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 THE LIBRARY 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
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 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 PEOPLE, 
 
 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THEIR WARS, 
 
 A SKETCH or THE 
 
 ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE RENOWNED CHIEF 
 
 SCHAMYL. 
 
 BY 
 
 LOUIS MOSER 
 
 LONDON : 
 DAVID XUT'J\ 270, STRAND. 
 
 isse.
 
 LONDON: 
 T. RrCHABDS, GREAT QDEEN STREET.
 
 w 
 
 TO 
 
 WILLIAM FANE DE SALIS, ESQ., 
 
 DIRECTOR OF THE PENINSULAR AND ORIENTAL 
 STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY. 
 
 Southampton, 1856, 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I gladly avail myself of your per- 
 mission to present to you this little work 
 on the Caucasus, compiled during leisure 
 hours in your Company's Steam Transport 
 Service, from French, German, and original 
 Russian sources. 
 
 I have been induced to offer it by the 
 interest you are known to take in the 
 affairs of the East, and also by the position 
 you hold in the great Company which has 
 taken so prominent a part in furthering 
 the objects of the Crimean War, and in
 
 IV DEDICATION. 
 
 bringing European energy to bear on Asiatic 
 torpor. 
 
 The brave and long- continued struggle 
 of the Caucasian races, against an enemy 
 so greatly superior to them in physical 
 force, has enlisted the sympathies of Europe 
 in their favour ; and it seems probable that 
 events now in progress may render it desir- 
 able to obtain more accurate information 
 concerning a country and people hitherto 
 so imperfectly known, and, it may be 
 added, so difficult to know well. 
 
 My little work can pretend to no merit 
 but that of authenticity ; but, on this 
 ground, I would fain hope that it may 
 prove of some public service, and that you 
 wiil accept it as a trifling tribute of esteem 
 and grateful acknowledgment of kindness 
 received from you by, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 
 Louis MOSER.
 
 THE CAUCASUS AND ITS PEOPLE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Superb Scenery of the Caucasus. — Traditions connected 
 with it. — The loftiest Peaks. — Side Ranges. — The 
 Black Mountains. — The Andisch Range. — The Kai- 
 tach. — The Rivers of the Caucasus. — The Kouban, 
 Terek, Kouma, etc. — Their tributaries. — The vege- 
 tation of the Caucasus. — Its amazing variety. — The 
 animal kingdom, etc. 
 
 In no region of the earth are the striking 
 contrasts of scenery, in which nature often 
 seems to delight, more magnificently dis- 
 played than in the Caucasus. 
 
 From the banks of the Don, and far and 
 wide along the course of the Manytch and 
 Kouma, stretches a weary waste of barren 
 
 B
 
 Z THE CAUCASUS 
 
 steppe country, which gradually loses itself 
 in the inhospitable slopes that bound the 
 Caspian Sea. Abruptly and unexpectedly, 
 however, from this dreary and monotonous 
 plain, there arise, first a chain of hills, and 
 then a mighty range of mountains, towering 
 ever higher and higher, and throwing out 
 spurs that slope into and embosom broad, 
 sunny, smiling valleys, while, at the same 
 time, the loftiest peaks rise to the height of 
 everlasting snow ; where the glaciers only 
 melt sufficiently to feed the torrents, which 
 leap roaring and foaming from cliff and 
 cavern. 
 
 This varied and rugged range of moun- 
 tains is covered in many parts with forests 
 of the most luxuriant vegetation, though, as 
 we have said, its wild, sharp peaks pierce 
 beyond the line of perpetual snow : it ex- 
 tends from the Black Sea to the Caspian, and 
 forms nature's boundary between the two
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 3 
 
 continents of Europe and Asia ; and on this 
 range, with its numerous branches, offsets 
 and headlands, the name of the Caucasus 
 has been bestowed. 
 
 Tradition has chained Prometheus to the 
 highest point of the Caucasus, and laid the 
 scene of the Golden Fleece expedition on the 
 lovely slopes that overhang the Black Sea. 
 
 The ark of Noah, too, is said to have 
 rested on a peak of one of its branches, but 
 beyond this, both history and tradition are 
 nearly silent concerning this mountain land ; 
 and there are, even at this hour, extensive 
 tracts of country untrodden by European 
 foot, and known to us only by the vague 
 and uncertain glimpses afforded by hearsay 
 or imagination. 
 
 The range of the Caucasus, with its 
 thousand bare and fantastically shaped 
 summits, extends for a length of one hun- 
 dred and fifty miles, from Anapa, on tlic
 
 4 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 Black Sea, to Cape Abcharan, on the Cas- 
 pian. Its breadth varies continually, as it 
 sometimes spreads out its branches, and 
 opens into broad acclivities, and sometimes 
 contracts into narrow passes, and sinks into 
 extensive valleys or deep ravines. 
 
 Amongst the loftiest points in the prin- 
 cipal range, proceeding from west to east, 
 rise most conspicuously the following peaks : 
 the Oschten, Nisiri, Maruch, Dschumantan, 
 Tuturguh, and Elbruz ; about the middle of 
 the range stands out pre-eminently the Kas- 
 beck, and to the east and south-east, the 
 Kadori, the Sakoris-twer, and the Kah-dagh. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of the pass of 
 Dariel, the loftiest heights present a ba- 
 saltic formation, though the lower hill 
 ranges are of chalk, slate, and limestone. 
 The Elbruz, the loftiest peak of the Cauca- 
 sian range, attains, according to some tra- 
 vellers, the height of 15,400, or, to others,
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. O 
 
 of 16,330 feet ; and this Colossus is held in 
 high veneration by the people, who believ- 
 ing it to be the abode of good and bad 
 spirits, look up to it with awe not unmixed 
 with fear. The next in height is the Kas- 
 bek, also called the Msinwari ; it is es- 
 timated at 14,400 feet, and it is constantly 
 covered, from summit to base, with ice and 
 snow. 
 
 Among the spurs and side ranges of the 
 Caucasus, that on the north-west runs nearly 
 parallel with the principal chain ; it is called 
 the Black Mountain range, in contradistinc- 
 tion to the chief, snow-covered one, whose 
 branches, extending north-west and south- 
 east, are connected with each other by steep 
 cliffs, deep precipices, and impenetrable 
 forests. These branches enlarge and ex- 
 tend as they approach the centre, but to- 
 wards the north they throw off numerous 
 arms to the Kouma Steppes, where, after
 
 6 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 forming the promontory of Beschtan, they 
 sink into the forest range of ShebKaragatch. 
 To the south, an extensive branch stretches 
 in gentle declivities in the direction of the 
 river Kour, meeting the projecting spur of 
 Mount Ararat. Towards the east, the prin- 
 cipal chain divides itself at different points 
 into two ridges, one forming the wide ex- 
 tending elevations of the Andisch range, 
 while, towards the north-east, a second 
 branch forms that of the Kaitach; this 
 stretches to the Caspian, after encircling 
 larger or smaller valleys, which are again 
 broken up by isolated mountains and hills. 
 
 Of the various rivers which diverge from 
 the northern flank of the Caucasus the most 
 important are, the Kouban, the Terek, and 
 the Kouma, besides the Podkouma, a branch 
 stream of the latter, which runs towards 
 the steppe from which it takes its name. 
 
 The Kouban has its source in the north-
 
 AND ITS TEOrLE. / 
 
 ern slope of the Elbruz ; and after leaving 
 the hills by a wide bend to the westward, 
 and receiving the waters of several tributa- 
 ries, it falls into the Kouban-Liman, whicli 
 flows into the Black Sea. 
 
 On the right of its course the Kouban 
 receives no river of any importance ; but 
 the streams which join it on the left, rising 
 mostly in the high and dark range above 
 them, deserve some mention, not only on 
 their own accounts, but from their serving 
 to mark more distinctly the abodes of the 
 several Caucasian races. 
 
 The names of the rivers, which flow 
 from east to west, are the Great and Little 
 Indtchik or Selentchuk, the Uruss, the 
 Great and Lesser Laba, the Chodz, the 
 Schadgasha, the Supa, Kara-Kouban, and 
 Afips. 
 
 The tributaries of the Kouban are more 
 numerous than those of the Terek. The
 
 8 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 latter also takes it rise in the snowy range, 
 and soon entering a narrow valley, follows 
 an eastern course, till it falls into the Cas- 
 pian Sea, whither it conveys all the streams 
 that rise in the north and north-eastern 
 part of the Caucasus. These tributaries 
 join the Terek on the left, as do also the 
 waters of the four united rivers, Malka, 
 Baksan, Tshegem, and Tcherek, and the 
 rivulets Uruch, Aredon, Flag, Makaldon, 
 Gnaldon, and others of less importance. 
 The south, and more especially the south- 
 western slopes of the Caucasus, are most 
 abundantly supplied with water ; and some 
 of the streams which rise in these regions 
 take the direction of the Black Sea, while 
 the rest join the river Kour, as it flows from 
 west to east, at the foot of the Caucasus, 
 and at length fall with it into the Caspian 
 Sea near Salian. 
 
 Among the former we find the Schacho,
 
 AND ITS TEOrLE. if 
 
 Gebs, Tshab, Inabs, Ardo, Bsyb, Engari or 
 Ingar, Iskenitz, Guali, and Rioni ; among 
 the latter, the Didi-Liachoi, Aragoi, with 
 the Gudamaquari, the Jori, and Alasami. 
 
 Among the tributaries of the Kour, the 
 largest are the rivers rising in the south 
 and south-eastern slopes of the Caucasus, 
 and flowing directly into the Caspian Sea ; 
 of these the most worthy of note is the 
 Kissra, a river formed by the confluence of 
 four difl"erent streams, namely, the Anditch, 
 Avarsh, Kara, and Kasamuch-Kissra. The 
 waters of these, after meeting, force them- 
 selves between the Anditch and Kaitach 
 range of hills, and fall into the Caspian 
 Sea, under the name of the Szulak. The 
 Koura, also, and the Samura, are rivers 
 worthy of notice. 
 
 The natural boundaries of this highland 
 region are, therefore, the rivers Kouban 
 and Terek on the north, the valley of the
 
 10 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 Kour on the south, the Caspian Sea on the 
 east, and the Black Sea on the west. Within 
 these limits nature has collected the cha- 
 racteristics of the most widely differing 
 landscapes : inhospitable rocks, wild tor- 
 rents, and terrific chasms, with the treasures 
 of the richest and most fertile vegetation, 
 and an almost boundless variety of fruits 
 and flowers, which are elsewhere found dis- 
 persed through various zones and climates. 
 Here we have the plane tree and the box- 
 wood of unusual size and thickness ; there 
 the mulberry and the vine, which in the 
 beautiful wilds of Mingrelia grow without 
 any care ; the oak and the elm, the ash, 
 the birch and the pine, form almost im- 
 penetrable forests ; the whole of the Alpine 
 flora is found here, and destructive creepers, 
 along with the lovely myrtle, rosalia, laurel, 
 azalea, rhododendron, and many other 
 flowers, as well as fruits, namely, figs,
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 11 
 
 chesnuts, and melons of extraordinary size 
 and flavour. The richest abundance of ve- 
 getable produce, in short, is found blooming 
 in the very midst of barren unfruitful rocks, 
 that seem to defy the very vegetative power 
 of nature. 
 
 The animal kingdom of the Caucasus is 
 no less exuberant; horses, sheep, cattle, 
 and buffaloes are numerous, as well as wild 
 boars, jackals, hyenas, panthers, chamois, 
 goats, and deer ; besides hares, pheasants, 
 and all kinds of game ; fowls, too, and bees 
 are in abundance ; and among the occa- 
 sional visitors may be mentioned the bear, 
 the denizen of the north, and even at times 
 the tiger. The mineral treasures of the 
 Caucasian ranges are as yet little known ; 
 and the prevalent scarcity of salt often ex- 
 poses the mountaineers to great privations. 
 
 On the whole, nature has lavished her 
 bounties most generously on the soil of the
 
 12 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 Caucasus, and she has been no less munifi- 
 cent in endowing the aboriginal inhabitants 
 of these mountains with the mental qualifi- 
 cations for enabling them to appreciate her 
 blessings.
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Personal and Mental Qualifications of the Cauca- 
 sian Races. — Princes and Nobles. — Their Privileges. 
 — Great Public Meetings. — Brilliant appearance of 
 the Assembly. — The Debates. — The Brotherhoods. 
 Judicial Proceedings. — Lawful and Unlawful Rob- 
 bery. — Leading features of the Caucasian character. 
 — Slaver)'. — Trade in Girls. — Warlike Expeditions. 
 
 The Caucasian races are of fine physical 
 organization, and possess preeminently the 
 susceptibility of intellectual culture. 
 Though of different origin, and separated 
 by language and dialects into many tribes, 
 fhere is a striking agreement in the character, 
 manners, and customs of the whole people ; 
 and all the races of the Caucasus adhere 
 strictly to one and the same code of oral 
 and traditional law, by which their commu- 
 nities, their households, their customs, and
 
 14 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 even their dresses, are governed and re- 
 gulated. 
 
 It must be acknowledged, however, that 
 while their virtues are strengthened and 
 upheld by these traditions, their national 
 vices are often excited by them to savage 
 excesses. The tendencies of the people are 
 all republican ; and most tribes admit nei- 
 ther of aristocracy nor hereditary titles. 
 All men being equal among them, the 
 jurisdiction of the chiefs or princes (called 
 in the different dialects Psahy, By, Bei, 
 Beg, and so on) is exceedingly limited ; 
 and that of the nobles (Usden, Work, or 
 Mursden) is still more restricted, unless 
 they possess means of upholding the lustre 
 of their ancestral rank by a rich showy 
 appearance, or by preeminent valour on the 
 battle-field. On the other hand, great 
 homage is paid to aged men of unblemished 
 character, as well as to those who have dis-
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 15 
 
 tinguished themselves by exploits against 
 the common enemy ; and also to minstrels. 
 
 The life of the mountaineer of the Cau- 
 casus is one continued series of dangers 
 and hardships, imposed upon him by the 
 necessity of defending his mountain home : 
 he must, therefore, in order to gain lasting 
 influence over his tribe, make continual 
 displays of dexterity, perseverance, and un- 
 daunted courage. 
 
 Where princes reign a small tribute is 
 paid to them, and they, as well as the 
 nobles, have a right to a hospitable recep- 
 tion in every house, rich or poor, which 
 they may enter, and they may remain as 
 long as the provisions last. In all other 
 respects they are on an equality with the 
 rest of the clan, and must obey the will of 
 the popular assemblies denominated Tafes, 
 which are called together to discuss matters 
 concerning military service, or when a
 
 16 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 battle is to be fought, a feast to be cele- 
 brated, or judicial business, such as the 
 trial or condemnation of a culprit, to be 
 transacted. These meetings are held mostly 
 on moonlight nights, in sacred groves, or 
 under a huge primeval tree, near which is 
 generally to be seen an ancient decayed 
 cross, the last memorial of the Christian 
 sires assigned to the Caucasian races, and 
 to which there is usually attached an emo- 
 tion of religious awe, originating in some 
 tradition. 
 
 On the occasion of one of these meetings, 
 every man arrays himself in his best attire, 
 and all vie with one another in the pic- 
 turesque style of their adornment, and in the 
 display of bright arms and jewelled dirks, 
 as well as of formidable javelins and bril- 
 liant feats of horsemanship, so that there is 
 a great deal of pleasurable excitement in 
 these nightly scenes, by which the fiery
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 17 
 
 spirits of the warriors arc animated to still 
 higher martial ardour, and the hills are con- 
 tinually made to reecho their tremendous 
 battle-cry. 
 
 The Speaker and Council of Elders are 
 seated on the turf in the centre of the 
 assembly, in order that they may be seen 
 and heard by every one present ; around 
 them a circle is formed by the middle-aged 
 warriors, whose steeds are tethered in a 
 ring outside that formed by their owners, 
 and this outer circle is again surrounded 
 by the youth on horseback. 
 
 Whenever an elder rises to address the 
 meeting, the deafening clash of arms, the 
 clatter of a thousand tongues, the stamping 
 of a multitude of horses, and the whole 
 many-voiced tumult, is hushed in an in- 
 stant ; and in profound silence, and with 
 deep emotion, the assembly listens to the 
 counsel addressed to it by the venerable
 
 18 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 speaker, whose mystical, enthusiastic elo- 
 quence often excites his hearers to heroic 
 efforts in defence of their mountain homes, 
 by promising them, finally, that whoever is 
 slain on the battle-field in the conflict with 
 the enemy, shall be thence instantaneously 
 transferred to Paradise. 
 
 When the speaker has concluded his 
 harangue, his proposals are submitted to 
 the deliberations, and then to the votes of 
 the assembly ; these are given first by the 
 aged, and then downwards to the youngest 
 members present, all having an equal right 
 to express their opinions freely; and the 
 majority of votes constituting any measure 
 so agreed on, is law, holy and binding on 
 the whole community. 
 
 Before setting out to attend one of these 
 great public meetings, each Brotherhood or 
 smaller community usually discusses and 
 resolves on the measures proposed to be
 
 A^D ITS PEOPLE. 19 
 
 advocated in the larger assembly, wliicli 
 consists of ten of these Brotherhoods, and is 
 empowered in the pnblic meetings to pass 
 laws, from which there is no appeal. 
 
 In the Brotherhood the motto is — " One 
 for all, and all for one"; it undertakes to 
 provide for the widows and orphans of 
 fallen warriors ; and in case of one of its 
 members being unable when he wishes to 
 marry to raise the funds necessary for the 
 purchase of a bride, this is done for him by 
 the community. 
 
 Should one of the clan be convicted of 
 theft of any goods or chattels belonging to 
 a friendly neighbour, and unable to pay the 
 fine (mostly a certain number of oxen or 
 sheep) to which he has been condemned by 
 public sentence, it has to be paid for him 
 by a contribution raised among the Bro- 
 therhood to which he belongs. 
 
 Robberies committed on the property of
 
 20 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 unfriendly neighbours, however, especially 
 if well planned and boldly executed, are 
 greatly applauded. 
 
 Should disputes occur, and the dispu- 
 tants not be able to come to any agreement, 
 umpires are chosen, by whose decision the 
 parties have to abide. 
 
 The majority of the tribes, and especially 
 the Lesgheans, cling to the principle of 
 retributive justice. 
 
 Guided by the law, " that he who shed- 
 deth man's blood, by man shall his blood 
 be shed", they regard it as a solemn duty 
 to hunt after the aggressor till they have 
 laid him low; and this barbarous custom 
 has given rise to sanguinary feuds, which 
 last from generation to generation. 
 
 These mountaineers are taught, that the 
 spirits of their relatives who have been 
 slain can never rest in peace until they 
 shall have been avenged ; and not only is a
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 21 
 
 brother or friend of one who has fallen, 
 always ready to pursue an assassin to 
 death, but he can seldom be induced to 
 give quarter to Russian prisoners of war, 
 lest he should thus chance to leave the 
 manes of some ancestors or brethren un- 
 avenged. 
 
 Cowardice, treachery, or the violation of 
 the law of hospitality, are all regarded 
 among these races as unpardonable crimes ; 
 and whoever is known to have committed 
 any aggression on the person or goods of a 
 guest, is, according to law, to be tied hand 
 and foot, flung into an abyss, and left to 
 perish without mercy. A coward is re- 
 garded as an outcast from the community ; 
 and should he be prevented by disease from 
 leaving the abodes of his tribe, he is con- 
 demned to live and feed with the dogs. 
 
 The leading features of the Caucasian 
 character, in short, are valour, pride, re-
 
 22 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 verence for age, and a high sense of the 
 duty of hospitality. When a guest enters 
 any dwelling, the host considers himself as 
 bound to wait on him, to serve him, to 
 minister to his wants, provide for his com- 
 fort, and afford him every gratification in 
 his power. The best place in the house, 
 the choicest morsels at the dinner, are 
 allotted to him, and the members of the 
 family vie with one another in endeavour- 
 ing to amuse him ; the utmost care is taken 
 never to disturb his repose ; and should he 
 fall sick, he is nursed with the utmost 
 anxiety and tenderness. 
 
 Were enemies lying in wait for the 
 stranger, his host would not fail to protect 
 him ; and should the threshold be violated 
 by his pursuers, the hostess Vs'ould offer 
 him her breast, and by this act constitute 
 him at once a member of the family, who 
 would then peril property and life in his
 
 AND ITS TEOPLE. 23 
 
 defence. Such extreme cases as this, how- 
 ever, are of rare occurrence. 
 
 The visit of a minstrel is regarded as a 
 great honour to a family ; and every guest 
 is, on his departure, furnished by his host 
 with letters of introduction, which give him 
 a clainf to further hospitalities on the road 
 to his place of destination. Prisoners of 
 war and stragglers only are claimed as 
 bondsmen ; of the latter, few are found 
 among the Caucasian tribes, and such as 
 are met with are usually in the enjoyment 
 of the same privileges as the rest of the 
 family. Should the bondsman, however, 
 be guilty of any offence, the master of the 
 house has a right to put him to death. 
 
 One of the darkest features of Caucasian 
 life is the existence of the Slave Trade, 
 which, notwithstanding the vigilant oppo- 
 sition of the English Ambassador at Con- 
 stantinople, is still a favourite object with
 
 24 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 these races, and often carried on, in defi- 
 ance of all obstacles, with the most daring 
 intrepidity. On most occasions, the father 
 himself sells his daughters to a broker 
 who supjDlies the Turkish harems ; and fre- 
 quently receives a good round sum for his 
 merchandise. 
 
 The poor girls, on their parts, by no 
 means object to the proceeding, as they are 
 taught from their infancy to long for the 
 luxurious idleness of the harems of Stam- 
 boul, and regard it as a kind of earthly 
 Paradise. 
 
 Warlike expeditions in pursuit of plun- 
 der, either to the Russian territory, or to 
 that of a neighbouring tribe, have great 
 charms for a people accustomed to constant 
 exertion, and delighting in tumult and 
 activity. 
 
