T C H 



wives, good mothers, rirtuous daughters, valiant and duti- 

 ful fons. " A CofTack," he fays, " placed by the fide of a 

 Ruffian, what a contrail !" 32 miles E.N.E. of Azof. 



TCHERKASSES, or Tschekkassians, a tribe of 

 people, who inhabit that part of Caucatas which is called 

 the Great and Little Kabardia, the illands of the lower 

 Kuban, and tlie foiitheni bank of tliat river. (See Cin- 

 CASSIA.) Thcfe people are famous for tiiei» horfes, which 

 are about the fize of the Kalmuck horfe, ill-made, without 

 elegance or proportion, and for the moil part ewe-necked, 

 but of fuch llrong and hardy natures, as to be able to run 

 five or fix hundred Enghfli miles in three days. 



TCHERKESH, a town of Afiatic Turkey, in Na- 

 toha ; 45 miles W.S.W. of Caftamena. 



TCHERKIN, a town of Abyffinia; 36 miles N. of 

 Gondar. N. lat. 13=' 15'. E. long. 37'' 40'. 



TCHERMAEVSKOI, a town of Ruffia, in the go- 

 vernment of Tobollk ; 32 miles E.N.E. of Turinlk. 



TCHERNAIA, a river of Ruffia, which runs into the 

 Anadir, 100 miles below Anadirflvoi. 



TCHERNAIAGRIADA, a fortrefs of Ruffia, on 

 the Volga ; 32 miles N.N.W. of Aftrachan. 



TCHERNIGOV, a town of Ruffia, and capital of a 

 government, on the Defna ; 344 miles S.S.W. of Mofcow. 

 N. lati 51* 24'. E. long. 31- 14'. 



TCHERNIGOVSKOE, a government of Ruffia, 

 bounded on the N. by Mogilevfkoe, on the N.W. by Nov- 

 gorod Siever(l<oe, on the E. by Charkovlkoe, on the S. by 

 Kievlkoe, and on the W. by Poland : about 1 80 miles long 

 and 40 broad. N. lat. 49= 50' to 51° 5'. E. long. 31'' 

 to 35°. 



TCHERNIKEH, a town of Afiatic Turkey, in the 

 government of Sivas, at the union of the Tofanlu and Jekil- 

 Ermak ; anciently a city of Pontus, and called Eupatoiia, 

 from Mitlu-idates, furnamed Eupator ; 24 miles N. of Ama- 

 fia. N. lat. 40° 26'. E. long: 36° 38'. 



TCHERNITZ. See Czern-itz. 



TCHERNOIYAR, a town of Ruffia, in the govern- 

 ment of Saratov, defended by a ditch and chevaux-de-frieze, 

 with fome cannon ;■ 200 miles N.W. of Aftrachan. N. lat. 

 47° 54'. E. long. 46° 4'. 



TCHERNOLUrZKAIA, a town of Ruffia, in the 

 government of Tobolfk ; 20 miles W. of Omflc. 



TCHERNOMORSKI, or Cojfacks of the Black Sea, a 

 tribe of CofTacks, whofe territory is fep;u-atcd by the river 

 yie or Tea, from that of the Grecian or Malo-Ruffian in- 

 habitants, whofe number does not exceed 700 perfons, and 

 the boundary of whofe diftrift is formed by the river Ae 

 towards the S. and by the fea of Azof to the N. The 

 Tchernomorflii are a brave but rude and warlike people, and 

 hofpitable to ftrangers. Tiieir original appellation was Za- 

 porogztzfi or Zaporagians, denoting their former fituation 

 " beyond the catarafts" of the Dnieper. From the banks 

 of tliis river they were removed by the late emprefs Catha- 

 rine to thofe of the Kuban, in order to repel the incurfions 

 of the Circaffians and Tartars from the Turkiffi frontier. 

 Ih confequence of the fervice they rendered to Ruffia in 

 Catharine's laft war with Turkey, the emprefs, by an ukafe 

 of the 2d of June, 1792, ceded to them the peninfula of 

 Taman, and all die countries between the Kuban and the 

 fea of Azof, as fai- as the rivers Ae and Laba ; an extent 

 of territorj' comprehending upwards of looofquare miles. 

