68 SAVAGE SVANETIA. 



have found favour with the men of old in the 

 Caucasus. On the shopman's walls hang ibex 

 and tiir horns, silver rimmed, and slung in 

 silver chains. These are cups which admit of 

 no heel taps, and were used to test the wind and 

 honest thirst of Caucasian manhood. Beside 

 them hang small gourds encased in open work 

 of black and white silver, their necks so con- 

 structed that as the contents flow down the 

 wine-bibber's throat, he is comforted by a 

 gurgling music in the flask. Silver cups and 

 tiny silver goblets for the weaker sex are side 

 by side with these, while on the floor stand 

 huge jars and vases of various shapes in which 

 the red wine was hoarded or brouo-ht to 

 table. 



If at the present day you ask a Caucasian 

 of the fertility or well-being of any district in 

 his native land, the standard by which he 

 measures its happiness and wealth is its wine- 

 producing capacity. The rich man in the 



