Untitled
Untitled Untitled
CHAPTER IX THE PATHS TO SUANETIA Die ganze Majestat des wundersaineii Kaukasus findet in Hochsuanieii ihre Spitze, und Niemand wage zu sagen, Er kenne den Kaukasus, wer jene hehren Eegionen nicht betrat. ABICH. N many of the following chapters my readers' attention will be kept steadily directed to the very heart of the Caucasus, the cluster of superb sum- mits which forms the true centre of the chain. We shall live in camps near the snow-level, or lodge in holes of the rocks beside ' The firths of ice That huddhng slant in furrow-cloven falls To roll the torrent out of dusky doors.' But for the present we may turn to a region of wider horizons and softer landscapes, to the forests and flowers of the Asian slope. We must direct our steps to that unique district, which combines all the most characteristic splendours of the Caucasus— Suanetia. The mountaineer need not bid farewell to his mountains and glaciers ; he will find himself still at their very feet. But the landscape -lover may rejoice with me to escape for a season from between the monstrous walls which seem to shut off' the sources of the Cherek from the habitable world, from under the roof of trailing mists that too often hang for days obdurately across the narrow span of sky left between the mountains that overshadow 182
THE PATHS TO SUANETIA 183 the burrows the TauH shepherds call tlieir homes. From the treeless downs and impending ridges of Balkar and Bezingi we shall pass into a country of comparatively open valleys, whei*e the villages are not sordid hurrows but clusters of rustic castles, and the native sledge-paths wander amidst woods and copses and natm-al (lower- gardens ; where, beneath the icy precipices of the great chain, the lower hills spread out in gentle horizontal curves ; where distance succeeds distance in soft gradations of blue and purple, wliere the atmosphei'e is full of moisture, and sunlit armies of clouds roll up and disappear with a frequency which delights the eyes, if it sometimes defeats the best-laid schemes of the mountaineer. The poet Tennyson would sometimes describe to the companions of his walks on the Downs of Freshwater a landscape he had seen in dreams, in which, from a mountain range loftier than any on this Earth, lofty as the great l)anks of clouds that are piled up in summer skies, the pale rivers of ice streamed down into valleys where the vines ran riot in the forests and the torrents flashed seawards amidst flowers of the wildest luxuriance. There is little or nothing in the Alps to suggest or realise this poet's dream. The utmost luxuriance that is attained in any close proximity to the glaciers is where the pines and sycamores of Rosenlaui frame the peaks of the Wetterhorner, or the Glacier des Bossons raises its milky spires among the cornfields and cottages of the Chamonix valley. The chestnuts of Val Anzasca are divided by many miles of rock, pines, and pasture from the snows of Monte Rosa. Mr. lluskin, indeed, once went so far as to suggest that the Maker of the Uni- verse benevolently inserted a waste zone between the snows and the habitable world, in order to secure mankind from the dangers of living too immediately under structures in the dangerous state of decay of most of the great ranges. Suanetians, it would seem to follow, were not held worthy of any such divine protection. But let us not endeavour to discover the designs of Providence. It is enough for us that we are about to penetrate a region where that close union of sublimity with softness, of sky-piercing snows with vast fields of flowers and luxuriant forest scenery, which in the Alps is an unattainable ideal, is found as an every-day reality.