 "When one of these is in contemplation, 
 the first step is the ceremony of taking the
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 25 
 
 " Blood Oath", as it is called, which binds 
 those who take it to perseverance in valor- 
 ous effort, and to standing by each other 
 to the death. The bravest warrior among 
 them is then chosen as leader, and the occa- 
 sion is celebrated by a feast and a dance. 
 The warriors after this retire to rest ; but at 
 daybreak they rise and set forward on their 
 march, ascending mountains, crossing rivers, 
 and forcing their way through primeval 
 forests, till they reach the point of attack. 
 The march is mostly planned so as to sur- 
 prise the enemy in sleep, and in such case 
 the deadly onslaught usually spares no one. 
 
 Should any prisoners be made, they are 
 speedily driven to some place of security, 
 where the spoil is deposited ; and the re- 
 treat of the assailants is generally as sud- 
 den as their appearance. 
 
 Prisoners of war often prefer death to 
 captivity ; they destroy their arms and mu-
 
 26 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 tilate their horses, that they may not ren- 
 der service to the enemy ; and sometimes, 
 finally, embrace the first opportunity to 
 precipitate themselves into some rocky 
 abyss, rather than endure the passing their 
 lives in bondage. 
 
 Sanguinary battles are often fought for 
 the sake of recapturing the body of a slain 
 friend ; as it is considered a great misfor- 
 tune and disgrace that one who has fought 
 and bled in the cause of the common weal 
 should be buried on a hostile soil.
 
 AND ITS TEOrLE. 27 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Mode of Life among the Caucasians. — Food. — Dress. 
 — Marriage. — Education of the Boys. — The Attalik. 
 — Education of the Girls. — Medical Treatment in 
 Circassia. — Funeral Ceremonies. — Lamentation and 
 Rejoicing. 
 
 The ordinary mode of life among the Cau- 
 casians is frugal, and in strict accordance 
 with their social condition. Their houses 
 and huts are for the most part poor and 
 meagre in construction, seldom exhibiting 
 the smallest sign of prosperity. A few have 
 dwellings rudely built of stone, but the 
 majority of the habitations are constructed 
 of pine boards, roughly put together and 
 thatched over ; others consist merely of 
 hurdle-work plastered with clay and mor- 
 tar ; and though they contain several rooms,
 
 28 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 they are without windows or chimneys, and 
 are used as common resting places for men 
 and cattle. Some tribes have no houses at 
 all, but live in caves. 
 
 The Caucasian villages are mostly formed 
 in a circle, in the centre of which the cattle 
 are placed for security during the night ; 
 but others consist of a few huts, widely 
 scattered about the forest, and the poverty 
 of the inhabitants seems legibly written on 
 every threshold. 
 
 Their ordinary food is a preparation from 
 coarse millet, and a piece of roast meat and 
 a draught of beer, which they occasionally 
 brew, are the greatest luxuries they know. 
 Knives, forks, and plates are dispensed with 
 in a Caucasian household, and considered 
 superfluities. 
 
 As the Caucasians are exceedingly fond 
 of their arms, one of their greatest amuse- 
 ments is to polish their jeweled dirks, and
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 29 
 
 often richly ornamented guns and pistols, 
 or the long straight sword, which they wear 
 in a coloured scabbard. Helmets, shirts of 
 mail, etc., were formerly worn by them, but 
 they have been discontinued since the use 
 of fire-arms has become general. 
 
 The dress of the Caucasians is often rich 
 and picturesque ; the men wear a long silk 
 undercoat, and a short overcoat without a 
 collar ; a closely-fitting tunic, with neatly 
 worked cartridge pockets of red morocco 
 in front, yellow boots, and a head-dress of 
 Astrachan lambskin, with a crown of crim- 
 son cloth or leather ; their silken sash, or 
 ornamented leather girdle, is well stocked 
 with weapons ; and a felt cloak, for the pro- 
 tection of their gay attire, is their constant 
 companion. 
 
 The women wear robes ornamented with 
 fur and silver lace, and reaching to the 
 knees, where they are met by trowseri,
 
 30 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 mostly of silk, and over the head and face 
 is worn the Ishadra^ a white and often beau- 
 tifully embroidered veil. The poorer classes 
 are, of course, more scantily attired. 
 
 Family life in the Caucasus is generally 
 entered upon at an early age ; a fact that 
 might be in a great measure accounted for 
 by many circumstances arising out of the 
 peculiar position of the country, the isola- 
 tion of many of its valleys, and the difficulty 
 and occasional impossibility of communica- 
 tion between them. Polygamy is found 
 among only a few of the tribes, and even 
 with them it may be regarded as the ex- 
 ception rather than the rule. Marriages 
 take place at so very early an age, that a 
 girl of eighteen would be looked upon as a 
 decided old maid, and be very likely there- 
 fore to remain unmarried for the rest of 
 her life. 
 
 Men of the middle classes choose their
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 31 
 
 wives for themselves, according to taste ; 
 but the matrimonial partners of the sons of 
 nobles are chosen for them. In the nego- 
 tiations carried on concerning the marriage, 
 the stipulations as to the amount of horses, 
 slaves, cattle, and valuable arms which are 
 to be given, form a very important item ; 
 when these are concluded, the bride, it is 
 said, is so anxiously watched over by her 
 relatives, that the lover has to resort to 
 many stratagems before he can succeed in 
 even seeing her for a few moments. 
 
 The wedding is celebrated with noisy 
 feasting and revelry, in the midst of which 
 the bridegroom has to rush in, and, with 
 the help of a few daring young men, to 
 carry off the lady by force ; and by tliis 
 process she becomes his lawful wife. 
 
 The Caucasians are said in general to 
 treat their wives well, but now and then 
 they send them back to their father's
 
 3*2 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 house, — an affront which gives rise to the 
 bitterest feuds. Adultery is punished with 
 death. 
 
 In the education of the male children 
 we find among the Circassians many traits 
 of character and custom, curiously analo- 
 gous to those of the ages of chivalry in 
 Western Europe. 
 
 As it was the practice for young aspirants 
 to the honours of knighthood not to be left 
 to be educated in their parental homes, but 
 to be sent into the household of some noble 
 to be trained to the practice of chivalric 
 exercises, so the son of a Circassian chief 
 is taken from home, and consigned to the 
 charge of a tutor or foster-father, called an 
 Attalik, and until he attains the age when 
 his education is supposed to be complete, it 
 is considered an unpardonable weakness in 
 the real father even to desire to see his 
 child. Boys are regarded rather as the
 
 AND ITS TEOrLE. 33 
 
 property of the tribe than of their parents ; 
 and should the latter have neglected to 
 choose an Attalik for their son, any one 
 who feels so disposed may offer to under- 
 take the charge. There are even instances 
 of enthusiastic educators carrying off a pupil 
 by force ; and this is not, by Circassian law, 
 a punishable offence. 
 
 A male child at his birth is presented 
 with a bow and a quiver of arrows, as 
 symbols of his future career ; and to these 
 is added an amulet, to guard him from 
 witchcraft, and from the influence of the 
 evil eye. 
 
 The Circassians being entirely ignorant 
 of science and letters, understand by edu- 
 cation chiefly gymnastic exercises, riding, 
 swimming, and the use of warlike weapons ; 
 but the young pupil is also instructed in 
 the art of stealing with expertness, as well 
 as in eloquence, in order tliat he may one 
 
 D
 
 34 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 day shine as an orator at the public meet- 
 ings. 
 
 Having attained to manhood, the young 
 mountaineer is conducted in triumph back 
 to the house of his parents, where, at a 
 feast held on the occasion, he displays his 
 acquirements before his friends and rela- 
 tives. The guardian or tutor — the Attalik 
 as he is called — is then overwhelmed with 
 presents and congratulations, and he enjoys 
 ever afterwards the highest consideration 
 in the family. 
 
 The education of female children is left 
 to the mothers, by whom they are taught 
 to attend to domestic affairs, to be skilful 
 horsewomen, and also the use of arms. 
 
 On the decease of the head of the family 
 — the father — the management of the 
 household devolves on the mother ; but 
 should the sons not agree to remain toge- 
 ther, the father's property is divided among
 
 AND ITS TEOrLE. 35 
 
 them, the eldest obtaining the hxrgest share, 
 and with it the house, of wliich he then 
 becomes the possessor. The smallest por- 
 tion is given to the younger son. 
 
 Death being looked upon in this country, 
 as almost every where else, as a most im- 
 portant family event, funerals are performed 
 with great pomp ; that of a warrior espe- 
 cially with extravagant ceremonies. Illness 
 among the Caucasians is commonly attri- 
 buted to evil spirits, wliich they endeavour 
 to drive out of the patient by all kinds of 
 torture and by tumultuous noise. LTnder 
 the impression that the spirit exercises his 
 malignant influence over the patient chiefly 
 during his sleep, they no sooner see him 
 sinking into slumber than they take every 
 method they can devise to disturb him, 
 and if noise will not keep him awake, they 
 sprinkle cold water over his face whenever 
 he attempts to close his eyes. When, at
 
 36 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 last, death puts an end to his sufferings, 
 the women commence the funeral dirge ; 
 tearing the hair from their heads with 
 frantic lamentations, and lacerating their 
 hands and faces in a frightful manner, and 
 the men lash themselves with whips till 
 they are covered with blood. 
 
 No manifestation of this kind is made, 
 however, when the deceased has been struck 
 by lightning, as it is considered then that 
 he is one of the chosen people, who has 
 been recalled to the Most High without 
 the intervention of a mediator. The body 
 ia in such cases interred on the eighth day, 
 on the spot where the event occurred. The 
 remains of persons who die of disease are 
 first put into a bath, and then laid out 
 upon a carpet in their best clothes ; and 
 should the body be that of a warrior, it 
 is burnt in the garments he has worn in 
 battle.
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 37 
 
 AVhile the preparations are being made 
 for the funeral feast and the interment, the 
 remains are watched by the female relatives, 
 who weep and lament over it incessantly. 
 It is then borne in solemn procession, still 
 amidst frantic lamentations, to its last rest- 
 ing place, whence the mourners return in 
 the same manner to the habitation ; but as 
 soon as they arrive, they suddenly exchange 
 their doleful lamentation for hearty enjoy- 
 ment of the good things set before them 
 for the feast ; and though they are careful 
 to commemorate the virtues of the departed, 
 they do not suffer the remembrance of them 
 to interfere with their indulgence in the 
 most unrestrained hilarity. The wealthy 
 repeat these funeral feasts at short intervals, 
 on or near the graves of their deceased 
 relatives.
 
 38 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Religion of the Caucasians. — Relics of Christianity 
 mingled with Paganism. — Social Recreations. — Love 
 of Music. — Homage paid to Minstrels. — Language 
 of the various Tribes. — The Tcherkess, or Circas- 
 sians. — Their beauty. — Artificial modes of improving 
 it. — Pride of Birth among Nobles. — The Great and 
 Little Kabardah. — The Tribes inhabiting Tcherkes- 
 kaia. — The Abassians, or Abchases. 
 
 It would be very difficult to point out 
 precisely what are the religious doctrines 
 entertained by these mountaineers, as they 
 are extremely vague and indefinite. 
 
 The ruined churches — the decayed and 
 mouldering wooden crosses, found in many 
 places in groves and forests — the frequent 
 occurrence of some Christian rite being 
 found still in use among the tribes of the 
 Western Caucasus, lead inevitably to the
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 39 
 
 conclusion that, at some period, the Chris- 
 tian religion must have been prevalent 
 here ; but if so, the spirit of Christianity 
 has long since entirely disappeared, and 
 been superseded by that of Islamism, in- 
 troduced in days of yore, it is said, by a 
 certain princess and her nobles. The ma- 
 jority of the people have but a confused 
 conception of a deity, ■whom they worship 
 in ceremonies compounded of the usages 
 of Christianity, Mahommedanism, and Pa- 
 ganism. Some of the tribes still pay homage 
 to a God of Thunder and a God of Light- 
 ning, as well as to Gods of Winds, Waters, 
 and Forests ; but as they have no priests, 
 except the.Mahommedan Mollahs, the office 
 of consecrating the oxen and sheep, brought 
 as sacrifices to these deities (and offered in 
 traditionally sacred groves and forests), is 
 usually performed by aged men of unim- 
 peached character.
 
 40 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 The feast of Easter is still kept never- 
 theless with something like Christian cere- 
 monies ; and in the beginning of spring, 
 the people observe a long fast, after which 
 they have a festival, at which they present 
 coloured eggs to each other, a custom pre- 
 valent in Russia, and many parts of Ger- 
 many, at the same season. 
 
 In a few scattered mountain caves, a kind 
 of worship is paid to the prophet Elias, but 
 without any reference to Christian tradi- 
 tion ; and the people in general are greatly 
 under the influence of childish surpersti- 
 tions, and fears of witchcraft and of ghosts. 
 
 The principal occupation of the Cauca- 
 sian people is that of cattle-breeding, which 
 they carry on on an extensive scale, the 
 herds of some owners amounting to thirty 
 thousand head, and many of their horses 
 are of excellent breed and much prized. 
 
 In agriculture, the Caucasian has made
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 41 
 
 very little progress, and under his mode of 
 tillage, even the most fertile soil yields but 
 a very meagre produce. Of handicrafts- 
 men there are few to be found, except 
 armourers, and most of the furniture and 
 cooking utensils are of home manufacture. 
 
 The women are expert and industrious, 
 as weavers and embroiderers, and produce 
 really wonderful specimens of domestic 
 workmanship in cloth, shawls, carpets, veils, 
 and gold and silver lace, with which they 
 ornament the furs so abundantly supplied 
 by the various animals of the forests. 
 
 The Caucasians also supply themselves 
 with gunpowder, an article in very great 
 demand among them. 
 
 Music and song are held in high estima- 
 tion, but they are as yet in a very low stage 
 of development; the only musical instru- 
 ments in use are a kind of violin, a fife, and 
 a small drum, and the melodies performed
 
 42 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 on them, though plaintive, are exceedingly 
 monotonous ; but they are nevertheless 
 greatly admired by the public, and no fes- 
 tival is complete without the presence of 
 the minstrel, who, in public estimation, is 
 only second to the brave warrior, and is 
 treated with the greatest veneration by 
 young and old. The women are generally 
 eager to manifest their admiration for him, 
 and the young damsels especially desire his 
 notice and favour ; the men, too, pay him 
 homage, but not always quite unmingled 
 with jealousy. 
 
 The talents of these bards are mostly 
 displayed in impromptu effusions in praise 
 of daring deeds in the battle field, in eulo- 
 giums on the warriors, or compliments to 
 the virtues and beauty of the ladies who 
 happen to be present at the party. Next 
 to the song, the national dance is the fa- 
 vourite amusement of the Caucasians, and
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 43 
 
 it is as bold and martial in its character as 
 the people themselves. In general there is 
 much free social intercourse among them, 
 and from these pleasures their women are 
 not excluded. The only drawback on the 
 advantage of these gatherings is, that when, 
 as frequently happens, the men take to 
 amusing themselves with sham fights, and 
 playing at soldiers, their impetuosity often 
 occasions accidents ; and in the bustle of 
 their evolutions, with foot and horse, deadly 
 wounds are inflicted, which turn the scene 
 of festivity into an arena of mourning, and, 
 what is still worse, give rise to animosities 
 that beget bloody feuds, continuing through 
 many generations. 
 
 The valley of the river Terek, which, as 
 we have seen, rises near the centre of the 
 Caucasian range, and flowing eastward, falls 
 into the Caspian Sea, — forms a kind of divi- 
 sion of the territory of the Caucasus into a
 
 u 
 
 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 North- Western and South-Eastern district, 
 the inhabitants of which differ essentially 
 in language, though the Tatar dialect is 
 extensively known among them, and used 
 as a general medium of communication, 
 and the nomadic tribes retain com- 
 monly their mother tongue. Of these, the 
 first to be mentioned are the Tcherkess, or 
 Circassians, as they are called in England, 
 or Adiges, as they call themselves, whose 
 origin is rather uncertain ; they declare 
 their primitive home to have been in Arabia; 
 but even if this be true, they have dwelt 
 so long in the Caucasus, that they may 
 fairly be counted among the aborigines. 
 This fine race is renowned for physical 
 strength, beauty of feature, and symmetry 
 of form ; they are agile and active in the 
 highest degree, and surpass all the other 
 tribes in their noble and manly bearing, as 
 well as in the cleanliness of their persons,
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 45 
 
 and their tasteful dress. They often resort, 
 it is true, to rather strange methods, in 
 order to preserve or augment the charms 
 and attractions with which nature has en- 
 dowed them. The young girls, for instance, 
 at the first stage of their development to- 
 wards womanhood, are sewed up into a 
 pair of tight leather stays, which they wear 
 till their wedding-day, when it is cut off 
 with a sharp dirk. It is adopted, of course, 
 with a view to obtaining a fine slender 
 waist. 
 
 The character and mental capacity of the 
 Tcherkess are not inferior to the promise 
 of their personal appearance. Chivalrous 
 and hospitable, true to their engagements, 
 considerate and respectful towards their 
 women, benevolent to the poor, they com- 
 bine so many admirable traits of character, 
 as to have just claims on the sympathy 
 often manifested for them in Europe ; and
 
 46 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 though from their continual intercourse 
 with their neighbours, their frequent wars, 
 and their nomadic way of life, they are 
 seldom found without any mixture of other 
 races, the amalgamation has been oftener 
 advantageous than otherwise, especially to 
 their nobles. Most of the Tcherkess tribes 
 are governed by princes, though their au- 
 thority is very limited ; but both princes 
 and nobles are excessively proud of their 
 descent, and manifest this pride in their 
 matrimonial alliances. Marriages bet^veen 
 persons of unequal rank are seldom heard 
 of, as they are greatly discountenanced.. 
 
 Mahommedanism has made great pro- 
 gress among the Circassians, while Christi- 
 anity, though it must have been extensively 
 known to their forefathers, has scarcely left 
 any other trace than that of the before- 
 mentioned ruins and crosses, still to be seen 
 near their habitations. Their language,
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 47 
 
 which, on account of its modulations, is 
 exceedingly difficult, is spoken throughout 
 the district called the Kabardah, from the 
 Laba to the Black Sea. This district borders 
 to the west on the Molka, to the north on 
 the Terek, to the east and south-east on the 
 Sundscha and Kumbalei, but duo south it 
 leans on the great mountain chain. It is 
 divided by the Terek into two parts, the 
 Great and the Little Kabardah, of which 
 the former, though in the southern part 
 mountainous, is throughout fertile, and 
 abounding with luxuriant vegetation. The 
 Little Kabardah extends along a mountain 
 range, running from west to east, nearly 
 parallel with the great chain ; its northern 
 part is barren, but the southern thickly 
 wooded. 
 
 The Kabardine villages consist of forty 
 or fifty houses built in a circle, and gener- 
 ally bearing the name of the noblest of the
 
 48 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 inhabitants ; but both the name and the 
 situation of these villages are frequently 
 changed; for as the people till the land 
 very indolently, and never manure it, as 
 soon as they have exhausted one tract they 
 remove to another. 
 
 In 1822, the majority of the inhabitants 
 of the Kabardah left their native soil to cross 
 the Kuban, and settle between the Great 
 Indshik, or Selendshuk, and the Uruss. 
 
 The following tribes live in Tcherkeskaia, 
 or Circassia Proper ; that is, the territory 
 bounded on the north by the Kuban, to 
 the east (on the northern side of the great 
 range) by the Laba, and beyond it, by the 
 Sodcha. 
 
 1. The Bestenians, who are found along 
 the Upper Laba, and in the valleys on both 
 sides of the mountains, towards the Uruss 
 and Chodz, where the latter joins the Laba. 
 
 2. The Mochotians, who occupy the base
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 49 
 
 of the Black Mountains, between the Laba 
 and the Fars ; they live in cleanly and 
 neatly kept villages, and cultivate the land, 
 but in spring and harvest-time they tmvel 
 with their herds of cattle as far as the 
 Kuban. 
 
 3. The Tenirgoi, also called the Kemur- 
 quahes, to which belong the smaller tribes 
 of the Jerogokon, Ademi, and Hattuquahe, 
 whose dwelling places border on the south, 
 on those of the Mochotians, and extend 
 from the Laba towards the Kuban. They 
 possess larger herds than any other tribe, 
 sometimes numbering as many as from 
 thirty to forty thousand head. 
 
 4. The Bseduch and the Gatzakoi are 
 spread over the territory situated on both 
 sides of the Supe to the Afips. 
 
 5. The Abasechs are found in the valleys 
 of the chief mountain range, to the south 
 of the Bseduch, and they extend over the 
 
 E
 
 5Q THE CAUCASUS 
 
 southern declivities to the Black Sea. This 
 tribe is rather numerous, and their Auls or 
 villages consist of detached, fenced-in, and 
 pallisaded farms, surrounded by fields and 
 woods, and held as freehold property by 
 the cultivators, who are brave and warlike 
 in their character. 
 
 6. The Shapsuchs live westward of the 
 Bseduchs and Abasechs, on both sides of 
 the chief mountain range, and on the Black 
 Sea coast. They are more numerous than 
 the Abasechs, and are distinguished for 
 their love of independence, their free insti- 
 tutions, and their personal bravery. They 
 do not acknowledge the supreme authority 
 of any prince. 
 
 7. The Natagoi, or Natkokuatches, is a 
 tribe composed of the remnants of several 
 others, which are separately extinct. Their 
 warlike spirit and love of independence, 
 has spread the terror of their name far over
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 51 
 
 the Kouban, and they arc commonly re- 
 garded as a race of marauders ; they live 
 on the west of the Shapsuchs, between the 
 Kouban Taman and Black Sea ; and their 
 territory is particularly rich in wild honey, 
 which is found in crevices of the rocks ; it 
 is not glutinous, but hard and firm, and it 
 has to be dissolved in water before it can 
 be used. 
 
 The second principal race of the western 
 Caucasus is that of the Abassians, or 
 Abchases, who differ widely from their 
 neighbours in language and feature. They 
 have small faces and long noses, and their 
 language is quite distinct, not bearing the 
 slightest resemblance to any other, either 
 Asiatic or European, dialect. Their man- 
 ners and customs are much like those of 
 the Circassians, by whom they were for- 
 merly overpowered and driven into the 
 mountains.
 
