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THK paths to SUANETIA 1!H)
The river, wlu're it ialLs into a guri^v, is crossed to its rij^ht bank ;
there is no l)ridge, and one has generally to be extemporised by
felling
visible
an alder. The rnins
among the tree-tops.
of an old castle or tower are here
There are seveial in these — glens
proof that once upon a time, when the Suanetians held (U'\)\
and part of the Racha, they were less deserted.
Beyond this point side-torrents cut deeply into the loose slopes.
To get horses across their gullies, where nobody has passed all the
Slimmer, ice-axes have to be brought into play; and it often takes
half an hour to dig out a sufficient track. The wood thickens,
prostrate trunks block the way ; sometimes the animals tuck uj)
their legs like goats and leap, sometimes our united efforts are
needed to lift a log, so that they may squeeze underneath. As
it grows dark we gain a glade in tin; beech -forest level enough to
camp on. Water is fetched from the torrent below, the tents are
raised, the horses picketed. Cooking is begun, and one of the
horsemen comes up with a long, hollow fennel stalk, and carries off
in it a live ember to furnish his companions with a separate fire.
Are we not in the land of Prometheus ? Suddenly
stampede, our men rush about shouting '
there is a
the bear,' but Bruin
remains invisible— as he generally does in the Caucasus. Peace
ensues, and the travellers and their train sit round their fires,
toasting flat loaves on knives or daggers, until it is time to seek
the shelter of tent or sleeping-bags.
I liave tried botli. The
sleeping-bag is extremely serviceable in dry weather and for high
l>ivouacs, but for any protracted tour in so moist and variable a
climate as the Caucasus a light tent is undoubtedly essential.
The scenery rises to a wilder grandeur as we draw near
the an