M O G U L. 
their flocks; they pafs the fummer on the banks of rivers, 
and the winter at the foot of fome mountain, or little hill, 
which fhelters them from the fharp north wind. Each of 
thefe tribes has its refpeftive limits, nor can they go be¬ 
yond them without being thought to commit an aft of 
hoflility. They are naturally clownilh, and dirty in their 
drefs, as well as in their tents, where they live amidft the 
clung of their flocks, which, when dried, they burn as fuel. 
Enemies to labour, they fatisfy themfelves with the food 
fupplied by their flocks rather than take the trouble of 
■ cultivating the earth ; they negleft agriculture more from 
pride, alleging that “ the grafs w'as for beafts, and beafts 
for man.” The men hunt the numerous beafts, and game, 
that roam through their vaft wilds ; the women tan lea¬ 
ther, dig the culinary roots, prepare the winter proviiions 
dried or falted, and diftil the koutnifs, or fpirit of mares’ 
milk. In fummer they live only on milk, tiling, without 
diftinftion, that of the cow, mare, ewe, goat, and camel. 
Before they diftil their four milk,thofe of better condition 
mix with it fome of the flefli of their Iheep, which, as well 
as the milk, has been left to ferment. This liquor is ftrong 
and nourilhing ; and their molt voluptuous orgies confilt 
in getting drunk with it. Mead and brandy are now 
great favourites with them. 
No people of Alia are fo ftrikingly diftinguilhed by their 
phyliognomy and the figure of the Ikull as the Mongols. 
They exhibit almoft as w'ide a deviation from the ordinary 
conformation of man, as the negroes in Africa ; and it is 
truly remarkable, that this call of countenance is almoft 
indelible even by long intermixture with other nations ; 
and that, where this Angularity once prevails, it can lcarce- 
ly ever be eradicated. A Mongol might marry an European 
woman in the midft of Europe, and his latell defcendants 
would nevertlielels retain the features of Mongols, as 
abundance of examples in Rufiia atteft. The charafterif- 
tics of this phyliognomy are the corners of the, eyes next 
to the nofe running back rather obliquely, and complete¬ 
ly filled up; fmall eye-brows, black, and but little arched ; 
a remarkably-broad but at the fame time fmall and flat 
nofe; prominent cheek-bones; round face and head. 
The ears are large, and Hand out from the head ; the lips 
broad and thick; and the chin Ihort. A beard compofed 
of detached ftrong hairs, which loon grow grey, and en¬ 
tirely fall oft’ in advanced age, is like wife a peculiarity of 
this nation. The Mongols are for the reft of middle lize ; 
the women may be pronounced fmall, but yet they are de¬ 
licately fliaped. There are fcarcely any cripples among 
them ; but crooked legs and thighs are a very common 
perfonal defeft, which arifes from the circumftance that 
infants already in their cradle are conftantly placed aftride 
on a kind of fpoon, and, as loon as they can go alone, are 
obliged to travel on horfeback upon every removal to a 
frelh pafturage. The (kin and complexion of the Mongols 
is by nature tolerably fair; at lealt this is the cafe with 
all young children : but the cuftom of the common peo¬ 
ple, whole children of the male lex run about ftark naked 
In the fun and in the Irnoke of their tents, and among 
whom likewife the men generally lleep in fummer with 
no other covering than their undergarment, occafions 
their ordinary colour to be a fallow brown. The women, 
on the contrary, are very white under their clothes; and 
among people of quality you meet with faces of a deli¬ 
cately fair complexion, ftill further heightened by the 
blacknefs of the hair; and which in thele refpefts, as well 
as in the features themfelves, bear a ftrong refemblance to 
the figures in Chinefe paintings. 
The Mongols lead a roving life, and dwell in moveable 
felt-tents, commonly called or kihithas, (in Mongol 
gar:) thefe are circular and of different dimenlions,and reft; 
upon lattice-work about four feet high, which is held to¬ 
gether by borders above and below, but may eafily be 
taken to pieces. The lkeleton of the habitation, which 
Hands upon this frame, is compofed of poles which meet 
at top. Thefe are covered with thick grey or white felt, 
which, among the more opulent people, are worked at the 
borders with cords of plaited hair. They are tied round 
Vol. XV. No. 1070. 