 52 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 Though of Christian descent, they appear 
 to be generally quite devoid of religious 
 faith, but their princes and nobles pro- 
 fess adherence to that of Islam. Their 
 villages consist of a considerable number 
 of houses and farms, scattered about the 
 forests, whence they obtain the wax, honey, 
 and furs which they bring to the European 
 markets. Several of their tribes dwell at 
 present on the right bank of the Kouban, 
 and along the rivers Molka and Podkuma, 
 but the majority have their homes on the 
 left bank of the Kouban, and on the moun- 
 tain ridge extending down to the shores of 
 the Black Sea. 
 
 Their country is known by the names of 
 the Great and Little Abassa; the latter 
 borders on the frontiers of the Circassians 
 to the west, and to the east on the Kouban, 
 and their district is at present inhabited by 
 five tribes, bearing the collective name of 
 Ablikissek. They are —
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 53 
 
 1. The Klitsh, on the so-called Stone 
 Bridge over the Kouban. 
 
 2. The Tramekt, renowned far and wide 
 for their beautiful horses. 
 
 3. The Louh, in the valleys of the Lesser 
 Indshik and the Kouban. 
 
 4. The Aflankt and Dudurquahe, be- 
 tween the Great Indshik and Uruss, touch- 
 ing to the north on the country inhabited 
 by the Kubardines before their flight, and 
 to the west on Dudurquahe. 
 
 5. The tribe Bibert. 
 
 The Great Abassa is inhabited by — 
 a. The Beshilbai, on the sources of the 
 Great Indshik ; they are governed by 
 princes, and devote themselves more to 
 cattle-breeding and the rearing of bees 
 than to agriculture ; and in spring and 
 autumn they leave their homes for the low 
 grounds on the Lesser Indshik, and roam 
 about with their herds over extensive tracts.
 
 54 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 h. The Tarns, who dwell near the sj)rings 
 of the Uruss and the Great Laba. 
 
 c. The Kasilbeg, who live between the 
 Greater and Lesser Laba, and whose houses 
 and huts are carried up to the summits of 
 the highest range. 
 
 d. The Barakoi, who are neighbours on 
 the western side to the Kasilbeg, on the 
 Highlands. From the barrenness of their 
 soil and their consequent poverty, these 
 people have to contend with great priva- 
 tions. 
 
 e. The Baghs live near the sources of 
 the Laba and the Chodz. 
 
 /. The Tchagerai, or Tchegreh, occupy 
 the country Avestward of the Baghs, which 
 on the north-west borders on the dwellings 
 of the Bestenians. 
 
 The following tribes reside in the so- 
 called Transmontane Abassa, on the heights 
 of the principal ranges, and on the south-
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 55 
 
 ern declivities that slope towards the Black 
 Sea. 
 
 g. The Ubichs, neighbours of the Tcher- 
 kess Natugoi. They have good and well- 
 cultivated vineyards on the mountain decli- 
 vities. 
 
 li. The Midawy, or Medoweh, also called 
 the Ashipsi ; they dwell with the Dshige- 
 tita, south of the Tchagerai. 
 
 y. The Bsubeh, Bsub or Bsyb, neighbours 
 of the former tribes, extend all over the 
 heights, from the great mountain ridge to 
 the Creek of Gagry, which constitutes the 
 boundary of Circassia and Abchasia proper. 
 
 Abchasia extends from the highest peaks 
 of the great range to the Black Sea, along 
 the borders of Circassia, and is separated 
 from Mingrelia by the river Ingur or 
 Enguri. It is inhabited by the Abchases, 
 the Tsebeldes, and the Abkhaves.
 
 56 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Tatars of the Caucasus. — Their Appearance. — 
 Occupations. — Religion. — Domestic Life. — The va- 
 rious Tribes. — Kumick Tatars. — Turcomans. — The 
 ever-burning Fire on Cape Abcharan and else- 
 where. — The Nogay Tatars. — Their Mode of Life. 
 — The Suanes. — The Ossetes. — Singular Kind of 
 Hospitality. — The Geographical Limits of their 
 Territory. — The Dugores. — The Kists, etc. — The 
 Lesghians. — Beauty and High Character of their 
 Women, etc. 
 
 The Tatars of these regions are found 
 scattered about in various places, not much 
 connected with one another, in the valleys 
 of the Kouban, Baksan, Tchegem, Tcherek, 
 and Argudan, all of which rise in the 
 northerly branch of the Elbruz. The ex- 
 ternal aspect of these people does not 
 immediately announce their Mongolian 
 descent, as they are only distinguished
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 57 
 
 from the Circassians by a more compact 
 figure, a darker skin, and smaller eyes. 
 They live in pretty little cabins and houses 
 built of pine logs, and are very intelligent 
 and industrious. They manufacture gun- 
 powder, carpets, cloth, and felt blankets ; 
 they get salt from the mountain salt-pits, 
 cultivate tobacco, and brew beer and szra, 
 which some travellers have thought as good 
 as English porter; and their merchandize 
 and manufactures are held in great repute 
 all over the Caucasus, and obtain for them 
 considerable influence. Their favourite 
 article of food is horse flesh, which they 
 regularly fatten for the purpose. 
 
 The more northerly dwelling places of 
 these Tatars exhibit many traces of Chris- 
 tian architecture, but the Christian religion 
 has entirely vanished from among them. 
 They are devoted to the Islam faith, but 
 are much addicted also to the interpreta-
 
 58 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 tion of signs and omens, and are supersti- 
 tious to excess. Polygamy is foreign to 
 their habits, but their wives are secluded 
 from the gaze of strangers, and treated with 
 great consideration. To parents, also, re- 
 spectful homage is paid ; an undutiful son 
 is punished by being put in a pillory in a 
 public place, and should he not reform his 
 conduct, he is expelled from his parents' 
 house, and finally from the village. 
 
 The principle of retributive justice is 
 fully recognized among these people ; but 
 they may be appeased by a solemn recon- 
 ciliation, and their strict integrity renders 
 treachery an almost unheard of occurrence 
 among them. 
 
 The names of these tribes are : 
 
 1. The Karatchai, who live near the 
 sources of the Kouban. 
 
 2. The Urusby, who are their neighbours 
 to the west.
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 59 
 
 3. The Tchegem, who rear bees, and 
 produce a great deal of honey, which is of 
 a rather intoxicating quality, being made 
 from the Azalea pontica. 
 
 4. The Balkar, or Bassianians, who in- 
 habit cold inhospitable mountain valleys. 
 
 The Koumik Tatars, who inhabit the 
 plains of the Sundcha, to the east of the 
 northern cape of the Aksai, and of the 
 Koissu or Sulak, as far as the Caspian. 
 They are also to be found in the districts 
 of the Kavanich Gubden and Dsengutei, in 
 North Daghestan. 
 
 The Truchmenen, or Turkomans, occupy 
 the whole length of the Caspian Sea coast, 
 from Boniak to the borders of Shirvan or 
 Daghestan, including the districts of Der- 
 bend or Kuba ; the most influential of 
 these tribes number as many as three 
 hundred villages. Another tribe of this 
 race inhabits the district of Baku, wdiich
 
 60 
 
 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 stretches to the extremity of Cape Abcha- 
 ran, where it runs into the Caspian. On a 
 pinnacle of this plateau, is maintained the 
 far-famed ever-burning fire, which serves 
 to the mariners of the Caspian as a beacon, 
 and to those among them who are Guebers 
 or Fire-W6rshippers, also as an object of 
 pious veneration. It is said to be kept up 
 with a kind of gas ; and these perpetual 
 fires are maintained on the highest ridges 
 of the districts of Tcheki and Rurki in 
 Armenia, as well as far in the interior of 
 Persia, and on the Steppes between the 
 Caspian and the Sea of A soph. 
 
 The Nogays, commonly numbered among 
 the Tatar tribes, are a mixed people, trac- 
 ing their origin from Nogai, a descendant 
 of Dchengis-Khan, from whom, in the 
 thirteenth century, they derived a high 
 reputation. 
 
 After the conquest of Astrachan, in 1557,
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 61 
 
 they were subjugated by the Russians, from 
 whose oppression they retreated to tlie 
 banks of the Kouban. In 1778, they were 
 defeated in a battle, as well as in various 
 skirmishes, and reduced to the insignificant 
 number who now pasture their numerous 
 herds in the districts between the Kouban 
 and the Kouma, and on the eastern Ko^^ma 
 steppes. They live under tents covered 
 with felt, called kibitkas, and are an idle 
 and rather savage race, but hospitable and 
 easily managed, although somewhat too fond 
 of an intoxicating beverage which they 
 make from mares' milk. In their various 
 wanderings, they make use of a two-wheeled 
 carriage, called in the Caucasus an araba, a 
 kind of locomotive that accompanies every 
 movement with a screeching noise, which 
 appears to be music to Nogay ears. 
 
 They say that no honest man ought to 
 conceal his goings- out and comings-in ; and
 
 62 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 that only thieves need creep in and out 
 softly. 
 
 Two only of the Nogay tribes live on the 
 left bank of the river Kouban, in Circassia. 
 These are the Maurensauls, who occupy the 
 extensive fertile valleys extending along the 
 Kouban, from the influx of the Laba ; and 
 the Mauzuras, or Kasai, between the Uruss 
 Laba and Kouban. 
 
 The latter were, at the end of the last 
 century, very numerous, amounting to at 
 least eight thousand families, but they are 
 at present reduced to a very small number. 
 
 The Suaneti, or, as they call themselves, 
 Schnau, inhabit the heights of the Cau- 
 casus, south of the Tatars, east of Abchasia, 
 north of Mingrelia, west of Imeretia, and of 
 the heights of the Chenisqual, and of the 
 Ingur, which flows through these mountains. 
 Being surrounded by a steep mountain 
 chain, they have hitherto preserved their
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 63 
 
 independence ; they bow neither to prince, 
 noble, nor foreign invader, and are certainly 
 a very fine race, but it must be owned ex- 
 cessively dirty in their habits, and greatly 
 addicted to robbery. They live in misera- 
 ble cabins, without chimneys, or so much 
 as a loophole to serve for a window, and in 
 these are harboured, not only their families, 
 but also their cattle, and certain treasures, 
 such as gold and trinkets, which they ob- 
 tain by open or secret theft, and ornament 
 their wives therewith. Their garments are 
 poor and scanty ; they wear no headdress, 
 seldom comb their hair, and frequently 
 possess but one drinking cup for the whole 
 family, but then, that serviceable utensil is 
 a silver goblet. 
 
 These people are said to be of Christian 
 origin, but not a vestige of Christian doc- 
 trine is to be found among them ; and their 
 mode of life would certainly not do any 
 great credit to it if there were.
 
 64 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 Their women, though they cover their 
 faces with a red cloth, so that only one of 
 their eyes is visible, are by no means re- 
 markable for chastity, and generally have 
 at least one favoured admirer. 
 
 Among the honest occupations of this 
 tribe is that of obtaining lead and copper 
 ores from their mountains, and also prepar- 
 ing their own gunpowder. 
 
 The Ossetes, or Ossetians, are a people of 
 peculiar dialect and physiognomy; they 
 have round full faces, fair hair, and blue 
 eyes, and are of middle height, and strongly 
 built. Their villages, though small, consist 
 of stone houses with flat roofs, and they are 
 protected by strong towers, in which, when 
 the hamlet is attacked, the aged men, wo- 
 men, and children, can take refuge. These 
 people are, like the rest, brave in battle, and 
 willing to combine against a common 
 enemy, but their system of morals is based
 
 AND ITS PEOrLE. 6o 
 
 on a mere tissue of absurd and inconsistent 
 traditional usages. A guest, as long as he 
 remains under their roof, is watched over 
 with the utmost solicitude, and the liost 
 would certainly defend him at the peril of 
 his own life against any attack ; but scarcely 
 has the stranger quitted the abode that af- 
 forded him such hospitable shelter, tlian 
 the host, his former protector, sets out to 
 follow and plunder or even murder him, 
 and that sometimes before he has got be- 
 yond the precincts of the village. 
 
 The religion of the Ossetians is a com- 
 pound of Christian and pagan practices, 
 and they also worship a prophet Elias, in 
 caves which are the abodes of astrologers 
 and soothsayers, here held in great ve- 
 neration. 
 
 Agricultural pursuits would in this coun- 
 try require considerable labour, on account 
 of the sterility of the soil, and the inha- 
 
 F
 
 66 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 bitants therefore in general prefer cattle 
 breeding ; but they grow their own tobacco, 
 and brew a malt liquor of excellent quality. 
 
 If we regard the Terek valley as the 
 boundary between the Eastern and Western 
 Caucasus, the Ossete territory will be the 
 south-eastern part of its western half. On 
 tlie north their country is bounded by the 
 Kabarda, and on the west and south-west 
 the Tatars and Imeretians are their neigh- 
 bours. They extend along the southern 
 declivities of the Caucasus, and thence be- 
 tween Iraeretia and the Aragvi into Geor- 
 gia Proper, along the Imeretian chalk cliffs, 
 by the sources of the Reoni, and eastward 
 to the Didi-Liachvi, Patara Liachvi, Med- 
 chuda, Kssarai, and Aragvi, where they are 
 known under the name of Dvaletti. 
 
 The most important branches of this 
 tribe are the Dschmuri and Gudamaqua, 
 who live on the banks of a considerable
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. ()7 
 
 mountain river of the same name ; and tlie 
 Chevvaurethi, whose territory is on the Ara- 
 gvi. The Ossetians, north of the Dvalctti, 
 occupy the banks of the rivers Urucli, Dur- 
 dar, Aredon, Frag, and Gualdon, down to 
 the Terek, which receives these rivers. 
 
 The most influential Ossete tribes found 
 near the sources of the Terek, are the Du- 
 gores, who inhabit the rugged mineral 
 ridges along the Uruch ; they are governed 
 by princes of the venerated Circassian fa- 
 milies, Badi-lathe and Tcherkessate. The 
 Schimi-Kurtauli, Walagiri, Phaikome, and 
 lastly, the Tagauri, inhabit the Kasbeck. 
 
 6. The Medzeghee or Kists, are often 
 called Tchetchenzes, from the name of their 
 most influential tribe. They possess the vir- 
 tues and qualities peculiar to the Circassian 
 races, and especially a most enthusiastic 
 love of freedom and independence, submit- 
 ting with the utmost reluctance to a foreign
 
 68 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 yoke, and watching with keen vigilance 
 every opportunity of throwing it off. 
 
 Their villages consist of flat-roofed stone 
 houses, protected by walls and towers, ca- 
 pable of resisting an energetic attack. Some 
 of these tribes possess an abundance of 
 cattle and corn, but they are nevertheless 
 very frugal in their mode of living. 
 
 They usually confine themselves to the 
 district bordered on the west by the Terek 
 (in the part where it flows northward), on 
 the east by the Aksai and Engure, and 
 bounded on the north by the Lesser Ka- 
 barda and Sundcha, and to the south by 
 the Snowy Mountains. 
 
 The most influential tribes among them 
 are : — 
 
 -1. The Ingushes, or Galgai, who reside 
 on the Kumbolei, and in the plains be- 
 tween the latter and the banks of the Assai. 
 
 2. The Kists, north-west of the Ingushes, 
 and extending to the Argun.
 
 AND ITS TEOPLE. 69 
 
 3. The Karabulaks, from the Zarthan to 
 the Argun ; and, lastly, 
 
 4. The Tchetchenzes, who are found 
 along the banks of the Argun, the Aksai, 
 and the Sundcha. Several branches of this 
 tribe inhabit the Snowy Mountain ridges, 
 and of these the principal are : — 
 
 a. The Tchavi, from the Aragvi to the 
 springs of the Yori. 
 
 h. The Tuschi, found to the east of the 
 latter, on the Alzani. 
 
 The Lesghians are composed of many 
 different tribes, who have been settled for 
 ages in the almost inaccessible heights, and 
 in the valleys and hollows encircled by 
 arms of the Caucasian mountain ridges, 
 which extend from north to south-east. 
 Even on the East, their country is separated 
 from the Caspian and from Daghestan by a 
 mountain chain stretching from north to 
 south. Several of these tribes have been
 
 70 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 compelled to succumb to the encroachments 
 of the enemy, though they are as manly in 
 character, as fond of mdependence, and as 
 ready to do battle in defence of it, as any 
 other of the Caucasian races. Though in 
 general their manners resemble those of the 
 Circassians, their habits are more predatory 
 and violent, and they are sterner observers 
 of the law of retribution. 
 
 Their villages (auls) resemble those of 
 the Kists, the houses being flat and stone- 
 roofed, but of a larger size, and so well 
 fortified, that they may certainly boast of 
 each man's house being his castle. Some of 
 the highlanders among them live in caves 
 dug in the rock, or huts wedged in between 
 the clifl's. The Lesghian women are the 
 finest in the Caucasus, and, besides their 
 beauty, are famed for their domestic habits 
 and their skill in knitting and weaving. 
 Nor are their virtues confined to the do-
 
 A'SD ITS PEOPLE. 71 
 
 mestic circle ; for, when a battle is being 
 fought, they fly to the field to encourage 
 the eff'orts of their countrymen, to reani- 
 mate the failing and exhausted, and bring 
 needful succour to the wounded ; and they 
 themselves have been known to commit 
 suicide on the field of a lost battle, rather 
 than submit to be taken by the enemy. 
 The w^iole of these Lesghian races are 
 devoted followers of Islam. 
 
 The soil of the Lesghian territory is very 
 various in different parts ; in some it is 
 fertile, yielding abundant return for the 
 light labour bestowed upon it ; in others, 
 the severest toil is required to obtain a 
 subsistence from it, as an artificial soil has 
 to be spread over the hard naked surface 
 of the rock. But whenever this is the case, 
 the people work with indefatigable perse- 
 verance upon it, and often, by their indus- 
 try, convert dreary and barren uplands into 
 charming plateaux.
 
 72 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 The Lesghians are divided, according to 
 their several dialects, into four distinct 
 tribes ; namely, the Avares, the Akushas, 
 the Kasikoumiks, and the Kuraghs. 
 
 The territory of the Avares borders west- 
 wdi'd on the Aksai, to the north on the 
 promontory of the Aksai and Enderi, to 
 the east on the Koissu, and to the south 
 extending over the chief mountain range 
 on the Samura. 
 
 The most influential tribes among these 
 Avares are, the Audi, the Gambi, the 
 Koissubou, the Ansaldi, the Richei, the 
 Kialar, the Borotsi, the Khitadler, the 
 Unso, the Dido, the Karak, and Khe- 
 serti. 
 
 The Akusha district borders westward 
 on the Koissu, to the north and east on 
 the Tartar tribes of Kasanick Gubden and 
 Dsengutei, and to the south on the sources 
 of the Ossen. Their principal tribes are
 
 AND ITS TEOPLE. 73 
 
 the Ssalata, the Tarkow, and the Brother- 
 hood of Dsaro. 
 
 The Kasimouks live between the upper 
 part of the Koissu on their west, and the 
 Kaitach range and Tabasseran on their 
 east ; and have the Akushas on the north, 
 and the Turpi ridge and its southern de- 
 pendencies on the south. The most influ- 
 ential tribes among them are those of 
 Achim, Karakaitah, Tabasseran, Kasikou- 
 mick, and the Sussanet of Yelissim ; the 
 Brotherhood of Dsaro, with the Dsaro, Be- 
 lakan, Taly Dsinick, Mirchach, and several 
 smaller tribes, including the E-ubeshti, 
 who have the reputation of being the best 
 armourers in the Caucasus ; and lastly, the 
 Kurragh, who inhabit the valley of the 
 Kour, towards Baku. 
 
 To give a correct statement of the num- 
 bers of the various races and tribes who 
 inhabit the Caucasus, would be a task still
 
 74 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 more difficult than that of enumerating 
 their names, and describing the position 
 of the almost inaccessible districts they 
 inhabit. 
 
 The following table, therefore, though 
 drawn up from the most authentic sta- 
 tistical documents, is only given as an 
 approximate calculation, which it must be 
 left to a future time to rectify. 
 
 I. TSCHERKESS Or AdIGES. 
 
 1. In the Great Kabardas . . . 20,000 
 
 2. In the Lesser Kabardas . . . 8,000 
 
 3. Kabardas, who have taken refuge on 
 
 the banks of the Indshik and the 
 
 Uruss 15,000 
 
 4. Bestenians 25,000 
 
 5. Mochothi 8,000 
 
 6. Tenigoi, with the Jegorokes, Ademi, 
 
 and Hattuquahe .... 18,000 
 
 7. Bsedooks 20,000 
 
 8. Abasechs 180,000 
 
 9. Shapsooks 210,000 
 
 10. Natugoi with the Shane and The- 
 
 gakeh 50,000 
 
 Total of the Tscherkess . . 554,000
 
 AND ITS TEOPLE. 
 
 75 
 
 II. 
 
 Vbassians. 
 
 
 A. In Lesser Abassa — 
 
 
 1. Klitch 
 
 . 5,000 
 
 2. Tramkt . 
 
 . 4,000 
 
 3. Louh 
 
 . 4,000 
 
 4. Asslankt . 
 
 . 10,000 
 
 5. Dudurquahe 
 
 . 7,000 
 
 6. Bibert 
 
 . 10,000 
 
 In Great Abassa ; Cismontane part — 
 1. Besbilbai . . 8,000 
 
 2. Tarn 
 
 . 3,000 
 
 3. Kasilbeg . 
 
 . 1,000 
 
 4. Barakei . 
 
 . 6,000 
 
 5. Bagh 
 
 . 4,000 
 
 6. Tshagerai 
 
 5,000 
 
 c. In the Transmontane 
 
 part of the 
 
 Great Abassa — 
 
 
 7. Ubich 
 
 . 6,000 
 
 8. Midawi . 
 
 . 15,000 
 
 9. Bsubeh . 
 
 . 19,000 
 
 D. In Abchasia — 
 
 
 1. Abchasia . 
 
 . 10,000 
 
 2. Tsebalden 
 
 . 15,000 
 
 3. Abkhanen 
 
 . 10,000 
 
 40,000 
 
 27,000 
 
 40,000 
 
 35,000 
 
 Total of Abassians 
 
 142,000
 
 76 
 
 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 III. Tartars. 
 
