204 
which they sometimes mix a little fat. 
Sometimes they content themselves 
with eating raw millet, dried wheat 
(djudai), barley (arpa), which is all toge- 
ther called by the common appellation 
of koormatsh. Vrom the flour of these 
different kinds of grain, they boil a 
porrage (balamooik), which is sometimes 
mixed with butter or fat (ssarwmai). 
Besides this they make cakes (nan) of 
it. They drink water (ssoo), new milk 
(ssoot), sour milk (airyan), ‘and sour 
mare’s milk (oomoois). They make also 
a kind of cheese (koort or kroot) from 
sheep’s milk, which, when dissolved in 
water, serves for drink and food at the 
same time. They make also a kind of 
spirit (arak) from sour mare’s milk, 
which is used as a medicine. 
Their general costume consists of 
a cotton or silk wadded coat (¢shapan), 
a fur coat (tor), under garments (dambal 
iskeeit), a belt (eel), boots (eetuk), a 
shirt, open in front (shogdu), wide 
trowsers (tshalbar), a large woollen coat 
(tshakmen), a seal‘ cap (tyoobeti), a hat 
(colpak), a cap (toomak), and a pouch, 
suspended from the belt (/alta). The 
women’s dress generally consists of a 
blue under-dress (keeooldyak), the head- 
dress (ssoukalia), ahead-cloth (shoulook), 
a fur pelisse (shiooryantsha), a metallic 
(que) pelisse (loomartsha), a band of 
mock-corals (montshak), beads (mar- 
shan), &c. Dr. Bolshoi says, “ it is 
pleasant to see a woman or girl in her 
best attire, sitting firmly on a wild 
horse, and running a race with some 
young man, who is often left behind.” 
Their musical instruments are a_ fife 
(tshabusga), a balalaika (dorba), and a 
fiddle (kobus), on which their mounte- 
banks and physicians generally excel. 
The principal occupation of the 
Kirghees (as was said before) is the 
tending of their cattle and sheep. Be- 
sides the sheep (hoi), goats (ishke), 
horses (shi/ka), camels (tyooya), cow’ 
(ssuir), and oxen or bulls (ogyoos), 
dogs (it) and cats (moossuk) form part 
of their establishment. The cattle are 
kept in the field during the whole 
winter, when they feed upon the dried 
grass which they scrape up with their 
feet. For this purpose they drive out 
first the horses, then the camels and 
cattle, and at last the sheep and goats. 
The horses are never shod; the camels 
are covered with blankets in the winter. 
All the animals get very lean and weak 
towards the spring; the sheep entirely 
lose the fat of their tails, which they 
only recover during the summer ; in- 
The Kirghees. 
[Ocr. }, 
deed a great quantity of cattle perish 
every year from cold and want. .Hunt- 
ing and shooting are carried on more 
for amusement than as means of sus- 
tenance. They hunt with dogs and 
trained eagles (quere, falcons ?), and 
shoot with arrows and guns. The fish 
are caught in winter with hooks through 
holes made iu the ice, or they benumb 
them by beating on the ice, and then 
breaking it, takethem out. In summer 
they occasionally spear them. Some- 
times they catch pike, by troubling the 
water, which induces the fish to swim 
on the surface. <A few of them will 
cultivate the ground in some fertile 
parts of the steppe; and although it 
rains there very rarely, they reap of the 
milet (turn) sixty fold, wheat and barley 
tenfold and more. They also grow a 
little rye (karassgoola), which is only 
iven to the cattle. Their melons 
koun), water-melons (karbooss), and. 
pompkins (asskabak), are nearly as good 
as those of Bokhara and China. From 
the former country a species of millet 
is imported, called Shyoogaree. The 
water is led in small channels from the. 
rivers to the low parts of the land for 
the purpose of irrigation. The tools 
for agriculture, are the plough (yegin. 
agatsh) and the harrow (mala). The 
Kirghees are very fond of tobacco, but 
principally as snuff. Dr. B. says, that 
in 1804, he sowed some Chiwa tobacco 
for the first time on the banks of the 
Sur, which succeeded perfectly, and it 
was found preferable to that of Bok- 
hara. They trade along the line of 
Orenburg and in the fortresses of Orsk 
and Troizk. On attacking the caravans 
or in their darantas, they are always 
armed cap-a-pie. ‘Their arms are: a 
sword (kolush), a musket (mooltuk), a 
lance (naisa), a bow, a bundle of ar- 
rows (ok), a quiver (ssaidak), a dagger 
(kinshal), a- cuirass (ssout), a knife 
(peeyak), and a stout whip (kamtsha). 
They.calculate by the lunar year, hke 
the rest of the Mohammedans, giving 
however to each month (ai) thirty days. 
They keep the Rhamadan, which they 
call ooroosa, during which time, when 
they feast at night, even the poorest 
are expected to eat flesh-meat. The 
women and children are exempted from 
the rigours of the fast. Respecting their 
incantations, in cases of sickness, Dr. 
B, relates the following instances, which 
he himself had witnessed: “I was 
called.in to a man who suffered both 
from dropsy and from stricture. I 
could give him no relief. At the same 
time 
