Charles Fillingham Coxwell, Through Russia in War-time (1916) - Part 2

Charles Coxwell Fillingham (1856 - 1940) was a well-traveled writer, translator and folklorist.  he had traveled widely across Europe and the Russian Empire, collecting folktales and translatinf German, French and Russian literature into English. His most famous work is "Siberian and Other Folk Tales" that introduced Western readers to the folk culture of ethnic groups residing in Siberia. During World War I he traveled through the Russian Empire, crossing the Caucasus Mountains and visiting Georgia before proceeding to Baku and Daghestan.

Early next morning I walked among the primitive houses of Kasbek. Great dogs, like white St. Bernards, barked defiance from the flat roofs, which have a special interest, since frequently they are covered either with ten or twelve inches of earth for the cultivation, at certain seasons, of vegetables, or with a fine stony material. The inhabitants may pass directly from sloping paths on to the tops of the dwellings. The way from one home to another lies generally through an untidy yard, and the alleys and lanes are very irregular. Some of the habitations possess a second story reached by an outer staircase of stone. The people seemed more prosperous and intelligent than those at Gergeti, opposite, but they follow the same occupations, namely, tillage on a small scale, or rearing cattle, or pursuing the tur. A traveler [Captain R.N.Telfer], supplying a valuable narrative, relates that a hunter, having promised him sport in this neighbourhood, would not fire a gun because a corpse lay unburied. He tells us that Pushkin found a funeral party who did not desist from beating their foreheads till the body, enveloped in a 'bourka,' had been taken from the house and the dead man's gun laid by his side. Apparently the observance of such customs does not militate against a prevalence of superstitious beliefs, carried so far that a guide is reported to have exhibited the utmost dread before penetrating recesses in Mount Kasbek sacred to biblical Abraham and the Virgin Mary. Among its snows are said to linger the patriarch's tent and, within it, the holy manger.

Making my way up an acclivity, I reached diminutive fields where natives, mostly women, wearing, under short skirts, long coloured calico trousers, were cutting hay. So I attained an advantageous position whence I could look, across the valley, at the great pinnacle of snow beautifully illumined by a sun still invisible. Photography was futile, for the light remains bad till late amid such high mountains. On the road a poor fellow, whose eyes were much inflamed, accosting me, said he had heard I was a doctor, and asked me to cure him, and I made a suggestion which may have alleviated his suffering.

Kasbek posting station stands at an elevation of about 5,600 feet, so that I had risen more than 3,000 feet since leaving Vladikavkaz. The immediate route was along a flat valley which lies between mountain-sides a mile or so apart. Here the road closely accompanies the Terek, which though tolerably broad and deep, reveals a stony bed as clear as that of an English trout stream. On the right across the river, and high up the great rocky wall, hung a hamlet, having the highest tower I had yet seen, but not easily distinguishable because made of the reddish mountain stone.

Next we met a small caravan. Upon the grass, and near half a dozen small wagons with arched canvas-covered roofs, drivers were beginning their day. They had passed the night in little bell-shaped tents, and, in the middle of their camp, one of their number sat upon a high stone that his head might be conveniently shaved by a friend. The outlook soon became a little less desolate, and as the road wound about and ascended, a mountain of magnificent craggy outline seemed to lie across our path. A foreground to this picture was formed by the little village of Sion, whose ancient tower stands almost as a landmark, while the basilica resembles outwardly the early Christian churches. Upon a horizontal pole beside it are hung its bells. At this point we overtook some carts driven by Ossetes, dressed, as usual, in white slouch hats and tight-fitting garments. The party interested me because we left Vladikavkaz at nearly the same time, and its rate of progress towards Tiflis approximated to my own in the twenty-four hours —that is, about thirty miles. This seemed a fair rate for transport of merchandise in such a district, but the amount of traffic on the famous route was disappointing.

Gradually the scenery, although continuing grand, grew less wild until, after the descent to the post-house at Kobi, the river was seen to fork and the valley to broaden out. Altogether the view in the bright sunshine had grown less tremendous and awe-inspiring.

