ETHNOLOGY OF THE PRESENT DAY. 170 



The great and golden horde is now the smallest. Many of their branches 

 are called by the Russians " Wild," or '* Stone," or " Black Kirghiz." They 

 are braver, more barbarous, more rapacious and revengeful, than the other 

 hordes. Travellers through their territory must either pay a tribute, or dread 

 being attacked, plundered, and perhaps even made slaves. The Middle 

 Horde, which is the most numerous, is said to number about 480,000 persons 

 of the male sex, and extends from Lake Aral to the Upper Irtish. The 

 Little Horde, dwelling principally between and to the north of the Caspian 

 Sea and Lake Aral, is reported to be nearly as numerous as the one last men- 

 tioned. 



The Kirghis are, for the most part, tolerably large, the poorer portion being 

 generally slender, the richer, on the contrary, frequently very corpulent. As 

 they but seldom alight from their horses, and when off their backs are squat- 

 ted upon their felt blankets, they are usually bandylegged, like the Calmucs. 

 Their features show a mixture of the Calmuc and Tartar characters ; in the 

 east, however, approaching more to that of the former, in the west to that of 

 the latter. Almost all have black eyes ; most of them also black, seldom 

 brown or reddish hair. The complexion of adults is tanned. Men wear their 

 beards, but shave their heads. Women twist their hair into tw^o plaits, girls 

 into many. 



The men wear wide coats of cotton or silk stuff, which supply at the same 

 time the place of shirts. They sometimes put on several, one over the other, 

 and an overcoat of cloth, nankeen, or silk ; in winter of fur, and wadded, or 

 lined with soft leather. A broad woollen or silk girdle holds the undercoats 

 together ; the overcoat is held by a leather belt, ornamented with plates of 

 copper or brass, from which are suspended a pouch, containing the pipe and 

 various small utensils, and a knife. The wide pantaloons are of various ma- 

 terials, and in riding extraordinarily wide leather over-trowsers are put on, 

 all the coats, with the exception of the overcoat, being thrust into them. 

 The boots are made of black, green, or red leather, with toes bent upwards 

 and very high heels. The covering for the head consists of a tapering cap, 

 with flaps capable of being turned up or down. In the eastern districts it 

 is much lower than in the western. The long wide frocks of the women are 

 left open to the girdle. Women, however, wear trowsers and boots like the 

 men. 



The habitations are tents of felt, as with the Calmucs ; and thirty to 

 fifty, or more, constitute an " Aul," or village. 



Rearing cattle, hunting, and plundering excursions, constitute the princi- 

 pal employment of the Kirghis ; but they also trade in skins, furs, wool, felt, 

 &c. A bartering commerce exists between the eastern Kirghis and the 

 Chinese ; the former giving their goods in exchange for silk stuffs, to- 

 bacco, tobacco pipes, a small quantity of silver, tea, and lacquered wooden 

 wares, &.c. 



The Bashkirs {pi. 16, Ji,^. 1) inhabit the southern Ural ; many have 

 fixed their abode in the villages of the southern circles of the provinces 

 of Wiatka and Perm. These latter are peaceable, very plain both in their 

 dwellings and their manner of living, and are distinguished for their 



351 



