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anne-lister-adventures · 4 years

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Thursday, 9 April 1840

7 1/2

11 1/2

Fine morning – No sun – Reaumur 6 1/4º on the window seat close to my bedhead at 8 1/2 – Slept very well but the terrible jolting one has day after day makes one a sort of lassitude even on getting up after a few hours sleep – I slept from about one last night to 7 a.m. – Cold here so high among the mountains – Casbek after Elbrus the highest summit of the Caucasus – Breakfast over at 9 1/2 then sat reading Murray till now 10 3/4 article Persia II. p.[page] 396 et seq. and here is the account of the Province of Shirwan &c. now ceded to Russia –

A-[Ann] sketched the little church neat new ashlar red stone church and its very pretty picturesque little clock separate standing on 4 little arcades open at the bottom – Out from 11 1/4 to 1 1/2 – I sauntered about 1st by myself then sought George – Went up to the little Gurian (as George called it) rude chapel and cemetery at a little height on the hill (East) above the Town – The chapel oblong very small door towards the West – Fast –

Rather tapering – Roof of rough walling retiring roof wise stood on little knoll above the chapel gazing till I could see nothing my eyes ached towards Casbek –

The monastery full in view for 3 or 4 minutes or more at 12 1/4 then clouded over – Kasbek appears to be behind rather South of the monastery – From the glimpse of his centreforts he must be magnificent and 1/3 way up the horizon seen from this little knoll – The monastery handsome looking high dome-topped church and handsome tower (round topped?) clocher – Largeish handsome looking place – 5 v.[versts] from Kasbek –

The Gergeti Trinity Church, above Stepantsminda (Kasbek in Anne’s time), which Anne deemed a “monastery”. (Image Source)

A village en route about 1/2 way? up the hill or not so much – But this village flat topped like the village town here – Counted 40 squares at 6 families each these squares like little bomb roof forts or casemattes – Covered with gravel at top – Quite like a fine gravelled square to walk – 4 or 6 little round openings are chimneys for the 2d.[2nd] story the ground story has little loop holes at each side front and back which let out the smoke and give all the light there is – The fire on the ground à la Calmuck – It seems I did not over calculate houses or people the latter = 1000 an old man said his house was very ancient was standing in Peter the Great’s time –

There are 2 towers (tapering square) in the ville – The one we passed last night is quite in ruin only the 2 sides towards last night, standing, and the fog so soon hid it, could see nothing it – Appears (at the distance I saw it, from the cemetery above named) to have had 6 étages and was perhaps gathered up into a stone roof – Singular Town this – The 1st instance we have seen of the quite flat gravelled walk-like roofs of the East –

Some of the better places open into a little court the 2d.[2nd] story entered by rude stone (black schist from the neighbouring mountains) stairs and a broad balcony gravelled like the roofs – This reminds me of Mouravieff’s description of Khiva &c. Perhaps the 50 chambers of the Palace of Priam were something in this style - ∴[therefore] might be one or 2 stories high – Here the squares are sometimes the dots signify the fire places and there is no division between 2 families –

The middle part is a sort of passage divided off by a wattling – For calves &c. &c. which also seem to be admitted even into the family apartment – The people never wash – Terribly dirty – Had just written so far now at 2 1/2 – A new road from here, George says; but the old one, by Kobi, tho’ longer still the one travelled – Probably the other not yet quite monté – Inquire – From here the defile fait fourche –

Ours is the one of Terek to the right en sortant Kasbek – Paid the post horses 3 Kopek en argent per v.[verst] per horse 16 1/2 v.[versts] = 4/95 + -/12 greasing en argent – ‘Tis now 2 3/4 – Off at 2 50/’’ from Kasbek a very interesting place – It has made me understand the Ossetine Towns – The fort is 2 pieces of canon in the courtyard the sight of the Town except the 2 tall Towers soon lost – At 3 little wood bridge over little stream - At 3 10/’’ right, little distance, on high promontory of rock –

a Inn

b Mr. Bachmetieff’s house

c another corresponding house

d great court and parade yard

e line of barracks for the soldiers

f stable yard

g blacksmiths shop

h Cossack stable for about 12 horses

i large joiners shop and sort of coach house?

k post horse stable for 18 or 20 horses all one story buildings ascended by a step or two

View from a fort on the Russian side of the border. Forts like this one were common along the sides of the Georgian Military Road, which Anne and Ann are using in this stage.

