XII.

self entering the mouth of the Don, and pro- CHAP. ceeding up the river, to the distance of about ninety-nine miles' from its embouchure, and rather more than forty-six above the town of Tcherkask. Here he would find the Danaetz, falling into the Don by two mouths separated from each other by a distance of ten or twelve miles. But the people have, for time immemorial, entertained a notion, that, before the Danaetz reaches the sea, it leaves the Don again, and, taking a north-westerly direction, falls into the Palus Mæotis, to the north of all the other mouths of the Don. This northernmost mouth of the Don (represented in the annexed Map'), owing to the river whose waters its channel is supposed peculiarly to contain, is called Danaetz, and, to express either its sluggish current or its lapse into the sea, Dead Danaetz. The Greeks, steering from the Crimea towards the mouths of the Don, and, as their custom was, keeping close to the shore', entered first this northernmost mouth of the river. It bore then, as it does now, the name of Danaetz, Tdanaetz, or Tanaets; it matters not which of

(1) One hundred and forty versts.

(2) Seventy versts.

(3) See Fig. 23. in the Map of the Mouths of the Don.

(4) It is still a mode of navigation in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azof.

XII.

CHAP. these; for it will readily be admitted, that from any one of these appellations the word Tanaïs would be derived'. Even in the present day, the analogy between the words is so striking, that, in hearing Tahtars and Cossacks name this branch of the Don, particularly if uttered with quickness and volubility, it seemed as frequently pronounced Tanaïs as Tanaetz. To distinguish this branch of the Don from the Danaetz, properly so called, they add to each an epithet; the latter being called the Northern, and the former the Dead Danaetz.

Camps of
Calmucks.

We traversed continued steppes, from Kamenskaia. Camps of Calmucks were often stationed near the road. We visited several; but obtained little information worth adding to the description before given of this people. In one of those camps, containing not more than four tents, we found women only, busied in the distillation of brandy from milk. The men were all absent; perhaps upon some predatory excursion. The women confirmed what we had heard before, concerning the materials used for distillation: having made butter, they said, they were distilling the butter-milk for brandy. We could

(1) The change from D into T, and vice versa, is one of the most common modifications to which language is exposed.

hardly conceive that brandy might be so obtained; but to prove it, they tapped the still, as upon a former occasion, presenting a tuft of camel's hair soaked in brandy, that we might taste, and be convinced. During the latter part of this day's journey, we observed many dromedaries, grazing. We halted for horses at Dubovskaia. Immense caravans were passing towards the Ukraine. The very sight of their burden is sufficient to prove the importance of cultivating the steppes, where Nature only requires solicitation, in order to pour forth her choicest treasures. We noticed trains of from sixty to a hundred waggons, laden entirely with dried fish, to feed the inhabitants of the South of Russia, who might be supplied with better food from their own land than from all the rivers of the Cossacks.

We proceeded to Grivinskaia, and here passed the night; having travelled sixty-eight miles this day, notwithstanding the delays curiosity had occasioned. In the morning of June 19th, we came to Tchestibaloshnia, meeting frequent parties of Calmucks; and through Tuslovskaia, to the town of xay, upon the Don, a settlement

CHAP.

XII.

(2) One hundred and two versts.

CHAP. belonging to the Cossacks of Tcherkask.

XII.

drew nearer the river, the steppes were entirely alive with swarms of the beautiful little quadruped before described under the name of Sûslic: some of these were white. Approaching Axay, numerous camps of Calmucks appeared in every direction, over all the country around the Some of their tents were pitched close to the place. Others, more distant, covered the lofty eminences above the Don.

town.