12* RUSSIAN EMPIRE IN ASIA. 



Till lately they were not admitted into the Russian armies, but now 

 they make excellent soldiers. Other Russian ^Tartars retain their an- 

 cient habits, and live a wandering life. Both sides of the Volga are 

 inhabited by Tchermises and Morduars, a peaceable industrious peo- 

 ple. The Bashkirs are likewise fixed inhabitants of the tract that 

 reached from Kazan to the frontiers of Siberia, and have certain pri- 

 vileges of which they are tenacious. The wandering Kalmucs occupy 

 the rest of the tract of Astracan and the frontiers of the Usbecs ; 

 and in consideration of certain presents which they receive from .the 

 sovereigns of Russia, they serve in their armies without pay, but are 

 apt to plunder equally friends and foes. 



The character of the Tartars of Kazan may serve for that of all the 

 Mahometan Tartars in their neighbourhood. Very few of them are 

 tall; but they are generally straight and well made, have small faces, 

 with fresh complexions, and a sprightly and agreeable air. They are 

 haughty and jealous of their honour, but of very moderate capacity. 

 They are sober and frugal, dexterous at mechanical trades, and fond 

 of neatness. The Tartarian women are of a wholesome complexion 

 rather than handsome, and of a good constitution : from their earliest 

 infancy they are accustomed to labour, retirement, modesty, and sub- 

 mission. The Tartars of Kazan take great care of the education of 

 their children. They habituate their youth to labour, to sobriety, and 

 to a strict observance of the manners of their ancestors. They are 

 taught to read and write, and are instructed in the Arabic tongue, 

 and the principles of their religion. Even the smallest village has 

 its chapel, school, priest, and schoolmaster; though some of the priests 

 and schoolmasters are not much skilled in the Arabic language. 

 The best Tartarian academies in the Russian empire are those of 

 Kazan, Tobolsk, and Astracan, which are under the direction of the 

 gagouns, or high priests. It is not uncommon to find small collec- 

 tions of historical anecdotes in manuscript in the huts of the boors : 

 and their merchants, besides what those little libraries contain, are 

 pretty extensively acquainted with the history of their own people? 

 and that of the circumjacent states, and with the antiquities of each. 

 Such as choose to make a progress in theology, enter themselves 

 into the schools of Bucharia, which are more complete than the 

 others. 



The Tartar citizens of Kazan, Orenburg, and other governments 3 

 carry on commerce, exercise several trades, and have some manufac- 

 tories. Their manner of dealing is chiefly by way of barter; coin is 

 very rarely seen among them, and bills of exchange never. They are 

 not in general very enterprising ; but as they extend their connex- 

 ions by partners and clerks, many of them carry on a great deal of 

 business, which their parsimonious way of life renders very lucra- 

 tive. At Kazan they make a trade of preparing what is called in 

 England Morocco-leather. The villages of these people comprehend 

 from ten to one hundred farms. Most of them also contain tanners, 

 shoemakers, tailors, dyers, smiths, and carpenters. 



The habitations and manner of living of the Tartar citizens and vil- 

 lagers of Astracan are perfectly similar with those of the Tai'tars of 

 Kazan. In the city of Astracan they have a large magazine for goods, 

 built of bricks, and several shops upon arches. They carry on an im- 

 portant commerce with the Armenians, Persians, Indians, Buchan- 

 ans : and their manufactories of Morocco-leather, cotton, camelots* 

 and silks, are in a very thriving state. 



