned more than once in terms to command respect ; however absolute his power, his autocracy has a limit, for circumstances render him impotent to carry out many a scheme for reform ; and in Alexander II. we see a sovereign whose personal efforts for the advancement of his people are paralysed by an ancient and subtle system. A knowledge, however slight, of Turkish, Greek, French or German, is a matter of necessity in the Crimea and Transcaucasia (see Appendix XVI. for a vocabulary of Russian terms) ; and the cost of travelling scarcely exceeds two-thirds of the expenses incurred on the continent of Europe. Luggage should be restricted in quantity, but in- clude an oval bath in lieu of a portmanteau, fitted with a strong lock and stout straps. The more suitable dress in countries where journeys are performed in carts, on horseback, and on foot, streams having frefju(tntl)- to be forded, is certainl)- a short jacket and knickcrl)Ockf'rs, witli loj) boots or j^aitcrs, it beino- X I'RI.FACK. .idvisable to incliidc a black coat in which to inak(i calls on Russian officials, who are most particular in the etiquette of dress ; and some kind of uniform cap, if worn out of towns, will ensure almost as much respect and attention as the exhibition of a document that bears the stamp of the black double-headed eaQ;^le. If the idea of a tour in the mountains is entertained, a tent, cushions, saddles, and revolvers are indispensable ar- ticles ; and a sketch-book, barometer, thermometer, compass, glasses, and such simple medicaments as quinine, seidlitz- powders, chlorodyne, sticking-plaster, lint. &c., are under any circumstances most desirable possessions. A few clasp- knives, scissors, and one or two pocket-revolvers will prove a good investment, because the natives, who disdain to take money, will unhesitatingly accept such trifles in acknow- ledgment of the services they render, which at times are really invaluable. Necessaries, such as Liebig's extract, preserved milk. tea, brandy, biscuits, &c., are obtainable in most towns. The preferable time of year for starting on a tour in the Crimea and Transcaucasia w^ould be April and at the end of August, the latter month and September being objection- able in the lowlands of Transcaucasia, though a most en- joyable season in the mountains. Guides are not easily PREFA CE. xi secured, but Englishmen will meet with every attention and assistance, whether at the hands of Russians, whose hospi- tality knows no bounds, or of the natives in both territories, also particularly well-disposed towards the English. The author is under a heavy debt of gratitude to many Russian officials, and especially to General Count Levaschoff, General N. N. Karmaline, the Conseiller d'Etat Actuel Talyzyn at Tiflis, General Loris Melikoff, and Colonel Theodore Hrinewsky, whose names he takes the liberty of recording here. Difficulty having been experienced in the orthography of Russian and native names, the author attempts to imitate their sounds by giving a phonetic value to certain letters, which, with the aid of accentuation, may possibly offer some facility in their correct pronunciation, the almost absolute rule being, that every letter should be aspirated. The acute and grave accents are empl())cd in pol)'- syllables, the grave accent on the last syllabic only, as — Akstafa, basklyk, zourna ; but when a stress is laid on the final syllable, the last letter of the word is rej)eated. as — Aiann, doukann (Turk : doiikken), Djevatt. The acute accent on a penullimate sellable, has the (;ffect of short(;ning the word, as — b'cMKloroxilcli. llass;in- skaya, pam(')sluc]iiiyk. xii PRE FACE. 'X\\(\ a|)()stropli(' ' ilcnotcs an indcpciKlciU hul rather solt lircalhinL; of a IrlU'i". as — M)sh'()rr, which, without the a]X>stro{)ht' would rcatl as My-shorr. When the letter o has combined with it the pronuncia- tion of miro. tchy like ch in — charter. II, as in English — vitifr. w, is adopted as the last sound of the (ieorgian v. y, like r in J-",nglish, and sometimes j' — iiie, pity, easy. All dates havino- reference to the Russians are according- to the Julian Calendar; by addino- twelve days, the date in the (ireoorian Calendar is obtained. CONTENTS THE FIRST VOLU M E. CHAPTER I. FIRST AND SECOND DAY. Xearing the Russian shores — Loss of the 'Tiger' — As viewed by the Russians — Odessa — Its foundation — PubHc buildings — Destruction of the batteries in 1854 — The Virgin of Kasparoff— A miracle in 1872 — The Prison — Jewish influence — Obsequies of the dead — The sign of the Cross — Departure for the Crimea . . . page i CHAPTER II. THIRD DAY. Eskyforos Lighthou.