TARTARY.

This is one of the largest countries in the world, yet it does not

contain as many people as the small land of France. How is this? You will

not be surprised that many people do not live there, when you hear what

sort of a country it is.

Fancy a country quite flat, as far as eye can see, except where a few low

sand-hills rise; a country quite bare, except where the coarse grass

grows;--a country quite dry, except where some narrow muddy streams run.

Such is Tartary. What is a country without hills, without trees, without

brooks? Can it be pleasant? This flat, bare, dry plain, is called the

steppes of Tartary. In one part of Tartary, there is a chain of

mountains, and there are a few towns, and trees, but _very few_. You may

travel a long while without seeing one.

Nothing can be so dreary as the steppes appear in winter time. The high

wind sweeping along the plain, drives the snow into high heaps, and often

hurls the poor animals into a cold grave. Sledges cannot be used,

because they cannot slide on such uneven ground. But if the _white_

ground looks dreary in winter, the _black_ ground looks hideous in

summer; for the hot sun turns the grass black, and fills the air with

black dust, and there are no shady groves, no cool hills, no refreshing

brooks. There must, indeed, be a _little_ shade among the thistles, as

they grow to twice the height of a man; but how different is such shade

from the shade of spreading oaks like ours! Instead of nice fruit, there

is bitter wormwood growing among the grass, and when the cows eat it,

their milk becomes bitter.

WILD ANIMALS.--The most common, is a pretty little creature called the

sooslik. It is very much like a squirrel.

But can it live where squirrels live,--in the hollows of trees? Where are

the trees in the steppe? The sooslik makes a house for itself by digging

a hole in the ground, just as rabbits do in England. Will it not surprise

you to hear that wolves follow the same plan, and even the wild dogs? The

houses the dogs make are very convenient, for the entrance is very

narrow, and there is plenty of room below.

There are some very odious animals on the steppe. Snakes and toads. Yes,

showers of toads sometimes fall. But neither snakes nor toads are as

great a plague as locusts. These little animals, not bigger than a

child's thumb, are more to be dreaded than a troop of wolves. And why?

Because they come in such immense numbers. The eggs lie hid in the ground

all the winter. O if it were known _where_ they were concealed, they

would soon be destroyed. But no one knows where they are till they are

hatched. In the first warm days of spring the young animals come forth,

and immediately they begin crawling on the ground in one immense flock,

eating up all the grass as they pass along; in a month they can fly, and

then they darken the air like a thick cloud; wherever any green appears,

they drop down and settle on the spot. The noise they make in eating can

be heard to a great distance, and the noise they make in flying is like

the rustling of leaves in a forest. They cannot be destroyed: but there

are two things they hate,--smoke and noise,--and by these they are

sometimes scared and induced to fly away.

PEOPLE AND CUSTOMS.--Besides the wild animals, there are tame animals,

who inhabit the steppe with men and women who take care of them. They are

all wanderers, both men and beasts. You can easily guess why they wander.

It is to find sufficient grass for the cattle.

Every six weeks the Tartars move to a new place. Yet one place is so like

another, that no place appears new;--there is always the same immense

plain--without a cottage, or an orchard, a green hill, or running brook,

to make any spot remembered. It is great labor to the Tartar women to

pack up the tents and to place them on the backs of the camels, and then

to unpack and to pitch the tents. It is a great disgrace to the men to

suffer the women to work as hard as they do: but the men are very idle,

and like to sit by their tents smoking and drinking, while their wives

are toiling and striving with all their might. The women have the care of

all the cattle: and the men attend only to the horses. Perhaps they would

not even do this, were it not that they are very fond of riding; and such

riders as the Tartars are seldom seen.

To give you an idea how they ride, I will describe one scene that took

place on the steppe.

Some travellers from Europe were on a visit to a Tartar prince: (for

there are _princes_ in the desert,) and they were taken to see a herd of

wild horses. The prince wished to have one of these wild horses caught.

