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Leader (1850-1860), 20th October 1855, Edition 2 of 2, Page 18, £<** XBpE; IiJBAP^EIL [Wo^Bl, ^ATgjggAY,

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      The Tribes Of The Caucasus. The Tribes O...

      in wesfcero Transcaucasia / , the Georgians , and in southern Transcaucasia tie Arme * i » B 0 * . with settlements : and . colonies o £ Koocds * Persians , Chinese , and xjfoufaoai conteibote subjects to the Kussian and Turkish Empires . Baron . fforfhnnfW'a ' fi statement : of these foets ^ . though ; quite as clear-as we ; had aj , ^ bt » torexpeet ^ M * somewhat desultory , aaad ; rests on vei ^ unsubstantial , dafcifc S ^ 6 idtiies > ia a ^ halfrwfld niouii * aiiii-re ^ oji , arer positively iinalitaiaabte-Tfte position ; € > £ Ku 99 ia in the Caucasus may be described thus : —heir empire , spreading : to the bounds of Northern and : Eastern Europe is here compressed between the Euxine and the Caspian , and interrupted ! hy the Caucasian range . Of this range she has- possessed herself of a part , bat . has- passed the . whole ,, occupying beyond it a . continuous belt of territory between , the two seas , with Turkey and Persia lying before , — Turkey westwards , Persia eastwards . Her object , therefore , is to secure

      the Caucasus as a base whence she may operate , by a political and military process , upon those dissolving sultanates of Islam . Before Russia seized the Transeaucasian provinces , Turkey and Persia contended for them , and she advanced while they disputed . Partly by forcing bee way through the mountains , partly by encompassing them , partly by establishing a friendly intercourse with the free tribes , she has acquired , a nueleus , which may he lost or strengthened in the present war . Two ¦ obstacles alone : exist to the fulfilment of her design ,, and , those , says Baron Haxthausen , are— " England , and the Mountain Races of the Caucasus . " We r will not pause to investigate from his point of view the position of Engnsh . interests . in Western Asia ; but r as the war in Circassia is a controvert ^ topic , of ^ uch importance , will deal with the statements in connexion with it ^ . part of which are set forth in the succinct , though imperfect summary « £ T Baron Haxthausen . The . Circassian tribes ruled by Sehamyl do not cepresent the population along the entire line of the Caucasus . Otherwise , that line might never have , been broken . It is . artificially , as well as naturally fortified from- sea , to sea- Former writers ; hare maintained that the Caucasian wall extended continuously from one end of the range to the other , like that

      upon- the : Chinese frontier ; but such an assumption is unnecessary . Most of the summits are nearly impassable , even few single pedestrians , and for artillery and mounted troops entirely so . Only at intervals are there practicable denies , and , -wherever these occur , they exhibit the remains of jTjgantic towers and gates . Starting from the Black Sea traces of a wall may be followed ^ north of Mingrelia , for a length of ninety miles . The valleva and . passes , it is obvious , were entirely closed by fortifications ; at the chief of these * the Albanian Gate ,- Reineggs * who is corroborated by Bieber-^ tein ^ foiuad ,. in the eighteenth century , ruins a- hundred and twenty feet high- Thence , for nearly a hundred miles , these relics of ancient military art are traced to their termination near Derbent ,. on the Caspian Sea . They are constructed of limestone , hewn into square blocks , sometimes " so large that it would require fifty men to remove one . " Russia , penetrating the Caucasus , in spite of its martial tribes , its precipices , and its fortifications , imitates . ' the Sassanides , hews highways in therock , restores . the " long-walls " 06 Western Asia , and establishes fortresses with colonies of soldiers in the

      most accessible and commanding positions . ; HttHipoiicy : among the . mountaineers has . taken various forms . She has altftuaateJy seduced ) and- terrified the more yielding tribes ; . but ,, in the eastern range-, her efforts to pacify- and her efforts to intimidate hare been equally unauccessfuL There : a martial organisation has beea promoted , by religiotts zeal r and : a war of independence has been carried on , w-hieh is deaeribed ! by one > set of writers as the heroic contest of a small nation with a tcasfc empire ^ , and by . another as a succession of integular forays * with plunden aa the : object , and indiscriminate : massacre aa the means . Baron Hoatthauattn jr « oa « rk » : — -

