DON COSSACKS. 
307 
In the evening of June l6th, we left this hospi- chap. 
' table stanitza, crossing the Don upon a raft. The * ■ ; 
people of the house, where we had been so Departuro ' 
comfortably lodged, positively refused to accept 
of any payment for the trouble we had given 
them. “ Cossacks ” said they, “ do not sell their 
hospitality 
The view of Kasanhaia, from the southern 
side of the river, is very fine. Its large church, 
with numerous domes, stands in the center: 
to the right and left are numerous and neat 
wooden houses. The Don flows below, ex- 
hibiting, in front, the busy raft, which is con- 
stantly employed conveying caravans across 
the ferry. In all parts of the river above 
Kasanhaia, it seems to flow over a bed of 
chalk ; and its banks, gently swelling upwards 
from the water, rise like the South Downs of 
Sussex, often disclosing the chalk whereof they 
consist. Farther down, and near to the water's 
edge, low copses of wood almost always ac- 
company its course ; but these diminish as it 
draws nearer to Tcherkask, the inhabitants of 
(1) " L’hospitalit^ esten usage par toute la Petite Russie ; et un 
Stranger <|iii y voyage n’a jamais besoin <!e faire de la dtipense pour 
son logement et sa nourriture.” Scherer Annales de la Petite Russie, 
tome I. p, 103. Paris, 1788. 
X 1 
