7TA' ROUTE FOR DAGHESTAN. 249 



of the latter having, alas, been all culled for this 

 year. 



Tired and thirsty, towards three o'clock we saw 

 hanging over a steep cliff above us a large pome- 

 granate-tree, apparently unrobbed as yet. Its 

 bright fruit showed red and yellow through the 

 foliage ; so with renewed energy my Tartar and 

 I struggled for a quarter of an hour to reach it. 

 At last we succeeded, and found, to our intense 

 disgust, that each fruit was hollow, a part of the 

 opposite side having been broken away and all the 

 interior taken out by the birds, who had left 

 nothing but the delusive husks which had so 

 cruelly disappointed us. I record this as one of 

 many similar sells inflicted on us whilst in 

 Daghcstan. 



When we started in pursuit of the red-legs we 

 had with us a dog, but so hard was the work that 

 in about three hours the poor beast refused to come 

 another yard, and lay down resolutely to rest. 

 His example was infectious, and though we kept 

 on for some time longer, we were soon so heartily 

 tired of the goat-like manner of progression neces- 

 sary in these hills, and the perpetual motion of the 

 partridges, that we gave up the chase and came 

 home. There we found good news awaiting us. 

 One of the Lesghian Tartars, who lived in the 

 second range of mountains from Goktchai, had 

 come in during the day to bring some game to the 