1st village 1 lofty Tower 5 stories high and 2 lower Towers – All tapering square – About 6 of the squares (as at Kasbek) reckoned them at 6 families per square but they are all 2 stories high, and there are generally 6 on one floor or at least 4 families in these Sacles (Sacle signifies house in the language of the people) say 50 families in this village (but there are more?), and reckon 50 families = 200 souls just after this village that was high above us, Crocuses along our road purple and white 1st time and a thorny low, whitish little shrub covering the bottom of the Defile (Zizyphus? No! What is it?)

At 3 1/4 at the fourche a fine ravine left (saw no traces of the new road George mentioned) and a few coarse grass thatched stone huts, and enter our prong 2d.[2nd] of the fork, right, at 3 1/4 – At 3 20/’’ another fortification-like village (right) on the steep perpendicular rock, with 2 or 3 square Towers but low ones, and a little white line of mountain streamlet (misseau) tumbling down from the high summits close on this side the village – The 1st of these misseaux so common in the Alps and Pyrenees that we have seen here and on pinnacle of rock above the 2d.[2nd] village another village – Several square dry walled flat roofed stone houses along the flat bottom about a verst 3d.[3rd] wide good road –

At 3 25/’’ the village on pinnacle of rock above the 2d.[2nd] village – 2 more rock-seated picturesque villages in sight ahead of us the nearest with high tapering chimney like Tower 4th little Towerless village or hamlet left on the plaine rather in the glen defile to the left – At 3 33/’’ descend upon little wood bridge over little rapidy streamlet – 4 Ossete women on the bridge in picturesque costume mouths covered with dirty white handkerchiefs –

Traditional costumes of the people of the North Caucasus. Ossetian costumes are first from the left.

Another little village or 5th hamlet beyond the last and a peep at still another on the mountain side above the 5th village still farther in the the glen to the left

6th

8th the tall chimney-tower fortification old castle like village (vide line 7 above) on steep rocky projection high above us, left – The tall Tower 10 to 15 yards high – Narrows one half – The base seemed about 4 yards the top about 2 yards wide – One of the Towers at Kasbek seemed to narrow (to diminish) 1 yard in 5 yards of height – I could not see it quite from the bottom – The base might be 5 yards wide? –

Steep descent and drag now at 3 40/’’ down into glen (ravine) with little stream and wood bridge just below the chimney Towered village or Ossetine Town this tall small Tower seen from far in all directions – Little Tower on high rock on the other side of us opposite village no.[number] 8 – This pass has been well fortified in ancient times – The tall Tower of no.[number] 8 walled with lime – Looks a large old fortified place towards the South, out works a good way along the ridge that stretches (towards the South) up to the high mountain – The rock quite perpendicular towards our road – 2 great caves in the hill side joining part of the ridge strewed without works, more walling –

Ruined Tower &c. – Very picturesque – A little beyond us – 9 and 10 on the other side the deep ravine of river, at 3 55/’’ 2 villages on high ridge at a little distance apart one beyond and above the other – There must be plenty of common juniper near tho’ not seen by us for here we passed a Drovne on wheels loaded with it –

Astonishing the no.[number] of villages on the high steep rocks, and ridges, and bits of platforms under the high mountains – 11 another little village at 4, on the same ridge, on high point of rock above the 2 last villages there must be a little high valley between this ridge and the high mountains –

And now at 4 Terek 200 ft.[feet] in steep ravine close below us (right) – No guard – We might easily slip off the side of the narrow road into the river, a blueish, whitish, rapidy, 8 or 10 yards broad stream – Here, red, perpendicular schistose, irony? coloured mountain on the other side (left bank) of Terek, and on our left, always singularly rough, projectiony-pointed mountains –

