-YIN
SOUTHERN SIBERIA
JEREMIAH CURTIN

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

A JOURNEY
IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA

Jeremiah Curtin Going up the Steps of Mars Hill to the Place
where St. Paul Addressed the Athenians. Frontispiece

A JOURNEY IN
SOUTHERN SIBERIA
THE MONGOLS, THEIR RELIGION
AND THEIR MYTHS
BY
JEREMIAH CURTIN 1.1 j
Author of "The Mongols, A History," "The Mongols in Russia,"
" Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland," " Creation
Myths of Primitive America,'' etc.
TRANSLATOR OF THE WORKS OF HENRTK SIENKIEWICZ

With a Map, and Numerous Illustrations
from Photographs

BOSTON
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
1909

Copyright, 1909,
Bv A. M. Curtin.

All rights reserved

Published November, 1909

THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A.

FULFILLING THE AUTHOR S WISH
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED
TO HIS VALUED
FRIEND
SIR WILLIAM VAN HORNE

PREFATORY NOTE
JEREMIAH CURTIN took the degree of Bache-
" lor of Arts at Harvard College in 1863, having
been a member of the last college class that studied
their required mathematics under me as Assistant
Professor. I found young Curtin's personal ap
pearance and his mental processes unusual and inter
esting. He was a good scholar in general, with an
extraordinary capacity for acquiring languages. In
his autobiography (unpublished) he states that
seven months and a half before he entered Harvard
College he did not know one word of Latin or Greek,
but at the admission examination he offered more
of each language than was required. At the time of
his death, 1906, he knew more than sixty languages
and dialects, and spoke fluently every language of
Europe and several of the languages of Asia. He
was Secretary of Legation of the United States in
Russia from 1864 to 1870, during which period he
was acting consul-general for one year, 1865-1866.
He was connected with the Bureau of Ethnology in
the Smithsonian Institution from 1883 to 1891, and
later was employed from time to time by the Bureau
for special work.
In Siberia, during the journey which this volume
describes, he studied the Buriat language with a
Buriat who knew Russian, and hard as it was to

vi PREFATORY NOTE
acquire a strange language without the aid of books,
he accomplished the feat in a few weeks. At sixty
he learnt a new language as quickly as he did when a
Harvard student. Having acquired a language,
Curtin always wished to learn the history, princi
pal achievements, myths, folk-lore, and religious
beliefs and usages of the people who spoke that
language. Hence his great learning, and his numer
ous publications on myths and folk- tales. Curtin
is also known to the learned world by his transla
tions from the Polish of Quo Vadis and eight
other works of Henry Sienkiewicz. He published
many valuable translations from the Russian and
the Polish.
In the year 1900, between the 19th of July and
the 15th of September, Curtin made the journey in
southern Siberia which is the subject of the follow
ing volume, his object being to visit the birthplace
of the Mongol race, and to see for himself the origins
and survivals of a prepotent people which once sub
dued and ruled China, devastated Russia, conquered
Burma and other lands east of India, overran
Persia, established themselves in Asia Minor and
Constantinople, and covered Hungary with blood
and ashes, thus occupying at different epochs most
of Asia and a large part of Europe.
The Buriats, who are the surviving Mongols of
to-day, inhabit three sides of Lake Baikal and the
only island therein. Lake Baikal is the largest body
of fresh water in the Old World. From the regions
south of Lake Baikal came Jinghis Khan and Tamer
lane, the two greatest personages in the Mongol
division of mankind.

PREFATORY NOTE vii
The volume opens with a brief sketch of the physi
cal features and the history of Siberia, a compara
tively unknown and dreary country, which covers
about one-ninth of the continental surface of the globe.
The long journey in southern Siberia is then amply
described, the landscape, the institutions, the dwell
ings, and the mode of life of the people he met being
set forth with vividness and philosophic apprecia
tion. An important section of the book relates to
the customs of the Buriats — their customs and cere
monies at the birth of a child, at a marriage, and in
sickness, and their burial rites. It then deals with
the origin of the shamans or priests, with the sacred
trees and groves, and with the gods of the Buriats.
The myths connected with the Mongol religion are
next recorded, just as Curtin heard them from the
lips of living Buriats. A collection of folk-tales com
pletes the volume. It is a book of very unusual
character, which only an extraordinary linguist and
scholar could have written, so difficult was the gather
ing of the material for it. The journey itself was one
of considerable hardship and exposure; and the
linguistic, historical, and anthropological knowledge
required to produce the book has seldom, if ever
before, been possessed by any single scholar.
The manuscript of this volume was finished a few
months before Curtin's death, but it has been pub
lished posthumously without the advantage of his
revision. CHARLES W. ELIOT.
October 20, 1909.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I Page
The Mongols. — Description of Lake Baikal. — Mongol conquests. —
The British in India. — Sketch of the history of Siberia. — Southern
Siberia first visited by Russian princes. — Ivan the Great divides
Yugria (Siberia). — Stroganoff builds trading posts on the Tobol
River. — Yermak, the national hero of Siberia. — Prince Bolhovski,
first government official sent to Siberia. — Death of Yermak. —
Founding of Tiumen and Tobolsk. — Founding of Pelym, the first
place to which exiles were sent. — The exile of a church bell. — Ivan
and Vassili Romanoff, brothers of the founder of the Romanoff dynasty,
the first exiles of distinction sent to Siberia. — Discovery of the Yakuts.
— Russians meet the Buriats. — Founding of Irkutsk. — Buriats be
come Russian subjects  1

CHAPTER II
My journey to the Buriats. — Description of Irkutsk and the Angara
River. — Exorbitant prices. — Preparations for a journey. — A
Siberian exile. — A race up hill. — Post stations. — A harelipped
driver. — Buriat dogs. — Arrival at Andrei Mihailovitch's. — Death
of Mihailoff's son. — Arrival at Usturdi. — Donkeys of Assuan. —
Mongol horses. — Lazareff , the cross-eyed widower. — Mongol
wedding  18

CHAPTER III
walk and talk with Andrei Mihailovitch. — The mission church. —
Search for "wise men." — Taking down myths. — Appearance of
Manshut, a man wise in ancient lore. — Arrival of convicts from
Russia. — A visit to Andrei Mihailovitch's summer home. — Photo
graphing Ongons (gods). — Preparation for Horse Sacrifice . . 38

CHAPTER IV
The Horse Sacrifice. — Multiplication of food and drink. — Prayer to the
gods. — Buriat religion. — Difficulties of introducing a new religion.
— Preparations for a journey to the sacred island of Olkhon ... 44

CONTENTS

CHAPTER V

Page

Annoying delays. — A wedding. — Russian influence. — Journey to
Olzoni. — Palisaded prison. — Tembovski, a Polish exile. — Visit to
the Alexandroff s. — A night journey. — Difficulties encountered at
post stations. — Count Mureviefi Amoorski. — "Shamaning" to
drive away sickness. — Crossing Lake Baikal. — The "Watchers.'' —
Muravieff and the elder of Nur. — Arrival at Seven Pines. — Lodg
ing in a church   53
CHAPTER VI
A search for old men who know Mongol folk-lore. — Forced to move out
of the church. — Lack of food. — Leave Olkhon. — "Ragatz"
station. — An Italian blacksmith. — Buriat food. — Picturesque
dress of Russian women. — Climate of Siberia. — A Russian exile
and his family. — Taking down myths. — Siberian fruit. — Baiandai,
a village of ex-convicts. — An exile from Little Russia. — My ser
vant, a murderer. — Soldiers ordered to China. — Arkokoff and his
surroundings. — A night-watch who had served out a sentence for
murder. — Disorder and dirt. — Difficulties encountered. — Wild
flowers of Siberia. — Kongoroff exhibits his gods. — A battle with
cockroaches. — An inhuman driver. — A German exile. — Return
to Usturdi  73
CHAPTER VII
A birthday in Siberia. — Search for Manshut. — The Red-nosed exile. —
"Red-nose" finds Manshut. — Night ride to Usturdi. — The dissipa
tion of young girls. — Leave Usturdi. — Iyok, a town of ex-convicts.
— A night in Kuda (Where). — An ignorant official. — Arrival at
Irkutsk  87
CHAPTER VIII
Customs of the Buriats. — Making of tarasun. — Marriage ceremonies. —
Ceremonies after the birth of » child. — Buriat Ongons, gods. —
Sickness. — Rites attending the Burning of the Dead. — Buriat
Burial of the Dead  92
CHAPTER IX
Origin of Shamans. — A Shaman story. — Second sight. — Sacred groves
of the Shamans. — Sacred groves of the Burkans. — Sacred trees and
groves  105
CHAPTER X
The gods of the Buriats. — House Ongons (gods). — Outside Ongons. —
Field Ongons. — The Creation. — Esege Malan. — Gesir Bogdo. —
Esege Malan and Mother Earth  118

CONTENTS xi
CHAPTER XI Page
Myths connected with Mongol Religion. — Gesir Bogdo, Nos. I, II, III. —
The Iron Hero. — Ashir Bogdo  127
CHAPTER XII
Mongol Myths and Folk-lore. — Buruldai Bogdo Khan, Nos. I, II. —
Sharau. — Hunkuvai and the Horse with Round Head. — Varhan
Tulai Hubun. — Altin Shagoy. — Yerente Khan and his son Sokto.
— Ala maid jin and his twin sister. — The Twin Boys, Altin Shagoy
and Mungun Shagoy . . . ,  186

ILLUSTRATIONS

Portrait of the Author  Frontispiece Facing Page
Irkutsk, Siberia  jg
Post Station at Elantsin  . 24,
Our Traveling Carriage while Making the Buriat Journey . 24.
Baggage and Provisions of Convicts  4,0
Convicts Passing through the Village of Usturdi  40
Group of Convicts Resting and Lunching  42
Buriat Wedding  42
People Assembled for the Horse Sacrifice  46
Stone Altars on the Hill of Sacrifice  48
I. Horse Sacrifice  50
II. Horse Sacrifice  50
III. Horse Sacrifice  52
IV. Horse Sacrifice  52
V. Horse Sacrifice  54
VI. Horse Sacrifice  54
Convict Prison at a Post Station  68
Buriat Women in Full Dress  68
House where we Boarded on Olkhon Island  72
The Only Russian Church in Olkhon  72
ArkokofT, his Wife, Son, and Son's Wife  80
Lazareff and his Relatives  80
Kongoroff and his Wife  84
Andrei Mihailovitch, Mikiloff and his Young Wife .... 84
Manshut  88

xiv ILLUSTRATIONS
Facino Page
Buriat Young Lady, Island of Olkhon  88
Ram, Sacrificed as an Offering  100
Bones of the Ram, Left to Rot and Fall  100
Tea from China, Coming from Kiakhta to the Railroad in
Irkutsk  106
Buriat Watch Dog  106
Andrei Mihailovitch's Field Ongons  120
Field Ongons  124
Field Ongons, Church in which the Author Spent Three Days,
and Group of Houses and Russian Store Mentioned on
Page 72  128
Vassya, his Father, and the Author  142
Drying Fuel — Cow Droppings — Island of Olkhon . . . . 158
Church near a Post Station on the Road to Lake Baikal . . 158
Our Buriat Friends in the Sacred Island of Olkhon .... 1 76
Russian Exile and Two Buriat Shamans  194
The Author's Carriage  194
Village of Alaguersk-rod in Siberia  214
A Group of Unmarried Mongol Women or Young Ladies in
Usturdi  214
Gods which Guard the House from the Outside, Olkhon Island 236
Buriat Gods, or Representations of their Gods  236
Buriat Household Gods  258
Contents of « God Bags "  258
Buriats — Husband and Wife in the Hayfield  282
Representations of Buriat Gods  282

Fold out

A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN
SIBERIA CHAPTER I
THE BIRTHPLACE OF MONGOL ACTIVITY
THE Buriats whose myth-tales I have collected, and whose
beliefs, modes of worship, and customs I have studied at
their source and describe in this volume, are Mongols in the
strictest sense of the word as men use it. They inhabit three
sides of Lake Baikal, as well as Olkhon its only island. The
place and the people are noteworthy.
Lake Baikal is the largest body of fresh water in the Old
World, being over four hundred miles long and from twenty-four
to fifty-six miles broad, its total area covering about thirteen
thousand square miles. The Buriats living west of that water,
and those inhabiting the sacred island of Olkhon, are the only
Mongols who have preserved their own race religion with its
primitive usages, archaic beliefs, and philosophy, hence they
are a people of great interest to science.
The region about that immense body of water, Lake Baikal,
is of still greater interest in history, for from the mountain land
south of the lake, and touching it, came Temudjin, known later
as Jinghis Khan, and Tamerlane, or Timur Lenk (the Iron
Limper), the two greatest personages in the Mongol division
of mankind.
From the first of these two mighty man-slayers were descended
the Mongol subduers of China and Russia. Among Jinghis
Khan's many grandsons were Kublai Khan, the subjector of
China, together with Burma and other lands east of India;
Hulagu, who destroyed the Assassin Commonwealth of Persia,
stormed Bagdad, and extinguished the Abbasid Kalifat; and
Batu, who covered Russia with blood and ashes, ruined Hun
gary, hunting its king to an island in the Adriatic, crushed
1

2 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
German and other forces opposed to the Mongols at Liegnitz,
and returned to the Volga region, where he established his chief
headquarters. Descendants of Jinghis Khan ruled in Russia for two centuries
and almost five decades. In China they wielded power only
sixty-eight years.
From Tamerlane, a more brilliant, if not a greater, leader than
Jinghis, descended the Mongols of India, whose history is re
markable both in the rise and the fall of the empire which they
founded. These two Mongol conquerors had a common ancestor in
Jinghis Khan's great-great-grandfather, Tumbinai; hence both
men were of the same blood and had the same land of origin, —
the region south of Lake Baikal.
That Mongol power which began its career near Baikal
covered all Asia, or most of it, and a large part of Europe, and
lasted till destroyed by Russia and England. The histories of
these struggles are world-wide in their meaning; they deserve
the closest study, and in time will surely receive it.
When the descendants of Jinghis Khan had lost China, the
only great conquest left them was Russia, and there, after a rule
of two hundred and forty-four years, power was snatched from
them. The Grand Moguls, those masters of India, the descendants
of Tamerlane, met with Great Britain, and were stripped of
their empire in consequence.
The British conquest of India and its methods mark a new
era in history, — the era of commercial invasion, the era of the
"drummer" in politics; that drummer who, in addition to
the wares which he offers, has statecraft behind him, and when
the need comes he has also cold steel and hot cannon-balls.
The Grand Mogul and his counsellors could not suspect
danger from this man. They considered him, at first, much as
rich ladies in great country houses far from cities might con
sider a humble and toiling pack-peddler. But, though he
might seem insignificant, this man was really a conqueror. The
Grand Mogul, Jehargir, could not see, of course, that Hawkins
and Roe would bring after them servants such as Clive, Warren

BIRTHPLACE OF MONGOL ACTIVITY 3
Hastings, and others, who would take from his heirs whatso
ever they valued, — land, dominion, and treasures.
Mongol rule was abolished in India by the British because
it did not accord with their methods and objects. It was de
stroyed by the Russians because it was foreign, oppressive, and
hateful. They simply freed their land from aliens. The con
flict in Russia was what people call patriotic. It was carried on
through sacrifices and struggles of many kinds.
There is a third Mongol history which affects greatly the actors
in the two histories just mentioned. This history had its origin
at Lake Baikal, though indirectly. When Jinghis Khan was
hunting the Kwaresmian ruler, Shah Mohammed, to his death
on an island in the Caspian, a group of Turks, or western Mon
gols, fled before him, and found refuge in Asia Minor. The
time for them proved favorable. They fought; they obtained
land, and prospered. They grew great by accretion, as does a
snowball rolling down a long mountain slope, till at last they
won the empire established by Constantine.
This Mongol group, four hundred and forty-four families in
number, became known as the Ottomans, and after the destruc
tion of the Kalifat at Bagdad they were the heirs of Mohammed,
and a terror to Europe. In time, however, they weakened, and
Great Britain came to be the defender-in-chief and mainstay
of those western Mongols, and Russia their main and chief
attacker. So the spoilers of Tamerlane's descendants in India
became the active allies of the Mongols on the Bosporus, and
the enemy of that Russia who had pushed Mongol rule out of
northern Europe.
Had Jinghis Khan never lived, those Turks, or western Mon
gols, known afterward as Ottomans, would never have left Asia
and ruled on the Bosporus.
The Mongols have played an immense part in the past, and
they bear in them at the present the great mystery of the future,
— a mystery of deep import to all men. The birthplace of that
mystery was the mountain region south of Lake Baikal. In
view of this I visited that central land of Siberia where the
family of Jinghis had its origin.
I think it well to give here a brief outline sketch of Siberia,

4 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
a country which covers an area of fourteen and one half million
square kilometres ; that is, about one ninth of the whole continen
tal surface of the globe, but which to the mind of most readers
is an unknown, boundless, cold, dreadful wonderland. I shall
mention a few of the chief events in the history of the coun
try up to the time when the Buriats first recognized Russian
supremacy. Though the name " Sibir " appears in Russian chronicles in
1407 for the first time, Russians knew the country east of the
Ural Mountains much earlier. Southern Siberia was visited by
Russian princes in the middle of the thirteenth century, when
they were forced to do homage to the Grand Khan at Kara-
korum, his first capital, not very far to the south of Lake
Baikal. Western Siberia was known as early as the eleventh century
to merchants of Novgorod, who had dealings with the people of
that region which they called Yugria or Ugri. Those people had
furs of various kinds which they were ready to barter, and of
all sources of income for Novgorod the chief, and the richest in
those days, was the fur trade. That great territory between Nov
gorod and the Ural Mountains, and from the Volga to the Frozen
Ocean was one vast preserve, one immense hunting ground for
fur-bearing animals.
In the Middle Ages the wearing of furs was universal. Every
one wore them who had the wherewithal to purchase. Wealthy
persons wore mantles and coats made of the most costly skins,
and at that time Great Novgorod purveyed for all Europe —
found furs for every one who would buy. This demand im
pelled Novgorod to subject, and in cases to colonize, places
far north and east of its own territory.
At first fur-bearing animals abounded in all the lands under
Novgorod, but in time they decreased in more western regions,
and fur hunters searched through the forests on the Kama,
Petchora, and northern Dwina, as well as on streams running
into those rivers.
Furs were obtained both in payment of tribute and in return
for goods furnished the natives. The government of Novgorod
sent out its collectors at intervals. The tribute which they took

BIRTHPLACE OF MONGOL ACTIVITY 5
was paid in furs usually, if not always. Traders also went from
various points on the Volga to the Arctic, and besides furs they
obtained whale and walrus oil, walrus tusks, sea fowls, tar, and
potash, but fur was the chief and most valuable article of com
merce. From Perm these men received also silver, but this
silver had been brought from beyond the Ural Mountains,
which in those days were called Kamenyet Poyas (the Stone
Girdle). Though the country west of the mountains was great in extent,
the country east of them was enormously greater. It was also
richer in furs of a high quality, and had besides the master
metals, — gold and silver.
When regions west of the mountain range had become well
known to collectors of tribute and to traders, men began to seek
wealth in regions east of it. The fame of that eastern land soon
spread throughout all northern Russia, and in 1032 an expedi
tion from Novgorod set out for the "Iron Gates," that is, a pass
in the Ural, through which they intended to enter Yugria.
This expedition met failure and was crushed by the natives.
Only a few of the men went back to Novgorod; most of them
perished. In 1096, sixty-four years after that first expedition, accord
ing to a statement in the Chronicle of Nestor, a Novgorod
merchant named Rogovitch sent a man first to the Petchora,
where the natives paid tribute, and afterward to Yugria,
"where the people are shut in by sky-touching mountains, in
which there is a small gate with an opening. Through this gate
men look out and talk from time to time, but no one understands
them. If any person shows a knife or an axe to these people
they offer furs in exchange for it. The Yugrians were confined
in this region by Alexander of Macedon. While on his way to
the sea, called 'The Sun's Place,' Alexander discovered these
people, and, seeing their terrible uncleanness, — they did not
bury their dead, they ate snakes, flies, and every other vile
thing, — he feared lest they might increase and defile the whole
earth by their practices, so he drove them to that great north
eastern corner and fenced them in there firmly. He asked the
Lord, and high mountains closed in on the Yugrians. Still the

6 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
mountains did not meet altogether, a gap of twelve ells remained,
and there a bronze gate was formed of such quality that fire
cannot burn it, or iron cut it."
Under the year 1114 it is noted in the Chronicle that "old
men who had gone to Yugria saw a cloud touch the earth, and
then fur-bearing animals came out of it, and rushed away through
that country in myriads. Another cloud came down, and rein
deer sprang out of it."
These tales are like those told by Pacific coast Indians. There
are tribes on the Klamath River who tell of animals coming
from the sky. I have several such myths which I took down in
California. This account in Nestor's Chronicle is beyond doubt
a Siberian myth-tale given to some Russian who told it at home
as if he had been an eye-witness, or who was reported as so tell
ing it.
Toward the end of the twelfth century Yugria paid tribute to
Novgorod, though there was resistance at first, as there had
been west of the mountains, where in 1187 one hundred men
were killed while collecting tribute. In 1197 a party east of the
Ural lost a still larger number.
After 1264 Yugria was counted by Novgorod as a possession
of that republic, and tribute was collected there. In 1364 an
expedition from Novgorod, made up of young people, sons of
boyars, and volunteers, led by Alexander Abakumovitch and
Stephan Lyapa, reached the Ob River, one of the mighty rivers
which embrace that vast plain called western Siberia. There
they separated into two parties : one, sailing down to the mouth,
conquered all tribes to the Frozen Ocean; the other, sailing up
the river, was equally successful.
Forty-three years later, or in 1407, Tohtamish, once khan
of the Golden Horde, the man who burned and ruined Moscow,
was murdered in Sibir, a town on the Irtish some versts below
its junction with the Tobol. The name " Sibir " was used then
for the first time, as the chronicler infbrms us.
In 1446 a new expedition to Yugria was made, but it failed;
and this seems to have been the last expedition sent by Nov
gorod. Nineteen years later Ivan Veliki (the Great) of Moscow,
afterward the conqueror of "Lord Novgorod," as the proud

BIRTHPLACE OF MONGOL ACTIVITY 7
people called their city, commanded Vassili Skryaba of Ustyug
to subject Yugria. This was done, as it seemed for the moment,
since Kalpak and Tekich, princes of Yugria, were brought to
Moscow, where Ivan Veliki confirmed their titles, and appointed
a tribute which they were to pay for all Yugria. Thenceforth
Ivan must have considered himself master of the country, for
in 1488, when writing to the King of Bohemia, he added Yu-
gorski to his other titles.
But in reality the northern part of Yugria showed no desire
for subjection to Moscow. And years later three commanders,
one of whom was Prince Kurbski, led five thousand men into
northern Yugria and conquered it, capturing forty-one towns
and taking, as prisoners, more than one thousand people, with
fifty-eight princes or elders.
Fifteen years after this Vassili, son of Ivan Veliki, divided
northern Yugria. The region on the Lower Ob he called Obdo-
ria, and that on the river Konda, Kondia, and to his titles he
added Prince Obdorski and Kondinski. A little later the south
ern part became known as Sibir, which was the name of the
capital of the native khans, and in time became the name of
the entire country.
In a letter, written in 1554, to Edward VI of England, Ivan
the Terrible, as Karamzin states, entitled himself " Commander
of all Sibir."
In 1558 Tsar Ivan granted Grigori Stroganoff unoccupied
lands, one hundred and forty-six versts in length, on the Kama
and Chusova rivers. No taxes were to be paid on those lands
for twenty years. Ten years later lands extending twenty versts
along the Kama from the mouth of that river were granted to
Grigori's brother, Yakov. These lands were to be free of taxes
for ten years. In return the brothers were to build stockades
and maintain troops at their own expense. On both these grants
the Stroganoffs showed great activity.
In 1563 Khan Kuchum, said by some writers to be a Nogai,
who lived near Lake Aral, and by others to be a simple Usbek,
captured Sibir the capital, and after killing the ruling khan,
Ediger, and Bekbulat his brother, termed himself Tsar of Sibir,
probably calling all the country in that region Sibir, to signify

8 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
that it belonged to his capital. When established firmly he
subdued many northern tribes and refused to pay tribute to
Moscow. In 1569 Ivan the Terrible sent Kuchum a message reminding
him of his duties as a vassal; and in 1571-72 Kuchum de
spatched two envoys, Tamas and Aisa, to Moscow with tribute,
and a letter in which he asked to become a subject of the Tsar,
and promised to pay the tribute in future.
The envoys took oath for Kuchum and his chief men, but not
knowing how to write and having no seal they were unable to
sign an oath paper; hence Ivan sent Chabukoff, the son of a
boyar, with envoys to Sibir, and there Kuchum and his chief
men took the oath to Ivan, and put their seals to the oath papers.
Mahmet Kul, mentioned variously as son, brother, nephew,
and relative of Kuchum, was enraged that his people should
bend before Russians. He attacked those who were willing to
pay tribute to Moscow, captured their wives and children, and
ended by assaulting Chabukoff while that envoy was returning
to Moscow; but learning that troops on the Chusova were
preparing to attack him he fled.
In 1574 the Stroganoffs, Grigori and Yakov, were granted
the privilege to build posts on the Tobol and Takhcha rivers ;
to use guns and cannon; to enlist men and employ them in
warfare; to restrain every uprising; to establish iron- works
and fisheries ; to cultivate land on the Tobol and streams flow
ing into it. Settlers on those lands were freed for twenty years
from taxes and services of all kinds. The Stroganoffs were to
put down robbers, thieves, and vagrants; they were to protect
native tribes and other people from Kuchum, and bring Kuchum
and his subjects to true obedience.
In Moscow there was great complaint touching robberies
on the Volga, and in 1577 Ivan Grozney (the Terrible) sent a
strong force with an order to capture Yermak, the chief ataman,
with four other atamans, and send them in irons to Moscow,
that he might make an example of them by a painful and igno
minious death.
Some of the robbers, or Cossacks, as people called them, were
captured and hanged straightway, but most of them scattered

BIRTHPLACE OF MONGOL ACTIVITY 9
and saved themselves; among these was Yermak Timofieff, with
his associate atamans, Ivan Koltso, Yakov Mihailoff, Nikita
Pan, and Matvei Mestcheryak, and other men to the number
of five thousand, or five hundred as some historians state.
The following year these men reached the land of the Stro
ganoffs. Grigori and Yakov were dead ; their heirs were Simeon,
a third brother, Maksim, son of Yakov, and Nikita, son of
Grigori. There are in Russian Chronicles two versions of
what happened at this time. One is that Yermak planned the
subjection of Kuchum and the conquest of Sibir, and induced
the Stroganoffs to aid him; the other is that the Stroganoffs
planned the conquest and got Yermak to assist them in the
undertaking. Either version may be true, or it may be that
the Stroganoffs and Yermak had the same plan and agreed to
co-operate. But the glory of being the first real conqueror of
Siberia is given to Yermak, and he is therefore the popular
hero of Siberia.
Kuchum had shown clearly that no success in Sibir was pos
sible for the Stroganoffs or others till his power was crushed
thoroughly. Yermak undertook to crush it.
Of Yermak and his origin accounts are also conflicting. One
Chronicle calls him Vassili, and says that he was a native of the
Ural country, who worked on a boat navigating the Kama and
the Volga; that he was pot-boiler, that is, cook, for the boat
men. Yermak was the name of a company's pot on such boats,
and instead of calling him Vassili the boatmen nicknamed him
Yermak (Pot). Yermak was ambitious, hence he grew dis
satisfied and restless, and, seeing a chance to win wealth on the
Volga by robbery, he deserted his employers, formed a com
pany of young, daring boatmen, put himself at the head of it,
and began business. He did what he pleased, and above all
what gave profit. At last he and Koltso with a few of their as
sociates grew so bold that they robbed the Tsar's envoy; and
then came the order to bring him to Moscow. In another ac
count Yermak is made a Cossack of the Don ; and in a third,
that of Kostomareff, he is described as an ataman in the
Tsar's service on the Ural, and has no connection whatever
with Don Cossacks or with robbery on the Volga.

10 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Yermak's first hostile meeting with the natives of Sibir was
with the Tartar prince, Epancha, whom he defeated. In a
second battle, somewhat later, he captured Epancha's chief
stronghold, which stood where the town of Tiumen is now
situated. Yermak and his forces spent the winter of 1580-81
at this place. Early in the spring he sailed down the Tura.
Near the mouth of the river hostile princes were awaiting him.
A battle ensued, which after some days ended in the defeat of
the native forces, and Yermak captured so much booty that he
was forced to abandon a large part of it. He now entered the
Tobol River, and with ten hundred and sixty men, his whole
army, sailed toward the Irtish.
In spite of continual attacks by the enemy the small army
reached Isker, or Sibir, Kuchum's capital. At that place there
was another engagement, and though few of Yermak's men were
killed many were wounded. October 1st a battle was fought in
which the Russians simply held their own, but on October 23d
a merciless hand to hand conflict took place ; Yermak lost one
hundred and seven men, but he won a decisive victory. A few
days later two tribes deserted Kuchum, and he fled with his
troops to the steppes, taking with him everything that it was
possible to carry.
October 26, 1581 is memorable in the history of Siberia, for
on that day Yermak entered Sibir, the capital, as master. Four
days later a chief of the Ostyaks appeared bringing provisions
and tribute.
Early in 1582 Mahmet Kul was captured and taken to Moscow.
Yermak now sent Ivan Koltso to lay the Tsardom of all Sibir at
the feet of Ivan Grozney. Koltso was attended by fifty Cos
sacks, and took with him two thousand four hundred valuable
skins, two black foxes, fifty beavers, and a letter from Yermak
to the Tsar announcing his conquest. ,
The Tsar received Koltso with honor, and so great was his
gratitude that he sent Yermak a fur mantle from his own shoul
ders, a magnificent goblet, and two rich suits of armor, besides
much money. He also sent one of his most valued leaders,
Gliikhoff, to assist him.
Yermak now extended his authority in every direction. In

BIRTHPLACE OF MONGOL ACTIVITY 11
September, 1583, a messenger came from Karacha, a murza
who had formerly been devoted to Kuchum, begging Yermak
for aid against Nogai Tartars. Yermak, not thinking of treach
ery, sent Koltso with forty Cossacks. Karacha slaughtered the
entire party.
In November came the first government officials to Siberia .
from Moscow, Prince Bolhovski, with two associates and five
hundred sharpshooters. The following winter there was a
terrible dearth of provisions. Prince Bolhovski and many of
his men died from hardship and lack of food. While the Rus
sians were in such straits Karacha tried to anticipate Yermak in
action, and prevent him from taking revenge for the murder of
Koltso and his Cossacks. He invested Sibir, the capital; but
the Russians made a sally, defeated him, and drove off his war
riors, who fled, leaving their supply of provisions behind them.
During the summer of 1584 Yermak made his last expedition.
He sailed up the Irtish to subdue the various tribes and force
them to pay tribute, and to punish Karacha, if he could find
him. With the tribes he succeeded, but Karacha eluded every
search, and escaped.
Near the end of July Yermak returned to his capital, but in
August sailed again up the river to rescue, as he thought, Buk
hara traders, reports having reached him that Kuchum had
seized them on the Irtish. Finding that these reports were
false, he turned and sailed homeward.
One night, when it was so dark and stormy that Yermak
thought it unsafe to continue the journey, he stopped at an island
near the bank of the river. The weary Cossacks were soon sleep
ing soundly. The enemy, who had followed very sharply and
cautiously, stole onto the island during the rain-storm and dark
ness and killed or drove into the river every man except one;
that man escaped and carried the tidings to Sibir.
Yermak was either killed by the natives or drowned. His
body was borne down the river and found, seven days later, by
a Tartar fisherman, named Yanish.
After Yermak's death Siberia was lost to Russia for a season.
In Moscow no one knew what had happened in far-off Siberia.
The entire force of men left there was one hundred and fifty, the

12 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
remnant of Yermak's little army, and of those warriors who had
come with Bolhovski. They were under command of Glukhoff,
who, fearing to remain in a hostile country with so small a force,
decided to return west of the Ural. He left Sibir, and, not ven
turing to take the road by which Yermak had entered the coun
try, sailed down the Irtish and Ob rivers, crossed the Ural
Mountains well toward the north, came out in the region of
Archangel, and went thence to Moscow.
Kuchum's son, Alei, entered Sibir, the capital, immediately
after Glukhoff's departure, but was soon driven out by Seidyak,
a son of that Bekbiilat, whom Kuchum had killed when he seized
the place originally.
In 1585 Tsar Fedor, son and successor of Ivan Grozney,
knowing nothing of what had happened, sent Ivan Mansuroff to
succeed Prince Bolhovski. When Mansuroff arrived in Sibir he
found no Russians whatsoever. If a few were left in the country
they had associated themselves with the natives, to escape de
struction. It was impossible to return to Moscow for the cold
season had come. Mansuroff was forced to remain in Siberia
for the winter, hence with all expedition he raised a stockade and
built houses on the right bank of the Ob, just opposite the
mouth of the Irtish.
The Ostyaks made one attack, but were so frightened by the
sound of the cannon that they fled. In the spring Mansuroff set
out for home, going by the same road, through the Ural Moun
tains, which Glukhoff had taken.
When Glukhoff reached Moscow, and told his tale of defeat
and disaster Tsar Fedor sent three hundred men to Sibir under
two voevodas, Vassili Sukin and Ivan Myasnoi. Daniel Chul-
koff, a secretary, was to follow. In July of that year, 1586, Sukin
founded Tiumen on the Tura, and, not venturing to move far
ther on toward Sibir, he extended Moscow rule over tribes in the
region around him. He was not too far from the Ural, hence
safe. The position was good, geographically.
Early in 1587 five hundred men came from Moscow with Chul-
koff, who brought to Sukin and Myasnoi a command, from the
Tsar, to found a city on the right bank of the Irtish, near the
mouth of the Tobol — Tobolsk was founded.

BIRTHPLACE OF MONGOL ACTIVITY 13
Tiumen was the first Russian city built in Siberia. Tobolsk
on the Tobol followed quickly, but was soon transferred to the
high bank of the Irtish. Chulkoff induced Seidyak, ruling then
in Sibir, the town taken once by Yermak, to visit him at Tobolsk.
Uzaz Makmen, Sultan of the Kaisak Horde, came also, and
Karacha, who had slaughtered Koltso and his Cossacks. Chul
koff seized all three of these men and sent them to Moscow.
Then he attacked and captured Sibir, the capital. Its inhabi
tants fled, and the place was never reoccupied by any one.
In their advance toward the East the Russians did not meet
with very serious resistance till near the Amoor River, generally
the native tribes submitted to the Cossacks without a struggle
and the Russian government gradually built forts which later on
became towns.
In 1590, for the first time, colonists were sent to Siberia.
Tobolsk was made the chief city and administrative center. New
towns appeared, among others Pelym, which Prince Peter Gort-
chakoff founded. This place is notable as the first in Siberia to
which exiles were sentenced. Many of the people of Uglitch, a
place north of Moscow, were sent thither by Tsar Fedor be
cause of the death in their town of his half-brother, the young
son of Ivan the Terrible. Strangest exile of all was a church bell
from Uglitch, sent to Tobolsk in 1591. The alarm had been
sounded on that bell when the Tsar's son was killed. In Tobolsk
it was hung in the tower of the church on the Market place, to
strike the hours.
In this year Beriozoff was founded by Trahanistoff, a voevoda,
and Surgut, on the river Ob by the Princes Lvoff and Volkonski.
From 1593 to 1598 there was immense activity in Siberia.
Tara, Obdorsk, and many other towns were founded, and
commerce began to flourish.
In 1598 Prince Masalski and Ivan Voyekoff set out with one
thousand men to punish Kuchum for his pernicious activity, and
for killing Koltso. They met and crushed him. Kuchum lost
his army and his family: five sons, eight wives, and eight
daughters of his were sent to Moscow. The old man himself,
though deaf and blind, did not yield to the Russians; he fled
to the Nogai Tartars, who somewhat later killed him.

14 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
And now Russia established itself firmly in Siberia.
The first exiles of distinction to be sent into the country were
sent to Pelym in 1599. . They were Ivan and Vassili Romanoff,
who for acting against Boris Grodenof, now Tsar, were exiled
from Russia. Their brother Fedor escaped exile by assuming
the habit of a monk and the name Philaret, while his wife took
the veil and the name Martha. From this monk and this nun
sprang the founder of the Romanoff dynasty, Michael Romanoff.
The city of Tomsk was founded in 1604 by Gavrilo Pisemski
and Vassili Tyrtoff. This city is now, in 1900, the educational
center of northwestern Siberia. It has one of the largest Univer-
ties in the country, twenty-three Russian churches, two syna
gogues, and a large Catholic church. It is a wide-awake flourish
ing city in spite of a climate so cold that during winter the ther
mometer is about forty degrees below zero (Fahrenheit) for
many days at a time, and the river Tom, on which the city is
situated, is frozen quite half the year.
In 1620 it first became known to the world that in the far
north, on the Lena River, lived a people who called themselves
Yakuts. This information was given to officials in Tobolsk by
the Mangazei Cossacks. In 1631 Martynoff sailed into the Lena
by the Vilyno and discovered the Yakuts on whom he imposed
tribute. The so-called Yakutsk Territory occupies the basin of
the Lena River. Its climate is very severe, so severe in fact that
agriculture is impossible, but the country is so rich in coal, iron,
silver, and gold that within the past two centuries many and
many thousands of convicts have been sent there to work in the
mines, and because of this it has become known to the whole
world. In 1621 an event occurred of great importance for the future
historians of Russia: Cyprian came as the first archbishop to
Siberia. He was a scholar, and a man of remarkable foresight.
His prescience has been of immense value to Russia. His ear
liest work was to find the few survivors of Yermak's forces and
write down from their lips what they knew of that hero's expe
ditions and conquests. That information formed the basis of
Siberian chronicles.
In 1622 the Russians first became acquainted with the Buriats.

