I Do Not Recollect The
Name Of The Emperor Of The Tartars Who Inhabit This Part Of The Country
Between The Wolga And The Tanais.
This nation has no fixed place of abode,
but shift their encampments from place to place, wherever they can find
pasture and water for their cattle, on which they have their whole
dependence, as they subsist entirely on flesh and milk.
They have cows,
heifers, and sheep of admirable beauty, the flesh of which is excellent,
as they feed on fine pastures; but these people prefer mares milk to
every other delicacy. Though I have not been in the country of these
Tartars, I have been informed that it is flat and agreeable, having
neither hill nor mountain; but the inhabitants addict themselves
excessively to robbery and plunder, as their sole occupation, and
continually infest the borders of Russia and Circassia by predatory
incursions. Their horses are very wild and unmanageable, and are never
shod. We were told that there is another tribe of Tartars beyond the
Wolga, named wild Tartars, who allow their hair to grow extremely long.
In the middle of winter they often make inroads to the very skirts of the
city of Citracan, whence they carry off cattle, but do no other damage.
These people, like all the Tartars, shift their encampments in search of
pasturage and water.
After travelling for fifteen days along the eastern bank of the Wolga, we
came to a small forest, where the Tartars and Russians of the caravan cut
down trees to construct rafts for crossing the river.
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