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viii THE EXl'LOItATIOX OF THE CAUCASUS
— it has been my good fortune to traverse the main chain of the
Caucasus eleven times by eight difTerent passes, and to cross in
and out of Suanetia eight times by seven different routes. I have
taken part in the first ascents of three of the great peaks, Elbruz,
Kasbek, and Tetnuld, and of several lesser summits, as well as in
many other glacier expeditions of greater difficulty than any of
these ascents. My travels have led me, I believe, into almost
every considerable glen
at the foot of the main chain between
Elbruz and Adai Khokh, and I have penetrated the pathless
forests of the Skenis Skall and the Kodor.
The oljject of the present edition is to place my volumes within
the reach of readers who object to heavy and costly illustrated
works. I have not thought it expedient to revise or modify the
original
text. Nor do I feel called on to enter here into the
many and minute questions of topography and orthography raised
by Dr. Merzbacher in the two thousand pages
recently
in which he has
recorded his travels in the Caucasus. To do so would
involve much argument, hardly interesting to the general public.
I gladly, however, take this opportunity to add the title of his
woi-k " Aus den Hochregionen des Kaukasus " to the list of
books recommended in my Appendix.