KASIBECK. 
77 
by Dr. Parrot at 14,400 feet, or 2,400 fathoms, above the level 
of the Black Sea. And indeed, in remote times, when these 
countries did not boast such regularly tracked paths, these two 
pre-eminent pillars of the Earth, must have formed excellent 
land-marks for the traveller, exploring his way through such 
untrodden wilds. The village which now bears the name of 
Kasibeck, was originally called Steppan Zminda, from the church 
of that Saint, which stands close to it. 
The house where I halted, during the necessary repairs of my 
carriage, was the mansion of the widow of a native chief, to whom 
from his attachment and services to the Russians, they had 
given the rank of Major-general in the Imperial army. As sur¬ 
names are unknown amongst these people, to accommodate him¬ 
self to the usages of his new masters, he took that of Kasibeck, 
in reference to the hoary mountain, under whose shadow he and 
his ’ ancestors had dwelt; and, by custom, from him the village 
itself gradually received the same appellation. 
The natives in this neighbourhood are of the Ossi tribe; a 
people of mixed persuasions, Christian, mahometan, and pagan. 
The village of Kasibeck, as well as a few others in its immediate 
vicinity, is inhabited by Christians professing the same faith and 
observances as the Georgians. Their lately deceased chief was 
eminent for setting an example to his people of strict attention 
to all religious ordinances, prayer, fasts, and holy festivals ; and 
he exerted his power to the utmost in constraining all under his 
jurisdiction, not only to take part in these sacred duties, but to 
preserve with reverence the remains of those ancient but ruined 
edifices, in which their fathers had first offered prayers to the 
only true God. He, himself, erected a new and elegant church 
for his brother Christians, very near the spot where the old one 
