KOSLOF. 
306 
chap, dominion. Its trade is annihilated; its houses 
are in ruins; its streets are desolate; the 
splendid mosques, with which it was adorned, 
are unroofed; the minarets have been thrown 
down; its original inhabitants were either 
banished or murdered ; all that we found re- 
maining, were a few sneaking Russian officers 
of the police and customs, with here and there 
a solitary Turk or Tahtar, smoking among the 
ruins, and sighing over the devastation he 
beheld. Its commerce was once of very con- 
siderable importance. Its port contained fifty 
vessels at the same time; a great number, con- 
sidering that the other ports of the Crimea had 
each their portion. We found them reduced to 
one accidental rotten brigantine, the precarious 
speculation of a few poor Turkish mariners 5 
who, although common sailors on board, shared 
equally with the Captain the profit of the voyage. 
In better times, Koslof, from her crowded shores, 
exported wool, butter, hides, fur, and corn. 
The corn has now risen to such a price, that it 
is no longer an article of exportation : the wool, 
fur, and hides, are prohibited. In short, as a 
commercial town, it no longer exists. The only 
ship, which had left the port previous to our 
arrival, sailed with a determination to return no 
more; not only on account of the length of time 
required in procuring a cargo, but owing to the 
