KALMUCKS. 



fmaller part of this (lock Imd lonjr before withdrawn to the 

 1 links of the Irtifh, and at length fell iiruler the dominion 

 ' the Soongarian horde, with which it took part in tiie 

 sagainll China, and was alfo difpcrfed at t!ie fame time 

 I i) the Soongarians. Thofe under the Chinele fovcreignty, 

 Hll uiitod horde of the Khofchotcs, arc eftimated at 

 ,000 heads. They are reported to have had their name, 

 ! ;h implies warrior or hero, from the courage they dif- 

 ! I \\cd under Tfcliingis ; and from tliis circumtlance, as well 

 as their deriving their princely race in uninterrupted fuc- 

 ceflion from the brother of the great Tfchinijis, they main- 

 tain a fuperiority of rank above the other Kalmuck hordes. 

 The number of Khofchotes fubjccl to Ruilia is but fmall. 

 In the year 1675 there came 1500, and in 1759 an additional 

 300 families to the fhores of the Volga, wliere they fettled 

 and voluntarily fubmitted to the Ruffian fovereignty. The 

 "■Soongares," at the feparation of the Mongolian monarchy, 

 formed but one ftock with the Derbetans, who afterwards 

 parted, under two difcordant branches of their princely fa- 

 mily. This horde, ia the 17th and beginning of the 18th 

 century, reduced to their fubjeftion a great part of the other 

 Kalmuck races, particularly the Khofchot, Derbet, and 

 Kho-it, and waged bloody wars with the Mongoles as well 

 is with the Chinefe empire itfelf, but which ended in their 

 total fubjugation and dil'perfion. Previoudy to this unhappy 

 period, tlicy, together with the Derbets, reckoned upwards 

 of 50,000 fighting men, and were deemed the bravell, 

 richett, and raoft powerful horde. They relided formerly 

 about the Balkhadi lake and its rivers Tfchuy and Ily ; and 

 their mod flouriihing pv?riod was between the years 1696 

 and 1746. The towns of the eaftern Bucharia and the 

 Great Kirghife horde were about this time tributary to 

 tliem. Many of the Soongarians difpcrfed thenifelves in the 

 interior parts of ACa and quite into the Ulbeck towns ; fome 

 thoufands of them fled into Siberia ; and moll of them ac- 

 commodated themfelves to the Chinefe fovereignty, and, 

 from their own ilatements, it appears, that fcarcely 20,000 

 families of them and the Derbetan nation are now remaining. 

 The number of the Soongares, who at that time (1758) took 

 refuge in RufTia, amounted to about 20,000 heads ; they 

 were united with the Volgaic Kalmucks, but for the moll 

 part returned with them again in the year 1770 into the 

 Soongarey. The " Derbetans," who at firil had their 

 pafturages in the region of the Kcko-noor, removed thence, 

 on account of the Mongolian dillurbances, towards the 

 Irtidi, and, on that occafion, fplit into two parties. 

 One of them united with the Soongares, in whofe for- 

 tunes and final diiTolution it was involved ; and the other 

 proceeded wellward with the Torgots towards the Yaik 

 (now Ural) as far as the Volga and the Don, where it com- 

 pletely fettled. In 1723 they removed to the parts beyond 

 the Don ; and afterwards joined the Torgots on the Volga. 

 The " Torgots" feem to have formed themfelves into a 

 particular horde much later than the other Kalmuck 

 branches. Removing from the re.'Uefs Soongares, they 

 marched weftward to the Steppes on the Volga, and there 

 fettled, receiving from the RulTians the appellation of the 

 Vol<Taic Kalmucks. In the year 1761 the RufTinn govern- 

 ment came to an agreerr.ent with this rich and powerful 

 horde, which rcflricled the authority of the khan to narrower 

 bounds, and excited fuch difcontents, that they returned in 

 great numbers in 1770 and 1771, over the ice of the river 

 Ural, acrofs the Kirghilian Steppe, into the Soongarey. 

 The whole amount of the Kalmucks that remained in RufTia 

 was eftimated, fome few years ago, at fomewh.at more than 

 20,000 tents. Thefe are the remains of all the four hordes ; ( 

 but the Khofchotes, the Soongares, and Torgots, wliQje- 



mained and are didributed among the Derbetf, have, be- 

 fides feveral petty princes, a kiian prefiding over them. 