 They had alfo a conftitution allotted to them in all refpetls 

 fimilar to that of the Don Coffacks, and received the appel- 

 lation of " CofTacks of the Black fea." They were alfo al- 

 lowed the privilege of choofmg an Ataman ; but their num- 

 bers have been confiderably diminifhed. They could once 



T C H 



bring into the field an army of 40,000 effedlive cavalry ; but 

 at prefent, their number of troops does not exceed 15,000. 

 They r pw occupy the whole country from the Ae to the 

 Kuban, and from the Black fea to the frontier of the Don 

 Coffiicks. (See Cossacks. ) The Tchernomor{ki do not 

 refemble the Coflacks of the Don in habits, difpofition, or 

 any otlier charafteriftic quality. The latter wear the true 

 uniform ; the former wear any habit according to their ca- 

 price. The Don Colfack is mild, affable, and polite ; the 

 Black-fea Coflack is blunt and even rude, from the boldnefs 

 and martial hardihood of his manners. If he ia poor, he 

 appears clad like a primeval (hepherd, or the wildefl moun- as 

 taineer ; at the fame time having his head bald, except one U 

 long braided lock from the crown, placed behind the right 

 ear. This lock diftinguiflies the Tchernoraorfki CofTack 

 from the CofTack of the Don, as well as from every other 

 tribe of CofTacks in the Ruffian empire. If the Euxine 

 CofTack is rich, he is very lavifh in the cottlinefs of his drefs, 

 which confifts of embroidered velvet, and the richeft filks 

 and cloths of every variety of colour. The Tchernomorflci 

 are more cheerful and noify than the Don Coflacks ; turbu- 

 lent in their mirth ; vehement in convcrfation ; fomewhat 

 querulous ; and if not engaged in difpute, they are generally 

 laughing' or Tinging. Both thefe CofTacks hold one another 

 in Tow eftimation. The metropolis of the Tchemomorflvi 

 CofTacks is " Ekaterinedara," or " Catherine's Gift." It 

 has no refemblance to a town ; but is rather a grove, or foreft 

 of oaks, in which a number of ftraggling cottages, widely 

 feparated, are concealed, not only from general obfervation, 

 but from the view of each other. The country is covered 

 with tumuh, which are vei-y ancient, and appear by their re- 

 mains to have been fepulchres. The government is wholly 

 exercifed by the Ataman and his officers, who wear theatri- 

 cal and fplendid habits. Their breafts are covered with 

 chains of gold and gold-lace ; their fabre is Turkifh ; their 

 boots of red or yellow -coloured leather ; their cap of black 

 velvet, ornamented with lace and filver chains, or fine black 

 Tartarian wool, taken from lambs in an embryo ftate. They 

 bind their waift with filken fafhes, fuftaining piftols of the 

 moll coftly workmanfliip. A fmall whip, with a (liort lea- 

 thern thong, is attached to their httje finger. The lowes 

 extremity of their lance is Tupported by the right foot ; and 

 from the powder-flaflc, pendent in front, are fufpended filver 

 coins, and other trinkets. The Circaffians and Tcherno- 

 morilci carry on trade by a peculiar kind of barter. The 

 exchange of corn, honey, mats, wood, and arms, for the 

 fait of the CofTacks, is tranfafted without contraft ; the 

 wares of the Circaffians being placed on the ground where 

 they find the fait ready ftationed for barter. The Tcherno- 

 morfki who are employed in guarding their cattle in the 

 fteppes, amounting to many thoufands, from the depreda- 

 tions of the Circaffians, pafs the night upon the bare ground ; 

 and in order to proteft themfelves from the mofquitoes, 

 which are both numerous and troublefome, creep into a kind 

 of fack, fufficient only for the covering of a fingle perfon ; 

 beneath this they lie upon the thiftle? and other wild plants 

 of the fteppes. In order to avoid the exceffive irritation 

 and painful fwelling occafioned by the ftings of thefe fe^ 

 rocious infedls, they hght a number of fires to drive them 

 from the cattle during the night ; but their thirft of blood 

 is fo infatiate, that fwarms will attack a perfon attempting 

 to fhelter himfelf even in the midft of fmoke. See Clarke's 

 Travels, vol. ii. 8vo. 



TCHERNORIEGENSKAIA, a fortrefs of Ruffia, 

 in the government of Upha, on the Ural ; 1 2 raits W. of 

 Orenburg. — Alfo, a fortrefs of Ruffia, in the government 

 of Simbirflf, on the river Sak ; 80 miles S.E. of Simbirik, 



7 TCHER- 



