KETURX TO THE STATION'. 205 



July 2nd. — As we had not even taken off our boots, the 

 preparations for our start in the morning- did not occupy 

 long. Our aged host accompanied us to the Devdorak tor- 

 rent, which at this time of day, before the heat of the sun 

 had melted the upper snows, could be waded without serious 

 difficulty; and one of the boys volunteered to accompany us 

 to the post-station, and relieve rran9ois of some of our 

 traps. A well-marked path led us over grassy knolls con- 

 siderably above and to the right of the united ton-ents. On 

 a brow near stands, we were afterwards told, a pile of stones 

 resembling in shape an altar, and covered with the horns 

 of chamois and bouquetin. This is a spot held sacred by 

 the pagan inhabitants of the neighbouring village of 

 Goslet, and once a year they all repair hither, sing strange 

 chants, and make their offerings to the genius loci. His 

 name, according to our informant, is Daba, and that of the 

 tribe who worship him is Kists. Before very long the defile 

 of the Dariel opened beneath us, and a short descent 

 brought us to the Terek. We kept for half-a-mile on the 

 left bank, along a meadow covered with old tombstones, 

 and then crossed by the bridge close to the stone hovels of 

 Goslet, situated in a most savage nook at the mouth of a 

 ravine. We had still a long uphill pull of eight versts (5^ 

 miles) to the village of Kazbek ; but towards the end we 

 were able to cut short the zigzags of the road, and about 

 9 A.M. aroused, with our best ' jodels,' the people of the post- 

 station. Our arrival did not at first create much excite- 

 ment ; everyone seemed to take it as a matter of course that 

 we had not been to the top of the mountain, but equally as a 

 matter of course that we should say we had. The first thing 

 to be done was to rout up Paul, who, still unable to shake off 

 his fever, was in a very stupid and gloomy mood, expecting 

 death hourly. Through him we sent up a messenger to 

 look for our porters, whom we had left encamped, at 



