KALMUCKS. 



Calmucks. male foals, and slit their nostrils, that they may 

 ' v - breathe more freely when they run. When breaking 

 them, they use neither saddle nor bridle. A straight 

 girth is tied round the body, by which the Calmuck 

 keeps himself firm in his seat, and the animal is aban- 

 doned to his fury in the open plain. Here he is al- 

 lowed to run and toss himself till he is quite fatigued, 

 when his rider urges him on with the whip, until his 

 strength is almost gone. He is then saddled and 

 bridled, and rode quietly about for some time, by 

 which means he soon becomes perfectly tame. Their 

 horned cattle are of a beautiful shape ; and their 

 sheep are the same as those which are found through- 

 out all Great Tartary. They are exceedingly fat, 

 with large tails, and broad pendent ears ; and their 

 wool is so coarse, that it is fit for nothing but ma- 

 king felt. Their principal food consists in the milk 

 and flesh of their cattle ; but horse flesh is esteemed 

 the best. They are, however, not very delicate in 

 this respect, as they eat not only such of their cattle 

 and horses as have died of disease, but dogs, cats, 

 marmots, rats, and almost every kind of wild beasts ; 

 and the poor sometimes even feed upon carrion. 

 Their favourite dish during a journey, is a piece of 

 flesh placed under the saddle of the horse, which, by 

 warmth and pressure, becomes a tender and palat- 

 able steak. They eat also the roots of chervil, dan- 

 delion, and several other species of wild plants, which 

 they use both raw and boiled. Of their milk they 

 make a fermented liquor, called koumiss ; from which 

 they distil a spirit similar to brandy, which they 

 call rack, or racky, and of which they are remarkably 

 fond. The koumiss is generally made of mare's milk, 

 which is always preferred to that which comes from 

 the cow, as it yields three times more spirit. It is 

 prepared by mixing a sixth part of warm water with 

 any given quantity of warm milk, which in summer 

 must have previously stood twenty-four hours, and 

 in winter three or four days ; to this is added a 

 little old koumiss, by way or yeast, when the mass is 

 agitated ; and sometimes artificial heat is applied to 

 produce the vinous fermentation. From this sub- 

 stance their rack is distilled ; and Dr Clarke, who 

 witnessed the process in a Calmuck camp, has given 

 us the following account of it : " The simplicity of 

 the operation, and of their machinery, was very cha- 

 racteristic of the antiquity of this chemical process. 

 Their still was constructed of mud, or very coarse 

 clay ; and for the neck of the retort they employed a 

 cane. The receiver of the still was entirely covered 

 by a coating of wet clay. The brandy had already 

 passed over. The woman who had the management 

 of the distillery, wishing to give us a taste of the spi- 

 rit, thrust a stick, with a small tuft of camels' hair 

 at its end, through the external covering of clay ; 

 and thus collecting a small quantity of the brandy, 

 she received it into the palm of her dirty and greasy 

 hand, and, having tasted the liquor, presented it to 

 our lips." This liquor is clear and weak, but the 

 rich Calmucks increase its strength by a second distil- 

 lation, and it is capable of being kept a long time in 

 glass bottles. This people are also extremely fond 

 of tobacco and tea ; but, as the last article is very 

 dear, and rather difficult to be obtained, the poorer 

 classes supply its place with several kinds of wild 



plants, such as the seed of the sharp leaved dock, Calmucks* 

 the root of wild angelica, the seed of the Tartarian ; -v * 

 maple, and a species of liquorice. Their principal 

 amusements are hunting, wrestling, archery, and 

 horse racing : indeed, the greater part of a Calmuck's 

 time is spent in diversions. They are excellent horse- 

 men, being trained to riding from their infancy. The 

 women, however, are as expert at this exercise as the 

 men, and manage the animal with more gracefulness 

 and skill ; for a male Calmuck on horseback, though 

 he never loses his seat, appears as if he were intoxi- 

 cated, and about to fall off every instant. So partial 

 are they to this amusement, that even the ceremony 

 of marriage is sometimes performed on horseback. 

 " A girl is first mounted," says the intelligent tra- 

 veller whom we have so often quoted, " who rides 

 off at full speed. Her lover pursues ; and, if he over- 

 takes her, she becomes his wife, and the marriage is 

 consummated upon the spot ; after which she returns 

 with him to his tent. But it sometimes happens, 

 that the woman does not wish to marry the person 

 by whom she is pursued, in which case she will not 

 suffer him to overtake her ; and we were assured, 

 that no instance occurs of a Calmuck girl being thus 

 caught, unless she has a partiality for her pursuer. 

 If she dislikes him, she rides, to use the language of 

 English sportsmen, ' neck or nothing,' until she has 

 completely escaped, or until the pursuer's horse is 

 tired out, leaving her at liberty to return, to be after- 

 wards chased by some more favoured admirer." The 

 Calmucks are passionately addicted to gambling, and 

 will sometimes sit whole nights at cards, until they 

 have lost all that they possess, even their very clothes. 

 This game, however, is only permitted during their 

 festivals ; and at all other times is prohibited under a 

 severe penalty. They have also chess, draughts, 

 backgammon, and the young people amuse them- 

 selves with singing, and dancing to the balalaika, or 

 two stringed lute. In their drinking parties, which 

 are very frequent, and where every one brings his 

 share of rack or koumiss, the greatest harmony and 

 decorum prevails ; and though they are generally 

 kept up until the stock of liquor is expended, which 

 sometimes lasts for half a day, yet they are almost 

 never attended either with riot or intoxication. 



The most common diseases to which this people 

 are subject, are the itch and malignant fevers, which 

 arise entirely from their gross diet and want of 

 cleanliness ; and during the heats of summer these 

 last are sometimes very fatal. The venereal disorder, 

 to which they give the name of the " house disease," 

 as properly belonging only to such as dwell in houses, 

 is not uncommon ; but it chiefly prevails in those 

 camps where their princes reside, and is not often 

 found among the lower orders. 



The religion of the Calmucks is pagan ; and, were we 

 to judge from their sacred pictures, approaches very 

 near to the ancient mythology of Egypt and Greece.. 

 According to M. Bergman, the majority of them 

 profess the religion of Thibet. Their priests are 

 treated with great respect, and in all affairs of im- 

 portance they are guided by their decision. They 

 have two written characters ; one of which is esteem- 

 ed sacred, and is of the highest antiquity. It is only 

 used in such writings as concern the Calmuck law^, 



