, 1888-12-04
WOMEN OF T~URKESTAN.
WHAT VEREsTcHAeIN, THE RUSSIAN
ARTIST AND TRAVELLER, SAYS.

ARTIST AND TRAVELLER, SAYS.
Life Among the RrguIs Tribes of Central
Asin-A Charming Young Woman for 100
Horses-A Chief Discusses MarriaSe--..A
Miserable Law"
Among the collection of pictures of the
famous Russian artist and traveller,
Nasilli Verestchagin, are a large number
of reproductions Of his former works and
albums Of sketches in Turkestan, which
country is becoming more connected with
Europe every day. Speaking of Turkes-
tan recently, Mr.. Yerestchagin said:
When you pass the Ural mountains,
the frontier between Europe and Asia,
you enter upon the steppes, which in the
spring are beautifully green, covered
with grass and flowers, which In autumn
are made quite barren by the sun. Fur
Their on begins the real desert, moving
sands, kept moro or less together by the
only thing which grows in such places,
a running bush or tree called saksaul,
which serves for burning Cooking and
heating purposes) as well as to keep the
sands in their place.
1.-The steppes during spring are Gov
cred with the tents of the Kirguis n very
large collection of tribes occupying the
whole of Central Asia. The Kirguis are
a mixture Of the Mongol and Turks
and number a few millions. They are a
very good hearted people and are Moham-
medans, but not very fanatic. The posi-
ton of the women is not so bad as the
position of the women of the settled pop
ulation (meaning the tribes residing per
m~anently in the cities) of Contra Asia.
HOW THEY BUY WIVES.
Naturally, however, their position is
not TO be compared to that of European
women. The Kirguis woman is always
bought from her parents by her future
husband. As a rule the payments are
made in cattle, as money is scarce among
these people.
"a charming and good natured girl
can be purchased for, say one hundred
horses, ten or twenty camels and a few
und sheep, In addition to a large
tent, some cloth and some money, if the
man has any. once the price of the girl
Is settled upon and one-half or one-third
Of the amount is paid the future husband
can come to the tent of the girls father,
and is even allowed TO remain there with
her in the absence of the girls parents,
but only for a short time.
when the whole amount is paid the
husband can take his wife to his own
tent. There in that country, as In
Europe, it is not wise to let the future
husband take his wife without getting
from him all that he has promised to
give for her.
81 remember a charming young woman
who was bought by her husband for 100
horses. AS the husband was very old
and she was the third wife, and more
over as she bore him no children, she
was beaten nearly every day and finally
came to me for consolation. have a
sketch of her in one of my albums, and
you will see that she is a most beautiful
woman. Unfortunately, 1 could. not
change her position, and l fear that if
her husband is not dead she is still
beaten every day.
A CHIEF DISCUSSES MARRIAGE.
The Kirguis look on their women, as
l learned from actual conversation with
a kirguis chief, who introduced me to
his young and pretty wife, as having no
other object in life than to vie each with
other wives in their efforts to please the
head of the family.
las the Kirguis woman / refer to was
speaking of the fact that the tribe con-
tempiated moving to fresh pasturages
and showed her JOY ut the prospects Of a
change, / asked her If she did not want
to go still further, and 1 would take her
with me, far, far, very far She laughed
and answered:
mot yet; but l see that my husband
has the intention to take another wife.
Should he do so, then, yes; / will ask you
to take me away, far, far, very far
Il said all right; l find it is quite cor
rect
"'How correctT' asked the husband.
DO you mean to say that your custom
to have only one woman is better than
ours, which is to have many of themY
Certainly l answered.
but do you not understand he con-
tinued, that when there are many they
get along much better? Every one Of
them understands that if she ceases to
please me, or If she is capricious, / shall
leave her tent and go to the tent of an
other wife n live with the other wife.
80 they strive one against the other to
be kind to me-
q did not approve of this reasoning,
and | said: In our opinion there is some
thing more in the woman than her per-
son. Our women l added, are united
to their husbands not only by the body,
but by the mind, heart and soul
WHAT he exclaimed. But if my
wife by accident should lose an eye, and
be blind in one eye for life? Do you
mean to say that 1 must remain with her
for the rest of my lifeT'
Certainly l answered.
"Then the Kirguis chief spat in dis
gust on the floor of the tent, and ex-
claimed: What a miserable lawr"-
New York Herald.