24 
RUSSIA IX EUROPE 
tarantass ; over the Caucasus and generally through the country 
by tarantass. 
In southeastern Russia the horse and camel are the sole means 
of locomotion, and travel is generally l)y caravan. In several of 
the large cities there are hotels, as in other parts of Euro])e, but 
in tlie country hotels are unknown ; only rooms are furnished at 
khans or caravansaries, as all travelers carry their servants, pro- 
visions, bed, and bedding. Everywhere is found the samovar, a 
large copper vessel, with a long tube or funnel extending to the 
bottom, kept filled with charcoal, which when lighted smoulders 
all day long, keeping the water hot day and night, ready for 
making tea. In the conveyances for travel, in the hotels, and 
in everything else outside the large cities Asiatic customs pre- 
vail. There are regular stations where horses are kept, but they 
cannot be obtained without a prodovoina — a paper signed by 
the proper officer — which gives the traveler a right to claim the 
horses at a price fixed in the paper, which is usually very low. 
From Berlin to St. Petersburg and INIoscow the sleei)ers are 
large, roonyv, and clean ; the accommodations for sleeping are 
excellent ; the stations and restaurants are well appointed, large, 
and handsome. After leaving Moscow, the first night we liad 
pillow-cases and mattress in the sleepers, but no sheets ; the 
second night neither pillow-cases nor mattress. 
South of Moscow, when I was tliere the stations were poor, 
without restaurants, and even without water for washing. M'e 
reached Vladikavkaz at night and drove direct!}^ to a hotel 
which we understood was kept by a Frenchman, but he had 
left, and there was no one in the hotel, or apparently in the vil- 
lage, who could speak either French, German, or English. For- 
tunately we found a l)oy from one of the neighboring German 
settlements who could speak German. 
The next morning we started on our tri}>, through the Dariel 
pass, across the Caucasus in a tarantass, a boat-shaped, covered 
carriage without springs or seats, for the roads are so rough that 
springs would soon break, without opportunit}" for repairs. We 
leaned against our trunks in the back of the carriage, filled with 
straw. We started with four horses abreast, dilven with six 
reins, one to each of the outside horses and the other four to the 
pole-horses. We drove rapidly, but were often delayed at post- 
stations waiting for horses. While we were stopping, more than 
once, an official drove up. Horses Avere immediately harnessed 
