372 ASCENT OF ELBRUZ. 



companions found himself a centre of attraction, and the 

 air rang with. ' Allah '-seasoned phrases of exclamation and 

 astonishment, mingled, as each newcomer entered, and 

 required to hear the tale afresh, with constant reiterations 

 of ' Minghi-Tau ! ' — a familiar name, which sounds far more 

 grateful to my ear than the heavy-syllabled Elbruz. 



We underwent a crossfire of questionings as to what we 

 had found on the top, and had sorrowfully to confess that we 

 had seen nothing of the gigantic cock who lives up aloft, and 

 is said to salute the sunrise by crowing and flapping his 

 wings, and to prevent the approach of men to the treasure 

 he is set to guard, by attacking intruders with his beak 

 and talons. We could not even pretend to have had an 

 interview with the giants and genii believed to dwell in the 

 clefts and caverns of Elbruz, concerning one of whom 

 Haxthausen relates the following legend : — ' An Abkhasian 

 once went down into the deepest cavern of the mountain, 

 where he found a powerful giant, who said to him, " Child 

 of man of the upper world, who hast dared to come down 

 here, tell me how the race of man lives in the world above ? 

 Is woman still true to man ? Is the daughter still obedient 

 to the mother ? " The Abkhasian answered in the affirma- 

 tive, whereat the giant gnashed his teeth, groaned, and 

 said, " Then must I still live on here with sighs and lamen- 

 tation!"' The giant lost an opportunity when I was in the 

 crevasse ; for had he then put the same questions to me, an 

 old ' Saturday Eeview ' might have been found in my 

 pocket, the perusal of a famous article in which would 

 have clearly justified him in considering his period of 

 punishment at an end. 



The princes, of course, came to talk the expedition over 

 with us, and seemed much struck by what they heard of 

 the use we had made of our mountaineering gear, of Avhich 

 they had before scarcely comprehended the purpose. 



