34 THROUGH KUBAN TAHTARY, 
ciiap. more adventure than might have been expected 
— i in a Turk, hampered as he was by his cumbrous 
dress, he squatted upon some rushes in the 
bottom ot this vessel, and was soon paddled 
into the middle of the rapid torrent. The 
canoes upon the Kuban are all made of one 
piece of wood, being merely the trunk of a 
large tree scooped for the purpose. From the 
numbers huddled with the Pasha, we expected 
every instant to see his canoe sink or upset, for 
its edge was level with the water. It was out 
of sight, however, in an instant, descending the 
current with amazing velocity, and disappearing 
by the turn of the river. 
Peasants of We then went to examine more minutely the 
crowd of Circassians of a lower order, numbers 
of whom were passing the Kuban in their canoes, 
and assembling on the Russian side. They came 
to exchange wood, honey, and weapons, for 
salt, according to their usual practice in times 
of peace. Here we saw some of the wildest 
mountaineers of Caucasus, all of whom were 
completely armed, and all robbers by profes- 
sion. The descriptions given of the natives in 
the South Seas do not represent human nature 
in a more savage state than its condition ex- 
hibits among the Circassians. Instructed from 
their infancy to consider war and plunder not 
