THE SHEIKH OF MUCHOL. 407 



of tlie thousand-and-one saints of the Russian Calendar, 

 instead of tlie ' One God and Moliammed his Prophet,' that 

 tliey would willingly, if they saw an opportunity, emigrate 

 to some district still under the control of the Commander 

 of the Faithful. Meantime they cling tenaciously to their 

 old faith, carry its precepts into daily life, and observe its 

 ceremonies. Muchol was the only place in the Caucasus 

 where we heard the call to prayer resound night and 

 morning through the village. 



August loth. — The weather was again gloomy, and the 

 sun never appeared all day. The mountain-tops being 

 hidden, it was useless to undertake any long expedition, 

 and we contented ourselves with a short stroll up the 

 hillside. Muchol, seen from above, has a most cui'ious 

 appearance ; the flat grass-grown roofs of the houses, and 

 the rough stone walls, give them more the look of a 

 collection of burrows than of the comfortable homes of aii 

 industrious population. If the house in which our men 

 were lodged was a fair specimen, the interiors are tolerably 

 snug. Passing tlirough a courtyard, we entered a lai'ge 

 room, the walls of which were fitted with shelves, on 

 which were ranged the brightly-painted trays in whicli 

 Easterns delight, and pegs, on which hung sheepskins, 

 swords and guns, with the other necessary equipments 

 of a Caucasian when away from home. 



All day long the Sheikh loaded us with a succession of 

 civilities, in the very tangible form of relays of tea- 

 cakes, and a kind of beer, peculiar apparently to these 

 Mussulman valleys. Having finished our preparations for 

 a sojourn of some days in the mountains, we determined, 

 if the weather promised well, to start early next morning. 



August IQth. — The clouds were more broken, and, 

 for the first time for many days, patches of blue sky 

 shone through them. With daybreak came the Sheikh, 



