THE HORSEMEN OF THE STEPPES. Ill 



a friend rather than a slave ; in truth, he is one of the 

 family, and his master never parts with him if he can help 

 it. Modern travellers describe the horsemen of the steppes 

 as almost realizing the old fable of the Centaurs. The 

 harsh conditions of their precarious existence compel them 

 to be constantly upon horseback : there is their home, their 

 dwelling-place, their safety, and their ease ; there they are 

 mounted day and night ; in the saddle they sleep, prepare 

 their food, and enjoy their rude repasts. Rude, indeed, 

 and not calculated to gratify the appetite of a European 

 epicure ! The nomad takes a reeking slice of meat, puts 

 it between his saddle and his horse's back, rides away 

 merrily on his mission of war or pleasure, and in this 

 strange oven leaves it for a few hours, until the heat, pres- 

 sure, and friction have served in some degree to cook it! 

 Then a pinch of salt for seasoning, and he devours his viands 

 as if they were the daintiest dish ever manufactured by a 

 Careme or a Francatille ! 



The horse is for the nomad an inestimable treasure. He 

 shares with him the fatigue of the campaign and the glory 

 of the battle; he carries him across the dreary wildernesses; 

 he nourishes him with his flesh, and the mare quenches his 

 thirst with her milk. In the dairies of the Kirghis mares 

 take the place of the cow, and are milked regularly once or 

 twice a day. The milk is drunk warm as a medicinal 

 potion. It is thicker and contains more saccharine 

 matter than that of the ruminknt animals ; hence, when 

 duly soured, it supplies a strong vinegar, or, when fer- 

 mented, an intoxicating alcoholic beverage. To this drink, 

 called houmisy the nomads are exceedingly partial, and a 