BIRTHPLACE OF MONGOL ACTIVITY 15
Yakov Hripunoff learned of their visiting the river Kan to get
tribute, and he sent Kozloff, a Cossack, as an envoy to invite
them to become Russian subjects. The result of this mission is
unknown. We know, however, that in 1627 two expeditions
were sent out, one under Bugor to explore the Lena River, the
other under Perfilyeff, to force the Buriats to pay tribute.
Bugor reached the upper waters of the Lena, but Perfilyeff
was unsuccessful; the Buriats would not surrender their inde
pendence. In 1628 Piotr Beketoff, with a party of Cossacks, was sent
against the Buriats on the Angara, but returned after reaching
the mouth of the Oka River.
In 1632 Beketoff ascended the Angara and then the Ilim,
crossed to the Lena, sailed down that river, and built a fort which
he called Yakutsk. Later this fort was removed to the present
Yakutsk, seventy versts higher up the river, and in 1638 Ya
kutsk was made the administrative center of northeastern
Siberia. That same year Verhoyansk in the far North was
founded, and in 1640 were discovered the rivers Indigirka and
Alazli, both of which flow into the Frozen Ocean.
About this time an envoy, Vassili Starkoff, was sent to the
Altyn Khan at Lake Ubsa. Among that khan's presents to
Michael Romanoff was the first tea taken to Russia, two hundred
packages, each weighing one pound and a quarter. Starkoff
refused to take the tea, declaring that it was useless, and was
difficult to carry, but the khan insisted and the envoy, not wish
ing to displease him, yielded. Tea taken thus to Moscow against
the wishes of the envoy soon became a national drink among the
Russians and has ever remained so.
Under the lead of Kurbat Ivanoff, a Cossack, the Russians
appeared, in 1643, on the western shore of Lake Baikal, and also
on Olkhon Island. In 1646 the Buriats besieged Verholensk, a
place founded in 1641 by Martin Vassilieff. Ivanoff, the officer
commanding there, was reinforced by Bedaroff and together they
defeated the Buriats and ravaged their villages. Soon after this
Ivan Pohalioff, sent to collect tribute from the Buriats on the
Irkut, crossed Lake Baikal near its southern border, and then
through the friendship of a petty prince, Turukai, reached

16 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Urga, the capital of Setsen Khan. As a result of this visit
Setsen Khan, the year following, sent an embassy to Moscow.
In 1648 Bargiizin was founded near the eastern shore of Lake
Baikal as a place to receive tribute from the Buriats. That same
year an expedition was sent north under Dejneff, Ankudinoff,
and Aleksaieff. Seven boats, each containing ten men, sailed
eastward from the Kolyma, a river flowing into the Arctic Ocean.
Four of the vessels disappeared during the voyage, and were
never seen afterward. With those remaining the explorers
doubled Shelag Point, which they named Svyatoi Nos (Holy
Nose). The vessel of Ankudinoff was wrecked there and he with his
men were taken on to the other boats. After that they doubled
Chukotchi, or Cape Chukchi, in which Dejneff describes beyond
doubt the easternmost point of all Asia. In his report to the
Yakutsk voevoda he explains how, in an encounter with the
Chuchis, Aleksaiyeff was wounded and they put to sea at once.
A frightful storm separated the vessels and they never met again.
Dejneff was carried by the wind to the south of the Anadyr River.
Thus he was the first man to show that there was a passage be
tween the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific. To him in reality be
longs the honor of discovering the straits which now bear the
name of Bering, for they were seen by him eighty years earlier (in
1648) than by Bering. Cast upon the shore, near the mouth of
the river Oliutora, Dejneff and his companions made their way
to the Anadyr River. There they built a shelter for the winter,
and soon after were rescued by traders.
Aleksaiyeff and Ankudinoff perished in Kamchatka. Though
Dejneff's name is found in documents till 1654 his fate is un
known. He undoubtedly died during some expedition.
In 1650 there were several conflicts between Russians and
Buriats, and only after much effort did the Russians assert their
supremacy. During 1650 Yerofei Habaroff set out from Yakutsk
with one hundred men, hunting for sable. He ascended the
Olekma and the Tungar and reached the Amoor by the Ur and
the Zeya/ In two years he explored the whole river, and was the
first man to launch a flotilla there. That year, 1650, the Buriats
on the Oka withdrew up the Angara, and Nefedyeff , an official,

BIRTHPLACE OF MONGOL ACTIVITY 17
was sent with his men to bring them back to the place they
had deserted.
In 1652 Pohakoff established the post of Irkutsk on Irkut
River near its junction with the Angara. In 1661 it was removed
to the right bank of the Angara, the present site of the city of
Irkutsk, and twenty-one years later it was made an administra
tive center.
The same year that the Irkutsk post was established Ivan
Robroff was sent from the Lena in search of a northern continent,
but this expedition disappeared and no word ever came from it.
In 1653 Fort Balazansk was established in the Buriat country and
sixty Russian families were settled there. Two years later the
Buriats were preparing to withdraw to the East of Lake Baikal,
but, listening to the counsel of their wise men, they resolved to
remain in their home country and submit to Russian rule. There
were uprisings, however, and it was not till near the end of the
seventeenth century that the Buriats, completely subdued, be
came peaceful Russian subjects.
Seventy-five years after Yermak crossed the Urals into the al
most unknown land of Yugra, Russia had swept across Asia ; her
boundaries touched the frozen ocean in the north, and China in
the south ; and in 1697 Kamchatka was added to her domains.

CHAPTER II
MY JOURNEY TO THE BUBIATS
ON the morning of the 9th of July, 1900, the train on which I
had traveled from Moscow came in sight of Irkutsk. I
was greatly delighted with this capital of Eastern Siberia.
The city, as seen from the train which was nearing it swiftly,
was extremely imposing, not only because of its size, and its
many large churches, but also because the train approaches
Irkutsk in such a direction that the front, and one side of the
city, are presented together, as was the case with Grecian tem
ples, the approaches to which were arranged toward the angle
between the facade and one side of the structure.
Right in front of the city is the Angara, a deep, very clear and
swift river which flows out of Lake Baikal, known as I have al
ready stated, as the largest and by far the most beautiful body of
fresh water in Asia. The Angara is the one outlet of Lake Baikal,
which sends forth its waters through this river to the Yenissei,
and thus they are borne on to the Arctic.
As the train nears Irkutsk the side view decreases, and the
grade of the road is descending, hence the view becomes narrower
and less striking each moment, and when the station is reached
we are on the river bank.
Opposite the narrow front of Irkutsk, the facade, so to speak,
the view is much reduced, very inferior to that seen from the
train a little earlier. But, as a recompense, we have the Angara
before us, that beautifully blue and mighty river gliding past
irresistibly, smooth and silent.
It is said that the Angara never freezes till Christmas and
freezes then in one night to the bottom. The great, blue current
of Christmas eve has halted, and on Christmas morning stands
motionless. That immense flow is chilled through and through

I

MY JOURNEY TO THE BURIATS 19
to the river-bed to the point just above freezing, and then becomes
ice in one night, as if by magic. The magnificent river is dead
till its resurrection, when the sun will break its bonds and lead to
life again.
There is no city on earth which has such a river in front of it
as has Irkutsk — blue, very deep, and moving with a speed that
gives the idea of resistless power.
Irkutsk seems new except in some of its churches and govern
ment buildings. Its streets are wide and unpaved. Its houses
mainly of wood, and in large number unpainted.
The most interesting and remarkable monument of the city is
the triumphal arch to commemorate the winning of a way to the
great ocean. That is, the acquisition of the Amoor River by
Muravieff, who received the title of count for his exploit in giving
communication with the Pacific, and was known thereafter as
Count Muravieff Amoorski.
We drove through the city and stopped at the hotel Metri-
pole. No one came to take the baggage ; the driver got it in as
best he could. There was but one vacant room. The furniture
was soiled and shabby, the bed hard, the blankets of the coarsest
wool. And this was the best hotel in Irkutsk ! In the untidy
dining-room I discovered that prices were a third more than in
St. Petersburg, that city celebrated for exorbitant prices.
In traveling through certain countries and among certain
peoples the first requisite is to have letters and proper orders from
those high in authority. The Russian Minister of Finance had
given me a letter to each governor in Siberia. On delivering my
letter to the governor of Irkutsk I was received not merely with
much courtesy, but very cordially, and when I explained exactly
what I wanted, namely, to study the Mongol language, customs,
and religion among the Buriats in regions west and northwest of
Lake Baikal, I was assured that every aid which the government
could give would be given me. I was furnished with letters to dis
trict chiefs, and besides, though I did not know it till later, in
structions were forwarded to officials along the road which I was
to travel to help me in every way they could.
I considered Irkutsk as the starting-point of my investigations
into the Mongol world, so far as the Buriat part of it was con-

20 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
cerned. Hence I decided to spend a few days in studying the
city and gathering what information I could concerning the
people whom I was about to visit.
I had letters from friends in St. Petersburg to residents of Ir
kutsk, and at the house of one of these gentlemen, Mr. Popoff,
editor of The Eastern Review, I spent many pleasant and
profitable hours. Years ago Mr. Popoff was exiled to Siberia for
political reasons. When free to return to Russia he preferred to
remain in Irkutsk. His wife, the daughter of a rich merchant of
Kiachta, is a pleasant and cultivated woman, the only person I
met in Siberia with whom I could speak English. Mr. Popoff is
well acquainted with the country and gave me much valuable
information. During my stay in the city I met many people who
came to Siberia as exiles, served out their sentence, and are now
honored, and, in many cases, wealthy citizens of Irkutsk.
At the house of a friend I met Dmitri Petrovich Pershin, then
acting Curator of the Irkutsk Museum who, when I told him that
I wished to go among, and become acquainted with, the Buriats,
said that he knew just the man who could best aid me, a Buriat,
who would be in the city in a few days, and that he would introduce
us to each other. I visited the Museum, and Dmitri Petrovich
showed me its excellent collection with great care. It is mainly
devoted to Siberian and Mongolian exhibits. Later in the season
I photographed the Curator in one of the most valued articles of
the collection, the ceremonial dress of a Buriat Shaman.
Two days after my visit to the Museum I called upon Dmitri
Petrovich and found that Andrei Mihailovitch Mihailoff, the
Buriat, had arrived. Pershin introduced us, and, with a good
deal of emphasis, told the old man that I wanted to become ac
quainted with his people, and that he must aid me in every way
he could.
Andrei Mihailovitch was friendly and promised co-operation.
but it seemed to me that he was guarded. Though outwardly
cordial I thought that he made internal reserves, and would try to
satisfy the governor, and also me, without giving much real
assistance. I had explained previously to Pershin, and he now told Andrei
Mihailovitch, that the authorities in St. Petersburg were anxious

MY JOURNEY TO THE BURIATS 21
that I should have every aid possible in getting at the language,
ancient beliefs, and customs of the Buriats, and hence would view
with favor any exhibition of good-will shown me by his people.
A few days after this conversation Dmitri Petrovitch informed
me that Andrei Mihailovitch would give me good lodgings at his
summer place and bring me in contact with people who could tell
much touching Buriat religion and folk-lore.
"It is a splendid beginning," said Pershin, who was very en
thusiastic. "This man can make you acquainted with all the
Buriats. His word is weighty among them. He still adheres to
the ancient religion of his people, and can himself tell you much
regarding it."
"This is very well," thought I. "We shall see how he does it.
I shall hope for the best, but keep my eyes open."
Dmitri Petrovitch assisted me in finding a good carriage for
hire during the time of my journey — a couple of months or
more, and in providing an outfit.
A suitable carriage is of the utmost importance to any man
traveling in Siberia. It must have four qualities: it must be
roomy and easy, rain-proof, and strong beyond breaking. These
Siberian carriages are made on the system of the American
buckboard, but instead of planks or boards, as a spring under
the body of the vehicle, poles are used. When rightly constructed
the carriage is commodious, there is a cover which can be up or
down, and leather aprons which can be attached to the sides to
keep the sun or rain out. Sleep in it is easy, and no better vehicle
in the daytime is needed for traveling in that country. It is not
too heavy, but is strong, and easily repaired. It is made ready
for the road in the following manner: First cover the bottom
inside with a coarse Siberian-made carpet ; on that carpet place
a firm mattress, which should cover the bottom of the vehicle en
tirely. Spread on the mattress a thin blanket to protect it. A
seat is made with a soft leather trunk, a specialty of Siberia.
This trunk should be as long as the inside width of the carriage
body. A good supply of pillows for the back and a couple of
heavy blankets complete the outfit.
It should be stated that when hired the carriage is. perfectly
empty. The body is a kind of box somewhat lower on the sides

22 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
than in the middle. It has no seat whatever, except that for the
driver, which is in front of the body. There is room behind for a
trunk to be strapped on ; there is also some space with the driver.
Among the papers given me by the governor there was an
order for private horses as well as post horses. Where there are
no post stations the inhabitants are obliged to furnish beasts at
the same rate as the post stations — three copecks (a cent and
a half) a mile for each animal.
In due time I had made all preparations, purchased carpet,
mattress, and provisions, and was ready to set out for the sum
mer dwelling of Andrei Mihailovitch, which is about four versts
nearer Irkutsk than the post station Usturdi, the latter being
sixty versts distant.
At seven o'clock in the morning of July 23, after much effort,
all things necessary were in the carriage and we were ready to
move into the land of the Buriats. It was at least half an hour
later than I had intended starting. The delay was caused by the
Yamschik who came without the traces for the side horses of the
troika, and had to go back for them. I learned then that tarna-
tasses are with and without traces, and that I ought to have men
tioned the traces when ordering the horses.
The chief of the post station in Irkutsk had promised three
good beasts, also an excellent driver, and he had kept his word
faithfully. The morning air was fresh, delicious, inspiriting. The horses
moved at a gentle trot along the main street, " Great Street," put
toward the rising and hilly country which surrounds the Siberian
capital. Just beyond the city are broad low pastures where, near
the banks of the Angara, immense herds were feeding.
From the rising road there are interesting views, one at least
of these is very striking. The country is not grand, but is good
looking. I have commended the driver, whose name was Nikolai,
and he deserves good mention. Had he lived in that age he
would have been worthy to compete in a chariot race in the
Circus Maximus at Rome. When a couple of miles outside
Irkutsk he stopped to loosen the bell on the bow of the middle
horse in the troika. That moment the driver of a carriage be-

MY JOURNEY TO THE BURIATS 23
hind us urged his horses ahead suddenly at the foot of a long
hill, and then drove at the pace he liked, which was somewhat
slower than that of our carriage, hence annoying. He seemed to
take pleasure in tormenting us.
Nikolai waited a few moments till the road widened suffi
ciently, then he turned and said in a low voice :
"I can go ahead of that scoundrel. Shall I do so?"
"I know you are a better man, but have you better horses ?"
I asked. "I know my horses," answered Nikolai, and the next moment
he had dashed toward the side of the equipage in advance of
us; his horses' heads had reached beyond the hind wheels,
when the enemy's horses were lashed, and sped up the hill at
a great rate. Nikolai shouted to his horses and urged them
forward. It was the first race I had ever seen of the kind, a race up hill.
Both equipages were drawn by three horses abreast, and the
beasts gave a splendid example of exertion as they rose in great
springs up that hill road.
Nikolai's horses were gaining gradually, but very surely,
when the other man, at a point where the road was narrow a
second time, guided his horses in such a way as to block the
road to our animals. Nikolai was now angry. He made no
secret of what he thought of that hostile driver, whose mother's
family he declared to be of canine origin, beyond any doubt
whatever. He was resigned for the time since he had to be. He drove
on and waited till we reached a wide place in the road and
were on the hilltop. His horses then sprang forward fiercely.
In one moment our carriage was half its length in advance of
the other.
"Scoundrel!" shouted Nikolai, as he turned and looked
back. "I '11 show thee how to meet decent people !"
The enemy urged on his horses, lashed them, but he could
not win now. Nikolai gained on him steadily till the end of
the level land was reached, when he was perhaps two lengths
ahead. At that point the road descended very gently for a
mile or more, and then rose with another hill. No man could

24 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
find, or construct a better race course. Nikolai turned for a
moment to look at the other man, then with a series of shouts
rising higher and higher, and with a deft use of his whip, he im
pelled those three horses down that road at full speed. The
road was perfectly even so the carriage wheels went around
like tops swiftly spinning. Down we went at the pace of wild
runaways. At last, and that last came very quickly, I looked around and
saw our opponent about half way down the hill, and advancing
at the usual pace of good traveling. I called to Nikolai to
slacken speed, which he did, and then halted. I discovered at
once that the king-bolt of the carriage was almost out ; not more
than one inch of it was left in the front axle. Had that inch
slipped out in the race down the hill, the horses would have
rushed away with the two front wheels and axle, what would
have happened to us is unknown, nothing pleasant in any case.
A large stone was soon found to drive the king-bolt to its
place, but it would not remain there till fastened, very clumsily,
with ropes. The beaten man stopped his horses when down
the hill, and seemed to be mending his harness. He did not
approach us a second time.
At the first post station, which is called Homutooka, a black
smith was found, who put a firm strip of iron through the lower
end of the king-bolt and fixed it securely ; for which he charged
fifteen copecks (seven cents and a half).
Post stations are very interesting to the traveler and when
well kept, which they are sometimes, are enjoyable places.
There are usually a number of people waiting for horses to go
in one direction or the other; some one is sure to be drinking
tea, or lunching. The man in charge is obliged to furnish, at
a fixed price, a samovar, that is a "self-boiler," an urn-shaped
vessel with a tube running down through its center. At the
lower end of this tube is a space with air holes. Charcoal is
ignited in this space and the water in the urn is made to boil
soon, since it is exposed to all sides of the tube, which is heated
very quickly. Charcoal is added whenever the need comes,
thus a good samovar gives boiling water for a long time. The
excellency of tea in Russia comes in great part from the samovar,

Post Station at Ei.anisin. Page -2-t
Hitching in the horses

Our Traveling Carriage while Making the Buriat Journey. Page 91
My driver forgot to drop his arms. They always hold the reins
in this way when driving rapidly

MY JOURNEY TO THE BURIATS 25
as most people assure me, and I believe. The chief place for
making samovars is Tula, a city famed for this work throughout
Russia. We met at this first station an interesting woman, and found
that the driver whom we had defeated was bringing her baggage
from Irkutsk, where she had passed the preceding night. She
was not more than thirty, and had set out on a journey which
many an experienced traveler would hesitate to undertake.
With five children, the eldest ten and the youngest a baby, and
a nurse, she had started for the Yakuts country in the far north,
where her husband was a government official. Weeks would
pass before she could reach him. First a long journey with
horses, then by boat up the Lena River, and again with horses.
Not intending to return she was obliged to change carriages at
each station, to unpack and pack all of her luggage — a great
task. This she looked after, while the nurse was getting food
for the children. Though physically frail she was wonderfully
courageous, and love for husband and children seemed to give
her strength to overcome all the difficulties of the journey.
While the horses were being harnessed and attached to my
carriage I had a few moments' conversation with a political
exile, a marvelously ragged beggar, who was loitering around
the station. He told me that he was the son of a Russian priest,
and had been in exile for several years. He was a bright and
intelligent young man, but broken in health.
I was tempted to drink tea at Homutooka, but something,
I know not what, seemed to urge me on, and as soon as the horses
were ready they were put to their paces. I was anxious to see
how Andrei Mihailovitch lived among summer pastures. Above
all I was anxious to learn how he would welcome me.
The towns we passed through are straggling and dreary.
In most cases the houses are surrounded by a high board en
closure, again one end of a house is visible, the fence meeting
it on both sides. The blinds and outside casings of the windows
are painted white, the body of the house has never been painted
and in most cases looks to be a hundred years old. Some houses
have sunk till the bottoms of the windows are on the ground.
There is a huge gate in the board enclosure. The entrance to

26 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
the house is inside the yard. Everywhere in Siberia, no matter
how poor or small the house is, the window sills are crowded
with plants, usually geraniums, and set into the threshold of
the principal door is an iron horseshoe, to bring good luck.
At Jerdovski, the next station, we found a samovar boiling,
so tea was drunk before fresh horses were ready. The second
driver, taken at Homutooka, was not like Nikolai — he was
slow, he needed urging. The third driver was a rare person.
He had a harelip and was so deaf that it was difficult to talk
with him. He heard only a part of what people said, and only
a part of what he said could reach the mind of any man. The
good thing about him was this : He was a firm driver, and sent
his beasts over the road expeditiously. We were crossing a
broad plain, dry and treeless. There was no cultivation what
ever, but here and there were herds of cows and horses. In
the distance were low hills.
After some time, an hour and a half perhaps, the driver
stopped on a sudden, and said that we had just passed one
road by which we might reach the house of Andrei Mihailo
vitch. There was another road farther on. The first led
over a place little traveled, but more picturesque and more
difficult. The second road was the usual and easier one. For
me, who had halted on the highway and was looking eastward
toward the lands of Andrei Mihailovitch, it was the left-hand
road. How was I, who had gathered lore among so many
peoples, to take a left-hand road when going to look for primi
tive stories among Mongols ?
I turned back and took the right-hand road, of course, and
did so with good fortune, as we shall find, hurrying on toward
the unknown. By that road we came to the rear of Mihailoff's
village, instead of the front, which we should have reached by
the other road, and met there more quickly and often frequently
one of the great facts of life among Buriats ; the chained dogs,
which make such an uproar and which are quite unappeasable.
No sop to Cerberus is possible among Buriats. If food be
thrown to a chained dog at a Buriat house he will gulp down
in a flash what is given and then would tear to pieces the stranger
who gave it if he could get at him.

MY JOURNEY TO THE BURIATS 27
The carriage dashed through the village swiftly, dogs bark
ing with fury, at one and another place. Each dog is chained
to a fence or to a post driven into the earth very firmly. The
beast is held to his place quite unsparingly. Whenever a team
or some unknown person comes in sight, the dog rushes for
ward as if free; he springs furiously, reaches the end of his
chain, and is jerked back with a force like that which he himself
has expended. Each dog digs out, near his post, a great cavity
with a ridge of fine earth all around.it. He does this by his
springing forward and being brought back, by the chain, toward
his starting point. Dogs are always kept out of doors. When
winter comes, some shelter is made over their posts, but this
shelter is not very pleasant, or much protection from wind and
storm. On the whole a stranger may justly infer that a dog's
life among Buriats is by no means a sinecure.
After passing the ordeal of dogs we arrived at the front of
my host's summer residence, composed of half a dozen houses
enclosed by a high wooden wall, or board fence. After some
effort the gate was swung open and we entered the enclosure.
There was no one inside save the gate-keeper. So far- as I could
see the place was deserted. The gate-keeper informed me,
however, that the master of the house was at home, and he
pointed to the nearest building on the right, to which I went
straightway. On the ground not far from the door was a man,
whom I had not noted earlier. He was lying face downward,
and, except by the stir of his sides, which showed breathing,
made no motion whatever. He was, as I discovered later, in
toxicated. I was astonished at the silence around us, since
Andrei Mihailovotch had been informed that I would reach
his summer dwelling on that day.
The gate-keeper announced me, and after waiting a few
moments I entered. The master of the house was sitting at
the edge of the central square space, in the middle of which the
fire burns in every old-fashioned Buriat dwelling. On all the
four sides of this space people were sitting and drinking arhi
or tarasun. (The liquor is made of milk and distilled in each
considerable house among Buriats.) They had the tarasun in
a pail and passed it around in a large wooden cup or dipper.

28 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Some of the women were beyond the stage of being happy or
sad. My host, who was very serious, seated me beside himself
with honor, offered me tarasun, and soon inquired if I had
received the letter despatched by him to the last post station.
I replied that I had not. He told me then that his elder son
had died suddenly ; he had been ill only a few hours ; this was
the day of his funeral. He added that the house would be in
mourning for some time. First, according to Buriat custom,
there was a period of nine days during which the family
stayed at home strictly, and saw no one outside its own circle.
He had informed me in the letter of this sudden calamity,
and declared in it that it would be impossible for him to
receive me. In other words he had written me to stay away,
and had forgotten, in his grief, to help me to another lodging
place. The virtue of my right-hand road was now evident. Had I
taken the left-hand way I should have met the messenger, and
have been forced to sleep at the next post station, and shift for
myself the following day as best I might be able.
When I explained to Mihailoff that I had come in by the
right-hand road, he saw at once how I had failed to receive
the letter. His man had taken the other, the usual road, and
thus missed me. The position was this : I was at a house not
open on that day to visitors, but I was there unwittingly, in
innocence ; nay more, I was there by right, for • I had been
invited. After thinking a moment or two my host rose and said,
"You must come to my other house." We set out for the
other house which stood on the opposite side of the broad en
closure. On the way he said : " First of all you must drink tea
with me. I will order a samovar to be made ready."
We entered a neatly furnished house, built and furnished on
the Russian plan, a samovar was brought in, and a table was
soon covered with various small dainties.
"I wish you to eat some beef of my own rearing," said
Mihailoff, who drank vodka freely and cheered up considerably.
In due time chopped steaks were placed on the table. My
host drank more vodka, and we attacked the lunch cheerily.

MY JOURNEY TO THE BURIATS 29
The steak finished, we had tea a second time; the beverage
was excellent, deserving all the praise which I could give it.
By the time the lunch was over Mihailoff had become much
more cordial, and at the end embraced and lifted me off the
floor, expressing himself as greatly satisfied with my friendship.
Then he said that I could go to his son's house at Usturdi, the
next station, and make my headquarters there as long as con
venience would lead me to do so. His second son, Vassili, was
taking care of the place. Then, as the highest mark of favor,
he took me to his yurta and showed me his "Ongons" and
"Burkans" (household gods), hung up on a rafter in a dark
corner of the room, and said that in his time he had entertained
three Russian governors but had not shown them his "sanc
tuary." He showed it now because he felt such a deep
affection for me.
As the hour was inclining rather closely to evening, and the
distance to Usturdi was somewhat more than three miles, I
thought it well to leave my host to his family at the earliest.
So the carriage was summoned and drawn up outside the gate
where we were to enter it. The harelipped and deaf driver had
received a good share of food and drink since his coming, —
especially drink, so that it was still more difficult to under
stand what he said and be understood by him.
When we were ready to continue our journey and had taken
our seats in the carriage, the horses, instead of going for
ward, turned on their hind legs, stood as erect as if they had
been men, then suddenly plunged toward the station from
which they had come.
The driver, much roused by milk liquor, became very angry
when told to turn and drive three miles farther, to Usturdi.
He obeyed but spent his rage on the horses, urging them over
the open country at a furious pace. The road was simply a
wagon track, a mark along a level field. On they rushed for
a time in the fashion of runaways. I shouted at the deaf, hare-
lipped driver to slacken the speed of his horses, but without
result in the least degree. There was no way to stop the man
except to seize and hold him. He was in a state not uncommon
with Buriats, — he was exultant, beside himself. His mind was

30 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
excited while his body seemed sober. So on went the carriage
almost as swiftly as during the race of that morning. Presently
we approached a broad, rather shallow river. No decrease of
speed was apparent. In we dashed furiously. The water
reached to the knees of the horses and the front axle of the
carriage. I was alarmed, for I thought there might be stones or
deep places to avoid, but the dripping horses and carriage soon
rose on the opposite bank, and the wild shouts of the driver
urged the beasts forward again over a gray, dry, grassless plain.
On and on they sped untiringly. To one who believed in meta
morphosis those three beasts might have seemed men who had
been changed into horses and who, hunted by the Furies sitting
there on the carriage box behind them in the person of that
harelipped mad driver, were rushing on with all their might,
and in terror, to escape Divine vengeance. No one could tell
whether the horses were running away or were driven to the
utmost. At last I saw near the roadside ahead of us the Russian
church outside Usturdi, the station to which we were hasten
ing. Soon after the church was passed we thundered across
a massive wooden bridge, and rushed into the main, and almost
only street of the village. About two squares from the bridge
stood the house in which Andrei Mihailovitch's late son had
resided. Vassili, his only surviving son, was there in authority ;
in care of the place and the business. The father had given me
a brief letter to Vassili, to insure a proper reception.
The house was two stories high, the best building in the
village. Beyond, and belonging to it, was another house used
for storage ; behind the two was a deep courtyard entirely hidden
by a very high fence and a gate with strong beams above it.
A man, who stood near as we drove up, knocked at this gate
for us, but we had to wait many minutes for an answer. Vassili,
or Vassya, as he was called by every one, was occupied elsewhere,
and had had no notice that guests were coming. It was neces
sary to wait till a servant inside could be found and the master
informed that his presence .was needed.
After a time Vassili came and opened the gate promptly.
On hearing that I had come from his father with a letter he

MY JOURNEY TO THE BURIATS 31
immediately put the upper part of the house at my disposal.
It consisted of three rooms, and a glass enclosed balcony pro
jecting over the street. From this balcony there were excellent
views up and down the main road or street, and out over the
broad fields, and beyond them to the range of mountains in
front of us.
It was about seven o'clock and the samovar was made ready.
That was all that we needed, for I had brought plenty of tea
from Irkutsk, and a good supply of sukari, or rusks, which
with tea are excellent. A couple of hours later we had supper
and Vassili conversed with me until eleven o'clock.
This young Buriat proved to be a very interesting person.
He was at that time a student at the Irkutsk gymnasium. He
had passed six years there, and intended to work still another
year. Besides studying he had read a good deal, and knew
something of great problems in science and also in history.
He could talk about Darwin, and the descent of man, and had
some knowledge of chemistry. Above all, and for me that was
the main point, he knew considerable about his own people,
the Buriats. I congratulated him very heartily on being one
of a people who had preserved their primeval religion, and who
still held to the customs and beliefs of their remote ancestors.
I told him that the Buriats were the only Eastern Mongols who
had done this, an act which might be considered an exploit
and a service to science.
After supper Vassili asked me about my experiences of that
day. I described the first race, and then the terrible driving
of the harelipped isvoschik, at the rate of what Hungarians
call "horse death speed."
Wearied greatly after that afternoon of racing and movement
and many surprises, I was glad to lie down and rest. I slept till
some time after dawn. Rising, I went at once to the balcony.
The morning was delightful, the air clear and invigorating.
In the fields opposite, perhaps a mile away, were herds of cattle
and many sheep pasturing with remarkable activity.
During the early forenoon I saw from that balcony, for the
first time, a party of mounted Buriats. This party was twenty-
five in number. The men had their feet in short stirrups, and

32 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
sat leaning forward a little. The movement of Mongol horses
is peculiar. Their steps, which seem short, are made quickly
and the result is a more rapid advance than any one, not knowing
those horses, could imagine.
There are two modes of movement^ made by man-serving
beasts which are highly deceptive to the eye that is unpractised :
the stride of a pacing camel, and the trotting step of a Mongol
saddle horse. As I was riding once on a donkey through the
quarries of Assuan;"near the first Cataract of the Nile, several
camels appeared on a sudden. I noticed that they were pacing.
Being occupied, I dropped them out of sight for the moment,
but looked again a little later. They had gone a great distance
considering the interval, and though they did not seem to exert
themselves much they were moving over that sand field very
swiftly. The land now rose before them gently, but rose enough
to form a hill which covered the horizon of the plain beyond in
such wise as to hide any animal from a man standing where
I was. I looked at the moving camels, a littie while later they
were on the flat, wide hilltop, and soon after their legs seemed
to enter the earth. I turned my eyes from them purposely now
and waited. I waited some minutes, then looked again. The
camels had vanished. On the hill there was nothing save two
or three old stone structures, like gravestones in the sand.
That morning the Buriat horses were remarkable for quick
stepping, but when near by their speed was not evident. The
more they receded the more noticeable it was. I stepped in
from the balcony, walked across the front room a few times and
went out again ; the horses had advanced a long distance, they
were far away, growing smaller and smaller very rapidly. I
watched and saw them diminish. At last, when very small,
they turned to the right and vanished behind a building. I
could not help thinking then and there of two wonderful ani
mals, and the part which they have played in the history of
mankind, namely, the Mongol horse and the Arabian camel.
What a mighty factor the Mongol horse has been! That
horse which traversed all regions between the Amoor River and
Burma, and all lands between the Yellow Sea and the Adriatic.
No animal so enduring, no animal so easy to feed, has ever been

MY JOURNEY TO THE BURIATS 33
in man's service. It found its own living. Mongol movement
and conquest would have been impossible without Mongol
horses. It is not without reason that in Mongol mythology the horse
in many junctures is more sagacious than the hero who rides
him. In the myths of that country, the horse, in addition to his
service, often gives wise directions and saving counsels.
Without camels not only would life in the Arabian desert be
impossible, but the religion of Mohammed would not have been
founded, or if founded could not have been extended.
I turned now to Vassya for information touching those horse
men. Why had so many assembled and whither were they
going ? He replied that on that day there was to be a wedding,
or more correctly the fraction of a wedding, since among Buriats
a wedding requires several days for its completion, and some
times there are even many months between the first and the
final ceremony.
"Would you like to go to-day?" asked he. I replied that it
would give me much pleasure to see a Buriat wedding, or even
a part of it.
Horses were ordered at the post station, and in half an hour
we were ready for the journey. It was a little later than ten
o'clock. Because of his recent bereavement Vassya himself did
not go, but his place was taken by his brother-in-law, Lazareff,
who lived in Shavarok, the village where the first instalment of
the wedding was given on that bright day in July, 1900.
Lazareff is a cross-eyed widower; a shrewd, self-concen
trated man whose mind is turned altogether toward material
questions. His wife, Vassya's sister, had been dead only a few
months. Three horses were put to my carriage and we dashed off with
all speed. Driving at this season of the year is very agreeable,
especially in the morning. The speed of the horses is exhilarat
ing and gives just the movement of air which is pleasant. The
excitement and rush please me; there is nothing like it in
America. While on the way to the village of Shavarok, Lazareff ex
plained many matters connected with marriage, and life among

34 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Buriats in general. That information, with more won from
Vassya, I give later on in this volume.
The village is about four miles from Usturdi, and is very
picturesque. Some distance up on a hillside is a level platform
of land. On this platform stands Shavarok. Above is another
slope extending to the top of the hill unbrokenly. From that
point there is an extensive view. I counted fourteen villages.
Every one in Shavarok was rejoicing, the holiday was general.
The people had but one object in view: to celebrate a part of
the wedding, and spend the day in drinking and feasting. The
houses, save that of the bride's father, were deserted. In his
house there was a crowd of people. Just opposite the door sat
the three matchmakers, old women, who looked as though they
would have a good deal to say in affairs generally. An aged
man stood in the center of the room. He was speaking, with
face turned upward, imploring the gods to send happiness and
prosperity to the bride and groom. After a time he threw
tarasun up toward the central opening of the roof, spoke on,
and then threw tarasun to the gods a second time.
Many people were sitting on the grassy slope above the vil
lage. The central space, devoted to hitching-posts for horses,
had been turned into a temporary grove. Some dozens of
young birch trees had been felled and thrust into the ground to
give shade to the horses. The twenty-five which had passed
Usturdi in the morning, and many others, were there.
After walking around for a time we went to the hillside and
found there a multitude of people, not only from that village,
but from many other villages in the region about. They were
sitting on the ground in groups, disposed like three sides of a
quadrangle, two sides of which lay up and down the hill, the
third side connecting the other two at the top. The lower side
was open and unoccupied. Through this open space people
passed in and out, some bringing refreshments, which con
sisted mainly of tarasun (milk whiskey) and boiled mutton;
others joined the feasters and sitting down on the hillside,
talked, laughed, and amused themselves.
Meanwhile men bearing tarasun from group to group poured
to each person who wished it. The people seemed to be tasting

MY JOURNEY TO THE BURIATS 35
delight as they sat there. They were not noisy, or in any wise
extravagant, but they talked and laughed as if that beautiful
day and the event of it were giving them every good thing
which they could wish for.
Gazing around, I saw on the ridge of the hill a flock of sheep
followed by a man, who had a long white beard. I went up to
look at the flock and found that the shepherd was a Russian.
As usual when Russians are working for Buriats, he was an
ex-convict, old, but strong. He was alone in the world, follow
ing those sheep for sustenance, living among strangers and
waiting, there in Siberia, for his life to end.
When I had returned to the feasting people on the slope I was
conducted again to the house of the bride's father, where in the
unsodded yard we found a large company of young people
dancing with might and main, dancing desperately, dancing as
if the future happiness, not only of the young couple, but of all
the Buriat people, depended on their energy. The air above and
around them for some distance was filled with a cloud of dust,
which was growing denser and denser. It seemed to me that
if their strength should continue and their swiftness increase
they would in time become invisible in that wonderful dust
cloud. After I had watched them a few moments Lazareff took me
to his yurta, or house, at the opposite end of the village. This
village fronted the south, hence the single door of each house
in it opened on the south.
Every Buriat house which is built in the old way is eight-sided,
the door is in the middle of that side which faces the south
directly. This house has a wooden floor, which is raised above
the ground somewhat. In the center is a rectangular space
where there is no floor, and where the earth appears. In this
space the fire is made on the ground, and directly above, in the
roof, is an opening, or smoke hole. There are no partitions in
the building. The only privacy obtained is by means of curtains.
Trunks or boxes are used as wardrobes and storerooms. The
central fire is the great point of assembly. Though many Buri
ats, especially those who are wealthy, build in the Russian style,
particularly winter houses, even they find most delight in the

36 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
old-fashioned octagonal house, with its central fire, around
which they sit on the edge of the raised floor with their feet on
the earth space. There they assemble in the evening, or when
ever it suits them, gossip, transact business, and talk of what
ever interests those present. From time to time a great open
vessel, or pail, holding a gallon or more of tarasun is passed
from one to another. In this pail is a wooden dipper and each
person helps himself to the liquor.
Lazareff's house was thoroughly Buriat in structure and
arrangement, but it was remarkably neat, quite a pattern of
tidiness. I saw a good many yurtas after that, but none as
clean as was Lazareff's. An old Russian woman cared for his
little son and had charge of the house. This no doubt explained
the unusual neatness of the place. Tea of good quality was
brought now and cakes to go with it. While we were drinking
tea a sandy-haired Russian, an exile, came in, a pleasant, good-
looking man. He said that his home was in the Crimea but for
political reasons he had been sent to live among the Buriats.
At this time, however, he had only one year longer to remain.
His eyes lighted up with happiness when he spoke of his ap
proaching freedom.
In passing from Lazareff's yurta to the carriage there was a
chance to finish my survey of the village. The earth was cov
ered with dust which in the middle of the space occupied reached
to the ankles as one walked through it. This stratum, thicker
in some places, covered everything to the rim of the village,
reaching to the outer houses and beyond them, growing thinner
toward the open country till at last one could note it no longer.
This dust is the dried and pulverized droppings of animals, '
such as sheep, horses, and horned cattle. In time of thaw and
rain the droppings become a soft mud, in dry, warm weather
they are turned into dust. When the days are calm the dust
keeps its place and people wade through it; when the wind
blows, it fills the air in all directions and is carried into each
chink, cranny, and little crevice, into the smallest places. People
breathe it, swallow it, drink it, eat it, live, move and have their
being in it.
We returned now to Usturdi, leaving behind us that village

MY JOURNEY TO THE BURIATS 37
on the hillside with its pursuits and its passions, which in the
main are the same as those of man everywhere, namely: to
call human life into existence, and when that new life is here to
support it; or in some cases destroy it, in others live on it, in
still others toil or even die for it. The motives are the same in
all countries, only the details are different.

