They eat indifferently of all dead animals, even such as have died of disease; and among such numbers of cattle and flocks, many animals must die almost continually. Bat in summer, when they have plenty of cosmos, or mares milk, they care little for any other food. When an ox or horse happens to die, they cut its flesh into thin slices, which they dry in the sun and air, which preserves it from corruption, and free from all bad smell. From the intestines of their horses they make sausages, better than those which are made of pork, and which they eat when newly made, but the rest of the flesh is reserved for winter use. Of the hides of oxen they form large bags, which they dry in a wonderful manner in the smoke. Of the hinder part of their horse skins they fabricate excellent sandals. They will make a meal for fifty, or even an hundred men, of the carcase of one ram. This they mince in a bowl, mixed with salt and water, which is their only seasoning, and then, with the point of a knife, or a little fork made on purpose, like those with which we eat pears and apples stewed in wine, they reach to every one of the company a morsel or two, according to the number; the master of the house having first served himself to his mind, before any of the rest, and if he gives a particular portion to any one, that person must eat it up, without giving any of it to another, or if he is unable to eat the whole, he takes it home with him, or gives it to his servant to take care of, if he has one, otherwise he puts it into his own saptargat, or square leather bag, which they carry always with them for such purposes, or for preserving any bones which they have not time to pick thoroughly, that they may clean them well afterwards, and that nothing may be lost.
Cosmos is made from mares milk, in the following manner: They fasten a long line between two posts fixed in the ground, and to it they tie the young foals of the mares which are to be milked, by which means the mares are induced to stand quietly beside their foals, and allow themselves to be milked. If any mare happens to be unruly, her foal is brought, and allowed to suck a little, after which the milker again succeeds. Having thus procured a quantity of new drawn milk, it is poured into a large skin bag, which is immediately agitated by blows with a wooden club, having its lower end hollow, and as large as a man's head. After some time the milk begins to ferment like new wine, and to acquire a degree of sourness. The agitation is continued in the same manner until the butter comes; after which it is fit for drinking, and has a pungent yet pleasant taste, like raspberry wine, leaving a flavour on the palate like almond milk. This liquor is exceedingly pleasant, and of a diuretic quality; is exhilarating to the spirits, and even intoxicating to weak heads.
Cara-cosmos, which means black cosmos, is made for the great lords, in the following manner: The agitation, as before described, is continued until all the lees or coagulated portion of the milk subsides to the bottom, like the lees of wine, and the thin parts remain above like whey, or clear must of wine. The white lees are given to the servants, and have a strong soporific quality. The clear supernatent liquor is called cara-cosmos, and is an exceedingly pleasant and wholesome beverage265. Baatu has thirty farms around his dwelling-place, at about a day's journey distant, each of which supplies him daily with the caracosmos from the milk of an hundred mares, so that he receives the daily produce of three thousand mares, besides white cosmos which the rest of his subjects contribute: For, as the inhabitants of Syria pay the third part of their productions to their lords, so the Tartars pay their mares milk every third day.
From the milk of their cows they make butter, which they do not salt for preservation, but boil and clarify it, after which it is poured into bags made of sheep-skin, and preserved for winter use. The residue of the milk is kept till it becomes quite sour, after which it is boiled, and the coagula or curds, which form, are dried in the sun till quite hard, and are preserved in bags for winter provision. This sour curd, which they call gryut, when wanted for use in winter when they have no milk, is put into a bag with hot water, and by dilligent beating and agitation, is dissolved into a sour white liquor, which they drink instead of milk; for they have a great aversion to drink water by itself.
The great lords have farms in the southern parts of their dominions, from whence millet and flour are brought them for winter provisions; and the meaner people procure these in exchange for sheep and skins. The slaves content themselves with thick water266. They do not eat either long tailed or short tailed mice. There are many marmots in their country, which they call Sogur, which gather during winter, in companies of twenty or thirty together, in burrows, where they sleep for six months; these they catch in great numbers and use as food. There are likewise a kind of rabbits, with long tails like cats, having black and white hairs at the extremity of their tails. They have many other small animals fit for eating, with which they are well acquainted. I have seen no deer, and very few hares, but many antelopes. I saw vast numbers of wild asses, which resemble mules. Likewise an animal resembling a ram, called artak, with crooked horns of such amazing size, that I was hardly able to lift a pair of them with one hand. Of these horns they make large drinking-cups. They have falcons, gyrfalcons, and other hawks in great abundance, all of which they carry on their right hands. Every hawk has a small thong of leather fastened round his neck, the ends of which hang down to the middle of his breast; and before casting off after game, they bow down the hawk's head towards his breast, by means of this thong, with their left hand, lest he be tossed by the wind, or should soar too high267. The Tartars are most expert hunters, and procure a great part of their sustenance by the chase.
When the Tartars intend to hunt wild beasts, a vast multitude of people is collected together, by whom the country is surrounded to a large extent in a great circle; and by gradually contracting this circle towards its centre, they at length collect all the included game into a small space, into which the sportsmen enter and dispatch the game with their arrows.
From Cataya, and other regions of the east, and from Persia, and other countries of the south they procure silk stuffs, cloth of gold, and cotton cloth, of which they make their summer garments. From Russia, Moxel, Greater Bulgaria, Pascatir, which is the greater Hungary, and Kersis, all of which are northern countries and full of woods, and from other countries towards the north which are subject to their authority, they procure valuable furs of many kinds, which I have not seen in our parts. With these they make their winter garments; and they have always at least two fur gowns, one of which has the fur inwards, and the other has the fur outwards to the wind and snow; which outer garments are usually made of the skins of wolves, foxes, or bears. But while they sit within doors, they have gowns of finer and more costly materials. The garments of the meaner sort are made of the skins of dogs and goats.
They likewise have breeches made of skins. The rich often line their garments with silk shag, which is exceedingly soft, light, and warm. The poor line theirs with cotton cloth, wadded with the finest wool which they can sort out from their fleeces; and of the coarser wool they make felts for covering their houses and chests, and for sleeping upon. Their ropes are likewise made of wool, mixed with a third part of horse hair. Of felt they also make cloths to lay under their saddles, and caps to defend their heads from rain. In all these things they use vast quantities of wool. Your majesty has seen the habits of these people268.
265
Under the name of Kumyss, this liquor is much used by the Russian gentry, as a restorative for constitutions weakened by disease or debauchery: and for procuring it they travel to the Tartar districts of the empire. –E.
266
Whether the author here means the dissolved sour curd, mentioned at the close of the former Section, or gruel made from meal and water, does not appear. –E.
267
Our falconers use the left hand for carrying their hawks. I leave the inexplicable use of the thongs to be understood by professional falconers. –Hakluyt, ad loc.
268
Probably this concluding sentence means, that as the king of France had seen some Tartars in Syria, the author did not deem it necessary to describe their form and fashions. –E.