- Page 150 and 151: 132 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 152 and 153: 134 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 154 and 155: 136 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 156 and 157: 138 THE EXPLORATIUX OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 158 and 159: 140 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 160 and 161: 142 THE EXPLOKATJUX OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 162 and 163: 14-t THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASU
- Page 164 and 165: CHAPTER VII THE VALLEY OF THE URUKH
- Page 166 and 167: 148 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 168 and 169: 150 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 170 and 171: 152 THE i;xi'H)i;ati().\ ok the Cau
- Page 172 and 173: 154 THE EXI'LOKATION OF THE CAUCASU
- Page 174 and 175: 156 THE EXPJ.ORATION OF THE CAUCASU
- Page 176 and 177: 1.58 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASU
- Page 178 and 179: 160 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 180 and 181: 162 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 182 and 183: 1()4 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASU
- Page 184 and 185: 166 THH KXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 186 and 187: 168 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 188 and 189: 170 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 190 and 191: 172 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 192 and 193: 174 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 194 and 195: 176 THE EXIM.OUATIUX OF THE CAUCASU
- Page 196 and 197: 178 THE EXPLOKATIOX UF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 198 and 199: LSO TTTE EXTLOILVTIOX OF TTTE CAUCA
- Page 202 and 203: 184 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 204 and 205: 186 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 206 and 207: 188 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 208 and 209: 190 THE EXPLORATION OE THE CAUCASUS
- Page 210 and 211: 192 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 212 and 213: 194 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 214 and 215: im THE FA'PLORATION OF THR CAUCASTT
- Page 216 and 217: 198 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 218 and 219: 200 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 220 and 221: CHAPTER X SUANETIA Kovpii'iSos . .
- Page 222 and 223: 204 THE EXPLORATION OE THE CAUCASUS
- Page 224 and 225: 206 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 226 and 227: 20.S THE EXTLOKATION OF THE CAUCASU
- Page 228 and 229: •210 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCA
- Page 230 and 231: 12 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 232 and 233: •21+ THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCA
- Page 234 and 235: 216 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 236 and 237: 218 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 238 and 239: 220 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 240 and 241: 222 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 242 and 243: 224 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
- Page 244 and 245: 22(5 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASU
- Page 246 and 247: 22
- Page 248 and 249: CHAPTER XI TRAVEL AND MOUNTAINEERIN
THE PATHS TO SUANETIA 183<br />
the burrows the TauH shepherds call tlieir homes. From the treeless<br />
downs and impending ridges of Balkar and Bezingi we shall pass<br />
into a country of comparatively open valleys, whei*e the villages are<br />
not sordid hurrows but clusters of rustic castles, and the native<br />
sledge-paths wander amidst woods and copses<br />
and natm-al (lower-<br />
gardens ; where, beneath the icy precipices<br />
of the great chain, the<br />
lower hills spread out in gentle horizontal curves ; where distance<br />
succeeds distance in soft gradations of blue and purple, wliere the<br />
atmosphei'e is full of moisture, and sunlit armies of clouds roll<br />
up and disappear with a frequency which delights the eyes, if<br />
it sometimes defeats the best-laid schemes of the mountaineer.<br />
The poet Tennyson would sometimes describe to the companions<br />
of his walks on the Downs of Freshwater a landscape he had<br />
seen in dreams, in which, from a mountain range loftier than any on<br />
this Earth, lofty as the great l)anks of clouds that are piled up<br />
in summer skies, the pale rivers of ice streamed down into valleys<br />
where the vines ran riot in the forests and the torrents flashed<br />
seawards amidst flowers of the wildest luxuriance. There is little<br />
or nothing in the Alps to suggest or realise this poet's dream. The<br />
utmost luxuriance that is attained in any close proximity to the<br />
glaciers is where the pines and sycamores<br />
of Rosenlaui frame the<br />
peaks of the Wetterhorner, or the Glacier des Bossons raises its milky<br />
spires among the cornfields and cottages of the Chamonix valley.<br />
The chestnuts of Val Anzasca are divided by many miles of rock,<br />
pines, and pasture from the snows of Monte Rosa. Mr. lluskin,<br />
indeed, once went so far as to suggest that the Maker of the Uni-<br />
verse benevolently inserted a waste zone between the snows and<br />
the habitable world, in order to secure mankind from the dangers<br />
of living too immediately under structures in the dangerous state<br />
of decay of most of the great ranges. Suanetians,<br />
it would seem<br />
to follow, were not held worthy of any such divine protection.<br />
But<br />
let us not endeavour to discover the designs of Providence. It is<br />
enough for us that we are about to penetrate a region where that<br />
close union of sublimity with softness, of sky-piercing snows with<br />
vast fields of flowers and luxuriant forest scenery, which in the<br />
Alps is an unattainable ideal, is found as an every-day reality.