The Stanzia is here sheltered by an interesting geological formation, a cliff of lava. Up to now the rocks coming under my notice had been chiefly granite, with in one place slate, but as Mount Kasbek was originally a volcano, naturally enough columns of lava appeared where engineering operations had exposed the strata. Happily when I arrived, but little business took up the attention of the staff, consisting chiefly of two Georgian damsels, with an Ossetian lady friend, a visitor, and I was enabled to form an opinion of the feminine comeliness for which Georgia is renowned. The pretty Ossetian wore a red silk kerchief over the head in the manner customary with the women of her race; but the Georgians were more beautiful, possessing dark, languorous eyes and very regular features, charms which, with fine fresh complexions, accompanied a gentle and winning manner. It was my obvious duty to use the camera, and, after some little demur and exhibition of shyness, they let me have my way. Unwilling to lose time, I did not visit some troglodyte caves, to be reached by a difficult path in the neighbourhood. Regret for such an omission remains one of the penalties of imperfect travelling. But the solitary visitor must weigh various pros and cons, and a small command of a language may limit his movements.

Before my vehicle started on the next stage, which was toward the summit and the Station Gudaur, I had an opportunity of witnessing how busy a posting-house can be. Several carriages having arrived almost simultaneously on their way to Kasbek, there occurred much harnessing, unharnessing, and redistribution of horses. 

Finally I was dispatched with four steeds abreast and two drivers, whose hats, of white sheepskin and black astrakhan respectively, offered a sufficient contrast. The ascent soon became severe, and disclosed wooden sheds and various forms of masonry, for protection at times against avalanches and falling boulders. We were now surrounded by not rocky precipices but lofty grass-covered slopes. Sheep browsed at great heights, and men, standing on giddy inclines, cut a crop of hay with their sickles. By the roadside was noticeable a large red incrustation, due to the existence of iron and lime in a trickling stream. Toward the summit of the pass, which attains an elevation of nearly 8,000 feet, patches of snow lay on the ground, and a little way to the left rose a stone cross, first erected by 'Queen Tamara,' doubtless a different person from the lady who threw her lovers from castle walls on a lonesome rock in Daryal Gorge. When the two outside horses had been unhitched so as to follow with the wearer of the black 'shapka,' his fellow 'yemshchik' began the descent, absence of a brake being remedied by such strong roping of the shaft horses to the pole end as enabled them, if necessary, to hold back effectively. The views had now become superlative. Behind and to the right, at a moderate distance, extended a chain of lofty mountains called 'The Seven Brothers,' and attaining a height of 14,000 feet. Though no glaciers or considerable white expanse dominated the picture, a sufficiency of snow, forming bright lines on vast and dark spaces, increased the very varied effects of the mountainous contours. On the more immediate right could be seen the bottom of a deep valley, and several thousand feet beneath us a rushing silvery stream, the Aragva, which takes its origin in the tremendous range above mentioned, and proceeding on its course almost to Tiflis, prepares, as it were, a path for the traveler. In the afternoon I would make the wonderful descent to Mleti, and so join the Aragva.

The summit of the Krestovy, or 'Cross' Pass, with its verdant pastures, having been left behind, Gudaur, the post station, was soon reached. One of the three highest inhabited places in the Caucasus, it shines forth perhaps the most lovely, and the outlook across the deep valley is truly majestic. Gudaur has a legend. Here the mountain spirit Goud, falling in love with Nina, a beautiful child of Ossety, and worshipping her, protected her father and made him prosper. But Nina had plighted her troth to Sasyko, a handsome youth skillful with his gun. Now, when winter came, Goud could not see

Nina as often as before. So, tortured by jealousy, he sent an avalanche over the hut where the lovers sat blissfully together. At first they laughed and were content, but as time wore on they became tormented by hunger. Alas! during the madness of a fearful moment, Sasyko fastened his teeth in Nina's flesh; then Goud laughed so loud that huge stones fell to the bottom of the valley, and have stayed there ever since.

Opposite the posting-house at Gudaur is a tiny shrine to St. George (and the Dragon), and while I gazed on it a diminutive urchin walked off with my staff, which was soon recovered by the postmaster, who described, as if amused, the enterprise of 'ochen molodoy maltcheek' (' the very young boy '). A trifling incident, it served to remind me that in this remote and sparsely inhabited region I had met with very honest treatment, and been altogether unmolested by beggars.

The Tsar's ukaz against intoxicants is not applied strictly in these southern districts, and at Gudaur I tasted the wine of Khakhetia. Neither dark nor light, it was palatable, though lacking edge. I must acknowledge that the word 'veeno,' uttered by an attendant youth, fell pleasantly upon the ear of one who, wishing to lunch, had tasted no fermented drink for two or three months. The concession may have been because the district is a wine-growing one; or perhaps Transcaucasia enjoys a form of government less strict than that of Russia in general.

