KUBAN TAHTARY. 
But it is proper to attend more closely to the 
detail of the journey. At thirty-six versts' 
distance from Margaritovskoy we came to the 
river Ae called Yea by the Turks, and Uia by 
the Germans, a boundary of the territory pos- 
sessed by the Tchernomors/ci. Just before we 
crossed this river, we passed a fortress of 
considerable magnitude, rudely constructed of 
earth, and surmounted by a few pieces of 
artillery. This fortress was originally a dep6t 
of stores, and a barrier against the Tahtars. 
It is still garrisoned. The Commandant, as we 
changed horses at Aeskoy, gave us news of the 
war to which we were travelling. From him 
we learned, that the allied army of Cossacks, 
Sclavonians, and Russians, had crossed the Kuban, 
and had taken several Circassian villages ; that 
many Circassian Princes had applied in person 
to the Tchernomorski for peace ; that the Pasha 
of Anapa had announced his intention of acting 
as mediator, and of repairing to the Tcher- 
person employed to convey it refused to accept any reward for bis 
labour. Such facts as these require no comment. The character of 
the Cossacks, and their superiority to the Russians in every qualification 
that can adorn human nature, is completely established. 
(1) 'This river is the Rhomkites Major of Strabo. The trade of 
salting fish is carried on along the coasts of the Sea of Azof, as in the 
most antient times. 