■617 
with hair-ropes, which keep them faff, and an opening is 
left for an entrance, which is clofed externally with a felt- 
curtain. A round hole alio in the top gives paffage to the 
fmoke, which rifes from a fire made in the middle of the 
tent. Thefe tents, which they have been accuftomed to 
prefer to the Chinefe houfes, are cold in winter, and in- 
fupportably warm, and noxioufly damp, in fummer. The 
tents of the nobles are hung with filk, and the floor co¬ 
vered with Perfian carpets. The houfehold utenfils are 
numerous; and in the fuperior tents are veffels of pew¬ 
ter, filver, and porcelain. Their drefs confifts of a flat 
yellow bonnet, which covers the head that is lliaven, ex¬ 
cept one lock, wide trowfers, a veil of light fluff with nar¬ 
row fieeves, and a girdle, which fupports the fabre, knife, 
and implements for fmoking tobacco. The outer veft- 
ment is of cloth, or Ikin, with wide ileeves; and linen is 
wound about the feet, over which are drawn bulkins of 
leather, generally black or yellow. Shirts are unknown. 
The drefs of the women is the fame; but, inftead of the 
outer garment, they wear a gown without fleeves. The 
fkins, which they ufe for clothing, are generally thofe of 
flieep ; the wool fide being inmoft, and the Ikin on the out- 
fide. They are well acquainted with the method of pre¬ 
paring and whitening thefe Ikins. .But thefe fkins, how¬ 
ever carefully prepared, exhale a ftrong and difagreeabie 
fmell, on which account they are called by the Chinefe 
Tfao-tatfe, Stinking Tartars. The hair of the females is 
long, and plaited in treffes. 
When pafturage begins to fail, all the tribes ftrike their 
tents, generally from ten to fifteen times in the year, pro¬ 
ceeding in the fummer to the northern, and in the winter 
to the fouthern, wilds. The herds, men, women, and 
children, form a regular proceflion ; and are followed by 
the girls, finging with harmony and fpirit. The amufe- 
ments of thefe jovial wanderers confift of races on horfe¬ 
back, in which even the girls excel; archery, wreftling, 
pantomime, dances, and the longs of the young women, 
generally accompanied by the lute, viol, and pipe; the 
themes of their ditties being tales of chivalry, and amo¬ 
rous adventures ; but the melody is harfh and difmal. 
Cards are not unknown; but the favourite game is chefs. 
The dead bodies of the princes and chief men are burned 
with many folemnities; and the tombs are fometimes 
walled, and ornamented with high poles and fantaftic dra¬ 
pery. They are unacquainted with the ufe of money, and 
trade only by barter. Such alfo, with fome ihades of dif¬ 
ference, are the manners of the Tartars and Mandfhoos. 
In the Mogul language there are many books written in 
the various countries to which their wide conquefts ex¬ 
tended. 
The religion of the Mogul Tartars is confined to the 
worfhip of Fo. For their lamas they entertain the moll 
fuperftitious veneration ; though thefe are clownilh, ig¬ 
norant, and licentious, priefts, yet to them they attribute 
the power of calling down hail or rain ; and to them tjiey 
give the molt valuable of their effefts in return for prayers, 
which they go about reciting from tent to tent. Thefe 
people are very devout; and continually wear hanging at 
their necks a kind of chaplet, over which they day their 
prayers. 
All the Moguls are governed by khans, or particular 
princes independent one of the other, but all fubjeft to 
the emperor of China, whom they confider as the grand 
khan of the Tartars. When the Mandlhoos fubdued China, 
they conferred on the moll powerful of the Mogul princes 
the titles of vang, peile, peize, and cong, which correfpond 
to our titles of king, duke, count, and marquis; each of 
them had a revenue afligned him, but far inferior to the 
appointments of the Mandflioo lords at Pekin. The em¬ 
peror fettled the limits of their refpeftive territories, and 
appointed the laws according to which they are at prefent 
governed. Thefe tributary khans have not the power of 
condemning their fubjefts to death, nor of depriving them 
of their poffeflions : the two cafes of death and confilcation 
being relerved for the fupreme tribunal eftablilhed at Pe¬ 
kin for the affairs of the Moguls, to which every indivi- 
7 S dual 