CHAPTER m
COLLECTING MYTHS-
THE day following the wedding Andrei Mihailovitch came
over from his summer place. He was supposed to remain at
home for nine days, still he came. After a while he invited me
to walk along the street with him. We went the whole length
of the village. He met a number of people, who showed im
mense respect for him ; he kissed one man, but there was much
condescension in his kiss. The grandeur of the old Buriat as
he led me, an American, on exhibition through the town, was
truly fine.
We stood for a time on the long bridge across the Kuda,
talked a little, and looked at the river, the country, and the
Russian Mission Church.
"Bishops and priests," said Mihailovitch, "have asked me
to be baptized, but I would not. I will stay with the beliefs
into which I was born."
Just then a man appeared, racing on horseback at the highest
speed. There seemed to be in the horse and man a peculiar
impetus and internal force. Without decreasing the pace of
the horse the man turned toward Andrei Mihailovitch, and,
during the instant in which he was passing, saluted him with
the highest respect. Soon the man was beyond the Mission
Church, and next he was a speck on the horizon.
"Think," said I to my host as I watched the horseman, " of
the time when Jinghis Khan had a cavalry of one hundred
thousand men like that man and more than two hundred thou
sand horses swifter than that horse."
"Oh," replied he, "there was never on earth anything to
equal the cavalry of Jinghis Khan. It swept everything down
before it ! What have we now ? — Nothing. We were great

COLLECTING MYTHS 39
once, we conquered many countries, we ruled many peoples.
China and Russia overpowered us, but our turn will come
again." We went back to the balcony and talked long over the ques
tion of finding men who could tell the ancient myths and ex
plain the customs and beliefs of the Buriats. A list was made,
and that afternoon the search began. Messengers were sent to
surrounding villages to look for wise men. Those who were
able were to be brought to Usturdi, if possible. In case they
were old and decrepit I could go to them. The first and most
important step was to find persons who knew what I wanted
and would tell it.
The number found was small. Some had gone on visits to
distant places and were inaccessible, others had known much
years before, but had forgotten almost everything. In the first
attempt only two old men were discovered. These two promised
to come the following day. They came, gave some information,
told one story, good as far as it went, but told too briefly. The
story was of Esege Malan, or Father Bald Head (Father Bald
Head is the highest heaven itself), and Ehe Tazar, Mother
Earth. It is given farther on in this volume, with other myths.
Other men were found after those two, but none came who
were at all satisfactory till Manshut appeared. He told three
stories : Gesir Bogdo, Ashir Bogdo, and The Iron Hero.
When Manshut had finished these three stories he declared
that he was forced to go home. I was greatly disappointed, for
I was convinced that he knew more myths. Though he prom
ised earnestly to come again and tell me all that he could re
member I was doubtful about his return, for he was a restless
man and seemed to dislike anything that required concentrated
attention. He was a great lover of the pipe and smoked con
tinually, drew whiffs between sentences, even between words.
As talking seemed to interrupt his smoking, at least to a certain
extent, I felt that I should not see him again until he needed
more money for tobacco.
Early in the morning of July 30th a procession of long-
bodied one-horse wagons crowded with men and women passed
through the main street of Usturdi. These men and women

40 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
were convicts from Russia, and a stalwart soldier, carrying a
rifle, walked by the side of each wagon.
A halt was called on the first open field beyond the village.
The dusty wagons were at once abandoned, and the crowd of
convicts, falling into groups, began to build fires and prepare
tea. Meanwhile the soldiers formed a circle around the entire
party and stood on guard.
There were two hundred and seventy-four of these men and
women. They were on the way to the Lena River, and farther
north to the frozen Yakuts country. They had received sentence
before the ukas abolishing exile to Siberia had been issued, and
were specially interesting as being, perhaps, the last group of
prisoners to be sent into that country, which has so long been
used as a place for exile and punishment. Following the con
victs came a small party of political prisoners, but they were
allowed to stop at the post station for rest and refreshment.
The crowd sitting on the ground ate brown bread and drank
tea with great relish. The soldiers conducting the prisoners
did not fare better than the prisoners, in fact they did not fare
as well, for I saw them receive merely large pieces of rye bread ;
at this halt they were not given tea. It seemed to me that by
united action the convicts with naked hands might overpower
the soldiers, for though the soldiers were alert fellows with
much presence of mind, they were few in number.
The impression produced by these people was peculiar.
They were all strong and sturdy, mainly of the peasant class.
They were by no means downcast, grieved, or troubled. Forty
of them were manacled, and even those men seemed in no way
affected. One could not think while looking at these convicts
that they were an oppressed and punished people. I was very
anxious to talk with some of them, but it was not permitted to
go inside the line of soldiers.
After a rest of an hour or so command was given to "raise
camp," and five minutes later fires had been stamped out,
kettles packed, and the long-bodied wagons were again moving
forward over the dusty road.
I then went to visit Andrei Mihailovitch at his summer place.
When about a mile and a half from his house I met him riding

The Baggage of the Convicts and Provisions for them
are Carried in this Way. Page 40

Convicts Passing through the Village of Usturdi. Page 39

COLLECTING MYTHS 41
over to Usturdi in a little one-horse trap. He turned back,
however, and drove forward rapidly, so as to reach home and
be ready to welcome me. I wished greatly to photograph the
"Ongons" or gods supposed to protect his house and property.
I was doubtful about getting his consent, but he gave it with
many pleasant words. I first photographed those that guard
the home and are always hanging high up in one corner of the
house. Then I went out to photograph the Ongons that guard
the property. They were in a box having a door made of four
small panes of window glass; this box was fastened to the top
of a corner post of the carriage shed. With much difficulty it
was unscrewed, and brought down and placed where I could
photograph the gods which it contained. Andrei Mihailovitch
could not carry these gods into a house nor could he take them
out of the box, for that would bring misfortune to the family.
Inside the large box were two small boxes of home manu
facture. In these were crude pictures of the gods, tiny men
and women in outline, also the skin of a ground squirrel, and
one or two other dried skins of very small animals. When
these were photographed Andrei Mihailovitch invited me to
visit his winter home, saying that on the way we would pass
his field Ongons.
We drove over level pastures to the hill eastward, climbed
rather slowly to the top and, after we had passed a gate, de
scended gradually to the brow of the hill, or rather to a point of
the slope, whence there is a fine view of the country beyond :
several villages, a narrow, winding river, and, somewhat to the
left, the winter residence of my host. On the brow of the hill
is a collection of twenty-five or thirty pillars, or hewn posts,
with four flat sides. Across the top of each post a small board is
so fastened that it projects on the east side like half a roof.
Under this roof, in a square aperture in the post, is a small
box with handle and sliding cover. The aperture also has a
sliding cover which protects and secures the box inside.
Andrei Mihailovitch took the box out of his own post, opened
it and showed me the gods which were on pieces of silk or cloth.
Fastened on a narrow strip of blue silk were several little metal
images. On two small pieces of cloth were tiny painted figures.

42 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
I photographed the pillars, and then tied the images around a
pillar and photographed them as best I could. After I had
finished Andrei Mihailovitch took the pieces of cloth from the
pillar, folded them carefully, put them back in the box, and,
placing the box on the ground near a small pile of dry juniper,
which our driver had collected for him, lighted the herb. When
it was burning well he put his foot on it three separate times
to make it smoke and quench it. In the box, purified by the
smoke, Andrei Mihailovitch placed a little bag of tobacco,
which he had taken from it, then he closed the box, put it back
in the pillar, and covered the aperture. Everything was done
with the greatest care and reverence.
Each Buriat, as soon as he marries and has a home, must
set up in the field one of these posts or pillars and place images
of his gods in it. The Shaman assists him. When a man dies
the box containing his Ongons is removed from the pillar, carried
to the forest and hung high up on a tree, and there it remains
till it rots away. The person carrying the Ongon from the pillar
to the forest must not look back; should he do so it would bring
great misfortune to the family of the dead man.
Andrei Mihailovitch's winter house is built on the Russian
plan with large brick stoves in the partitions between the rooms.
In the yard, however, are two or three eight-cornered Mongol
houses where I think the family lives during winter unless some
"governor" happens along.
Toward evening I started for Usturdi. The road was through
a hilly or rolling country. We passed several rye fields, but with
one or two exceptions the grain was very poor. After crossing
an elevated ridge we came down into an opening in a forest of
small timber — just such a weird opening as Sienkiewicz de
scribes in "The Deluge" — and later on we reached another
and larger opening, a remarkably lonely looking place in the
dusk of approaching night, and there we came upon a Russian.
He was uncouth, sturdy, and somehow uncanny. His horse
was feeding near a cart, and the man himself was occupied in
smoking, and in stirring something which he was boiling in a
kettle over a small fire. He did not notice us or answer my
greeting.

One Grolt of Convicis Resting and Lunching. Page 40

Buriat Wedding. Page 4-2
The first three women in the foreground are the matchmakers

COLLECTING MYTHS 43
It was late in the evening when we reached Usturdi.
A few days passed now, during which I made no effort to get
story-tellers but spent my time in studying the language. On
the 2d of August the Horse Sacrifice was to be made and I
needed to bring my work into order and prepare for this re
markable ceremony.
The Buriat country is one of two places in Asia where the
Horse Sacrifice may still be seen. This ceremonial has existed
among the Mongols from time immemorial and is a wonder
fully interesting survival of a primitive religion.
Andrei Mihailovitch had finished his mourning now and he
came over to be present at the great festival. With all his polite
ness I felt sure that he was not anxious that I should see the
death of the horses, — on the contrary, that he was determined
I should not see it.
He said to me the evening preceding the sacrifice and then
again the following morning: "I will leave about nine o'clock;
that is very early. If you start an hour later you will have plenty
time." The evening before, however, I had made sure that horses
would be waiting at the post station near by, and within ten min
utes after the departure of my host I was driving rapidly across
the country.
When we had gone a mile or so my driver wished to get a drink
of milk at a house by the wayside. He was terribly .thirsty, he
said. He was as dilatory as might be in getting the milk, then
drank a whole gallon, I should think. After that we drove on
very slowly. I urged and urged, but still he would not hurry the
horses. Later, when more than halfway to the Hill of Sacrifice he was
again about to stop before a house. I would not permit a halt
this time, and commanded him to hasten forward. When at last
we reached the Hill I found that seven out of nine horses had
been sacrificed already. Two fine, white mares remained. I had
come very near losing the ceremony. The two, however, were
ampng the best animals, and as every detail was observed in
their case, there was a chance to see the sacrifice. The death of
the two was sufficiently painful.

CHAPTER IV
THE HORSE SACRIFICE
THE Tailgan, or Horse Sacrifice, takes place on a hill called
Uher, about seven miles from Usturdi. On this hill fifteen
large stone altars have been built. The sacrifice is made by the
first and second division of the clan Ashekhabat. In the mytho
logical past the founder of this clan lived at Baganteng, perhaps
two miles distant from Uher. This first man, or clan founder,
had seven sons. He and those sons sacrificed on the hill Uher to
the Burkans (masters or gods) of the hill, and to those of the
mountain opposite, of whom the chief is Malan Noyon.
Of the seven sons five went beyond the Baikal, and there their
descendants make sacrifice to this day, but they make it to
Baganteng, where their clan originated, — where the tomta1 of
the founder is. Long ago they forgot Uher and its divinities.
The order of the Tailgan, or Horse Sacrifice, is as follows:
About seven o'clock on the morning of the ceremony the various
families of the clan send a sufficient number of men to Uher with
vessels, tarasun, milk, tea, twigs, trees, and bushes — in fact,
with everything needed at the sacrifice.
The two liquids drunk are tarasun and that which is called
"the white." Generally this is milk, sweet or sour as the case
may be, but milk with tea in it is given also, since some persons
prefer it.
The men sent in advance with supplies and utensils stop about
halfway on the road to Uher and sprinkle milk and tarasun to the
Burkans of the hill and the mountain, and to all the Burkans that
there may be in existence, asking that they give first of all a good
Tailgan, and then success and prosperity to those who make the
sacrifice. The reality, the essence, of the milk and the tarasun,
1 See ceremonies after the birth of a child, page 96.

THE HORSE SACRIFICE 45
goes to the Burkans, immensely increased and incomparably
better in quality. Thus a single drop may become a whole barrel-
ful when it reaches the home of the deities, when it goes to the
mountain and the hill, in both of which there are beautiful dwell
ings, invisible to man.
On arriving at the Hill of Sacrifice the men sent in advance
prepare places for the kettles, hang them on tripods over wood
ready to be ignited, and dispose the vessels and other things used
in the ceremony.
Each family has its place on the hill and not far from some one
of the fifteen stone altars. Small birch branches are thrust into
the earth at these places. Later, near these branches libations
are made ; that is, a few drops of milk are cast into the air to the
Burkans, and when tarasun is passed around some of that is also
cast into the air.
When the crowd assembles fires are lighted. First the horse is
purified by being led between the fires (there must be either
three, nine, or twenty-seven fires), then it is led up toward the
officiating persons, who sprinkle milk on its face, and on the hair
halter, and cast some in the air to the gods. After that there is a
libation of tarasun, then a prayer or petition is made to all the
Burkans. The horse, I should state here, has been led to the
right side of a small birch tree which has been brought from a
near-by forest; the lower part of the trunk of the tree is on the
ground, the upper part and branches rest on a crosspiece. The
tree is called "The foot of the place of sacrifice."
The officiating men then turn, as they say, "with knee bend
ing," first to the ninety western Burkans, then to the four eastern
Tuget — Tuget means "complete." These are deities who have
come down from the sky and are in the east, but their place is not
known exactly. They turn next to the Undir Sagan Tengerin
(the lofty clear heaven) ; sprinkling to each deity or group of
deities as they name them. Then they implore Uligin Sagan
Deda (the revered pure earth). Next in order is Buga Noyon
Babai (bull prince father), then comes Budung Yihe Ibi (blessed
mother mist), and Zayahung Yihe Zayasha (the creating great
one, who has created). This is at present the hedgehog, and in
Buriat religion he is the wisest of all the deities, though greatly

46 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
supplanted by other gods. Next in order is Zayang Sagan Ten-
geri (creator, pure heaven). Then Esege Malan Babai (Grand
father Bald Head) ; next Ehe Ureng Ibi, and then Adaha Zayang
(creator of cattle) ; and Uha Soldong (the golden Sorrel), which
means the light of the sun, the dawn of the morning. The dawn
of the morning is creator of horses. Then Hotogov Mailgan
(Crooked Back), the goddess of the night heavens and creator
of people.
All these divinities are addressed by name and in turn, ad
dressed very much as saints are in a Christian litany. Those
who are officiating appeal to the divinities, and the people follow
them, either aloud or mentally. Each man prays usually for
what he likes best, or most desires. When this prayer was ended
long ropes were tied securely around the fetlocks of the horse, each
rope was held by four men, then the eight men in front pulled the
forelegs forward and somewhat apart, while the other eight
pulled the hindlegs back and apart. The horse fell on its side,
and then turned on its back. The sixteen men held the ropes
firmly and the beast was utterly helpless. A man, his right arm
bare to the shoulder, now came with a long sharp knife and with
one blow made a deep incision just behind the breast bone.
He thrust his hand into the opening, seized the heart of the horse,
and wrenched it free from its connections. The poor beast tried
to struggle, but could not, and died very quickly. With the
other horse it was somewhat different. The man must have done
his work unskilfully, or his hand was weaker, for after he had
withdrawn his arm and finished, as he thought, the beast regained
its position to the extent of being able to bite the ground in agony.
The sight was distressing. Its teeth were bared in a ghastly grin ;
the eyes became green and blue, much like the color of certain
beetles. A more striking expression of piercing and helpless
agony I have never seen. It groaned once with a sound of un
speakable anguish, kept its mouth for a moment in the earth
and then dropped over lifeless.
When the horses were dead men hurried to skin the bodies,
quarter them, and remove the flesh from the bones. The
bones were then placed on the fifteen stone altars where fires
were not merely burning, but roaring. The flesh was put

People Assejihi.ed for the Horse Sacrifice. Page I.

</e l-j

THE HORSE SACRIFICE 47
into the iron kettles under which fires at that time were blazing
briskly. There was much animation on all sides ; men were sitting in
groups along the entire hillslope, beginning at the highest altar
and extending down to the fifteenth, near the foot of the emi
nence. Meanwhile a good number of groups were seated near vessels
of tarasun from which they drank freely. As the flesh was cut
into small pieces the cooking did not require a long time. The
flesh of the horses killed first was cooked before that of the last
two was placed in the kettles.
Small bits of the cooked meat were thrown on to the blazing
fire of the altars, where the bones were burning ; soup from the
kettles was also thrown from small cups on to the fire of the
altars. When all the meat was cooked and the flesh of the nine horses
was ready the whole company of people stood in groups before the
fifteen altars. At times they moved toward the altars, at times
they receded, throwing small quantities of soup and little bits of
meat on the fires, as they uttered the following invocation to the
deities already mentioned :
" We pray that we may receive from you a blessing. From among
fat cattle we have chosen out meat for you. We have made strong
tarasun for you. Let our ulus (villages) be one verst longer.
Create cattle in our enclosures; under our blankets create a son;
send down rain from high heaven to us ; cause much grass to grow ;
create so much grain that sickle cannot raise it, and so much grass
that scythe cannot cut it. Let no wolves out unless wolves that are
toothless ; and no. stones unless stones without sharp corners or edges.
Hover above our foreheads. Hover behind our heads. Look on
us without anger. Help those of us who forget what we know.
Rouse those of us who are sleeping (in spirit). In a harsh year
(a year of trouble) be Compassion. In a difficult year (a year
of want) be Kindness (in sense of help). Black spirits lead farther
away from us; bright spirits lead hither, nearer; gray spirits lead
farther away from us. Burkans lead hither to us. Green grass
give in the mouths (of cattle). Let me walk over the first snow.
If I am timid, be my courage. If I am ashamed, be a proper
face to me. Above be as a coverlid, below be as a felt bed to me."

48 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
When the people stood before the fifteen stone altars and ut
tered their petitions the ceremony seemed very solemn and had a
real character of worship. The invocation which I have given
is repeated by all, then each adds what seems good to him.
The prayer over, the company seated themselves by families,
ate of the horse flesh, and drank tarasun till the end came.
During the throwing of the meat on to the altars vultures, of
which there were many, flew back and forth over the hill and
at times swooped down very near to us. During one of these
times I took a piece of meat from Vassya and threw it toward
a vulture. The bird caught it with the utmost dexterity, and
darted away.
Vassya then threw a piece to another vulture which seized it in
like manner. They hit a boy's cup, and caught the meat from it.
I asked Vassya afterward if the people did not look on these
birds as perhaps divine. He said not in the full sense, but that
vultures were represented in some narratives as rushing in front
of the Burkans when they were passing from one place to another,
and in that way they might be supposed to indicate that the
masters of the opposite mountain were present, or on the hill
where we were standing.
When the people had finished eating and drinking, boys pulled
up and threw on the fire the twigs, or little branches which had
been planted by the designated place of each family. This in
dicated that the sacrifice was ended. Any soup or meat left is
taken home. If not all used it is carefully burned, for none of it
must be eaten by cats or dogs; that would be desecration and
misfortune would follow in its wake.
The Horse Sacrifice is a ceremony of immense interest, a re
markable relic of religious and social antiquity, the value of
which we can hardly overestimate. A number of things become
clear after one has looked on this sacrifice carefully. The first
of these beyond doubt is this : that there is and must be a corre
spondence between a society and the faith professed by it — a
sufficient harmony between the religion and the people.
As I walked up and down among those Buriats, talking with
some and observing others, I saw that they enjoyed that sacri
fice heartily. For men in their position there was reason for en-

THE HORSE SACRIFICE 49
joyment; there was cause to be satisfied during that day in
every case. They were seated on a pleasant hill possessed and
inhabited by Burkans, or divinities, who had descended from
the sky and occupied in the hill a magnificent dwelling. In fact
they were sitting on the great roof of a divine house, and were
feasting delightfully, in company with friends and relatives.
Out in front of them and near by were mountains in which
lived other Burkans. Opposite dwelt, in homes of indescrib
able beauty and wealth, Burkans, who were kindly and liberal
to persons who remembered them. They had power to give every
good thing in abundance.
Feasting there on that roof the Buriats ate, drank, and made
merry with profit. They sent a share of the flesh and soup from
their horses to the gods, who received that flesh and broth multi
plied enormously. Each drop of broth when it reached the gods'
mansions sufficed a hundred persons, each bit of flesh was in
creased in like manner, and so with tarasun, a few drops of
which would cheer thousands.
The gods ate and drank of these multiplied offerings, while
they, the faithful worshipers, sent up requests and prayers to
gain every profit and good for which their hearts hoped. The
feasting worshipers then filled their stomachs with unmulti-
plied food, which they had in abundance.
There were pleasure, sociability, eating and drinking with gods,
those world forces who are able to grant prayers and listen
to the petitions of all men who please them.
The social part is very instructive, showing clearly in this Buriat
survival a strong and prominent trait of primitive religion : the
intimate relation of gods and men, the nearness of the gods and
their friendliness. Most interesting of all is that strange philoso
phy, at least strange for us, by which gods are pleased and prof
ited by a small material outlay on the part of mankind.
While a society and its religion correspond the society is
greatly attached to the religion, and if a society is simple and
well-nigh stationary, as pastoral societies are, if environment will
permit it, the society and its religion may live on in harmony for
ages. Religion once it is established changes little comparatively,
and not in its essence. Its forms and ceremonies are sacred. Its
4

50 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
statements are myths taken literally. To modify, change, or
abolish forms, ceremonies, or statements of a religion is to de
stroy that religion ; for the spirit of religion is not what men have
in view generally, but forms, its outward seeming, its mythology,
its connections with popular life, with the customs and history of
the people professing it. A pastoral life is almost immovable,
especially in a country where grass is abundant and agriculture
unknown, or if known little cared for. Were it not for the influ
ence of Russia and China the Buriats might live on for ages
without changing their religion or customs.
Of course nothing in the world is or may be immovable. An
inner motive or an outward shock is sure in time to stir every
object or being in existence. No planet in space, though im
mensely remote from all others, and moving by itself in a loneli
ness which is appalling, is secure from collision. No man or
group of men, tribe, nation, republic, or empire has ever been or
ever will be left to his, their, or its own will save for a compara
tively short period. The groups of men under various designa
tions, from small primitive societies to great republics or empires,
have their will for a season. This is the time during which the
character of a group is made manifest, and during which it con
quers. This character is always special to each. A group comes
in collision inevitably with other groups which also are special.
The result is the destruction or absorption of some groups, the
modification and enlargement of others. The whole course of
history may be represented as an endless succession of these
collisions. With reference to preserving their religion the position of the
western Buriats was specially favorable, and continues to be so.
Their fellow tribemen, who live east of Lake Baikal, and touch
on the great world of Buddhism, became Buddhists. The
western Buriats are secluded considerably, and little troubled
by neighbors. They prefer their own primitive religion thus
far. The Russians have no objection to offer, and would rather
that they retain Shamanism than become Buddhists. If they
have no wish to become Christian they may remain Pagan.
For a people in primitive conditions to accept a new religion
which condemns the chief part of their life and the main cus-

I. Horse Sacrifice. Page 45

II. Horse Sacrifice. Page 46

THE HORSE SACRIFICE 51
toms of their country is a great step indeed. To introduce
Christianity would involve a completerevolution among Buriats.
For Mongols the transition from their Shamanism to Buddhism
after the latter has passed through Thibet is less difficult. The
western Buriats are satisfied with Shamanism. If there is any
propaganda among them, Buddhistic or Christian, it is very
slight, and touches only an odd individual.
After the sacrifice came wrestling at the southeastern or
valley foot of the hill. This is a very popular amusement among
the Buriats. There is always wrestling after the Horse Sacri
fice and after the making of Shamans.
The whole company deserted the hill-top. Some went to the
place of wrestling, others remained on the brow of the emi
nence, not far from where the horses were sacrificed.
In wrestling there are two parts : the first is the manoeuvring
for advantage in the hold ; this requires time, perhaps fifteen or
twenty minutes are occupied before the opponents grapple and
close in the conflict. Very often the wrestling itself does not
last as long as the preliminary manoeuvring for advantage.
After the Tailgan I decided to make a trip northeastward and
northward through the Buriat country. I wished above all to
visit Olkhon, the "sacred" island of Lake Baikal. On this
island live perhaps seven hundred people, who are more primi
tive than other Buriats. I was anxious to see these islanders
and get their folk-tales, if possible.
I laid in all the provisions that I could find either in Usturdi
or at the next post station, and made arrangements for Vassya
and Lazareff, the Cross-eyed, to go with me and assist in every
way. Andrei Mihailovitch gave them a light, convenient car
riage, and I was to furnish provisions and pay their traveling
expenses. One or the other was to translate for me from Mon
gol into Russian. I always preferred Vassya, for he was far more
intelligent, and acted more willingly, as he was himself interested
in the mythology of his people. He was an excellent translator
as well, having an equal command of both Buriat and Russian.
I do not think that I have ever found a better case of what
development means than that presented by those three Buriats, —
Vassya, his father, and Lazareff. Vassya during six years at the

52 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Irkutsk gymnasium had not only learned what is taught in the
regular course there, but he had acquired a real love for good
reading. He knew what science means, and found pleasure in
mental development. Vassya's father was a man who believed
that knowledge is power, but simply power to win wealth, to
make money, acquire land, herds, and cattle — and importance.
This was the power which he valued. Hence he was what is
usually called practical.
Lazareff would esteem that knowledge which would make
three blades of grass grow where two grew before, if they would
come by magic, intrigue, or some other man's labor, given because
he was outwitted.
Mutual benefit was looked for in the journey. I hoped that
the two men would help me in many ways. They spoke Russian
fluently, so I could talk with every Buriat. They were well
known in most places, and with them the journey would be suc
cessful in some degree. They were glad to go, moreover, for
I paid their expenses. The weather was fine, the country as a
whole very interesting, and parts of it beautiful. They also, as I
learned afterward, had errands to perform and business to
transact for Vassya's father.

III. Horse Sacrifice. Page 46

IV. Horse Sacrifice. Page 46

CHAPTER V
JOURNEY TO THE ISLAND OF OLKHON
AFTER annoying delays the day for starting on the journey
came at last (August 6); but only at one o'clock were we
ready for the road. A few moments before leaving I witnessed
an interesting ceremony. Eight men with Vassya seated them
selves in a circle on the ground, then one of the eight rose and
with a glass of vodka in his extended hand implored the gods,
as he sprinkled the vodka on the ground, to grant Vassya a
prosperous journey.
From Usturdi I drove directly to Lazareff's house, whence we
were to set out on the journey together. The two men had
proposed to start alone at two o'clock, but I preferred to have
them with me, if possible.
On arrival I found that Lazareff was "not quite ready"; he
needed an hour at least, and he and Vassya wished to stop a
short time at a near-by village where there was a wedding in
progress, — a friend of theirs was celebrating a part of his
marriage. Lazareff promised faithfully to overtake me on
the road, or at Olzoni, the next station.
I drove on, and at the first village, which was a short distance
from the highway, I saw a large assembly of people. The
inhabitants had no work on that day, nothing to think of but
the marriage. The young people were dancing most vigorously ;
the old men and women were sitting around in groups, laughing
and talking, taking refreshments, solid and fluid.
That afternoon in the first half of August was delightful,
sunny and bright, but not too warm. The road was excellent,
being the highway between the capital of eastern Siberia, Irkutsk,
and Yakutsk, which has been for so many years the city of exile.
Along the road on the left there are many good winter houses.

54 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
The places chosen for these buildings are in most cases well
sheltered by high hills from winds of the north and northwest. -
There is nothing in which Russian influence on the Buriats
is shown more emphatically than in the matter of winter homes.
Before Russian times the Buriat house was always an eight-
sided log structure, with a hole in the middle of its earth-covered
roof to let smoke out. A fire of sticks was made on the ground
under this smoke-hole. How cold those places were in such a
climate we can imagine very easily. The winter house now,
with its great stove made of brick, is in use among the better
class, and often it has double windows.
Though there were many dwellings along the way, people were
living elsewhere for the summer months. There was perfect
quiet, no man or woman was to be seen, no horses or cattle were
grazing in the pastures.
Twenty-four hours before there had been rain, hence the road
was clean, with no trace of dust on it. Rarely have I traveled
with such pleasure as on that clear sunny day in August. There
was no racing of horses this time, the carriage moved on at an
easy, good pace, very comfortably. Only once did we meet an
equipage. It seemed as though the whole world was at home
sleeping. About seven o'clock we rolled into Olzoni, a pleasant-looking
village in a narrow valley. Along the middle of the village runs
the single street, which is also the highway.
On the left hand, at the entrance to the village and just out
side the first buildings, is an ostrog, or palisaded prison enclosure,
which has a suggestive and sinister look, mainly because we
know why it is there and what it is used for. It was the first
of the kind I had ever seen.
At the other end of Olzoni the valley turns to the right quite
abruptly, and the street seems to end in a hill. On this hill is
a small wooden church, beyond which there are no houses. The
church at one end, the prison at the other; narrow fields at the
right as we enter, and wooded hills beyond them. On the left
green fields and a rolling country, perhaps fifty feet above the
highway. At Olzoni there is an excellent post station. Tea was in order,

V. Horse Sacrifice. Page 46

VI. Horse Sacrifice. Page 46

JOURNEY TO ISLAND OF OLKHON 55
and then preparations were made for a supper, which came about
two hours later. On the street there was considerable activity.
I met two children who were playing horse, and I discovered
that the horse was Timofei and the driver Andrei. I had to
remonstrate with Andrei for using his whip too freely, though
Timofei explained that he was whipped because he was a horse
and did not want to work. A man sitting on an ox and going for
water with his cart and barrel furnished a good picture of do
mestic life. The ox was well trained and walked off briskly.
To add to my stock of provisions, and to find out something
of possible interest regarding the inhabitants of the village, I
went into the principal shop, where I made the acquaintance of
the merchant Pan Tembovski, a Pole, who told me very interest
ing things touching the Buriats. He was exiled many years ago
for political reasons ; after serving out his sentence he went back
to Russia, but returned soon, because "there is more money
and life in Siberia." To me it seemed that all the powers of a
financier would be needed to make even a meagre living in
Olzoni. At ten o'clock Lazareff and Vassya made their appearance.
They had not left the wedding till six in the evening. There had
been an immense consumption of food and drink, and the merry
making, they assured me, "was great."
Fresh horses were brought, and I set out at eleven o'clock.
Olzoni is a place of some interest, and for a post station really
very pleasant. When returning from the island I remained four
days in the village.
About three o'clock in the morning I arrived at Baiandai
(pronounced Buy-and-die), the next station, but saw nothing
of that broad, straggling village with which later on I became
quite familiar. There was no delay for horses, and soon the
carriage was moving toward the station, Hogotskaya, where I
arrived at five o'clock in the morning, and slept on a hard bed
till seven. The night ride had been very pleasant, for the
weather was perfect. Lazareff and Vassya came an hour later,
in time for a short sleep.
About nine o'clock we set out for a visit to the brothers Alex-
androff, who are numbered among the wealthiest and most

56 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
influential of the Buriats ; their estate is about five miles from
Hogotskaya. It was warmer that morning than the day before —
it was hot, in fact.
The country about Hogotskaya is a fine rolling region of
good grass-land and black soil of sufficient depth. Hay and
grain are abundant, with culture. Between ten and eleven
o'clock we were at the Alexandroffs'. The three brothers live
in one neighborhood ; their houses are near one another, and
form a whole town, if considered together.
As these brothers are good friends of Andrei Mihailoff, they
received us very cordially. We were conducted to a pleasant
sitting-room fitted up in Russian fashion, and while we were
conversing there with one brother another set servants to work
in the kitchen and elsewhere. In half an hour they had ready
in the dining-room a zakuska, or "bite," the collection of pre
liminary tidbits which, in all parts of Russia, precedes each
considerable meal, and are taken to rouse appetite and also to
nourish. In great houses these "bites" are elaborate and
enticing. Invited to the dining-room we found there two tables ; on one
of these stood bottles containing vodka and two kinds of wine,
sherry and claret. On the other were things to be eaten, —
boiled eggs, brown bread, smoked fish, pickled herrings, sar
dines, cheese, fish, eggs, and other rich "appetite rousers."
The zakuska is always taken standing. The first thing is a
small glass of vodka, kummel, or some other liquid of similar
quality, "to increase appetite and induce cheerfulness." Then
comes the eating, which bears somewhat the relation to dinner
that a skirmish does to a murderous battle.
After the zakuska, as our mid-day meal was not ready yet,
we went again to the sitting-room and talked for a time.
We spoke of the country, the Buriat methods of managing
land, of rearing cattle and horses, of moving from one place to
another in summer, and back to the first one in winter.
While the brothers were explaining these customs to me
carefully a servant declared that the "guest meal" was ready
and waiting. There were two tables, at one of these, which
was square, sat the master of the house, with my wife, Vassya,

JOURNEY TO ISLAND OF OLKHON 57
and me; at the second table was his brother, with Lazareff
and persons of the family, — a dozen at least in the company.
One cause of the delay in the dinner was that a lamb had
been slaughtered and cooked for our nourishment. The great
dish of honor at our table was the boiled head of that lamb,
with the wool on. There was also a species of soup made of
blood and kidneys, which seemed much like diluted blood pud
ding. It was relished by the Buriats, but strive as I might I
could only make a very scant trial of its qualities. There was
an abundance of other food, however, hence I could let these
Mongol dainties pass.
The Alexandroffs are the most Russianized of Buriats in their
style of living, and manners ; though they, too, live a double life
in some measure. They are of the rich and small class which
builds at least three houses. The winter house is like that in
use throughout Russia ; it has brick stoves and chimneys. The
old-fashioned Buriat house is modelled on a tent. In summer
these houses are cool and agreeable, but in winter it is impos
sible, in a cold country, to heat them sufficiently for modern
comfort. When well improved they are delightful from May
to October. Should a chilly hour happen at any time, or a cool
evening come at the beginning or at the end of the season, a fire
is made quickly, and people sit around it to enjoy the warmth
and to talk. To rouse conviviality tarasun is drunk; it is
brought in a jug holding one or two gallons. This jug, which
always has a wooden cup in it, is moved around the circle, and
when emptied of liquor is filled again straightway.
All Buriats, without any exception, prefer the style of house
used by their forefathers, and are attached to it greatly. Pagan
Buriats must have this house, if they are to be married accord
ing to the rites of their people, since the last act in the ceremony
of marriage is performed at the central quadrangle of bare
earth, where the fire is made, when the new wife takes her
place at the milk barrel which stands there, and becomes house
mistress. Her special office is to make the tarasun, always dis
tilled at this fireplace. Beside its good qualities, the old house
is strong through its hold on the ancient religion, the needs of
the people, and their habits and customs.

