Mannfrs
CUSTOMS--
Kamchadals.
Teehv&x.
man "among thofe spirited and gay tribes of barbarians, Pthan among- the
favages off-AfHg^ j’or Arperica.
, . Go^spr-nieg the manaera-obtb« Samoieds little “is known, as no^tirv
quifitive. traveller-has vifited fcheir bleak-and barren*heaths, and marfhes.
Mr. Pennant-has ftyled theta the Hottentots of the north, and defprïbes;
thèta.as refembling ‘th'e, Laplanders, but far more ugly- and .brutal.4
They ufe the iebudeer tp draw their fledges,- but ff$m;fti;angers;toits
milk, and feed foully
AÏateingenious traveller affords mere” predfeJ infarmatiotCconcerning
the manners of the Kamchadals, and the .Teehuksr the tnoft -renjote
people of Afiatic Ruffia;5 'Hè travèHéd in^t^e winter,5 when the fnowy
hurricanes were often fo thick as to obftrudt -the;yiewt as muph as a
heavy fog. * The ifbas, qr balagans, huts of the Kamchadals, are in
the fotxth raifed on polls, about" 12 or! 3 feet higfr^fbr the pbrpdfe of
drying their fifh, almóft their only food. A cotton fhirt is worn next
■ their fkin, with trawlers,;.and a loofh frock-of deer fkin ; .the boots "ate
of tanned leather, and the cap- of fur. The men 'are chiefly-occupied
in catching fifli, and in the fummer the women proceed to the woods
to gather fruits and vegetables, • when they abandon themfelves to a kind
.of bacchanalian “frenzy. The Katochadals are o f : final! ftature, with
little hollow eyes, prominent cheek bones, flat nofe, black hair,
fcarcely any beard, and ^ tawny -complexion. They •ecmfiderably referable
the Japanefe; and thèir character is mild and hofpitable. In-
ftead of, the rein deer, the-., dogs, which referable the fhepherd curs<Sf
Trance, draw a light fledge, «upon which- the traveller fits in a fide
pofition. In; the north óf Kamchatka the hovels are partly excavated
■ under .ground, like thöfe which Dr. Brown obferved near Belgrade,
for the lake<of warmth, but the'confined air, and flench are almoft in*
fupportable.
-The Techuks, who in all fcarcely exceed a thoufand families, are
generally found in fmall camps, pitched by the fide .of the rivers.
The rude tents .are fquare, confiding of four poles fupporting fkins of
♦ Arc. Zobt. p. eli«.
fj 5 Travels in Kamchatka by Leffeps, 1790. 2 vols.-Svo;. .Leffeps attended La JPeroufc,
and returned with difpatches through Afiatic Ruffia.
rein
rein deer«; whklu alfo form -the covering.; -.before-every, tent, are fpears,
and * •£j£‘£>ws, j,fixed '3in the^jfr\$w„f againft* any * qJddfb attacks of the
Kpriaks, jwholpthough, o f the fame{nac;e, are a, mor.e*ImaU<fiei%%, and» en-
terprifing-,people:',;* Inptheimidft is i ‘^3y(e,!.and' the|bed confifts of fmall
branches trees' IpreadyppMlf^Taow* arjd ,&Q$efgc||w'itih' d§J>r| fkinrSi
Their habitations and Ifoodi arerdirty .and dlfgp^ing ;.'..and the drefs of
the women 4||^fls4j9hly<of,';a|.fing|e^%ei; fk'rn fafteaeid, at the, aepk, fo?
that on hoofing one knot tfi^y'l^dysremaius naked. The- features are
coarfe, buf they haye'i^t,the. flat ^ p i^ fn o r little hollow uyesplafthe.
Kamchadals ; and Leffeps pronounpes thei&£PjiQ|e%aq<;e to have tiothing
o f the^ AfiatipforJp«(in whichf^ffferjtioh hejbad been precededjhy. Pallas
and. Tobke. Even-the Koriaks ■areiTdpp'ofe'di; n,ot- to exceed: ;;'2po<3
families*6 -
t,jj.Fufthe-r tp »the weft. the, Yakuts,,-agouti the- town? cal^diYjtkutlk,
and % tribe o f ,the-fame people« .called Yp^agijs,,; hear,-the Ar&ic^c«;^,
areide^ine^ate Tatars who fled, into^thef^remqte^g^.TOifl^n>{tk^^qwej;
qfvtbe'iMonguls, and «prefeijve their language -^nd manngtsi,j as far. as, a
more Teyeirq.climate twilL ’ permit. (T h f ^Olti^s. Ve* ^chiefly
though fom eo f their dribp^feem tp^be kinf, .wh,o, in‘|.,.t^qEpi^srcbang<|,
o f nomadic nations have paffedfrom. the ^uropean^fide o f the. LTralian
ch^in. s -
Upon the whole,u the rthr.ee diftindf barbaric nations of" ‘^’a.ta.i^s,, Mon-
guls,,and .Tungufes, or; Maqdfhurs,. are by ,far_ the njoft interefting ia
tb $ l; middlf^regions. of, Alla as their anceftprs. have OjV^rturned. the
greatefleiupires, and ^repeatedly inflji.erieprl^-thd^ deftinv |n fi haff ’th e
globe. The vague name o f Tartarf is nearly diioardAl' from our;ipiaps,
and might; yield, with .far gpeate^ precifioh ^to names derived ‘from the
Igats o f the chief nations, as Tungufi^, pr ^ n d lh u r ia , At. the eaft,
Mongblia in thfe centre, ahd'TatariVin'the w e ft.^O f thefe the Mon^ul|
are, thp chief people, '.and the' "a^buht alreadygifetff'd^ tKeir" manners
will fuffipe with the preceding defcriptions of forne othef pbes^ to impart
afi; idea o f the, ethical condition. o^ Afiati^ Ruffia.
' The languages of all thefe original* nations .arg radically different;
and among the Tungufes, Morjgjtdsf and Tatars, there are fotne flight
♦-Leffeps,'-,;;. 84.
I 5.5)
Manners
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