THE CAUCASUS 29 



so, too, is an alpenstock, which should never be shod with 

 metal, the ring of which against the rocks would proclaim your 

 approach half a mile away. Choose a good stout pole of some 

 hard wood for yourself ; harden it (and especially the point) in 

 the fire, and test it carefully before using it, as it may have to 

 carry your weight in awkward places. 



Wages in the Caucasus vary according to the amount of 

 travel in the district. If the sportsman is unfortunate enough 

 to run across a district in which foreign tourists are common, 

 the charges made for men and horses will be excessive, but in 

 remote districts, off the main lines of travel, you could (in 1888) 

 hire a man and his horse for 5^. a day, and a porter, to carry 

 your food and blankets in the mountains at \s. a day. 



In 1882 I travelled and shot for three months in the 

 Caucasus with a friend. During the whole of that period I 

 carried the money-bags, and at the end of the trip, I believe 

 that I was able to return a little small change to my companion 

 out of the 100/. with which he had entrusted me, as his share 

 of our joint purse. Out of our 200/. I paid railway fares, hotel 

 bills, and all camp expenses ; and it is only fair to add that when 

 in a town the best room in the best hotel, and its best bottle 

 of wine, was only just good enough for us. Luckily, we spent 

 very little time in towns. 



Those days, I am afraid, have already passed away, but two 

 roubles a day should still be ample pay for any of the men who 

 accompany a shooting party, and less than that would probably 

 be taken gratefully. The chief difficulty of the Caucasus as 

 a shooting ground for Englishmen lies in the language of the 

 country, which varies in every district. Either Russian or 

 Georgian would probably be sufficient to carry a man through 

 the whole country between the Black Sea and the Caspian, as 

 he would generally find some one who spoke one or other of 

 these tongues in every village he entered, and even if now and 

 again he came to a hamlet where no one could understand 

 his speech, the ordinary Caucasian is wonderfully apt at the 

 language of signs. 