 1 . In chief mountain range 
 
 2. Kamiick Tartars 
 
 3. Turkomans 
 
 4. Nogai in Circassia 
 
 Total of Tartars 
 
 IV. SuANES, about . 
 
 V. OSSETIAKS. 
 
 1. Dwaleshi . 
 
 2. The total of other tribes 
 
 Total of Ossetes 
 VI. MiDZiGHEES, namely, the smaller tribes 
 included in the chief tribes. 
 
 1. Ingusches . . . . . 
 
 2. Kists . . , . . 
 
 3. Karabulaks . . . . 
 
 4. Tchetchenzes . . . . 
 
 20,000 
 60,000 
 70,000 
 16,000 
 
 166,000 
 40,000 
 
 20,000 
 40,000 
 
 60,000 
 
 60,000 
 35,000 
 30,000 
 70,000 
 
 Total of Midzighees . . 195,000 
 
 VII. Lesghians, according to their chief tribes. 
 
 1. Awares 75,000 
 
 2. Akuscha 45,000 
 
 3. Kasimiiks 126,000 
 
 4. Kuragh 30,000 
 
 "Total of Lesghians 
 
 . 276,000 
 
 Making the grand total of the whole 
 
 population 1,433,000
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 77 
 
 The southern declivities of the Caucasus, 
 of which several imposing branches stretch 
 as far as Mount Ararat, shelve, on the 
 whole, more gently downward, and are less 
 precipitous than the northern. 
 
 The rich vegetation of this part of the 
 Caucasian chain renders it beautiful beyond 
 description, and the charm of the magni- 
 ficent scenery, produced by this luxuriant 
 growth of all kinds of plants, is heightened 
 by an equable, salubrious, and delightful 
 climate. An excellent wine is made here 
 from grapes, the cultivation of which gives 
 the people no trouble whatsoever, as they 
 grow quite wild and often with a gigantic 
 vigour, that makes even the vines of Italy 
 seem poor in comparison, — twining their 
 wreathed branches round the largest trees, 
 and hanging their glowing fruit even on 
 the topmost boughs. The wine made from 
 them is kept in bags of buffalo or sheep-
 
 78 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 skin, which have been previously saturated 
 with naptha. 
 
 Nearly all the people inhabiting this part 
 of the Caucasus are of Georgian origin, and 
 belong to the Greek Church. 
 
 This region is divided into three pro- 
 vinces or districts, all extending northward 
 to the Snowy Mountains. 
 
 1. Mingrelia in the west, between the 
 rivers Ingur, Tychemis-quali, E,ioni, and 
 the Black Sea. 
 
 2. Imeritia, lying eastward of Mingrelia, 
 whose people are in much the same condi- 
 tion as their western neighbours. 
 
 3. Georgia Proper, extending eastward 
 to the Tcheki and Rurki. 
 
 The Georgians are considered as the 
 finest race in the Caucasus next to the 
 Circassians, to whom they are inferior in 
 grace of deportment, but they are not, like 
 the Circassians, animated by a noble passion
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 79 
 
 for liberty and independence. The women 
 endeavour to heighten their beauty by the 
 use of paint, in which certainly they are 
 not very successful ; and they also, witli 
 the same view, overload their dresses with 
 gaudy ornaments. 
 
 The population of Georgia, Imeritia and 
 Mingrelia is very scanty, and many rich 
 woodlands and beautiful valleys have been 
 entirely depopulated by the sanguinary 
 wars that have raged in the country, and 
 by the iron despotism that still continues to 
 weigh on and impoverish it.
 
 80 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE "SVAKS OF THE CAUCASUS. 
 
 The Caucasus in Ancient Times. — Remains of a great 
 Wall across the Mountains. — A glance at the An- 
 cient History of Georgia. — Russian Progress from 
 the time of Peter the Great. — Under the Empress 
 Catherine. — First Settlement of the Cossacks. — 
 Russian Intrigues in the Kabarda. — Great number 
 of Forts built in and near theCaucasus. 
 
 The amount of knowledge of the Caucasus 
 possessed by the ancients, and the degree 
 of importance which these regions held in 
 their estimation, we have now little means 
 of ascertaining, as history and even tradi- 
 tion are silent on these points. But we 
 are led to infer that they must have at- 
 tached considerable value to it, from the 
 fact of a prodigious wall having been built 
 at some remote period, and the remains of
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 81 
 
 which are still to be seen, extending along- 
 various tracts of the great mountain chain, 
 from Derbent, on the shores of the Caspian 
 Sea, to the pass of Dariel. 
 
 This wall is attributed to Alexander the 
 Great, who is said to have reigned over the 
 mountaineers, under the name of Iskandeer. 
 
 There is another story, too, of a certain 
 Georgian king, residing in an ancient for- 
 tress, built on the southern declivities of 
 the Caucasus one hundred and twenty 
 years before Christ, and holding sway over 
 a powerful and flourishing people, until the 
 Scythians (Chazardes) came from the north 
 to wage war upon him. In consequence of 
 these wars, the eastern district fell under 
 Persian rule, and the western under that of 
 the Greeks, who exercised authority in the 
 country till the fall of the Pontic king 
 Mithridates, after which it yielded to the 
 mighty sceptre of Home. 
 
 G
 
 82 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 Towards the end of the tenth century, 
 we find both districts reunited under the 
 Georgian queen Tamar, in whose reign 
 they became a powerful kingdom ; and, as 
 the sway of this queen extended over many 
 of the mountain tribes, she compelled them 
 to adopt the Christian religion, which had 
 been promulgated in Georgia as early as 
 the fourth century. 
 
 This prosperous Georgian kingdom was, 
 however, ravaged and laid waste by Ti- 
 mour, in the thirteenth century ; and so 
 complete was the desolation, that nearly 
 two hundred years afterwards it had not 
 recovered from it, when Alexander the 
 First, by dividing it among his three sons, 
 made it an object of contention to Turkey, 
 Persia, and Russia, and led to long dynastic 
 warfare concerning it, each of those powers 
 endeavouring to gain the advantage over 
 the other.
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE, 83 
 
 The Persians advancing from the Cas- 
 pian, and the Turks from the Black Sea, 
 came here into collision, and vied with 
 each other in effecting the ruin of the 
 country, which each regarded as the 
 enemy's territory ; while they exercised by 
 turns a fluctuating authority over the sub- 
 jugated people of Daghestan, and the Turks 
 occasionally also over the Black Sea coast," 
 and the districts at the mouth of the 
 Kouban. 
 
 In 1553, the Russians overran Kasan ; 
 and two years afterwards the Circassian 
 princess of Beschtan, being hard pressed 
 by the Tartars, had to emigrate to the 
 Kabarda, and applied to Russia for protec- 
 tion. It was given; and, in 1557, the 
 Russians garrisoned Astrachan, and ad- 
 vancing to the mouths of the rivers Terek 
 and Koissu, gained, for the first time, a 
 footing on Caucasian soil.
 
 84 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 In 1568, they built the fortress of Terki, 
 on the Terek; and within a year after- 
 wards, their name had spread such terror 
 among the mountaineers, that the Geor- 
 gians, too, sought their protection. 
 
 The E-ussian garrisons on the Terek 
 were, however, viewed with such displea- 
 sure by Sultan Selim, that, in 1570, he 
 'caused them to evacuate Terki; but by 
 1574 they had retaken, enlarged, and 
 strengthened it ; and then when they had 
 defeated the Shamkul of Tarku, they gar- 
 risoned that place as well as Enderi, and 
 built the fortress of Koissu. 
 
 Sultan Selim now became so much 
 alarmed at the Russian successes, that he 
 sent an army of three thousand men, under 
 Achmet the First, to assist the people of 
 Daghestan against them ; and these com- 
 bined forces compelled the Russians to 
 retreat.
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 85 
 
 In 1587, Alexander, the second King of 
 Kachetia, placed himself under Russian 
 protection ; and in the course of the fol- 
 lowing year, Russia, desirous of possessing 
 a legal — or apparently legal — claim to her 
 conquests, concluded with Persia a treaty 
 of alliance, in which she. asserted her right 
 to invade and appropriate the country 
 about the Terek, as well as Tarku, Der- 
 bent, Baku, and Georgia, an extent of aim 
 which she has even yet but imperfectly 
 attained. 
 
 The year 1594 presented favourable pro- 
 spects to the Russians. The King of 
 Georgia, in offering his submission to their 
 ambassador, had made the most flattering 
 declarations of his earnest desire to promote 
 their objects in the Caucasus ; and through 
 his intervention treaties had been con- 
 cluded by them with several of the moun- 
 tain tribes, between his territory and theirs.
 
 86 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 After this, the Koumik Tatars and the 
 people of Daghestan were defeated in 
 battle ; and Russian influence appeared 
 now to be firmly established, and Russian 
 authority to reign supreme. 
 
 Under this supposition, and relying too 
 much on a success that was really some- 
 what ephemeral, the Russians were guilty 
 of many acts of imprudence and tyranny, 
 for which they had afterwards to suffer the 
 punishment. In 1604 and the following 
 years, the Daghestan people waged a ter- 
 rible and exterminating warfare on the 
 invading army, which they fairly annihi- 
 lated ; so that for a long time the Russians 
 lost all those means of communication, and 
 all the influence over the people and 
 countries of the Caucasus, which they had 
 acquired under so many difficulties, and 
 with such unspeakable sacrifices. 
 
 Though several tribes of the Kabarda
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 87 
 
 still remained under Russian rule, and 
 though in 1614 several princes of the 
 Lesser Kabarda swore, both verbally and 
 in writing, allegiance to llussia, it was evi- 
 dent that her influence over tliem was little 
 more than nominal. 
 
 During the interval between this time 
 and that of Peter the Great, no important 
 acliievement of the Russians is recorded, 
 though they showed their intention of per- 
 severing in their efforts to consolidate their 
 power, by fortifying Tarki in European 
 style. In 1648, the King of Imeretia 
 offered his submission, and two years after- 
 wards took the oath of allegiance to Russia 
 for himself and his heirs : a compact, ne- 
 vertheless, which could only be considered 
 binding in time of peace, as might be easily 
 shown from the state of the people at that 
 period, and even at the present day. 
 
 With the appearance of Peter the Great,
 
 88 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 however, the aspect of Kussian affairs in 
 the Caucasus underwent a marked change. 
 The Turks had retaken Tamar and built 
 Anapa ; and, while their possession of the 
 coasts of Abchasia brought them into inti- 
 mate contact with the mountaineers, and 
 that of Poti and Redout Kaleh gave them 
 great power over Mingrelia and Imeretia, 
 they had also taken Achaltzik. 
 
 The tribes of Daghestan, on the other 
 hand, taking advantage of the weakness of 
 Persia, declared themselves independent, as 
 did also the khans of Kuba, Derbent, Baku, 
 Shemacha, Shervan, Sheki, Gandga, Kara- 
 bagh, Erivan, and Nachitchevan. 
 
 The Lesghians, hitherto almost unknown, 
 now began to rise, and in 1714 they made 
 an onslaught upon Georgia, and afterwards 
 frequently repeated their attacks. 
 
 In order to counteract the influence 
 gained by the Sultan of the Avares, the
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 89 
 
 Utsmai of Karakaitach, the Kadi of Tabes- 
 seran, and the Sultan of the Kasemiicks, 
 the keen perceptions of Peter the Great 
 suggested the possibiHty of surprising them 
 by an energetic movement, for which a 
 plausible excuse had been afforded by the 
 assassination of three hundred Russian mer- 
 chants. 
 
 Peter embarked in 1722, in Astrachan, 
 with a large force — some historians say a 
 hundred thousand men — and proclaiming 
 that he had undertaken this expedition to 
 assist Persia against the Kasikoumucks and 
 Lesghians, he landed at Tarku, and soon 
 conquered and garrisoned the coast as far 
 as Derbent. 
 
 In 1723 Persia made over to Peter, 
 Daghestan, Shirvan, Gilan, Masanderan, 
 and Astrabad ; and in the treaty of peace 
 entered into with Turkey, he stipulated for 
 the confluence of the Avares and the Kur,
 
 90 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 as the centre of the territory dividing the 
 frontiers of Russia, Persia, and Turkey. 
 
 In the following year the warriors of 
 Daghestan attempted the re-capture of 
 Tarku ; but they failed, and had to submit 
 to Peter, who then began to build the forts 
 of Svatoikrest on the Koissu, and Kislyar 
 on the Terek, demolishing at the same time 
 the fortifications of Terki, the town which 
 he had given up in 1728. 
 
 The plans of Peter, however, though 
 clearly laid down in his will, were in a 
 great measure frustrated by his death ; and 
 the Russian successes in the Caucasus were 
 checked by Shah Nadir, who, in 1735, car- 
 ried his forces triumphantly through Persia, 
 defeated the Turks at Kars, and, although 
 the Lesghians took some of his guns at 
 Kumick, succeeded in forcing the Russians 
 to retreat beyond the Terek. 
 
 The Turks, too, were equally successful
 
 a:sd its people. 91 
 
 against the Empress Anna, and in 1739 
 forced her to evacuate the Kabarda. Cathe- 
 rine II, however, who entered fully into 
 the spirit of Peter's, designs, began to 
 prosecute them with circumspection and 
 assiduity. A prince of the Kabarda having 
 become a convert to the Greek Church, 
 the Russian empress pretended that, for his 
 protection, it was necessary to fortify Mos- 
 dok on the Terek; this w^as done in 1763, 
 and, in order to secure this fortress, the 
 empress, in 1771, established a military 
 cordon^ consisting of the subjugated Greben 
 Cossacks, who were compelled to settle on 
 and guard the left bank of the Terek, from 
 Kislyar upwards ; while, to the Wolga 
 Cossacks, was entrusted the charge of 
 guarding the line between the latter place 
 and Mosdock, so that the progress of the 
 Russian arms was rendered very secure. 
 It was in the fifteenth century that
 
 92 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 this tribe of bold adventurers, called Cos- 
 sacks, rose into notice. They occupied the 
 steppes between the Wolga and the Don, 
 and in the course of time extended them- 
 selves over the coasts of the Sea of Asoph 
 and the banks of the Dneiper; nominally 
 acknowledging Russian supremacy, but 
 making very light of it whenever they had 
 an opportunity. The first settlement of 
 the Cossacks on the Don was called Tcher- 
 kask, and was founded by their Hetman, 
 under Ivan Vasiliewitch ; after this event 
 the Cossacks became more tractable, though 
 they revolted nevertheless under Tzar Alexei 
 Michaelowitch, whose reign, and that of his 
 successor, were disturbed by the attempts 
 of the Cossacks to recover their independ- 
 ence. 
 
 Their last and most determined rebellion 
 took place in the reign of Catherine II, 
 under their chief Pugatchef, and in this
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 93 
 
 last effort they exhausted their power of 
 opposition to the Russian rule. 
 
 The Cossacks are now exempt from every 
 tax, trained to military service, and divided 
 into regiments occupying military colonies, 
 the inhabitants of which are ranked in four 
 classes, namely : — 
 
 1. Male children, from their birth to 
 their sixteenth year. 
 
 2. Youths from the sixteenth to the 
 twentieth. 
 
 3. Men from the age of twenty to sixty, 
 during the whole of which period they 
 have to serve alternately six years in the 
 field and six years in the colony. 
 
 4. Those who have attained the age of 
 sixty and upwards. 
 
 The supreme chief of all the Cossacks is 
 the grand duke, the heir to the throne. 
 
 The Cossacks who line the roads live 
 in stanitzas, that is, entrenched villages,
 
 94 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 secured by palisades and surrounded by 
 huts raised on high poles for sentries, and 
 called Vashkas, from which the alarm can 
 be sounded on the suspected approach of 
 an enemy. As the Cossacks are good horse- 
 men, and capable of much endurance, they 
 have often proved of great service to the 
 Russians in combating the mountaineers. 
 
 In 1771 instructions were issued by the 
 government concerning the means to be 
 pursued to gain the affections of the people 
 of the Kabarda. Deserters from that coun- 
 try, and all who could be induced to adopt 
 the doctrines of the Greek Church, were to 
 be rewarded with rich gifts and money ; 
 but on princes and nobles willing to enlist 
 in the Russian military service, landed pro- 
 perty was to be bestowed, in addition to 
 gold and honours in abundance. The 
 scheme was, nevertheless, not very success- 
 ful at first, for the Kabardines raised an
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 95 
 
 army of twenty-five thousand men, with 
 which they defeated General Medern in 
 1772. 
 
 In the meantime the rest of the Caucasus 
 was in a veiy disturbed state. At the 
 death of Nadir Shah, the whole of Daghe- 
 stan, Shirvan, Karabagh, Gandya, Erivan, 
 and Nachitchevan, revolted successfully 
 against the invaders ; and Heraklias, of 
 Georgia, also thought the moment favour- 
 able for securing the former dependencies 
 of his country, and took the Leghians into 
 pay to aid his designs on Gandya, Kara- 
 bagh, Erivan, and Nachitchevan. But the 
 people of these districts combined with the 
 sultan of the Avares and the Turks to 
 attack Heraklius ; and Catherine, availing 
 herself of this circumstance, sent a large 
 army under general Todleben — the first 
 Russian army which had traversed the 
 Kabarda and the Pass of Duricl — to assist
 
 96 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 Heraklius against his enemies. The Turks 
 were then defeated in 1771 at Kutais and 
 Bagdadshik, after which they concluded a 
 treaty of peace, and it was then settled 
 that the Kabarda should be dependent on 
 Russia. 
 
 In 1775 Russia established in the Terek 
 country several forts, the most remark- 
 able of which were Jekaterinograd on the 
 Molka, Georgievisk on the Podkouma, and 
 Stavropol on the Alshile. Within three 
 years afterwards this line of fortifications 
 was continued to Moskossk and Dousk, and 
 placed under the guardianship of Wolga 
 Cossacks. The Kouban Cossacks were thus 
 induced to claim Russian protection, and 
 the Kouban became the western, the Molka 
 and Terek the eastern frontier of the Rus- 
 sian territory. 
 
 Another attempt was made in 1779 to 
 recover the independence of the Kabarda,
 
 AND ITS PEOrLF.. 97 
 
 and, thougli it proved abortive, it induced 
 the Russians to construct the formidable 
 fortress of Kostantinogovsk. Four years 
 afterwards Heraklius II, of Georgia, ten- 
 dered his submission to the Russians ; and 
 then, in order to secure the communication 
 with Georgia, they constructed the fort of 
 Vladikavkas, at the entrance of the Terek 
 valley.
 
 98 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 CHAPTER yi. 
 
 The Mission of Sheik Manzur. — His success in agita- 
 tion. — The Russians again victorious. — The Sheik 
 taken prisoner. — Various warlike movements. — The 
 Russian frontier extended. — The Will of the King 
 of Georgia. — Russia takes possession of the Country. 
 — Prince ZizianofF assassinated. — More Fortresses 
 built. — Assassination of the Russian Ally by his 
 own Son. — The Trans-Caucasian Provinces. — The 
 Tartar General YermolofF. — Daring Exploits on both 
 sides. — Arslan Bey. — Kasimullah. 
 
 To arrest the progress of Russia, by other 
 means than by superiority in warlike opera- 
 tions, the Turks now had recourse to reli- 
 gious agitation, and a clever fanatic, Sheik 
 Manzur, was, in 1785, sent to proselytize 
 the Caucasians. He found among them 
 great apathy with respect to the doctrines 
 of Islam ; but taking advantage of their 
 
 I
 
 AND ITS PEOrLE. 99 
 
 intense hatred of tlicir Christian in\aders, 
 lie addressed enthusiastic appeals to their 
 patriotism, and having thus succeeded in 
 exciting a feeling in favour of the Turks, 
 in their political character, as enemies of the 
 Russians, he afterwards effected his pur- 
 pose of gaining them over to their religion. 
 This Sheik Manzur was, in his personal 
 qualifications, singularly well adapted to 
 the task he had undertaken. Young, grace- 
 ful, of majestic figure, and beautiful fea- 
 tures, of daring valour in presence of the 
 enemy, and gifted with captivating elo- 
 quence ; he was also frugal in the midst of 
 plenty, living almost wholly on milk and 
 bread, yet lavishly charitable, and the fame 
 of his sanctity spread at once like wildfire 
 among the Caucasians. He constantly 
 preached to them the necessity of unity 
 and combined action ; and, in 1785, he had 
 acquired such influence, that he began to
 
 100 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 alarm the Russians in their forts, by cutting 
 off their supplies and reinforcements. 
 
 The standard of rebellion being now 
 fairly raised, he, in 1788, broke through 
 the Russian lines, and attacked Naur ; and 
 though unable to master the garrison, for 
 the very women fought on the walls with 
 heroic desperation, he acquired by this bold 
 attempt a still more powerful influence 
 over his Caucasian followers. 
 
 War had, meanwhile, again broken out 
 between the Russians and the Turks, who, 
 uniting their forces with those of the Cir- 
 cassians, marched towards the Kouban, 
 and engaged General Bulkakoff; but he 
 defeated them, and drove them back to 
 Anapa. 
 
 In 1791, Anapa was captured by the 
 Russians, and Sheik Manzur, being taken 
 prisoner, was sent to end his days in miser- 
 able captivity at the fort of Schlusselbourg. 
 
 I
 
 AND ITS PEOrLE. 101 
 
 After this defeat, the Turks were very 
 glad to come to terms with Russia, and in 
 the treaty concluded at Jasi, they consented 
 to resign the protectorate over Mingrelia, 
 Imeretia, and Georgia, and promised that 
 the Pacha of Achalzik should discontinue 
 his traffic in slaves, by which, as the Rus- 
 sians were aware, his influence over the 
 Lesghians would necessarily be curtailed. * 
 
 Russia now spared neither labour nor 
 expense in consolidating her interest in 
 Daghestan, and in the mountains. She 
 established commercial depots along the 
 Terek, constructed roads through the coun- 
 try, and, in 1786, took the Shamkal of 
 Tarku and the Sultan of the Avares into 
 her pay. 
 
 Since the war of 1793, the Khans of 
 Baku and Derbent also had continued in 
 the receipt of Russian gold ; and in 1794, 
 their lines of fortifications were extended
 
 i02 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 from the fort of Ust Labrusk to Georgievsk 
 and to the Nedre-mansh Redout, near 
 which were built the forts of Protschoi, 
 Okop, Gregoriopolst, and Kaukask. 
 