58 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
The Alexandroff dinner, as to food, was peculiar only by the
sudden slaughter of the lamb, to show honor to strangers, and
the special preparation of its head for the table. Otherwise
the dinner might have been given by a Russian. The flesh
of the poor little victim was cooked in the ordinary fashion,
by boiling.
When the meal was ended the masculine part of the company
retired to the summer house, and sat smoking and conversing
for an hour or so.
This summer house was very well built. The floor was higher
than usual above the bare earth in the center, and thus afforded
a more comfortable seat for the company; chairs also were in
use, so that whoso preferred one might sit on one. The smoke-
escape was better constructed, — wider at the roof than in
other houses.
The Alexandroffs' summer and winter establishments are
different from any among Buriats in this that they are adjoining ;
only a road lies between the two places. The houses stand
almost opposite each other and not more than half a mile apart.
The difference between the two places is remarkable, however.
The summer land is level or slightly rolling, and is exposed at
every point1 of the compass, open to winds from north, south,
east, and west, so that whenever the air moves men and animals
feel it. On the right of the road, where the winter place lies,
all is changed. The land slopes away toward the east and the
south; on the north is a large and dense forest, which wards
off the north wind effectively.
Some distance from the highway there are well-watered
meadows and splendid pastures. A great deal of hay is pro
duced on this land ; I counted fourteen immense ricks in one
part of the meadow. The wealth of the Alexandroffs comes
chiefly from the breeding of cattle and horses, and from lending
money at a high rate of interest.
Since we had planned to continue our journey that same day
we soon bade good-bye to our host, who strove to persuade us
to remain at his house till the morrow in every case.
An easy life is that of those three brothers. Every year they
sell many horses and cattle. Whether the price falls or rises

JOURNEY TO ISLAND OF OLKHON 59
they have a good income. Thus far they are free of political
problems. They have had their own way under Russia up to
this time. At present, however, they fear that their land supply
is about to be lessened.
At Hogotskaya there is a "narodni dom," or people's house,
in which travelers may find a room and a samovar. That
room we had made our headquarters. Near this narodni dom
is the home of the chief of the district. We returned at four
o'clock, sent for post horses, drank tea, and were soon ready to
start for the island. In the morning, before going to the Alexan
droffs', I had called on the district chief, and now he came
to wish me a prosperous journey. Though I did not know
it at that time, he had sent forward word to officials to
help me in every way needed. I thanked him heartily for his
kind wishes, and promised to explain my success, if I had any,
and tell him all my adventures when I came back from Olkhon
and Lake Baikal.
I was off at exactly five o'clock, Vassya and Lazareff a few
minutes later. Each carriage was drawn by three horses. We
intended to travel all night. The weather was perfect, the road
dry and in fairly good condition. I thought we might reach
the third station about daybreak, or at least very early in the
morning. After leaving Hogotskaya, which was our last station on the
Yakuts road, we passed a mile of level road, and then traveled
over land gently rising till we came to the base of a ridge. This
ridge was perhaps eight hundred feet high where the road lay,
and much higher on either side. On reaching the highest point
of the road it was seen that the ridge, which was wooded
for the greater part, turned more and more from the high
way till its direction was at a right angle, jthen it turned
backward gradually and formed a great ellipse. Into the
picturesque valley formed by this elliptical ridge we now
descended, and through it, and a valley adjoining, we traveled
till midnight.
The whole region around was either woodland or meadow.
People were cutting hay and making stacks as we passed along
through it that evening. Places like this are very frequent in

60 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Siberia. Warded well against winds and surrounded in great
part with dense forests, they are sheltered marvelously from
cold, and cattle are driven to them for the winter.
At nine o'clock we reached the first station ; at midnight we
arrived at the second, where, after some waiting, a samovar
was set up, and we ate a bountiful lunch which I had brought
with me. The station furnished hot water for the tea and
boiled eggs ; I had sweet bread, brown bread, and ham of good
quality ready cooked.
Roughing it on the road is delightful at times, and at times
very dreary. Good health, good weather, wholesome food, and
pleasant people make traveling a holiday, and joyous. Bad
weather, vile food, hostile people, take away the best charm
even from scenery, since they weaken power and mental vision
in the traveler.
If one is working for a purpose, however, all hardships grow
easy, they become even pleasant if devotion be strong enough
in the mind of the worker.
Of all hardships in traveling, and there are many, the greatest
and most bitter, in fact the bnly serious ones are those caused
by people. The deceit, opposition, and active harmfulness of
mankind create the only troubles worth mentioning as we move
on examining the crust of this earth ball, striving to discover
what is on it, and under it, and above it. If men were as good as
they are evil, — and they are evil through ignorance and weak
ness, — it would be easier and much pleasanter to travel than it
now is. It would also be easier to do those good deeds of which
each man is capable. I thought thus as I supped at that sta
tion, which was poor and not very clean, but the people in it
were obliging and courteous.
When supper was eaten three horses were attached to my
carriage, but Vassya and Lazareff had to wait for horses which
were out in the pasture. Men had gone to search for them,
hence my companions might have to remain long at the station
or only some minutes. I resolved to set out at once, promising
to wait at Kosaya.
It was one o'clock when I started. No moon was visible;
the night was one of stars only, the most impressive of all nights,

JOURNEY TO ISLAND OF OLKHON 61
and that means the most impressive sight possible to man dur
ing earthly existence.
The majestic and marvelous dark night of stars, that face of
infinity looking down at us in silence, affects every serious man
deeply by its presence. In days past that presence, though the
same in its features as to-day, was not the same in meaning.
It was looked on variously by different people in different ages.
To all men the sky seemed in old times dome-shaped and solid,
the greatest single thing visible to any one. By some it was
revered as a deity, and is so revered even to the present; by
others it was esteemed to be a dwelling-place. Whether a
deity or a dwelling-place, it was closely connected with the
earth, to which it was in great part subservient. I was think
ing of this as I looked on that beautiful night from the swiftly
moving carriage, when it occurred to me on a sudden that if
I were to credit my own eyesight I should believe myself to be
just in the center of all things. The horizon in front, behind,
and on both sides was equidistant; the highest point in the sky
was directly above me; I held the center, apparently. Eye
sight, the first simple witness, uncorrected by examination and
afterthought, formed the basis of current belief and philosophy
touching everything in existence till Copernican teaching de
stroyed it.
How self-satisfied were men in the old time, how contented
and happy. They believed that this earth was the center of the
universe, that it was fixed and immovable, that the sun went
around it, that all things existent came and vanished because
of it. The sun rose and set just to serve man.
All that belief and philosophy has gone from us. That which
seemed to be the great fact was found non-existent and illusive,
that which is has proved so stupendous that no one is able to
grasp it. Man's home in the sky, the heavenly house just above,
has been rent from him. His yearning remains, or at least in
most cases, and he is like the poet who never had a home, but
who sang of home, that sweet home, as no man ever sang of
it before him or afterward.
As the carriage rolled on I recalled how a man in London,
three months earlier, had spoken to me very earnestly as follows :

62 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
"This earth is no longer the center of the universe. People now
do not think that in the sky straight above them is a heavenly
city, where they will live through endless ages in happiness.
Science, which is encroaching on ancient beliefs, and destroy
ing old systems, is taking away every basis of earnest convic
tion, and so far has given nothing in the sense of assuring a
future existence, by showing where or how that existence could
be realized. My father died," continued my acquaintance,
"with the firmest conviction that he would live soul and body
hereafter. I believe in nothing. I should be glad to believe,
but I cannot. Some scientists tell me that at death I shall die
altogether, that my conscious /, which is talking this moment,
will vanish forever. Others tell me that if for individuals there
be a hereafter, no man can prove it. The majority of men hope
and wish for a life in the future, hope and wish for that which
the old beliefs promised. I should like wonderfully to have such
a belief, but how am I to get it ? Who can help me ? This is
for me the great question."
The horses had passed half the road, perhaps, when I dropped
asleep while pondering over the words of my London friend.
I woke soon, for we had come to rough places and the harsh
jolting roused me. After that we were in an open region. The
whole sky was visible, and the carriage moved smoothly. Again
I fell to thinking, and my friend's words came back to me:
"Can Science find eternal life possible in the same human
being? Science finds eternal life everywhere, but not in the
same form.
"To be permanent and undying a material body must either
not change, or must receive the equivalent exactly of that which
goes from it, and, besides, it must retain all its life vigor. There
must be no loss to it in exchanging.
"Given the immortal body, where is its home to be? The
heaven is gone, that solid region, that firmament, as men once
considered it. There is nothing now overhead save expanse.
Where shall we look for the home of undying individual ex
istence ? Not on this earth, since on earth there is no place for
an endless and happy hereafter. Is there in infinite space out
beyond us a place where immortal existence might have a fit

JOURNEY TO ISLAND OF OLKHON 63
dwelling ? If there is, how can we find it ? From the various
groups of men who ponder over the mystery of existence three
may be chosen to illustrate the problem before us, and how
men relate themselves to it.
"The first group is made up of persons who declare that
there is no spirit whatever save what is inseparable from and
connected with matter, and which inheres in it. There is in
this way a spirit in everything various in each case; from that
in the atom, which is, perhaps, the most restricted, to that in
man, which on earth is the most comprehensive and intricate.
"Whenever an organism, such as man, comes to dissolution,
or death, the spirit which inheres in it must vanish ; and when
that organism is resolved finally into elements or atoms, there
is simply a myriad of atomic spirits, but no spirit of a man to
consider, because there is no man in existence, and so with all
other living creatures and organized existences.
"There is nothing immortal save the atom in any place.
From atoms all things are aggregated, and from atomic spirit
is built up all the mind in the universe. Since the organisms
are transient, the spirit is transient.
"For thinkers of this group the question just raised has no
interest whatever.
"The second group is formed of all Christian believers, and
also of those who, though they may not be Christians, believe
in a spirit, or soul, as distinct from each body. For this group
the question cannot be without interest.
"The first and the second group have no common ground
of agreement.
"The third group ascribes enormous, nay, unbounded, im
portance to the atom, but only in conjunction with that all-
pervading substance which men for the moment call ether,
but which in reality is spirit.
" What is the atom, and what is ether ? The atom is deathless ;
no one can seize it, no one can injure it, fire cannot burn it.
In the raging heat of the sun or on Sirius the dog-star, in the
maximum of cold where life would cease suddenly, in a dew-
drop, in a tempest, in a blizzard, or in Niagara the atom is there.
Invincible, eternal, equally contented in the highest heaven

64 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
and the pit of the inferno, infinitely obedient; inconceivably
flexible it enters into beauty as readily as into the vilest deform
ity. Equally at home in the diamond and the dung-heap, the
atom is everywhere present and constitutes all things material.
There is no existence possible without it.
"What may we say of the ether? The atom is everywhere,
but the atom is always embraced by the ether, always upheld
and kept down by it. Wherever the atom, which constitutes
all things, has an office, and it has one in every place, the ether
is present."In the scheme of the first set of thinkers among the three
to which I have referred, the atom alone is important; in fact,
there is nothing to begin with, the atom which is so small that no
human eye can behold it is the first unit, the starting-point.
By an infinite accretion of atoms effected through impulse or
love which atoms have for one another, all the forms in the
universe are constituted gradually; all the beauty and intel
lect in existence are thus evolved; all the millions of suns,
stars, and other heavenly bodies, as well as the various kinds of
living creatures, man, and everything that has life on our planet.
"By this scheme all physical forms and all degrees of men
tality come from the association of atoms, which, increasing in
certain lines, always growing in number, cause with each increase
a higher mentality and a more varied physical development.
"The statement of the third group is this substantially:
When an accretion of atoms has happened, an inflow or pres
sure of ether takes place with this growth, simultaneously, and
at every phase of it. For instance, if two atoms unite, a mind
to grasp this situation is needed ; the ether is present, and the
mind is immediately. The association of atoms increases to
a hundred for example, the association is vastly more complex
with that number than it was with two atoms. The great point
being that from an aggregation of atomic mind it is quite possi
ble to reach a cosmic mind, or one even that embraces a solar
system, and finally the universe.
"With change effected by new atomic accretions there was
always an inflowing of ether and an increase of mentality suffi
cient to dominate the situation. If there was not, the new asso-

JOURNEY TO ISLAND OF OLKHON 65
ciation failed and went to pieces, fell back into atoms, to begin
anew and continue till success came at that or another time.
"The impulse to accretion is indestructible in the atom,
and is active unceasingly. The ether is everywhere present,
going through each accretion, embracing and testing it. The
ether finds every joint, seam, or line of union between atoms,
inserts itself and breaks up the union, unless it be suitable and
strong enough. If it be suitable, the ether stays with it, gives
the mentality needed in the new combination while it is fit to
continue. When not fit, its mentality withdraws and it perishes,
that is, drops apart and reverts to its atoms. In this way from
the beginning of ages, from the time when atoms began first
to seek one another, that is, as soon as atoms were divided from
ether, from the time that one became two and the Son was sent
forth from the bosom or personality of the Father, creation
began and continues to the present, and will continue while
existence endures, or, in other words, while there is force in the
universe, or still in other words, while there are atoms and
ether in existence.
"We have now this point. From the time of the first dis
solution of atomic aggregation to this moment there is a con
tinuous going out and returning of ether, each return bringing
with it a life history beginning with the first failure of twtf
atoms to associate beyond a certain period, and ending/with
the latest dissolution of some structure in the universe^ Each
one of these returns has its memory, and each one of them is
deathless. Each temporary aggregation reverts to its atoms,
which begin new adventures, while the ether returns to the
source whence it started.
"According to the thought inherent in the scheme of this
third group of thinkers there was a period when ether and
atoms were indifferentiated, merged in one. At the end of a
period, beyond calculation in length, a period which might
be called an eternity without a beginning, one became two, atoms
and ether became segregated and each was indestructible for
opposite reasons. The atom because it stands alone, the ether
because it is infinitely yielding, no power can separate it, and
it pervades all things no matter how closely their particles are

66 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
compacted. Out of atoms all forms may be created. Ether
knows everything, because it is in all places, and is never sep
arated or interrupted. The Great Ether knows all that the
small parts experience, but the small parts know only by obser
vation, reasoning, and inference anything of the Great Ether.
"We have thus two forms of immortality at present, existent
in all places, the ether and the atom. The aggregation of
atoms is perishable, and an individual made up of atoms and
ether would be immortal and safe only in a place secure from
invasion, safe from every external shock and collision, and
from chemical action which would destroy the adhesive force
of its atoms. Is there such a safe dwelling, and where
is it?"
The reasoning of my friend which I give here was in my
mind, unexpressed, as I dropped asleep thinking : Is there a real
heaven in existence instead of that one up there which is lost
to us? I had been looking straight into the wonderful night
sky, my mind filled with that awful reality before me ; my eyes
closed now, and I was dreaming,
I seemed still to see everything around me, and all grew in
size, gradually ; next I saw nothing, and rested, I know not how
long, and then again I was dreaming. I opened my eyes, as I
thought, and found myself standing near a telescope enormous
in size and far better than any I had ever used or seen thus far.
"Will you look in ?" asked a person, as I stood there in wonder.
"If you look you will see the great center of all things, the place
of repose amidst all the action in existence. You will see clearly
through this telescope the storm center of the universe, where
there is a perfect balance of forces, and where there is peace
kept by infinite power and knowledge. There is no decay there,
and there will never be. It is the great result of all the toil,
suffering, death, and anguish in every other place, and only
beings who are perfect can ever reach it."
"But will the balance not be lost?" I asked. "Will not
trouble come to it, as to all other places?"
"As long as force and matter last this region which I show
you will be as calm and happy as it now is." He moved to go
before me, but that moment something happened; I was

JOURNEY TO ISLAND OF OLKHON 67
pushed and jolted, my driver shouted and whipped his horses,
and I woke and asked :
"Where are we, what 's the matter? "
"Kosaya Steppe!" (Crooked Prairie) called out the
driver. And he rushed into the village, Crooked Prairie, made half a
turn in front of a church, so as to face a large gate before which
he stopped, slipped down from his seat, rang a bell, and then
waited. The gate was opened after some minutes and we drove
into the yard of the "People's House." The woman, who had
charge of the building and all that pertained to it, appeared at
a porch, and the gate-keeper came out and took from the carriage
some things for my use.
The house, which was of good size, had apparently not been
occupied much in recent days. The windows had not been
opened, the air was close and unpleasant in odor. The first
thing was to open the windows, and then, pure air secured, to
have breakfast made ready.
A boiling samovar was brought about half an hour later. In
Russia tea is the greatest, the best drink of the country. So far
as my experience goes Russian tea is the most refreshing drink
in the world and when there are suhari (rusks) to go with it
food and drink are at hand for a good meal in the morning.
After drinking tea I slept till seven, that is one hour, then I
went to the courtyard and there in the middle of the open space
was a carriage and in it Vassya and Lazareff sleeping soundly.
I had engaged my horses for half past seven, hoping thus to
have them in season. A little before eight the two men woke,
and the horses were brought in. Vassya wished to remain two
or three hours at Crooked Prairie, so I went on to Elantsin, the
next station, where I arrived only at two o'clock after some de- ,
lay on the road and slow traveling.
At Elantsin I was informed that it would be impossible to
get horses that day; I must wait till the morrow in every case.
No help for it. This station, which is about a verst from the
town, is one of the best on the road. It is a large building with
fairly clean rooms and an immense kitchen. Just across the
road is a small house, and near by a small church with dome

68 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
and bell tower. Behind the church is a high mountain. The
place reminded us of Ragats, Switzerland.
The station master, a young married man, had provisions in
plenty, and treated us well. Toward evening Vassya appeared
and we had the promise of horses for an early hour on the
morrow. But in spite of every exertion it was almost noon when
we started. The road was rough and dusty. As one approaches
the lake there are low, unwooded hills with stony summits
that look in places as if altars had been set up, or as though
covered with the ruins of ancient fortresses.
When within a few versts of the Kutul Vassya and Lazareff
turned off to go to a village where a man lived to whom, as they
said, Andrei Mihailovitch had sent a letter asking him for as
sistance in our work. I never saw the man, however, and later
I discovered that the letter was about private business, and
had nothing whatever to do with my work.
We reached Kutul in the evening. This station is well kept
and spacious. There is a large room in it where the Buriats
hold their public meetings and discuss questions touching
interests in the district. The mistress of the house, a Russian,
was not at home, having gone to a town a hundred versts away
to send a telegram to her husband, who was in the army.
The journey from Kutul to Olkhon, though a short one, re
quired considerable exertion and patience. To all appearances
there was much difficulty in obtaining horses. There was delay
for other reasons also. When I was in the greatest doubt as to
what to do the chief of the district arrived at the station, to be
present at a Buriat meeting, and he gave me willing assistance;
without his aid I should have had a good deal of trouble. He
advised me to hire an additional man, one who knew the Olkhon
people, and also informed me that the road to the lake was so
rough as to necessitate leaving my carriage at Kutul and tak
ing wagons.
The master of post horses at Kutul is a stripling named
Muravieff. This man, half Russian, half Buriat, is tremen
dously bent on making money, and in his dealings is quite as
crooked as the world-renowned ram's horn. His father was a
full-blooded Buriat. When Count Muravieff Amoorski was

Convict Prison at a Post Station. Page 54
What looks in this photograph to be a board fence is a square enclosure
at least twelve feet high

'  -  g£ -

";.  _

„-..J[

H

^^p^p^-

-X
¦ (f-'&M
^'"-J
BL"-"'T
fjiyvH
KS
Hk ' *
»3
- '
*o^l
k j
-"'«
1
¦
TH1*- i
.
' - .vi; -  . -
B^ssbmHI
*Wfv-.
** ;:
x!
-
-
Buriat Women in Full Dress. Page 67
JOURNEY TO ISLAND OF OLKHON 69
governor of Eastern Siberia he took a fancy to this Buriat.
Through his influence the young man became a Christian, and
at baptism received the name Muravieff; in this way bettering
his condition in a worldly sense. Some time after that a Russian
girl, deceived by a man, who in due time deserted her, was alone,
without a friend or money, and not far from childbirth; the
Buriat Muravieff married her; the child, which was a son, he
adopted. Later she had a son by Muravieff; this is the half-
Buriat stripling whom I have mentioned as being so fond of
money. On the island of Olkhon there is only one store; this store is
owned by Muravieff, the Russian, the half brother of the half-
blooded Buriat ; both are sons of the erstwhile deceived Madame
Muravieff. After annoying delays I obtained four horses and two small
springless wagons for the continuation of our journey to the
island. My extra man was Protopotoff, "the official inoculator
for small-pox." Starting about ten o'clock in the forenoon, we
had a most interesting day. Between Kutul and Lake Baikal
there are two villages, Kuchulga and Togot; the first contains
about fifty houses, the other is much smaller.
The region from Kutul to the lake is in the main rugged and
rocky. From the brow of the last elevation to the edge of the
water, a distance of two miles, the road we went over is remark
able; it is not the one taken generally; the road for laden
wagons is at least a third longer. By this shorter route we
crossed a broad stretch of smooth grassland which slopes
toward the lake; the descent is not abrupt enough to be danger
ous, but is sufficient for swift driving. When well started we
went along at a pace like that of tobogganing in Canada. It
seemed like coasting on wheels in summer time. The land is
so even, its surface yielding the least trifle under the wheels,
that the sensation which comes of swift motion was wonder
fully pleasant, almost equal to sliding down hill in those days
which are now in eternity.
We halted at a house near the water, but still half a mile from
the Olkhon Island ferry. At the house, or rather directly in
front of it, was a Shaman; around him were five or six bark and

70 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
iron dishes containing sour milk, sweet milk, and tarasun. He
was performing some function of his office. Just before we
stopped he made a libation, throwing tarasun up, and chanting
a prayer. The Shaman was a very strange person in visage and action.
To a dark, sweating face and bright eyes he added a large
round lump or knob on his nose just under and halfway
between his eyebrows. He swayed gently from side to side as
he chanted and then made a few steps which were short and
spasmodic, a kind of twitching. Soon he halted, made another
libation, chanted again, sprinkled with tarasun and milk the
bushes growing near the house, took a few more spasmodic
steps, and finished.
All I could learn was that these offerings had been made
to drive sickness away.
The Shaman sprinkled my men with tarasun, muttering a
prayer meanwhile, and then he treated them to the liquor
with such liberality that it was only after much delay and great
urging that I at last got them started again.
The passage to the island, which is rather more than a mile,
should be made in good weather, since the lake is very rough at
times, and the boats are far from reliable. Our chance for
safety was good, as in August the weather is excellent, usually.
Two boats, all there are in service, were needed for our com
pany, as we had four horses and two wagons. One of the boats
was at the mainland, the other was returning from the island,
and we waited for it, wishing tp set out together.
The wagons were lifted into the boats. The horses sprang
on board very nimbly, showing that they were accustomed to
this way of traveling. Each boat carried two horses and one
wagon. On my boat there were six rowers, men, women, and
children ; on the other boat there were four. It took thirty-five
minutes to cross.
I felt very curious on approaching the island which the
Buriats call "sacred." On one side of the small bay toward
which we were sailing a lofty cliff juts out boldly. On the
front of that cliff are two immense faces, so distinct that all
people note them. One of these looks at the mountains on the

JOURNEY TO ISLAND OF OLKHON 71
mainland; the other on the water in front of it. One as if
watching the great world outside to see who might come from it
to examine the island and its secrets, the other as if watching
the visitors whom the men ferry across.
I drew attention to the faces and learned that they are called
"The Watchers." There they gaze, watching night and day,
never sleeping; looking, waiting, as waits the great sphynx
near the pyramid of Ghizeh.
We landed without any trouble or adventure, and now I was
on the sacred island of the Baikal. There are no houses near
the landing. The first village is about three miles from the lake.
At that place, which bears the name Nur, young Muravieff
showed his high qualities and quite a comedy was presented.
I had supposed when we started from Kutul that we should
be taken to Sem Sosen (Seven Pines), the chief village of the
island, and the only one where there is a store and a possible
stopping place. Muravieff, knowing that we were all going
there, and that we expected him to take us, made his own plans,
but he hid them from us carefully, until we reached Nur.
There to our surprise he demanded a change of horses, though
we were only a few miles from Seven Pines, our destination.
He drove into the village and stopped in front of the house of
the elder, the official who is obliged to furnish horses if they are
demanded by travelers. The elder's wife, who was quick
enough to see what was wanted, declared that her husband was
off fishing some twenty versts away and that she did not know
when he would return. At that moment he came from an out
house, where he had evidently been sleeping, and thus unwit
tingly gave a lie to her words, but she was not embarrassed in
the least.
As soon as he appeared Muravieff demanded a relay of horses.
The elder had no horses to give. All beasts trained to draw
wagons were far from the village at pasture.
It was the bounden duty of the elder to find us four horses —
they were not to be had, and he could not create them. There
were only two or three miles to the end of the journey, and the
horses we had were well able to make it, but Muravieff very
bluntly refused to drive them farther.

72 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
At last, through his friends, he informed the elder that he would
take us to Sevens Pines for ten rubles. The elder's claim was
less than a ruble ; government allowed him to receive but three
copecks a verst for each horse. He paid the money, however,
and Muravieff drove on.
I told Muravieff what I thought of him, but he only smiled
with satisfaction. He had gained his point and saw no reason
to be ashamed. To him success in any form was a thing to be
proud of.
We arrived at Seven Pines about nightfall. The evening was
warm and pleasant. The first move, of course, was to find
lodgings. There was only one row of buildings in that part of
Seven Pines where the store was. The first of these buildings
was the storekeeper's dwelling, a house with but one large room ;
the second building was his store. This proved to be very small,
and closely packed with groceries and dry-goods. The third was
a shed and could be of no use to me. The fourth belonged to a
Russian who was absent. I went to the fifth house, but the
woman who lived there told me that there were billions of fleas in
her house, and she could not with a clear conscience let any one
try to pass a night in it. She felt obliged to refuse me. My
search for a place in which to spend the night proving fruitless,
I went back to the storekeeper and asked him what I could do.
He suggested that I might sleep in the church, or Molitvenny dom
(the prayer house). I agreed to this, and my things were trans
ferred to the little prayer house.
Vassya and Lazareff were to sleep under the shed, in their
wagon.

House where we Boarded on Olkhon Island. Page 72
The building with the white sign is the Russian store

The Only- Russian Church in Olkhon. Page 73
The author spent three nights in the building

CHAPTER VI
SOJOURN ON THE " SACKED " ISLAND
THE morning following my arrival on Olkhon the golovar
of Kutul, who had accompanied me to the island, returned
to the mainland, after sending for a man whom he said could
tell me much about the religion and customs of the people, and
I was left to the devices of the islanders and others.
The messenger came back alone — the story-teller had gone
to the Angara to fish, and would be away for some weeks. We
were discussing the position when we saw two men riding in
from the direction of the lake, and all called out, "There comes
the story-teller." But instead of the story-teller it was Ilbik
Urbashkin, the starosta of the second division of the Abazai
clan. All the Buriats of Olkhon belong to this clan, but it has
two divisions.
I now sent in various directions for men supposed to know
stories, but when they came they could give me no information
of value.
I had slept two nights on the floor of the little prayer house
when the Russian in charge returned from fishing, and immedi
ately deprived me of a shelter. He was an ignorant, self-sufficient
peasant whom neither kind words, money, nor documents show
ing government protection influenced in the least. He was
angry that the building had been opened to me during his
absence and without his consent. He was in authority, and his
authority had been ignored. It was impossible to reason with
him. He strove to hide the real cause of his anger by repeating
continually, " God's church has been desecrated by being used
as a lodging." I was forced to move out.
I had become acquainted with the people of Seven Pines, and
a young Buriat, who had recently built a one-roomed house,

74 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
said that I could occupy it as long as I remained on the island.
A stove, a couple of chairs, a pine table, and a bedstead were all
the furniture that the room contained. He and his wife were
exceedingly kind people. The woman cleaned the room with
great care, and the man came several times each day to light the
samovar and do what he could to make us comfortable. When
not serving us they were busy in a meadow near by, cutting and
raking grass. It was pleasant to witness their pleasure and
gratitude when at parting I rewarded them for their kindness.
Meanwhile the search for knowledge continued. At last the
starosta of Olkhon assembled a crowd near my cottage and
questioned each man, but no information was to be obtained.
"My father knew much about the old time." "My grandfather
was a very wise man, and could have told you a great deal."
"I had to work when a child, I had no chance to learn the lore
of my people." Such were the answers given.
After a few days of very unsatisfactory work I decided that
it was useless to remain longer on the island. Lazareff was
uneasy, and anxious to go. He had relatives on the mainland,
he said, "who knew all about the Buriats of the old time. They
were more intelligent than the islanders, and would give me
much valuable information." I was aware that Lazareff had
his own interests in view, not mine, but I consented to visit
those wise relatives as I wished to meet as many of the Buriats
as possible. And on August 13 we left Seven Pines.
When we reached the Baikal a sturdy young girl, wearing
pants, boots, a dark shirt and very short skirt, assisted the men
in getting the wagons on to the boat, and was afterward one of
the rowers. Two men and two small boys managed my boat.
When I turned and looked back at the rock faces, I thought
that they had a satisfied expression, as though down in their
rock hearts they were glad that we were leaving their sacred
island. It was evening when, greatly wearied, we reached the first
post station, which after our experience on Olkhon seemed a
very clean and hospitable place. The mistress of the house had
returned and we found her an intelligent, kindly woman. At
noon the following day we were at the "Ragatz" station, where

SOJOURN ON "SACRED" ISLAND 75
we were forced to remain the rest of the day and the night. In
the morning, after traveling a few versts the carriage gave out,
and we stopped at the little village of Kuntin for repairs. The
blacksmith, a good-looking old man, with bushy gray hair, was
an Italian from Udine near Rome. When he heard his mother
tongue once more his eyes lighted with pleasure, and he could
not express his delight at meeting some one who knew his lan
guage and his country. While, he was mending the carriage we
took shelter in the house of a certain Petrof, a Russian who
owned the vodka shop of the village. The old man boiled eggs
and heated the samovar for us, and provided tarasun so liber
ally that I was afraid that we should have to leave Lazareff
in Kuntin. When we returned to the blacksmith shop I
snapped a photograph of our outfit, "en memorium," as the
old Italian said.
We had a splendid run out of Kuntin; dozens of dogs flew
after us, like the wolves after Mazeppa. The horses went at
full speed. It was splendid ! glorious !
At five o'clock that afternoon, during a heavy rain storm, we
reached Kosostep. Seven versts farther on lived Lazareff's
relatives. He urged me to continue the journey that evening,
but I was weary of bad roads and rain. The station was untidy
and miserable. Our supper consisted of bacon and eggs, which
for the sake of cleanliness we cooked for ourselves. Lazareff,
like most of the Buriats, did not eat "pig meat," so bacon was
cut out of his menu. Education had freed Vassya from this
prejudice and had roused in him the desire to live as Russians
live, hence he shared our supper with pleasure.
The Buriats, even those who are rich, live much like American
Indians. There are no regular hours for meals, or any apparent
forethought regarding them. Rye bread and mutton are the
staples. When guests come, or a family gets hungry, a sheep is
killed, skinned, cut up and boiled, and the tough meat is eaten
with great relish. Occasionally a cow or a horse is slaughtered
for food. If all of the meat is not disposed of immediately, it is
dried for future use. Ice, one of the luxuries of modern life, is
unknown, except as the covering of lakes and rivers during
winter months. If an official or some person whom they wish

76 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
to show more than usual respect arrives, hidden-away "Russian
dainties" are brought forward, and a "lunch before dinner" is
served. But this is the reception meal, and will not be repeated.
I was glad to get away from Kosostep early in the morning.
The ride, after the rain of the evening before, was delightful.
On each side of the road were meadows where Russians and
Buriats, both men and women, were busy mowing and turning
grass. The dress of the Buriat woman — pants, boots and a
short loose sacque — is convenient for field work, but it is not
picturesque. A Russian woman of the laboring class wears a
short dark skirt and a bright colored waist, and usually ties a
red or red and yellow kerchief around her head. The hay
fields that clear cool August morning were animated and dotted
here and there with brilliant colors, — a beautiful harvest
picture. With a different climate the rich, black soil of this district
would be exceedingly fertile, but as it is wheat will not grow;
oats, though they ripen, are not good and the only reasonably
sure crop is rye. Grass, however, grows wonderfully well, and
at this season of the year nearly all of the men and women were
busy in the hay-fields. There is no fruit in any part of Siberia
which I have visited. __ The only berries I have seen were blue
berries, and those were cultivated.
On my arrival at Alaguersk-rod, a beautifully situated little
village surrounded by meadows, I found that I was expected.
The Uprava, a building used for government purposes, had been
made ready, and a samovar was boiling. The "writer," or
official translator, and twelve or fifteen Buriats were there to
meet me.
The writer, a- Russian exiled for life, is an educated and in
teresting man. Though only forty-five years of age his face is
deeply lined and he looks worn and sad, for he has suffered
much ; fifteen years of his life exile have already past. Later,
from an official at Irkutsk, I learned that the man had been in
the army, and had been exiled for striking a superior officer.
After drinking tea the work of obtaining information and
stories began. The hay-makers, glad of an excuse to leave the
field, crowded into the uprava, and soon the place was dark with

SOJOURN ON "SACRED" ISLAND 77
the smoke and vile with the odor of bad tobacco. An old man
commenced well, but was interrupted by a young man, who
said that he was not telling the story as he (the young man) had
learned it. Then he tried to tell it himself, but could not; the
old man was angry and the story was left unfinished.
A man from the Trans-Baikal gave me much important
material, but after an hour or so a Buriat from the village, who
had been drinking heavily, interfered, and tried to prevent his
giving a foreigner information regarding the religion of the
country. Only after much uproar and talk and a wearisome
answering of questions, asked to establish my position, was the
enemy silenced by his neighbors and the officials. In the even
ing when the crowd had dispersed and the room had been
cleared the man in charge of refreshments brought us a dish of
beef cut into small bits and boiled — not tempting, but we ate it,
for we were hungry. The next day work went on well for a
couple of hours, then the story-teller informed me that Irkutsk
merchants had sent him to Alaguevsk-rod to hire men to go to
the mouth of the Angara to fish. As he had contracted to have
the men at the river within a week he could not stay with me
longer. I was unable to find another man who could tell me
anything of importance.
Lazareff, tired of his relatives if relatives they were, went back
to Kosostep at once. I remained for the night, for accommo
dations, though poor, were better than at the post station. The
crowd disappeared, only the exile remained. The man was poor,
and his life was one of hardship and anxiety. Later I went with
him to his home and met his wife, a frail woman whom trials and
poverty have greatly disheartened. I promised to speak a good
word for her husband and a few weeks afterward was able to
fulfil my promise in such a way as to make his position some
what easier.
The following morning was so chilly that a fire was needful.
There was delay in starting, and it was noon before we reached
Kosostep, where I found horses waiting, and we were off at once.
At the first station beyond Kosostep we were treated to Siberian
fruit — blueberries — which we ate greedily, though they were
hard and sour. From this station a sturdy young Russian was

78 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
our driver. He whirled us over twenty-nine versts rapidly, rush
ing through Hogotskaya to the post station as fast as the horses
could run. Priestoff, the stanovoi of the town, called imme
diately and invited us to dine with him that evening. This
made a pleasant break in the monotony of Qur return
journey. From Hogotskaya to Baiandai the horses were miserable ; one
side horse especially was contrary, and would not pull. The
driver unharnessed him at last, and hitched him between the
thills, where he was forced to work.
Upon our arrival at Baiandai Lazareff and Vassya learned of
the death of a relative's child, and, though the child was only a
few days old, they made the death an excuse for hastening to
Usturdi. Lazareff had been of little help to me, he had caused
me much vexation and expense, and I was glad to say: "God
speed you."
Baiandai is a curious place. It is a collection of Buriat villages
with one Russian settlement. In this settlement nearly every
man and woman is either an ex-convict or a person exiled for
life. I could have easily gathered many stories there, life trage
dies, vastly interesting for a man who wishes to study all phases
of life, but I was in Siberia to obtain Mongol material, and did
not wander from my task.
Baiandai houses, like most of the houses in Siberia, are un-
painted, except the casings and blinds, which are painted white ;
they get black and old quickly. Many of the buildings have
shattered roofs and look uninhabitable, still they are occupied.
Though a large place, there was but little to eat ; no butter, white
bread, or meat of any kind could be obtained. My bed in this
village, or collection of villages, was made by putting two doors
on two boxes and placing my carriage mattress on those doors.
The Russian secretary of the village was away, but the assist
ant secretary was very kind, and made every effort possible to
find "wise men" for me. He was an exile from Little Russia,
where he had held a government position. Losing in some way
a thousand rubles of government money, he was sent to Siberia
for twelve years, leaving at home a son and a daughter, and a
position which gave him more than a hundred rubles a month.

SOJOURN ON "SACRED" ISLAND 79
He had already lived through eleven years of this exile. What
he will do when the term ends he does not know. His health
is 'broken; evidently exile has been a frightful experience for
him. It is doubtful if work in a mine is worse for an edu
cated and refined man than the monotony and associations of
such a place as Baiandai.
After a time a story-teller came. I paid him and sent him
away, for he knew only fragments of folk-lore; another came
who was not much better, and still others. I remained three
days in Baiandai searching diligently for folk-lore, but I could
find nothing of value.
The man detailed to care for me during my stay was Danilo
of Moscow, a rogue. He was sent to Siberia when nineteen
years of age, under sentence to work in the mines, in chains, for
fifteen years. Seventeen years ago, when he had served out
twelve years of that sentence, he was pardoned. He came to
Baiandai, married, and nine children have been born to him.
His own account of the crime he committed was that at a
festival, when intoxicated, he, with three associates, beat and
killed a man whom they had long hated. He has the appear
ance of being a quiet, inoffensive person, but I found him
tricky and wholly unreliable.
Now a great excitement rose in Baiandai: fifteen hundred
soldiers were on their way from the Yakuts country to join, at
Irkutsk, forces which had been ordered to China. It was re
ported that they were unruly, destroyed property, and did as
they pleased in the villages they passed through. Two hundred
were expected in Baiandai; they must be fed, supplied with
bread, and the population must furnish carts and horses to carry
them to the next station. Officials assembled to keep order.
Five hundred rubles were raised to pay for bread, and every
competent housekeeper was ordered to bake a certain number
of loaves. In this time of unrest I made the acquaintance of
Arkokoff, a rich Buriat, who invited me to visit him, and prom
ised to find men familiar with the folk-lore of the country
August 23, very early in the morning, there was a wonderful
commotion and turmoil. The two hundred soldiers had arrived.
The uproar was made principally by cart-drivers, those who

80 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
had brought the men, and those who were to carry them
away; by Buriats disputing and quarreling, and by dissatisfied
soldiers, who had received mouldy bread when fresh had been
paid for. Some exhibited this bread. I heard one soldier
declare that it was not fit to feed to hens, another said that
pigs would refuse to eat it. The breadmakers defended them
selves, and there was a noisy battle of words. But at last the
soldiers were off, and when the squeaking of the rickety carts
had died away in the distance Baiandai sank back into its
usual apathy.
A few hours later I started for the summer home of the Arko-
koffs, fifteen versts distant. As the road was smooth and level
and the horses were good, we were soon there. Within one im
mense enclosure are three houses built on the Buriat plan, and
one on the Russian, together with sheds and storehouses. The
gate of the high board enclosure was open and we halted in front
of the Russian house out of which came a very old and very
dirty woman and two of the dirtiest men I have ever seen. Ar-
kokoff himself came from one of the Buriat houses. He invited
us into the Russian house, and ordered a samovar. While that
was preparing he spoke of his wealth and position. He had
several thousand head of cattle, four hundred splendid horses,
five hundred sheep, and goats as well; a hundred and thirty
thousand rubles in the Irkutsk bank, many houses, and a great
deal of valuable land. He was a man of influence, for he had
money to loan.
When the samovar was brought the steam from it had such a
terrible odor that it made us ill at pnce. Upon asking what
caused this peculiar odor Arkokoff said that the water they used
was from stored snow, and asked me to go with him and see how
well he had it protected.
Back of the houses was a small building, with a door loosely
hung and always open. Inside of this building was a hole twenty-
five feet deep with steps going down to the bottom. This hole, or
reservoir, was filled in cold weather by shoveling in snow,
stamping it down and packing it as solid as possible. Men in the
reservoir trampled the snow as others threw it in. The well at
this time was about one quarter full. The snow had turned to ice.