-c — The British fleet — Saky .Salt-lakes — Posl-hurscs —The pcic- clodndya — Eupaloria — Its history — Cape Chersonese — Sevastopol and the fortifi- cations — The Tchornaya-retchka — St. Clement's monastery — Fortress of Calamita — Inkerman — The field of battle — The Sapounn ridge — British head-quarters — Cathcart's hill . . . , . . . . . . . . . i6 CHAPTER ill. FOURTH DAV. Monastery of St. George — Miss Nightingale — The Criumetopon-The Tauri — The Chersonese — A Black Sea fog- Allied camps — Balaclava — Ancient history — The Greek battalion — Ulysses — British occupation— Genoese castle — The Sutherland hillock — Scarlett's l)rigade — Lord Cardigan's cavalry charge . . . .28 ClIAPTEk 1\. FIFTH \K\\. The Malakoff Redan — I'rench cemetery- The .mciciil Chcrsoncsc — The defences of Diophantes - Ctenous - I'lec institutions nf iln.- (hersoiiians — Their wars xiv co.vy/i.vys of Trcaclifiy of llic Hu^puiiau^ -IiiyraliUKlc of llu- Clicrsouiaus — Vladiiuii the (Jiaiid Prince — His con vcision —Decadence of Chcisonesus — Its desliuction — Ruins of the city— Chiistian churches — 'liie Alma page 42 CHAPTER V. SIXTH DAY. Departure from Sevastopol — Valley of Baidar — The betrothed Tatars— A Tatar cottage — The Pass of Phoros — The Chaos— Aloupka—Tlie late Prince Woronzoff — 'Trois femmes celebres' — Dolmens — Cyclopean remains — Imperial residences — ^The Bay of Yalta — Gourzouflf — Ayou-dagh - Lambad — Aloushta — The ancient Chal)um — Athenaon ............. 56 CHAFTEK VI. SEVENTH ])AV. .\rrival at Theodosia-- Earliest history — The (jenoese — The Turks— Our passengers 'I'lio Karavy rocks —Ancient Kimmericum — Grecian colonies — Pavlovsky fortress Port of Kertch — Panlicapa;um — Kingdom of the Pontus ; of the Bosphorus — • The Alans — Huns—Gotlis— Kyerlcheif — The Museum — Mount Mithridates -Cata- combs — The Baslilyk — Excavations— Scythian burial 71 CHAPTER VIE EIGHTH AND NINTH DAY. ^ ciiy-Kaleh — Tzarsky kourgan -Mud volcanoes — Byzantine church —Anliquities^- Embarkation for Taman — Cimmeria — The Bosphorus — The Cymri — Tnioutorakan - M>.iislaflr— Matracha — Taman— Ancient remains — Sennaya . . . .87 CHAPTER VIII. TENIH DAY. Jewish tombstones— The Khozars — Their conversion — Their disappearance— Phana- goria — Its Necropolis — The Corocondamitis — Exploration of Tumuli — The 'Great Twins' Tumuli— Their antiquity ......... 97 CHAPTER IX. EEEVENIH AND TWELFTH DAY. Ak-lanys-liman — Tylorovko— Black Sea Cossacks — The sect of tlie Siiaiapoutts — River Kouban — Its navigation — Commerce —Michelthal — Tlie farmer's curse — Anapa — Ancient inhabitants — Prince Mentcliikoff ^ Ra'iefTsky — • Saints and Sinners .............. 105 THE FIRST VOLUME. xv CHAPTER X. THIRTKENTH ANJ) FOURJ'lif.NTH DAY. Tlie sect of llic l)ouliobort>y — Their cluctiiiies — Sacraments — Sanctity of cliurches — Persecution and exile — Morality — Arrival at Novorossisk — A market day —The inhabitants— Ancient localities — The ship ' Vixen ' .... I'AGK 1 12 CHAPTER XI. FIl'TEENTH AND SIXTEENTH DAY. I)ej)arlurc from Xovorossisk — Clhelendjyk — River I'shad — Dolmens ami barrows — • Touapse — Camara and Katcherma — The coast of Abhase--Pytzounda — Soukhoum Kaleh — Its prospects — The Eucalyptus globulus — Climate — Dioscurias and Sevastopolis — Superb vegetation —Elbrouz — ( jrotto of Counasky . . • il? CHAPTER XII. SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH DAY. Arrival at Poti- -The great mountain range — The river Rion — l,ake Paleostom — The Phasis — Ancient and modern fortresses — A breakfast party — Preparation for Gouria — Journey along the coast — Noblemen Cossacks— Evil practices — Swampy country — ■ Xicolaya — Russo-Turkish frontier — Gouria labourers — The ancient Petra — Arrival at Ozourghety — Sovereignty of Gouria — Population — Costume — The (Prince) Gouriel — Monastery of Tchemokmedy— Travelling in the Caucasus — Coinage . . -125 CHAPTER XIII. NINETEENTH DAY. Early departure — The fair of (jouria — Tiie Diospyrus lotus — Women of Gouria — The wine country- Fair at Orpyry -Railway at .Samtredy— Pass of Pyelagory — Numerous ruined churches- -Their supposed origin- The Poti-Tiflis railroad Souram - King Vaklitang— Arrival at Tiflis . . . . . 