While I was recalling that the Caucasus has been considered by geographers the natural division between Europe and Asia, my reflections were interrupted by a strange sight. Up the ascent came slowly a cart piled high with faggots of wood. On them, and at full length, reclined a youth, while in front of two bullocks, and straining steadily, two women, by means of straps adjusted over the shoulders, aided the beasts in their task.

For some reason or other my casual efforts to observe bird life in Russia had little success, but I noticed at Gudaur a pretty bird whose kind I had seen in several parts of the land. It is crested, rather smaller than a magpie, and coloured fawn and black.

The 'yemshchik' who drove me down the eighteen zigzags to Mleti possessed a pleasant manner and handsome features, and was a superior specimen of humanity. Wearing on his head a well-formed black 'shapka' and around his body a heavy cloak, which at a little distance might have suggested a Roman toga, he formed an engaging charioteer, ready to show me where, at a dangerous spot, an automobile with its single occupant had recently gone to destruction. Farther on, I noticed a remarkable formation of cliff. Beside the road and over a space of something like two hundred yards, reddish hexagonal lava columns rise perhaps fifty feet.

However thoroughly, owing to the frequent reversal of our direction, the view might change, it always contained elements of sublimity. Dark peaks, decked with snowy lines, towered to the north; across and beyond dizzy depths beneath us stood forth great, if less terrible, heights of varying form; but gradually and steadily the several thousand feet separating us from the Aragva became fewer, till at last the river disclosed itself at the bottom of a chasm, beyond which stood, poised on the mountain-side, a hamlet with two square towers. A mile or two onwards, sentinels guarding a bridge permitted us to proceed, and then, passing a little church, the 'perekladnaya' drew up at the Stanzia of Mleti, opposite the entrance to which a large notice courageously stated that here was a first-class restaurant.

This station provided me with a gratuitous entertainment, as in the garden a tethered small brown bear now and again climbed the trunk of a tree. The creature, captured when a month old, as a Russian officer informed me, had now reached four times that age. The arrival of a tin containing crusts of bread floating in milk arrested angry growls, and prompted a dexterous use of the back of the paw as plate. I was soon relieved to find at my disposal a tolerably comfortable room, whose door could be securely fastened.  ‘Twas not amiss, as a party of travellers having arrived late, a loud voiced lady, accompanied by a gentleman, made very determined efforts to obtain any available accommodation. After a good night's rest, wishing to approach some small hamlets with ancient towers, I retraced my steps along the route of the previous day. While so doing I was overtaken by a splendid figure: a mounted Cossack with his rifle slung across his back. Having passed me, he doubtless descended by a mountain path and crossed the gorge of the Aragva, for I saw him returning on the other side of the stream, and keeping me, as I thought, in view.

Returning to the station, I found that the word 'seytchas,' signifying 'immediately,' has special elasticity in the minds of those attending to the wants of posting travelers. Two four-horsed and hooded phaetons had to be dispatched first. Next drove off a heavily laden tarantass, not lacking the inevitable bonnet-boxes. But when the last had been seen of its several occupants, including a uniformed student and a genial black-cassocked priest with hair caught up in a knot, who from his seat by the driver exhibited talent on a bugle, I once more entered my boat-shaped conveyance and proceeded. The road suddenly entered pretty, wooded scenes, with lateral gorges exhibiting forest or pasture, and conveying small affluents to the Aragva. One now saw, not ordinary bullocks but black buffaloes with shaggy heads, compressed striated horns, and great humps on their backs. Fields of oats appeared, at first green, but golden as the day wore on, and the climate grew rapidly warmer. Hamlets, dotted about more numerously, but, as before, perched high, consisted of primitive houses, having heavy stones which weighted down flat roofs, whose rafters projected far forward, and so ensured grateful shade.

Thus in a very few hours the scenery and surroundings had completely changed. Instead of either awe-inspiring, wild and frowning, or magnificent and snow-capped mountains, now a long valley bounded by lofty tree-covered hills delighted my eyes. The driver, if less agreeable than had been his predecessors, was shrewd. On a previous occasion, during the steep ascent to the Krestovy Pass, I had allowed a soldier to obtain some sort of foothold behind the 'perekladnaya '; and now, against the yemshchlk's wish, I permitted, under the glamour of beautiful surroundings, a farmer-like individual, armed as usual with a kinjaal [dagger], to plead successfully for a lift. Unfortunately, he brought with him a sack containing very hard goods, which proved inconvenient on the narrow floor. Moreover, the general atmosphere, though not lawless, seemed less secure as the Georgian capital was approached, and suggested wariness.