      Tho accounts m receive are very incomplete andinaccurate . These mountaineers « tse > the sword ^ but not the pen , —the Russians fight , but are not allowed to write : itate-policy ftrobid * this . A' rich field for the inventive' genius of the European press f ClccamoimUy tr * vfllleT 8 lurvre brought us triioatabemeatsi but far more generally false « nea ; wxd ita is ito > uncommon thing for people to take pleasure , in imposing upon travelleco , pacikmlairl y ) whuon they manifest a curious-turn .. There-are no places of public resort ,, no- coffeBtJiouses , where such information can be obtained : in Tiflis , for example , the war with tliemountainaera . is nevror mentioned . Foreign military-officers—Prussians , Austrians , Banes and French' —have frequently Accompanied th & armfas of Russia in their campaigns , to perfect themselves in field « ervice !} they have uniformly met with the best reception , and been treated as comrades bytihe Russians . Thia has naturally called for discretion and reserve on their pftrfcj ih' all tfca- accounts they have made public . The consequence in short is , that « ompamtlvtoVjr few aeciwatfr and connected accounts of this memorable Circassian war ihavq reached Xlurope .

      \ " 'M recent English traveller ,, provoked : to exaggeration by the extravagance < $ ? ' tlip Qrerman papers , undertook to dissipate our popular admiration of Sohamyt and boa foWowers , whom he disparaged as banditti , ruthless and meai ., 15 i ^ t it is certain that the struggle in the Caucasus has assumed all the proportions'of a national war . It appears to have been far more pure in' its origin than the insurrection in . China , and bears some resemblance to the revolt of the Indian aborigines of Mexico , Central America , and X * eru , against the Spanish power . Scharayt represents , in fact , a new Mobamn & edan reform , the second inspiration ot the Faith on the . Caucasian nilfa . Elsewhere Mohammedlsnti is inert , and has reached a low stage of -decay . , In I > aghiatani , corrupted by time and change , it had dwindteu into a laay faith , when tho Murid'a arose , preaching a . religious war , referring to ancient prophecies , —against ) Grog . and Magog , —awakening the peoplo to

      • consider the safety of their mountains , the force of unity , the righteousness of a , crusade against Russia- —chief , or best known , of the unbelieving fltates . In the lino of the preachers of this crusade , Sehamyl is not tho least conspicuous . Baron Haxthausen ' s account of him ^ derived , ho tells as , fronx the . most authentic sources , is interesting : — ¦ v JmADA Soharayl ,, like Oaai MooUah , was , bom in tho village off Ghimry ,, in . the gantry of the KoDaubulina , in 1797 . la ataturo he la not tall ,, but of very noble « Q $ thjwd « omo proportions . Ho ia not by nature physiojiMy strong , but he ha « ftfl'toitafc remarkable power and vigour by every kind of" bodily exercise . Hia hood , of . ^ D & suijiul and regular shape , his aquiline nose ,, small mouth , blue eyes , blond hair «& Jr ' bea rcL and' deltcato Trhtte skin , seem to point rather to a Germanic than an Eastern

      extraction . His hands and feet are formed with the moat beautiful symmetry ; his mien and every movement are proud and dignified . Whatever absurd reports may have been circulated in Europe concerning this chieftain's prowess , it is an established fact that he has carried 0 % with surprising genius and energy , a long guerilla war with Russia . He and his adherents ! have for thirty years , maintained a free territory in the Caucasus , although Russia has employed some of her most experienced generals to subdue them . He outwitted Fesi ; he . eluded Grabbe ; he neutralised the successes of Golovin , Yermolof , Sass ,. Dolgoruki , and Neidhart : — ' One- instance of Schamyl ' s warlike character and tactics may suffice . In the autumn of 1841 the- Russians made an expedition against Tchetchenia . They forced

      their way into the country , exposed to harassing attacks on every side : a constant fire was kept up . from behind every bush ,, tree , and rock ; and they advanced amidst martial shouts from their unseen enemies : but the Mountaineers nowhere appeared in any force , nor engaged in any battle , except near the Asule , where bloody combats took place , which ended however in no decided results . The Russians burned down the villages and the stores of hay , and carried off the women and children , and some herds of cattle : all these spoils they were obliged to keep with the main body of the army ; for no sooner had they passed , than the Tchetchens appeared again and harassed their rear . The expedition ended in October , without any great advantage having been gained .