13^ CHAPTICR XI\'. IWENTlEril D\Y. I-ounk 157 chaptp:r XVI. TWKNIV-.SECOND DAY. A merry officer —The Uagralion-Moukhranskys — A Georgian tradition — Town of Gori — Its defences — Churches — Clubs — A native saddle — Rock of Ouplytz-tzykhe — Excavated chambers and crypts — Their distribution — Origin — Crypts at Vardagh — • Royal sepulchres — Arrival at MV.hett ........ i66 CHAPTER XVII. TWENTY-THIRD DAY. An Imperial hantl-basin — Russian Ablutions — Mtzkhetha, the capital of Karthly — Kings of ancient Georgia — Georgian alphabets — Conversion of the Karthlosides — The Cathedral at M'zhett— Relics and miracles — Tombs of Kings— Annexation of Georgia to Russia — Chapel of St. Nina — Disturbed graves — Lermontoff the poet — The Iron Castle — The (Vbeliani family — Presbyter John . . . •, • • '75 CHAPTER XVIII. TWENTY-FOURTH AND TWENTY-KIFTH DAY. Departure for Armenia -Comfortable travelling — Armed shepherds— Droves of camels — Abdoullah — The Tchapars — Their organisation and duties — The telegraph — Tatar noble and suite — Supply of horses — Human warrens — Novo Akstafa — Post-stations — Russian soldiers — Delyjann — A heavy supper— The sect of the Malakany — A copper mine — Endurance of camels — The Goktcha lake — Ancient monastery — Armenian mountaineers — Abdoullah again — Feats of horsemanship — Mount Ararat — Obsidian — Arrival at Erivan — Accommodation for travellers . . . . . .187 CHAPTER XIX. TWENTY-SIXTH DAY. Foundation of Erivan— The fortress— Sardars palace— Mosijuc — The ' Ulue Mosque' — A strange custom — A passion play— The bazaars — Armenian churches — Rites— The Persian quarter — Persian women— Education of Christian children , . . 203 THE FIRST VOLUME. xvii CHAPTER XX. TWENTY-SEVENTH AND TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY. Rough road to Ghergarr — Fierce clogs — Reception at the monasteiy — Its history — The ' holy lance ' — The church and rock-cut sanctuaries — Inscriptions — Legend of Rousoukna — Bash-Ghamy — Magnificent ruins — Throne of Tiridates — Basalt — Artaxata — Coins and antiquities — Return to Erivan .... page 210 CHAPTER XXI. TWENTY-NINTH DAY. Vision of .St. Gregory — Road to Edchmiadzin — Wines of the district — The monastery — Reception by the Patriarch — The libraiy — Printing office — The patriarchal church — Consecration of bishops — The treasuiy — Relics — Letter to the .Saviour — His reply — The three churches — The college — Conversion of Tiridates — A present from the Patriarch ............. 225 CHAPTER XXII. THIRTIETH AND THIRTY-FIRST DAY. Excursion to the plains — Church of .St. George — Burial in Armenia — Mourning— Poplar plantations — Armenian cottages —Murder — Civic government in the Caucasus — A patient — Monastery of Khorvyrab — Martyrdom of St. Gregory— A wedding procession — Armenian nuptials — Seclusion of Armenian women — Turcoman gipsies — The River Araxes — Aralyk — A Mahomedan colonel — The Kabardines — Ride to Ararat — The Kurds — Arkhoury— St. James, Myzpynsk — A piece of tlie Ark — Ascensions of Mount Ararat — Cossack dances — A pleasant evening ..... 238 CHAPTER XXIII. THIRTY-SECOND DAY. Lesser Ararat — The Persian frontier — A break-down — The Araxes — Its supposed ancient course — Return to Erivan — The Armenians — Their good qualities — Characteristics — Population — Religion — Patriotism — Sufferings — Road to Nahitchevan — Cosmetic waters there — Routes to Tiflis — Situation of Aiii ...... 253 CHAPTER XX I \'. THIRTY-IHIKI) i O JHIRI Y-FIITH DAY. The Sardar's summer residence — Yousouf and Mariam — Tiic last of AbdouUali — The Lesghians — Departure from Y.ny^n—Essdatyn — Iiilraclaljle A/m/^/;-.?— Insects— The Marie Canals — The Karayass steppe — Arrival at 'I'illis The ' Merclianl of Venice ' — The Armcnian-i cnlhusiaslic--D;.