Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 3.djvu/28

 2 BATTLE OF THE ALM. CHAP. SO long as it flows in its summer bed, the pure, , grey sti-e-tm oT t'le Alma, though strong and rapid oven then, can be crossed in most places by a full- grown luan wiiliout losing foot. There are, however, some deeps which would force a man to swim a few strokes ; and, on the other hand, the river is passed in several places by easy and frequented fords. Near the village of Bourliouk, at the time of the action, there was a good timber bridge. Along the course of the stream, on the north or right bank, there is a broad belt of gardens and vineyards fenced round by low stone walls, and reaching down to the water; but on the left or south side there are few enclosures, for in most places the rock formation, which marks the left bank of the river, has its base so close down to the water's edge as to leave but little soil deep enough for culture. The smooth slopes by which the invader from the north approaches the Alma are contrasted by the aspect of the country on the opposite bank of the river ; for there, the field is so broken up into hills and valleys, — into steep acclivities and nar- row ravines — into jutting knolls and winding gullies, — that with the labouring power of a Eussian army, and the resources of Sebastopol at his command, a skilled engineer would have found it hard to exhaust his contrivances for the defence of a ground having all this strength of feature. It is the hi<di land nearest to the shore which