 But the progress of the Russians was not 
 uncontested. Aga Mohamed, a relative of 
 Shah Nadir, now fell with fire and sword 
 on the invaders, and endeavoured to restore 
 Ihe former state of things ; but General 
 ZukofF advanced with his forces from Kis- 
 liar, and besieged and took Derbent, Baku, 
 Kesba, Tcheki, Shirvan, and Karabagh, 
 which were garrisoned by the Russians till 
 the death of Catherine. 
 
 The King of Georgia, George the Thir- 
 teenth, becoming about this time greatly 
 embarrassed, by the feuds and hostility of 
 the Lesghians, solicited the assistance of 
 Russia, which was immediately granted ; 
 and since, by means of this help, he was 
 successful, his gratitude led to an event of
 
 AND ITS I'EOrLE. 103 
 
 importance, that bid fair to realise some of 
 the ambitious dreams of Peter and Cathe- 
 rine, for the extension of Russian influence. 
 George the Thirteenth, namely, made over 
 his empire by will to Russia ; and in con- 
 sequence of this will, when his death oc- 
 curred in 1800, she immediately assumed 
 the government, and in the following year 
 took possession of the country, proclaiming 
 Tiflis the capital of the districts of Gori- 
 Lori, Dusheti, Thetavi, and Signack. 
 
 Having now obtained a footing on the 
 other side of the Caucasus, Russia set to 
 work in good earnest, to accomplish the 
 difficult task she had undertaken ; and 
 though unable to communicate with her 
 own dominions through any other channel 
 than that of one dangerous mountain pass, 
 she persevered in forcing her way onwards 
 through all obstacles. The dangers she in- 
 curred, however, it must be admitted, were
 
 104 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 not to be compared to those which the 
 English had to brave in their Indian wars. 
 The first governor of Georgia, General 
 Knorring, organized the system by which 
 Russia proposed to govern the newly ac- 
 quired country. He was succeeded, in 
 1803, by Prince ZizianofF, who, as a far- 
 sighted politician, at once became aware of 
 the necessity of securing the territory so 
 recently gained, by extension of the fron- 
 tier ; and not being able just then to attack 
 the Turks, he directed his movements to- 
 wards the Caspian instead of the Black Sea, 
 and in 1804, seized Gandya, under the 
 pretext that it was formerly a dependency 
 of Georgia, and now belonged to Russia 
 by right of inheritance. He annexed it, 
 therefore, to the other territory, under the 
 name of Elizabethspol, and this act created 
 so great a panic, that the people of Shirvan, 
 Baku, Derbent, Karakaitach, and even the
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 105 
 
 Sultan of the Avares, once more oflfered 
 their submission to Russia. 
 
 ZizianofF, now making Tiflis the basis of 
 his operations against the Lesghians of 
 Belokan and Dsara, soon subdued them, 
 and then marched against Imeretia under 
 the pretext of putting down disturbances 
 there ; thence he undertook, during the 
 same year, an expedition against Erivan ; 
 but this proved unsuccessful, from what 
 was called the treachery of the tribes 
 before mentioned, who seized the first 
 opportunity of revolting against Russian 
 supremacy. 
 
 The Russian general believing this 
 revolt to have been instigated by Turkish 
 intrigues, now endeavoured, in his turn, to 
 excite disturbances in Mingrelia and Ime- 
 retia, with a view of severing all connexion 
 between them and the Turks ; and in the 
 meanwhile, with the assistance of Kelim
 
 106 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 Bey, Prince of Abchasia, he suppressed the 
 insurrection in his own territory. In 1805 
 he even succeeded in incorporating Kara- 
 bagh, and occupying Tcheki, Nuchi, and 
 Shirsheh ; but while in the act of passing 
 the gate of Baku in triumph, he was sud- 
 denly assassinated. 
 
 Russian forces immediately advanced 
 from the Terek, made themselves masters 
 of Derbent as well as of Baku, and, after a 
 sanguinary struggle, they avenged their 
 general's death by horrible atrocities. 
 
 The Turks, now strengthened by an 
 alliance with the Circassians and the Tchet- 
 chenzes, declared war against E-ussia ; but 
 the Russians, though surrounded by diffi- 
 culties and suffering great hardships, were 
 nevertheless victorious. 
 
 General Gudowitch attacked and took 
 Anapa by sea, overpowered the Circassians 
 on the Kouban, and punished the Tchet-
 
 AND ITS TEOrLE. 107 
 
 clienzes by confiscation of the fort Khan 
 Kale, which formed also a convenient and 
 acceptable addition to the Russian line of 
 fortifications. 
 
 By force or stratagem, therefore, the 
 Russians had succeeded in establishing, 
 between 1798 and 1803, eight fortresses on 
 the Upper Molka, and along the Podkouma 
 to the Kouban ; to these, in the course of 
 one year more, they added six others. In 
 1805, Cossacks from Little Russia were in- 
 troduced to guard the Ust, Labinst, and 
 Kaukask; and though in 1807 the armis- 
 tice of Uzun-Kilissa was concluded, in 
 1809 hostilities were resumed with unwar- 
 ranted ferocity, and the Prince of Imeretia 
 and his family were taken prisoners and 
 confined in Tiflis, which they were not suf- 
 fered to leave again. 
 
 Just at this time the Russian ally, Kelim 
 Bey, was assassinated by his own son, Ars-
 
 108 
 
 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 Ian Bey, who was attached to the Turkish 
 party ; and as the Abchasians on the occur- 
 rence of this event made some anti-Russian 
 demonstrations, a pretext was afforded to 
 Russia for occupying Sachum-Kaleh. This 
 she did in 1810, and secured thereby her 
 first footing on the east coast of the Black 
 Sea. 
 
 In 1813 the Russians concluded, on terms 
 very favourable to themselves, the peace of 
 Gulistan ; the stipulations of which, besides 
 offering great immediate advantages to 
 Russia, contained the germ of future acqui- 
 sitions of territory as well as of fresh pre- 
 tences for aggression. 
 
 Russia was to obtain by this treaty all 
 the southern declivities of Caucasus, as far 
 as to the Attaghez range bordering on the 
 Araxes, on the Persian side ; and on that 
 of Persia, as far as the Achalzik. 
 
 Trans-Caucasia, therefore, consisted at
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 109 
 
 this time of Georgia, with the provinces of 
 Kachetia, Karthli, Somchiti, and Eliza- 
 bethspol. 
 
 Secondly, of the provinces of Imeretia, 
 Mingrelia, Abchasia, and Gurieb ; all of 
 which, except Imeretia, were nominally 
 governed by their own princes. 
 
 Thirdly, of the provinces Tcheki, Shirvan, 
 and Karabagh, on the lower Kour valley, 
 still under their old khans. 
 
 Fourthly, of the districts on the coast of 
 the Caspian Sea, namely, Baku, Derbent, 
 and Kuba, whose khans had been exiled. 
 
 Russia had made all these acquisitions in 
 the short space of thirteen years, during 
 which she had been developing her ener- 
 gies with astonishing rapidity, though appa- 
 rently without attracting the notice of the 
 Western Powers. As Turkey was still in 
 possession of the Circassian coast, it was 
 not likely that E-ussia would allow the
 
 110 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 peace to be of long duration ; she would 
 probably, it was thought, regard it merely 
 as affording a favourable opportunity of 
 preparation for the renewal of hostilities, 
 for which, indeed, occasion was daily given 
 by the Circassians, assisted by the Turks, 
 attacking and plundering the Russian 
 lines. 
 
 The Kabardines, though compelled to 
 submit to the protectorate of the Russians, 
 embraced every opportunity of giving vent 
 to the hatred they bore them; and the 
 Tchetchenzes were no less hostilely dis- 
 posed, but burst forth continually from 
 their inaccessible mountain retreats, to 
 spread terror and death through the lines 
 of the invader. 
 
 The hostility manifested against the 
 Russians on their first appearance in the 
 Caucasus, increased in the minds of the 
 mountaineers with every Russian conquest;
 
 AND ITS TEOPLE. Ill 
 
 and, had their resistance been properly 
 organized, and their strength augmented 
 by combination and union under one leader, 
 tliey would doubth^ss have succeeded in 
 annihilating the legions of their northern 
 foe. The policy of the Russians in exiling 
 the khans, under the idea that the people 
 would then be more easily subjected to the 
 laws and reconciled to the customs of their 
 new rulers, had by no means the desired 
 effect ; but, on the contrary, rendered them 
 still more distrustful of, and exasperated 
 against their new rulers. The beys or 
 princes, while ostensibly acknowledging 
 the Russian protectorate, were really in- 
 triguing against a complete subjection to 
 it ; and their dangerous opposition was en- 
 couraged by the Lesghians, amongst whom 
 the Avares, Karakaitachs, Kasikoumicks, 
 Azooks, and Dsaro-Belokans, were the most 
 formidable foes to Russia : the khans of
 
 112 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 Tabasseran and Kuragh alone had cordially 
 espoused her cause. 
 
 The Mahometan Tartars of the provinces 
 taken in the last war from Persia, were 
 naturally more inclined to obey the dictates 
 of their own khans than those of Russian 
 officials, and therefore needed to be care- 
 fully watched. Yermoloff, their commander, 
 however, did his best to uphold the czar's 
 interest, by constructing new lines of forti- 
 fication and destroying others which had 
 proved useless ; and he succeeded in ob- 
 taining for the Russians, for the first time, 
 a secure footing on the Sundshah, by the 
 forts Pregradnoi-stan, Usmalchan, Gurt, 
 Nasran, and especially Gras-naja, which 
 commanded the defile of Khan-kaleh. 
 
 Near Enderi, on the outlet of the Koissu, 
 in the plains of Tarku, he erected the fort 
 of Wnesnapjaja, which afforded an efficient 
 defence against the Khankalat of Tarku,
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 113 
 
 as well as against the slave trade of Enderi ; 
 for the Lesghians and Tchetchenzes, en- 
 gaged in this traffic, were in the habit of 
 meeting at that place to transact their busi- 
 ness and arrange their movements. Yer- 
 moloff also connected Wnesnapjaga by a 
 line of forts with Grosnaja, constructed 
 roads, cut down forests, and kept, by his 
 moving columns, a vigilant superintend- 
 ence over the subjugated Tchetchenzes, 
 living within the districts surrounded by 
 the above-mentioned forts. 
 
 The military road through the pass of 
 Dariel, which had hitherto led from Mosdok 
 to Vladikavkas, was now carried to Jeka- 
 terinograd, on the left bank of the Terek, 
 and protected by a line of forts at the 
 entrances of the valleys Uruch, Boksan, 
 Tchegem, and Tcherek. 
 
 The Circassians, whose invasions had be- 
 come more and more dangerous, were kept 
 
 I
 
 114 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 in check by forts erected on the left bank of 
 the Kouban, and extending for a consider- 
 able distance into their territory. 
 
 Fort Protshnoi-Okop now became the cen- 
 tre of the Russian military operations, and 
 the Chernomorski Cossacks stationed along 
 the Kouban, from the Ust-labinsk down- 
 wards, were placed under the orders of the 
 general commanding in the Caucasus, who 
 commenced a cruel guerilla warfare against 
 the mountaineers; burning their villages and 
 cornfields, capturing their flocks, and en- 
 deavouring to exterminate them by all the 
 scourges of war. They nevertheless resisted 
 his advances, fought step by step for their 
 native soil, and to the Russian superiority 
 of numerical force opposed that of the most 
 determined and desperate valour. 
 
 Of the feats of daring performed by the 
 Russians during this war, several deserve 
 to be mentioned. The capture of Paraul,
 
 AND ITS TEOPLE. 115 
 
 the residence of the Khans of the Avares, 
 for instance, in 1818; that of the Akucha 
 in 1820 ; and the siege and occupation of 
 Kuragh, by which a arious powerful tribes 
 were reduced to subjection. The defeat of 
 Sarkhai, Khan of the Kassemuk d'heer 
 Khorey, in the same year, was of great 
 importance to Daghestan, and for some 
 time served to clieck the attempts of the 
 Lesghians to regain their liberty. 
 
 In this battle there were twelve hundred 
 men killed, and the Russians took six hun- 
 dred prisoners, besides capturing the nine 
 celebrated guns which the Lesghians had 
 taken from Shah Nadir, and a great quan- 
 tity of other munitions of war. 
 
 Sarkhai Khan now took refuge with the 
 Khan of Kir van, and then fled with him 
 and the Khan of Karabagh to Persia ; and 
 their flight afl'orded llussia a welcome op- 
 portunity and pretext for phicing the con-
 
 116 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 quered districts under her own governor. 
 This plan she also pursued with the 
 Khanate of Tcheki, after the death of the 
 khan. In the meanwhile the Russians had 
 frequent skirmishes with the western tribes, 
 in which both parties met with serious dis- 
 comfiture and damage. 
 
 Arslan Bey, while advancing his preten- 
 sions to the throne of Abchasia (in 1821), 
 gave battle to the Russians near Kodor ; 
 but though in command of a force numeri- 
 cally stronger than that of the enemy, he 
 suffered a defeat. He renewed his efforts 
 for the delivery of Abchasia from the 
 foreign yoke in 1824, but this attempt also 
 proved unsuccessful and terminated his 
 career. The Russians continued to gain 
 ground, though slowly, and they had to 
 purchase this slow progress by almost in- 
 credible sacrifices. 
 
 All at once a fanatic Mussulman, named
 
 AND ITS TEOPLE. 117 
 
 Kasimullab, made his appearance on the 
 theatre of war at the head of a large body 
 of the mountaineers, with whom he began 
 to wage war to the knife against the 
 Russians. With the exploits of this man 
 begins a new era of the Caucasian wars, 
 especially in the eastern part of the chain, 
 whose inhabitants, unlike the western 
 aborigines, were faithful and devoted fol- 
 lowers of Islam. 
 
 For centuries past the teachers and 
 priests of the Mahometan doctrines had 
 found access to the mountain homes of the 
 Lesghians and Tchetchenzes, and exercised 
 great influence over them ; while the races 
 of the Western Caucasus had remained 
 indifferent and in great measure dead to 
 every form of religion. 
 
 Murshid Hadji Ismael Effendi, a man 
 in high repute for piety and learning, ac- 
 quired under the celebrated Halidshah,
 
 118 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 Shah of Bagdad, had drawn a great num- 
 ber of disciples and followers after him to 
 the village of Kurlomir, in Shirvan, where 
 he had established a school for preachers ; 
 and the chief purpose of his teaching was 
 to exhort the people to united action in the 
 pursuit and destruction of the invading 
 unbelievers. This astute politician knew 
 full well, that the success of the moun- 
 taineers in defending their country against 
 the well trained and strictly disciplined 
 armies of Russia, depended entirely on their 
 union and co-operation. Without this co- 
 operation the Caucasus must inevitably be- 
 come an easy prey to the invader. 
 
 To induce all the Caucasian hordes to 
 rally round the banner of the prophet, was 
 a task of no little difficulty ; for it was 
 necessary to contend against the petty mu- 
 tual jealousies of the different tribes, as well 
 as against their low standard of morality,
 
 AND ITS fEOPLE. 119 
 
 and their lack of knowledge, and of any 
 property or stake in the country beyond 
 that of their miserable hovels. 
 
 By steadfast perseverance, however, and 
 by working on their passions when they 
 were either suffering under reverses or 
 buoyed up with triumph by success, he at 
 last effected his purpose of enlisting the 
 sympathies of the different tribes in the 
 common cause, and inducing them to parti- 
 cipate in the struggle against the common 
 enemy. His tactics were of so bold a cha- 
 racter, that he often succeeded in surpris- 
 ing the Russians and carrying dismay into 
 their lines. 
 
 One of his disciples, Mohammed Effendi, 
 animated by the enthusiasm of his pre- 
 ceptor, returned to his native country to 
 officiate as a religious teacher for the dis- 
 tricts of Tabasseran and Kuragh ; and 
 when, in 1820, the Russians succeeded in
 
 120 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 subjugating Kuragh and in partly devas- 
 tating the interior of Tabasseran, this 
 Mohammed Effendi traversed every village 
 and hamlet in the country to excite the 
 zealous hatred of the Faithful against 
 the Infidel, and to implore them to be 
 true to the standard of the prophet and 
 arrest the progress of the Christian foe. 
 Old and young to a man responded to his 
 call. Inflamed by his rapturous orations, 
 they came thronging in to swell his ranks, 
 and exulted in the sanguine anticipation 
 that now at last they would exterminate 
 the Christian invaders.
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 121 
 
 CPIAPTER VII. 
 
 First appearance of Kasi-Mulhih. — He commences his 
 agitation. — Takes a fortress from the Russians. — 
 Ineffectual opposition of General Yermoloff. — Prince 
 Paskiewitsch appointed. — Cis-Caucasia and Trans- 
 Caucasia. — Georgia an easy conquest. — Attacks of 
 the Circassians. — Grand plan of Paskiewitsch for 
 dividing the Caucasus. 
 
 Among the hearers of Mohammed EfFendi 
 was the devout youth, named Kasi-Moham- 
 med (afterwards Kasi-Mullah), in whom 
 especially the preacher's harangues had 
 kindled an ardent desire to effect the de- 
 liverance of his country. 
 
 After listening long enough to become 
 inspired with the most fervent enthusiasm, 
 he retired to a lonely spot, consecrated by 
 tradition, and there, rapt in dreams of 
 future glory, he brooded over the plans
 
 122 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 that should carry destruction to the door of 
 the invader. When he had spent some 
 time in seclusion, he returned to his native 
 place, where he was elected Murshid of 
 Tchetchenia and the coast defiles. . 
 
 He now began his operations by agitat- 
 ing the people ; counselling them to wage 
 an exterminating warfare against all unbe- 
 lievers, and feeding their fanaticism by 
 wonderful accounts of the revelations made 
 to him, during his pilgrimage to the tomb 
 of Abu-Musselim, one of the heroes who 
 fell in the battle of Kunstagh, and whose 
 departed spirit, as Kasi-Mullah alleged, 
 had commanded him to lead the children 
 of the Prophet to glory. 
 
 Of commanding stature, and gifted with 
 glowing eloquence, he acquired the greatest 
 influence over the multitude ; the ranks of 
 hi« adherents were rapidly swelled by new 
 and zealous converts ; and taking advan-
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. l^S 
 
 tage of moments of ardour and excitement, 
 he often succeeded in surprising the Rus- 
 sians, and even wrested from them the fort 
 Amir Hadji Yurt, in the country of the 
 Koumik Tatars. 
 
 The Russians, it is true, afterwards re- 
 captured this fortress, but they had to lavish 
 a great amount of force to attain their ob- 
 ject, and in the meantime the Murshid had, 
 by successful stratagem, secured to himself 
 the devotion of the mountaineers, amongst 
 whom his fame was now spreading like 
 wildfire. 
 
 General YermolofF had to strain all his 
 faculties, and make tremendous exertions 
 to oppose the formidable power of the 
 Murshid, and at last he only succeeded in 
 destroying a few of the Aouls on the 
 Sundcha and the Argun territory ; though 
 even these conquests, trifling as they were, 
 were exulted over by him as great victories,
 
 12i THE CAUCASUS 
 
 on account of the difficulties he had had to 
 overcome. 
 
 The Czar, however, great as the difficul- 
 ties were, became impatient with Yermo- 
 loff's slow progress, and appointed Prince 
 Paskiewitsch to supersede him; and the 
 latter general, on his departure, received 
 imperative orders to confine the Caucasians 
 within the limits to which the policy of the 
 Russian cabinet had restricted them a cen- 
 tury ago. 
 
 Paskiewitsch did not disappoint the hopes 
 of his imperial master, for with a new army 
 at his command, he fought so successfully 
 against Caucasians, Persians, and Turks, 
 that he was enabled in the treaties of peace 
 of 1827 and 1829 to secure to Russia, in 
 this part of the globe, the empire at which 
 she had so long been aiming. Persia agreed 
 to hand over to Russia Talisch, Nachitche- 
 van, and Erivan ; while the Turks relin-
 
 AND ITS TEOPLE. 125 
 
 quislied Anapa, Poti, the whole of the 
 Circassian coast on the Black Sea, the Pro- 
 tectorate of the Circassians, and the Pachalic 
 of Achaltzik ; the Caucasus it was agreed 
 should be confined within its present limits, 
 namely, the Manysh and Kouma on the 
 north, and Araxes, Arocat, Arpatshai, and 
 Choloki on the south. 
 
 Cis-Caucasia was to include, with the 
 government of Stavropol, four districts, 
 namely, Stavropol, Patigorsk, Mosdok, and 
 Kislyar, and the town of Stavropol was to 
 be the residence of the governor. This 
 territory contains 1430 square miles, and 
 counts 180,000 inhabitants. 
 
 Trans- Caucasia, with the head gover- 
 nor's seat at Tiflis, includes the following 
 provinces : — 
 
 1. Georgia, with the districts of Tiflis, 
 Signache, Telavi, Ducheti, Gori, and Eliza- 
 bethspol, a district of 832 square miles and
 
 126 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 about 400,000 inhabitants, among which 
 are 20,000 Ossetes, 60,000 Tatars, and 
 10,000 Pshawes or Tushes. 
 
 2. Imeritia, with 640 square miles, di- 
 vided into the districts of Imeretia, with 
 100,000; Mingrelia, with 70,000; and 
 Gurriel, with 20,000 inhabitants, all of 
 whom are of Georgian origin. Also it in- 
 cludes Abchasia, with 52,000 inhabitants, 
 whose allegiance to Russia is of a very 
 doubtful and precarious nature. 
 
 3. The province of Achaltzik, with 
 17,000 inhabitants, of whom many are 
 Armenians. 
 
 4. The province of Armenia, with 360 
 square miles, and included in which are 
 the districts of Erivan, with 34,000 Arme- 
 nian inhabitants and 30,000 Tatars ; and 
 Nachitevan, with 8,000 Armenians and 
 11,000 Tatars. 
 
 5. The province of Shirvan with the dis-
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 127 
 
 tricts of Shirvan, containing G 2,000 Tatars 
 and 6,000 Armenians ; Karabagh, with 
 35,000 Tatar inhabitants and 20,000 Arme- 
 nians ; and Tcheki, with 45,000 Tatars and 
 9,000 Armenians. 
 
