JOURNEY FROM HERAT TO ORENBURG. 297 



suffered dreadfully from sickness. He said that the 

 riding on a camel's back in Tcajores (panniers) was 

 painful, but that the shaking in this vessel was some- 

 thing he could never have dreamt of ; two days more, 

 he protests, would have killed him. Long and loud 

 are his exclamations of " Shookr Alhum-dullillah ! " 

 Thanks to Almighty God ! 



On the evening of the 24th, five or six carts and 

 carriages were brought for our conveyance to Goorieff. 

 "They the Tutor," a German naturalist, a Russian 

 doctor, and I, started in a sort of phaeton, drawn by 

 three ponies. Off we went like mad, "They" in a 

 dreadful perturbation. I really sometimes think 

 that these shakings and novelties will be too much 

 for him. 



This place, Goorieff, is chiefly a village of fisher- 

 men : the houses are all of planks, comfortable and 

 clean. It is only within the last few years that the 

 Caspian has retired from this ground. Enormous 

 quantities of fish are caught here, and a considerable 

 trade is carried on in consequence with Astrakhan. 



October 1st. Arrived at Orenburg after a most 

 harassing and tiresome trip by the post-carts. There 

 was a village of boxes (for the dwellings cannot be 

 called houses) and a small field-fortification at every 

 station ; but the only place of any consequence is 

 Ooreilsky, which is a considerable town, with some 

 fine houses. It is the headquarters of the hettman 

 of the Ural Cossacks, a very agreeable, accomplished 



