Book I. 
5 6d 
The VOYAGES and TRAVELS 
Wine ; they have alfo Wine brought to them from other 
Countries. In the Summer Time they care not for any 
Drink but Cofmos. This Liquor Hands always at the En- 
trance of the Door, and next to it a Fidler. I faw there 
no fuch Violins as ours ; but many other mufical Inftru- 
ments, which are not ufed with us. When the Mailer of 
the Houfe begins to drink, one of his Servants crieth out 
with a loud Voice, Ha ! and the Mufician plays upon his 
Fiddle. 
When they make a folemn Feaft, they all of them clap 
their Hands, and dance to the Noife of Mufick, the Men 
before their Matter, and the Women before their Miftrefs ; 
and when the Matter has drunk, then his Servants cry, 
Ha! as before, and the Fidler Hops then they drink all 
round both Men and Women, and fometimes they caroufe, 
efpecially for a Victory, till they are drunk. When they 
invite a Man to drink, they pull him by the Ears to the 
Veffel, 'and fo lug and draw him ftrongly to ftretch out his 
Throat, clapping their Hands, and dancing before him. 
When they would do Honour to any Perfon at their 
folemn Feafting and Rejoicing, one of the Company takes 
a full Cup, and two others Hand, one on his right Hand, 
and the other on his left, and fo they three come ringing 
to the Man, who is to have the Cup prefented him, ftill 
ringing and dancing before him *, and when he ftretches his 
Hand to receive the Cup, they leap fuddenly back, re- 
turning again as they did before *, and fo having deluded 
him three or four Times by drawing back the Cup, until 
he is eager and very defirous to drink, then they give him 
the Cup, ringing and dancing, and ftamping with their 
Feet, until he hath done drinking. 
io. In refpeCt to their Food, give me leave to inform 
your Highnefs, that without Difference or Diftin&ion they 
eat all their Bealls that die of Age or Sicknefs ; and amongft 
fo many Droves, there mutt fome Cattle die in Summer. 
However, fo long as their Cofmos, that is, their Mares 
Milk lafts, they care not much for any Food ; and if they 
chance to have an Ox or an Horfe die, they dry the Flelh, 
cutting it into thin Slices, and hanging it up againll the 
Sun and the Wind, it is prefently dried without Salt, and 
without ill Savour or Corruption. They make better Pud- 
dings of their Horles than of their Hogs, which they eat as 
foon as made, the reft of the Flelh they referve till Win- 
ter. They make of their Ox Skins great Bags, which they 
dry in the Smoak ; of the hinder Part of their Horfe Hides 
they make very fine Sandals. They give fifty or an hun- 
dred Men the Flelh of one Ram to eat ; for they mince it 
in a Bowl with Salt and Water, having no other Sauce, and 
then with the Point of a Knife, or little Fork, which re- 
fembles fuch as we ufe to take roafted Pears and Apples 
out of Wine ; they reach unto every one of the Company 
a Morfel or two, according to the Number of Guefts. 
The Matter of the Houfe, before the Ram’s Flelh is di- 
ftributed, firft takes of it what he pleafes ; if he giveth unto 
any of the Company a particular Service, the Receiver 
thereof mull eat it alone, and not impart unto any other, 
or if he is not able to eat it up all, he carries it with him, and 
delivers it to his Boy, if he be prefent, to keep it •, if not, 
he puts it up into his Saptarget, that is to fay, his Satchel, 
or Snapfack, which they carry about with them for fuch 
Purpofes, and wherein they lay up their Bones, when they 
have not time to pick them thoroughly, that they may 
fcrape them at Leifure, and fo nothing be loft. 
n. Their common Drink Cofmos, which is Mares 
Milk, is prepared after this Manner ; they fallen a long 
Line to two Polls, Handing in the Ground, and to the 
fame Line they tie the young Foals of thofe Mares which 
they intend to milk, then come the Mares to Hand by the 
Foals, fuffering themfelves to be milked •, and if any of 
them be rude, then one takes her Foal and puts it under 
her, letting it fuck a little while, and prefently carrying it 
away again, there comes another Man to milk the Mare. 
When they have got a good Quantity of this Milk together, 
while it is new, they pour it into a great Bag, and they 
beat the Bag' with a Piece of Wood made' for that Purpofe, 
having a Knot at the lower End like a Man’s Head, which 
is hollow within, and fo foon as they beat it, it begins to 
boil like new Wine, and to be four, and of a lharp Tafte ; 
and they beat it in that manner till Butter comes j then they 
tafte it, and being indifferently lharp, they drink it, for it 
bites ones Tongue like the Rafberry Wine. After a Man 
hath taken a Draught, it leaves a Tafte behind it like that 
of Almond Milk, going down very bleafantly, and intoxi- 
cating weak Brains, for it is very heady and powerful. 
