422 THE URUCII VALLEY. 



CHAPTEE XIIT. 



THE TJEUCH VALLEY AND EETURN TO TIFLIS. 



Wooded Defiles— Styr Digor— A Halt— "We Meet a Cossack — A Eain- 

 storm — Zadelesk — The Gate of the Mountains — Across the Hills and 

 Through the Forest— Tuganova — Novo-Christiansky — A Christian 

 Welcome — A Wet Kide- — Ardousk— A Breakdown on the Steppe — Vladi- 

 kafkaz — A Diligence Drive — The Dariel Gorge— Eeturn to Tiflis — 

 Reflections on the Caucasian Chain — Its Scenery and Inhabitants — 

 Comparison with the Alps — Hints for Travellers. 



August 19th. — The morning was cloudless, and we were 

 fully prepared to enjoy our day's journey down the valley 

 of the Uruch, the scenery of which, running parallel, as it 

 does, to the central chain for many miles, must, we believed, 

 prove in the highest degree interesting. We had to ex- 

 perience a fresh illustration of the perversity of the Cau- 

 casian nature before starting, and the result of the trifling 

 concession we had made on the previous day showed the 

 inexpedience of yielding any point in dispute with these 

 unmanageable mountaineers. Paul and rran9ois having 

 walked by turns over the pass, the horsemen now required 

 that they should be content with one horse between them, 

 while the men themselves rode. Wishing to push on as 

 far as possible during the day, and knowing well that the 

 animals were not overladen, we refused to start until the 

 ridiculous proposal was withdrawn. The promise of our 

 entertainer that, in case of need, he would find horses, 

 enabled us to take rather a hig-h line. After a warm 

 debate — in which the feelings of one of oui- horsemen 