 To these must be added the Khanate of 
 KaHssh, with Lenkoran on the Caspian 
 Sea, and the country of the Lesghian tribes: 
 the Confederation of Dsaro-Bclokan, with 
 46,000 inhabitants ; the Sultanate of Yehs- 
 sai, with 21,000; and the territory of the 
 Anzooks, the Didoi, and Kabutchi, with 
 32,000 ; all of whom frequently rebel 
 against their Russian taskmasters. The 
 allegiance of these people being enforced 
 by military despotism of the worst kind, 
 they often seize the opportunity of the 
 Russian garrison of occupation being deci- 
 mated by sickness, to drive them with great 
 loss out of their territories. 
 
 6. Daghestan, with the Shamkulat of
 
 128 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 Tarku, with 60,000 inhabitants ; the dis- 
 tricts of Derbent, with 6,000 ; of Kuba, 
 46,000 ; and of Baku, with 15,000. 
 
 Some Russian authorities speak also of 
 Lesghistan and Circassia ; but their organi- 
 zation, even if they can be counted at all 
 among the Russian dominions, is so very 
 uncertain, that any record of their condi- 
 tion must be illusory. 
 
 Prince Paskiewitch, having settled the 
 boundary question, now devoted himself to 
 the consolidation of the newly acquired 
 territory, by conciliating as far as possible 
 the masses of the people. Georgia gave 
 him no trouble, for he allowed the nobles 
 to retain their rank, property, and privi- 
 leges ; and they, on their side, manifested a 
 vehement desire for fine Russian uniforms 
 and glittering decorations. The female 
 population of Georgia, too, was delighted 
 with the fashions introduced by the Rus- 
 sian ladies, and soon imitated them.
 
 AiSD ITS PEOPLE. 121) 
 
 As adherents of the Greek Churcli, the 
 Georgians were strongly biassed in favour 
 of Russian rule, and still strongT3r ties were 
 soon formed between the nations by the 
 intermarriages of Georgian with Russiafi 
 families. In Mingrelia and Imeretia the 
 poverty-stricken population, reduced by the 
 incessant wars and oppression of their rulers 
 to the most abject condition, submitted un. 
 resistingly to the dictates of Paskiewitch ; 
 and he secured the golden opinions of the 
 Mahometan population by prohibiting the 
 Russian priesthood from compelling their 
 attendance on the services of the Greek 
 Church, by building mosques and schools, 
 and by leaving .their internal jurisdiction 
 and customs undisturbed. 
 
 Thus far successful, the prince directed 
 his serious attention to his grand object 
 of securing Russian ascendancy in the 
 mountains, by cutting off the communica- 
 
 K
 
 130 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 tion of the hostile tribes with the subject 
 races. 
 
 The coast of the Black Sea being now in 
 the hands of the liussians, they built along 
 it fort after fort, without paying the slight- 
 est attention to the attacks of the enraged 
 mountaineers, or to the ravages of the pesti- 
 lential climate, by which their garrisons of 
 occupation were too frequently carried off. 
 All losses were quickly replaced by fresh 
 drafts of men, and as ships of war were 
 continually cruising along the coast, the 
 landing of arms, ammunition, or stores, by 
 the enemy, became almost impossible. 
 
 As also the Russian forts on the Kouban 
 commanded the valleys, the communica- 
 tion on that side was, more or less, under 
 Russian control. 
 
 The Circassians from time to time re- 
 newed their efforts to assault, capture, or 
 destroy one or more of these forts; but
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 131 
 
 they never attempted to retain their con- 
 quests, retiring immediately to their moun- 
 tain fastnesses, which then hecame the 
 targets for incessant attacks by fire and 
 sword, directed against them by the Rus- 
 sian divisions stationed at Protschnoi-Okop ; 
 and by these means many of the moun- 
 taineers were brought into subjection. 
 
 In the Western Caucasus, the Tcherkess 
 or Circassian tribes ; the Abasechs, Shap- 
 sooks, and Natagoi ; the Abassians of the 
 Ubich, Madore, and Posib, as well as the 
 Suaneti, are still in the enjoyment of free- 
 dom and independence ; and, on the whole, 
 the allegiance of the tribes supposed to be 
 subject to Russia is of a very doubtful 
 nature. Their disaffection is often mani- 
 fested by outbreaks against the army of 
 occupation, attended by disastrous conse- 
 quences ; but their nominal subjection is 
 nevertheless a key to future conquests, and 
 pregnant with important results.
 
 132 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 With a view to the isolation of the vari- 
 ous tribes still hostile to Russia, Prince 
 Paskiewitsch formed a plan for connecting 
 the conquered districts by four military 
 roads. The one Vi^as intended to form a 
 communication between the Bay of Ge- 
 lendchick and the Northern Kouban ; the 
 second, to proceed from Abchasia across 
 the loftiest ranges to the valley of the Pod- 
 kouma ; the third, to cross the Lesghian 
 mountains from Kachetia to the valley 
 of Koissu, and through its defiles to the 
 Tarku ; and the fourth, to traverse the 
 mountain ridge of the Muchi into the 
 valley of Samura, and thence to Derbent, 
 Cleverly as this plan was arranged, how- 
 ever, it was found, when it came to be exe- 
 cuted, that the obstacles to be overcome 
 were of so formidable a character, that only 
 the first of the proposed roads could be 
 completed and properly defended by forts.
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 133 
 
 Had Paskiewitsch succeeded in his pro- 
 ject, he would have divided the Caucasus 
 into four districts, each of which could 
 have been separately subjugated and held 
 in check by a comparatively small force ; 
 and, what was still more important, the 
 isolation of the hostile tribes of moun- 
 taineers would have been perfect, and their 
 union in large masses to attack the Rus- 
 sians rendered impossible.
 
 134: THE CAUCASUS 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Further Exploits of Kasi-Mullah — March through 
 Daghestan. — Takes Tarku by storm. — Eefeated by 
 General KochanofF. — Surprise of Kislyar. — Re- 
 peated Revolts of the Dsharan Tribes. — Campaign 
 of General Rosen. — Hirari destroyed and Kasi- 
 Mullah killed. — Hamsad Bey becomes the leader 
 of the insurgents. — Assassination of the Khanum 
 and her sons. — Is himself in turn assassinated in 
 the Mosque. — Guerilla warfare. 
 
 Daghestan had now became tranquil, and 
 the Shamkul of Tarku had even rendered 
 the Russians considerable service ; but the 
 territories of the Tchetchenzes and Les- 
 ghians were daily becoming more dis- 
 turbed. 
 
 The last achievements of Yermoloff had, 
 indeed, served for a time to abate the 
 ardour of both races ; but Kasi-Mullah was
 
 AND ITS TEOPLE. 135 
 
 neither intimidated nor inclined to inacti- 
 vity, and he was making every exertion to 
 extend his influence and his fame; while, 
 knowing that he Avas feared and hated by 
 the priesthood, he resolved to humble this 
 and other factious parties before rc-com- 
 mencing operations with his increased 
 forces against the Russians, 
 
 On the plateau of Arrakan, on the Ava- 
 rean range, he attacked Sahif Eifendi, the 
 chief of his opponents, and defeated him, 
 so that he had to escape by Hight ; while 
 Kasi-Mullah, at the head of his daily in- 
 creasing forces, directed his march towards 
 the northern mountains. Encouraged by 
 his success he then ventured on attempting 
 to detach the aged Khanum of Kunsagh 
 from the Russians, under whose protection 
 she stood, and persuading her to espouse 
 the cause of the prophet ; but as she de- 
 clined his overtures, he resolved on forcing
 
 136 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 her to compliance and to tlie support of his 
 army; and in 1828 he attacked her forces, 
 but failed in the attempt and was obliged 
 to retreat. Though eager to avenge his 
 discomfiture on the Russians, who had come 
 to the assistance of the Khanum, he did not 
 find the opportunity he sought till 1831, 
 when, marching into Daghestan with the 
 flag of insurrection in one hand and the 
 Koran in the other, he roused the country 
 to rebellion, attacked the chief Russian 
 forts on the Caspian, and assaulting the 
 town of Tarku took it by storm and en- 
 tirely routed his enemies. 
 
 After this achievement he besieged the 
 citadel of Bourmaya, which was considered 
 impregnable even by the Russians ; cut off 
 the supply of water, and so exhausted the 
 garrison by constant attacks, that he would 
 soon have captured the fortress and made 
 a triumphal entry, had not the Russian
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 137 
 
 General Kochanoif all at once come to 
 the assistance of the besieged. Kochanoff 
 forced Kasi-Mullah to retire to the moun- 
 tains ; but he ravaged and destroyed the 
 country as he went, and as soon as he had 
 collected his forces again he set out for 
 Derbent. For eight days the town was in 
 great danger, but on Kochanoff's advanc- 
 ing to its succour Kasi-Mullah was again 
 defeated. 
 
 Undismayed, however, by this second 
 failure, he directed his efforts against other 
 equally important but less strongly forti- 
 fied points, and these fell an easy prey to 
 his arms. By the 11th of November he 
 had carried fire and sword to the very walls 
 of Kislyar, a fortress situated on the Terek, 
 in one of the five districts of Cis-Caucasia. 
 This fortress he afterwards surprised and 
 took, and he only evacuated it to return 
 laden with booty to his native place, Himri,
 
 138 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 there to spend the whiter hi comfort and 
 security, and make preparations for the 
 ensuing campaign. 
 
 The unusually stormy insurrections in 
 the east and north-east of the Caucasus, 
 imposed, in the course of the year 1831, a 
 great deal of labour and anxiety on the 
 Russian generals, which were still further 
 augmented by outbreaks in the south. 
 
 The Confederation of Dshar, though re- 
 peatedly forced to submit to the Russians, 
 had often successfully attempted to throw 
 off their yoke, but for this hardihood they 
 had been severely chastised by YermolofF. 
 Hardly, however, had the Persian war 
 broken out, than they once more recovered 
 their independence, and maintained it dur- 
 ing the whole time the Persian and Turkish 
 wars lasted. 
 
 After the conclusion of peace, Paskie- 
 witsch forced them back to their nominal
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 130 
 
 allegiance to llussia, and inflicted severe 
 punishment for these insurrectionary at- 
 tempts ; but his severity was of little avail, 
 for hardly had he quitted the Caucasus 
 when they attacked the Russian garrison, 
 which they defeated and took from it four 
 pieces of artillery. To avoid such disasters 
 for the future the Russians now constructed 
 the fort of Sakatal, by which the position 
 was completely commanded. 
 
 These revolutionary movements of the 
 Dsharan races, which had occasioned so 
 much uneasiness to the Russians, had af- 
 forded great encouragement to a fanatical 
 Lesghian chief, a bitter enemy of the Rus- 
 sians, named Ham sad Bey, by whose in- 
 strumentality the disturbances had been 
 frequently fomented. Under pretence of 
 entering into negotiations with him, the 
 Russians had enticed him into their camp 
 and made him prisoner ; and although
 
 140 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 they had kept him in captivity but a very 
 short time, and when they released him 
 loaded him with presents, his capture was 
 regarded as an act of treachery, and tended 
 to embitter his hostility against them. He 
 returned the Russian presents with con- 
 tempt, and hastened to unite his forces 
 with those of Kasi-Mullah. 
 
 In the following spring, Kasi-Mullah 
 broke forth again from his mountain re- 
 treat; and this time he chose the Terek 
 line for the theatre of his operations, and 
 even threatened Vladikavkas, the key to 
 the pass of Dariel, before he returned, 
 richly laden with plunder, to his mountains. 
 
 The Russians now felt serious apprehen- 
 sions that the forts which they had con- 
 structed, with the view of overawing their 
 enemies, would not even serve to secure 
 the safety of their own garrisons. The ac- 
 tivity of the mountaineers frustrated all
 
 AND ITS TEOPLE. Ill 
 
 their attempts to be on their guard against 
 them, and they were sure to make their ap- 
 pearance where they were least expected. 
 General Rosen, the successor to Prince 
 Paskiewitsch, determined therefore to di- 
 rect an energetic campaign against Himri, 
 Kasi - Mullah's native place, and chief 
 stronghold. He marched against it with a 
 large and effective force, and he not only 
 succeeded in destroying it, but Kasi-Mullah 
 himself fell in the defence. 
 
 The victory, however, was not achieved 
 without immense sacrifices. The Russian 
 troops had to climb almost untrodden 
 mountains, exposed all the way to the at- 
 tacks of the enemy's sharpshooters ; and 
 every step of their path was marked by the 
 
 bodies of soldiers who fell from the ranks, 
 
 « 
 
 before they reached the summit, where 
 they had to storm Himri, the Ehrenbreit- 
 stein of the Caucasus.
 
 142 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 The mountaineers fought valiantly, every 
 man among them braving death as long as 
 he was able to bear a weapon. 
 
 With the fall of Himri and of Kasi- 
 Mullah, the Russians imagined their task 
 completed ; but they had yet to learn that 
 Kasi-Mullah was only the pioneer of other 
 opponents, who would offer them still more 
 determined resistance, and that the on- 
 slaught of the Tchetchenzes and Lesghians 
 were but introductory to still bolder ex- 
 ploits. 
 
 Hamsad Bey, the irreconcilable enemy 
 of Russia, took the place of his slain com- 
 panion, as leader of his organized force ; 
 and on meeting with opposition from va- 
 rious chiefs, he attacked two of them, the 
 Kadi of Dargo and the Shamkul of Tarku, 
 in their own territories, and forced them to 
 assist him. After this, he entreated the 
 aged Khanum of Kunsagh to support him,
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 143 
 
 and when she refused, he caused her two 
 sons, and afterwards the aged princess her- 
 self, to be assassinated. 
 
 But Hanisad Bey was overtaken by a just 
 retribution for this deed. On visiting th>.» 
 mosque a few days after the murder, he 
 was himself assassinated in the very midst 
 of his Murids by Osman and Hadji Murad, 
 allies of the Khanum, and who had been 
 educated with her sons. The Murids, to 
 avenge their master, then killed Osman, 
 and Hadji now called on the people to take 
 vengeance on the murderers of their be- 
 loved princess. The people responded to 
 the call, and returned with him to the 
 mosque to slaughter the Murids, some of 
 whom had escaped and taken refuge in a 
 neighbouring tower ; but their fierce pur- 
 suers set it on fire, and they all perished in 
 the flames. 
 
 In the meantime, the Russians had dis-
 
 14:4 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 covered that they had been quite mistaken 
 in supposing the spirit of insurrection in 
 the Caucasus stifled by the death of Kasi- 
 MuUah. It became evident, even in the 
 districts garrisoned by the Russians, that 
 this was by no means the case, and they 
 therefore changed their tactics, and from a 
 defensive, adopted an aggressive mode of 
 warfare. 
 
 In 1834, they stood once more before 
 Himri, and captured it this time with less 
 trouble than in 1832, utterly destroying it, 
 so as not to leave one stone upon another ; 
 yet notwithstanding the completeness of the 
 destruction, the mountaineers had by 1836 
 built on the same height another fort, still 
 more formidable. 
 
 The Russians now contemplated attack- 
 ing the mountaineers in rapid succession ; 
 but the latter frustrated their design by 
 suddenly moving off, just as tlieir enemies
 
 AND ITS TEOrLE. 14.') 
 
 were ready to give tliein battle, and pro- 
 ceeding in a direction in which it was not 
 possible for the Russians to follow witli 
 equal celerity, and where they lost more 
 men, by want of provisions and forced 
 marches, than they could have done by an 
 engagement. 
 
 Frequently it happened, that when they 
 had defeated the mountaineers in a skir- 
 mish in some valley, and had to pass some 
 defiles on their way to their forts, they were 
 picked off by hundreds as they went by the 
 Caucasian sharpshooters. 
 
 It is this guerilla warfare, still practised 
 by Schamyl, that keeps the Russians in 
 constant apprehension of losing their hold 
 on the Caucasus.
 
 146 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Schamyl's birth and early youth. — His natural quali- 
 fications for the mission he assumes. — Russian 
 advances into Georgia, etc. — Schamyl's first appear- 
 ance on the theatre of the war. — Capture of Himri. 
 — Schamyl's mysterious disappearance. — Fights a 
 pitched battle with the Russians. — Russians com- 
 pelled to retire from Achulko. — The arrival of the 
 Czar. — Achulko taken. — Schamyl's escape. — Va- 
 rious events of the war. 
 
 What Themistocles was to the Greeks, 
 what Wallace and Tell were to their re- 
 spective countrymen, such is Schamyl to 
 the brave warriors of the Caucasus. For 
 many years he has been struggling to 
 defend the freedom of his native soil from 
 the crafty policy, the arms and the flatteries 
 of Russia, and to drive back the invader 
 from those lovely fertile valleys, which.
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 147 
 
 though interspersed between the rocky 
 defiles of snow capped mountains and al- 
 most inaccessible from without, are yet 
 amply provided with all the necessaries df 
 life. 
 
 This remarkable man, the valiant chief 
 and venerated sultan and prophet of his 
 people, was born in 1797 at the aoul of 
 Himri, the birthplace also of his cele- 
 brated predecessor, Kasi - Mullah. The 
 people among whom his earliest years were 
 passed are, like all mountaineers, devotedly 
 attached to their native land, and this feel- 
 ing was probably imbibed by him as well as 
 others with his earliest breath. These peo- 
 ple are also remarkable for their skill in 
 martial exercises and in horsemanship, a 
 singular anomaly in a race of mountaineers, 
 which has been sometimes accounted for 
 by their descent being traced to a remnant 
 of European crusaders. Their complexion
 
 148 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 and deportment show, indeed, little traces 
 of an Asiatic origin ; and though they 
 acknowledge the authority of the Koran, 
 they entertain among them a vague expec- 
 tation of a Saviour who is to supersede 
 Mahomet the prophet of God — a popular 
 belief which is said to have formed a great 
 obstacle to Schamyl's success. 
 
 In his early youth he is stated to have 
 been somewhat feeble in his bodily consti- 
 tution, but exerting himself to overcome 
 this natural inferiority by courage and reso- 
 lution. Even then, he held himself in some 
 measure aloof from his companions, was 
 fond of spending many hours at a time in 
 solitude in some wild and picturesque spot, 
 and maintained his influence with those 
 around him by a certain reserved solemnity 
 of manner, as well as by the superiority of 
 his talents and learning. 
 
 As he grew to a more mature age he also
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 149 
 
 became distinguished for the fiery and im- 
 passioned eloquence, which is, perhaps, the 
 most efficient of all means of acquiring in- 
 fluence over a brave, simple, and excitable 
 people ; and to this qualification he added 
 that of perfect self-control, an immoveable 
 calmness of aspect in moments of the 
 utmost peril, and a rigid temperance in his 
 mode of life, which seldom fails to ensure 
 respect to those who have the means of 
 indulgence within their reach. 
 
 We have seen in what manner Georgia 
 came into Russian hands, and by what a 
 series of. successes and stratagems they con- 
 trived to plant their forts and strongholds 
 in all the passes of the mountains, and 
 along the coasts of the Black and Caspian 
 Seas. Having afterwards obtained a foot- 
 ing in Armenia, the granary of the whole 
 southern region, they subjugated the greater 
 part of the country, and hemmed in the in-
 
 150 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 dependent tribes between tlie Cossacks on 
 the north and the conquered country on 
 the south. 
 
 They had just enlisted in a local Nizam 
 a large number both of the Christian and 
 Mahometan inhabitants under the Rus- 
 sian standard, when Schamyl appeared with 
 Hamsad Bey on the theatre of the war, pro- 
 claiming that he had, in a personal com- 
 munication with the prophet, been entrusted 
 with the mission to free his country from 
 its invaders, and announcing himself to be 
 invincible in arms and invulnerable to 
 mortal weapon. The whole of Daghestan 
 rose at his summons, and he took the for- 
 tresses of the Tarku and Derbent, and 
 plundered and laid waste the Russian ter- 
 ritory as far as Kislyar. In the defence of 
 Himri (the chief emporium of arms and 
 ammunition for the Caucasus), where Kasi- 
 MuUah lost his life, Schamyl was really
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 151 
 
 wounded, both by bullet and bayonet ; but 
 as he fought his way through the ranks of 
 the enemy, and afterwards disappeared in 
 a very sudden and mysterious manner, his 
 followers were confirmed in the opinion 
 that he bore a charmed life, and was their 
 appointed prophet and deliverer. 
 
 An interval of quiet succeeded the cap- 
 ture of Himri, and this led to the idea that 
 the Caucasian wars were at an end ; but 
 Schamyl still remained at the head of a 
 numerous body of armed men, and occu- 
 pied himself with freeing the passes and 
 securing supplies whenever they were 
 needed ; and while the native tribes in 
 their mountain fastnesses refused to pay 
 tribute or offer any kind of submission to 
 the invaders, they, on their sides, had to 
 entrench themselves behind walls which 
 they dared not leave, either for exercise or 
 water, except in sufficient numbers to
 
 152 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 guard against surprise. In fact, although 
 the Russians were supposed to have re- 
 mained in possession of the Caucasus, they 
 were obliged to remain in their forts or 
 in their great lines of road, and they were 
 never safe when beyond the reach of their 
 cannon. 
 
 In 1837, Schamyl, having obtained con- 
 siderable reinforcements, measured his 
 strength with that of the Russians in a 
 pitched battle ; and his success so greatly 
 impaired the prestige of the Russian arms, 
 that their general resolved to deal with him 
 at once as he had done with his prede- 
 cessor — that is, to march upon his secluded 
 stronghold with an efficient body of troops, 
 capture or kill him, and annihilate any 
 force that he might have collected. 
 
 On their march towards Schamyl's hiding 
 place, the Russians fortified Chunsak, much 
 to the displeasure of the reigning princess,
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 153 
 
 altliougli she was devoted to the czar ; and 
 this iVvarean expedition, as it was called, 
 then proceeded to attack Ashiltack, an aoul 
 or village in Andi, consisting of three hun- 
 dred dwellings, partly rough stone houses 
 and partly caves cut in rocks. It was 
 defended by no less than five thousand 
 Circassians, and was not taken without 
 considerable loss on the side of the llus- 
 sians. After this, though they were greatly 
 reduced by this action and by the fatigues 
 of their march, they assaulted Achulko with 
 impetuous valour ; but Schamyl offered 
 such a determined resistance, that, though 
 their cannon destroyed some of his towers, 
 he compelled them to retreat, the Circas- 
 sians pursuing them for nearly two miles 
 with shouts of victory, and they retired 
 through the defile of Koissu without gain- 
 ing a foot of ground beyond their military 
 road.
 