Arkokofe, his Wife, Son, and Son's Wife. Page 81
In background a Buriat official

Lazareff and his Relatives. Page 60
Lazareff stands at the end dressed in white. Vassya stands in the centre

SOJOURN ON "SACRED" ISLAND 81
and there was water over the surface. This water was of the color
of tea and was full of dirt. A man brought up a bucketful for my
inspection. The odor was nearly as bad as from the steam of the
samovar. On looking around outside I saw that the houses and the cattle-
yards were on higher ground than the reservoir, and in such a
position that the well was to a certain degree a drain.
I decided to leave at once if this was the only water supply.
But when I said that I had never used snow water, and thought
that undoubtedly it would make me ill, Arkokoff sent men to a
small river, quite a distance away, to bring water for my tea.
I now made the acquaintance of Mrs. Arkokoff, a short, fleshy,
determined-looking woman about sixty-five years of age. She
wore a double-breasted Canton silk coat, blue pants tucked into
the tops of long-legged boots, and a pair of new, heavy rubbers —
Buriat women think that the gloss of new rubbers gives a dressed-
up appearance, and they wear them over their boots in the driest
and hottest weather — On her head was a round felt cap, and over
her shoulders a bright kerchief, knotted in front. She could
speak only Buriat, hence my conversation with her was some
what limited, but I saw that she ruled every one, with the possible
exception of her husband. Later on, in Usturdi, I learned that a
few years earlier Arkokoff had married a young woman and
taken her to his home. Though among the Buriats it is not un
usual to have two wives at the same time, Mrs. Arkokoff No. 1
was very angry, and young Mrs. Arkokoff did not live long.
The old man had a curious collection of people around him.
In the kitchen of the house in which I was given a room was a
queer-looking woman, a Russian, the widow of an exile. Her
sole occupation was making rye bread, and though she com
plained bitterly of Arkokoff as a miser, who would not pay his
help, and when they revolted would say: "Go and sue me; I
have money, you have none. See how you will come out," she
had labored for him twenty-four years, for three rubles (about a
dollar and a half) a month. Near the oven in her untidy kitchen
stood a tub of rye flour and a tub of yeast. On a bench, not far
from the flour tub, slept, during the day, the night-watch, a man
who had served out a sentence for murder. He was tall, lank,
6

82 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
and always barefooted; his face unwashed and beard and hair
unkempt, a wretched specimen of mankind, mentally unbalanced.
He had been a servant in the Arkokoff family for twenty years.
I was invited to visit the Buriat houses in the enclosure, three
in number. In the first lived the old man and his wife ; in the
second their son and his wife; in the third the widow of their
elder son, and her four children, one boy and three girls,
whose dress — pants, loose shirts, long-legged boots, and caps
with visors — made them look precisely like boys. Near the
widow's house was a long wagon shed in which were ten or twelve
large barrels, each three-fourths full of curd left after distilling
tarasun. This curd is given as food to the shepherds, herders,
and other laborers. Arkokoff said that it was excellent. The
barrels are never covered. When the curd dries and hardens it
cracks, as does mud under the heat of the sun. Dust fills the
cracks and covers the top. Fresh curd is put in each time that
tarasun is made. Curd dried in this way lasts for years. When
needed a chunk of the vile stuff is chopped out and cooked with
rye flour. Tarasun is distilled almost daily, but fresh curd is
seldom eaten. For economy's sake they use the dried. The dust
comes from the horse, cattle, and sheep yards near by.
In the Buriat country nearly all the milk from horses and cows
is made into tarasun. The Arkokoffs make a great quantity of
this liquor, but they also make butter of which the master of the
place is very proud. A large panful was brought for my inspec
tion. I noticed that it was covered with specks. I asked to have
a section cut out ; this was done, and I found that the butter was
permeated with fine dust.
A dish of soup, a piece of roast mutton, and some rye bread
were brought for our supper, but I did not enjoy it, for the mutton
was very tough, and I had seen the breadmaker.
The only possible place for us to sleep in this rich man's house
was on the floor of the room which had been given me in the Rus
sian house. The family slept on benches in the Buriat houses.
My mattress was brought from the carriage and spread on the
floor. The door into the kitchen where the old Russian woman
slept, and where the night-watch, the ex-convict, came and went
while on duty, could not be locked. Of course I had money with

SOJOURN ON "SACRED" ISLAND 83
me sufficient to meet traveling expenses and pay men. But I
was too weary to borrow trouble, and slept in spite of everything.
Next day story-tellers came and went. Many men crowded
into the room to listen, and were a great drawback and annoy
ance. I got one fine folk-tale, and sent twenty versts for a man
who had the reputation of knowing a good deal. He came, but
declared that he knew nothing about the old time. Arkokoff in
sisted that he did, but neither urging nor money availed. I paid
him for his lost time and he went home. Another man came ; as
it was late in the evening he said he would stay and begin work
in the morning. In the morning, although I was up at daylight,
he had disappeared. At noon an old man arrived, who told one
good folk-tale, then his memory failed, and another man took his
place. During these hours of waiting and annoyance tea acted
as a wonderful sedative. It was fortunate that I had plenty of
Russian tea with me, and also rusks, for in Arkokoff's house the
only meal during the day is a dish of mutton and a loaf of rye
bread, some time between four o'clock in the afternoon and nine
in the evening. The family lives mainly on rye bread and tara
sun. I had seen the rye bread made and could not eat it, but I
derived great pleasure from feeding it to an old, lame, sore-backed
dog. My translator was a Russian in the employ of Arkokoff. I
paid Arkokoff more each day for the loss of the man's labor than
he paid him for a week's work. I also paid the man in the same
proportion. The third day I had no better luck with story-tellers than the
second day. My rusks were gone, and at four o'clock I ordered
the horses, which a tall Buriat had had in waiting for two days,
and in half an hour we were on the road to Olzoni.
Though I was weary and hungry and had paid exorbitantly
for my experience, I was well satisfied, for I had spent three days
in a typical Mongol family. Arkokoff professes to be greatly
devoted to the old religion ; perhaps he is. One thing is certain,
he is tremendously devoted to making and hoarding money
and drinking tarasun.
The Olzoni station was commodious and clean. I should
have spent several days there had it been possible to find folk
tales. Trembovski, the Polish merchant, came to welcome me

84 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
and assist me in getting stories. I had brought Arkokoff's man
to aid me, having paid Arkokoff in advance for the time I ex
pected to keep him. But as soon as we reached the village he
began drinking and after that I was not sure of him for even half
an hour at a time.
In spite of worry and vexation, I remained four days in Olzoni.
Then, taking my drunken servant, for fear that I should not get a
better one, I started for Upper Kudinsk.
The country we passed through was uncultivated though the
soil was rich. I have noticed that there are many wild flowers
in Siberia and that they are usually of a purple tint. Daisies of a
lavender shade grow everywhere.
At Upper Kudinsk the "People's Quarters" is in an open field
half a mile from the village. The house is surrounded by a very
high fence. The guest room is small, the bed simply a wooden
bench upon which one is expected to put his carriage mattress.
The window-sills were packed with tall plants which kept the
light out and made the air bad. The official in charge, a Buriat,
was very obliging and sent off immediately for "wise men."
Next morning my translator was wonderfully and fearfully
drunk. Fortunately I now understood the language so well that
I could dispense with his services. A man came who knew folk
tales, and he gave me much valuable information. In the after
noon a middle-aged, blue-spectacled man appeared, and stated
that he would tell me "all about the Buriat religion." With him
was the son of a Shaman, a bright, intelligent fellow. The mid
dle-aged man, whose name was Kongoroff, was the son-in-law of
Arkokoff. He had turned away from the religion of his fore
fathers, and was perfectly willing to show me his abandoned
gods and tell me about them. I was glad to meet such a man.
That evening there was a good supper, the first enjoyable
meal I had had for more than two months : beefsteak and baked
potatoes, such potatoes as I had not seen since leaving London,
and they were grown in a garden near the house, there in the
Buriat country, where I had frequently heard it stated that no
vegetable would grow.
But if we had a good supper we had a miserable bed, and a
wonderful experience with cockroaches. The moment daylight

Kongoroff and his Wife. Page 85
The other persons of the group are neighbors who crowded around
to listen to Kongoroff. K. sits at the end of the
picture near his wife, who is standing

Andrei Mihailovitch, Mikiloff and his Young Wife
At Right, Vassya. Page 28

SOJOURN ON "SACRED" ISLAND 85
disappeared they came from their hiding-places and raced every
where, up the walls, down the walls, on the table, floor, stove,
bed, and baskets. Only once before in my life had I seen so
many. That was in Guatemala, where in my sleeping-room they
ate everything available; ate even the films off photographic
plates which I had set up on a shelf to dry. These Buriat cock
roaches were very aggressive, when I tried to sleep I found it
beyond the possible. Toward morning I surrendered, dressed,
and went out on to the porch. There I found a Jew tailor whose
home was in Lodz, Poland. He had been exiled for eleven
years, for smuggling, but at that time had only one year longer to
serve. He was a peculiar-looking man with curly hair, white,
except at the back of the neck, where it was jet black, which gave
him a remarkably odd appearance. He had no friendship for the
Buriats, whom he said the excessive use of tarasun was destroy
ing as a people. As he spoke German he could converse freely
without fear of being overheard, and we had a long talk, mainly
about the country and the Buriats.
In the morning, as soon as I could get horses, I started for
Kongoroff's. The ride of fifteen versts would have been pleasant
but for the horses and the driver. The first were wretched, pitiful ;
the second was inhuman. The land was rolling and the road
heavy, the horses lean and underfed. I was afraid they would
give out, but urge or threaten as I might I could not make the
heartless driver rest them.
Kongoroff's place was disappointing. The house was so badly
kept as to make tea and lunch undesirable. A German from
Riga, as he himself declared, came in and began talking rather
rapidly. Kongoroff had him turned out soon, and quite rudely, I
thought, excusing the act by saying that the man had been
drinking. Later he appeared a second time, but was sent off
promptly. It seemed much as though Kongoroff, who did not
understand German, feared that the man might make some com
plaint. When I was going the exile came to the carriage, shook
hands with me, and said in German, "God sees everything."
Kongoroff brought his Ongons, took them from the boxes, and
nailed them to the side of the house to be photographed. They
were much like those shown to me by Andrei Mihailovitch,

86 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Kongoroff told me their names and attributes. The visit was not
very pleasant, and though I obtained a few important facts, I
was glad to get away from the place.
Another night-conflict with cockroaches and I was off for
Usturdi, accompanied by Zabailenski, the translator, who had
made good promises. The trip was delightful. There was just
the right temperature and the proper breeze. It was a beautiful
day ! I had been away one month.
I was anxious to go to Irkutsk, but was determined to get the
rest of Manshut's folk-tales before going. I sent for him imme
diately. My messenger soon returned with word that Manshut
was sick. I did not credit this, so I got an order from the chief
of the village for the old man to come to the uprava. The man
who carried the order was gone an entire day. When at last he
came he brought the same message as the first man : Manshut
was sick. I did not know what to do. There had been a festival,
and nearly all the men in the village were intoxicated. I tried
hard to keep Zabailenski from bad company, but toward evening
of the first day he disappeared. Andrei Mihailovitch was also
drinking heavily. Vassya was about the only man in Usturdi
who was not to some degree intoxicated.

CHAPTER VII
A BIRTHDAY EST SIBERIA
ON September 6, my birthday, I hired a troika for four rubles
and a half and set out to bring in Manshut, dead or alive.
The day was beautiful, the air clear, sweet; the sun shone
brightly, and there was a breeze just strong enough to give tone
to the atmosphere.
The troika moved not too quickly, but still briskly over the
country, which was slightly rolling. The road was excellent, and
soon we were abreast of the Hill of Sacrifice, then beyond it.
Manshut's village was said to be twenty versts from Usturdi, but
it was a short twenty versts. At last we came in sight of several
villages, one not far from the other. At the first I inquired for the
house of Manshut's employer, and found it by driving through
what seemed to me a series of unfenced cattle-yards. In front of
the house were half a dozen stolid, stupid women, one of whom
was the employer's wife. She gave no information except that
her husband was away, and Manshut, who was not at work, was
somewhere with friends. Just at that juncture the worst-looking
man I have ever seen ran up from somewhere around a corner.
His red face was decorated with a nose which was an immense
lumpy knob, red as blood. He was terribly repulsive, ragged
and dirty beyond description, a man who had drunk barrels
and barrels of tarasun.
"I will show you where Manshut's house is," said he. The
driver made room for him, and we went, at his direction, toward
the end of the village where there were several tumble down
houses. My guide said that Manshut lived with his mother in the second
house, but we found that he lived in the first house, not with his
mother, but with an old, weird, witch-like creature, who was at

88 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
the second house sitting on the ground outside with three other
very old women. When I asked where Manshut was she did not
answer, but got up and going to her own house sat down by the
door. Then an unsatisfactory conversation began ; one story was
that Manshut was visiting somewhere in the neighborhood,
another, that he was off cutting grass. I thought that he might
be hiding, so I gave the woman some money and she let me go
into the house and look around. He was not there.
Meanwhile, the knob-nosed man, with fifty copecks in hand
and a promise of more, had gone off to hunt Manshut up. See
ing the man start away the old woman laughed, and said, "Red-
nose is a terrible drunkard ; you will not see him again."
I decided to go back to the employer's house. On the way I
met a Russian-Buriat, who had seen me with Andrei Milhailo-
vitch at the Horse Sacrifice. He was drunk, but gave me more
information than I had been able to get hitherto. He said that
Manshut's employer had a great deal of grass to cut, and would
not let the old man go to Usturdi. He offered to go to the hayfield
with me, if I wished. The driver objected to this. He said that
the place was across the river, and more than a verst away; his
horses were too tired for the trip. I sent for other horses. Then
he did not want his wagon to cross the river. At last, very reluc
tantly, with an increase of pay, he decided to go to the hayfield.
The drunken man took his seat by the driver, and we were off.
After driving about half a mile we halted in front of a small
house built on the Russian plan. I inquired why we were
stopping. "To get a drink," answered my guide. "It is hot; I
am terribly dry."
The small house was a dram shop ; fortunately it was closed.
When he rapped heavily on the door two children came to a
broken window, but they refused to let him in; their mother,
who was at work in a field quite a distance away, had told them
"not to unfasten the door for any one." The man insisted,
offered them money, scolded, but they would not disobey. I
told him that I was in a hurry and could not wait ; that it was
almost night. At last, when my patience was nearly gone, he
took his seat and we started.
Just at that moment some one who was running across the

Manshut. Page 87

Buriat' Young Ladv, Island oi
Olkhon. Page 74.

A BIRTHDAY IN SIBERIA 89
field hailed us. It was our knob-nosed friend, who when near
enough called out,
"I have found Manshut !"
We turned back at once. The man had somewhere pro
cured a bottle of tarasun. A Shaman came up and a drinking
bout began. The bottle was emptied quickly and with great
gusto. I was afraid that the driver would get intoxicated;
but accustomed to tarasun it had no visible effect.
The knob-nosed man and the Shaman stood up on the back
of the wagon and we drove on. Just outside the old witch's
house we came upon Manshut. He was ragged and dirty, and
had an old handkerchief tied around his head.
Without waiting for words I greeted him, and said: "Get
up by the driver. It will be night soon, we must be off imme
diately ! " He took his seat, not hesitating for a moment, and
we started.
Usturdi seemed far away that September evening, for the
horses were tired, and the air was chilly. It was nine o'clock
when we reached the village. It had been a holiday and of
course the Buriats had feasted on tarasun ; the effects of it were
evident everywhere. With great effort we succeeded in getting
a samovar and a few pieces of rye bread. It had been a strange
birthday; but I was content. I had fought a battle and won
a victory. Manshut told folk-tales for four days, and his work was
very satisfactory; nevertheless they were hard days, for my
provisions were gone, except tea. No matter how large a
Buriat village may be there is never a meat market. Occa
sionally at the little grocery shops one can buy bacon, kept for
Russian customers, but it is of a very poor quality. At this
time Usturdi lacked even bacon.
In a Buriat house, as I have stated, there is but one meal in
twenty-four hours; tough mutton, rye bread, and tarasun.
This meal is eaten without ceremony. Plates and knives and
forks are placed on a table which usually has an oilcloth cover,
a dish of mutton and a plate of rye bread are brought, and
each person serves himself. Tea is used in the morning. The
poorer classes drink what is called "block tea," the odor of

90 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
which is very disagreeable. The well-to-do drink ordinary
Russian tea. I am sure that the constant use of tobacco de
stroys their desire for food, for the rich live as badly as do the
poor. Buriats smoke almost continually, using a pipe with a large
bowl and long stem. I have seen children five years of age
smoking. Young girls seem more addicted to smoking than
boys are, if possible. They are dissipated in every way. It is
only after marriage that morality is expected, and then it is
strictly enforced.
To the large majority of Buriats Russian is an unknown
language. It is difficult to find a man able to carry on an or
dinary conversation. Buriat women make no effort whatever
to learn Russian. There are no Buriat schools.
I was rejoiced when I had on paper all that Manshut could
tell me, for he was so unkempt as to be exceedingly repulsive.
I recompensed him well for his time, and his knowledge of
ancient tales, and he went away satisfied. Zabailenski was
happy also, for I did not count out the days that he had been
so intoxicated as to be useless.
We left Usturdi September 13. I was glad to go from the
Buriat country, where, though I had gained considerable
knowledge, we had endured many hardships.
Seven versts beyond the first station I passed through Iyok,
a town of about four thousand ex-convicts, Poles, Jews, Rus
sians, and Tartars, mainly peasants. It is a town with one
immensely long street of unpainted houses and fences, all in a
more or less tumbled down condition. When we reached Kuda,
(Where), it was already dusk and we remained for the night,
not only because it was difficult to get horses, but because I
thought it unsafe to travel in the night time, as within two or
three years there had been several murders at this end of the
route. At the Zemski quarters I found the ispravnik * of Vernolensk,
an uncultured, stupid man. He was on his way to Irkutsk.
His wife and aunt had met him at Kuda, and he and they
occupied the guest room with trunks and bags which should
1 Captain of police.

A BIRTHDAY IN SIBERIA 91
have been left outside. This was vexatious, but I had an
opportunity to study the real character of the man. He would
have been officious and guarded had he known that I was travel
ing under government protection.
The woman in charge of the house gave me a small room
where I tried to sleep on a huge box which occupied a good
part of the chamber. But at midnight a party of young officers
arrived with the governor-general's order for horses. When
horses were not to be had there were high words and disputes.
They had been ordered to Iyok to make arrangements for
quartering a regiment of soldiers there for the winter. As they
would not wait for station horses private horses were found,
and they continued their journey, much to my satisfaction.
Next morning we were on the road at an early hour, carrying
with us the house mistress' blessing, who said, as we parted,
"If you never pass this way again I hope to meet you in that
other world."
It was a cold and rainy day, and our driver informed us
that thereafter there would be "little heat and much cold."
That evening I dined with the governor of Irkutsk, and went
with him to the opera. In this quick change from life among
the Buriats to the refinements of civilized life in the capital of
Siberia, I experienced the striking results of some centuries of
social evolution, — an evolution which through its effects upon
humanity enables the man of cities to step back in a moment
and with no mental effort from the wild, free life of fancy to
the prescribed surroundings of material facts.
Thus did I leave the heroes of the past, who fought so bravely
with the many-headed Mangathais, and return to the no less
valiant men of the present who, struggling with the evil forces
of indifference and ignorance, are bringing to Siberia the pros
perity that country so well deserves to call her own.

CHAPTER VIII
CUSTOMS OF THE BURIATS
THE MAKING OF TARASUN
THE most important work in a Buriat house and of a Bu
riat woman is to keep the milk barrels full, and to distil
the milk into tarasun, a liquor looking like alcohol or pure
water. When the milk is sour enough for the watery part to
separate from the curd it is ready to distil. As much milk as
is desired is taken out of the barrel and put in a large iron pot,
then the pot is sealed up with a heavy paste made of mud and
cow manure, and is placed over a slow fire burning on the
ground in the center of the Buriat house.
From the pot a pipe runs into a tub which stands four feet
or so away. From the end of this pipe drips out the tarasun.
If strong tarasun is desired the first is redistilled. The strong
est is made by distilling the liquor three times.
I should judge that the milk barrels in a Buriat house are
never empty, for they look as if they had not been washed for
years. In some of the houses two or three barrels of sour milk stand
in the room where the family lives. But, when there is a large
herd of cows, and many people to be supplied with tarasun,
the barrels are kept under a shed near the house. These barrels
are left uncovered, consequently the milk is permeated with
dust. The "arsa," or substance left in the pot after the liquor is
distilled, is stored in barrels. It hardens and is mixed with
rye flour and cooked for laborers. Arsa, becomes so solid that
an axe is used in getting it out of the barrel. These barrels are
also left uncovered in a shed or outhouse.

CUSTOMS OF THE BURIATS 93
Buriats keep many cows, but nearly all the milk is made into
tarasun; there is no cheese made, and very little butter. What
butter is made is wholly unfit for use.

MARRIAGE CEREMONIES
When a young boy and girl take a fancy to each other their
parents, if in favor of the marriage, begin the regular negotia
tions through matchmakers, or one father may say to the other,
"You have a daughter and I have a son, let us become relatives."
This agreement made, the matchmakers' work begins.
The matchmakers, usually, if not always, elderly women,
go to the father of the girl with the proposal from the father of
the boy. The girl's father will entertain this formal proposal,
or, if he has changed his mind, will definitely refuse it. In the
former case he will receive another visit. This time five or six
persons come. They enter the eight-sided yurta, and the two
matchmakers sit down opposite the door; with them are men
whose business it is to decide upon the sum to be paid. The
father must always get "kalym" — the price of the girl. Now
begins bargaining, one side asking a big price, and the other
offering little. This is often a mere formality, for many times
the question has been decided in advance. The girl's father
reduces the price somewhat, the boy's father offers a trifle more,
until finally they reach an agreement as to the amount.
This kalym is almost always paid in horses, cows, sheep,
grain — anything of value among the Buriats; the amount
varies from three to seven hundred rubles, according to the
wealth of the two families. A day is appointed for the next
visit, and the matchmakers and their assistants go home.
On the day appointed a large company goes to the girl's
home. They sit on the ground, talk, and drink tarasun. Then
dancing begins in front of the house. Sheep are killed, and if
the father is rich he kills a horse also. The meat is cooked,
and the crowd feasts. Only friends, relatives, and neighbors
are present ; neither the girl nor boy attends the ceremonies of
this first day.
The second day of the marriage ceremony, which may be

94 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
some weeks later, the bridegroom comes early in the morning
to the bride's father, bringing provisions. If he is wealthy he
has a horse killed and gives the head of the beast to his
father-in-law. The ribs are cut out and given to those of the
wedding guests who are most distinguished. All of the meat is
cooked, then the best parts are distributed among the people
present. Tarasun is dealt out in abundance. There is dancing
and feasting. This entertainment takes place in the open air.
Chairs and tables are unnecessary ; every one sits on the ground
to eat.
The third day the groom is at his father's. The house where
the young couple are to live is made ready. In the room is a
bed, and near the bed is fixed a place where the bride is to sit.
Meanwhile she is at home. AH at once a small party on horse
back is seen in the distance approaching on the keen run. They
halt in front of the door, enter, seize the girl, put her on a horse,
and race away to the new home. There she is swept off the
horse, taken into the house, and seated by the bed, where she
remains with a handkerchief over her face. The groom is
around everywhere, but does not approach to greet her. A
table is placed near the bride and the Ongons or household
divinities are put on it. Four of the bride's friends now inform
the groom that the bride is there. He approaches, she rises and
takes his hand, then three old men, of family and importance,
appear. The bride and groom bow to the Ongons and are then
led around the table three times by the three old men, who ask
of the Ongons that the newly married may be prosperous, gain
much wealth, and have many children to begin a new line.
After this ceremony the bride returns to her father's house.
On the fourth day of the marriage ceremony the bride again
goes to the new house (or yurta), puts on a mask and bows
before the Ongons. There is a fire made on the ground in the
center of the yurta ; she bows to this fire, and throws a piece of
butter into it; then she takes a piece of fat mutton, perhaps
a pound or two pounds, cuts it into bits, rolls it into a lump and
throws it into the hands of her father-in-law; in this way she
assures him that she will be bountiful and kind to him. The
ceremony over, the bride sits down near the milk barrel, which

CUSTOMS OF THE BURIATS 95
always stands at the northwest corner of the fire. Taking her
place at the milk barrel concludes the marriage ceremony, for
this denotes that she takes formal possession of the milk of the
house. Thereafter she is mistress of the milk, and everybody
must go to her for it. It is her business to make, or to cause to
be made, the tarasun.
In Balagausk, where another branch of the Buriats lives,
the marriage ceremony differs slightly. On the day that the
bride is first taken to the home of the groom, a man, taking
with him a large arrow, goes ahead of the party having the bride
in charge. When he arrives at the new home he sticks the arrow
into a pillar in front of the house, and calls out that the bride's
party is coming. When they are within a short distance of the
house a man appointed for the purpose throws the meat of
the second joint of an animal — a cow, sheep, or horse — to the
boys of the village who are waiting to catch it. The bride
leaves her father's house either on horseback or in a wagon,
but always approaches her new home on horseback. She rides
up at full gallop, is swept from the horse, and conducted with
covered head and face to the bed, where she sits down on the
chair placed there for her. The more speed with which this is
accomplished the greater the good luck of the bride will be.
The horse she rides is ornamented with a bell. The bell is
removed, rung, and hung on the western post near the door.
The day following the last day of the ceremony the women of
the ulus, or village, come to visit the bride. She must meet them
with cap and handkerchief on. She must not call certain per
sons by their names, but always by the relationship. When they
come to the house they cough outside the door; this is done
simply for fun and to confuse the bride.
On the second day of the marriage ceremony the bride sits
in the house and begins to cry, and some of her girl friends
come and cry with her. Then she lies down on the bed with
her most intimate friend. They take each a tress of their hair
and sew it to the other's shoulder. Then they clasp each other
firmly, friends come in, girls and boys, and try to pull them
apart, to tear one from the other; there is laughter and scream
ing. This ceremony is to show that after marriage the young

96 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
woman will be true to the friends of her girlhood. If a bride
is enceinte she is not permitted to bow down to the Ongons.
Such an act would bring misfortune to the whole community.
CEREMONIES AFTER THE BIRTH OF A CHILD
Just before the birth of a child a "receiving mother," or mid
wife, is summoned. As soon as the child comes into the world
the father takes a broad arrow-head and cuts the umbilical cord.
The infant is then washed in warm water, wrapped in a lamb
skin, and put into its father's fur coat. The friends and neigh
bors assemble, and an animal, either a cow or sheep, is killed
and the meat cooked. Then a man accustomed to perform
such ceremonies makes libations of the meat and of tarasun,
in this way sending it greatly multiplied to the gods, asking,
meanwhile, that the master of the house may be blessed with
many children and an increase of flocks.
From the animal they have killed is reserved the leg bone
below the knee; this they boil. On the second day the meat
is cut from the bone, and the bone is tied to the outside of the
child's cradle, on the right-hand side. If the baby is a boy, a
boy stands by the cradle ready to answer questions and to give
the child a name. If it is a girl, a girl stands by the cradle.
We will suppose the child to be a boy. The receiving mother
holds the infant in her arms in front of the cradle and asks,
"Which are we to rock, the child or the bone?" She asks the
question three times, then the boy answers, "The child!"
Then she asks three times, "Shall we rock up or down?" the
boy answers, "Up!"
The baby is put into the cradle and tied in, then the receiv
ing mother asks, "What is the name of the child?" and the
boy repeats the name which the parents have selected.
The third day, if the father is well-to-do, a second animal is
killed; this one is divided among the most distinguished peo
ple of the village, those who have not been present at the cere
monies attending the birth and the naming of the child.
On the third day the tomta (placenta) is buried. Two planks
are removed from the floor near the mother's bed, a hole is dug

CUSTOMS OF THE BURIATS 97
in the ground, and dry juniper is burned near it. The tomta is
put into the hole, covered up, and the planks are replaced.
Then the mother is purified. Only women are present during
this ceremony.
The tomta has a sacred significance among the Buriats. If
you ask a Buriat where he was born, he will answer, "My tomta
is buried in that house;" or will say, in such or such a village
"is the house where my tomta is buried."
The Buriats beyond the Baikal, when questioned about the
origin of their people, will answer, " Our tomta is on the western
side of the Baikal." They make libations to it. In this case
the tomta is that of the recognized ancestor of all the Buriats.
When they are making libations they sprinkle tarasun to the
gods, naming them all, then to their ancestors, and finally to
their tomta. ORIGIN OF THE BURIATS
An account of the origin of the childbirth ceremonies as told me at Usturdi by
two very old men.
Buhan Khan lived at Haugin Dalai, not far from the sea.
He was a bull in the daytime, but always turned himself into
a man at night. Not very far off, but on the west of the sea,
lived Khunshai Khan, who had a beautiful daughter. One
night Buhan Khan saw Khunshai's daughter and fell in love
with her. After a time a son was born to them. When the
child was placed in its cradle Buhan Khan stole it away, tied
it firmly to the cradle, carried it to the edge of the sea, and with
his hoofs dug a hole in the earth, and there buried the child and
the cradle.
A Shaman named Usihun and his wife Asihan lived by the
sea. They saw Buhan Khan digging the hole, and when he had
gone they went immediately to find out what he had buried
there. They found the cradle and took it home, but so tightly
had Buhan Khan hooped it around that work as they might
they could not open it. Then Usihun began "to shaman" and
to ask how the cradle was to be opened. He was answered by
Buga Noyon Babai, the god to whom he made libations. "Fasten

98 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
the right leg bone (below the knee) of a two-year-old bull on the
right side of the cradle," said the god, "and place a sharp knife
by the cradle, then ask, 'How is it, shall we rock the bone or the
infant?' A child must answer, 'The infant.' 'Shall it be head
down or up?' 'Up.'" When the Shaman did as Buga Noyon
directed, the hoops snapped and the cords untied, and there in
the cradle was a beautiful child. Usihun and his wife reared
the boy and named him Bulugat. When four or five years old
Bulugat became very fond of playing by the sea. After a while
he began to get up and slip away in the night-time. The Sha
man's wife wondered where the child went; then she followed,
and saw that two children, a boy and a girl, came out of the
sea and played with him.
The Shaman and his wife were very curious to know what
kind of children they were, so one evening they set out milk and
tarasun and told Bulugat to give it to his playmates. The
boy and girl came out of the sea, played till tired, then they
drank the milk and the tarasun, and straightway fell asleep.
The Shaman came from the reeds where he had been hiding
and caught the boy, but the girl slipped away, turned to a seal,
and sprang into the sea.
The Shaman named the boy from the sea Uhurut, and he
and Bulugat, son of the bull, grew up together. All the Buriats
west of the Baikal are descended from Bulugat, and all the
Vepholensk Buriats are descended from Uhurut.
ANOTHER VERSION OF THE ORIGIN OF THE
TRANS-BAIKAL BURIATS
A hunter one day when out shooting birds saw three beauti
ful swans flying toward a lake not far distant. He followed
the swans, saw them come down by the water, take off their
feathers, become women, and swim out from shore.
These three swans were the three daughters of Esege Malan.
The hunter stole the feathers of one of the swans, and when
she came from the water she could not fly away with her sisters.
He caught the maiden, took her home, and made her his wife.
Six children had been born to them when one day the daughter of

CUSTOMS OF THE BURIATS 99
Esege Malan distilled strong tarasun, and after her husband
had drank much she asked for her feathers, and he gave them
to her. That moment she turned to a swan and flew up through
the smoke-hole. One of her daughters, who was mending the
tarasun still, tried to catch her and keep her from flying away,
but only caught at her legs, which the girl's dirty hands made
black. That is why swans, a sacred bird among the Buriats,
have black legs.
The mother circled around, came back within speaking dis
tance of her daughter, and said, "Alway at the time of the new
moon you will pour out to me mare's milk and tea, and scatter
red tobacco."
From this swan, the daughter of Esege Malan, came all the
Trans-Baikal Buriats. SICKNESS
In case of sickness a Shaman is sent for at once. To discover
the cause of the illness he burns the shoulder-blade of a sheep
until it is white, then by the cracks in the bone he learns what
the sick person has done to anger this or that Burkan. When
he has thus found out which Burkan has caused the sickness
he knows by experience what sacrifice must be made to appease
him. If the illness is slight, an offering of tarasun may be suffi
cient; but in case of serious sickness, besides the offering of
tarasun, an animal must be sacrificed.
Many of the Burkans are very exacting about what is offered
to them, others are indifferent. To some the offering must be a
black ram, to others a white ram ; to some a white goat, to others
a black goat; and there are Burkans who cannot be appeased
without the sacrifice of a bull or a horse.
The Shaman kills the animal by making an incision in the
breast and pulling out the heart. The body of the animal is
disjointed at the neck and at the knees, the skin removed, ex
cept from the legs and head, and the body carried away to be
boiled. Then a long pole is driven into the ground and the
skin of the animal is fastened to the top of it, the head facing
the mountain, hill, or place where the Burkan who has caused

100 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
the sickness is supposed to have his home. The pole leans
slightly toward that same mountain.
The flesh of the animal is cut up and cooked, and bits of it
offered to the Burkan, either thrown into the air or burned, the
rest is eaten by the family and those who assist at the sacrifice.
Tarasun is used freely at such times. During the ceremony the
Shaman mumbles mysterious words and prayers.
There is a second way of offering the sacrifice. The liver, gall,
and intestines are burned, the bones of the animal are broken
into small pieces, and together with the pleura put into a bag
and placed on a pole, where the bag remains until it rots and
falls. If the patient has pain in any particular part of his body the
Shaman puts spittle on it and prays to the Burkan who has
caused the pain; sometimes he touches the man's tongue with
a red-hot iron, or he pours hot water over his body, and though
the water is very hot it feels cold.
If after the first sacrifice the sick person does not recover, a
second is made, and perhaps a third. The Shaman does not get
discouraged, but continues his efforts until his patient recovers
or dies. In former times he was paid very little for his labor, —
whatever the family thought proper, — but at present the re
ward is sufficiently large.
The light Burkans, as well as the dark, can cause sickness.
Sickness sent by a light Burkan is usually in punishment for
the taking of an oath (to swear by the name of a Burkan is an
oath) ; or for the killing of a sacred bird, which is a great sin,
and if the man is not punished for the sin his children will be.
Berkut, the white-headed eagle, is a sacred bird. Ejin, the
god of Olkhon, the sacred island of Lake Baikal, had no chil
dren; so he created the white-headed eagle and called him his
son, adopted him. Ejin himself is the son of the Fiery Heaven,
and is called Uta Sagan Noyon (High White Prince). He is
counted a brother of Dalai Lama, who is also a son of the Fiery
Heaven (Galta Tengeri Xubun) (Fiery Heaven son). The
swan is a sacred bird. Vultures are not sacred, but they are
often sent by the Burkans to locate persons whom they are
about to punish.

The Owner or the Land is Sick ; a Ram
has heen Sacrificed with Due
Ceremony. Page 0!)

Bones of the Ram. Page 100
They will remain until the bundles rot and fall

CUSTOMS OF THE BURIATS 101
No one is permitted to kill a white-headed eagle. If an eagle
alights on a sheep or lamb and scratches it, the owner kills the
animal immediately.
The Buriats do not sacrifice to the eagle, but to its ancestors
"the ancients of eagles." In some cases those ancestors are
represented as people, in others as birds.
RITES ATTENDING THE BURNING OF THE DEAD
The Buriats usually burn their dead ; occasionally, however,
there is what they call a "Russian burial," that is, the body is
placed in a coffin and the coffin is put in the ground.
But generally if a man dies in the autumn or the winter his
body is placed on a sled and drawn by the horse which he valued
most to some secluded place in the forest. There a sort of house
is built of fallen trees and boughs, the body is placed inside the
house, and the building is then surrounded with two or three
walls of logs so that no wolf or other animal can get into it.
The horse which drew the body to the forest is led away a
short distance and killed by being struck on the head with an
axe, then it is left for wolves to devour.
If the man was so poor as not to have a horse, but had a cow,
the cow is sold and a horse bought to take the body to the
forest. If so poor that a horse cannot be purchased, the body is
carried on a stretcher.
If other persons die during the winter their bodies are carried
to the same house. In this lonely, silent place in the forest they
rest through the days and nights until the first cuckoo calls,
about the ninth of May. Then relatives and friends assemble,
and without opening the house burn it to the ground. Persons
who die afterward and during the summer months are carried
to the forest, placed on a funeral pile, and burned immediately.
The horse is killed, just as in the first instance.
Often the ornaments and the most valued trinkets of the dead
are burned with them, as well as their best garments. Ordinary
garments are left for their heirs.
A Shaman does not officiate at this cremating ceremony,
which is conducted in the most quiet manner possible.