\ge 268 CHAPTER XXVI. THIRTY- EIGHTH DAY. Legends of Kasbeck — The Cross — Superstition — The Capra ibex — Osset respect for the dead — The Kysty — Their pagan altar — The river Terek — Pass of Darial — Russian fort — Queen Dary'ya — Dar-i-alan. described by authors — Lars — Tribes of the Ossets — Balta — Arrival at Vladykavkaz — Visit to the Governor — The Club — Emancipation of Russian ladies — Bridal Gifts — Inns and private houses —Russian character — District of Ossety — The Ossets — Their history — The Ossets and the Alains . . .281 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS THE FIRST VOLUME. *MouNT Ararat, krom the Window of the Sardak's Chamber, Fortress OF Erivan .......... Fronlispicce PAGE Jews of Odessa 15 *Castle of Calamita, and Crypt Monastery of St. Clement . . 27 Arms of the Emperors of Trebizond 32 ♦Genoese Castle, Balaclava -41 Russian Monk 55 *A Tatar Interior -58 *DoLMENS at AlTODOR 7o Terra-cotta Mask from a Tomb of Paxticap.eum .... .86 Entrance to the Tomb, Tzarskv-kour(;an 96 *Tombstones Disinterred at Sennava to face 98 *The Pereclodnaya 104 ♦Armorial Bearing over a Stable-yard Door, .\napa . . . .111 *Marble Statues Disinterred at Anapa to fiicc 115 ♦Circassian Cart .116 Coin of Dioscurias 124 *Delta of ihk KioN .126 ♦Monastery of Tchemokmedy 135 Those inarkc'l * arc from original skctdics by tlic aullidr. XX ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE FIRST VOLUME. PAOE *TlIRONF. (IK TIIK Ml'TROrOI.ITAN, Tcil KMOKMEDY. EIGHTEENTH CENTURY . I37 ♦Cart ok CiorRiA 142 The Lezoiivnka (Mrsic oy a National Dance) . . . to face 154 A TouLOi ii'rciiYE 156 View ok Tiki.is to face 160 Georc-.ian Female Wearing the Tciiadra 165 •Vaulted Chamber, Ori'i.YTz-T/.YKiifc 170 •Rectangular Chamher, OurLYXz-TZYKHt 171 •Canopy over the Throne of the Kings of Georgia at Mtzkhetha. Seventeenth Century -174 Macrocephalous Skull, M'zhett to face 182 •Throne ok the Catholicos at Mtzkhetha. Thirteenth Ceniury . 1S6 •SiiYHVLOU 193 •TcHAPAR Station on the Steppe 202 •Persian Woman 209 •The Rousoukna Sanctuary, Keghart 216 •Wall Sculptures over Arched Recesses, Keghart . , ■ . . . 219 •Ornamental Sculpture at Bash-Gharny .... to face 222 Ancient King of Armenia . . 224 Armenian Monk 237 •Monastery of Khorvyrah 243 A Musical Party 252 Arms of the Christian Kings of Armenia 261 •The Red Bridge 265 Georgian Noble 267 Ananour to face 271 •A Doukann 280 ♦Kasheck from the Post-Station 282 Women ok Ossety 297 • THE CRIMEA AND TRANSCAUCASIA. CHAPTER I. FIRST AND SECOND DAY. Nearing the Russian shores — Loss of the ' Tiger ' — As viewed by the Russians — Odessa — Its foundation — Public buildings — Destruction of the batteries in 1854 — The Virgin of Kasparofif— A miracle in 1872 — The Prison — Jewish influence— Obsequies of the dead — The sign of the cross — Departure for the Crimea. The Russian steamer ' Taurida,' on board of which we embarked at Galatz, was a comfortable vessel, and an agreeable change from the unpleasantly crowded Austrian river-boats in which we per- formed the voyage from Basiash to Galatz. We entered the Black Sea at 5.20 p.m. the previous evening on passing the Soulina Lighthouse, and at 2 A.M. the fixed light at Cape P'ontana showed that we were approaching the shores of Russia. The coast thence trends to the north, and four or fu'c miles be)-ond the Cape stands a conspicuous white villa, the property of Mr. Cortazzi a British subject, situated above that part of the shore which was the scene of the disaster that bcfel II. M.S. ' Tiger,' when that vessel straiulctl during a dense fjg at 150 yards from the cliff on the morning of May 12, 1854, three weeks after the destruction of the batteries at Odessa. Every e.xertion was being made to save the shi[), when a body of Ru.ssian infantry and a batter)- of eight 24-pouiulers took vol.. I. t' •' 2 THE CRIMEA AND TRANSCAUCASIA. up a position in front of tlic villa, aiul, the weather having partly cleared, kei)t u[) a heavy raking fire for the space of nearly an hour, which it was found impossible to return with any effect owing to the extreme elevation required. The enemy's red-hot shot was doing its work, and a shell having disabled four men and carried away Captain Giffard's right leg and wounded him in the left foot, that officer, from a desire to avoid unnecessary loss of life, hoisted the Russian colours in token of surrender.' After the disembarkation of