172 THE GEORGIAX IIILL-COUXTRY. 



perpendicular. The road dips down, by a steep zigzag, to 

 a bridge over tbe Debeda. At the top of the ascent on 

 the other side stands a fine old stone cross. For several 

 miles we rode over a plain covered with the most luxuriant 

 herbage, and then entered a long valley between bare 

 green hills, one of them crowned by a tall wooden cross. 

 At a point were two streams meet was a large village, 

 where our men wanted to halt; but we, wishing to 

 reach Schulaweri before nightfall, refused to let them. 

 We forded one branch of the stream without much diffi- 

 culty, and followed the other up to its sources among the 

 hills. The height assigned, in Kiepert's Map of the 

 Caucasus, to the pass we now crossed, is 5,805 feet. 

 It is probably picturesque, but we saw nothing but fog 

 and mist, till we had descended several hundred feet on the 

 northern side, when we found ourselves on a wooded slope, 

 high above the recesses of a deep valley. The neighbouring 

 mountains were clothed in the most beautiful park-like 

 timber. The glades and grassy knolls were enlivened by 

 Kurd encampments, sheep and horses were grazing on the 

 fresh herbage, and the bright costumes of their owners 

 gave colour to tlie scene. At this height the trees were 

 still in their spring tints, and the white-thorn was coming 

 into full blossom. We noticed a great many wild fruit 

 trees, especially pears and apples. After many wind- 

 ings, the cart-track succeeded in descending to the side 

 of the stream, which we followed for some distance down an 

 exquisitely wooded valley. It was our first introduction to 

 Caucasian forest scenery, and we were constantly halting 

 and calling each other's attention to some wall of verdure, 

 built up of gigantic beech-trees, or a glade where gnarled 

 old trunks and luxuriant underwood afforded a subject for 

 the artist or photographer. The brown torrent, encou- 

 raged by the recent rains, ventured on some remarkable 



