The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-18 00:00:00

ETHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

At the meeting on Wednesday, Sir James Clark,
Bart., M.D., and Messrs. G. Dressier, H. S. Cuming,
James Tonnere, and T. T. Spicer were elected
,members. . •

After -announcing the donations since the last
eeting, which were very numerous, the Secretary
n
proceeded to read the paper for the evening—" On
the Yamfid and Galan tribes of Turkomania, by the
Baron Clement Augustus de Bode," the fruits of his
personal observations of this most interesting but im-
perfectly known people. The Goklans inhabit the
country to the west of the Alburs, and the Yarnfids
to the west of the Goklans, up to the eastern shores
of the Caspian Sea. Of the former, there were some
years ago 12,000 families, but they are greatly
thinned; of the latter, there are now between 40,000 and
50,000 families. The Goklans asribe their origin to
two brothers, while the Yamals are said to be the de-
scendants of four brothers. They follow the creed of
Mahommed, possess corn-fields, rice plantations, and
vegetable gardens, and visit the bazaars of Asterabad
to exchange the fruits of their industry, not only in
this respect, but in goods they manufacture, such as
felt and woven carpets, as well as sheep and horses
from the live stock they rear, for the silks of Anezane
and the cottons of Khorassan. "Of the Turkoman
character," the Baron "regrets that he could find
but very few redeeming qualities to palliate the evil
propensities of their nature." The Turkomans ob-
serve a difference in their children by Turkoman
mothers, and by the Persians, whom they capture,
and the Kasakhs, whom they purchase from the
tizbecks of Khiva. They of the pure race enjoy
privileges of which the half-breds are deprived.
For instance, they are obliged to choose wives.
from among themselves, or from the Persians and
Kantlihs. The Turkomans are Mongolian featured,
by no means ill-looking, and a large proportion of
the younger of the female community are considered
by the Baron " as fair specimens of pretty women."
The lads marry at fourteen and fifteen, and the girls
at ten and twelve, but they are maintained by their
parents for many years afterwards. The greatest
respect the Turkomans can pay to the dead is to bury
the body immediately. Among the Yamtids there
are individuals who possess upwards of 1,500 sheep,
200 camels, 30 mares, and as many captive human
beings. They are great horse-racers and chess-
players. The President, in adjourning the meeting
to the 10th of April, when a paper by Captain T.
Postarus, " On the Biluches of Sinde,' is the -sub-
ject, read the following extract from the Journalfka
Deba,ts of March 8, as an interesting feature
in the progress of ethnology in France :—" M. le.
Prince de Joinville lately gave a private audience to
the Council of the Ethnological Society, composed of
Messrs. 3i ilne Edwards, Charles Lenormant,
D'Avezac, Imbert des Motelettes, and Gustave
d'Eichthal. The Prince conversed with them on the
means necessary to be pursued in order to collect
from all quarters of the globe materials for the study
of the various races of mankind; and declared his in-
tention of affording his active assistance in furtherance
of the objects of the Society." The sub'ect of the
Baron's paper just now is particularly interesting, as
it makes us acquainted with the people with whom
Dr. Wolff will have to deal in his perilous undertaking
in search of Col. Stoddart and Capt. Conolly.

TRIAL OF THE MURDERER OF THE MARQUIS OF
NORMANBY'S GAMEREEPER.—George Lowther and Mat-
thew Pearson yesterday took their trial at York, for
the murder of John Moffatt, the head gamekeeper to the
Marquis of Normanby—the first as principal, and the
second as aiding and abetting. The facts of this melan-
choly case, arising out of the operation of the Game-laws,
are too fresh in the minds of our readers to require
repetition. The jury found Lowther guilty and acquitted
Pearson. The Judge, in passing sentence of death upon the
wretched man, said that he had been convicted on the clearest
testimony of depriving a fellow-creature of life, and that
he could not hold out to him the slightest hope of a relaxa-
tion of the law in his case. Pearson was then called upon,
and admonished by the Learned Judge, who trusted that the
unhappy end to which his companion would soon come would
operate as a warning to him, and would be the means of in-
ducing him to abstain from 'following the unlawful practice
which had led to this melancholy investigation.
VENERABLE BEEF.—At the Lamb and Swan ordi-
naries, at Honiton, on Saturday last, there was a rump of beef
dressed from a cow that was fed by Mr. Dommett, of Churchstan.
ton, and sold last Churchington fair. This beast was known to
have been let in a dairy thirty-one years ago, and was thirty.eight
years old when slaughtered. Not witstanding her mature age, the
beef .was deliciously tender. A grazier, who dined at one of the
houses, tells us that he never ate more delicious beef.—West o
England COMerratit%

Accounts were on Thursday last received from Con-
stantinople, dated Feb. 19, containing the melancholy
loss of a Turkish brig in the Gulf of Saros during the
heavy gales. The captain and six of his crew were
saved ; but the remainder on board, consisting of thirty-
four passengers, many of whom were females, and six
seamen,
,were drowned. • .
Information has been received at Lloyd's from'Capt.
Dixon, belonging to the Alpha, of Sunderland, of the
total loss of a brig, with all bands. Captain Dixon re-
ports as follows:—On Saturday. last, about half-past one
o'clock p.m., whilst proceeding from Sunderland to •
Gravesend, and when bearing about five miles W.S.W.,
his attention was suddenly called to a vessel, which im-
mediately sank with all hands. The wind at that time
was blowing tempestuously, and the vessel was some
distance ahead of the Alpha: Captain Dixon, however,
could distinely see ' that her topsails were flying.
as if the sheets had been broken with the fury of
the gale. He „sailed as fast as he possibly
could to get to her ; whilst so doing lie saw her
turn completely over, and the crew, by some means, got
upon the broadside. At this time Captain Dixbn ha&
got within seven or.eight yards of her, but he was not.
Billy aware, until he saw her turn over, that she needed"
assistance, therefore the lines were not ready. 'Five or
six minutes only elapsed from the vessel turning over
till she went down. •On the side seven persons could be ,
seen, and w hen the ship sunk one man struck out, and
was teen struggling violently for life ; it is supposed that
he perished with the rest of the crew. The name of the, '
wreck.is unknown, but she was laden. with coal, and mime:-
of the crew of the Alpha state that she had Searliorouthi •.
on her stern.