the officers and men as prisoners of war had taken place at about 1 1 A.M., H.M. ships Niger and Vesuvius appeared off the coast and opened fire ; but the Russians ceased hostilities, and the force, now increased to a battalion of infantry with some lancers, besides artillery, numbering in all about 3,000 troops, retired with its captives, and the British ships steamed away to report the catastrophe to the Commander-in-chief. Aide-de-camp General Count d'Ostcn Sacken, who was in military command at Odessa in the years 1853-54, has quite lately given his relation of the ' attack on that city ' and loss of the ' Tiger,' when endorsing an appeal that was made to the public for con- tributions in behalf of an asylum for orphans and the infirm, which it was proposed to found near Odessa, 'en commemoration de la prise du Tigre, vapeur Anglais, et des artilleurs victimes de la canonnade de 1854.'- At 6 A.M. we entered the quarantine port of Odessa, and upon landing went through some mild customhouse formalities ; but the passport regulations are vexatious, and entail serious inconvenience and loss of time. The passport is a document without which it is ' Personal Narrative of the First Lieutenant of II. M.S. Tiger. Alfred Royer, I.ieut. R.X. 1854. - See Appendix I. ODESSA. 3 impossible to travel in an)- part of the empire, it being demanded at most inns and hotels for the information of the police, and it must also be produced to tra\'el on post-roads. Numerous vehicles, called drosJikys} with which the city is well supplied, were at the landing quays ; they are quaint conveyances, capable of containing three persons comfortably. One hoVse is harnessed to the shafts, the second with loose traces prances play- fully on the off-side, seeming scarcely to be under the control of \\\Q ysvostcJiyck'^m the national ^/v/y//?/^',^ who drives rapidly through the streets, and is one of the few men in the empire who, appreciating the value of time, docs his work off-hand. Odessa is situated on a cliff at the end of the steppe in the province of Kherson, at an altitude of 120 feet above the bay, and presents a handsome appearance from the sea. The broad streets, planted w itli the acacia, look bright and cheerful in spring ; and the pavement, laid by British contractors, is f;:ist remedying the incon- venience that was experienced by clouds of dust in dr}', and deep mud in wet, weather.^ The houses make a creditable show, and are built of shell concrete tfor bricks are unaccountably dear) obtained from tunnelled quarries that extend beneath the city itself, and have become the resort and refuge of vagrants and malefactors, upon whom the police occasionally make a raid. The shops are good, but the necessaries of life imported from other countries are of inferior quality, especially if they are British, and the high prices are readily accounted for, when tradesmen consider a profit of 30 per cent. ' a bad business.' As a cit)' of consiilerable commercial ' A small two-scaled vehicle. ^ * 'llie ilrivcr of a liiifd caniagc. " A wadded garment reaching lo the ankles. * The fearful condition of the streets of Odessa in I'mishkin's time, induced the great poet to compare the city to an ink Ixilllc in winter, and a saml l)o\ in summer. 4 THE CRIMEA AND TRANSCAUCASIA. iin[)(irl,incc, Odessa has Consular officers of all forei<;n powers, Groat liritaiii beings represented by a Consul-General. The site of Odessa, where antiquities, chiefly in pottery, have been found at xarious times, was anciently known as Ysiakon- limen, or Vako,' and afterwards by the names of Ginestra, Zinestra, and Lant^istra, as seen on the Italian charts of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. When possessed by the Turks, liadgy be)- was a fortress and the residence of a pasha ; it was carried by assault in 1788 by General De Ribas,^ during the Russo-Turkish war ; and the treaty of Jassy, December 29, 1791, secured to Russia the territor}' from the Boug to the Dniester. The first stone of a new military and commercial port was laid by De Ribas in 1795, by command of the Empress Catherine II., and a twelvemonth later the Turkish name of Hadgy bey was changed to Odessa, in remembrance of the ancient port of Ordesus on the same