The Vladykavkaz-Rostoff railway, commenced in 1873 and now completed, will ensure rapid communication with Russia, vid Varonesh and Riazan, or vid Slaviansk, KharkofT, Orel, and Toula to Moscow; and there is an excellent post-road from Vladykavkaz to Taman for the Crimea and south of Russia. ■
Vladykavkaz is a convenient point of departure for visiting the Eastern Caucasus, reversing the route taken by General Sir A. Cunynghamc in 1871, when that officer travelled from Petrovsk to
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Vladykavkaz.' Steamers at Petrovsk convey passengers to Astrahan for the tedious voyage up the Volga into Russia, and down south to Bakou, whence Tiflis may be reached by the post-road on the fifth day.»
The nature of the country in the valley of the river Soundja and along the shore of the Caspian Sea offers every facility, as has been already determined by survey, for the construction of a railroad from Vladykavkaz to Petrovsk, and from Petrovsk to Bakou, which will become the principal line of communication between Russia and its most productive districts in the Caucasus. It would be continued beyond Bakou by way of Djevatt through the district of Lencoran, for the purpose of uniting with the Persian railway from Teheran to Enzely.
There are also two projects for uniting Vladykavkaz and Tiflis. The first is by a line to skirt the great military road in the valley of the Terek, which, after traversing a tunnel through ' the mountain of the cross,' will enter the valley of the Aragva, and meet the Poti-Tiflis railway at Avtchaly, the station nearest to the capital; the other proposed line is through the valley of the river Ardonn in Ossety, also to unite with the Poti-Tiflis railway. The valley of the Terek, however, will more probably be the route selected, when the required tunnel will be at about 6,300 feet above the level of the sea, or 1,936 feet higher than the Mont Cenis tunnel, and 2,594 '^^^ higher than that of Mont Gothard. The tunnel would be nearly two and a half miles in length, the estimated cost being 1,200,000/.
We called to take leave of his Excellency the Governor, and left
Vladykavkaz at 2.30 P.M. on our return journey. In forty minutes
' Trtttrtli in lie EaiUrn Caueatut, &c., Lieut. -General fjir A. T. Cunyngbune. K.C.B., F.R.C.S., 1871.
' The Itinerar)' of Steamei^ on the Caspian Sea will be found in Appendix XI.
t, Google we reached Balta, and at 4.40 P.M. changed horses at Lars, where we were offered some native cloth, a mixture of cotton and wool, not unlike the Scottish ' blunk,' but the best quality is all wool At 6.30 we arrived at Kasbeck, where we determined to pass the night.
After breakfast on the following morning, we called on Prince Kasbeck. He received us in his sleeping apartment spread with rich Persian carpets, the rest of the furniture being of extreme simplicity. He has a valuable collection of weapons, in his armoury of native and foreign rifles, sabres, pistols, kynjiils, and revolvers, which were scattered about the room.
Theprince's cousin, Prince Alexander, who speaks French, was good enough to accompany us over the aoul, and give us much information in regard to the Ossets. The great mountain, he said, was named Kasbeck by the Russians, as a compliment to one of his ancestors,' who was among the first to acknowledge the supremacy of Riissia. The small church in the village of Stepan Tzmynda, now also called Kasbeck, was restored by the wife of that same ancestor. At the east and west ends without the church are canopied enclosures wherein lie interred the members of the Kasbeck family for ten generations, the males in the western, and the females in the eastern enclosure. There are no monumental slabs or inscriptions, nor are the remains in vaults; earth to earth, for no coffin is employed, corruption sure and speedy, quickly making room for others to follow.
The saklyas, amid which are a few of the old trapezoid towers of defence, are miserable hovels without windows. After our eyes
< ' The title oi Kazibeg, or Kasbek, woe conferred on Ihe representative of the (amity of Taobikhan-chvili, by the kings of Georgia, who were the suieraines of the valley.' Dubois, iv. p. 273.
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»o THE CRIMEA AND TBANSCAUCASIA.