 I'hey wander, with their flocks and herds, in the fteppcs 

 between the Don and the Volv-a, from the line of Tzaritzin 

 as far as Caucafus ; and between the Volga and the river 

 Ural, from the Irghis quite to the Cafpian ; that is, in the 

 governments of Saratof and Ailrachan, and in the feats of 

 the Coffacks of the Don. In audition to their there is fliU 

 a numerous colony of "baptized Kalmucks." Towards 

 the clofe of the 17th century, many, among the diftin- 

 guiflied and noble, profefhd ihemfeivcs of the Chrillian 

 faith. In the year 1737 the government eflablifhed them in 

 a fruitful region about the rivers Samara, Sok, and Tok (in 

 the prcfent government of Simbirfc and in the Orenburg 

 dillrift of the government of Uf;i)> and granted them alto 

 the city of Stavropol, which is n w a chief town of the 

 government of Simbirfk. The increafe of this colonv 

 was fo conliderable, that in the year 1771 they could 

 reckon nearly 14,000 heads, whereas in 1754 they were 

 only 8695'. There is yet fubfilling in the government of 

 Ufa a fmall colony of "Mohammedan Kalmucks," which 

 originated from individual profclytes made by the Kirg- 

 hifes and adopted by that body. 



The Chinefe empire has been lately extended in Tartary^ 

 by the celebrated conqueil of the kingdom of the Ehuthes, 

 made in 1759 ^7 ^^^ "'"'"^ "^ '■'"^ emperor " Kien-Long," 

 who had been 46 years on the throne of China. The whole 

 nation of the Eleuthes, known in Europe and Ruiha by the 

 name of Kalmucks, may be divided (fays Grolier) into three 

 branches, which have all proceeded from the fame llcm. The 

 moll weilerly ^now the moll numerous and powerful) occupy 

 the country contained between the Cafpiau fea, Mufcovy, 

 Samarcand, and Cafligar, and which extends towards the ealt 

 as far as a vafl chain of ir.ountains, fuppofed to be a conti- 

 nuation of Caucafus. Every year diu-ing winter thefe Tar- 

 tars encamp on the fhoreof the Cafpi.m lea, near AflKichan, 

 where they carry on a great trade. The fecond divifion of 

 the Eleuthes inhabit to the eall, from the chain of mountains 

 now mentioned, as far as another chain of lofty mountains, 

 the mofl confiderable of which are called " Altai," in 

 which are the fources of the Oby and Irtiih. The country 

 which thefe people inhabit is very exteiifive ; fine e it bor- 

 ders on the north with Mufcovy, and on the fouth with the 

 territories cf the Ufbeck Tartars ; tliefc are the people whom 

 Kien-Longhas conllrained to fubmit to the Chinefe govern- 

 ment. The third branch of the Eleuthes inhabit to the 

 well of China ; they are the Tartar.s of Kokonor, who have 

 been for a long time fubjefts of the empire. They are fepa- 

 rated from the province of Chen-li by lofty mountains. 

 They take their name from a lake in this country, called in 

 their language " Kokonor," and which is one cf the Inrgeft 

 in Tartary. They are fuhjedl to eight priiitei-, who are in- 

 dependent of each other, and who are all of the race of the 

 khan of the Eleuthes Tartars. Thefe people derive their 

 principal riches from the gold which is found mixed with the 

 fand of their rivers, and above all with that of " Altang- 

 kol," or the Golden river. The gold-dull which it furnifhes 

 is the principal revenue of the princes of Koko;ior, who 

 employ their vafTals during fumrr.er in collecting it. One of 

 the principal articles of the trade of Kokonor is a kind of 

 napped woollen fluff, called " pou-lou ;" it is manufactured 

 by thefe Tartars, who have the art of dyeing it in different 

 colours ; long drelfes are made of it in the country, and it is 

 generally ufed at Pe-king for covering feats. The famous 

 Hoang-ho, or the Yellow river, has its fource ii} this corner 

 of Tartary. 



The Kalmucks of Afiatic RufCa arc divided into three 



ranks ; ■. 