coast. When the Duke de Richelieu'' was appointed governor in 1803, the population of Odessa numbered 9,000, and the revenue amounted to 40,675 roubles assignat ; '' in 1874 the 'inhabitants amounted to 180,922, and the value of exports and imports reached the sum of 93,153.136 Rs. To the solicitude of the Duke and of his able successors. Count Langeron and the late Prince (then Count) Woronzoff, was due the rise and steady development of the new town. Count Woronzoff was the founder of numerous institu- tions ; he gave an impulse and encouragement to trade and com- merce, and as an eminent administrator was successful in checking ' Arrian, pcrip. and Anon : perip : Ponli Euxiiii, y an ofiicial that one of the inmates had been awaiting his trial live years. lo THE CRIMEA AND TRANSCAUCASIA. Ill aiKjthcr cell was a youni; soldier under sentence of death for insubordination and attempt to murder a superior ; he had appealed to the Kmperor, but liis appeal was considered a hopeless one. The penalty of death is not included in the civil code in Russia, but when a case arises in which the authorities arc of opinion that the accused, being- a civilian, should suffer capital punishment, lie is arraigned before a military tribunal which is empowered to condemn, and the criminal is shot. The prison suit consists of a long ' dressing-gown,' trousers and cap, of coarse grey cloth, and a cotton shirt ; each man is sup- plied with a felt blanket, and sleeps on boards raised above the ground. The daily meal, which is washed down with a liberal allowance of kvass,'' is brown bread and sJitcJiy',' here a greasy compound of insufficiently cooked herbs and barley, the desidera- tum evidently being quantity and not quality ; meat is only given upon occasions of great festivals. The limited use of water every- where tells its own tale. The sick wards, though deficient in ventilation, were cleanly ; but all else — the cells, passages, kitchens, clothing, and persons of the prisoners, indeed everything — was in the highest degree nasty. A fair proportion of the prisoners were Jews, \\\\o are kept quite apart from the Christians. There are 65,000 Jews in the city of Odessa,^ whose prosperity excites the envy, but scarcely the emulation, of the Russians, who have only themselves to thank for being behind in the race. The influence exerted by the Jewish element, due to its energy and wealth, is enormous, and to Odessa may literally be applied the words of Sidonia, 'that the world is governed by very different per- ' A fermented liquor made from barley malt, wheat, rye, wheat flour and buckwheat. ^ An excellent vegetable soup. ' The Jewish population in the province of Kherson amounts to 128,000. JEWS OF ODESSA. ii sonages to what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes.' As in Poland, the Jews of Odessa are at once recognised by the talan\ a greasy, long-skirted coat, and \\\z pejes, short curls that adorn the temples. These Jews are Talmudists, not observers of the law of Moses, but followers of the sainted Juda, the great rabbi who was ' above the kings and princes of the earth ' ; who conceived the idea of collecting the traditions, interpretations, and commentaries of the rabbins, and founding that Hebraic jurispru- dence named the Mishna, the text and precept of the Talmud that has usurped the place of the law of Moses, and on which the Ghemara or disputations of the Jewish doctors is a commentary. The feeling against the Jew is outrageously exhibited at Odessa, where the simple mention of him is odious to the Orthodox Christian ; but his success is easily accounted for. A large proportion of the Jews are included amongst that class whose principal and most remunerative labour is in the corn trade. Petty agents, sorters, sifters, packers and carriers earn from two roubles to five roubles daily. The Russian is bound to keep at the least forty-four holy-days, besides Sundays, during the year ; on Saturdays and feast-days he expends at the vodka ' counter of the Jew — for Jews keep nearly all the public-houses — his week's wages, and during a season of lengthened festival he runs up a score which has to be squared off upon the next receipt of wages — so that the Russian labourer is invariably in drink or in debt. lie either finds an early grave, or ekes out his existence as a labourer. The Jew observes the Sabbath and fifteen feast-da}-s in the twelve months ; he is an abstemious man, living with his wife and family on bread, vegetables, and kvass ; at the close of each week he lays by a fair proportion of roubles, takes his family to the synagogue three times ' Si'iiils. 