I think there may be 2 or 3 more villages along the same ridge above named to the end of it but the mist is lowering now at 4 1/4 and all to lower than the top of this ridge will soon be hid on our right –

The bottom of our Defile becomes more strewed with big stones as well as little – The little at Kasbek and everywhere today gathered into large heaps to clear the champs which they sow with corn a small grain said one of the Ossetes at Kasbek – Blé sarrazin i.e. buck wheat? But he said it was all burnt up last summer –

12th village at 4 16/’’ with tapering not high square tower on the side of high mountain right – 13 village a little beyond and much lower down them the last on the same mountain side 14 ditto at the foot of the same mountain close upon stream? (rather far from us) an affluent of the Terek from deep glen or little valley from the North westward –

Little frozen small snow flying about now at 4 20/’’ as we toil up to higher ground a broad plateau above the deep ravine of river Terek – And in a minute or 2 steep pitch thro’ the snow narrow road along the brink of deep ravine going down to the Terek – The Courier wanted us to alight – He alighted and walked up –

15 at 4 1/2 (right) on mountain side village with square Tapering tower at a little distance above and beyond it but this village unlike all the rest has some sloping roofs tho’ looking fortress-like outside – All the villages of dark coloured stone hardly distinguishable from the rock –

High plateau of débris on each side Terek thro’ which it has formed the deep ravine – The mist covers 1/2 way down right, and now the ragged pointed summits left – We are perhaps 200 yards from foot of high mountains left and perhaps 300 or 400 yards from foot of ditto right – Some deep water courses down the mountains right but dry now –

4 40/’’ more snow on the road and mountains left much covered with snow, and very streaky right – At 4 50/’’ Kobi just in sight peeping from behind mountain head, right – At 5 steep descent from our plateau into the bottom down to the river divided into several little streams in the little basin like opening out of defile in which the dot near a is Kobi at 5 5/’’ cross little wood bridge over one of the streams still driving small snow –

d our road tomorrow

b castle

e Defile of the Terek 12 v.[versts] to its source said Colonel G-[Grauert] they say here one can go 15 v.[versts] along this defile and no farther –

c village

f ditto

16 old castle and at 5 10/’’ on rocky ridge (left) about in a line with Kobi, and at a little distance below this castle little fort-like village in and at the entrance of the little Defile to the East and about opposite another village at foot of high mountain right –

Enter Kobi at 5 1/4 thro’ little street of low flat-roofed shops about 8 on a side – Right side with little rude covered passage (portico) – At 5 17/’’ alight at our nice little stone? yellow washed Inn – This and 2 more such like buildings and the Ossetine Sâcles form the whole town of Kobi – No Krepost – The few Cossacks in low flat roofed huts near the Sacles – Delivered our 3 letters – The Prince of the place came – To be off very early – The Courier with empty carriages at 4 1/2 a.m. and we at 6 a.m. –

A-[Ann] and I went out – She sketched – I (with a soldier) went to the Sacles – Less good than those at Kasbek – 20 or 30 families or more – A neat little white washed stone church just before entering the village –

Tea over at 8 – ‘Tis now 11 5/’’ as I have just written so far – Fine day till the driving small snow in the afternoon (vide above) – Tonight they want us all to set off together – An officer and 25 men instead of 10 as the Prince said – 3 Traineaux – 2 for baggage instead of one! Our people frightened – I told George I should set off after the Courier and empty carriages – took off only pelerine and lay down in my gown and black stuff cloak at eleven and a half

Anne’s and Ann’s route on this day.

[symbols in the margin of the page:] + 𐐥

[in the margin of the page:] Kasbeck

[in the margin of the page:] Leave Kasbek

[in the margin of the page:] Population of village

[in the margin of the page:] steep pitch

Page References: SH:7/ML/E/24/0077 and SH:7/ML/E/24/0078 and SH:7/ML/E/24/0079

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