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232 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
were sheepskins, or rags and tatters, theii* coats as often as not
sleeveless, their headgear dirty hashliks tied up into turbans, or small
shapeless pieces of cloth, from the size of a crovm-piece upwards,
fastened on the top of wild, un-
STKEET rs rSHKUL
kempt
locks. The women were
as a rule hideous, and their
dress was shapeless ; the
children wore a single piece of
sacking, or nothing
at all. We
could not sit outside our bam
without being mobbed : if we
retreated for peace into the
black interior, we were pur-
sued by individuals who planted
themselves a yard oflP, took a
steady stare which lasted any
time from five to fifteen
minutes, and then began to
ovei'haul our persons, with as
little scruple as if we had been
figuies
in a waxwork show.
Here a line had to be drawn
and the sightseers requested
'
not to touch any of the objects
exhibited.' But still, on one
pretext or another, visitors crowded in, and as the day wore on,
grew more and more aggi'avating. Towards evening a short
revolver practice, and a bold statement b}' om- Mingrelian in-
terpreter, an old servant and ti-avelling companion of Giftbrd
Palgrave, that our weapons were self-loading, produced a certain
pause in the persecution. But we barricaded ourselves in for the
second night, not without some apprehension as to how it would
pass, or how we should get away from the place next morning.
Our final departure was a singularly dramatic scene, and gave
promise at one time of a tragic ending. After an attempt on the
part of the people to separate us, by shutting our interpreter