Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-15
ACROSS THE CAUCASUS
GlOries of the First Sunrise
After a Nights Ride.
A DILIGENCE CONVOY
HIDING AWAY MONEY AND VAL
TABLES FOR FEAR OF BANDITS.
Calamity of Rus sian Companions of
Travel Toward Two Ameri-
can Women.
Written for The Evening Star.

the higher peaks from view, and 1t is not
until the diligence approaches the third
station that the country begins to look
really mountainous.
As we left the second station. Tsilkane,
at 3 o'clock of a perfectly clear morning in
July, dashing out into the darkness all
four horses at full gallop. the light of the
stars was our only light. as the sturdy
,rouug driver stubbornly refused to illumi-
nate his candles.
For an hour or more We sat silent, Won
deriug we rushed along, what might be
the real shape and appearance of the dark
blotches Of things scattered about here and
there On the road Then the sun came
slowly up and nothing could be more beau
tiful than that first sunrise on the eau
Casus, except the second. on the following
morning. The mystery of it all The light
silently and evenly spread over all things,
and the surprise, something which we
had taken for a rock. began to move. and,
locking back. we saw that it was sheep
or lOEg-nOSed Caucasian OK. or some
thing that we had made sure was a very
large house by the roadside, showed, in the
faint light, to be a not over-large rock,
with tall young tree beside it. The sun
must have d peculiar feeling for the eau
CaSuS, for certainly his rising there is more
glorious than in any other part Our road
lay along the hill tops and through ravines
and little narrow valleys, and our horses
reced up hill and down dale while we,
wrapped closely in furs, welcomed gladly
the first faint heat of the suns rays. We
reached the third station. DOuChet, at
O'Clock and found an assembage of mild
looking giants, who had come out at the
sound of our bugle TO survey the land and
our COuntenanCes. and to tell us the pleas
ant news that there was a prospect Of
horses in the course of an hour.
The station was, as usual of stone. with
vine-Covered veranda. and there was a
pretty arbOr of vines on the other side of
the road, where one could have tea, but,
as it was too cold for that at this time of
the morning. sat in our diligence and
gratefully drank the very hot tea. md even
ate the sour bread with gratitude. for
had had nothing except tea since lunch
time the day before. and expected nothing
more until lunch time that same cay While
We were sitting there we heard off in the
distance the notes of a bugle. and a few
moments later another private diligence
came in at full gailop. 1t was a larger
one than ours. had six horses, and the oc-
Cupants were four Russian gentlemen, Off
GERS. who spoke French and were most in
teresting and pleasant travelling companions
for the rest Of the way. A little later on
the public diligence sounded its bugle from
the hill top back of us and soon came
swinging in at the same mad pace.
All Ready to Start.
We by that time had got our horses. and
were ready and impatient to start, but there
was a grand pow-wow taking place in the
veranda. in which all the men of the party
were assembled, and soon after Leon. ap-
pearing, told that as there had been
several skirmishes with bandits in the up
per mountains of late 1t was not consld-
cred safe for US 10 start on alone but we
were 10 wait for the other two diligences.
That caused delay OF half an hour, but
II proved TO be very pleasant one, as one
of the Russians, an old officer, with most
Courtly manners, came to our diligence.
and when he found that we were not in fear
OF the bandits, but rather had the nope of
seeing them. told US tales Of their habits
and ways of doing things.
They are not. you seem to imagine,
mesdames," he said in French. smiling,
"noble-hearted and much to be pitied
beings. Far from il, They are mean-spir-
tied and shoot from behind" And he told
US that the tale We had heard once before
of the two jolly young students who had
set forth from Nladkevkaz on horseback,
and two days afterward found dead, shot
n eo I b 0I rIl
armed, with hugle blowing and colors
nylAS, 50 10 speak and whose bodies. all
Io-L. W -4uIu IN Ihs river a Re" Gays
tba1 e,T1 IaT, ~ ,It 30 ca ,,tau
after that although we had to confess to
some small shiy5rs Of excitement, we could
noL StI up d IeeHhS OF iear' Tor we were
bqs aJU,s,-s n, ,rr,aT S,Idisr a. 80 "a
front.
We had great fun conceaIfng our few val
ul9Cpg "
would be least suspected and comma ring
noses with the Russians as to hiding places
My letter Of credit and passport I tucked
into a hole torn in the lining of the dill
geuce hood. and my extra money I mt
down into my boot and felt safe but I'M
comfortable.
At last after much calling TO and from
the other diligence and great deal of
laughter we started forth our diligence be-
tween the other two and for another three
hours dashed on through narrow valleys
overshadowed by the now much higher
mountains, on whose sides were here and
there ruined Caucasian villages. all the
houses OF stone. or on the hedge of a high
ridge a beautiful old ruin OF a castle
The scenery grew wilder and the noun
| tains higher the brook was a rushing tor
rent and the valleys instead of broad
| peaceful glades. were narrower and darker
and still we all three raced along together
at full speed, bugles blowing frequently and
whips cracking loudly.
Wbr rba, E;ros
once the laughing face Of the youngest
Russian officer appeared over the hood of
the diligence and he shouted '.Don,t ba
charmed rrosdo,,os MO 90 -. a. ~
-, = "" ie ~ H'e our re-
voiVers' Just 10 snow that we have themt'
and soon after eleven OF the reyolvers
sounded out loudly and with manv echoe.