DUBOVKA— SAREPTA— TZAROV. 



419 



theatre of hills, it is one of the least picturesque places on the Volga, with the 



vulgar air of most trading and industrial towns. The tonnage of its river 



traffic, about 144,000 tons in 



Fig. 217.— Old Course of the Volga below Tzauitzî.v. 

 Scale 1 : 2,140,000. 



1865, has greatly increased 

 since it has been brought into 

 direct railway communication 

 with Moscow and St. Peters- 

 burg. It is a great mart 

 for the surrounding German 

 colonies, and has workshops of 

 all sorts, without being dis- 

 tinguished by any special 

 manufacture. The project of 

 ranking it a University town 

 has long been discussed. 



Farther down are Kamishin, 

 Diiborka, and Tzaritzin, all on 

 the right bank. Dubovka for- 

 merly enjoyed great commercial 

 prosperity, owing to its vicinity 

 to the Don, which here comes 

 within 36 miles of the Volga. 

 But its river traffic, amount- 

 ing in 1860 to about 100,000 

 tons, and valued at £400,000, 

 has almost entirely ceased since 

 the Volga and Don railway 

 has had its terminus removed 

 to Tzaritzin. Near this place 

 was founded, in 1765, the Ger- 

 man colony of Sarepta, consist- 

 ing of Moravian Brethren, to 

 whom exceptional privileges 

 were granted. Surrounded b}^ 

 gardens, orchards, and well- 

 watered fields, Sarepta is a real 

 oasis in the wilderness. Its 

 chief industries are the prepa- 

 ration of mustard and tobacco. 



To the east of Tzaritzin, on a lateral branch of the Volga known as AkhtCiba, 

 rises the modern town of Tzarov, probably on the site of the famous Mongol capital 

 of Sarai, ravaged by Tamerlane, and finally destroyed in 1480 by a voivod of 

 Muscovy. Tzarov and Vladimirovka export the salt of the steppes ; and the latter 

 was the farthest point reached by the plague in 1878. 



20 Miles. 