102 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
BURIAT BURIAL OF THE DEAD
As soon as a Buriat dies he is dressed in his best garments and
his face is covered with a white cloth. On that day no neighbor
or friend begins any work; to do so would bring misfortune.
They call the day "mu udir," bad day.
It is customary to keep a body three days, but often it is
buried or burned on the second day. In the coffin a small sum
of money is placed, each friend contributing. A sheep or cow
is killed and bits of the meat put in the coffin, together with a
small bottle of tarasun. "The spirit of the dead man will meet
the spirits of friends and relatives who have died earlier, and he
will wish to entertain them." Every necessary article, such as
his coat, cap, pillow, and blanket, is put into the coffin, as well as
his pipe and tobacco, even his whip for his horse, if he has
owned one in his earth life, goes with him.
The family and friends eat the meat of the animal they have
killed and drink tarasun. As they drink they pour out some
to the dead man, pouring it on the ground and mentioning his
name. For three days and nights refreshments of every kind
are served in the house — the man's spirit is there among his
friends and relatives and it partakes of the food.
The spirit has the form of the body but is invisible, except
to persons having "second sight." The spirit is often sorry to
go from among the living, and tries to prove to itself that it is
still alive ; that is, in the visible form. " It goes to the fire, steps
on the ashes, and when it sees no track fears that it is no longer
in a material body. It goes close to the chained dog to see if the
dog will bark. If the dog barks it is a proof that he sees some
thing, and the spirit hopes that it is visible. When the man's
friends breakfast, dine, or drink tea, the spirit waits anxiously
to see if any one will offer it food or drink. If four or five are
drinking tea, the spirit takes a cup and wonders that they do not
notice it; but the five cups are there, it has taken only the
spirit of the cup. The man is there in spirit among his friends,
he moans and weeps, hopes and tests the position; no one sees
him, no one pays any attention to him. Poor man, he is sad
indeed."

CUSTOMS OF THE BURIATS 103
When the corpse is taken from the house for burial it is carried
out head first. During this ceremony, if a button or any small
article drops it is lucky, and each person is anxious to pick it up,
for the man who does so will have a child added to his family,
or some other good fortune will come to him.
Sometimes the dead man is taken from the coffin and placed
on the back of his favorite horse; a friend sits up behind to
hold him on, and thus he rides to his own burial. But more
frequently the body is left in the coffin and the coffin is carried
on a sleigh or a wagon. Women and children take farewell of
the dead at the house, only men attend the burial.
When they reach the spot where the body is to be buried they
sprinkle the earth with tarasun, and then dig the grave. The
saddle is taken from the dead man's horse, broken into small
pieces, and put in the bottom of the grave, and if the body has
been brought on a wagon the wagon is broken up also. This
done, the coffin is placed in the grave so that the body lies facing
the southeast. The horse is led aside and killed, either by the
blow of a sledge hammer on the forehead or by a knife being
driven into the spinal marrow; the latter is the nobler form of
death. The skin on the horse's back is cut away to represent
a saddle, and on his head and face a bridle is outlined in the same
way ; then he is either burned, or left for wild beasts to devour.
The horse has gone to its master and is ready for use. The
friends now return to the grave and fill it with earth.
Nine days of remembrance are incumbent on the nearest
relatives; they must remain in their houses and think only of
the dead. If a near relative lives far away he will come when
he hears of the death, even if it is not for a month; he will
bring food and drink and "make remembrance."
Where the dead are buried or burned, there are large settle
ments, houses, and buildings of every kind; but all this is in
visible, except to persons with second sight.
The spirits of the dead wear not only the garments in which
their bodies have been buried, but also their old garments,
those they wore many years before their death, for they wear
"the ghost" of the clothes.
When spirits take the form of living people, as they can if they

104 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
wish, the effect is the same as if they were clothed in real gar
ments. The spirit of a woman sometimes takes the form of
a bird and flies around its old home, but this is considered un
lucky and the bird is shot at, not to kill it, but to drive it away.
The Buriats believe that sometimes a person dies because the
spirit or soul gets tired and sad, and wants to leave the body.
In such a case the Shaman and friends talk to the spirit, tell it to
come back, and it shall eat well, drink well, and have a good
time. This effort to persuade the soul to return to the body is
called "the invitation. " "You shall sleep well. Come back to
your natural ashes. Take pity on your friends. It is necessary
to live a real life. Do not wander along the mountains. Do
not be like bad spirits. Return to your peaceful home." (They
think that the spirits of the dead wander about the mountains,
returning to their homes from time to time.) "Come back and
work for your children. How can you leave these little ones ? "
And the Shaman names the children. If it is a woman these
words have great effect; sometimes the spirit moans and sobs,
and there have been instances of its returning to the body.

F1

CHAPTER IX
THE ORIGIN OF SHAMANS
^ROM Baronye Tabin Tabung Tengeri, the first spirit to
emerge from the Highest Existence in the Universe, Del-
quen Sagan Burkan, World White god, often called Esege
Malan, came the fifty-five Tengeris. One day the spirit of one
of the fifty-five, it is unknown which, entered into a hailstone,
fell to the earth, and was swallowed by a girl thirteen years of
age, whose name was Meluk Shin. Soon after swallowing the
stone Meluk Shin became a mother. The son she bore —
Qolongoto Ubugun, or, as he was also called, Mindiii Qiibun
Iryil Noyon Tunkoi — lived three hundred years. He estab
lished the Buriat religion, gave the Buriats all their prayers,
and told them of their gods. (My translator, a Christian,
states that Mindiii is the same for the Buriats that Christ is for
Christians). Mindiii chose and consecrated the first one hundred and sev
enty-six Shamans, ninety-nine males and seventy-seven females.
In a sense he was himself the first Shaman. He commanded
to pray to Delquen Sagan, to Tabin Tabung, to the fifty-five
Tengeri, and the forty-four Tengeri, — to heavenly spirits only.
But in later times Shamans have forgotten or do not follow his
command, and pray sometimes to the spirits of dead Shamans,
male and female, and to the Bumal (descended) Burkans.
Mindiii's portrait is always made of skunk skin.
There are two kinds of Shamans, — those made directly by
Burkans, and those who have inherited from either the male
or female branch of their family their right to be Shamans.
A man whose father or mother, grandfather or grandmother,
has been a Shaman has the inherited right ; he must, however,
\ have this right confirmed by the Burkans. A child or young

106 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
person is supposed to be acceptable to the Burkans when the
spirit of a dead relative, a Shaman, comes while he is sleeping
and takes his spirit to the residences of the Earthly and Heavenly
Burkans, who conduct him through their mansions, show him
their possessions, power, and wealth, and instruct him in all
things. To one selected directly by the Burkans the spirit of a Shaman,
who has died within four or five years, comes at night while he
is sleeping and conducts his spirit to the Burkans. In the morn
ing the spirit returns to the body. This Shaman guide may
select two or three, or perhaps four, children or young people
and educate their spirits while their bodies sleep.
It happens sometimes that a person who seems foolish in
this world becomes wise in the mansions of the Burkans, and
one who seems wise to us may be found by the Burkans to be
foolish and incapable.
When this education, which may require several years, is
finished, the spirit of the Shaman, in the form of a flame, strikes
the student a heavy blow on the forehead. He falls to the ground,
and is raised to his feet by those who chance to be near him.
If this happens away from his home, he is taken home, and an
offering of tarasun is made by sprinkling tarasun to the young
man's Shaman ancestors, and to those Burkans who gave rights
of Shamanship to those ancestors. Or if he has been chosen
directly, they offer a libation of tarasun to the Burkan who has
chosen him. A person who has inherited the right to be a Shaman
is educated exactly the same as one who is chosen directly.
Even after his education is finished it is a long time before a
young Shaman can offer sacrifice; often there are years of trial.
The Burkans may leave him at any time as unfit or incapable,
and then he is no better than. an ordinary man. His first liba
tions and offerings are made to Bumal Burkans (those who have
their homes in sacred groves) and to the spirits of Shamans.
He officiates by request of the people.
The spirit of his ancestor strikes him again on the forehead.
He falls, the people raise him and cut birch sticks for him an
inch or so thick. He takes these sticks and sways them behind
his back, then in front. Then he holds them in one hand, sways

s

Tea from China, Coming from Kiakhta to the
Railroad in Irkutsk. Page 20

Buriat Watch Dog. Page 27

THE ORIGIN OF SHAMANS 107
them, pats his forehead with his palm, and begins to speak of
the life and work of his ancestor. It is not the young Shaman
who speaks, but the flame or spirit which struck his forehead,
and which speaks through him.
Another flame strikes him. He falls, throws away the sticks,
is raised, and the second flame speaks just as the first did. This
may continue till all his Shaman ancestors have spoken. While
speaking for a dead Shaman the live Shaman often approaches
some person present and says such and such a Burkan wishes
of you an offering and libation. If it is not given, you will suffer
from sickness or misfortune.
When the young Shaman is ready to become a Shaman in full
a day is appointed by the people. They invite an experienced
Shaman to conduct the ceremony, and he makes libations and
offerings to a number of Burkans, asking for their assistance.
Fifty-four birch trees are cut from a sacred grove, by the
permission of the Burkan of that grove. Three of these trees
are large, the others are small. The small ones are planted in a
row called "dry"; a large tree is placed on the right side of the
row and is called serge, "pillar " ; beyond this is the second large
tree, called turga. The third large tree is placed in the middle
of the yurta, the top coming out at the smoke-hole; to this top
are fastened silk strings representing the colors of the rainbow;
the strings are carried to the tree called the pillar and tied to its
highest branch.
From the young Shaman's village nine men are selected to
assist in the ceremony. They represent the nine Heavenly
assistants of Xoxode Mergen (one of the Burkans). Then the
old Shaman and the young one enter the yurta and stand at the
right-hand side of the door ; each holds in his right hand as many
one-branched twigs as he has friendly Burkans. The old man
sets fire to his twigs and summons by name the Burkans which
the twigs represent; when he has finished his invocation, the
young one begins. As soon as they have summoned the Burkans
they leave the yurta and go to the great birch tree, "the turga."
The people of the village and of surrounding villages have
brought milk, tarasun, sheep, and horses, all things necessary
for a great sacrifice.

108 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
There can never be less than nine animals offered on such an
occasion, if there are more than nine there must be eighteen or
twenty-seven (it is not necessary, however, to have nine of a
kind, there can be eight sheep and one horse, or any combina
tion which will make up the nine).
Again the two Shamans summon the Burkans. Milk and
tarasun are sprinkled as a libation on each of the nine animals,
and they are then sacrificed. The old Shaman calls on the
Burkans. Three of his assistants stand at his side, the first
man sprinkles milk on the ground, the second tea, and the
third tarasun. This, immensely multiplied, goes to the Burk
ans supposed to be present, or, if not present, in their dwellings
where they can partake of all that is offered them.
During this ceremony the young Shaman removes his outer
garments, leaving only his shirt, and approaches the row of
small birches ; when he reaches the birches he takes off his shirt,
and is entirely naked. Then the nine young men, representing
the Heavenly assistants of Xoxode Mergen, bring up in front of
him a white goat and stab the goat in the breast in such a way
that the blood spirts over the naked body of the new Shaman.
This ceremony is called ugalga, purification. When it is over,
the goat, still alive, is thrown far off to where women are wait
ing; they seize it, give it the finishing blow, then cook and eat
the meat.
Before the sacrifice begins, if any of the animals are impure
the Shaman knows it, and has them purified by being led through
the smoke of burning juniper.
The flesh of the animals sacrificed is boiled, parts of it offered
to the gods, and the rest eaten. When this ceremony is ended
the young man is declared to be a full-fledged Shaman. If there
are a number of Shamans present they begin now to tell about
their family of Shamans, and there is much talk and uproar.
The feasting lasts for three days and nights. Some of the Sha
mans go to the tops of the trees and make offerings to the gods,
from there.
In old times there were such mighty Shamans that they
could walk on the silk strings connecting the top of the tree
which comes up through the smoke-hole of the yurta with

THE ORIGIN OF SHAMANS 109
the great birch tree outside; this was called "walking on the
rainbow." The Buriats have many traditions regarding the power of
their Shamans.
Once two Shamans went to heaven on the real rainbow; when
coming back in the same way the Heavenly Burkans saw them
and were very angry. "How did those black beetles of the earth
dare to come up here on the rainbow, and think of going back
on it?" asked they, and immediately they cut the rainbow.
The Shamans were falling to the earth when the stronger of the
two, a very powerful Shaman, seeing that they would surely
be killed, turned himself into a yellow, spotted eagle, seized his
companion in his claws, and brought him down to the earth
gently and safely.
Once a Lama came from beyond the Baikal to visit a family at
Usturdi. A Shaman by the name of Badai, who did not like to
have a Lama among his people, turned himself into a gray wolf
and went to the house in the night-time. The Lama, who saw
the wolf and was terribly frightened, called out: "There is a
wizard here in the form of a wolf ! He has come to kill me !
Build a fire quickly!"
The master of the house did not see the wolf; it was invisible
to every one save the Lama, who was so terrified that his eyes
burned, and he was as pale as a dead man. All night the beast
stood in front of the Lama, apparently ready to spring at him;
not till daylight did it disappear.
The Lama left Usturdi that very day.
They tell of Shamans who cut open their stomachs, take out
their livers, roast and eat them, then close their stomachs and
are as well as ever. Others take a sharp shaman stick called
"haribo," thrust it in over one of their eyes to the depth of
several inches, and ask some one to pull it out. To do so re
quires all the strength of a strong man, still the stick leaves no
visible wound.
There are Shamans who cut a man's head off. He walks
around without it, they put it on again, and he is the same as
ever. Some Shamans can stab the central pillar of a yurta and
a stream of tarasun will flow out, for the Shaman has power to

110 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
summon tarasun from a distance, and command it to be in the
pillar. Another can call the birds of heaven, and they will come and
sit on his shoulders. Then he will put the back of his hands to
his head and spread out his fingers, and immediately his hands
and fingers will be covered with worms for the birds to eat.
Almost any Shaman can dance on fire. A large fire is built
on the ground, the Shaman strips naked and dances on the live
coals until they die out ; not even the soles of his feet are burned.
Once a half-drunk Buriat, seeing a Shaman dancing in this
manner, said, "I am as good a man as you are, I can dance on
fire ! " Pulling off his shoes he danced on the live coals for one
moment and was so badly burned that he could not step for
three months.
The seven Heavenly Blacksmiths have given a Shaman living
in Usturdi the power to handle red-hot iron. He can heat a bar
of iron until it is red, take it in one hand, draw the other hand
over it and make sparks fly. He can lick it with his tongue and
it does not burn him. This same Shaman if locked in a room
whispers a few words, spits, and the door flies open.
There are Shamans who can ride on horseback through the
two walls of a yurta, and leave no opening.
In Irkutsk, a long time ago, the Russians, who did not believe
in Shamans, said, "We will see what power those people have."
They built a great fire and put a Shaman into it. The Burkans
turned the fire into water and the Shaman danced in what
seemed fire to others, but was water for him. The Russians
shot at the Shamans; they caught the bullets in their hands,
held them out and said, "Here are your balls." Every effort
against them was useless.
A Shaman has nothing to do with marriages; with deaths he
has nothing to do after it is certain that the spirit has left the
body and cannot be persuaded to return. His field of action
is soothsaying with the shoulder-blade of a sheep; sacrificing,
preparing Ongons, tying a ribbon on the cradle of each infant
when a few days old, and conducting the great feast made
when the child is one year old.

THE ORIGIN OF SHAMANS 111
A SHAMAN STORY
In Olzoni, where this story was told, there lived three hundred
years ago an old Shaman who could. raise the dead. One day
when he was in his seventy-fifth year he went on a visit to a
neighboring village. The people there were so glad to see him
that they killed a number of sheep, roasted them, and all feasted
for three days.
On his way home he came to a large gate opening into a field,
and there he met three hundred horned cattle. He thought
that a butcher was driving them, but soon discovered that they
were driven by a woman who was riding on a red ox. The
woman was holding an infant in her arms. After the red ox had
passed him he met a man whose head was as big as a cock of
hay, he was riding on a gray stallion of enormous size.
"From where do you come, flesh merchant?" asked the
Shaman. "I am not a flesh merchant," replied the man, "I am Minga
Nudite Mila, (Thousand Eyes), and I have just destroyed all the
cattle in the country around here."
The Shaman hurried home and found that his cattle were
gone, not a cow, sheep, or horse was left. He was very angry,
and going to his five brothers, who were all Shamans, he said :
"Let us take counsel. Shall we not go in pursuit of Minga
Nudite Mila?"
"Of what use ?" asked they. "He would not yield to us, for
he is subject to no one."
When he saw that his brothers were unwilling to help him,
and he must do all with his own magic, the old Shaman went
home, made tarasun and drank it; then he went to the corner of
the room, got his axe and put it under the pillow on his bed, tied
his horse to a post in the yurta and lay down, saying to his wife,
"Do not let my horse out, and do not waken me." Soon he
and his horse were sound asleep. But they were not asleep,
it was only their bodies which were so quiet. In reality the
Shaman was riding swiftly toward the Angara.
Before reaching Irkutsk there is a mountain, Torkoi Tonkoi.
From the top of this mountain the Shaman saw that Minga

112 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Mila had made a bridge across the river and was beginning to
drive his cattle over it. Half of the bridge was silver and half
of it was gold.
The Shaman turned himself into a bee, made his axe equally
small, and, taking it with him, flew under the bridge and hewed
the pillars so that the bridge broke in two. All the cattle fell into
the Angara, as well as the woman on the red ox. Minga Mila
fell, but he saved himself — at least he did not sink, though he
and his gray stallion remained in the water.
The old Shaman threw his gold ring of a Shaman toward
heaven, and a dreadful wind sprang up which lasted for three
days. Minga Mila sat on the water and was driven back and
forth by the wind. After the three days of wind came three days
of strong rain. By the end of those six days the hoofs of Minga
Mila's horse fell off. When the storm was over Minga Mila came
out of the river; his horse followed him, and they began to dry
themselves. The horse's hoofs came from the river and went
on to his feet.
Enraged by the loss of the cattle and the woman on the red
ox, but frightened by the terrible storm, Minga Mila swore a
great oath that henceforth he would not go to the Olzoni country.
"Should I go there may my one thousand eyes jump out of my
head, and my body be cut in three pieces. I will neither kill
people hereafter nor destroy cattle," declared he. Hearing this
oath the Shaman was greatly pleased, and at once started for
home. On the road he went to his five brothers and told them how
he had punished Thousand Eyes. "I have freed myself and you
of this monster," said he; "we can now live in peace." When he
reached his yurta he rose from the bed, where his wife thought
he was sleeping, untied his horse and drove it out to pasture.
And all was as if it had not been. But the cattle of Olzoni were
never stolen again.
The Shaman began to drink taragun and visit his friends.
In the spring, about a year after his return from the Angara, he
was on his way to see friends in Olzonski-Rod when he came
upon three men who were burying a dead child. " What are you
doing?" asked the Shaman.

THE ORIGIN OF SHAMANS 113
"Go thy way, grandfather," answered the men. "Stand not
there, for the child is dead. No one is free from death."
They let down the body and began to cover it with earth.
"Take away that earth," commanded the Shaman; "give me
the child and do you kill a goat and bury it in this grave." He
carried the child to its home, had six stones heated red hot, took
off his leggings, danced with bare feet on the red hot stones, and
"shamaned" till morning, stepping over the dead child from time
to time, until the first cock crowed. That made the blood move
in the child's body, and he opened his eyes, but could not talk.
The next night the Shaman had the boy's father and mother
tied to a post in the yurta, and again he danced and shamaned
until the first cock crowed. All this time the child lay without
moving. At sunrise the Shaman blew on the child's head and
feet. He sprang up and asked, "What are you doing, father ?"
Then the Shaman unbound the father and mother. "Your
child is alive and well," said he; "now I will go home."
"No, " said the father, "I must reward you; I am rich. I
will give you half my money and half my cattle for what you
have done."
"I do not need your money or your cattle," replied the Sha
man. But the father was too happy over the recovery of his child
to let the Shaman go without a reward. "Well," said the Sha
man, "all I need is one cock of hay, an arkan rope (skin rope,
hide), and nine copecks in money."
The father gave him the money, the rope, and the hay, and
loaned him an ox to draw the hay home. The Shaman fed the
hay to his cattle, hung up the rope, and kept the nine copecks in
memory of the father's gratitude.
The raising of the boy from the dead was the last great act of
the Shaman's life, for he died soon after.
BURIAT GHOST STORY
There was once a Shaman named Gaqui Guldief. One day
he was returning from Irkutsk to his home, when night overtook
him on the Kanjirevsk steppes. Soon after dusk he saw dead
men dancing, "for he was second-sighted." He heard them say,

114 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
"Be careful, Gaqui Guldief is coming !" They had known him
when they were living, and knew that he understood the dead
and could see them.
Among the dancers was one who danced better than any of the
others, and his friends were urging him to dance his very best.
He was about to do so, when Gaqui shot at him, hit him, and he
fell to the ground a skull. Then a terrible disturbance arose
among the dancers, and turning to one of their number, a tall
strong man, they said, "You must punish him for this !" Gul
dief hurried away, for he heard what they said. When he got
home he led into the house the savage dog he usually kept
chained in the yard. He was not disturbed that night, but early .
the next night the tall, strong dead man came into the room fol
lowed by a great crowd of people of all ages.
There were food and drink on the table. The strong man
began to eat; then the crowd ate and drank, and passed food
to the living man. When they had finished eating, one of the
number, looking at Gaqui, who was watching them, carefully,
said, "Let us play tricks on him, and punish him." "No," cried
others; "he is a good man at heart. We have eaten of his food;
we will not harm him."
They remained a long time, then silently disappeared. When
the watcher was alone in the room he saw that the food and drink
which he had placed on the table was all there; there was not
one bite of food or one drop of drink less, though all the dead
had eaten SECOND SIGHT
Once a man having second sight was passing through a large
field about dusk, when he saw three men, whom he knew to be
dead, coming toward him. One of them was carrying a small
box. "What are you carrying?" asked the live man.
"We are carrying the soul of an infant," answered the
dead. The man knew that the son of a rich Buriat was very sick, and
he made up his mind that the child had died, and the dead were
carrying its soul away. "The dead are sometimes very shrewd

THE ORIGIN OF SHAMANS 115
and sometimes very stupid," said he to himself. "I will try and
get that soul away from them."
"How queerly you walk ! " called out one of the dead men.
"Your feet make a dust, and you shake the earth when you step."
"I have been dead only a little while," answered the live
man, "and have not yet learned to walk like the dead."
Then he asked cunningly, "Are you afraid of anything?"
"We are afraid of the shipovnik bush (a shrub which has long
thorns). What are you afraid of?" "I am afraid of fat meat,"
replied the man. He walked on with the dead until they came
to a large clump of shipovnik bushes; then he seized the box
in which they were carrying the child's soul and sprang into
the bushes. They dared not approach, but ran off to get fat
meat ; they were back in a flash and began to pelt him with it.
He ate the meat, and kept firm hold of the box.
After a time the dead went away, and the live man took the
soul back to the house where the body of the dead child was.
The soul went into the body ; the child came to life and began
to sneeze. SACRED GROVES OF SHAMANS
When a Shaman dies his spirit, in the form of fire, goes to a
Shaman who has been his friend during life, and strikes him
such a strong blow on the forehead that he falls to the ground
(the spirit or flame is invisible to bystanders). They raise the
Shaman, and when he has recovered somewhat he says: "The
spirit of my friend has come to me for assistance. It wishes to
settle in a grove, and tells me where the grove is."
No one doubts that this is the request of the spirit of the dead
Shaman. Friends go to the place mentioned, and, selecting one
of the largest and best trees, cut a small box-like aperture in it.
The body of the dead Shaman is burned, the ashes placed in the
aperture in the tree, and a slab fastened across it. Ever after
ward the grove is sacred. Later on, if the spirit of a Shaman of
the same family asks that the ashes of his dead body be deposited
in this grove, the request is granted. Hence often in such a
grove there are several trees which contain ashes of the dead.

116 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
There are many of these sacred groves in the Buriat country.
When a Buriat is passing a grove where the ashes of a Shaman
or of several Shamans are deposited, he sprinkles vodka or tara
sun to their spirits. If he has no vodka or tarasun he sprinkles
tobacco, thinking they may like to smoke. He mentions such and
such Shamans of the grove, and sends the tobacco to them spe
cially. It is supposed to reach the spirits multiplied immensely
in quantity and improved in quality.
No tree can be cut down, grass mown, or sod turned in a
sacred grove. A man would come to great grief if he were to
injure a tree, even by breaking off a branch or twig. The pun
ishment would be inflicted by the spirits of the dead Shamans.
No woman can enter a sacred Shaman grove.
THE SACRED GROVES OF THE BURKANS OR
BURIAT GODS
There are Burkans who are called Bumal Burkans. They are
so called because instead of residing always in lofty places their
homes are in certain groves. No tree can be felled, twig broken,
or grass cut in such a grove. In passing the grove offerings are
made of tarasun or tobacco.
Not far from the village of Usturdi, where I spent several
weeks, there is a sacred grove of a Bumal Bukan. Some years
ago three or four Buriats who had lost faith in their ancient re
ligion decided to measure the land and cut the grass around the
grove. Shamans warned them that not only the grove, but the
land to the extent of some acres around it, belonged to the Bur
kan. Paying no heed to the warning, the men began to cut the
grass. The Burkan was very angry, and to punish them for trying to
take his grass and curtail his domain, he sent an epidemic upon
the village. People began to die off rapidly. The land around
the grove was immediately abandoned, and sacrifices were made
to the god, who after a time was appeased, and the epidemic
died out.
One or two of the Bumal Burkans allow women to pass
through their groves, but others are very strict in this regard ;

THE ORIGIN OF SHAMANS 117
women not only are forbidden to enter their groves, but are
punished if they step on the land.
Sometimes there is a mountain or high hill between villages,
and on the summit of the hill, not very far from the road, is a
sacred grove belonging to a Bumal Burkan. If a man dies in
one of the villages no person is allowed to pass the grove for
three days. At the end of that time the first man to pass
must purify himself before leaving home. This is done by
gathering dry juniper, placing it in a pile on the ground, setting
fire to it, and, when it smokes well, walking through it re
peatedly, inhaling the smoke. The horse the person is to ride
must be purified in the same way.
SACRED TREES AND GROVES
It has happened at times during past centuries that a Shaman
seeing a beautiful tree or a fine clump of trees has thought that
a Burkan or the spirit of a dead Shaman if passing by there would
surely like to stop and have a smoke; hence he has declared
that tree or clump of trees to be sacred, and no man would be so
foolhardy as to meddle with trees which they know have been
given to the Burkans and spirits.
Buriats dislike to cut down a beautiful tree which has grown
up on a clean place. They are inclined to believe that the tree
belongs to a Burkan ; for there are cases where a man engaged
in felling such a tree has been taken suddenly ill, and the Sha
mans have discovered that the illness was caused by the Burkan
to whom the tree belonged. Sometimes the name of the Bur
kan is unknown; then, although an offering is made, the man
may die.
A beautiful pine tree growing near Usturdi was cut down by
one of the Buriats, who almost immediately fell ill. A Shaman
was sent for, and by reading the cracks in the charred shoulder
bone of a sheep he found that the tree belonged to a Burkan —
was a sacred tree. But he did not know which Burkan ; con
sequently, though several offerings were made, the man died.

CHAPTER X
THE GODS OF THE BURIATS
DELQUEN Sagan Burkan, World White God, is the highest
existence in the Universe. He is also called Esege Malan.
In him are three spirits: Baronye Tabin Tabung Tengeri,
Ziim Dishin Dirhin Tengeri, and Sagade Ugugun.
From the first spirit came the fifty-five Tengeris, from the
second the forty-four Tengeris; the third has seven sons and
seven daughters. Of the seven sons the eldest is Goloi Qiin
Shara Qiibun. The eldest daughter is Goloi Qun Shara
Basagan. Prayers are offered and sacrifices made to all the Heavenly
Burkans as well as to the Highest Existence. People ask the
World White Burkan for cattle, for grass, and for health. They
ask the three other spirits, especially Sagade Ugugun, for rain,
good crops, and children.
When they ask the gods for children they offer Sagade Ugugun
twenty pots of tarasun; they pray in the yurta, tie a hair rope
around the four posts, and hang wooden rattles (playthings) on
them. These playthings are to persuade the child to come.
They bring from the forest and place in the middle of the yurta
a tall birch tree, the top of which comes out through the smoke
hole. At the roots of the tree they put three sods of earth taken
from a swamp. Up this birch tree prayers are supposed to go to
the Heavenly Burkans. After the offering and prayers a cradle
is made, and all its belongings prepared for the coming of the
new child.
No pictures are ever made of the Highest Being, or of the
first and second spirit. Pictures are made of the third spirit,
Sagade Ugugun, of his wife, Sanqaliri Qateri, of their eldest son,
Goloi Qun Shara Qiibun, and of their eldest daughter, Goloi Qiin
Shara Basagan.

THE GODS OF THE BURIATS 119
To the fifty-five Tengeris a sacrifice should be made three
times in his life by every man who has the means. These sacri
fices are as follows : the first sacrifice is fifty-five pots of tarasun,
and five beasts, — one virgin mare, three virgin ewes, and one
goat; the second sacrifice, fifty-five pots of tarasun, one virgin
mare, five virgin ewes, and one goat; the third, fifty-five pots
of tarasun, one virgin mare, seven virgin ewes, and one goat.
To Qoqodai Megiin Qubin, the eldest of the fifty-five Tengeris,
sacrifices are made frequently; the other fifty-four are simply
mentioned with him.
Qoqodai Megiin Qubin has nine sons and nine daughters.
His eldest son is QurSnde Buqii Qubun; the second, Qugen
Mergln ; the third, Qorsagai Mergin, the fourth, Boroldai Buqii.
The eighteen sons and daughters have eighteen gray steeds. On
these gray steeds they race and gallop over the sky, and make the
awful thunder which we hear.
Of the forty-four Tengeris who are from Ziini Dishiri, the
second spirit of Delquen Sagan Burkan, the Highest Existence,
seven are very important. These are Gutar Bain Tengeri, the
eldest; Qap Sagan Tengeri; Togoto Bain Tengeri; Qasan
Burlin Qui Tengeri; Galta Ulan Tengeri; Qiing Germa Ten
geri; Qair Qur Tengeri.
To the third spirit, Sagade Ugugun, his wife, Sanqalin Qateri,
and their eldest son and eldest daughter, the sacrifice of a "fat,
harmless ram" is made, and prayers are offered with libations
of tarasun.
Buriats worship a heavenly spirit, a son of Bulage Ijin, one
of the fifty-five Tengeris. His name is Biiir Sagan Ugugun.
To this spirit and his wife, Qwir Sagan Qamagan, they make an
offering of twenty-seven pots of tarasun, and two, or sometimes
three, virgin ewes.
To the forty-four Tengeris offerings are made of tarasun, and
thirty skins of various small animals, — three rabbit skins, five
skunk skins, three ermine skins, seven squirrel skins, six small
kid skins, and the skins of six small he-goats.
Irlik Namun Qiin, a descendant of the forty-four Tengeris,
had three sons, Uqiir Qara Bisheshi, Selmende Saga Bisheshi,
and Shanda Bukqii Bisheshi ; each of these sons came to earth,

120 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
and each has his dwelling-place in a mountain of the Buriat
country. At springs Buriats worship a heavenly power, a son of
one of the fifty-five Tengeris, Bulage Ijin, Buir Sagan Ugugun,
and his wife, Qwir Sagan Hamagan. They make sacrifices at
such springs, — twenty-seven pots of tarasun, two virgin ewes,
and sometimes three. HOUSE ONGONS
First. The wheel, with an image inside representing Tumur
Shin Qulain Sejin Bara, who was a holy Shaman of ancient
times. People boil meat for him and in important cases sacri
fice a goat. At marriage the bridegroom sacrifices a he-goat to
this divinity, and a small pot of meal pudding as well as eight
pots of tarasun, asking for health, happiness, prosperity, and
children. The wheel is made of birch ; from the bottom hangs
a bunch of hair taken from under the belly of a he-goat. The
figure is metallic and represents the sacred Shaman himself.
The garment he wears is of red cloth, and is supposed to be a
shuba or mantle. Two coral beads answer for eyes.
Second. On a square piece of black felt are represented the
third spirit of the World White God, Sagade Ugugun, his wife,
Sanqualin Qaten, and their eldest son and eldest daughter, as
well as a tiny infant which represents the infant that people ask
for in their prayers. In the pockets below the little tin pieces
which portray these spirits meat is placed as an offering.
Third. A long piece of felt containing three virgin sisters
Gittle tin figures on blue cloth), Munqugshin Basagan, Mun-
qoden Basagan, and Boryunten Basagan. When these are
consecrated the ceremony is performed by a Shaman. Three
virgin ewes are offered, thirty pots of tarasun, and one big pot
of meal pudding. Through these sisters the people ask of the
World White God, or Esege Malan, land, cattle, and all that is
necessary for prosperity.
OUTSIDE ONGONS
In the first bag is the skin of an ermine. The skin is so dried
and shrivelled as to be unrecognizable, and two little tin images

Andrei Mihailovitch's Field Ongons Taken out of the Box
and Tied around the Pillar. Page 41

THE GODS OF THE BURIATS 121
represent Ugin Xubun and his wife. They were Shamans.
People turn to them as to gods, begging for anything they wish
for, — good crops, rain, etc.
In the second bag are two figures representing Qulebo and his
wife. Both were Shamans. They are petitioned to intercede
in all affairs pertaining to cattle-raising, buying and selling, etc.
In the largest gray bag are seven figures on two pieces of
cloth ; on one piece are five, on the other two. These represent
Yun Yiqe Qota and his wife, Qazagar, and their two sons and
one daughter. On the second piece of cloth are the son-in-law
and one daughter-in-law. These have about the same attributes
as those in the other bags, and are petitioned for similar things.
The long skin is that of a skunk, and represents the god who
came down in the form of hail and entering a girl of thirteen
was born and named Mindiii Qubun Iryil (see Origin of
Shamans). All things are asked of him. He is very kindly and
grants many prayers.
The two little beasts are ermines — two sisters who are
represented in little metallic figures. The names of these sisters
are Biilai and Budragana, ; to them must be offered horse meat
and two salmon as well as nine pots of tarasun. They are
invoked in sickness, especially in cases of scrofula.
THE CREATION — ESEGE MALAN
In the beginning there were Esege Malan, the highest god,
and his wife, Ehe Ureng Ibi.
At first it was dark and silent ; there was nothing to be heard
or seen. Esege took up a handful of earth, squeezed moisture
out of it, and made the sun of the water; he made the moon in
the same way.
Next he made all living things and plants. He divided the
world into East and West, and gave it to the highest order of
gods. These gods are very strict, and people must sacrifice
horses and rams to them. If angered, they punish by bringing
sickness, especially to children. Some of the higher gods
punish with disease or misfortune people who offend local gods.
For instance, if a man calls to witness or swears by a local god,

122 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
either he is punished by that local god, or judgment is rendered
by one of the superior gods, for it is a great sin to swear by any
Burkan, whether the man swears truly or falsely.
Among these principal gods are the bird gods of the South
west. Many of them take the form of swans. They are very
kind to good people. To these bird gods offerings are made
twice each year. In the autumn a wether is offered, and in the
spring mare's milk, tea, millet, and tobacco. Between these
two higher orders and the Ongon gods there is a secondary
order of Burkans of both sexes. Some of these descended from
the higher Burkans, and others were in the old, old time people
who by the favor of the divinities were made Shamans.
ESEGE MALAN AND GESIR BOGDO
(Told bt Aehokoff)
Our great story is from the sky, — the story of Gesir Bogdo.
There are, as you know, people in the sky as well as here. They
existed long before we did — no one knows how long. The
oldest and chief of those people is Esege Malan.
Esege Malan had nine sons. The four elder sons said : "We
will succeed our father." The four younger said : "No, we will
succeed him." The fifth, or middle, son, a hero and very power
ful, was on the side of the four younger brothers. His name was
Mahai Danjin.
The four older brothers and the four younger began a dispute,
and nobody knows how long it might have lasted had not Mahai
Danjin interfered and sent the four older brothers down to the
earth, to some place beyond the Frozen Ocean (Arctic), where
they created wicked creatures, Mangathais, and vile serpents,
some of which could fly around and swallow people. They also
made immense and savage dogs to destroy things. This they
did to spite their brothers who were ruling in the sky. They
would allow no one to approach them, and to this day no man
has been able to reach their dwelling-place.
As a result of the action of these four brothers, the earth be
came full of evil and great disorder, and continued so for many
thousands of years — no man knows how long.

