426 THE UllUCII VALLEY. 



mountain beauties than that we were now traversing. 

 The road, still keeping the same course on the left bank, 

 and now wide enough for the passage of carts, is shaded by 

 dense thickets of hazels. 



We were jogging along quietly, when we encountered a 

 man in the ordinary Caucasian costume, but with a mili- 

 tary air, which distinguished him from the common native. 

 He stopped to speak to us, and, Paul being summoned to 

 our aid, we learned that he was a Cossack in the Russian 

 service, sent by the Commandant of Ardonsk, who had 

 received his instructions from General Loris-Melikov to 

 aid us in our journey. He was now on his second trip to 

 Digor ; having been previously unsuccessful in finding us, 

 he had returned to headquarters only to be sent back 

 again, with instructions to wait till our arrival — a piece of 

 unlooked-for attention on the part of the Eussian authori- 

 ties, for which we felt the more grateful, as our horsemen 

 had lately shown signs of renewed insubordination. The 

 readiness to assist us, and appreciation of the real object 

 of our journey, shown by the officials on the northern 

 side of the Caucasus, was very gratifying, and our best 

 thanks are due to General Loris-Melikov and his subordi- 

 nates for the aid they so kindly gave us. 



We soon passed a considerable village, and following for 

 many miles a terrace-path, along steep hillsides, always 

 green and picturesquely broken, approached the point 

 where the Uruch turns due north, to fight its way thi-ough 

 the limestone range which flanks the central chain. 

 Having first passed the main stream by a lofty bridge, we 

 crossed an extremely narrow cleft, from which a large 

 eastern affluent issues. The heavy clouds and drizzling 

 rain, combined with the bare character of the scenery, the 

 frequent apparitions of tall tombstones by the wayside, 

 and the tumbledoAvn, and in many cases ruinous, state of 



