314 SUANETIA. 



to the mountain ranges tliat encompass it. Had it not 

 been for tlie clouds, wliicli persisted in haunting us, we 

 must have seen Uschba, and it would be worth the while 

 of any future traveller to examine carefully the horizon 

 in this direction, and make sure whether the dome of 

 Elbruz does not appear above the main chain. 



We had followed in the ascent, and now overtook two 

 peasants, a man and woman, who were on their way to 

 Adisch. The man was inclined to be sociable, and was 

 greatly delighted by being allowed to look at the view 

 through our field-glasses. In return we examined his gun, 

 the barrel of which was very long and elaborately orna- 

 mented. It was arranged that the woman should descend 

 to Adisch by a short cut, and tell the people there to begin 

 baking some bread for us, in order that we might not 

 have so long to wait for our midday meal. A capital 

 path bearing towards, and consequently affording a constant 

 view of, the glacier, led down into the valley. We followed 

 it across a mountain-side, spotted with the large cream- 

 coloured blossoms of Caucasian rhododendron, which gave 

 place lower down to birch- bushes. We found the torrent 

 too strong to be easily forded, but the friendly native, 

 to whom we had talked on the top, had hurried down before 

 us, and caught one of the horses grazing near at hand, on 

 which each of us in turn rode across behind him. The 

 fall of the glen was very gradual, but a bend to the west 

 soon hid the glacier, and there was for some distance little 

 to remark in the features of the sui-rounding sceuerj^. The 

 first habitation we came upon was a solitary tower, from 

 which a similar one was visible on the crest of the ridsre we 

 had crossed ; and it struck us as extremely probable that 

 the ruined building we had camped beside was one of a 

 chain of towers, which had served in olden times as beacons, 

 or fire-telegraphs, from vaUey to valley. On the opposite 