 154 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 So great was the sensation created by 
 this defeat, that the Emperor Nicholas now 
 resolved to come in person to the Caucasus, 
 trusting that his presence, while it encou- 
 raged his own soldiers, would strike terror 
 into his enemies. His imperial aspect does 
 not, however, seemed to have proved quite 
 so awful to the mountaineers as he had 
 anticipated ; and when he sent forth a 
 proclamation stating that he had powder 
 enough to blow up their very mountains 
 should he so please, they were by no means 
 so much alarmed as he intended them 
 to be. 
 
 He made, too, the unwelcome discovery, 
 that the army of the Caucasus was no more 
 free from corruption than any other Rus- 
 sian institution, and he ordered General 
 Rosen to be superseded in favour of 
 General Golovine, who then received re- 
 inforcements to the number of eighty thou-
 
 AND ITS TEOPLE. 155 
 
 sand men. With this army a decisive bh)w 
 was to be struck, and Achulko, Schamyl's 
 strongest hold, taken at any cost. Nearly 
 one half of the Russian troops, however, were 
 lost in various ways, and still the object was 
 not effected. Thereupon General Grabbe 
 was appointed commander-in-chief, and 
 after having fought some disastrous battles, 
 he appeared before Achulko, which he 
 besieged for two months. 
 
 This mountain fortress, the name of 
 which is said to be a word of Tatar deriva- 
 tion, signifying " meeting place in time of 
 disturbance", is situated on a high rock, 
 one side of which falls precipitously to the 
 river Koissu, a depth of six hundred feet, 
 while the other loses itself in inaccessible 
 defiles. Nature, therefore, has done much 
 for the defence of this place, and what she 
 has neglected has been supplied by the 
 liand of art ; for Schamyl, much as he said
 
 156 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 of the help of the prophet, did not rely 
 implicitly on it, but surrounded Achulko 
 with walls and towers, whose strength the 
 Russians had often proved in impetuous 
 and untiring attacks. 
 
 But this time the emperor's orders were 
 to take the fortress at all hazards ; and 
 after the capture of entrenchment after 
 entrenchment, fort after fort, and a mur- 
 derous assault of five days duration, General 
 Grabbe did take it. 
 
 The din of combat died away during the 
 night of the fifth day, and on the morning 
 of the sixth the Russians found themselves 
 masters of the ruins of Achulko, But 
 where now was Schamyl 1 Neither among 
 the slain nor among the prisoners was he 
 to be found. One or two of his men were 
 seen here and there on the tops of some of 
 the rocks ; and after a while some deserters 
 joined the Russians, and confessed that
 
 AND ITS PEOrLE. 157 
 
 Schamyl was liiddcn, and intended to 
 escape during the night. 
 
 All approaches to the caves opposite 
 Achulko were now strictly guarded, and 
 the Russians kept vigilant watch. At mid- 
 night the Russian sentinels heard a slight 
 noise proceeding from one of the caves in 
 the rocks above them ; they concealed 
 themselves, and presently a man was let 
 down to the plateau by means of a rope, — 
 and after looking cautiously about he made 
 a signal, and a second descended, swiftly 
 and silently, and "svas followed by a third 
 enveloped in a white mantle, such as 
 Schamyl frequently wore. The Russians 
 sprang from their place of concealment, 
 and after a short resistance took all three 
 prisoners, and carried them exultingly to 
 the tent of their general. When they got 
 there, however, they discovered that the 
 whole affair had been a stratagem, got up
 
 158 
 
 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 to favour the escape of Schamyl, who had 
 descended the moment the Russians had 
 left the spot, — and taking advantage of the 
 excitement in their camp consequent on his 
 supposed capture, had made good his re- 
 treat, and reached the banks of the Koissu, 
 without his enemies being able to do any- 
 thing more than send after him a few 
 useless bullets. 
 
 The immense sacrifices that the Russians 
 had made in the hope of capturing Schamyl 
 were therefore entirely useless. 
 
 In the very same year he made his ap- 
 pearance again at the head of a large force 
 in Kachetia, in the most southern part of 
 the Caucasus, threatening Sakatal and 
 E-uchi, annoying the Russians when in 
 small numbers, but always dispersing at 
 the approach of any stronger body of the 
 enemy until he reached Tchetchenia, when 
 he fought a battle with them and gained 
 the victorv.
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 159 
 
 Movements and achievements of this 
 kind, and the astonishing reports of the 
 defeats suffered by the Russians, extended 
 and strengthened his influence among the 
 mountaineers, who now rallied around him 
 in greater masses, believing that he had a 
 divine mission to free them from their 
 hated enemies. 
 
 In 1840 the Circassians stormed the forts 
 of Wiliaminofsk, Lagaressk, and Abin, and 
 repeatedly crossed the Terek, defying the 
 Russians in all directions. Schamyl mean- 
 while took the initiative, and attacked their 
 largest fortress, Nicolaizioski, which he 
 took and destroyed, and then again dis- 
 persed his followers. 
 
 The Russians rebuilt these forts, gar- 
 risoned them, and then sent General Anrep 
 to avenge the indignities< they had suf- 
 fered ; and this he did, but not till he had 
 himself sustained considerable loss. Seizing
 
 160 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 the opportunity when Schamyl had lessened 
 the efficiency of his forces by dividing them, 
 he made a well-planned attack on him with 
 all the troops at his command, and suc- 
 ceeded in obtaining a decided advantage. 
 
 In 1841 the Russians were again in so 
 far successful, that they were enabled to 
 confine the war to Schamyl's country ; but 
 in the beginning of 1842 he advanced into 
 the Russian territory, and with the celerity 
 that characterised all his movements, ap- 
 peared all at once before Kislyar, with a 
 force of twenty thousand men ; defeated 
 the Russians, though they fought bravely 
 to oppose his advance, and returned to his 
 camp laden with rich booty. 
 
 But this year had still more severe re- 
 verses in store for the Russians. 
 
 General Grabbe, the conqueror of 
 Achulko, had been ordered to take Dargo, 
 one of Schamyl's strongholds, and to inflict
 
 AND ITS TEOPLE. 161 
 
 severe chastisement upon him. He ad- 
 vanced, therefore, towards it witli a pow- 
 erful army, but made only slow progress, 
 and paying for every foot of land he gained 
 a heavy price in human life. While still 
 at a considerable distance from Dargo, he 
 saw that to attempt to take it with his ex- 
 hausted, discouraged, and decimated troops, 
 would lead to utter discomfiture and ruin ; 
 and, bowed down by care, he had just re- 
 solved on submitting to the painful neces- 
 sity of a retreat, when Schamyl's forces fell 
 suddenly on him in the forest of Itschkeri, 
 and mowed do^^^l everything before them. 
 When at last Grabbe reached the shelter of 
 the Russian forts, he found he had lost the 
 greater part of his officers and eight thou- 
 sand men. 
 
 After this. Generals Grabbe and Golo- 
 vine were both recalled, although the Em- 
 peror attributed their failure more to the 
 
 M
 
 162 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 elements than to their own want of skill 
 or energy. He still, however, persisted 
 in ignoring the military talents and stra- 
 tegic skill of Schamyl, though these were 
 now in the highest state of activity, and 
 gaining him continually fresh adherents, 
 even among the Tchetchenzes, who the 
 Russians had supposed would never be 
 induced to join his ranks. The/ agitation 
 he had set on foot had also gained him 
 friends in the Kabarda, and Akucha, Ka- 
 rakaitach, and Tabasseran had openly joined 
 him, so that the Russians were now at- 
 tacked and menaced in every direction, and 
 the whole of their army had to be confined 
 within their forts. 
 
 General Neidhardt, the newly appointed 
 commander-in-chief, wrote despatch after 
 despatch, pointing out the deplorable con- 
 dition he found himself in, and urging the 
 necessity of meeting Schamyl's strategy.
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 1G3 
 
 which was of no ordinary kind, by sonic 
 other methods than those indicated in the 
 plan of attack arranged for him at Peters- 
 burg, and which he had been commanded 
 to observe. After some delay, he received 
 reinforcements, but was again recommended 
 to follow the Petersburg plan, and also to 
 arrange his army of 130,000 men into five 
 divisions, march upon Schamyl from as 
 many different points, destroy every field, 
 and overcome every obstacle that might 
 present itself, and finally, to surround and 
 defeat Schamyl. The difficulties presented 
 by the peculiar nature of the ground to be 
 traversed, as well as the scarcity of provi- 
 sions for the maintenance of so great an 
 army, had not at all been taken into con- 
 sideration in Petersburg. 
 
 Great delay was occasioned by the non- 
 arrival of despatches, or returns from an 
 agent, who had been sent to Astrachan
 
 164 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 with a million of silver roubles to purchase 
 food for the army ; and after all, the delay 
 was of no avail, for no tidings of the agent 
 could be obtained. 
 
 Neidhardt now attacked the Tcherkeges, 
 on the Sulak, with thirty thousand men ; 
 yet it took him a whole month to bring an 
 unimportant village to subjection, and in 
 doing so, he lost great numbers, both of 
 officers and men. He then advanced on 
 Dargo, where Schamyl was awaiting him 
 with a body of men amounting to twenty- 
 four thousand. Numerous as his force was, 
 however, he avoided coming to a pitched 
 battle, and contented himself with molest- 
 ing the Russians incessantly, and harassing 
 their forces whenever they were preparing 
 to attack him, and then suddenly falling 
 into their rear, until Neidhardt was obliged 
 to retreat. 
 
 In addition to this failure, another cir-
 
 AND ITS PEOrLE. 165 
 
 cumstance occurred, by which the Peters- 
 burg plan was rendered entirely nugatory. 
 Schamyl had hitherto met with no sym- 
 pathy among the south-western population, 
 and though the Dsarans were favourably 
 inclined to him, the fort of Sakatal kept 
 them in check. The Sultan of Yelessy, 
 who enjoyed far and wide the reputation 
 of being a pious, good, and great man, and 
 who exercised a powerful influence over 
 the Lesghians and the Tartars of Cheki, 
 E.uchi, and Shirvan, had hitherto held him- 
 self aloof, and resisted all attempts to gain 
 him over to Schamyl's cause. Now, how- 
 ever, he very unexpectedly came forward 
 of his own accord, and joined him. To the 
 Russians, his desertion of their cause was a 
 great blow, and he soon afterwards even 
 expelled their official persons from his ter- 
 ritory, and then descended the Alasan, to 
 do battle for his newly adopted party.
 
 166 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 In the first instance the sultan was suc- 
 cessful, but he was aftenvards defeated in a 
 desperate engagement, and so much reduced 
 that he had to fly for refuge to Schamyl, 
 who received him with open arms, and he 
 has ever since resided with him, under the 
 name of Daniel Bey, assisting Schamyl by 
 his sagacious counsels, his influence, and 
 his personal bravery. 
 
 The sultan's defection from the Russians 
 was also of great service to Schamyl, by 
 compelling them to divide their new forces, 
 half of which only could advance against 
 him, while the rest were engaged in keep- 
 ing in order their former subjects.
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 167 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Prince Woronzoff appointed to command the army of 
 the Caucasus. — His unlimited authority. — Sufters 
 repeated defeats. — Change in the Russian plan of 
 warfare. — Schamyl ravages the Kabarda. — The 
 Grand Duke Alexander arrives. — Schamyl attacks 
 the forts on the Black Sea. — Makes a descent on 
 Armenia. — Gains a complete victory. — Inaction of 
 Schamyl during the last year or two. — Specimens of 
 his oratory. — Instance of his stern discipline. — 
 Present state of the Caucasus. 
 
 The failure of General Neidhardt's cam- 
 paign having created great displeasure 
 against him at the court of Petersburg, he 
 was dismissed, and General, now Prince, 
 Woronzoff appointed to take his place, and 
 invested, at the same time, with such un- 
 limited powei" and authority, as had not 
 been granted to any Russian subject since 
 the time of Catherine the Second and her
 
 168 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 favourite Potemkin. He was to be respon- 
 sible to the emperor alone for anything he 
 thought proper to do ; from the Pruth to 
 the Araxes his word was to be law ; he 
 was to bestow rewards and distinctions in 
 the army without even asking the em- 
 peror's sanction ; to be allowed to bring 
 officers, civil and military, of every class, 
 before courts martial at his pleasure, and 
 to inflict even the punishment of death, if 
 he thought fit. The only order he was 
 required to obey was that of taking Dargo 
 and Schamyl, and for this purpose an army 
 of two hundred thousand men was placed 
 under his command. 
 
 Woronzoff set out with twenty-four thou- 
 sand men to effect these objects ; and as he 
 advanced towards Dargo, the Lesghians 
 feigned to evacuate the district, and allowed 
 him to cross the pass of Audi unmolested. 
 Then Schamyl, having previously destroyed
 
 AND ITS TEOPLE. 1G9 
 
 all the habitations and fields on his line of 
 march, so that neither man nor beast could 
 find there the least support, appeared on 
 the heights with a numerous force and sur- 
 rounded the Russians ; while Hadji Murad 
 intercepted Prince Belontofi", who was in 
 charge of a large convoy of provisions, 
 which consequently fell into the enemy's 
 hands. 
 
 For three weeks Woronzoff was kept in 
 this painful position ; but at last reinforce- 
 ments were promised to relieve him, and 
 General Gogatl, having entrenched his 
 camp and secured his line of communica- 
 tion, began to move towards Dargo. 
 
 The more nearly he approached it, the 
 more numerous became the enemy, and the 
 greater the obstacles he had to encounter. 
 Abatis after abatis had to be taken at the 
 point of the bayonet ; and when at last he 
 reached Dargo, he found in it only a desolate
 
 170 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 deserted village, stripped of every comfort, 
 and destitute even of food. 
 
 Woronzoff had now no other resource 
 than to retreat to Gersesaul, but on his 
 retreat he had to encounter the well-calcu- 
 lated attacks of Schamyl's forces, and by 
 these he was all but crushed. It is alleged 
 that he reached Gersesaul with a few ge- 
 nerals, still fewer proportionably of other 
 officers, and only four thousand men. 
 During this campaign he had learned the 
 bitter lesson, that Schamyl and his brave 
 Lesghians were formidable foes ; and that 
 their European opponents must often be 
 favoured by fortune, if in a conflict with 
 these mountaineers they could merely main- 
 tain their position, not to speak of gaining 
 any advantage. 
 
 In a conference that Woronzoff' held 
 with the Emperor Nicholas in 1845, he 
 announced his intention of changing his
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 171 
 
 system of warfare. Instead of undertaking 
 great expeditions against the heads of the 
 Circassian tribes, Woronzoif proposed to 
 weary them out by delay, isolation, and 
 exhaustion ; in short, to adopt Schamyl's 
 own plan of warfare, and in the meantime 
 gradually, if possible, to destroy the na- 
 tional unity and detach the smaller tribes 
 by compulsion or bribery, and so obtain 
 by stratagem the standing in the country 
 which he had been unable to secure by 
 force of arms. 
 
 The emperor seeing that WoronzofF, with 
 all his talents and the vast powers at his 
 command, had, under most favourable cir- 
 cumstances, considerable difficulty in retain- 
 ing, even nominally, his possessions in the 
 Caucasus, acquiesed in all these arrange- 
 ments. Unmolested by foreign powers, and 
 only engaged in suppressing the Caucasian 
 insurrection, he found that all his energies
 
 172 
 
 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 were required for the task. Woronzoft" 
 spent some time in making the necessary 
 preparations for the capture of Dargo- 
 Vedenno, Schamyl's favourite residence, 
 and in 1846 the Russian detachments were 
 ready to march ; but again did Schamyl 
 anticipate their commander's plans, and 
 doom him to disappointment. 
 
 While Woronzoff was engaged in cutting 
 down and burning the Tchetchenian forest, 
 where the enemy had so often fallen unex- 
 pectedly on the Russians and made great 
 havoc among them, Schamyl, collecting all 
 his strength, made a forced march across the 
 mountains with a body of twenty thousand 
 horse and foot, took the Kabardines by 
 surprise, punished them for their defection, 
 ravaged their whole country, carried off a 
 number of prisoners, and returned laden 
 with plunder to his mountain fastness be- 
 fore the Russian troops could come up with 
 him at all.
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 173 
 
 Schamyl had gained his objects; by 
 boldly surprising the Russians within their 
 own lines, he had spread terror among the 
 tribes subject to Russia, and he had com- 
 pelled Woronzoff to refrain from advancing 
 to molest him in his mountain home. 
 
 In the following year he was less suc- 
 cessful, for he allowed himself to be per- 
 suaded by a Russian deserter to attack Fort 
 Golovine, from which he was obliged to 
 retire with great loss. A few months later 
 he made an attack on the enemy's centre, 
 and though he was forced to retreat and 
 disperse his forces, he carried off large 
 booty. 
 
 In 1850 the Czarowitch Alexander, the 
 present emperor, came to take part in 
 the Caucasian, war and re-animate the 
 sinking courage of the Russian army. In 
 1852 Prince Burietinsky, with a body of 
 fifteen hundred men, marched rapidly
 
 174: THE CAUCASUS 
 
 through the " Devil's Pass," and leaving a 
 part of his troops to maintain that position, 
 attacked an aoul called Rauhkaleh, and cut 
 to pieces all they could meet with. But on 
 their return they found their rearguard 
 engaged with the foe, and it was with dif- 
 ficulty they could cut their way back to 
 the main body. 
 
 In 1853 Schamyl attacked the forts on 
 the Black Sea, from Kedout Kaleh to Na- 
 roquiskoi, and not without success ; and 
 throughout the autumn of that year and 
 the commencement of 1854, the Circassians 
 were more than usually active — probably 
 because the Russians, having other enemies 
 to contend with, afforded them a favour- 
 able opportunity. 
 
 In 1855 Schamyl made a descent upon 
 the Russian territories in Armenia, at the 
 head of twenty thousand of his mountain 
 warriors, and he gained a complete victory;
 
 AyD ITS PEOPLE. 175 
 
 for the Russians, according to tlie reports, 
 lost four thousand men, as well as all their 
 artillery, tents, and baggage. 
 
 During the Crimean war, Schamyl had 
 unlimited range across the isthmus from 
 sea to sea, and only fort Anapa, the largest 
 of the Russian forts, remained unmolested 
 by him. Even this fort was said in some 
 accounts to have been abandoned, in order 
 to strengthen Prince MenschikofF's army in 
 the Crimea ; but Schamyl seemed to have 
 become weary of the war. When the 
 Russian princesses who had been in capti- 
 vity in his hands were liberated by him, the 
 Russians in return restored to Schamyl his 
 eldest son, who had been taken from him 
 when a child and educated in the Russian 
 army. This son, it is said, has ever since 
 influenced Schamyl in their favour, and 
 induced him to refrain from assisting the 
 Turks.
 
 176 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 Of the bravery of the Russian army, — 
 both officers and men, — of their fortitude 
 amidst continual reverses, both from the 
 sword of the enemy and from sickness and 
 sufferings, such as were often of a nature 
 to disspirit the stoutest troops in the world, 
 too much cannot be said. Perhaps no 
 other army than the Russian could have 
 borne up with such an undaunted persever- 
 ance against a warrior surrounded by so 
 dazzling a prestige as Schamyl, and who 
 had in so extraordinary a degree the powder 
 of exciting the enthusiasm of his followers'. 
 
 Many specimens of his eloquent ad- 
 dresses have been preserved, — though they 
 cannot well be judged apart from the pecu- 
 liar and exciting circumstances under which 
 they were delivered. The following pas- 
 sages may serve to give some imperfect idea 
 of their style and tone : 
 
 " Do not believe," he says on one occa-
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 177 
 
 sion, " that God favours the greater number. 
 God is on the side of the good, — and they 
 are always less numerous than the godless. 
 Are there not fewer roses than weeds ? Is 
 there not more dirt than pearls — more 
 vermin than useful animals? Is not gold 
 rarer than the ignoble metals'? And are 
 we not nobler than gold or roses, than 
 pearls or horses, or than all useful animals 
 together : for all the treasures of the world 
 are transitory, but to us eternal life is pro- 
 mised. 
 
 " If there are more weeds than roses, 
 shall we, instead of rooting out the weeds, 
 wait till they have quite overgrown and 
 choked the noble flowers 1 And if our 
 enemies are more numerous than we are, 
 shall we, therefore, allow ourselves to be 
 entangled in their nets 1 
 
 " Do not go on saying our enemies have 
 taken Tcherkey, besieged Achulko, con- 
 
 N
 
 178 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 quered all Avaria ! If the lightning strike a 
 tree, do all the other trees on that account 
 bow their heads before if? Do they fall 
 down for fear they should be struck also ? 
 O ye of little faith ! Follow the example 
 of the trees of the forest. Had they tongues 
 to speak they would put you to shame ! 
 
 " If the worm devours the fruit, does the 
 other fruit rot away for fear of being de- 
 voured ? 
 
 " Do not alarm yourselves because the 
 infidels increase so quickly, and continually 
 send forth fresh warriors to the battle-field, 
 in the place of those whom we have de- 
 stroyed. I tell you, a thousand poisonous 
 fungi spring out of the earth before one 
 good tree reaches maturity. 
 
 " I am the root of the tree of liberty. 
 My Murids are the trunk, and you are the 
 branches. But shall the rottenness of one 
 branch entail the destruction of the whole
 
 A^^D ITS PEOPLE. 179 
 
 tree ? God will lop off the rotten branches, 
 and cast them into eternal fire ! 
 
 " Enrol yourselves, then, among the 
 number of those who fight for the faith of 
 Mahomet, and you will gain my favour, and 
 I will be your protector. 
 
