THE HORSEMAX'S HOME. ' 309 



ignorance and innocence as to the whole proceedings. 

 With him were two natives of Davkar, a lower village, 

 who had volunteered to carry onr saddlebags ; but the 

 sum they asked was so ridiculous, that we had declined 

 their services. Now they would have been very glad to 

 relieve us of our loads for a quarter of the payment 

 previously demanded. 



Near Murkmer there is a good deal of cultivated ground, 

 but the valley soon narrows into a defile, and the well- 

 beaten path attains a great height on its northern side. 

 The loose soil of the mountain-slopes has been worn by 

 the spring- torrents into deep gullies, out of, or round, 

 which we were frequently forced to make long ascents or 

 circuits. The scenery gradually improved, and, although 

 no snowy ranges were in sight, the clumps of fir and other 

 trees which dotted the sides of the gorge, and the frequent 

 bends in the deep bed of the stream, combined to form a 

 varied and interesting series of landscapes. The rain of 

 the early morning had ceased, and the siin now shone 

 out hotly between the clouds, lighting up the long reaches 

 of the Ingur, which wound along the bottom of the green 

 gorge. The second group of villages, known collectively 

 as Kal, now appeared before us, built on opposite hillsides, 

 above the junction of a northern tributary with the glen of 

 the Ingur. The towers were not quite so numerous as at 

 Uschkul,but were still sufficiently so to give each knot of ha- 

 bitations the appearance of a castle rather than of a village. 



On the further side of the valley we noticed a solitary 

 building, which is called on the Five Verst Map a 

 monastery, but we could obtain no certain informa- 

 tion about it through Paul, and it was too far out of 

 the way to visit. The nearest hamlet, Davkar, was situated 

 at the foot of the hill on the banks of the river, and we 

 had to make a lonsr descent to reach it. Here our horse- 



