THE NOMAD HERDSMEN AND HERDS OF THE STEPPES. 457 



what it is — a home for the nomadic herdsman, or any other wan- 

 derer, — which, in its own way, cannot be surpassed. Light and 

 easily moved, readily closed against storms, or thrown open to admit 

 air and sunshine, comfortable and commodious, simple, yet admitting 

 of rich decoration without and within, it unites in itself so many 

 excellent qualities that one appreciates it ever more highly as time 

 goes on, and finds it more and more habitable the longer one lives 

 in it. It consists of a movable lattice- work which can be extended 

 or contracted, and which forms the lower upright circular walls of 

 the framework, a coupling ring which forms the arch at the top, 

 spars inserted into both these, and a door in the lattice-work; light 

 mats of tschi- grass, and large wads or sheets of felt, cut to shape, 

 and most ingeniously laid on, compose the outer covering of the 

 whole framework, and thick carpets of felt cover the floor. With 

 the exception of the door-frames, which are mortised together, 

 and of the spars, the upper ends of which are inserted into holes in 

 the coupling-ring, the whole structure is held together simply by 

 means of cords and bands; and it is thus easily taken to pieces, 

 while its form — circular in cross section, and cupola-like longitud- 

 inally—renders it capable of great resistance to violent storms and 

 bad weather of all sorts. The work of putting it up scarcely 

 requires more than half an hour, that of taking it down even less; 

 the strength of a single camel conveys it from place to place, but 

 its construction and decoration take up much of the time and all 

 the ingenuity of the housewife, to whose share falls the chief work 

 of making it, and the whole labour of setting it up; 



The yurt forms an important part of the movable property of 

 a Kirghiz. A rich man owns six or eight, but he spends money 

 rather on the decoration of a few than on the construction of many, 

 for he is assessed and taxed not according to the size of his herds 

 but the number of his yurts. The high -class Kirghiz certainly 

 shows his wealth through his yurt, by fitting it up as richly as 

 possible, making it out of the most valuable felt, and decorating it 

 without and within with coloured pieces of cloth; but he sets store 

 rather by the possession of costly rugs, and beautifully sewn and 

 embroidered silken coverlets, with which he decorates the interior 



