The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1917-09-20

may be found than anywhere els" IN
Asia. and that is saying Il great deal.
IL Is n country not easy 10 get into.
From K%rnsnularsk. n station on the
TranS.Sihcriun railway, there Is Il rivof
trip NJ two days up the icnisci I"
Minusinsk. which is n city of some pre-
tentions. about 100000 In population,
and In many ways not unlike II hust-
ling American city passing through It's
boom period. From MinusinSk there
Is n 72.mIle stretch covered by wagon
road In the curious Russian wagon
called n %talioga. then there is 12o miles
by trail over the mountains ana then
another 156 miles by wagon road
again.
For crossing the river n ferry Is
used most surprising To the traveller on
first mccting. says n writer in Grit.
one may come IN 10 n river and hall
the ferryman on the other side. limmc-
dlately n boat puts out driven by
splashing paddle wheels of which the
motive power Is nj first n puzzle; there
is no smoke or steam and no gasoline
popping. When the craft comes near
or, the secret Is revealed. Three horses
on n raised platform pull around n
sweep attached 10 n vertical shaft
which Is itself geared to n horizontal
shaft and drives the paddles.
Home Of the soyotes.
The native inhabitants OF the cx-
IRENE border region are n most inter-
esting people. They call themselves
Tubanuius. the Chinese call them Urin-
XIII and the Russians Soyotes.
The strip they inhablt was for many
years n "no-man's land" its owner
ship being In dispute between Russia
and Mongolia. II Is q beautiful, we'll
wntered mountain country. rich In
vegetation and In game. including
many fur-bearing animals. Recently
Russia established her claim TO the
country. The Soyotcs are therefore
now a Russian people. They are 40
madlc by nature, living In sheltered
mountain passes In winter. on noun
tain terraces in summer and In the
broad valleys In spring and fall. They
migrate thus to get pasturage for
their herds and nocks.
Some among them are cattle breed
crs: such live in tents, round like n
cheese, 10 To IL feet In diameter, made
Of felt an inch thick mounted on n
lattice framework. Others are rein
deer breeders who live In conical huts
made like an American wlklup Of birch
bark and skins. Men and women
dress In the same way, cloaks and
breeches, made of furs and sheep skins
In winter, and OF cotton and Chinese
silk In summer. They are fond OF
bright colors and are picturesque In
their pointed hats and long flowing
cloaks. They are fine riders, have eX-
cellent horses and train and take good
care of them. But horse stealing Is II
virtue among them. Therefore the
Russians on the principle of set n
thief to catch II thief" employ them as
cowboys and shepherds.
All Thieves and Liars.
They are n quiet people, submissive
to authority, kind TO their wives, but
thieves and liars all, and until recent
ly practiced t%orturing AS n form of
punishment, including such pleasant
practices rs burylng alive and freezing
of the hands and feet, while ideas Of
morality are not highly developed
among them. When Il cid Is born, II
Is named after the first object seen by
the oma after It's birth. The results
are both comical and poetic. The So
votes pay their taxes In tho form Of
pelts Of squirrel, sable, fox, mink, mar.
ten, etc.
The Russian peasants here. not the
Soyotcs, carry on n kind az farming,
probably the Quccrcst in the world
elk rnlslng. II seems that the Chinese
who still cling 10 the medieval system
81 medicine which Is mostly supcrstl-
tiOn and not altogether unlike witch.
craft, prize nothing more for their pre-.
scrlptions than the horn of the elk N
the velvet. They send agents all over
siberia to buy this commodity, and
since elk are getting scarce, the price
Is going up and the canny peasants
see chances for bis profits in raising
the beasts for their horns. They get
$3.50 n pound for the horn. so II the
elk has been shot ana Stlll has it's skull
bones, ana Il pair Of antlers viii weigh
up to 20 ~pounds--a fair profit. con
sld"rlng that after harvesting his
horns you stlll have your elk for next
years crop.
Communal Elk Farms.
There Is Indeed a craze for clk.farm.
Ing; even villages have communal elk
farms. The elk are pnstured In en-.
closures surrounded by ten.foot fences
md are bred like cattle while fresh
Y.Id elk run down by peasants on