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THE ADAl KHOKH GROUP 129
It seemed, according to the map, to descend by a side glen
on to the great glacier referred to by Abich. At that time
passes were still as niucli in vogue with climbers as peaks.
We saw pleasing prospects of adventure and discovery in
crossing the nati\'e j^ass, and finding a way
for ourselves
back over the unknown snowfields farther east. Our interpreter
and luggage were abandoned, and we started in the lightest
marching order.
Leaving Chiora before da}l)reak, we wandered over pastures
where the birches waved their delicate branches in the first breath
of dawn, while the moonlight still shone on the upper snows.
Shepherds' fires shone at intervals through the dusk, and the
native who was carrying our provisions up to the snow led us a
long circuit in order to visit some of his friends who were camping
out with their flocks. In the Caucasus the peasants take far
less pains than in the Alps to make themselves at home in their
sununer (quarters. They have more sheep and horses, and far
fewer dairies. It is only rarely, and on the north side, that
huts answering to an Alpine chalet are found. In general, the
herdsmen are contented with a slight shelter ; an overhanging
crag, a hollow under an erratic boulder, or a few boughs with
a sheepskin thrown over them. Close at hand a forked stick is
thrust in the ground, on which the owner, when at home, hangs
his gun. Two more sticks and a crossbar support a pail. This
is a Caucasian Kosh, a place where men sleep or rest, the gias
or (jite of the Western Alps. That in so moist and variable a
climate as that of the Central Caucasus the shepherds should not
suffer more from exposure says much for the general healthiness
of the highlands. Not long ago, similar natural shelters were
used by Bergamasque shepherds in the Engadine. There are t\\'o,
close to the Club-huts of Boval and the Roseg Glacier, where
names or initials and ancient dates are carved on the rocks.
Up and down, or along ridges, our track led us, till it descended
into a beautiful meadow, surrounded by trees, where a bright
spring bubbled up amongst flowery grass under a clump of alders.
This spot, called on the one-verst map Notsanzara, served as
VOL. I. I