University of Virginia Library

Chapter XIII.

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4

The Turkes diet; the Slaves diet; the attire of
the Tartars; and manner of Warres and
Religions, etc.

THE Tymor and his friends fed upon Pillaw, which is boiled Rice
and Garnances, with little bits of mutton or Buckones,

which is
rosted ∥ peeces of Horse, Bull, Ulgrie, or any beasts. Samboyses and
Muselbits are great dainties, and yet but round pies, full of all sorts
of flesh they can get chopped with varietie of herbs. Their best drinke
is Coffa, of a graine they call Coava, boiled with water; and Sherbecke,
which is only honey and water; Mares milke, or the milke of any
beast, they hold restorative: but all the Comminaltie drinke pure
water. Their bread is made of this Coava, which is a kinde of blacke
wheat, and Cuskus a small white seed like Millya in Biskay: but our
common victuall, the entrailes of Horse and Ulgries; of this cut in
small peeces, they will fill a great Cauldron, and being boiled with
Cuskus, and put in great bowles in the forme of chaffing-dishes, they
sit round about it on the ground, after they have raked it thorowso
oft as they please with their foule fists, the remainder was for the
Christian slaves. Some of this broth they would temper with Cuskus
pounded, and putting the fire off from the hearth, powre there a
bowle full, then cover it with coales till it be baked, which stewed
with the remainder of the broth, and some small peeces of flesh, was
an extraordinarie daintie.

The better sort are attired like Turkes,

but the plaine Tartar
hatha blacke sheepe skinne over his backe, and two of the legs tied
about his necke; the other two about his middle, with another over
his belly, and the legs tied in the like manner behinde him: then two
more made like a paire of bases, serveth him for breeches; with a
little close cap to his skull of blacke felt, and they use exceeding much
of this felt, for carpets, for bedding, for Coats, and Idols. Their houses
are much worse than your Irish, but the In-land Countreyes have
none but Carts and Tents, which they ever remove from Countrey
to Countrey, as they see occasion, driving with them infinite troopes
of blacke sheepe, Cattell and Ulgries, eating all up before them, as
they goe.

For the Tartars of Nagi, they have neither Towne, nor house,
corne, nor drinke; but flesh and milke. The milke they keepe in great
skinnes like Burracho's,

which though it be never so sower, it agreeth
well with their strong stomackes. They live all in Hordias, as doth the
Crim-Tartars, three or foure hundred in a company, in great Carts
fifteene or sixteene foot broad, which is covered with small rods,
wattled together in the forme of a birds nest turned upwards, and
with the ashes of bones tempered with oile, Camels haire, and a clay
they have: they lome them so well, that no weather will pierce them,
and yet verie light. Each Hordia hatha Murse, which they obey as
their King. Their Gods are infinite. One or two thousand of those
glittering white Carts drawen with Camels, Deere, Buls, and Ulgries,
they bring round in a ring, where they pitch their Campe; and the
Murse, with his chiefe alliances, are placed in the midst. They doe
much hurt when they can get any Stroggs, which are great boats used
upon the river Volga, (which they call Edle) to them that dwell in
the Countrey of Perolog, and would doe much more, were it not for
the Muscovites Garrisons that there inhabit.