RETURN TO AKMETCHET. 
307 
bribery and corruption it was necessary to 
satisfy, in order to get away'. - 
In returning to Akmetchet, we halted to water Return to 
our horses in the steppes, where the dwellings Akn “’ td ' H ' 
were entirely subterraneous. Not a house was 
to be seen; but there were some holes, as 
entrances, in the ground : through one of these 
we descended into a cave, rendered almost 
suffocating by the heat of a stove for dressing 
the victuals of its poor owners. The walls, the 
floor, and the roof, were all of the natural soil. 
If such retreats were the original abodes of 
mankind, the art of constructing habitations 
was borrowed from badgers, foxes, and rabbits. 
At present, such dwellings are principally, if 
not solely, tenanted by shepherds of the Crimea; 
who dig these places for their residence during 
winter. 
Having failed in the object of our journey to 
koslof, we prepared to leave the Peninsula by 
, ( Pallas's account of Koslof is only applicable to its former state. 
In the year 1793, for instance, one hundred and seventy-six vessels 
Were freighted with corn, salt, and leather; and the short route by 
which goods are conveyed hither, by the Naguys, and by the Taldars 
■Hhahiting the banks of the Dnieper, affords the greatest facility to the 
c orn trade." Travels, vol. 11. p.49l. This town is thus men- 
tioned by flronim tits: “ Coslovia oppidum ad dextram Pereeapite ad mare 
"turn milliaribus septum distat. Pmpor 'w non ignobili, prafectum arcis 
"PPidi Chanus proprium et perpeluum ibi habet." Dtscriplio Turin- 
r,a > p. 256. Lug. Bat. 1630. 
VOL. II. 
X 