THE GODS OF THE BURIATS 123
Meanwhile Esege Malan, having ceased to rule, had built
for himself a great, splendid fortress around the sky. One day
while walking about and looking at the fortress he found a
place broken. He immediately called a meeting to discover
who was trying to destroy his work.
In the heavens there are ninety-nine Tengeri provinces, and
this meeting was formed of one Tengeri from each province.
They debated long, but were unable to find out who or what
had made the breach in the wall of the fortress. At last Esege
Malan sent for Zarya Azergesha, "Esh," who was a very wise
man, but he was footless. He refused to come to the meeting
because, having no feet, he was afraid of being laughed at. Then
Esege Malan sent two Shalmos (invisible spirits), to hear what
Zarya Azergesha (hedgehog) might say to himself.
They found him sitting at home, and he was talking, thinking
that no one could overhear him.
"That Esege Malan," said he, "does not understand. He
has ninety-nine Tengeris, and still he could not control his
four sons, and they went down to the earth and are making so
much trouble there that the tears of people have risen to the
sky and are weakening the walls of the fortress. The people
have prayed and made libations, have sprinkled their own
blood toward heaven, and when that did no good they sprinkled
their tears. How is it that Esege Malan does not know this?
Why send for me to give him information? All this trouble
comes from his four sons. They are to blame for the tears and
the broken battlements."
When the Shalmos heard this they waited no longer, but
went quickly to Esege Malan and told him what Zarya Azer
gesha had said. Then Esege sent down to the earth his grand
son, Gesir Bogdo, the son of Mahai Danjin the hero, sent him
as a bird, and he flew over the earth three years, unable to
alight, because of the dreadful odor from dead bodies of every
kind. At last Esege Malan sent flies which created maggots, and the
maggots ate the dead flesh and purified the earth, and it was
sweet and clean. Then the bird alighted on a broad steppe
called Urundashei, turned itself into a blue bull, and bellowed

124 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
loudly in challenge. The four brothers in their home beyond
the Frozen Sea heard the voice and said, "That is the voice of
one of our relatives, one of our own people!"
Then one of the four turned himself into a pied bull and went
to the steppe. The two bulls fought until the pied bull threw
the blue bull, caught him on his horns and tossed him through
the air so furiously that he fell to the earth on the other side of
the Altai mountains. Then the pied bull raced after the blue
bull to kill him, but the blue bull turned himself into stone and
stood in his road. The pied bull rushed at the stone bull, but
broke one of his own horns. Then, finding he could do the blue
bull no further harm, he roared:
"Thou hast deceived me ! Hereafter I shall be the enemy of
all horned cattle ! " And, defeated, he went back to his brothers.
Beyond the Altai that stone bull stands to this day. But
Gesir Bogdo, its spirit, went back to Esege Malan and created
heroes to fight the Mangathais, the evil animals, and the ser
pents of the North. He had a son named Buqii Noyon. Buqii
Noyon had seven sons and one daughter, whose name was Irgi
Siiban. Irgi Siiban married Shandu Buqii Besbesh, the grand
son of Irlik Nomun, the eldest of the four brothers of the North,
and thus the family of Esege Malan was at last pacified.
Solobung Yubiin, the Morning Star, is a great personage.
He is the favorite son of Esege Malan. If Buriats want many
cattle they sacrifice a ram at dawn of day, pray to Solobung
Yubiin, and for three successive nights dance till daybreak.
ESEGE MALAN AND MOTHER EARTH
After Esege Malan had straightened out all things, Ehe
Tazar, Mother Earth, went to visit him, and they spent several
days very pleasantly. When Ehe Tazar's visit was ended and
she was ready to go, she asked Esege Malan to give her the sun
and the moon, and he gave them gladly; but he soon found
that it was very difficult to get them for her. He called a thou
sand Burkans together and asked how he was to accomplish the
feat, and though they studied long and seriously over it they
could not tell him. Then Esege Malan sent for Esh (the hedge-

•A
o

THE GODS OF THE BURIATS 125
hog), and Esh went up to the sky to the dwelling of Esege
Malan. Esege Malan had three daughters who often came down to
the earth, removed their clothing, turned themselves into swans,
and sported in the sea. It happened that the three were at
home when Esh came.
Esege had told his daughters that Esh was a queer fellow,
that he was lame and hairy, but he was very wise, and they must
not laugh at him. Notwithstanding this, when Esh walked in
Esege's daughters looked sidewise and laughed ; they could not
help it, he was so droll. He saw them laugh and said to himself,
"Esege Malan has called me up here for his daughters to laugh
at and ridicule!" He was terribly angry, and left so quickly
that Esege had not time to say a word. Esh knew, however,
what Esege wanted, for the messenger had told him. He came
down from the sky very quickly, but two Shalmos (invisible
spirits) followed, sent by Esege Malan to listen and hear what
Esh said as he traveled. For Esege knew that Esh was raging,
and he thought that he might say something about the sun and
the moon.
The first thing Esh saw as he came to earth was a herd of
cows and bulls. When they caught sight of him they were
frightened, put up their tails and ran. Esh, angry that they
should be frightened at him, cursed them, saying :
"May the hair rope never leave your nostrils, and the yoke
never leave your necks ! " And so it has been.
He went farther and came to a herd of horses. They were
frightened also, raised their tails, and ran away. Zarya, terribly
angry, cursed them, saying:
"May the bit never leave your mouths and the saddle never
leave your backs ! " And so it has been.
The Shalmos followed him always, listening to what he said.
After a time Esh began to talk to himself and abuse Esege
Malan. "What sort of a ruler is that Esege Malan?" asked
he. "What sort of a master of the world ? He manages every
thing, fixes everything. He has given away the sun and the
moon, but does not know how to get them ! If he is so wise,
why does he not come to visit Mother Earth, and when the

126 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
visit is ended and he is ready to go, ask her for the hot dancing
air of summer and the echo, habra yirligin and darbon. She
would give them to him gladly, but how could she get them
for him?"
When the Shalmos heard this they followed no farther, but
went to the sky very quickly and told Esege Malan all that Esh
had said.
Esege waited until a sufficient time had passed ; then he came
to return Mother Earth's visit, and while they were walking
around he said: "When you came to visit me I gave you the
sun and the moon, now I ask for a present. Give me the hot
dancing air of summer and echo." She gave them, but try as
she would she could not get them for him.
When she found that it was impossible to get them, and no
one could tell her how to do it, Esege said :
"Let the sun and the moon remain where they are and the
hot dancing air of summer and echo stay here ! " And so it is
that though the sun and the moon belong to the earth, they are
in the sky, and the hot dancing air and the echo, though they
belong to Esege Malan, remain with Mother Earth.

CHAPTER XI
MYTHS CONNECTED WITH MONGOL RELIGION
GESIR BOGDO. No. I
(Told by Sckbetabyoff)
AT first — in the beginning of the world — there was confu
sion here below, and great disorder. There were also
various vile creatures, especially Mangathais. Then a council
was held in the sky at which Qurmus Tengeri, one of the forty-
four Eastern gods, said, "A middle son can pacify and set aside
all this evil."
Esege Malan had nine sons. He called the middle one, whose
son, Gesir Bogdo, said : "If I get what I need I will go to the
earth and destroy the evil creatures there. But the ninety-nine
Tengeris must give me all their tricks."
The Tengeris delivered their tricks, one hundred thousand in
number, and Gesir Bogdo swallowed them. Then, turning to
Esege Malan, he said :
"Now it is thy turn. Give me thy black steed and a hero's
outfit." Esege gave the black steed and the outfit. "Give me
thy lasso and thy dart." Esege gave the lasso and dart. Then
Gesir asked for a wife and got her. He said to his wife, "Thou
hast three daughters, give those three daughters to me." At
first the woman refused. "It is bad down there," said she,
"they cannot stay there. I will not give them."
"If I cannot get all that I need I shall not go," declared
Gesir Bogdo.
Then Esege Malan commanded Otqon Tengeri to soothsay
and find out what to do, to give or not to give. Otqon obeyed
and said : "They will be of use to Gesir Bogdo. It is necessary
to give them."

128 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
The mother gave her three daughters, and Gesir Bogdo
swallowed them, as he had swallowed all that Esege Malan
gave him. Then he took farewell, but he did not come down to
earth at once; he traveled around in heaven for three years,
looking down always. And during those three years he saw
all the evil-doers everywhere, — all the bad spirits and vile
creatures. Then he said, "I cannot go down as I am, I must
be born in that country." He saw a woman sixty years of age ;
her name was Tumun Yarigiil, and her husband's name was
Sindlei Ugugun. And he said, "I wish to enter that woman's
head." That year Sindlei Ugugun was very prosperous, his herds
increased, and his grass grew wonderfully well. One day
Tumiin said: "I feel that I am to be the mother of many. I
hear children talking."
Many children were soon born to her, each in a different
way, but all flew to the sky. At last one was born who said, "As
I am born all people will be born hereafter." And so it has
been. This infant was thin, and very ugly to look at; but it
changed quickly and at once grew to a man's stature. This
man, who was Gesir Bogdo, cleaned away all vile things, de
stroyed evil spirits and bad people. Lusugiii Mangathai was the
last evil spirit he killed, and when Gesir Bogdo had him by the
legs he scratched the earth with his fingers and ten streams
gushed out. They form the river Aqa, which falls into the Angara
on the left side. Then Gesir said :
"Now I will lie down and sleep. Let no one waken me. I
will sleep till again there will be many harmful things, evil
spirits, and bad people in the world; then I will waken and
destroy them."
Gesir Bogdo had three sons and six grandsons before he came
down from the sky. Of each of his nine descendants there were
in the old time nine tales, in all eighty-one. They had to be
told in groups of nine, and the relator could neither eat, drink,
nor sleep while telling them, and when each group of nine was
told an unseen person said, "Thou hast forgotten where thou
placed thy Pfu!"
Gesir Bogdo was born in Qonyin Qotoi. He sleeps at the

Field Ongons. Church in which the Author Spent Three Days, and
the Group of Houses Mentioned on Page 72. Page 41

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 129
Rising of the Sun (Qiilagana Qoli). He lies under an immense
flat rock ; all around it is a great taiga, (a marshy forest of Sibe
ria). When, to rest easy, he turns from one side to the other, the
earth trembles. The Russians call this trembling an "earth
quake," but the Buriats know that it is Gesir Bogdo turning
over.

130 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA

GESIR BOGDO. No. II
A Version of the Pbecedlng Stoby
IN a time unknown, but very, very long ago, in a world pre
ceding this world there were people called Marat; there
were also Mangathais, who were ruled over by Shalmo Khan
(Invisible Khan).
Once Delquen Sagan, the Highest Being, said: "Let Shalmo
Khan and his people be destroyed. Let a people be created
who will be peaceful." Then he sent his grandson, Gesir
Bogdo, to the earth to be Khan.
In the South, in a land called Altai Deda, lived an old man
and an old woman. He was seventy years old and she was
sixty. His name was Sundlei Ugugun, and hers was Sundlei
Hamiagan (Ugugun means old man, and Hamiagan,old woman).
They were of the Marat people.
One day Sundlei Hamiagan said, "I feel that I am to be the
mother of many children, I hear them discussing as to how they
will come into the world."
Soon many sons were born to Sundlei Hamiagan, each in a
different way, and each immediately went to the sky. After
ten days a child was born, who said :
"In the way that I am born all people will be born hereafter."
And so it has been.
This child was Gesir Bogdo. No knife could cut the um
bilical cord. At last the boy said to his father :
"On the west side of the yurta roof is a plant, the khan of
plants. Get that plant, wave it three times in the sun over the
cord, and I shall be free." This was done; the cord withered
and dropped. When they had swaddled the boy and placed
him near his mother, he said to his father:
" Go to the forest and cut nine birch trees. In your herd is
a strong black stallion. On the lintel of the yurta door is a
yellow flint given me by Esege Malan; that flint has magic
power. In a box on the west side of the yurta is a saddle, sweat

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 131
cloth, and all the outfit of a hero." Sundlei Ugugun did not
know of these things ; they had come with Gesir Bogdo.
When the old man brought the nine birch trees and placed
them, as Gesir told him, against the hitching-post, they became
nine blue horses. That moment nine Shalmos came riding
nine horses just like those at the hitching-post. As they rode
up, the boy rose and went to the door of the yurta.
"Have you not horses to run against ours?" asked the
Shalmos. "I am young, just born. I do not know how to ride yet.
Mount my horses and try them. When I grow up I will ride
with you."
The nine sprang on to the horses, and the horses rushed away
to the Yellow Sea. They did not stop at the shore, but raced
on till they reached the navel of the sea; there, turning into
nine trees again, they sank in the waves, and the nine Shalmos
were drowned.
When three years old Gesir Bogdo was full grown; then
changing the strong black stallion and his hero's outfit into
a flint, he put the flint in his pocket and went away on
foot. It is unknown how long he traveled, but at last he came to
a place where three roads met. There he became a small,
deformed boy; one arm and hand grew out of his back, one
leg was drawn up to his hip, his eyes were sunk in his head.
He was ugly, terrible to look at.
From the southwest came ninety-nine Shalmos on ninety-
nine blue horses. They approached the deformed child and
wondered what he could be, but said nothing and rode oq.
The boy sat awhile longer; then by his magic he went around
the ninety-nine Shalmos, was at the Yellow Sea before them.
There he made with his flint, from the bark of a tamarack tree,
ninety-nine little boats, and commanded them to be large and
strong ; then he made a shed by the sea, turned himself into an
old man, and was sitting there in the shade of the shed. The
ninety-nine Shalmos rode up on the ninety-nine blue horses.
Seeing the old man and his boats, they said :
"We are going to the Northwest Tengerin (heavens). We

132 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
cannot cross the sea on horseback. Take our ninety-nine
horses and give us thy ninety-nine boats."
The old man consented. As he untied the boats, he said to
each one, "When thou reachest the navel of the sea turn into
a chip of tamarack bark, and let the Shalmos drown in the abyss
of the sea."
When the Shalmos were in the boats, the boats shot away
of themselves and could not be stopped or guided. They reached
the navel of the sea, turned into tamarack chips, and the ninety-
nine Shalmos were drowned.
Then Gesir Bogdo went back to the old man's yurta, saddled
his strong black stallion, put on his armor of a hero, and went
to the Northwest, where lived three hundred and sixty Man-
gathais. Of those the greatest, Danjin Shara Mangathai, had
seventy-three heads.
Gesir Bogdo turned his horse and armor into a flint, put the
flint into his pocket, became a weak old man, and went to the
yurta of the Mangathais.
"A splendid dinner has come of itself," said the chief Man
gathai. "I was without a dinner, now I have one."
"What dinner am I for you ? I am an old man," said Gesir
Bogdo. "I paint. Have you no work for me to do ?"
"Paint the inside of my yurta," said the Mangathai.
The old man began painting, and as he painted he said,
" Let the Black Colt people increase, let the Mangathais
perish ! "
"What are you saying?" asited the Mangathais, and Gesir
Bogdo answered, "I say, let the three hundred and sixty Man
gathais increase, let the Black Colt people perish."
Instead of painting, Gesir Bogdo was making the yurta iron
inside. When he had finished inside he went outside, and
painted until the outside of the yurta was iron also. Then,
going to the smoke hole, he said :
"Let thirteen enchantments lie on this yurta. Let twenty-
three iron hoops surround it. Let the three hundred and sixty
Mangathais perish, and the Black Colt people increase."
"What art thou muttering up there?" asked the chief Man
gathai. "I was saying, 'Let thirteen enchantments settle down

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 133
on this yurta, let twenty-three iron hoops surround it, let the
three hundred and sixty Mangathais perish inside it !'"
The Mangathais could not escape from the iron house,
though they felt that the weight of enchantment was sucking
them into the earth.
The whole yurta was sinking. Soon the smoke hole was level
with the ground. The chief Mangathai stuck one of his heads
through the opening. Gesir crushed it with a mighty blow
from a seventy pood hammer sent him by his grandfather,
Esege Malan. Then he asked the Burkans for an iron hero to
watch at the yurta and crush with the hammer any Man
gathai who should try to escape. Thus perished the Man
gathais, "evil creatures who lived in a world preceding this."

134 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA

GESIR BOGDO. No. Ill
BETWEEN two sky-dwellers, Khan Tyurmas Tengeri and
Atai Ulan Tengeri, a dispute arose as to which of them
should be master of Segel Sebdik Tenger, the cold ice sky.
At last they agreed that in three days they would meet and
decide the question by battle; and they arranged that both
should lead their forces to Sebdik Tenger, and the one who
reached there first should wait for the other.
When Atai Ulan arrived with his forces Khan Tyurmas was
not at the place appointed. He was not there because he had
gone to his grandmother, who lived in the West, at Yolda, Molyan
Qurme Tudi. He went to ask her advice. While at Yolda
Molyan he got drunk on tarasun, spent six days in his grand
mother's company, and forgot his contest altogether.
Atai Ulan waited one day, waited two days. After three days
had passed he took possession of Segel Sebdik, and turned
homeward, thinking that Khan Tyurmas was frightened and
did not dare to fight, hence the case was won by him.
Then the youngest son of Khan Tyurmas, Gesir Bogdo, a
boy four years of age, caught his father's horse, saddled him,
put on his father's clothes, took his weapons, and with a long
spear in his hand rode out to war against Atai Ulan. He over
took Atai when he was in the middle of his own dominions,
and half-way home. He thrust this spear into Atai's right
side, unhorsed him, and cast him down from the sky to the
earth. When Atai Ulan fell to the earth he turned into Mangathais,
and evil Shalmos, spirits who sow dissensions and disputes, and
destroy people.
The thousand Burkans, who live above the many skies,
assembled on Dolon Odun (Great Bear, the seven stars) and
counseled what to do to stop the activity of all the evil spirits
that come from Atai Ulan, that is, to set aside evil. They de
cided to send to the earth Dashin Shuher, the eldest son of Khan

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 135
Tyurmas, and said that he might be able to conquer the Man
gathais. But Dashin Shuher would not go.
"I will not go," said he. "Let him go, who overthrew and
hurled down Atai Ulan. Let Gesir Bogdo go."
Then the thousand Burkans summoned Gesir Bogdo. When
he appeared all asked: "Why didst thou hurl Atai Ulan down
to the earth? If it was thy wish to crush, why not crush him
in the sky ? If to kill, why not kill him in the sky ? Go to the
earth now and destroy all the Mangathais and Shalmos that
came from him."
Gesir Bogdo said that he could not go to the earth in that
form which he had, and asked that they send Uhul Khan
(Death) to him, and directed that when Death had his body
they should prepare a place for the body, and put it there. The
place was to be so made that the body would not decay in
summer, or freeze in winter. It was to be sitting on a throne,
before it was to be a table, and on its left hand a paper. When
his body was thus cared for his spirit would enter the body of
a woman on earth, and be born again.
Gesir Bogdo's three sisters were to go down to the earth with him.
When Death came, and his body was cared for, Gesir's spirit
turned into a raven, his sisters turned into cuckoos, and all
four flew down. They flew around the whole world below,
made the circuit of the world. At last they saw, at the upper
end of a valley called Orhe Yalga, Entering Valley, a poor
yurta. In that yurta was a man seventy years old, who had a
wife who was sixty years old. The spirits of Gesir Bogdo and
his sisters entered that woman. When they had lived there six
months Gesir said to his earthly mother:
"O mother, take off thy cap."
The woman was terrified, took off her cap and threw it aside
from fear. Then Gesir flew out through her head, rose to the
sky, and higher up to the thousand Heavenly Burkans.
"I have found a yurta, a father and a mother," said he to
the Burkans. "When I am born send me, I pray, thirty-three
strong champions, three thousand warriors, and cattle of all
sorts ; besides, give me all that I may ask for to carry out what
I wish. Leave me not on earth without protection."

136 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
After this he went to earth again and entered his mother a
second time. The woman was greatly alarmed at this second
visit, and counseled with the old man, her husband. "Do not
take off thy cap again, for any reason," said he. They thought
that evil Shalmos were trifling with them, and they were terrified.
About ten months after the first visitation, the woman knew
that she was about to become a mother, and she said to her
husband :
"Stay at home to-day, do not leave me."
"Nothing will happen," said the old man. "I will go and
come back again quickly." So he went to hunt rabbits, but
was not gone long when the woman gave birth to three daughters,
all very beautiful. But they turned to ravens, flew out through
the smoke hole, and went up to the sky.
A son was born next. He was very ugly ; his feet were crooked,
his arms were behind his back, and twisted. He looked more
like a frog than a boy.
When the old man came home the mother scolded: "You
would not stay, our beautiful daughters have flown away, now
take this ugly, deformed creature. He is just like a frog. Do
what you like with him."
The old man cared for the child, and in three days the boy
spoke: "To-morrow," said he, "before sunrise you must put
me in a cradle. I will cry, cry all the time. You must sway the
cradle, and the more you sway it the more I will cry. At sun
rise two men will come, they will hear me cry, and ask: 'What
have you here in this cradle?' You will say: 'We know not,
whether it is a child, or some ugly creature; its legs are bent
upward, its hands are twisted behind its back. Can you free
the hands and feet, and straighten the arms and legs for us?'
They will come to the cradle and look at me. That moment
I will strike out with hands and feet and kill those two
strangers." Next morning before sunrise the boy began to cry fiercely.
His father put him in the cradle, rocked him, talked to him,
soothed him, but all to no purpose, he only cried the louder.
Then, just at sunrise, as he had said, two young men entered
the yurta and asked :

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 137
"What have you here in the cradle? Why does it not keep
its tongue in its mouth?"
"We know not if it is a child, we know not what it is or what
it will be. Do ye know how to cure it, or straighten its arms
and legs?"
"Yes, we know," said they. The old man and woman gave
the child to them. The boy stretched, struck out his hands and
feet with such force that it hurled down the strangers, crushed
them, killed them both.
Then the child said to the old man and its mother: "To
morrow I will cry and do you try to hush me, rock me, sing to
me, talk to me. Two young men will come in and ask the same
questions as those asked to-day, and I will kill them, just as I
killed those two."
Next day two men came in the same way, asked the same
questions, and were killed in like manner. After that the child
said : " Six Shalmos will come to-morrow. I will cry, you will
rock me, soothe me, talk to me. I will cry and cry. When they
come in they will ask: 'What is the trouble with that child
of yours.' Ye will answer : 'Oh, we do not know. Something
is the matter with its tongue, there are pimples on it. Can ye not
cure the poor child?' They will say: 'Oh, yes, only give the
child here, we will cure it.' Ye will give me into their arms."
The Shalmos came in the form of young men, asked ques
tions, and were ready to cure the crying infant. The mother
gave the child to the foremost of the Shalmos. The little boy
opened his mouth, the stranger put out his tongue, the child
caught it, drew it in hard, then sucked it out roots and all, and
swallowed it. The Shalmo could not say one word, he could
only groan, and give the child to the second Shalmo. The same
thing happened to the second, and to the third Shalmo, and so
on to the sixth. All six lost their tongues and could not say a
word, could not tell what had happened. They went away
speechless, and the woman put the child in its cradle.
Next evening the boy said to his mother: "Fill my sucking
bottle with milk and put it in the cradle at sunrise, carry the
cradle to the roadside, and leave me there till sunset. If not I
shall not be thy son."

138 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Next morning they put him, as he wished, near the roadside.
At midday came two mighty ravens, with iron beaks and iron
claws. They alighted one at one side of the cradle and one at
the other. Just before alighting they said to each other: "If
we let this boy alone he will grow to great strength and destroy
us; we will pick his eyes out to-day."
"Ah!" thought the boy, and he said to them as they came
down to the cradle. "With those beaks ye would soon devour
everything. I will take them from you, and give you bone
beaks." With that he plucked the iron beaks from their heads
and wished for them to have bone beaks, then he said: "With
those iron claws ye would tear and rend everything, I will give
you bone claws in place of those." With that he tore their claws
off, and gave them such beaks and claws as ravens have in our
time. The ravens flew away small, insignificant, and weak.
At sunset the old man and woman came and took the child
home. He gave directions to be carried out a second time, in
just the same way. The second day they left him by the roadside.
Three valleys distant was a mighty mosquito as big as any bul
lock; it had a great bone sting, sharp as a war spear. It had
bone legs as hard as horse legs, and it had tremendous strength
in its bulky body.
"Oh," said the mosquito, "if that old man's son grows up he
will destroy me. This day I will suck his blood out and kill
him." The mosquito flew over the three valleys, stood at the cradle,
and thrust its sharp, enormous sting at the infant. The boy
seized the sting, broke the mosquito into bits, made it as small,
puny, and tiny as a mosquito is in our time, gave it slim legs
and a miserable little sting, and it flew away with a voice as
weak and low as it is to-day.
The next morning the boy said: "At Sazgai Bain Khan's
there is a wedding. He is giving his daughter, Sangha Gohun,
in marriage to the sdn of Shurik Taiji Hubun. I will go to that
wedding." "How couldst thou go; thou art a little fellow, thou canst not
walk yet," said the father and mother. "Some person there
would crush thee to death."

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 139
"The khan's daughter is to take me as bridegroom, and I
must go," answered the boy.
He made them gird his goat skin on, and then he toddled off.
When out of sight he called on the thousand Burkans to send
his steed, with outfit for beast and rider. The steed was there
immediately. It was ninety fathoms long, and other parts ac
cordingly. The saddle was of smooth silver, the saddle cloth
of silk, the bridle of silver. The trousers of the rider were of
elk skin, the cap of sable, boots of fish skin, coat of silk and belt
of silver.
Gesir Bogdo put on his dress, mounted, and rode to the house
of Sazgai Bain Khan.
In the evening at the wedding he danced in the circle, and
no one there was as graceful or as beautiful as he. All admired
him. The first night he danced splendidly, the second night
he danced so that no one equalled him; and then he began to
pay attention to the bride. The third night the bride was in
love with him, and he urged her to go with him. At midnight
he stole Sangha Gohun, put her on his steed and shot away
homeward. When he came to the rock where he had hidden
his goat skin he dismounted, took Sangha Gohun down,
pointed out the yurta where his father and mother were, and
said : —
"That is my yurta, go on ahead, I will follow quickly." She
did as he asked. He let his steed loose, put on his old goat skin,
became a stumbling little boy again, and toddled on toward the
yurta. When Sangha Gohun reached the yurta and saw the wretched
place she lamented. "Why did I come to this dreadful yurta ?"
cried she, "why did I, the daughter of a khan, desert a khan's
son, and come to this misery ?" And she resolved to go back to
her father. So the next morning she started and traveled;
traveled all day till the sun had gone down, and then what did
she see when the sun had set, but this, that she was right there
by the old man's yurta.
She was held to the yurta by magic. She had to stay there
all that night. She knew not what had become of her new
husband, but when she went out of the yurta to escape she saw

140 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
a boy tumbling in through the doorway, and thought him some
ugly, dirty, unknown little urchin.
The next morning she again tried to escape, but after traveling
all day at sunset she was back near the same wretched yurta,
back to the place from which she had started.
The third day she tried, and the fourth, but each evening she
was at the yurta: she could do nothing, could not get away.
Then she lay down to sleep by the boy, concluding that he was
her husband in another form.
The fifth night she went down on her knees before the boy :
"Turn back to thy own form, become thy real self," implored
she. "Why torment me? Turn back and be as thou wert when
I saw thee first." She begged for two days.
On the morning of the ninth day, after going to sleep in the
poor, wretched old yurta Sangha Gohun woke up in a white
stone yurta three stories high. She was lying on a golden couch.
Everything there was in wonderful plenty and splendor, the boy
was there too, and, though in a palace in place of a wretched
yurta, he was no handsomer or cleaner than before.
When Sangha Gohun woke there were thirty-three strong
champions outside, three thousand warriors, and a great many
people standing or moving about. She wondered where that
ugly, nasty, little creature got such magnificence.
The twelfth evening, when going to bed, she tied, unknown to
him, a silk string around his ankle. At midnight she woke;
he was gone. She was astonished when she saw that the silk
string which she had tied around his ankle had stretched from
the bed to the ceiling. She went to the top of the yurta and
saw that from the roof to the sky there was a beautiful rainbow.
He had gone to the sky on that rainbow, and she followed him.
He had gone to Esege Malan to beg for more power and
riches. Esege Malan looked down and asked angrily: "Who
is that following thee?"
The boy looked, and saw Sangha Gohun. When she reached
the sky he gave her a push, and she went sliding down on the
rainbow till she came to the roof of the white stone yurta, and
then he followed her. Esege Malan was so angry that he pulled
in the rainbow and put it down on the earth where it has re-

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 141
mained, and there has never been a rainbow in heaven since that
morning. The boy too was angry, and he fell to beating his bride ; he
beat her three days and nights, calling out as he struck: "If
thou hadst not followed I might have got all I wanted ; Esege
Malan would have given it."
He commanded the thirty-three strong champions to lead his
cattle and horses to water. When they reached the seashore,
they found an aspen tree growing there; they pulled it up by
the roots, and from the hole came a Mangathai with ten heads,
and as he came out he cried :
"I will eat you up ! I will eat up every one of you."
"Thou wilt gain nothing by eating us. If thou eat us our
master will come and kill thee."
"What weapons has your master?" asked the Mangathai.
"Ninety-nine arrows, and a great yellow bow. There are
ninety-five knobs on the bow to protect it from the string, and
the arrow is of that kind that it will cut off not only thy head,
but any head in the world. The arrow head is three sided."
"Destroy those weapons," said the Mangathai, "and I will
take you into my service and treat you like Burkans. Ye will
live in the same way that I do. With your present master ye will
always be cattle herders."
"We will work for thee," said the men, and they went home
to cut and break the bows and arrows. They tried the string
and the knobs, but could not injure them in any way, could not
do the least harm to them, but they returned to the Mangathai
and told him that they had destroyed the weapons.
The Mangathai now went to fight with Gesir Bogdo, think
ing that if his weapons were destroyed he could be killed easily.
About midnight the dogs at Gesir Bogdo's yurta began to bark,
and Sangha Gohun said :
"Perhaps some one will shut you in, and kill you."
"I am not afraid," said Gesir; "no one can injure my
weapons, no one can destroy me." He knew that his strong
champions had tried and had failed in the trial. He went out
to defend his yurta. The Mangathai appeared at a distance,
riding on an immense stallion, but when he saw Gesir Bogdo

142 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
ready and brandishing his weapons he turned quickly to flee
from him. Gesir sent his arrow. " Go," said he to the arrow,
"and cut off the right arm of that Mangathai, and then cut off
all his heads."
The arrow did as commanded. Then Gesir burned the Man-
gathai's body and scattered the ashes.
Three days later the thirty-three mighty champions came to
him. Gesir Bogdo was angry and reproached them. They told
him that Gal Nurman Khan (fire ashes and fire) was at war
and they begged him to go with them to the war. He was un
willing, and said that they must not go to war in a year of bad
grass and great accidents.
"Take us ! Take us even for three days ! " urged they. When
Gesir refused, they took skin straps and hair ropes and declared
that as it was better to die than to be deprived of such pleasure,
they were going to hang themselves. Then Gesir Bogdo prom
ised to go with them. He sent them to collect all weapons that
were of use in war; and in three days the thirty-three champions
and three thousand men were armed properly.
Gesir Bogdo mounted his wonderful steed and went in his
dress of a hero, which he always wore now. The thirty-three
mighty champions were afraid of Gal Nurman, with whom they
were going to fight, for he never slept save for a few moments
just before daybreak, hence they decided to climb a high moun
tain and watch from there.
They climbed the mountain and waited, watched to see if
Gal Nurman would come out as fire, or in his own shape. He
was off in the southeast, but he saw them and stood up immedi
ately ; drank tarasun, mounted his golden bay steed and started,
without armor or attendants; rode out against them, rode
straight to where Gesir Bogdo was, and asked:
"Hast thou come to fight with me ? If so let us fight man to
man." Gesir Bogdo threw his armor off, sprang from his horse, and
they began to wrestle. They wrestled three days and three
nights, and fought with such fierceness that they tore off all the
flesh from each other's backs with their hands, and from each
other's breasts with their teeth.

Vassva, his Father, and Mr. Curtin. Page 33

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 143
At last Gal Nurman began to overpower Gesir Bogdo, then
two of Gesir's mighty champions sprang forward ; one of them
seized Gal Nurman's right leg. Gal kicked him and sent him
rolling, turning over and over down the hill. Then the other
champion seized Gal's left leg. Gal kicked, and sent him rolling
and turning in the same way. Then Gesir Bogdo called on the
Burkans to help him, but they would not; they were angry be
cause Sangha Gohun, his wife, had followed him up the rainbow
to the sky. Then Gesir called on his brother Dashin Shuher.
He came immediately, and the two killed Gal, put his body in
an iron cask, and rolled it into the sea; then they went to Gal's
yurta. Gal Nurman had two wives. Gesir Bogdo let an arrow fly
at the yurta, struck the younger woman and out of her body
sprang an infant. "I am born three days before my time!"
cried the child. "If I live nine days longer I shall conquer
Gesir Bogdo and Dashin, his brother!" and he began to sway
his head.
"Why kill that woman?" asked Dashin of Gesir Bogdo.
"I should have taken her for a wife." And Dashin, angry at
his brother, left him, and went up to the sky.
Gesir Bogdo put the elder wife into an iron barrel and rolled
the barrel into the sea; then he built a furnace, made a fire in
it, and put the child in the fire. Next morning when he went
to the furnace the boy was playing with live coals. "Ah, father,"
cried he, "into what a nice warm place thou didst put me!"
The second night Gesir made a still greater fire, and put the
child into it. The second morning he again found the boy play--
ing with the live coals. The third night Gesir watched the
child and saw that a red and green tube came down from the
sky to his navel. It raised the child up, and a stream of water
fell on him. Bogdo took an arrow, shot at the tube and cut it.
Then he made a great fire, and burned the child to ashes.
Bogdo took all the cattle, all the people, and all the treasures ;
ruined Gal Nurman's place. When he brought the people to his
domain he told them where to live, fixed homes for them. Then
he went into his white stone yurta and lay down to sleep, but
first he said to Sangha Gohun; "In case of danger if you can-

144 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
not rouse me take my sword and stab me in the right heel. If
that does not rouse me stab me in the right thigh. If that fails
to waken me let cold spring water drop into my right ear."
He went to sleep, and soon a seventeen-headed Mangathai
appeared, a brother of the ten-headed one whom Gesir had killed.
The dogs began to bark; the watchmen and the thirty-three
champions raised a great outcry. Sangha Gohun was frightened,
and tried to waken her husband. She was going to stab him in
the heel, but said to herself : "If I do that it will injure him and
how can he fight ? If I stab him in the thigh blood will flow, and
what strength will he have to fight ? If I pour water into his ear
it will run into his head and make him foolish ; he will have no
sense ; how could he carry on a war then ? "
And she did neither of the three things, but began to cry.
She cried all day, cried bitterly. At night when she put up
her hand to wipe the tears away one chanced to fall in Gesir's
ear; it woke him at once. He was frightened, sprang up, and
before he was well awake he snatched his weapons and hurried
into the courtyard. The Mangathai was there, and cried to
Gesir :
" Go to that mountain on the northwest, and I will go to the
one on the southeast, and we will hurl axes at each other."
Gesir agreed. The Mangathai said: "I will hurl my axe
first." "No," said Gesir Bogdo, "I was born here; I should have the
first throw."
"No, thou hast killed my brother; I should have the first
throw ! " And the Mangathai whirled his axe and let it fly to the
opposite mountain.
The axe was coming straight toward Gesir's head and would
have cut it off surely, but that instant he turned himself into
stone. The axe hit the stone, but made no hole or dint in it.
Gesir took his own form, seized his best arrow, and said :
"Fly, fly, O my arrow, and break the spinal column beneath
the Mangathai's neck, break his right forearm, fall then upon
his breast and whirl through his heart and lungs, cut them into
small pieces, and come back to me."
He whispered with such force to the arrow, that, from magic,

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 145
red fire appeared on the bow where the arrow touched it, and
little blue flames ran along the whole bowstring. He drew the
arrow to the very head, drew it back until the bow was like half
a circle, then let the arrow fly. It went straight to the Manga
thai, struck his spinal column below the neck, broke his right
arm, went into his left side and cut his heart and lungs into small
pieces, killed him ; then returned to Gesir Bogdo with a whistle,
and went of itself into the quiver.
Now the Mangathai's horse cried out to Gesir: "Thou hast
killed my master, but thou wilt never kill me. May my body
break into bits if I yield to thee ! " Then he rushed away south
west to the great barren steppe.
"Where art thou, my blue steed, ninety-nine fathoms long?"
called Gesir.
That moment the horse appeared. Gesir Bogdo sprang on to
him without a saddle. The horse said : "I will not let the Man
gathai's horse run across five valleys till I have bitten the strong
muscle in the back of his leg, and he will not run across six val
leys till I have him by the bridle bit."
Then he ran with all his strength, and at the fifth valley so
nearly overtook the Mangathai's horse that he bit the strong
sinew of his leg. In the sixth valley he caught him by the bridle
bit. Then Gesir Bogdo said :
"I have killed a great hero in killing the Mangathai, now I
will send him his horse, so that he will have a good beast to ride
in that other world."
He took the horse back to where the Mangathai was killed,
and there he killed the beast. He plucked up the mountain then
and planted it on the body of the Mangathai and the horse.
After that he went home.
"If I fall asleep," said he to his wife, "waken me as before."
"There are many Mangathais," said he to the thirty-three
mighty champions and the three thousand men, "and they will
come ; do ye defend well my property. Walk around and keep
watch, but go not one at a time. Let two or three go in company,
so that if one is eaten others will defend themselves, and still
others come to assist them."
Again he fell asleep. But his men, instead of watching, began
10

146 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
to play games. Meanwhile a Mangathai with twenty-seven
heads came upon them. Gesir with his magic knew of this;
woke up of himself, and, without saying a word to his wife, stole
out to-a mountain in the southeast, and from there watched the
Mangathai, saw that he went to the seashore, where they had
pulled up the silver-leafed aspen tree, and went into the hole
there. Gesir watched and waited all night. At daybreak the Manga
thai thrust his heads up through the hole to look around. At
that moment Gesir sent his arrow and cut off the twenty-seven
heads of the Mangathai. This Mangathai's horse called out in
the manner of the first horse, and was treated in the same way :
overtaken, killed and buried under the mountain together with
his master. Gesir rode home, and said to Sangha Gohun, his
wife, "My champions and men do not watch carefully; they
forget, but do thou watch for me."
After three days a Mangathai came into the courtyard.
Gesir's wife looked out, saw him, and said to herself: "If my
husband goes out to fight and is beaten the dogs will cower. If
he beats, the dogs will have their tails up, and be full of courage."
But again she cried and was afraid to waken Gesir Bogdo; at
last a tear drop fell into his right ear and wakened him.
The horse knew that the Mangathai was there and ran in from
the open country. Gesir sprang on to his back, rushed off to a
hill and called to the Mangathai :
"How shall we fight, hand to hand, or with weapons?"
"Let us wrestle," said the Mangathai, and he rode out to
meet Gesir.
Each man sprang from his horse and approached the other.
They held their heads like two bulls. They clinched and fought
so fiercely that each tore the flesh from the back of the other
with his hands, and from his breast with his teeth. They fought
two days. The Mangathai had lost all the flesh from his back
and his breast. Gesir squeezed him when he was nothing but
bones; what was inside the Mangathai squealed like a goat,
whined like a kid, and he died.
Gesir was dreadfully wearied after killing this fifty-three
headed Mangathai. "I must sleep now," said he to Sangha

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 147
Gohun. "I must sleep for nine days and nine nights. Watch,
sleep not, waken me as before." *
Gesir had slept three days and three nights when a seventy-
seven headed Mangathai came. He was more cautious at first
than any of the others, for his brothers had been killed. He
watched from a distance, standing on a mountain.
When Sangha Gohun saw this new Mangathai she was terribly
frightened and pushed her husband, but did not waken him.
Gesir was dreaming that a Mangathai had come, and was on his
land. Sangha Gohun tried again, tried to prick him in the heel, but
had not the courage to do it, so she waited two days. After five
days she pulled Gesir's arm and woke him. He woke more easily
because he was dreaming.
"What is the matter?" cried Gesir, springing up. He looked
out and saw the Mangathai on a mountain. "Once he has
come I may not leave him on my land," said Gesir. So he took
his horse and weapons and went out to meet the Mangathai.
When he reached the mountain top, he asked :
"How shall we fight ? Shall it be with the strength of arms, or
the swiftness of arrows ? " They agreed to run to the opposite
mountains, Gesir to the southeastern, and the Mangathai to the
northwestern one, and the one who reached his mountain first
should send the first arrow. Gesir was on his mountain top
when the Mangathai was within a few steps of his. He pointed
his arrow. It flew straight to the Mangathai, entered his side,
tore out his heart, broke his arm and his spinal column, and
killed him.
Gesir burned the body of the Mangathai, burned the horse,
and went home. This time he had no need of sleep ; he was not
weary. Barely had he reached his white stone yurta when a
Mangathai rushed straight into the courtyard: "Thou hast
killed my elder brothers ! " cried he. " Come out at once and
meet me ! "
1 Here the storyteller said : " The story of Gesir Bogdo is the father of the
world of stories. It is not as beautiful as some, but it is the greatest of all, and
is true."