It is not easy to do this. But Tartars know the way. Six men mounted a

tame horse, and rushed into the midst of the wild horses. Each of the men

had a great noose in his hand. They all looked at the prince to know

which horse he would have caught. When they saw the prince give a sign,

one of the men soon noosed a young horse. The creature seemed terrified

when it found that it was caught: his eyes started out, his nostrils

seemed to smoke. Presently a man came running up, sprang upon the back of

the wild horse, and by cutting the straps round his neck, set him at

liberty. In an instant the horse darted away with the swiftness of an

arrow; yet the man firmly kept his seat. The animal seemed greatly

alarmed at his strange burden, and tried every plan to get rid of

it;--now suddenly stopping,--now crawling on the grass like a worm,--now

rolling,--now rearing,--now dashing forward in a fast gallop through the

midst of the herd; yet all would not do; the rider clung to the horse as

closely as ever.

But how was the rider ever to get off his fiery steed? That would be

difficult indeed; but help was sent to him by the prince. Two men on

horseback rode after him, and between them they snatched away the man

from the trembling and foaming horse. The animal, surprised to find his

load suddenly gone, stood stupefied for a moment, and then darted off to

join his companions. What _this_ man did,--_many_ Tartars can do: and

even _little boys_ will mount wild horses, and keep on by clinging to

their manes: _women_, too, will gallop about on wild horses.

In Circassia the customs are very different; for though _men_ ride so

well, _women_ there never ride at all; and surely it is far better not to

ride than to be as bold as a Tartar woman.

FOOD.--What can be the food of the Tartars? Not bread, (for there is no

corn,) nor fruit, nor vegetables. The flocks and herds are the food. The

favorite meat is horse-flesh; though mutton and beef are eaten also. Then

there is plenty of milk--both cow's milk and sheep's milk. As there is

milk, there is butter and cheese. But it is very unwholesome to live on

meat and milk without bread and vegetables. The water, too, is very bad;

for it is taken from the muddy rivers, and not from clear springs. It is

a comfort for the Tartar that he can procure tea from China. Their tea is

indeed very unlike the tea brought to England; for it comes to Tartary in

hard lumps, shaped like bricks. It is boiled in a saucepan with water,

and then mixed with milk, butter, and salt. Thus you see the Tartar needs

neither tea-kettle, teapot, nor sugar basin.

It would be well if tea and milk were the only drinks in Tartary; but a

sort of spirit is distilled by the Tartars from mare's milk; and brandy

also is brought from Russia.

TENTS.--A Tartar tent is very unlike an Arab tent.

It is in the shape of a hut, for the sides are upright, and the roof only

is slanting, and there is a small hole at the top to let the smoke

escape. Neither is it made of skins, but of thick woollen stuff, called

felt, which keeps the cold out. At night the entrance is closed, and the

family sleep on mats around the fire in the midst.

APPEARANCE.--The Tartars are not handsome like the Turks and Circassians.

They are short and thick; their faces are broad and bony, their eyes very

small, and only half open; their noses flat, their lips thick, their

chins pointed, their ears large and flapping, and their skin dark and

yellow.

Their dress is warm, and well suited for riding in the desert. Different

tribes have different dresses: this is the dress of the Kalmuck Tartar.

He wears a yellow cloth cap trimmed with black lamb-skin; wide trowsers,

a tight jacket, and over all a loose tunic, fastened round the waist. His

boots are red, with high heels. The women dress like the men; but they

let their hair grow in two long tresses, while the men shave part of

their heads, and keep only _one_ lock of hair hanging on their shoulders.

[Illustration: TARTAR TENTS.]

You see that the Tartars are much like the Chinese in their persons and

dress; but they are a much stronger, bolder people, and much more

ignorant. No wonder, therefore, that many years ago the Tartars got over

the Chinese wall, and took possession of the Chinese throne. You must not

forget that the Emperor of China is a Tartar.

GOVERNMENT.--To whom does Tartary belong? Has it a king of its own? No.

Once it had many kings, called khans; but now the khans have lost their

power, and are only _called_ khan to do them honor. Now Tartary belongs

to the great empires on each side of it,--Russia and China. Part of

Tartary is called Russian Tartary, and part--Chinese Tartary. There is

only a small part that is not conquered; and it is called Independent

Tartary.

There are many different tribes, and each tribe keeps to a certain part

of the land, and never ventures to wander beyond its own bounds.