      Scarcely had the Kussian troops dispersed to their different quarters , when SchamyL appeared in the country they had quitted , at the head of his followers . He immedi ~ ately compelled all who were capable of bearing arms to join him , threatening all who held back with a fine of a silver rouble , or fifty Russian lashes with the knout . In a few days his army increased to 15 , 000 men . With the ' rapidity of lightning he invaded the country of the Kumyks , allies of the Russians , burned their villages , slew or took prisoners the inhabitants , drove off all the cattle , and advanced to Kizliar . The colonel in command there -went out to meet him , -with a few hundred men and . two cannon ; but they were all killed , and the guns taken . The commandants of the two fortresses , between which Sehamyl had advanced , sallied out , to form a junction at his rear and cut off his retreat . They failed : Sehamyl had effected hia retreat ere they could attain their object . The Russian generals were only two versts apart ; Sehamyl pressed on between them with his troops , which he rapidly formed into three columns ,, attacked the Russians with two of these , right and left , and , protected by the third , carried , off to the mountains cannon , prisoners ,. andLforty thousand head of cattle .

      This exploit raised the fame of Sehamyl to an incredible pitch ; at the same time it was an era in the war , inasmuch as the Mountaineers for the first time captured two pieces of artillery , —the Czar ' s pistols , as they called them . For nine years , from 1845 , Prince Woronzof held the chief command in the Caucasian war . By his predecessors—Yermolof especially—the natux-al horrors of warfare had been aggravated to increase the terror of the Kussian name . By him the western tribes , under their collective appellation of Circassians , were almost completely pacified . They were permitted to sell their youths and girls to the Turks , and only engaged in predatory expeditions , unconnected with political objects . The war against Sehamyl meanwhile remained in the same suspense . Woronzof attempted , by burning and cutting down long paths through the forests , to open the country by degrees . ; but the forests were too dense , and the land beyond them too mountainous and inaccessible to render this work successful . He-effected little here in conquest . Since the breaking out and the continuance of the war with Turkey and the Western Powers , the communication between the Caucasus and Constantinople

      has become perfectly open . The Mountaineers have been greatly assisted by supplies of guns , ammunition , and provisions ; and , although little authentic information has been received , it appears to be quite clear that the Russians have lost all influence over the . Mountaineers , that Sehamyl at the present moment is the acknowledged head of all the inhabitants of the Caucasus , and that the Russians are now restricted to act on the defensive . The Circassians gladly accept the supplies of ammunition , salt , etc ., from Constantinople and the Western Powers ; but any inference from this that they would welcome an alliance with the Turks and the Western Powers is quite erroneous : they by no means desire the vicinity of the latter , which they would regard as equally obnoxious and fatal to them with that of the Russians . Indeed they might probably in the end agree even better with the Russians . Whether Sehamyl himself would consent to a co-operation with the Western Powers appears , from hijs character , very problematical : he desires to rule , but undoubtedly not to be subject to the Sultan . Whether one of the many emissaries sent to him through Circassia has really ever reached him , is very doubtful : they have generally been taken prisoners , robbed , nay murdered ,

      by the Circassians . Baron Haxthausen * s compact volume on the tribes of the Caucasus has been creditably translated by Mr . J . E . Taylor . It forms , virtually , a supplement to his preceding work on Transcaucasia . We commend it to notice for the special information it contains , varied by some speculative passages of more doubtful value , but must caution the reader against accepting its statements on all points connected with the political circumstances of the Caucasus . The historical review i » as sound as most historical views referring to unsettled dates and dubious eras . The geography , perhaps , is as near perfection as it pretends to be . Whenever ib touches the ground 1 described 1 by Kinnier in his political mempir , it corresponds in general with his . The ethnological generalisations are only offered as con-^ scturfcl . Of the Caucasian languages little is known , either in Germany or England 1 . Again * , as to politics , Baron Haxthausen confesses to . the limited facilities possessed by him for separating authentic details from rumours that " require confirmation . "

      The region of the Caucasus is one of the most important on the globe , and it is one of which the least is known . Im Russia , probably , the knowledge exists , but is monopolised for- political and strategic purposes .

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      Translations And Translators. Critique Q...

      TRANSLATIONS AND TRANSLATORS . Critique qfPiire Reason . Translated from the Gorman of Emanuel Kant by J . M . DMoiklejohn . ( Bohn ' s Philosophical Library . ) Specimens of tho Choicest / Lyrical Productions of the most Celebrated German Poets-With Biographical and Litorary Nofcea- Translated in English Venso by Mary Anno Burt ; Second Edition . London : Hail , Virtue > and Co . A cjlhrgtmaw ( of the Charles Honeynaan species ) omje told us that he never set about preparing his sermons till Saturday evening , for he ' * trusted to Providence . " A similar kind of truBt , wo suppose , mu * ft be prevalent amontf translators , for many of them , are evidently relying on some power which

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 20, 1855, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20101855/page/18/