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fant manner of life. It is entertaining to hear them commiferate thofe who are confined to one place of abode, and obliged to fupport themselves by labour, which they reckon the greatest flavery?

The Kontayfha has always fome thoufands of his fubjects encamped near himself, who treat him with great veneration and refpect. And, in juftice to him, it must be confeffed, that he is as attentive to the interefts of his people. and as affiduous in the administration of juftice in particular, as if they were his own children,

The Kalmucks are not fuch favage people as they are generally reprefented; for I am informed a perfon may travel among them with greater fafety, both to his perfon and effects, than in many other countries.

The Kontayfha received the deputies from the governor of Siberia like ambaffadors from foreign princes, and treated them accordingly. This thews what high refpect thefe eastern princes enter tain for his Czarish majefty, when the governor of Siberia is regarded as a fovereign. The ceremony on thefe occafions was as follows:

The deputy with his fervants were admitted into the tent, where the Kontayfha fat, with his queen and feveral children about him. He defired all of them to fit down on carpets or mats; for the Kalmucks, like moft Afiatics, ufe no chairs. They were entertained with tea before dinner; and, after it, the Kontayfha difmiffed the deputy in a friendly manner, telling him, he would fend for him next day to receive an answer to the governor's letter, which he punctually per

formed. This answer was expreffed in very plain and concife terms. Thefe Tartars in general write with brevity and perfpicuity. I have feen feveral of their letters tranf lated, which pleafed me extremely, as they contained no tedious preambles, nor difgufting repeti tions, which ferve only to perplex the reader.

The emperor of China was fome time ago engaged in a war with the Kontayfha, about fome frontier towns, of which the latter took poffeffion, and maintained his claim with a ftrong army. The emperor fent against him an army of three hundred thoufand men, under the command of his fourteenth fon, who is reckoned' the beft general of all his children. Notwithstanding their fuperiority in numbers, the Kontayfha defeated the Chinefe in feveral actions. The emperor at last thought it beft to accommodate the difference, and a peace was concluded to the satis-, faction of both parties.

It must be obferved, that the Chinefe, being obliged to undertake a long and difficult march, through a defart and barren coun try, lying weftward of the long wall; being alfo incumbered with artillery, and heavy carriages, containing provifions for the whole army during their march, had their force greatly diminished before they reached the enemy. The Kontayfha, on the other hand, having intelligence of the great army coming against him, waited patiently on his own frontiers, till the enemy was within a few days march of his camp, when he fent out detachments of light horfe to fet fire to the grafs, and lay wafte the country. He alfo diítracted

them,

them, day and night, with repeated alarms, which, together with want of provifions, obliged them to retire with confiderable lofs.

This method of carrying on war, by wafting the country, is very ancient among the Tartars, and practifed by all of them from the Danube eastward. This cir. cumftance renders them a dreadful enemy to regular troops, who must thereby be deprived of all fubfiftence, while the Tartars, having always many fpare horfes to kill and eat, are at no lofs for provifions.

I have only to add, that the Kontayfha must be the fame prince who, in our European maps, in generally called the Great Cham of Tartary. As no Europeans travel through that country, these maps must be very erroneous. It is however to be expected, that the Ruffians will, in time, make a more compleat difcovery of the eaftern parts of Afia.

We paffed through many Tartar villages, and at night lodged in one of their little huts, and warmed ourselves at a good fire on the hearth. Thefe houses confift generally of one or two rooms, according to the ability of the landlord. Near to the hearth is fixed an iron kettle to dress the victuals. In one end of the apartment is placed a bench, aut eighteen inches high, and fix feet broad, covered with mats, or skins of wild beafts, upon which all the family fit by day, and fleep in the night. The walls are built of wood and mofs, confifting of large beams, laid one above another, with a layer of mofs between every two beams. All the roofs are raifed.

A fquare hole is cut out for a window, and, to fupply the want of glafs, a piece of ice is formed to fit the place exactly, which lets in a good light. Two or three pieces will laft the whole winter. Thefe Tartars are very neat and cleanly, both in their perfons and houses. They ufe no ftoves, as the Ruffians do, Near the house there is commonly a fhade for the cattle.

Of the Barabintzy, or Tartars of Baraba.

