138 FROM THE CIMMERIAN BOSPORUS, 
chap, musicians, and astrologers. Many of them are 
■ - t - i wealthy, possessing fine horses, and plenty of 
other cattle ; but their way of life, whether 
they be rich or poor, is always the same. One 
of the waggons belonging to a party of Gipsies 
which we visited was filled with an enormous 
drum : this instrument they accompany with a 
pipe, when performing before village dancers. 
The. sound of the drum was the loudest we had 
ever heard ; and, although intimidating, it was 
nevertheless musical. Strabo mentions the drum 
as an instrument common to the antient Cimlri, 
and he notices its intimidating sound'. In 
their tents the men sat stark-naked among the 
women. They rose, however, as we entered, 
and cast a sheep’s skin over their bodies. The 
filth and stench of this people were abominable : 
almost all of them had the itch to such a degree, 
that their limbs were covered with blotches 
and scabs. 
Cattle. The principal property of the Tahtar gentle- 
men consists in cattle. Thousands are seen in 
the steppes, and they are often the property of 
a single man : among them we noticed many 
hundred camels. The Tauridan camel is repre- 
sented in Pallas's Travels, from a drawing by 
(0 Strab. lib. vii. pp. 425, 42C. edit. O.con. 1807. 
