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I'LATE XXX.
A MESTSCHERAKIAN WOMAN.
T nis Tartarian tribe inhabit the same part of tire country as the
Bashkirs, witlr whom they are very niucli intermixed, and to whom
they paid a small annual stmi, as possessors of the soil, when they first
settled among them. This was in the beginning of the fifteenth
century. "VMien tlie Bashkirs revolted in the year 1735, the Mestscheriaks
remained faithful to the government, in consequence of which
they were freed from their tribute. They are in general more enlightened
than the Bashkirs, better Mahometans, and more faithful subjects.
They do not lead a wandering life, but are chiefly employed in the care
of their cattle and their bees, which they cultivate as sedulously as the
Bashkirs themselves; they do not, however, altogether neglect agriculture.
The men dress exactly like the Bashkirs, but the women in some
respects difitr, particularly in their flat bonnets, which they ornament
with pieces of money and glass beads; long pieces of cord also hang
down, and are covered with plates of silver, or white iron.
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