THE SOUTH-WESTERN COAST OF THE CRIMEA.

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objeft in the vicinity of this ruinous caftle, is a deep fountain,vvith fteps hewn in the rock, but which cannot be defcendedwithout danger. It is fituated at the diftance of feveral hundredfathoms from the fort.

On the fummit of the mountain, Admiral Mackenzie, lateCommander of the Fleet at Akhtiar, eftablifhed a farm ; for theereftion of which, a confiderable portion of the woods wasgranted to him, but fubfequently repurchafed by the. Crownfor the fupply of the navy. Since that period, the hill has,among the Ruffians, retained the name of Mackenzie. Thispart of the calcareous ridge is, by the Tartars, called Kok-Agatfli,on account of the numerous white beech-trees growing on itsfoil. The road, on defcending from the eminence, is fo ex-ceedingly fteep, that notwithftanding many windings and greatexertions, it becomes neceffary to chain the wheels.

On arriving at the lower part of this craggy ridge, an ex-tenfive traft, diverfified with level grounds and gentle elevations,prefented itfelf to our view. The whole is eight verfts inbreadth towards the mountains of Balaklava, and becomes ftillbroader in the direftion of Akhtiar and the Cherfonefus. Ona gentle elevation of this traft, to the left of our road, weobferved the pits from which is obtained the Keffe-Kil, thuscalled by the natives; a fubftance confifting of an excellentgrey faponaceous clay, or a fpecies of Fuller's-earth. Thewhole eminence fcarcely rifes from fifteeen to eighteen fathomsabove the level of the valley, and is in a manner burrowedby the Tartars. Its furface is overfpread with oaks, white beech,cornel-trees, and Chrift's thorns. The miners are obliged todig pits in the form of an inverted cone, to the depth of from

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