RELIGION.--The religion is the same as that which is so common in

China,--the religion of Buddha; but in some parts of Tartary there is the

religion of Mahomet. It is sad to think that far more people in the world

worship Buddha, the deceiver, than Jesus, the Son of God. The Tartars

think to please their false god by making a loud noise. It would astonish

a stranger to hear their jingling bells, shrill horns, squeaking shells,

bellowing trumpets, and deafening drums. How unlike is their senseless

noise to the sweet sound of a Christian hymn!

The Tartars think also to please their gods by glaring colors; so their

priests dress in red and yellow, and bear flags, adorned with strips of

gay silk. A band of priests looks something like a regiment of soldiers.

The chief priest is called the Lama, and he is worshipped as a god; but

his situation is not very pleasant; for he is not allowed to walk without

help. Whenever he attempts to walk, he is held up by a man on each side,

as if he were an infant; and usually he is drawn in a car, or carried in

a palanquin. From want of exercise, he becomes very weak and helpless.

When he dies, his body is burned, and the ashes are gathered up and made

into an idol. Thus he continues to be a god after he is dead. Another

Lama is chosen by one of the princes. There are many Lamas in Tartary for

the various tribes.

As the Tartars are always moving about, a tent serves for a temple; and

the idols are carried in great chests. They cannot walk, therefore they

must be carried. What use are such gods?

The Tartars have found out a way of praying without any trouble; and it

is a way that suits idols very well. They get some prayers written, and

place them in a drum, and then turn the drum round and round with a

string. This they call praying; and while they are thus praying, they can

be chattering, smoking, and even quarrelling. The princes have a still

easier way of offering up prayers. They write prayers upon a flag, and

then place it before their tents for the wind to blow it about.

This is _their_ way of praying to their gods.

And what, my dear child, is _your_ way of praying to your God?

Have missionaries visited the Tartars?

Yes; I will tell you of two German missionaries, who tried to convert a

tribe of Tartars called the Kalmucks, living near the Caspian Sea and the

river Volga. These good men were treated with great contempt by the

Tartars. The missionaries translated the Gospel of St. Matthew into the

Tartar language. One of the Tartars, instead of thanking them, observed,

"I wonder you should take so much trouble to prepare a book that we shall

never read." When the precious books were given to the Tartars, some of

them returned the books; and when it was read to them, they scornfully

said, as they turned away, "It is only the history of Jesus."

At last one Tartar, named Sodnom, believed in Jesus. He said to the

missionaries, "Now the Tartars, from my example, may turn to the Lord:

for as, when sheep are to be washed, each is afraid to enter the water

till _one_ has been in, so it may be with my countrymen."

Sodnom read every evening in the Testament to his family in the tent. At

first his wife was displeased, and said that her husband wasted the

fire-wood in making a light to read a book that was of no use. But

afterwards she listened, and made the children keep quiet. The neighbors

also listened, and _twenty-two_ turned to the Lord!

Then the prince and the priests grew angry, and said the Christians must

leave the camp. Where could the Christians go? There was a village called

Sarepta, where some Germans lived. There they determined to go, though it

was two hundred miles off. One of the missionaries led the way on

horseback; the Tartars followed on foot: then came camels bearing the

tents and the women, while a bullock-cart contained the young children.

The flocks and herds were driven by the bigger children.

The good Germans in Sarepta received the Tartars with great joy. One

gray-headed man of eighty-three came to meet them, leaning upon his

staff. He said he had been praying that he might see a _Christian_ Tartar

before he died. He heard these Tartars sing hymns to the praise of

Jesus, and he felt his prayers were answered. Two days afterwards he

died. Like old Simeon, he might have said, "Lord, now lettest thou thy

servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation."

The Christians went to live in a small island in the river Volga. When

the river was frozen, the Germans went over the ice to visit them. Sodnom

gave them tea mixed with fat in a large wooden bowl; and to please him,

the kind Germans drank some, though they did not like it. Many Tartars

assembled in Sodnom's tent, and seated on the ground smoking their pipes,

talked together about heavenly things; and before they parted, they put

away their pipes, and folding their hands, sang hymns in their own

language. The Germans, in taking leave, divided a large loaf among the

company; for bread is considered quite a dainty by the Tartars.

The change that had taken place in these Tartars filled the Germans with

joy; and more missionaries would have gone to teach the heathen Kalmucks,

had not the Emperor of Russia forbidden them.