WOODLAND SCENERY. 40) 



learn little definite, except that they were of considerable 

 antiquity. A roadside tomb, recording the name and 

 famil}^ of the departed, must have been an object of 

 ambition with the former inhabitants of the country. The 

 lower portion of the northern valleys of the Caucasus lying 

 beyond the mountain gorges, easily accessible from the 

 plain, and subject to sudden raids from the mountaineers, 

 seems, despite its pastoral riches, to have been left as a 

 debateable ground alike by Russian and Tartar. Beyond 

 the hamlet I have mentioned, there is no dwelling-place 

 on the Tcherek for a full day's journey, until the lowest 

 village of Balkar is reached. 



The hills on both sides of the river are rounded and 

 monotonous, and the persistent fog robbed us of any glimpse 

 there may be, under more favourable circumstances, of the 

 snowy chain ; so we had to be content with admiring the 

 fine beechwoods on the opposite bank, trusting that, as we 

 penetrated deeper into the mountains, the landscapes 

 would become more striking. The scenery assumes a 

 different character at the point where the western Tcherek, 

 flowing out from amongst loftier hills, brings the tribute 

 of the glaciers on the western flanks of Dj^chtau and Kosch- 

 tantau to swell the main stream. The hillsides grow steeper 

 and higher, and the range separating the Balkar and 

 Bezeenghe valleys breaks down in a succession of most 

 picturesquely-shaped and thickly-wooded bluffs. The 

 western Tcherek, a strong body of glacier- water flowing 

 in a naiTOw but deep channel, is spanned by a good 

 bridge, beyond which the road, after traversing marshy 

 meadows, is forced to climb over a projecting sj)ur. The 

 forest now began to change character, and there was 

 greater variety among the trees ; the sombre foliage of 

 pines varied the lighter shades of green, and tall alders 

 shot up amongst the beeches. 



D D 



