The Arizona champion., 1891-02-14
A KIRGHIS ENCAMPMENT.
Description of 8 Tent and it's
 Furniture.
4 DRINK OF THE EATIu lAL BEVERAGE.
An Artist who Didn't Like Koumiss.-
 An Incident.

It was evident from the commotion caused by our approach that the encamp- ment had not often been visited The swarthy, half naked children, who had been playing out on the grass, fled in alright to the shelter of the tents as they saw our tarantas coming toward them across the steppe; women rushed out to take a startled look at us and then disap peared; and even the men, who gathered in group to meet us, appeared to be sur prised and little alarmed by our visit. A few words in Kirghis, however, from our Cossack driver reassured them, and upon the invitation of an old man in red and yellow skull cap, who seemed to be the patriarch of the band, we entered one of the I1ibitkas It was a circular tent about fifteen feet in diameter and eight feet high, made by covering dome shaped framework of smoke blackened poles with large overlapping sheets of heavy gray felt. The slightly curved rafters which formed the roof radiated like the spokes of wheel from large wooden ring in the center of the dome, and were supported around the circum- ference of the tent by skeleton wall of wooden lattice work in which there was hinged door.
 The ring in the center of the dome out lined the aperture left for the escape of smoke and the admission of air, and di- rectly under this aperture fire was smol- dering on the ground inside circle of fiat stones, upon which stood few pots, ket- ties and other domestic utensils. The furniture of the tent was very scanty, and consisted of 8 narrow, unpainted bed stead, opposite the door, two or three cheap Russian trunks of wood painted blue and decorated with strips of tin, and a table about four feet in diameter and eight inches high, intended evidently to beused by persons who habitually squatted on the ground. Upon the table were Q few dirty wooden bowls and spoons and an antique metal pitcher. while here and there, hanging against the lattice wall, were buckets of birch bark. a harness or two, a flint lock rife, red, white and golden saddle of wood with silver inlaid stirrups and pair of carpet saddle bags.
 The first duty which hospitality requires of Kirghis host Is the presentation of koumiss to his guests, and we had no sooner taken seats on sheet of gray felt beside the fire than one of the women went to the koumiss churn-a large, black, greasy~bag of horse hide hanging against the lattice wall-worked wooden Churn dasher up and down in 1t vigorously for moment, and then poured out of 1t into 8 greasy wooden bowl fully quart of the great national Kirghis beverage for me. It did not taste as much like sour milk and soda water as l expected that it would. On the contrary, 1t had rather pleasant flavor; and if it had been R little cleaner and cooler, It would have made an agreeable and refreshing drink. |. tried to please the old Kirghis patriarch and to show my appreciation of Kirghis hospitality by drinking the whole bowl ful; but underestimated the quantity of koumiss that 1t is necessary to imbibe in order to show ones host that one doesn't dislike 1t and that one is satis- fed with ones entertainment. 1 had DO sooner finished one quart bowlful than the old patriarch brought me another; and when told him that single quart was all that permitted myself to take at one time, and suggested that he reserve the second bowlful for my com rade, MT. Frost, he looked so pained and grieved that in order to restore his serenity had to go to the tarantas, get my banjo and sing "There Is Tavern in the Town" Mir. Frost, meanwhile, had shirked his duty and his koumiss by pre- tending that he could not drink and draw simultaneously, and that he wanted to make likeness of the patriarch's 6-year- old son. This seemed to be very adroit scheme on Mir. Frost's part, but it did not work as well as he had expected. No sooner had he begun to make the sketch than the boys mother, taking alarm at the peculiar, searching way in which the artist looked at his subject, and imagin- ing perhaps that her offspring was being mesmerized, paralyzed or bewitched, swooped down upon the ragged little urchin, and kissing him passionately, as if she had almost lost him forever, car ried him away and hid him. This unto- ward incident cast such a gloom over the subsequent proceedings that after sing ing four verses of Solomon Levi" in Q vain attempt to restore public confidence in MT. Frost, put away my banjo and we took our departure. Kennan N--