INDEPENDENT TARTARY. 123. 



ANiMALS....The animals here are nearly the same as in Tibet, the 

 north of Persia, and other surrounding countries. The grunting ox, 

 chamois goats, and wild asses, are found among the mountains on the 

 south and north. 



Inhabitants, manners, customs. ...The Kirguses or Kirguisian, 

 Tartars, who inhabit the northern part of this country, live in tents, 

 and lead a wandering life. They consist of three hordes, called the 

 great, lesser, and middle horde, each of which has its particular khan. 

 They dwell always in portable huts, which they remove from time 

 to time to different places in search of pasturage for their flocks and 

 herds, which constitutes their principal occupation. They have horses, 

 camels, cattle, sheep and goats; and it is asserted that some individuals 

 in the middle horde have 10,000 horses, 300 camels, 3 or 4000 cattle, 

 20,000 sheep, and more than 2000 goats. They have flat noses, small 

 eyes, a sharp but not a fierce look, and a frank and prepossessing air. 

 The decoration of their horses employs them almost as much as that 

 of their persons, they having generally elegant saddles, handsome 

 housings, and ornamented bridles. They are great eaters, and they 

 also smoke tobacco to excess. Men, women, and children all smoke 

 and take snuff, the latter of which they keep in little horns fastened 

 to their girdles. The great and wealthy live perfectly in the same 

 manner as the rest of the people, and are distinguished only by the 

 numerous train that accompanies them in their cavalcades, and the 

 number of huts which surround their quarters, inhabited by their 

 wives, children, and slaves. 



The Usbec Tartars, who inhabit the southern parts of this coun- 

 try, resemble in their persons, manners, and customs, the other Tar*- 

 tarian tribes, except that they are in general more spirited and indus- 

 trious. They are addicted to predatory warfare, and frequently make 

 .sudden incursions into the Persian provinces ; on which occasions, it 

 is said, the women likewise bear arms, and accompany their husbands 

 to the field. Many of these Tartars reside in tents in the summer, but 

 take up their abode in the towns and villages in winter. Those of 

 Balk are the most civilized, and carry on a considerable trade with 

 Persia and Hindoostan. The native Buchanans are of a fairer com- 

 plexion than the Usbecs, and of a more peaceable disposition, as it 

 is said they never bear arms. 



Cities, chief towns. ...Samarcand, situate on the southern bank 

 )f the river Sogd, was anciently the seat of empire of the celebrated 

 Timur or Tamerlane. It is fortified with strong bulwarks of earth ; 

 the houses are principally of hardened clay, though some are built 

 with stone procured from quarries in the vicinity. There is a citadel 

 or castle which is now almost in ruins. Bokhara, situate likewise on 

 the Sogd, in the middle of the last century was a large and flourish- 

 ing city, with a wall of earth and several mosques built with brick. 

 Balk, on the river Dehash, is also large and populous, with houses of 

 orick and stone, and a palace or castle built almost entirely of mar- 

 ble brought from the neighbouring mountains. Badakshan, on the 

 river Amu, is a small town, but well built, and containing a consi- 

 derable number of inhabitants. 



Trade. ...The Kirguisians trade with the Russians; their traffic is 



entirely carried on by barter, and they exchange their horses, cattle, 



and sheep for manufactures, principally clothing and furniture. Arms 



hind are refused them by the Russians, and they procure 



