58 TROOPS OF WILD HORSES. 



for the preparation of the fermented drink already spoken of, known 

 to the Tartars under the name of Koumis or Kaniuis. Mr. Atkinson 

 speaks of the large leathern Jcoumis sack or bottle, as an important 

 piece of Mongolian furniture. One which he saw was five feet eight 

 inches long, and four feet five inches wide, with a leathern tube at 

 the corner about four inches in diameter, through which the milk Ls 

 poured into the bag, and the Jcoumis drawn out. A wooden instru- 

 ment is introduced into this bag, its handle passing through the tube, 

 not unlike a churning staff; with this the koumis is frequently 

 agitated. The Kirghiz begin making it in April, and its due agita- 

 tion and fermentation occupy about fourteen days.* 



The horse, and a few nocks of sheep and herds of horned cattle, 

 amply suffice for the wants of the warlike tribes in the south of 

 Asiatic Russia. These tribes have almost entirely abandoned the use 

 of the camel. But as we advance eastward, we find these gigantic 

 and mis-shapen ruminants in great numbers, the faithful companions 

 and indispensable auxiliaries of the noinades of the East. They 

 wander freely about the Steppes, in troops of several hundreds, browz- 

 ing indifferently on the grass of the wide pastures or the foliage of 

 the bushes. They are without fierceness, and the traveller who 

 intrudes upon their immense domains seems only to inspire in them 

 a benevolent curiosity. " It is impossible to describe," says Madame 

 Hommaire de Hell, " the astonishment they exhibited as we passed 

 them. As soon as they caught sight of us, they ran with all speed 

 towards us, and then stood motionless, with heads turned towards our 

 cavalcade, until we had got to such a distance as to be no longer 

 distinguishable." 



" Gold and silk," says Buffon, " are not the time wealth of Asia. 

 The camel is the treasure of the East." It is a fact that this animal 

 is wonderfully adapted to supply the wants of the desert races. It 

 may be said to supply them with every object of primary necessity ; 

 food, clothing, and even habitation, fire, and the means of transport 

 * T. W. Atkinson, " Oriental and Western Siberia," pp. 286, 287. 



