The cook is a very important member of the party. He stands for creature comforts, and the party is fortunate which succeeds in engaging a capable man at the town from which the expedition starts. It is very necessary for all purposes that one at least of the party should know some Russian. The cook-interpreter, if only one man is engaged, must speak, besides Russian, at least one western European language, and he must have a good knowledge of as many of the Caucasian languages as possible.
Maps.
The general map of the country is that known as the 5-verst map, which is to be obtained in Tiflis or from the principal London map-sellers. It is on the scale of 5 versts = 3½ miles = 1 in 210,000, to the inch. This, though quite accurate as far as the low country is concerned, is of little use in the mountains. The best known map is that issued with Messrs. Freshfield & Sellas’s The Exploration of the Caucasus (Edward Arnold, London, 1896). It is on the 5-verst scale, and is a useful general map, though the scale is too small to show the mountains properly.
Herr Merzbacher issued with his weighty work, Aus den Hochregionen des Kaukasus (Leipzig, 1901), a very convenient map on the scale of 3⅓ versts = 1 in 140,000. This map is to be obtained from the publishers. It endeavours to give more names, heights and details of mountains than Mr. Freshfield’s; but this, in some cases, has led to a multiplication of errors. Mountains have been inserted which explorers of the locality have failed to find, and in the south-eastern portion of the central group the nomenclature and heights given are often very misleading. By far the most useful map, and the map which is practically indispensable for the mountain explorer who is not prepared to make his own, is the Russian 1-verst map. This is on a large scale (1/42000). It gives with very considerable accuracy the forms of such glaciers and mountains as are visible from positions reasonably accessible to the surveyors. It seldom commits itself by giving any names at all to the peaks, except to the principal ones—although the more important glaciers are generally named. The printing of the names and figures—of course in Russian characters—is often exceedingly bad. The maps are on the hâchure system. With the exception of the sheet covering Kasbek, which is on sale at Vladikavkaz, they can only be obtained through the military authorities in Tiflis.
Expense.
This will, of course, greatly depend upon the style in which the expedition is conducted. If a courier-interpreter is engaged, and Swiss guides are brought, the expense must be expected to be considerable. In spite of the general rise in the cost of living and in the price of labour, which of late years has increased in the Caucasus—between 50 and a 100 per cent—an eight or nine weeks’ journey out from London and back can be done comfortably at a cost not exceeding £100 for each member of a party of four, five or six. Below are given a few prices, based on the experience of the expeditions made in the years 1904, 1911 and 1913. They are, of course, only approximate. Foodstuffs will be found not to vary so much in cost as the hire of horses and porters.
| 1904. | 1911. | 1913. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horse, per day | 1-3 R. | 1½-2 R. | 3-4 R. |
| Porter, per day | — | 1 R. | 1½-4 R. |
| Sheep (small) | 4-6 R. | — | 3-5 R. |
| Hens (small) | 20-40 K. | — | 35-50 K. |
| Eggs (small) | 1-2 K. | — | 1½-2 K. |
| Bread (about 2 lb.) | 8 K. | — | 10 K. |
| Cheese | 15 K. | — | 10-20 K. |
| Wine (Kakhetinskoe), litre | — | — | 1 R. |
| Beer | — | — | 15-20 K |
| Sucking-pig (very small) | 2-3 R. | — | 2 R. |
Rouble = 2s. 1½d.
Kopeck = ¼d.
Note.—All prices given are pre-war.
CHAPTER XIV
THE MOUNTAINS OF CORSICA
BY GEORGE FINCH