New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-11-16
CUSTOMS OF TIE KIRGISHEs.
HORSE RoBBING AND H0RSE-DOCroRlNG-
AIECEND


LEGEND.
Translated BY TIVE TSisrsr nom mus AsS'e' e' Se'e
i.fe ln:slhgeIes Of kssa
Tie SsnsTJm kirsi-hes, OF those who ave otyoIo
.be Mar, m, have habit Of borse-robbing. 10 COM
uspies, sometimes more than hundred s:roDg, hey
cross he Irysh rear the Chinese ortp0s,s Bo;s or
Chopi msachu snd spend the day in any convenient
rayne This their way in the BE-; season; cool Au-
mn DAYS they cross ,heis hores by isy. In theeyen
ing they Get tbemscyesto The place whsre the robbery
Is 10 be committed They generally wear their olSest
clothes in such cssts, ard srm themselves With, be-
.ide .sbres and pixies, pg clubs largest at tie over
end. whieh are called tatiks. This IS me zsrJ
respon Of The horse-rotbers (bGraatatshi, from
baranta. wh:lh Denotes The SOFT Of robbery and
they use hem With great d,Steri.y. These Gibbs are
sometimes ou; or five feet long. they meet IN the
daytime with mach SUI er troop Of their tribe,
they fall Upon them with horrbe yelling and whist
ips and form circle about them, whrpg thelr
bnf,ks over their hesds Ii the priced party DO not
choose TO dsInc un. the robbers eudgel them with
Heir clubs urti they fsl OF tteir hor:es. The blows
are generally aimee st the reck or chin. The slen
man is robbed OF his horse aud his clothing il il ia
worth an, thing, and left 10 h- shiTt. Sometimes in
deed the robbers are defeated and then they suffer
the same fate. But more geLorliy they ohooee Q
da-k Autumn eight wheI horses ue easily frightened,
aprroSoh = h-rd, hslt at Lite distance aud &c
desyor 10 ind cut whether the hecismen ae asleep.
Thtn one Of them iismolns snd slips around % lie
other side Of lie herd IN 81 onIs Toe slgh,es, nose
which he males striking together two little siicke fer
example fiicbsns the horses; hey rush 70 the other
Size where the robbers who ae mointed on their
horses frigbien them still more by blows Of The tas
and drive them in TIE desired decti n. All this tAkcs
place u such silence hat ony tbs tramp OF The gai'
loppg horses is heard. Sometimes stolen herd vii
he driven bundled Versts more until they reach
perfectly safe piece. The owners of the horses ofien
pursue and overtake tie robbers, and then hsndso
hard 6sbt decides the matter. they are however
very circumspect and careful to avoid giving mortal
blows sinCe he relatives Of 1rdered man nay de-
mand very considerable Naturalization. The
herds driven away by the bar0Htdfshi often number
several thousand head. THO extensive desert tracts
Wing between the Irtysh and Kaludjin are very Ia
yorsble TO the Jaranta. The granite eruPnons
(,raritryia slidprs) form here narrow rsvines IN
which it is essy to lie conce sed through The day.
As the Kigishes are always having to do with
horses they know how &c cure them OF all sorts OF dis
eases those who unders and the Kusish prayers are
particularly well skilled. One Of our horses was 20
sick that he was ipse,s bic ltsehemer) guide de-
cared that he would take upon hmseli TO cure him.
Forthwith he placed the horse before him, kneeied,
and began to say over some prayer in loud voice.
Then he ordered tobacco burning birthstone, took
lit piece Of this last aud held it, whenit was burned,
under the most lie Of the horse and touched his ngh;
shoulder. When these ceremonies were ended, ne
tolc Kirgish TO mount his horse, gallop TO some
peehborirg grave ride around it, take handful Of
earth from it, let the horse smell Of H. and then return.
When this was done the horPe began TO snort and nib
l. 4. la, oraI To
question why he had said the prayer, be answered
that tho aialn oss upon che ho-ee rem dead
man and the prayer sent it back TO him again. The
steppe NJ. y. looked upon proudly laid bs hands
behind bis back ard went TO finish his meal.
Although rich in superstitioDs sill the Krsishes do
not appear to possess any great store OF legends
Here follows one Of them, in which the mountain
Kamyk. Toogoi plays part. troogoi is 4 Nor
golisn word meaning head, summi'; compounded
with Kalmyk il means kslmy K head; spd with Sat,
Bokharisn, Bokhsrisn head This mountain once
stood between Lake Saissng and the TsIbsgsai,
near the ssrt Tologoi which stll stands there. On
the hill which border the Ia basa'ai two giants,
father and son. tended their docks. When tLey came
TO the psce where that mountain now is, they stopped
for the night To their misfortune tribe dwelt there,
among whom the betrothed of the giant, Dot
whose kalym price he had not yet quite paid The
Krgishes arc allowed to visit their lady oves, and
indeed to be alone with them, bu: in no case may they
consummaie their marriage before the katym 10 fully
paid. Now as that young giant had not seen his
sweetheart for long time he begged bis ather TO et
him 90 and see her; be gave him permission, bat
reminded him that the kalym was nOs yet psid ard
til breach of this law would be q very henous sb.
Early neat morning the lad back TO his f.her 70
continue the wandering. Then the cd msn heaved
up the mountain on one edge, called his SOD, stepped
with him under the mountain, and shu. It down over
them both. So the Tologei was the tomb Of the tso
gants The fame OF their death came 10 Tarbsgstai,
and the mother of one and the wife Of the other set ont
to zee the mountain which hid her dear oneA She
came 10 place where at this dsyIises the mountain
KILL beku; she looked upon the Tologoi and gave
herself up entirely to her sonox. TIE blood which
flowed with the tears from her eyes was changed INTO
the red stone Of the XIII Cbeku. After the first ont
gush Of her grief che began TO draw near b the Togo
and at the Ak-Tss her tears had become white az
water, and were changed into white stone.