Here we laid in provisions for our journey over the Baraba; which fignifies, in the Tartar language, a marfhy plain. Its inhabitants are a mixture of different Tartar tribes, called Barabintzy, from the name of the country in which they live. They are a poor miferable people, being treated as fubjects both by the emperor and Kontay fha; and obliged to pay a tribute, in furs and kins of wild beafts, to each. They have no grain, nor cattle of any kind, except a few rein-deer; and fubfift by hunting-and fishing. What fish they confume not in the fummer are dried and fmoaked for their winter provifions. They are partly of the Mahometan and partly of the Kalmuck religion; but this difference caufes no dif. putes.

In the places through which we pafled, the ambaffador fent for all the hunters and sportsmen, that he might inquire what kinds of game and wild beats were in their neighbourhood. Hunting is the employment of most of the young fellows in this country; and is very profitable, as they fell the

furs

furs to great advantage. We found that this place produced great plenty both of game and wild beafts, but few fables. In the fpring, a number of elks and ftags come hither from the fouth, many of which are killed by the inhabitants, both on account of their flesh and their hides. What of the flesh is not confumed fresh they falt. The hides are very large, and are dreffed into excellent buff. The huntf man, having found the track of a ftag upon the fnow, purfues it upon his fnow-fhoes, with his bow and arrows, and little dog, till the animal is quite fatigued: for, the fnow on the furface being melted by the heat of the fun, and congealed at night by the froft, but not ftrong enough to bear the weight of fuch an animal, he finks deep at every step, and the fharp ice cuts his ancles and lames him, fo that he becomes an eafy prey to the hunter.

One of thefe hunters told me the following ftory, which was. confirmed by feveral of his neighbours, That, in the year 1713, in the month of March, being out a hunting, he difcovered the track of a flag, which he purfued. At overtaking the animal, he was fomewhat startled, on obferving it had only one horn, ftuck in the middle of its forehead. Being near this village, he drove it home, and fhewed it, to the great admi. ration of the fpectators. He after. wards killed it, and eat the flesh; and fold the horn to a combmaker, in the town of Tara, for ten alteens, about fifteen pence fterling. I inquired carefully a bout the fhape and fize of this unicorn, as I shall call it, and was told it exactly refembled a ftag.

The horn was of a brownish colour, about one archeen, or twentyeight inches long; and twisted, from the root, till within a finger's length of the top, where it was divided, like a fork, into two points very sharp.

Baraba is really what its name fignifies, an extenfive marshy plain. It is generally full of lakes and marthy grounds, overgrown with tall woods of afpin, alder, willows, and other aquatics; particularly many large birch-trees, having their bark as white and fmooth as paper. The lakes abound with various kinds of fishes; fuch as pikes, perches, breams, eels, and, particularly, a fish called karrafs, of an uncommon bignefs, and very fat, Thefe the inhabitants dry, in fummer, for winter provifions; which are all the food to be found among them. I have eat of it often, and thought it not difagreeable. In winter, they ufe melted fnow for water. They are very hofpitable; and defire nothing, in return of their civilities, but a little tobacco to fmoke, and a dram of brandy, of which they are very fond. The drefs, both of men and women, confifts of long coats of fheep fkins, which they get from the Ruffians and Kalmucks, in exchange for more valuable furs. As they wear no other apparel, not even shirts, they are very nafty. Their huts are most miferable habitations, and funk about one half under ground. We were glad, however, to find them as a baiting-place in fuch a cold feafon.

The Barabintzy, like most of the ancient natives of Siberia, have many conjurers among them;

whom

whom they call fhamans, and fometimes priefts. Many of the female fex alfo affume this character. The fhamans are held in great efteem by the people; they pretend to correfpondence with the fhaytan, or devil; by whom, they fay, they are informed of all paft and future events, at any diftance of time or place. Our ambassador refolved to inquire ftrictly into the truth of many ftrange ftories, generally believed, concerning the fhamans; and fent for all of fame, in that way, in the places through which we paffed.

