1-54 SAVAGE SVANETIA. 



birch-bark tray for kneadiiig bread in, and 

 a rustic pipe cut out of hazel, and furnished 

 with a stem of currant wood. These and 

 such like necessaries are to be found in almost 

 every considerable cave about these moun- 

 tains ; and having been made b}?- hunters 

 when usino' the caves, the various utensils are 

 looked on as sacred, and left as public pro- 

 perty for the use of all sportsmen who may 

 succeed the makers of them ; and however 

 hardly pushed a Svan may be for a pipe, 

 nothing will ever induce him to annex one 

 which forms part of this cave property. 



As Frank did not feel inclined for hard 

 work, the arrangement for the first day's hunt 

 was that Red Shirt and I should attempt to 

 gain the top of the ridge at about its centre 

 (it was shaped like a bay), while the best 

 climber amongst our guides tried to gain 

 the same point by starting at the extremity 

 of one end of the bay, his object being to 



