The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-02-05
PEOPLE IN NORTH CHINA.
Wild Tribe of Russians Located in
Mongolia.
From the Pail Mall Gazette.

From the Pail Mall Gazette.
Farawayto the north Of the Desert Of
Cobb. where the Saian range splits the
tributary waters of the rising Yen,sei
and the Chinese empire melts into
Russian Siberia, right at the topnost
corner of Mongolia. lies the territory
Of the little known Siyots. Three hun
dred years ago. when the pale faced
Russians broke into Siberia, the Siyots
fed before them. They alone woull
not bend the knee to Russia. South
ward they fled over the Saianski pass
es into the kingdom of the dragon,
donned the pigtail and became Chi
nese, dispossessing in their hurry Il
fine race of people.
The SiyOts of today are divided into
two classes with diverse conditions
Those of the north, inhabitiaS The
slopes Of the Saian, are hunters wor-
shippers of devils, eating mat and
even carrion. Those of the south, who
dwell upon the plains. are her RS OF
horses and cattle. Buddhists by re-
ligion. men of cleanly habits, eating
only milk and millet seed.
So wild and desolate is the region Of
the Siyots that even the government
maps are utterly wrong about ii. Riv-
ers are omitted, misplaced and trans
posed: errors of seventy to Il hundred
miles are common. Ever the intrepid
Jrjevalsky. who passed through Til
assutai, Kobdo and Uurga, did not
turn aside into this great northern
waste. \ strange face is never seen
there, and life goes by queer ancestral
customs.
The Siyots live i'm round "karaiS. or
tents, built of movable lattice. with a
felt-covered conical top. Inside is n
net heXagonal arrangement of boxes or
cupboards, wherein the stores are kept.
Very scornful are they OF the barbar-
Gus Hurbets, their nearest neighborS,
who have no boxes in their tents, AMI
are otherwise uncivilized. What
manner of Doors are these asked q
SiyOt. on coming to Il Turbet encamp-
ment; they tether their horses TO
their tents instead of erecting a horse
stick They deserve to have their
tents pulled about their ears" Even
less complimentary were his remarks
upon the Turbet women. who wear
blue smocks instead of the gay green
knickers of his own girls, and do not
plat their hair.
The religious customs of the Siyo.s
are not their least interesting feature,
Everywhere, on the banks of rivers or
at the top of n difficult pass, are stones
or sticks adorned with little rags.
Sometimes wisps of horse hair are at
tached to them. These are god
sticks" and are an offering to the de-
mon of the place for averting the dan
gers of crossing, Whenever a Siyot
acted as mountain guide or forded a
river he expressed his gratitude for
safety by adding a quota to the god
stick" or at least by placing upon a
cairn one stone for each of the party
saved. Should Siyot fall ill-and
smallpox Is very prevalent among
them-he calls in medicine man to
drive away the devil. The medicine
man is dressed in long red robe,
adorned with imitation snakes. brass
ornaments and iinery. Beating a drum
he yells all night in the chamber Of
upon. his heels.
Finally he falls exhausted in SOFT
of trance. biting his lips so that blood
is spread upon his face. Then he IL
considered to be in the very act of
eXorcism. Vaccination, lately intro
duced by the Russians and the Tar
tars, is said to be interfering with the
business of the medicine man. The
custom of devil-driving seems to exist
only among the northern Siyots. who
live upon the mountains. Southwark