THE KUINS OF BULGAR. 387 



Dismissing these good people when their hospitable 

 ceremony was over, the travellers proceeded to the ruins 

 of the old capital. They found the walls of some build- 

 ings still standing, two towers, and a number of tomb- 

 stones bearing monumental inscriptions, in Turkish, 

 Arabic, and Armenian. These inscriptions dated back 

 to the year 623 of the Hegira (a. d. 1226). Silver and 

 copper coins and copper rings and trinkets were some- 

 times found in the rubbish of Bulgar. There were 

 several tombs among the ruins, which were objects of 

 veneration to the faithful. They were the tombs of 

 Tartar saints, who, as the Tartars generally were any- 

 thing but saints, were undoubted!}^, in their time, the 

 cream of Tartars. The travellers found a Mollah per- 

 forming his devotions at one of these tombs. He repeated 

 his form of prayer, and bowed his body without being 

 disturbed by their presence. They offered him a seat in 

 their carriage, which he accepted, as the ruins were some 

 distance from each other; and he managed each time 

 they stopped, to finish his devotions before they finished 

 their examinations. Devotion was a good thing, so was 

 a comfortable ride. Returning to Kasan they witnessed 

 the Saban, a Tartar festival, celebrated every year after 

 seed-time. The Tartars wrestled with each other, and 

 ran foot races, and galloped their horses at full speed. It 

 was a scene of barbaric merriment. 



They left Kasan on the 9th, and passed through a dis- 

 trict inhabited by the AVotjaks. This tribe was a branch 

 of the family of Finns ; they had embraced Christianity, 

 and spoke the Russian language, although they retained 

 the customs of their ancestors. The women wore high 

 caps of birch-bark, covered with blue cloth, bedecked 