As for their Caracofmos, that is to fay, Black Cofmos, 
which is for great Lords to drink, they make it thus ; firft’ 
they beat the Milk fo long till the thickeft Part thereof 
defcend down to the Bottom like the Lees of White Wine 
and that which is thin and pure remains above like Whey’ 
or White Mull, the Lees and Dregs being very white, are 
given to Servants, and will make them fleep exceedingly. 
That which is thin and clear their Mailers drink 5 and in- 
deed it is a wonderful fweet and wholefome Liquor. Baatu 
hath thirty Farms within a Days Journey of his abiding 
Place, everyone of which ferves him daily with Caracofmos 
of an hundred Mares Milk, and fo all of them together 
every Day with the Milk of three thoufand Mares, befideg 
white Milk, which the reft of his Subjects bring : For, as 
the Hufhandmen of Syria pay the third Part of their 
Fruits, and carry it unto the Courts of their Lords, fo do 
they their Mares Milk every third Day. 
Out of their Cows Milk they firft churn Butter, boiling 
which Butter unto a perfect ■ DecoCtion, they put it into 
Rams Skins, which they referve for that Purpofe ; neither 
do they fait their Butter, and yet by this boiling it never 
putrifies, and they keep it for Winter; the Churn Milk, 
which remains of the Butter, they let alone till it be as 
four as polfible ; then they boil it, and in boiling it is 
turned all into Curds, which Curds they dry in the Sun, 
making them as hard as the Drofs of Iron ; and this kind 
of Food alfo they preferve in Satchels againll ‘Winter. In 
that Seafon when Milk fails them, they put the Curds 
beforementioned, which they call Gray-ut into a Bladder, 
and pouring hot Water upon them, they beat it till they 
have diffolved them, and it is thereby made exceeding four ; 
and this they drink inftead of Milk, for it feems a Rule 
with them never to drink fair Water by itfelf. 
12. The great Lords of this Nation have all of them 
Farms in the South Part of their Country, from whence 
their Tenants bring them Millet and Meal againll Winter. 
The poorer fort provide themfelves with fuch Neceffaries, 
by the Exchange of Rams, and other Bead Skins. 
As for their Slaves, they are forced to be content 
with Water, and that thick and bad enough. The 
only fort of Animals from which I have known them 
abftain, are Mice and Rats. There is, however, a little 
Animal which they call Sogur, which in the Winter Time 
lie and lleep twenty or thirty of them together in Caves for 
fix Months, where the Tartars find them out, and efteem 
them excellent eating ; and indeed they are very tender and 
fat. They have likewife great Plenty of a fort of Rabbets 
with long Tails, the outfide Hair of which is black and 
white ; other fmall Creatures they have, on which they 
freely feed. I faw no Deer there, and but a few Hares, 
but a great Number of Roes. 
I faw wild Affes in great Abundance, which are like 
Mules : I faw alfo another kind of Beall called Artack, 
refembling, in its Body, a Ram with crooked Horns, and 
are of fuch Bignefs, that I could fcarce lift up a Pair of 
them with one Hand ; and of thefe Horns they make 
drinking Cups. They have Falcons, and other Hawks in 
great Numbers, which they carry upon their right Hands, 
and they put always about their Falcon’s Necks a String 
of Leather, which hangs down to the midlt of their 
Gorges ; by which String, when they call them off the Fill 
at the Game with the lef t Hand, they bow the Heads and 
Breafts of the Hawks to prevent their being tolled up and 
down in the Wind, or their fearing too high. Being expert 
in this Art, they gain a great Part of their Provifion by 
Hunting and Hawking. In regard to their Attire, it may 
pleafe your Majefty to know, that out of Cataya , and other 
Regions of the Eaft, out of Perjia alfo, and other Countries 
to the South, are brought to them Manufactures of Silks, , 
Cloth of Gold, and Cotton Cloth, which they wear in time : 
of Summer ; but out of Ruffia, Moxell , Bulgaria , Hungarian , 
and out of Kerfts, all which are Northern Regions, and i 
full of Woods, and alfo out of many other Countries of the : 
North, which are fubjeCt unto them, the Inhabitants bring ; 
4. them 1 
