80 SAVAGE SVANETIA. 



I shall take the liberty of narratmg all he told 

 me of the Svaiis and Svanetia, without at- 

 tempting to correct any mistakes he may have 

 made, since I know of no one who can be 

 considered a much better authority than my 

 informant. 



That Svanetia is so wonderfully un- 

 civilised still is due, he said, to its geogra- 

 phical position, hemmed in on all sides by 

 mountains, the passes over which are few and 

 difficult, and indeed only available for three 

 months in the year. When these three 

 months are over those who are in Svanetia 

 when the snow falls must stay there for nine 

 months, until the snow has thawed again, 

 and even then the roads are very bad indeed. 



Moreover, most of Svanetia lies at such a 

 heio-ht that the winters are lono; and severe, 

 and very little indeed will grow in the land. 

 Down the Ingour, through the district of 

 Lekera, Nature is a little more bountiful, but 



