226 Account of a Journey to Choy in Perjia. 



It is colleiSled in (lone cifterns, where it is fuftered to remaio 

 three or four months with fliavincs of leather, blood, and urine, 

 till it becomes putrid ; after which it is clarified, and boiled 

 in copper kettles. A concrete fait remains, which is the hura. 

 After a refidence of almoil three weeks at Tellis, during 

 whicli time we put our equipage asrain into order, and pur- 

 chafed frefli cattle, we fet out on the 12th of I'VUruary, the 

 weather being then as mild as it is at IVtertbtirgh in the 

 fpring. In general, ice is feldom i'cen in the ncighlwurhood 

 of I'eflis ; and the weather in winlcr is, for the irjolt part, 

 rainv. Some opinion refpefting the climate of this country 

 may be formed from the fruit-trees, fuch as the poniegranate- 

 and tig-tree, which crow here in the open air in all the 

 gardens, and yet never fufter from the froit. 



We had to rcpafs the mountains, but the road now was 

 not fo dangerous. On the 17th we arrived at the bottom of 

 that height called the Bambakfehe ridge. During thefe five 

 davs we had an agreeable journev through a beautiful dillrift 

 every where intcrfectcd by fniali Itreams, and covered with 

 fruit-trees of every kind. Tlie inhabitants of this agreeable 

 diftricl are, however, much lo be jiilicd, as they are conti- 

 nually cxpofed to the depredations of the Ld'ghinians. In 

 the courfc of one day's journey we faw thirteen villages 

 which thefe plunderers had dcltroved. To fuch fcenes of de- 

 vaftaiion the Georgians are otleu expofed, as the Leighinians 

 refide in the mountains between Kaehet and Dageftan, and 

 are exceedingly numerous and warlike. The pacha of Achal- 

 ziche every year takes from two to three thouland of thefe 

 people into his fervice. but gives them little pay, as they re- 

 ceive permiflion from liim to indemI^ify themfelves in their 

 march by what they can plunder. To krengthcn this corps 

 he unites with them Ibme TurkiOi troops. Some time aga, 

 when three conijianies of our chalfeurs, under, the command 

 of hjajor Sengenberg, defeated the Leighinians, of the two 

 thoufand kilted, one-half almod were Turks. On another 

 occafion, when four hundred remained on the field of battle, 

 twenty Turks and two of their (tnndards were brought into 

 Teflis. Since that period the Leighinians have been afraid 

 of our chaflcurs; but the two ballalions which we main- 

 tained in Georgia were not fuffieicnt to defend it from thefe 

 robbers *. 



On 



•' Since th^t pericn! Georgia lias been annexed to the RufTian empire. 

 The rc;ilbns which produced this event will be fovind in tlic following ex- 

 trait of a letter from Peicifbursjh, dated Odober 30, iSoi : 



" The nianifelivj by wiiicii iui Imperial Maicily declares that Georgia, 



ciillcd 



