CHARACTERS. 



275 



very sour railk, and smoke-dried, 

 which they crumble between tlieir 

 fingers, and infuse in water. Tlicy 

 also drink, in spring, the sap of the 

 birch, which they collect by means 

 of deep incisions in the trees ; whicii 

 practice kills a great number of the 

 trees. Their most common nou- 

 rishment is a very thin meat-broth, 

 which they pour from large spoons, 

 part in their mouths, and part on 

 their beards. Tiiey sow, indeed, 

 a little corn, but scarce enough for 

 their small consumption. While 

 they are able to keep horses and 

 bees, and can please themselves 

 with an indolent life, it is not to 

 be expected that they can be made 

 tillers of the ground. Bread is not 

 of daily use with them. A Basch- 

 kir woman kneads, with unwashed 

 fingers, a cake, with water, and a 

 little salt, and buries it in hot ashes 

 on the hearth ; it is then stuck on a 

 stick, and held before the fire to 

 make a crust. 



The Baschkirs have been long 

 without Khans, and all their nobi- 

 lity have been gradually destroyed 

 in the civil wars. At present, every 

 tribe or JVolost chuses from itself 

 one or more ancients or Stai-chlni. 

 The nation composes thirty-four 

 Wolosts, wherein were reckoned, in 

 1770, 27,000 families. Their lan- 

 guage is a Tartar idiom, differing 

 much from that spoken at Kasan. 



As to military service, they them- 

 selves chuse the chiefs, and the of- 

 ficers of the small troops : but the 

 regimental chiefs, called Attamans^ 

 are named by the Russian comman- 

 ders, from amongst the most mi-rito- 

 riou.jof theStarchinis. Their usual 

 arms are a bow, arrows, a lance, 

 , a coat of mail, and a casque : but 



many are armed with sabres, fusils, 

 or pistols, and some with all these. 

 They are very well mounted, are 

 good horsemen, and excellent ar- 

 chers ; whence a small troop of 

 Baschkirs is not only sure to obtain 

 the victory over a much greater 

 number of Kirgisians, but a single 

 regiment of Baschkirs often makes 

 long marches in the midst of a Kir- 

 gislan horde without ever being 

 beaten. A corps of Baschkirs of- 

 fers several singularities. Every 

 horseman dresses himself as he 

 pleases, or as he can ; all, how- 

 ever, wear long clothing. Each 

 has a led horse, which he keeps 

 for the battle, and which carries 

 his provisions, consisting chiefly in 

 well-dried corn, which they grind 

 to meal in hand-mills carried with 

 them. Each troop of a hundred 

 carries a standard of various co- 

 lours, which differ from each other 

 in every regiment as much as the 

 arms do. They preserve no order 

 in marching, and it is only when 

 they halt, that they observe any ap- 

 pearance of ranks and files. 



The Baschkirs live in huts in 

 winter, and in moveable jourts * 

 in summer. In the choice of situ- 

 ations for winter villages, they pay 

 more regard to the fertility of the 

 soil, than to the proximity of water, 

 snow serving them in that respect. 

 A village contains from ten to fifty 

 huts J an encampment is only from 

 five to twenty jourts; so that a large 

 winter village divides into several 

 summer camps. Though the win- 

 ters here are long and rigorous, the 

 Baschkirs leave their^attle entirely 

 to their own discretion. These un- 

 fortunate animals are reduced to 

 scratch up, from beneath the snow, 



• A kind of barracks. 

 T2 



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