In Baraba, we went to vifit a famous woman of this character. When we entered her house, fhe continued bufy about her domestic affairs, without almoft taking any notice of her guests. However, after the had fmoked a pipe of tobacco, and drunk a dram of brandy, he began to be more chearful. Our people asked her fome trifling questions about their friends; but the pretended to be quite ignorant, till he got more tobacco, and fome inconfiderable prefents; when he began to collect her conjuring tools. First, the brought the fhaytan; which is nothing but a piece of wood, wherein is cut fomething refembling a human head, adorned with many filk and wollen rags, of various colours; then a fmall drum, about a foot diameter, to which were fixed many brafs and iron rings, and hung round alfo with rags. She now began a difmal tune, keeping time with the drum, which the beat with a stick for that purpose: feveral of her neighbours, whom the had previously called to her af fiftance, joined in the chorus. Du

ring this fcene, which lafted about a quarter of an hour, the kept the fhaytan, or image, clofe by herfelf, stuck up in a corner. The charm being now finished, the defired us to put our questions. Her anfwers were delivered very artfully, and with as much obfcurity and ambiguity as they could have been given by any oracle. She was a young woman, and very handfome.

Of the Tongufy.

We continued our journey, for feveral days, along the Tongufta. We found, now and then, little villages, or fingle houfes, on the banks. One day we chanced to meet a prodigious flock of hares, all as white as the fnow on which they walked. I fpeak within com pafs when I fay there were above five or fix hundred of them. They were coming down the river, very deliberately, on a fmall path, of their own making, close to the beaten road. As foon as they faw us, all of them run into the woods, without feeming much fright ened. I am informed that these hares travel to the fouth in much greater flocks than this, every fpring, and return in autumn, when the rivers are frozen and the fnow falls. In moft of the villages we found plenty of this fort of ve nifon; the inhabitants, however, value it but little for they catch thefe hares more on account of their fkins, of which they make confiderable' profits, than their flesh,

The Tongufy, fo called from the name of the river, who live along its banks, are the pofterity of the ancient inhabitants of Si

beria, and differ in language, manners, and drefs, and even in their perfons and ftature, from all the other tribes of these people I have had occafion to fee. They have no houses, where they remain for any time, but range through the woods, and along rivers, at pleafure; and, wherever they come, they erect a few fpars, inclining to one another at the top; thefe they cover with pieces of birchin bark, fewed together, leaving a hole at the top to let out the fmoke. The fire is placed in the middle. They are very civil and tractable, and like to fmoke tobacco, and drink brandy. About their huts they have generally a good stock of rain-deer, in which all their wealth

confifts.

The men are tall and ablebodied, brave, and very honeft. The women are of a middle fize, and virtuous. I have feen many of the men with oval figures, like wreaths, on their foreheads, and chins; and fometimes a figure, refembling the branch of a tree, reaching from the corner of the eye to the mouth. Thefe are made, in their infancy, by pricking the parts with a needle, and rubbing them with charcoal, the marks whereof remain as long as the perfon lives. Their complexion is fwarthy. Their faces are not fo flat as thofe of the Kalmucks, but their countenances more open. They are altogether unacquainted with any kind of literature, and worship the fun and moon. They have many fhamans among them, who differ little from thofe I formerly defcribed. I was told of others, whofe abilities in fortunetelling far exceeded thefe of the fhamans at this plac, but they VOL. X.

lived far northward. They cannot bear to fleep in a warm room, but retire to their huts, and lie about the fire on fkins of wild beafts. It is furprifing how these creatures can fuffer the very piercing cold in thefe parts.

The women are dreffed in a furgown, reaching below the knee, and tied about the wait with a girdle. This girdle is about three inches broad, made of deer's fkin, having the hair curiously ftitched down and ornamented, to which is faftened, at each fide, an iron ring, that ferves to carry a tobaccopipe, and other trinkets of small value. Their gowns are alfo ftitched down the breaft, and about the neck. Their long black hair is plaited, and tied about their heads, above which they wear a small furcap, which is becoming enough. Some of them have fmall ear-rings, Their feet are dreffed in bufkins, made of deer-fkins, which reach to the knee, and are tied about the ancles with a thong of leather.

The drefs of the men is very fimple, and fit for action. It confifts of a fhort jacket, with narrow fleeves, made of deer's fkin, having the fur outward; troufers and hofe of the fame kind of skin, both of one piece, and tight to the limbs. They have befides a piece of fur, that covers the breast and ftomach, which is hung about the neck with a thong of leather This, for the moft part, is neatly ftitched and ornamented by their wives. Round their heads they have a ruff, made of the tails of fquirrels, to preferve the tips of the ears from the cold. There is nothing on the crown, but the hair, fmoothed, which hangs in a

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