 " But if you persist in giving ear to the 
 seductive speeches of the Christian dogs, 
 instead of listening to my exhortations, I 
 will carry out what Kasi-MuUah formerly 
 threatened you with. My bands shall burst 
 upon your aouls like a thunder-cloud, and 
 take by force what you will not yield to 
 persuasion. I will wade in blood. Devas- 
 tation and terror shall follow me ; and what 
 the power of speech cannot obtain, shall be 
 won by the edge of the sword !" 
 
 But Schamyl is not merely an impas- 
 sioned enthusiast : he is a most stern and 
 rigid disciplinarian, of which, among others, 
 one terrible instance is related.
 
 180 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 His mother, whom he treated with the 
 greatest respect, and who exercised consi- 
 derable influence over him, had on one 
 occasion ventured to introduce to him some 
 messengers who came with proposals for a 
 dishonourable peace. 
 
 After hearing what she had to say, he 
 shut himself up in the mosque, and re- 
 mained there three days and nights. Then 
 he came forth, pale and haggard, with 
 his eyes swollen ; and calling his Murids 
 and the people around him, declared it to 
 be the will of Allah that his mother should 
 receive a hundred lashes, for liaving made 
 that vile proposal to him. The poor old 
 woman shrieked and begged for mercy, but 
 the Murids seized her, tore off her veil, and 
 Schamyl himself began to inflict the pu- 
 nishment. But at the fifth blow the unfor- 
 tunate creature fell dead, and Schamyl 
 flung himself on the ground with loud
 
 AND ITS TEOrLE. 181 
 
 lamentations ; but soon rising, he declared 
 that he would himself undergo the remain- 
 ing ninety-five lashes, which he accordingly 
 did ; and, though his body was covered 
 with bleeding wheals, he did not move a 
 muscle. The messengers were ordered to 
 depart, and say what they had seen ; and 
 no one ever appeared again at Dargo on 
 such an errand. 
 
 In the tribes under Schamyl's govern- 
 ment, every ten houses is obliged to furnish 
 and maintain one armed warrior ; and be- 
 sides the force thus composed, he has, under 
 the command of Hamsad Bey, a corps of 
 Russian and Polish troops (who have de- 
 serted from the enemy), as well as a small 
 park of artillery. 
 
 Prince WoronzofF endeavoured during 
 his reign to conciliate the proud Circas- 
 sians, not only by his condescending man- 
 ners, but also by friendly acts ; but it was
 
 182 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 all ill vain. Neither his gracious words 
 nor his good deeds were appreciated by 
 the mountaineers ; and they never inspired 
 any confidence. 
 
 The condition of the Eastern Caucasus is 
 still less promising to the Russians, and 
 though the populations of the Kabarda, and 
 of the coast of the Caspian Sea, have be- 
 come ostensibly more friendly to Russia, 
 years must elapse before they can be de- 
 pended on. 
 
 It was during the administration of Prince 
 WoronzofF that Schamyl achieved his great- 
 est feat of arms, and by the defeat of his 
 apparently overwhelming forces, that the 
 mountain chief acquired the fame and in- 
 fluence which have caused the subjection 
 of several large districts of the Caucasus to 
 Russia to be merely nominal. They have 
 become so disaffected, that strong garrisons 
 are required to keep a vigilant watch on
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 183 
 
 their movements, and this is the case with 
 all the Western Lowlands on the Kouban, 
 and on the line between the Kouban and 
 Terek and the Black Sea coasts.
 
 184 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The grand objects Schamyl has had in view. — His 
 religious system. — Three stages of progress. — The 
 Murids. — The Naibs. — The Murschids. — Personal 
 appearance of Schamyl. — His mode of life. — His 
 present abode. — The future prospects of the Cau- 
 casians. 
 
 Schamyl, though now past his prime — as 
 he is upwards of sixty years of age — is 
 acknowledged to have been, in his time of 
 vigour, a great soldier and a great man, 
 with an intellect capable of originating 
 grand ideas, and a character to develope 
 them into great deeds. The purpose he 
 had in view from the commencement of his 
 career, was not only to emancipate the 
 Caucasian races from the Russian dominion, 
 but to effect their thorough reform from 
 the vices which, for centuries, had enervated
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 185 
 
 and disgraced the followers of ^Mahomet. 
 Perhaps this object was too gigantic to be 
 accomplished in one human life ; decidedly 
 it was beyond the power of one individual, 
 and therefore Schamyl's recent inactivity 
 is the less surprising. From his mountain 
 throne he hoped to reign over all the dif- 
 ferent races of the Caucasus, both as prophet 
 and independent prince. But though he 
 has been very successful in reviving the 
 spirit of fanatical enthusiasm, among tribes 
 hitherto entirely sunk in apathy and indif- 
 ference; and though he can always swell 
 the ranks of his followers by impassioned 
 appeals and promises of future reward, he 
 has become aware that before his new em- 
 pire can be made permanently tenable, the 
 old state of things must be entirely abro- 
 gated, and this would require both unity 
 among the tribes, and a new development 
 of his own power.
 
 186 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 To promote the accomplishment of this 
 purpose, therefore, he has adopted three 
 methods. First, that of encouraging the 
 revival of religious ardour ; secondly, the 
 exciting devotion to his own person ; and, 
 thirdly, effecting, as far as possible, the re- 
 conciliation of all the feuds between the 
 different tribes. 
 
 The religious system of Schamyl has 
 been partly derived from Hadji Ismael 
 Effendi, by whom he was instructed in his 
 youth, and still more from Kasi-MuUah. 
 It may in many respects be regarded as a 
 young and fresh offshoot from the aged and 
 decaying trunk of Islamism. 
 
 According to this system, it is supposed 
 that man must pass through four prelimi- 
 nary stages before he can rise to a condition 
 entitling him to the happiness of Paradise. 
 The first stage is that in which is required 
 the strict observance of all external ordi-
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 187 
 
 nances of Islam, such as prayer, pilgrimages, 
 almsgiving, honesty, truthfulness, and so 
 on. The second stage requires more than 
 mere obedience to positive ordinances ; it 
 demands virtue, and the elevation of the 
 character to the performance of good deeds. 
 In the third, man attains to self-know- 
 ledge and faith, and occupies himself with 
 the contemplation of nature and of the 
 Creator. This is the highest development 
 of mind. 
 
 Practically, Schamyl ranks in the first 
 class the great multitude of mankind, who, 
 being unable to think for themselves, must 
 be tied down by external forms — sometimes 
 persuasive, sometimes constraining. On 
 the second stage he places the Murids, 
 since they are striving to acquire virtue, 
 whose necessity they acknowledge. They 
 obey the dictates of the law, not for its 
 own sake, but for the sake of the fruit of
 
 188 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 which it is the germ. The third stage is 
 occupied by the Naibs, who have a more 
 exalted sense of virtue than the Murids, 
 and are representatives of the Murschid, 
 Schamyl, whose position is the highest at- 
 tainable, and whose worth and accomplish- 
 ments entitle him to receive all revelations 
 and inspirations from above and to be one 
 with God. 
 
 Thus the Murschid is the sun, giving 
 light to the Naibs, his moons, who, with 
 the Murids, their stars, illuminate from 
 their height the people below. The Naibs 
 act as viceroys to Schamyl, govern the 
 several districts to which they are ap- 
 pointed, give judgment in the name of the 
 Murschid, decide cases of minor importance 
 on their own authority, and have command 
 over a thousand armed men, while the 
 Murids command only one hundred. In time 
 of need a Murid, clothed in a blood-red gar-
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 189 
 
 ment, rushes through the country, as the 
 bearer of the fiery cross formerly did in the 
 Highlands of Scotland, and calls on all who 
 are able to carry arms to rally round the 
 banner of the prophet. 
 
 To keep up the fanatical zeal of the 
 people, Schamyl also employs Dervishes, 
 who, with their Koran in one hand and 
 their staff in the other, wander about in all 
 directions, preaching and acting as physi- 
 cians. They are much beloved among the 
 mountaineers for their kindness and fruga- 
 lity of life, as well as admired for their 
 eloquence. 
 
 Schamyl himself is a fine old man, of 
 commanding stature and winning manners, 
 very strict in his observance of the precepts 
 of the Koran, and often confining himself 
 for weeks to the seclusion of the mosque. 
 
 Before the people, he never appears but 
 in state, surrounded by his Murids ; and
 
 190 THE CAUCASUS 
 
 the multitude bow down before him in pro- 
 found veneration, anxiously desiring per- 
 mission to kiss the hem of his garment. 
 Besides his Murids, he is also attended 
 by his Mullahs, with their kalendas, or ink- 
 stands, who follow him to note down his 
 commands. His general mode of living is 
 extremely frugal; and his favourite resi- 
 dence, Dargo Vedenno, is a simple but 
 solid structure, situated on a lofty rock, 
 surrounded by impenetrable forests and 
 precipices, and protected at its foot by a 
 rapid river. It is a square fortress, en- 
 closed by walls and towers, in one of which 
 Schamyl occasionally resides, but at other 
 times he occupies a flat-roofed house on its 
 east side. The rooms of this house are 
 carpeted, and ornamented by arms of rare 
 beauty, captured from the enemy, while its 
 walls bear inscriptions from the Koran. 
 Before the fortress lies a village, occupied
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE. 191 
 
 chiefly by artisans ; water is supplied by a 
 stream that has been conducted from the 
 hills into an immense reservoir in the 
 middle of the fortress ; and at a short dis- 
 tance from it is situated the provision store, 
 where a large quantity of maize, corn, and 
 millet is laid up. 
 
 The Circassians of the "Western Caucasus, 
 though not subject to Schamyl's rule, and 
 in general not favourable to it, are largely 
 adopting the Mahometan faith, and would 
 probably be gained over to Schamyl's plans 
 without difficulty, were he young enough 
 to pursue them with activity. 
 
 He has succeeded among his own vassals, 
 in substituting the penalties of a strict law 
 for the terrible and destructive blood- 
 revenge hitherto prevalent among them ; 
 and, within a very short space of time, he 
 has composed an organised state out of a 
 multitude of mutually hostile robber-bands ;
 
 192 THE CAUCASUS, ETC. 
 
 and this organisation will, in all proba- 
 bility, become the basis of their future 
 progress towards a civilization that will 
 carry them ultimately beyond the pale of 
 the crescent. 
 
 THE END.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ARARAT BY 
 FIVE ENGLISHMEN. 
 
 (Times, Friday^ August 22, 1856.) 
 
 The following account of an ascent of 
 Mount Ararat, recently accomplished by fci 
 party of Englishmen, may be found of in- 
 terest. 
 
 " On the 11th of xlugust, 1856, a party, 
 consisthig of Major Alick J. Fraser, the 
 Rev. Walter Thursby, Mr. James Theobold, 
 jun., of Winchester, Mr. John Evans, of 
 Darley Abbey, Derbyshire, and myself, 
 started from Bayazid on this new expedi- 
 tion. We were accompanied by two ser- 
 vants and a zaptieh, or native policeman, 
 and by the kindness of the Kaimakam, 
 Hadjee Mustapha EfFendi, we were con- 
 signed to the special charge of Issak Bey, a 
 
 o
 
 194 APPENDIX. 
 
 chief of the Ararat Kurds, under whose 
 safeguard we had nothing to fear from the 
 plundering habits of his followers. At Bay- 
 azid we had provided ourselves each with a 
 stout pole between five and six feet long, 
 furnished with a spike at one end and a 
 hook at the other. 
 
 " Crossing the plain of Ararat, we com- 
 menced the ascent through a wide ravine, 
 enclosed between vast ridges of volcanic 
 rock. For three hours we wound our way 
 through rugged defiles, occasionally tra- 
 versing fertile plateaux, verdant with grow- 
 ing crops of wheat and barley. Our sure- 
 footed little horses, accustomed to this sort 
 of work, picked their way through the most 
 breakneck places, and brought us in safety 
 to the black goats'-hair tents of our host, 
 which were ])itched on some pasture lands 
 on the southern slope of Greater Ararat, 
 about 8,000 feet above the level of the sea. 
 Hither the Kurds resort in summer with 
 their flocks and herds, returning to the vil- 
 lages of the plain at the approach of winter. 
 
 " A portion of the chief's tent was set
 
 APPENDIX. 195 
 
 apart for our use ; the floor was covered 
 with gay-coloured carpets, a fat sheep was 
 killed, and everything was supplied that 
 Kurdish hospitality could suggest. 
 
 " At 3 o'clock next morning we were on 
 the move, all except Mr. Thursby, who, to 
 our regret, was obliged by indisposition to 
 remain in the tent. Three hours of conti- 
 nued ascent on foot brought us to the base 
 of the cone. Here Major Fraser bore off to 
 the south-east, and took a line of his own, 
 while Mr. Theobold, Mr. Evans, and I, 
 commenced the ascent on the southern side, 
 keeping to the snow, which presented an 
 unbroken surface to the very summit. 
 
 " To my two friends, who are experienced 
 Alpine climbers, this was easy work, but it 
 soon began to tell unfavourably on my un- 
 accustomed limbs. For a time we kept 
 pretty well together ; by degrees, however, 
 Mr. Theobold began to forge ahead, fol- 
 lowed by Mr. Evans, while I brought up 
 the rear as well as I could. But my strength 
 was fast giving way, and when about half- 
 way up the cone, I found myself utterly un-
 
 196 APPENDIX. 
 
 able to proceed any further. Accordingly, 
 there being no alternative but to descend, I 
 sat on the snow and shot down with the 
 velocity of an arrow, undoing in a few mi- 
 nutes the laborious toil of nearly three 
 hours. This was a keen disappointment, 
 amply repaid to me however, as will appear 
 by and bye. 
 
 " At the foot of the cone I found Issak 
 Bey, who with a couple of his people had 
 come out to watch our progress. He looked 
 on my failure as a matter of course, and 
 seemed to think the others, too, must soon 
 give in ; but no, up they went higher and 
 higher, his interest and surprise keeping 
 pace with their ascent. 
 
 " For some hours we watched their up- 
 ward course, the sharp naked eye of the 
 Kurd plainly discerning what I was able to 
 see only with the aid of a telescope. At 
 length, at 1.45, Mr. Theobold crowned the 
 summit. Great was the astonishment of the 
 Chief. ' Mashallah !' he exclaimed, ' God 
 is great !— What wonderful people these 
 English are ; a few of them come here, and
 
 APPENDIX. 197 
 
 without any difficulty walk to the top of 
 that holy mountain, a thing that never was 
 done by man before. Wonderful, won- 
 derful !' 
 
 " At 2.50 Mr. Evans reached the summit. 
 He and Mr. Theobold made the descent 
 together, by the same track that they 
 ascended, and returned to the tents about 
 sunset. 
 
 " We must now follow the movements of 
 Major Fraser, who, as already stated, took 
 a line of his own. Not being accustomed 
 like the others to snow work, he chose a 
 ridge of stone, which led up about two- 
 thirds of the ascent. Over this he made his 
 way without much difficulty, and then, 
 taking to the snow, he patiently toiled up- 
 wards till within a few hundred feet of the 
 summit. Here, in attempting to cross over 
 to what appeared a more practicable line, 
 he slipped on some thinly covered ice, and, 
 losing all control over himself, he shot down 
 with fearful velocity, now head, now foot 
 foremost, over a space of about a thousand 
 feet. By wonderful efforts and presence of
 
 198 APPENDIX. 
 
 mind, he succeeded in arresting his perilous 
 descent, and, scrambling with difficulty to a 
 rocky ridge that protruded above the snow, 
 he climbed over it with immense labour ; 
 and thus recovering his lost way, he won 
 the height about 3.30, having been thrown 
 back full three hours by his mishap. He 
 descended on the traces of Messrs. Theobold 
 and Evans, and regained the tents at mid- 
 night, having been about twenty hours on 
 foot. 
 
 " On the 13th, about 2 p.m., Mr. Thursby 
 and I started from the tents, accompanied 
 by two Kurds, carrying rugs, greatcoats, 
 and a small supply of provisions. We pro- 
 ceeded slowly and leisurely until we reached 
 about one-third the ascent of the cone. 
 There we were obliged to dismiss the Kurds, 
 who, from religious fear, refused either to 
 proceed further or to spend the night on 
 the mountain ; but, to insure their return 
 in the morning for the rugs, etc., we thought 
 it expedient to detain their arms, the dearest 
 possession of these nomade people. 
 
 " As we had neither of us much fancy to
 
 APPENDIX. 199 
 
 try the ascent by tlie snow, wc chose a new 
 line of our own over a rocky surface, facing 
 nearly due south, which the wind and sun 
 had bared nearly to the summit. 
 
 " Left now to ourselves, we selected a 
 spot to pass the night, piled up stones to 
 windward as a shelter against the cold, and, 
 having dined heartily, we made ourselves as 
 comfortable as possible. We saw the sun 
 set in indescriba'ble glory, throwing the 
 shadow of the vast mountain far away oAer 
 Georgia and Aderbijan, and even darkening 
 the distant haze of the Eastern horizon. 
 
 " AVrapping ourselves in our rugs, we 
 passed the night as well as could be ex- 
 pected, and at peep of dawn on the 14th we 
 resumed the ascent. It certainly was toil- 
 some and slow, but was, nevertheless, satis- 
 factory. 
 
 " From an elevation of about 14,000 feet 
 above the sea, "we saw the sun rise in un- 
 clouded majesty, lighting up simultaneously 
 to our view vast tracts of the Russian, Per- 
 sian, and Turkish empires ; that was a glo- 
 rious sight never to be forgotten.
 
 200 APPENDIX. 
 
 " About 1,200 feet from the summit, we 
 came upon an oak cross that had been fixed 
 there in the rock by Professor Abich in the 
 year 1845 ; it was in perfect preservation, 
 and the inscription, in Russian characters, 
 was still legible. 
 
 " This was the most difficult part of our 
 ascent, the obstructions were frequent, and 
 the climbing at times perilous ; but caution 
 and perseverance enabled us to overcome 
 everything, and at 9 a.m. we had the satis- 
 faction of standing on the highest point of 
 the mountain. Here I stuck to the hilt in 
 the snow a kama, or short double-edged 
 sword, which we found at the foot of 
 Abich's cross. Here, also, as loyal Britons, 
 we drank the health of our beloved Queen 
 in brandy. Her Majesty will perhaps deign 
 to accept this expression of allegiance on 
 considering that hers is probably the first 
 name that has been pronounced on that so- 
 lemn height since it was quitted by the great 
 patriarch of the human race ; for no record 
 or tradition exists of the ascent havino^ ever 
 been made before, although repeatedly tried
 
 APPENDIX. 201 
 
 by men of different countries, both Eu- 
 ropean and Asiatic. Professor Abich made 
 several attempts, but failed in all, as is 
 proved by the position of the cross, by the 
 testimony of the natives, and even by the 
 confession of his own countrymen. 
 
 " We descended on the tracks of the 
 others, and got back to the tents about 
 
 4 P.M. 
 
 " The whole surface of Mount Ararat 
 bears evidence of having been subjected to 
 violent volcanic action, being seamed and 
 scored with deep ravines. The rocky ridges 
 that protrude from the snow are either ba- 
 salt or tufa ; and near the summit we found 
 some bits of pumice on a spot which still 
 emits a strong sulphurous smell. 
 
 " The summit itself is nearly level, of a 
 triangular shape, the base being about 200 
 yards in length, the perpendicular about 
 300. 
 
 " The highest point is at the apex of the 
 triangle, which points nearly due west ; se- 
 parated from it by a hollow is another point 
 of nearly equal altitude, and the base of the
 
 202 APPENDIX. 
 
 triangle is an elevated ridge, forming a 
 third eminence. These three points stand 
 out in distinct relief on a clear day. 
 
 " The snow on the top is almost as dry 
 as powder^ and in walking over it we did 
 not sink more than half-way to the knee. 
 The impression left on my mind is, that the 
 summit is an extinct crater filled with 
 snow. We experienced no difficulty of 
 respiration, except being sooner blown by 
 exertion than we should have been at a 
 lower level. The cold was intense ; and 
 though a perfect calm prevailed at the time 
 at the foot of the cone, as we afterwards 
 learnt, a keen wind was blowing from the 
 west, which raised a blinding mist of fine 
 snow that prevented us taking any distant 
 views. 
 
 " As may be supposed, our success has 
 created no small sensation throughout the 
 country ; the fame of it preceded us wher- 
 ever we went. It was announced as a sort 
 of wonder to the caravans travelling east- 
 ward ; and the Kaimakan of Bayazid has 
 made it the subject of a special report to 
 Constantinople.
 
 APPENDIX. 203 
 
 " From the sacred character of the 
 mountain, and the traditions associated 
 with it throughout the east, identical as 
 they are with scriptural records, I am in- 
 clined to think that a degree of importance 
 will attach to this performance, in popular 
 estimation, beyond what is due to a mere 
 exhibition of nerve or muscle, and this, no 
 doubt, will tell in favour of our national 
 prestige. 
 
 " Robert Stuart, Major, 
 
 " Special Service, Asia Major. 
 " Erzeroum, July 26." 
 
 The Russian Caucasian Calendar for 
 1846, which was taken from the library 
 of the Governor of Sebastopol, gives the 
 following statement of the administrative 
 arrangements of the provinces of the 
 Caucasus. 
 
 Tiflis (lat. 41 north ; long. 45 east) is 
 the seat of the chief military governor or 
 lord-lieutenant. Here the general staff is
 
 204 APPENDIX. 
 
 established, as well as military and gym- 
 nastic schools, etc. ; it is the head quarters 
 of the military police ; and here is also, 
 besides the civil governor's chancery and 
 other offices, the palace of the treasury, the 
 civil and criminal courts of justice, the 
 tribunal of public inspection, the exchequer 
 or palace of finance, etc. Tifiis is besides 
 the centre of all the military roads, and of 
 communication with the following places : 
 
 Gori (lat. 41^), Thelaff, Achalzich, Eri- 
 van, Nachitchevan, Alexandropol, Eliza- 
 bethpol, Kutais, Schamachu, Schuscha, 
 Lankoran, Backu or Baku, Derbent, Sta- 
 vropol, Cignache, Nych, Kub, Patigorsk, 
 Kilsan. The last five places mentioned in 
 this list will probably not be found on any 
 map or chart, and must necessarily be of 
 recent date. 
 
 RICHAUDS, yj, GUEAT QUEEN STREET.
 
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