They Prefer It Before Other Flesh, Because The Meate Is Stronger (As They Say) Then Beefe, Mutton, And Such Like.

And yet (which is marueile) though they serue all as horsemen in the warres, and eate all of horse flesh, there are brought yeerely to the Mosco to bee exchanged for other commodities 30.

Or 40. thousand Tartar horse, which they call Cones. They keepe also great heards of kine, and flocks of blacke sheepe, rather for the skins and milke (which they carie with them in great bottels) then for the vse of the flesh, though sometimes they eate of it. Some vse they haue of ryse, figs, and other fruits. They drinke milke or warme blood, and for the most part card them both together. They vse sometime as they trauel by the way to let their horse blood in a vaine, and to drinke it warme, as it commeth from his bodie.

[Sidenote: The Tartars dwelling.] Townes they plant none, nor other standing buildings, but haue walking houses, which the latines call Veij, built vpon wheeles like a shepheards cottage. These they drawe with them whithersoeuer they goe, driuing their cattell with them. And when they come to their stage, or standing place, they plant their carte houses verie orderly in a ranke: and so make the forme of streetes, and of a large towne. And this is the manner of the Emperor himselfe, who hath no other seat of Empire but an Agora, or towne of wood, that moueth with him whithersoeuer he goeth. As for the fixed and standing buildings vsed in other countreyes, they say they are vnwholesome and unpleasant.

They begin to mooue their houses and cattell in the Spring time from the South part of their countrey towards the North partes. And so driuing on till they haue grased all vp to the first farthest part Northward, they returne backe againe towards their South countrey (where they continue all the Winter) by 10. or 12. miles a stage: in the meane while the grasse being sprung vp againe, to serue for their cattell as they returne. From the border of the Shelcan towards the Caspian sea, to the Russe frontiers, they haue a goodly Countrey, specially on the South and Southeast parts, but lost for lack of tillage.

Of money they haue no vse at all, and therefore prefer brasse and steele before other metals, specially bullate, which they vse for swordes, kniues, and other necessaries. As for golde and siluer they neglect it of very purpose, (as they doe all tillage of their ground) to bee more free for their wandering kinde of life, and to keepe their Countrey lesse subiect to inuasions. Which giueth them great aduantage against all their neighbors, euer inuading and neuer being inuaded. Such as haue taken vpon them to inuade their Countrey (as of olde time Cyrus and Darius Hystaspis, on the East and Southeast side) haue done it with very ill successe: as wee finde in the stories written of those times.

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