288 TOUR TO CIBELDA. 



a handful of men against whole armies. Long after 

 the rest of the Caucasus had fallen into Russian hands, 

 and the Circassians who would not bend beneath the 

 Russian yoke had emigrated to Turkey, Cibelda re- 

 mained still unconquered in the possession of its scanty 

 population, forming a tribe by themselves. The Russians 

 had conquered all apparently impregnable fortresses 

 of the Western Caucasus by the construction of roads, 

 which afforded them convenient access into the parts 

 to be subjugated. Cibelda however withstood also 

 the attack by the military road, but hunger and the 

 tempting proposals of the Russian government finally 

 induced them to voluntarily evacuate their fortress, 

 whereupon they likewise resolved to emigrate to Asia 

 Minor. 



About a year had elapsed since this emigration, 

 when General Heymann, governor of Sukhum - Kale, 

 invited my brother Otto, who had stepped into 

 Walter's place in the business and also been appointed 

 German consul in his room, to make an examination 

 of same deposits of copper and silver ore in Cibelda. 

 When with brother Otto and my expert, the recently 

 engaged director Dannenberg, whose introduction to 

 his new office was the main purpose of my journey. 

 I came in September 1868 to Sukhum -Kale, the 

 general renewed his request, and promised to make 

 our journey to Cibelda as easy and safe as possible. 

 I could not resist the temptation to get in this way 

 to the very centre of the high Caucasus, which, as 

 was said, had never been trodden by the foot of a 



