The rich Tartars are clothed in sables and ermines, and other rich furs, and in cloth of gold, and all their apparel and furniture is very costly. Their arms are bows, swords, battle-axes, and some have lances; but they are most expert in the use of the bow, in which they are trained from their infancy. They are hardy, active, and brave, yet somewhat cruel; are exceedingly patient and obedient to their lords, and will often remain two days and nights armed on horseback without rest. They believe in one supreme God of heaven, to whom they daily offer incense, praying to him for health and prosperity. But every person has a little image covered with felt, or something else, in his house, called Natigay; and to this household god they make a wife, which is placed on his left hand, and children, which are set before his face. This image or idol is considered as the god of earthly things, to whom they recommend the protection of their wives and children, their cattle, corn, and other valuables. This god is held in great reverence, and before eating any thing themselves, they anoint the mouth of the idol with the fat of their boiled meat, and they cast some broth out of doors in honour of other spirits; after which they eat and drink their fill, saying, that now their god and his family have had their due portion.
If the son of one Tartar, and the daughter of another die unmarried, the parents meet together and celebrate a marriage between their deceased children. On this occasion they draw up a written contract, and paint representations of men and women for servants, of horses, camels, cattle, and sheep, of clothes of all kinds, and of paper money; and all these things are burned along with the contract, conceiving that these will all follow their children substantially to the other world to serve them, and that they will be there united in affinity, as if they had been actually married while living.
When the Tartars go to war, the prince usually leads an army of not less than an hundred thousand men, all cavalry; each man having usually eight or more horses or mares. Their troops are regularly distributed into bands of tens, hundreds, thousands, and ten thousands; a troop of an hundred is called a Tuc, and a body of ten thousand is called a Toman. They carry them felt houses along with them, for shelter in bad weather. When necessity requires, they will ride for ten days together without victuals, subsisting upon the blood of their horses, by cutting a vein and sucking the blood. But they likewise prepare dried milk, for taking with them in their expeditions, in the following manner: After taking off the cream, which is made into butter, they boil the milk and dry it in the sun into a kind of hard curd, of which every man in the army carries about ten pounds along with him. Every morning they take about half a pound of this curd, which they put into a leathern bottle with a quantity of water, and as he rides along, the motion of the horse shakes and mixes these together, and this mess suffices for the food of one day. When they approach towards the enemy, they send out numerous scouts on all sides, that they may not be assaulted unawares, and to bring intelligence of the numbers, motions, and posture of the enemy. When they come to battle, they ride about in apparent disorder, shooting with their arrows; and sometimes make a show of precipitate flight, discharging their arrows backwards as they fly; and when by these means they have broken or dispersed the enemy, they suddenly rally their forces, and make an unexpected assault, which generally decides the victory, their horses being all so thoroughly under command, as to turn any way merely by a signal.
If any Tartar steals a thing of small value, he is not put to death, but receives a certain number of blows with a cudgel, according to the measure of the offence; either seven, or seventeen, or twenty-seven, thirty-seven, or forty-seven; though some die through the severity of this cudgelling. But if any one steal a horse or other thing of great value, for which he deserves to die according to their laws, he is cut asunder with a sword, unless he redeem his life by restoring the theft nine fold. Such as have horses, oxen, or camels, brand them with their particular marks, and send them to feed in the pastures without a keeper.
Leaving the city of Caracarum, and the mountain Altai, we enter the champaign country of Bargu[6], which extends northwards for about fifty days journey. The inhabitants of this country are called Medites[7], and are subject to the great, khan, and resemble the Tartars in their manners. They have no corn or wine, and employ themselves chiefly, during summer, in the chase of wild beasts, and in catching birds, on the flesh of which they subsist in winter; and they have great abundance of a kind of stags, which they render so tame that they allow themselves to be ridden. In the winter this country is so excessively cold, that fowls, and all other living things, remove to warmer regions. After forty days journey we arrive at the ocean, near which is a mountain frequented by storks, and fine falcons, as a breeding place, and from whence falcons are brought for the amusement of the great khan.
[6] Bargu-fin, or Bargouin, is the name of a river on the east side of lake Baikal, on which is a town or village named Barguzin, or Barguzinskoy Ostrog, signifying the town of the Burguzians. But by the description in the text, Marco appears to have comprehended the whole north-east of Tartary, to the north of the Changai mountains, under the general name of Bargu, in which he now includes Curza, mentioned separately at the commencement of the preceding Section, and where the situation of Bargu has been already more particularly described in a note.--E.
[7] Metrites, Meclites, or Markaets.--Forst. No such appellation is to be found in modern geography; but the discontinuance of the designations, of temporary and continually changing associations of the wandering tribes of the desert, is not to be wondered at, and even if their records were preserved, they would be altogether unimportant.--E.
SECTION IX.
Of the vast Countries to the North of Tartary, and many other curious Particulars.
We now return to Campion, or Kantcheou, on the river Etziné. Proceeding thence five days journey towards the east, we come to the country of Erginul[1] in the province of Tangut, which is subject to the great khan. In this kingdom there are many idolaters, with some Nestorians and Turks. It contains many cities and castles, the chief place being of the same name with the province.
[1] Erigrinul, Eriginul, Erdschi-nur; and this ought to be read fifty days south-west, instead of five days east.--Forst. This may probably be some district in the country of the Eluts of Kokonor, not mentioned in our modern maps.--E.
Going south-east from this place towards Kathay, we come to the famous city of Cinguy[2], situated in a province of the same name, which is tributary to the great khan, and is contained in the kingdom of Tangut. Some of the people are Christians, some of them Mahometans, and others are idolaters. In this country there are certain wild cattle, nearly as large as elephants, with black and white hair, which is short all over the body, except on the shoulders, where it is three spans long, exceedingly fine, pure white, and in many respects more beautiful than silk. I brought some of this hair to Venice as a rarity. Many of these oxen are tamed and broke in for labour, for which they are better adapted, by their strength, than any other creatures, as they bear very heavy burdens, and when yoked in the plough will do twice the work of others. The best musk in the world is found in this province, and is procured from a beautiful animal, the size of a goat, having hair like a stag, the feet and tail resembling an antelope, but has no horns; it has two teeth in the upper jaw, above three inches long, as white as the finest ivory[3]. When the moon is at the full, a tumor, or imposthume, grows on the belly of this animal, resembling a bladder filled with blood, and at this time people go to hunt this animal for the sake of this bag or swelling, which they dry in the sun, and sell at a high price, as it is the best of musk. The flesh also of the animal is good for eating. I, Marco, brought the head and feet of one of these animals to Venice.
[2]