242 THE RION VALLEY. 



ious name of tlie Dschandschachi-Squali, flows to meet 

 it from the east, and between tliem a smaller stream 

 cuts its way directly down from a glacier in the main 

 chain, through a narrow opening in the lower hills. A 

 bridge crosses the Eion, a short way below the double 

 confluence, and on a plot of level ground close to the river- 

 bank stands a house, evidently of Russian construction, 

 but now falling rapidly into decay. Having made a con- 

 siderable bend into the mouth of the defile, and crossed the 

 united streams, we turned up a path which led along the 

 right bank of the true Rion, through woods as dense as 

 before, although the single trees were not so fine as those 

 which grow on the opposite slopes. The path was level 

 for some distance, until it mounted a spur of the Schoda 

 chain, which nearly barred the valley. 



The sunny slopes were converted into meadows and corn- 

 fields, and dotted with dark-brown hay chalets, scarcely a 

 quarter of the size of those in the Alps. A solitary pine, of 

 great size and perfect shape, marked the top of the ascent, 

 beyond which we came in sight of Chiora and a stretch 

 of the upper valley, in which the river, to judge by the 

 width of its stony bed, is accustome d to commit great 

 ravages, and to change its course very frequently. Arrived 

 opposite the village, which is prettily situated on a gentle 

 southward-facing slope of cornfields, we found that there 

 was no bridge where one-half of the stream now flowed, 

 and we had consequently to wait while our horsemen sought 

 the best ford, and then to ride, one by one, through the 

 water. It was a long time before we got the baggage fairly 

 to the other side, and the heat of the sun, reflected from the 

 stones of the river-bed, made the delay anything but 

 pleasant. 



Chiora is built in a totally different style to Glola and 

 Gurschavi. The houses are all of stone, two-storied, 

 with sloping roofs, scarcely any eaves, and very small 