12 THE CRT}JEA AND TRANSCAUCASIA. on the Sabbath, clad in tiicir best, aiul lookiiif^ as clean and respectable as earnest Talniudists are e\-er likely to, and on Sunday morning he returns to liis working suit and his toil. In a few }'ears he is a small capitalist, owning some hundreds of roubles, when he immediately commences business on his own account, often as a usurer, his earliest clients being too frequently his Christian fellow-labourers. Ever tlirifty and parsimonious, his capital accu- mulates, and if endowed with some ability, he eventually becomes a man of substance. The Russian, still a labourer, looks with envy on the rising man, whom he does not cease to vituperate for being a scoundrel, and a man who has robbed his employers. So with the shopman. While the Russian is carousing at the cafe, restaurant, or billiard-room — for Russians are the most impro- vident of people — the Jew is hoarding, and living on ki'ass and esculent herbs. The Jews, and it should be added, the Greeks - — they are the bone and sinew of trade at Odessa — are more than a match for the less wily, good-natured, and procrastinating Russ. The obsequies of the dead in Russia are a very distressing sight ; but at Odessa they are revolting. On the morning of the interment, the door of the house in which the deceased lies is thrown open, and the family privacy becomes invaded, for every passer-by has the right to walk in and kiss the face and hands of the corpse laid on a catafalque ; the friends of the afflicted relatives enter the house at an early hour, being rarely dressed in mourning, and take their places on seats ranged around the mortuary chamber, where they remain chatting until the heart-rending scene of leave-taking, which is the signal for the funeral. When the procession is formed, it moves away at a smart pace, headed by a cross borne aloft, banners and lighted lanterns being A FUNERAL. ij carried at the sides. A friend of the deceased follows with a large dish, on which is a rice cake,' frosted and Hberally ornamented with sugar-plums (at the funeral of a pauper, a brown loaf replaces the cake) ; then comes the coffin-lid borne by four persons, and after it the coffin furnished in violet, rose-coloured, white or black cloth or velvet, ornamented with tawdry lace and silver braid ; it is laid on a bier, the face and hands of the corpse being exposed ; the rear is brought up by mourners on foot and in vehicles, with whom a crowd of idlers mix and hurry. When the procession reaches the cemetery, a short service takes place in the church, and a paper band, upon which is inscribed the name, age, and date of death, is secured around the brow of the deceased. The coffin is then hastened to the grave, where the mourners are await- ing it and a large number of paupers of both sexes are assiduously mumbling their prayers and crossing themselves. Another short service, and a waiting and hysterical sobbing is set up, much of it doubtless from the fulness of the heart, the rest from some kind of sympathy ; then, all of a sudden, the competition for kissing the exposed parts of the dead body becomes great, and is zealously continued until the priest makes a sign, and the coffin is lowered into the grave, a sprinkling of holy water concluding the ceremony. But scarcely has the priest turned to move away, after receiving his fee and tasting the cake, than the niciulicants, losing all sense of decency and forgetting their devotion, make a rush at the unfor- tunate creature who holds the dish, and a sad scramble takes place, even before the earth has closed over the poor remains. Then comes the last scene, and handfuls of coppers are distributed, with the object of securing prayers for the souls of the dead : - ' Einblcmalic of the resurrection, i Cor. xv. 37. ' 'I'liere is a strange festival taileil tlie piiiiiyiil;y, 'llicilay