148 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
" Go into the open steppe, where the fifty pine trees are grow
ing ; I will meet thee in that place."
The Mangathai went to the fifty pine trees, killed two splendid
deer, male and female, put them on spits, and was roasting
them in front of a big fire when Gesir Bogdo rode up suddenly,
seized one of the spits, sat down on the ground, and fell to eating.
The Mangathai rushed at him with his axe ; Gesir turned him
self into rock. The Mangathai struck till he was tired, but
made no impression on the hard, white rock ; he only broke his
axe on it. When the axe was broken Gesir took his own form
and said to the Mangathai :
"Who art thou who strikes and tries to kill people when they
are lying down ? " and he hit him such a blow that the blood
gushed from his nostrils. "Thou and thy brothers," roared
Gesir with a shout that was heard in the fifty-fifth sky, "are al
ways coming with war, and never with peace. Ye are great
fools!" Not only was the blow which followed the roar heard in the
fifty-fifth sky, but Hohodai Mergen (Thunder) heard it and asked :
" Why does our heaven child roar so ? He must be in trouble."
And he sent down his nine sons to help him. When they came
the nine sons hurled lightning at the Mangathai and his steed,
and tore them into small fragments.
Gesir ate the two deer, burned the bits of the Mangathai and
his horse, and went back to his yurta. When he got home he
said: "There is a young Mangathai; I hope he will come soon."
Gesir drank tarasun, and went around and gave directions to his
people. While doing this he saw, coming on a fiery, red horse, a
young man with a neck like a bull; he had a white face, enor
mous eyes, and ears with big rings in them. When he saw Gesir
Bogdo he shouted: "Be greeted ! "
"Be greeted !" said Gesir in reply.
"I have heard," said the young man, "that in this place lives
Gesir Bogdo, of great vigor ; I have come to try strength with
him. Shall we wrestle?"
Bogdo agreed, but said : "It is not convenient to wrestle here,
let us go out on that broad, barren steppe, where the fifty pine

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 149
trees are growing." And taking his weapons, he mounted his
steed and went to the place where he had fought with the Manga
thai. They began to wrestle and wrestled for three days. Wherever
they pressed their feet they knocked out a piece of earth as big
as a calf one year old, but neither could conquer the other. Then
they agreed to use arrows. In the night each tried to learn where
the life of the other was.
Gesir Bogdo had two lives. One of them was in his stone
yurta, the other was in the heaven next above the sky. This
second life was in a vial, and the Burkan, Hulgin Sagan Namo,
kept the vial between his knees, and his hand was always closed
on the mouth of the vial.
The life of the Mangathai was on a mountain in the south
west. On that mountain, in the top branches of a golden-
trunked, silver-leafed aspen, at the foot of which flowed the
Water of Youth and Life, sat the king of birds, Khan Herdik
Shubiin. In the outside feathers of the right wing of that bird
was a life ; Gesir thought it was the life of this Mangathai. But
he had a second life, and Gesir by his magic learned where it
was : On the bottom of the Milk Sea lived the old grandmother
of the Mangathai and she had a box ; in that box were thirteen
woodcocks, and in those woodcocks was the second life of the
Mangathai. Each learned by magic where the life of the other was, but it
was of no advantage to the Mangathai to learn that Gesir's life
was in the heaven above the sky, for Burkans would not let him
go there.
The mountain where the Mangathai's life was, was so far away,
and its top was so high that no horse could run to it, even a bird
could not fly to it, so Gesir Bogdo took an arrow from his quiver,
and said to it:
"Go to the top of the golden-trunked aspen tree where the
king of birds is sitting; go when he is sleeping, pluck the out
side feather from his right wing, and bring it hither."
Gesir was not sure that it was the life that he wanted, but it
proved to be. The next morning Gesir said to the Mangathai :
"As master of this land I will shoot first."

150 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
"No," said the Mangathai, "I come from afar; I am a guest,
the first shot is mine."
After much disputing Gesir Bogdo shot first. His arrow went
into the Mangathai, but the Mangathai had such power that the
arrow could not tear him. He pulled it out, took grass and
stopped the blood flow, then sprang up, and cried :
"Now I will shoot my arrow !" He stretched his bow and the
arrow flew straight to Gesir, went in under one of his armpits
and out under the other. Gesir caught the arrow as it came out,
planted it in his saddle, put stones against the wound to stop
the blood, and screamed to the Mangathai:
"What kind of archer art thou, that can only hit my saddle
bow?" Gesir kept the stones against his wounds, and in two days he
had recovered. The Mangathai grew well also ; then he mounted
and rode to Gesir Bogdo, who showed him a feather as big as a
small tree, and said :
"See what a beautiful feather I have." It was the feather
which the arrow had brought back from the mountain.
"Oh, that is the feather of a sacred bird," said the Mangathai.
"It would be an awful sin for you to write with it; thou art too
young. Let me have it ; I am not so young as thou art."
Gesir would not give it ; he twisted the feather and put it away.
"I have a terrible pain in my head," said the Mangathai. "I
must rest two days or three." And he went to his yurta.
Gesir knew now that one of the Mangathai's lives was in the
feather, and he set out for the Milk Sea to find the Mangathai's
grandmother and get the second life. By magic he made him
self exactly like the Mangathai.
When Gesir reached the Milk Sea, not knowing the way into
it, he began to weep and call, "Oh, grandmother, grand
mother come out. Come up to me. I have been fighting three
years with Gesir Bogdo, and have worn out my strength. In
side me there is no power, outside I have nothing."
The old grandmother came from the sea, and was wonder
fully glad to look at her grandson. She took him on her knees
and to strengthen him gave him her breast. "Oh," said she,
"I am astonished, my children do not draw as they used to."

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 151
"I have been fighting three years, of course I cannot draw as
I used to," said Gesir. Then he drew the breast so hard that
he drew the lungs out of the old woman and she died, crying :
"A deceiver has killed me!"
Then Gesir went to the bottom of the Milk Sea, where he found
the box and kicked it open. The thirteen woodcocks flew out,
but Gesir could catch only one, the others flew up to the sky.
He killed the one, turned himself into a falcon and flew after
the twelve woodcocks; caught eleven and killed them; the
twelfth fell to the earth, turned into millet, and covered seven
acres and a half with small grains, and each grain had the second
life of the Mangathai within it.
Gesir turned himself into ninety-nine hens and fell to eating
the millet. The hens ate till only three grains were left, then
those three turned into three wild goats and ran off to the forest.
That instant the ninety-nine hens turned themselves into three
gray, hungry wolves. They caught two of the wild goats, but
the third got away, escaped to the edge of the sea, turned into
hundreds of small fish and sprang into the water. From three
wolves Gesir turned into a great many hungry pikes and began
to swallow the small fish.
The pikes ate till only two of the small fish were left. Those
darted to the edge of the sea, sprang out and became two wild
goats. The pikes turned into wolves and ran after the goats.
They caught one goat, the other changed into seven skylarks,
and rose through the air swiftly.
Gesir Bogdo now called on Hohodai Mergen (Thunder) to
make stone hail and let it fall on the skylarks and kill them.
Hohodai listened, was favorable to Gesir, and helped him.
The hailstorm came, but wherever there was a ray of sunlight
the larks darted into it, and thus were saved from the hailstones.
Gesir saw the larks hanging in the sunshine; he turned into
a raven, darted at them, and caught them. He went back then
to where the Mangathai was and found him very feeble.
"Thou art not able to fight yet, thou art sick it seems," said
Gesir, as he put his hands in his pockets and took out the
skylarks. "Hast thou ever seen such beautiful birds?" asked he.

152 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
The Mangathai was dreadfully frightened, and cried :
"Oh, it is a terrible sin for a young man to take hold of those
birds. I am older than thou art, give them to me."
Gesir Bogdo squeezed the birds, then gave them to his horse
to bite. The horse bit them, killed them; the Mangathai died,
and Gesir covered him and his horse with a mountain.
When Gesir reached home he said to his wife: "The father
of the Mangathais is left yet, but it is better for me to go to
him," and he went.
This father had ninety-nine heads. The old man came
out with a club in his hands and shouted: "Oh, thou dog!
thou hast killed all my strong sons, and now thou art here to
kill me, but thou wilt not do it ! "
Bogdo laughed and said : "Thy flesh is tender, thy bones are
weak ! " And he spoke as if the Mangathai were a young boy.
The old man became terribly angry and sprang at Gesir. Gesir
seized him, raised him up, and struck him against the earth.
Right there was a larch tree of such bulk that ten men could
hardly reach around it. There was a split in the tree, Gesir
pushed the old Mangathai into the split, pressed it together
firmly, put ninety-nine hoops around the tree trunk, and said:
"Now stay there forever!"
Gesir went home then, and Sangha Gohun said to him: "In
five months I shall give birth to a child, go not out during that
time." He waited five months. She was ill, very ill, and Gesir
prayed to the thousand heavenly Burkans that she might be
delivered the more quickly, and in two days a son was born;
an old midwife received the child. All the people were called
and Gesir put out kegs of tarasun and killed many cattle, so
that there was a sea of drink and a mountain of meat for every
one present. Then they asked the old men and women, "What
name is the child to have?"
Gesir took the right shoulder bone of a bull, held it, and said :
"Whoso is able to give a name to my son and will give it, let him
do so now."
An old man from the North stepped out of the crowd and said :
"I can give a name. The eldest son of Gesir Bogdo will be
called Ashir Bogdo."

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 153
Gesir accepted the name, gave the old man the bone of the
bull and three gallons of tarasun, and when the time came sent
a man with three horses to take him home with honor.
"Till five months are passed," said the mother to Gesir,
"thou wilt not leave the yurta."
When five months old the boy walked. "I will ride around
the whole world now," said Gesir, "and see what is happening."
He started and during twelve years he went everywhere; went
to the yurta of Gal Tulan Tengeri (Fiery Red Sky) and fell in
love with Gal's beautiful daughter. When parting from her,
he said : "I will return soon and take thee home as my second
wife." "Who art thou?" asked Ashir Bogdo when his father came
home. "Art thou good or bad ? Hast thou come with good or
evil wishes?" Then Sangha Gohun came, recognized Gesir,
and said: "This is thy father, who has come back to us after
wandering twelve years around the world." When Ashir heard
her words he embraced his father and led him into the yurta.
Sangha Gohun gave all there was to eat and to drink ; meat and
tarasun in plenty, and the three ate together.
In the evening Gesir lay down to sleep on a beaver skin and
under a sable cover. Then he told Sangha Gohun how he had
seen the daughter of Gal Tulan and that he wanted her for his
second wife. "She will not trouble thee," added he, "and I
wish to have as many sons as possible."
"Thinkst thou that I am old ? I am not old. Why take the
other woman ? We have a son. I beg thee not to take her."
"I took thee when I was young," said Gesir. "I deceived
thee and brought thee home, therefore I married thee. But
when I took my present form it was commanded me to have
two wives, first thee, then this other one."
Three days and nights he argued with Sangha Gohun, but
she would not consent, would not yield to him. Then he said :
"I will ask thee no further. I will go and bring her. If I do
not I shall die to-morrow or the day which comes after."
"I am sorry for thee," said Sangha Gohun. "Bring her,
bring her not. Do what pleases thee."
He made ready, mounted his steed in full outfit as at first, and

154 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
rode away to Gal Tulan Tengeri's kingdom. He traveled night
and day at a gallop. At last he came to a bronze and silver
square where man had never sat. In that square was a spring
dark as liver and from that spring horse had never drunk. Gesir
watered his steed there, then sat down, took his silver pipe,
filled it with tobacco, named the thousand Heavenly Burkans,
made fire with a flint, and smoked. When he blew out smoke
it went with a roar like rushing wind; when he opened his
mouth and let it come out of itself it came in silence. He
smoked these two ways.
After Gesir had finished smoking he put away his pipe and
went toward the northeast. When he jerked the reins the
bridle bit cut the horse's mouth so that blood flowed ; when he •
struck with his whip it cut to the bone. The horse raced on
with fierce pace till at last they reached the mountain called
Tiphin Undir Hada.
"Well," asked Gesir of his steed, "what skill hast thou?"
"What skill have I? I can spring to the top of this high
mountain. If I go back one day's journey, with the force of my
run I can rise to the summit. If I fail in the spring and fall, we
shall perish, both of us."
Gesir went to the foot of the mountain and saw piles of bones
there, immense piles, bones of men and of horses. He took the
thigh bone of a man, measured it against his own ; it reached the
whole length of his leg. Then he took the thigh bone of a horse
and measured it against his steed ; it was long as his whole leg.
"Oh," said Gesir, "since they, who were so mighty, have
perished we are sure to fail. Let us weep."
They wept during three days and three nights, steed and
rider. After that Gesir Bogdo turned back the journey of one
day and rested. Then the horse rushed furiously toward the
mountain, rose with one immense spring, but did not quite
reach the summit, he only got his front feet over the highest
edge, and hung there, holding on first with hoofs and then with
hoofs and teeth.
"Now master," cried he, "save me if thou canst, or kill me
if it is thy wish." Bogdo sprang from the saddle-tree over the
horse's head and was on the summit. That done he drew the

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 155
horse up by the strong bridle and they lay there, both of them,
on the top of the mountain for twenty-four hours without
moving. When they came to their senses and looked around
they saw a spring near them. In this spring was the Water of
Life and Youth which gushed forth at the foot of a golden-
trunked, silver-leafed aspen tree ; on a branch of the tree a cup
was hanging.
Gesir took one of the silver leaves of the golden tree, ate it and
gave another silver leaf to his stallion. Then he drank a cup
of the water and gave one to his horse. He took the saddle from
his steed with great difficulty, so firmly had it clung to the saddle
cloth; the saddle-cloth itself had so clung to the horse that it
had almost grown to him.
Gesir fettered his steed and led him out to graze. At that
moment a stag and hind passed. He took his black bow and
strong arrow and killed them both. He dressed them, spitted
the female on a whole pine tree and the male on the trunk of a
great larch tree; then he lay down and slept three days and
three nights.
When Gesir woke he saw that his steed had grown fat and
was far handsomer than he had ever been. He himself had
improved wonderfully. This change was from the silver leaf
of the aspen tree and the Water of Life.
Gesir sat down and ate the two deer ; chewed the meat, bones,
and all. He cleared in his mouth the flesh from the bones and
cast the bones out through his nostrils. When he had finished
eating he turned his steed into a flint, put the flint into his
pocket, changed himself into Khan Herdik Shubun (Eagle) and
flew to Gal Tulan Tengeri's kingdom, where he saw the khan's
yurta hanging between the cloudy sky and the first heaven.
When Gesir came to the yurta he found that it had no doors,
so he prayed three days and three nights, going around on the
sun's road (in the same direction as the sun).
In front of Gal Tulan's yurta was a tree of such size that a
man on the swiftest horse could hardly ride around it in a day.
On its boughs thousands of heavenly birds were singing ; on its
branches hung all the written wisdom in existence. The re
ligions of all peoples were recorded and hanging there.

156 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
After Gesir had gone around on the sun's road for three days,
praying to the Burkans, the doors of the yurta opened of them
selves on the west and he entered.
The rooms inside were without doors, apparently, as well as
the outer walls of the yurta. Gesir prayed one day and one
night, two doors opened, and out came Gal Tulan Tengeri.
They greeted each other and Gal invited Gesir Bogdo to sit
down and then he gave orders to bring milk to him. When he
wished to drink Gal said, "Whence hast thou come, black,
earthly mouse?"
"I am no black, earthly mouse," replied Gesir. "I was
created by the thousand Heavenly Burkans. I am the youngest
son of Khan Tyurmas, the eldest of the fifty-five Tengeris. I
have come because my father and thy father poured to each
other wine into a red goblet and exchanged the second joint of
the right leg of a bullock in agreement that the son of one and
the daughter of the other were to marry."
"Soft meat needs no knife and a true word needs no road,"
said Gal. " Show me thy book and I will see if it is recorded in
it that our fathers exchanged cups of red wine and the leg joint
of a bullock and made this agreement."
Gesir gave the book and Gal Tulan read three days in it;
he found everything as Gesir had said.
"Now I have entertained you," said Gal, "and have looked
through the book. It is as you have said, and I will give my
daughter, but first go and see her; she is in the seventy-seventh
chamber. If she consents all will be well."
Just before sunset Gesir Bogdo turned to go to Gal's daughter;
soon he was in the seventy-seventh chamber, and he saluted her
quickly. She brought various dishes to him, sweet milk, curds,
and the film of boiled milk. They ate heartily, then ceased to
eat. That night the pillows of his bed were of otter, the bed itself
was of otter, the quilt of sable was as soft as if all the fur were in
a lump without the skin ; it was as soft as the lungs of an animal.
The next morning when one half of the round of the sun was
above the earth Gesir sprang up at the call of Gal Tulan, who
shouted: "Art thou sorry to leave a soft bed?"

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 157
"Soft meat needs no knife, a true word needs no road. My
bride had so much to say that time passed without notice till the
sun was half up. When our fathers made the agreement what
were the conditions ? "
"Your father was to give a cart-load of gold and the arms and
armor of a warrior."
Gesir went west that day and up to the region of the fifty-five
Tengeris. He went first to the seven smiths of the sky; they
were to make for him the arms and armor of a warrior. He told
them that he had promised the arms and armor to Gal within
three days. It took him one day and one night to go to the sky-
smiths. Then Gesir went to his father, and told him that Khan Tulan
had given him but three days, and he asked for the gold. Khan
Tyurmas got the gold, and gave it to Gesir, for the time was
short, and great haste was requisite.
Gesir pulled a tree out by the roots, tied the roots to his
horse's tail, and said to the man with the gold : " Follow the
trail that this tree makes and you will know the way by which
I go." Bogdo was late with the weapons. The time for delivering the
gold had not been mentioned. "Why art thou late ? " asked Gal.
" Because the sky-smiths were late ; there was much work in
making the weapons."
Gal Tulan received the armor and weapons. "Where is the
gold?" asked he. "Thou wilt deceive me, perhaps, if I give
the wedding."
"The wedding will last more than one day," answered Gesir;
"the gold will be here before the wedding is ended."
Gal Tulan invited the thousand Burkans. All the Burkans
and people danced and ate and drank for nine days. There
were mountains of meat and lakes of tarasun ; whoever wanted
to dance danced, whoever got drunk fell down, and lay where
he fell. At last the load of gold came, and the father-in-law
received it.
"It is time to go home," said Gesir Bogdo, on the ninth day.
Gal Tulan assented, Gesir's horse was saddled, and a horse for
the bride was brought; its body was ninety fathoms long and

158 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
its ears nine ells high; he was a bay, with a star on the
forehead. The bride asked then what her mother would give, and the
mother gave her a pair of golden scissors. Then she asked her
brother, and he gave her a silver magic cup. The cup had such
power, that if she held it in her right hand and made a sweep
with it toward herself everything within thirty versts followed her.
They mounted their steeds. "Now," said Gesir Bogdo, "let
all the guests follow me." He pulled up a young tree, tied it to
his horse's tail and said : "Follow the trail!" The bride held
the magic cup in her right hand, made a sweep with it, and said :
"Everything that is here follow us ! " So her father and mother,
the yurta, and everything had to go with them. She and Gesir
Bogdo rode forward, and she did not look back till her father
called :
"Daughter, look around and see what is happening!"
She feigned not to hear and rode on. The father called a
second and a third time. "But look around, daughter!"
She looked half over her shoulder. That moment one third of
all that was following remained behind. The father soon called,
"Daughter, everything is burning up! Is it possible that thou
wilt let thy father and mother be burned ? " The bride was so
frightened by what he said that she looked over her shoulder.
That moment another third remained behind, and only the last
third was following.
They traveled in the sky till above the mountain where the
Water of Youth and Life was, and the golden-trunked, silver-
leafed aspen tree.
Gesir's father-in-law had given him a silver stairway. On this
stairway they came down from the sky to the mountain; the
stairway looked like a ray of sunlight. All came down on it, —
people, cattle, and herds. Then they went to Bogdo's great
white stone yurta. His wife and son were waiting there. Ashir
Bogdo was now old enough to marry, and he asked his father:
"Is this a bride whom thou hast brought for me?" ,
"No, she is for myself; thou art young, for thee there is time
enough." Three days later the people came. When they appeared Gesir

Drying Fuel — Cow Droppings -- Island of Olkhon. Page 74

Church near a Post Station on the Road to Lake Baikal. Page 68
The place which I called " Ragats"

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 159
had another wedding feast which lasted for nine days and nights,
with a mountain of meat, and a sea of drink. On the tenth day
he sent back the guests, but the cattle remained with him.
Gesir and his young wife had a pleasant life for the first day
and first night. The second evening the old wife scolded, and
quarrelled with her hushand and his bride.
The next morning the young wife said : "I cannot live thus,
I would rather be with the hundred and nine headed Mangathai
than with thee in this yurta. Remain with thy old wife, I will
go to the Mangathai."
Gesir begged her to stay. "I ought to have married thee
first," said he, "since that was the agreement between our
fathers. But I was young. Bow down to my old wife, and stay
with me."
"I will promise to stay and be thy wife if thou wilt turn into
a six-year-old horse, and for one day eat grass in the field out
there." Gesir consented, for he was greatly in love; he turned himself
into a horse and went to graze outside in the field. Then the
bride began her magic, and chanted. She chanted that Gesir
must be a horse and draw a plow as long as the hundred and
nine headed Mangathai lived. She chanted "Gesir is in my
hands ; come hither thou hundred and nine headed Mangathai,"
and her voice reached the Mangathai.
The Mangathai appeared that same night, rode in on his
terrible black stallion. Gesir was then out in the field eating
grass like any other horse, one of his fore feet tied to a stake
while he pastured. Gesir's young wife, whose name was Apha,
sprang up, opened the door and let in the Mangathai. All that
he asked for she gave, — food, drink, and everything. "Where
is thy husband ?" asked the Mangathai while he was eating.
"He is out in the field gnawing grass; each day thou wilt
plow with him, and each night put him in an iron stable without
windows or opening other than the door, so that he may never
escape from thee."
The next morning the Mangathai rose and began to plow.
He plowed all day with Gesir Bogdo, then tied him firmly in the
iron stable, and closed the door securely.

160 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Sangha Gohun with her son left the yurta and went southwest
to Red Mountain. There the son made a box of bark, put his
mother inside, raised up the mountain and placed the box under
it ; then he turned himself into a falcon, and flew away to Khan
Tyurmas, his grandfather. When he had told him all his
trouble Khan Tyurmas said: "I will summon the thousand
Heavenly Burkans to assemble on Dolon Odun" (The Great
Bear). From the time when the Mangathai came to Gesir's yurta till
all the Heavenly Burkans assembled nine months had passed,
and every day Gesir had drawn a plow and been driven by the
hundred and nine headed Mangathai, who had settled in his
yurta and was living with Apha, Gesir's young wife.
Ashir said to the thousand Burkans, "Ye created a hero;
did ye create him to plow for a Mangathai ? "
The Burkans looked down, and saw the hundred and nine
headed Mangathai plowing with Gesir Bogdo as a horse. The
Mangathai had a strong club in his hand, and was beating the
hero to make him work faster.
Nine days did the Burkans take counsel on Dolon Odun ; at
last they decided to make an iron hero. The smiths of the sky
made this hero ; they were forging him during nine days, and
while at work they chanted these words : "May man with thumb
never crush thee; may man with shoulder never kill thee; may
no weapon or sharp steel ever harm thee ! "
After the sky-smiths had finished the body Ashir Bogdo went
to the seven heavenly smiths to have armor made, — bow, arrows,
and quiver. He returned then to the thousand Burkans, and
said, "Ye have created a hero, now give him a steed." In
the sky were nine blue stallions. The Burkans gave the Iron
Hero the youngest of these. This stallion heard all that happened
on earth, and all that was done in the sky, or above it. One ear
he pointed upward to hear what was done higher up, the other
downward to hear all the sounds on the earth beneath him.
Ashir took this steed to his grandfather's yurta; and just as he
reached there, with the stallion and all his trappings, the Iron
Hero came, for the thousand Burkans had breathed into him
and given him life. When this hero walked seven acres of earth

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 161
groaned around him ; when he came to the yurta Khan Tyurmas,
who was very anxious about his son, said :
"Thou hast no time to wait here, mount thy steed, and hasten
to free Gesir Bogdo."
Ashir started and with him went the Iron Hero mounted on
the all-hearing steed, which traveled lower than the clouds, and
higher than the trees, till over Red Mountain, where Ashir
Bogdo had hidden his mother ; there they came down and Ashir
went to his mother and asked: "Where are the weapons and
the armor which my father used ? "
"I put them aside," said she, "where no one could ever find
them." Then she told him what storehouse they were in, and
gave him the key.
"We will go now," said Ashir, "to that Mangathai who is
plowing with my father."
" Go," said Sangha Gohun, "but go not to the yurta, for Apha
would kill thee."
The Iron Hero went then to free his brother, Gesir Bogdo,
from the power of the Mangathai, and Ashir went to find the
armor and arms of his father.
The Iron Hero found the Mangathai plowing with a terribly
lean and wretched horse, and he shouted to him:
"Why plow with such a poor, miserable beast. Take my
good sturdy steed for a little while; let thine rest and get
breath again."
"I will not use thy horse," said the Mangathai; "mine is good
enough." But he changed his mind soon, and said, "I will try
the fresh horse."
The Mangathai let out Gesir, and put in the blue stallion.
Gesir saw that the Iron Hero was his brother, created by the
Burkans, and he began to weep, but in such a way that the
Mangathai might not see him.
The Mangathai fastened the reins round his own neck, and
put the plow in the ground. The blue sky stallion had awful
strength ; no one knew what his strength was. He began slowly,
then went faster and faster till at last he broke the plow, and
then he dragged the Mangathai in great circles around the Iron
Hero. The Iron Hero sent arrow after arrow into the Man-
11

162 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
gathai's body, and killed him. Then the blue stallion came up
to him with the body of the Mangathai.
Ashir Bogdo brought water from nine springs ; he went to a
forest and brought juniper leaves from it and dried them. He
washed Gesir with the water, and incensed him with the smoke
of the dry juniper leaves, and restored him perfectly.
After that they took a barrel, with ninety-five iron hoops, put
the body of the Mangathai into the barrel, and rolled it into the
Gazada Sea (Lateral Sea).
Gesir Bogdo went toward his yurta. Apha, who had seen
all that had taken place, ran out, and put her arms around
him. "Since thou hast magic and power, why didst thou let the
Mangathai torment me so long?" asked Gesir. "Now I will
make thee work like a three-year-old bullock, and have you
milked as a three-year-old cow."
"Thou wilt never do that!" screamed Apha, and she closed
with him. They wrestled for three days and three nights;
she was gaining. They fought for nine days and nights, and
then she was winning the victory surely.
"Where is thy aid?" cried Gesir to the Iron Hero. The
Iron Hero approached Apha then, saying, "I will take thee now;
my brother brought thee here by deceit, thou shouldst be my
wife." "Was I brought here to be the wife of one after another?
Am I to be the wife of one of you when another is tired of me?"
asked Apha, and she hurled herself at the Iron Hero, screaming,
"May Gal Tulan and Dul Tulan Tengeri crush thee into
fragments ! "
Ashif Bogdo helped now, and it was as much as the three
could do to conquer Apha, and confine her in a barrel, with
ninety-nine iron hoops around it. When they had put her into
that barrel they rolled it into the Lateral Sea ; then all went into
Gesir's yurta.
"Well," asked Sangha Gohun, "didst thou have much hap
piness with thy young wife ? If I had not borne thee a son and
sent him to the sky the Mangathai would be plowing with thee
yet, and beating thy lean body."

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 163
"Now," said the Iron Hero to Gesir, "thou art my elder
brother, and I am ready to help thee, but I am old enough to
look for a bride."
"Thou art old enough," said Gesir Bogdo, "thou mayst go
to find her."

164 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA

THE IRON HERO
THE Iron Hero cut open his side, and found a book in his
liver. He read this book three days and nights, without
stopping ; at one time he laughed, at another he cried, at a third
he sang songs.
In this book it was written that there were seven noble Don-
gins, that the eldest of the seven had a beautiful daughter whom
the Iron Hero was to marry ; the other six brothers were childless.
Before he set out to find this bride the Iron Hero turned his
horse into flint, and placed him inside his own midriff. Then
he boiled the flesh of ten sheep in one kettle, and made it as
small as the flesh of one sheep. He distilled ten pots of tarasun
and redistilled it till one kettle held all, and the liquor had ten
strengths. After that he put the meat and drink into an iron
car, and set out on his journey. When going up hill he gave
the car a push and it went to the top. When going down he
mounted the car, and rode in it pleasantly.
The Iron Hero hurried directly southwest. He reached the
boundary of a new country, crossed it, and traveled on till he
came to a bronze and silver square on which man had never
stepped. In that square there was a spring as dark as liver, a
spring from which horse had never drank. When the Iron Hero
had drunk water and ¦ moked, he said : "Thou art such a land
that when the mountain wind blows downward thou art waving
like a beaver fur, and when the valley wind blows against the
mountain side thou art like a sable fur. When I return with
my bride I will settle here ; this will be my place."
After that he descended all the time. It was a sloping region,
and he went swiftly. He heard ahead the panting, as it were,
of ten men, and the tramp, as it were, of ten horses. He knew
not what to do, he was frightened, but he said to himself: "If
a wolf hunts a deer two days he will die of hunger. If a man
does not carry out what he plans he would better perish. If a
woman does not sew what she has cut, better that she cut off

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 165
her fingers." Then he made his breathing as great as the breath
ing of ten men, and the noise of his car as loud as the noise of
ten carts.
Soon he met a twenty-five headed Mangathai. When he saw
him in front he added to the speed of his car, and went so fast
that he carried off the bottom of the Mangathai's stirrup and
twisted up what was left of it. He cut off a part of the Man
gathai's right cheek, and went forward a while, then turned his
car around toward the Mangathai, saluted, and asked him:
"What place dost thou wish now to ravage and ruin?"
"I am going far to the northeast," said the Mangathai; "I
have heard that Gesir Bogdo has a brother called the Iron Hero ;
I want to test his strength. While he is young, while his voice is
thin, and his bones are soft, I wish greatly to kill him."
"Oh, thou wilt not let people come to their age, and gain
strength. Thou wilt kill and ravage ! " cried the Iron Hero, and
springing from the car he gave the Mangathai a blow on the
forehead. "Oh, it is thou, then, thou art the Iron Hero, going to look for
a bride!" cried the Mangathai, mocking him, and he sprang
down from his stallion.
The two approached looking sidewise at each other, like two
bulls going to battle. They were as dark as two gloomy clouds;
both were raging. They rushed at each other to wrestle, and soon
the ground under them became hills and valleys.
The Iron Hero tore all the flesh from the Mangathai's back
with his fingers, and all of it from his breast with his teeth. At
mid-forenoon of the next day he killed the Mangathai, put his
head toward the northwest, his feet toward the east, put a
mountain on his head and his breast, and another across his feet
and legs, leaving a road between by which people might travel.
Now the Iron Hero went farther, saw an iron yurta, the top
of which touched the sky. He was frightened ; he turned the car
into a flint, himself into a skunk, and went toward that iron
yurta underground. He ate a hole through the floors, and peeping
up, saw a hundred and eight headed Mangathai, his feet against
one wall, his head against another. This Mangathai was breath
ing very heavily. Out of one corner of his mouth a blue

166 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
flame was quivering, out of the other corner a red flame gushed
forth. Seeing that the Mangathai was sleeping soundly, the Iron
Hero crept up and stole his axe, which hung there, made it small,
took it away underground, came back and gnawed through the
Mangathai's throat quickly. The Mangathai sprang up, and
cried: "Cunning people have robbed me! Sharp arrows have
hit me!"
He stumbled around through the place, could do nothing, lost
his senses, blood flowed from his nostrils, his breath failed, and
life left him.
The Hero turned the great iron building bottom side upward.
He made small trees for elks to eat, for deer he made brush. He
made black ravens to croak on the place, and a yellow fox to
race around it. He commanded that on fallen snow there should
never be tracks in winter, and that grass should not be broken
or crushed in the summer, so that everything might be secret;
all things lone and deserted.
He made a fire from flint, and began to smoke. The highest
flame from his flint rose through every heaven to the ninth, and
the lowest flame went down through all regions of the earth to
the seventh. He invoked the thousand Burkans. He sent out his
smoke first with a roaring whistle, and then he let it go of itself
in deep silence.
When his smoke was finished he set out again with his car,
going southwestward continually. When he came to a hill he
gave the car a great push and it went to the summit. When going
down he mounted the car and rode along swiftly and in comfort.
At last he saw a fifty headed Mangathai riding on a horse black
as the earth. The Mangathai wore a mantle of goat skin, and
he shouted from his horse to the Iron Hero: "Thou hast killed
my father and my younger brother, and now thou hast hap
pened into my hands very luckily !"
He sprang from his horse, the Iron Hero leaped from his car,
and the two went toward each other like two bulls, or like two
black threatening clouds, and they closed in a desperate struggle.
Each tore the flesh from the back of the other with his fingers,
and bit it away from his breast with his teeth. Three days and

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 167
nights did they fight. They made hills and valleys. Where there
had been a hill there was a valley and where the valley had been
there was a hill. But neither could conquer the other. They
agreed then to hurl weapons from opposite mountains. The
Mangathai from a mountain on the western border of the sky,
the Iron Hero from one on the eastern border.
They disputed long, and with hot words, as to who should shoot
first. The Mangathai demanded the first shot because he lived
there. The Iron Hero, claimed it because he was a stranger.
He insisted, but yielded at last to the Mangathai, and took his
place on the eastern mountain, where he turned into a jade stone
before the Mangathai's axe could reach him.
The Mangathai hurled his axe, hit the stone but could not harm
it. The Iron Hero took his own form again, seized the axe,
struck it into his car, and shouted: "Thou hast a fine aim, to
hit my car. How now am I to travel ? Stand up in thy own size,
and let me shoot at thee."
The Iron Hero took his bow, bent it to a half circle, and spoke
to the arrow, as he drew the string to the arrow head :
" Go thou, my arrow, into the side of my enemy, tear around
through his heart, lungs, and liver. Come out then, break his
forearm, and crack his spinal column at the neck, then come
back to me."
The arrow did all this, and came back to the quiver.
The Mangathai's black steed called to the Iron Hero: "My
mother is in the Milk Sea, my father is on a high mountain. I
have no fear of thee. I will go to them ! " and he sped away.
The Iron Hero took out the flint, and turned it into his blue
stallion of the sky. The blue stallion rushed after the black
steed of the Mangathai, calling out as he started :
"When thy two hind feet are in the second valley my fore feet
will be there ; when thy four feet are in the third valley my three
feet will be there, when all thy feet are in the fourth valley my
four feet will be in the same valley, and in the fifth valley I will
bite the great muscle of thy leg, catch thee by the bridle bit, and
bring thee back here."
The blue stallion did this. He brought the black steed of the
Mangathai to the Iron Hero. The Iron Hero killed the steed

168 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
with the Mangathai's axe, put a hill on the dead Mangathai, an
other one on his steed; then he put his blue stallion into his
breast as a flint, and pushing his car went into a cold place, a land
so cold that horse droppings froze solid and were as ice when
they touched the ground.
"Pfu! pfu! how hot!" cried the Hero, and he opened his
bosom; he was sweating. Then he went into a country so hot
that horse droppings dried up, and scattered into dust before
they touched the earth. "Pfu ! pfu ! what a cold place this is !"
cried the Hero, as he drew his cap down and buttoned his shirt
very closely. " Oh, how cold ; I am almost frozen ! "
After he had driven out of the hot land he came to a forest so
dense that the thinnest snake in the world could not squeeze
through between the trees, and so vast that no eye could see side
or end to it. He begged the thousand Burkans to give him an
axe with a blade one ell wide. He got the axe and began to hew
and cut, but all that he cut in the day time grew up again during
night hours. He cut three days and each night all the trees
grew up again, and were there in the morning. Seeing no good
in the axe he took his arrow from the quiver and spoke to it, say
ing: "Cut thou the trees level with the earth; cut a road so
wide that a laden camel might go through this forest easily, and
a pied ox with a sleigh might pass without trouble. When all is
done come back to the quiver."
The arrow did as commanded. The trees thus cut never grew
again, and the Iron Hero passed through the forest without diffi
culty. Then he went to a high place and looking down saw a
broad valley, and he thought, "To spring over this valley — no
hero could do that ; to pass through will be difficult ; there are so
many serpents here."
The serpents saw the Iron Hero, and said, "We must not let
that man pass under us, or over us, or through us !"
There was nothing to be accomplished by pushing ahead, so
the Iron Hero turned his car into a flint and put it into his
pocket, then turned himself into a yellow, spotted serpent, and
went into that valley. He passed up and down, passed three
times through the valley so as not to be suspected, then slipped
out on the opposite side, took the flint from his pocket, made

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 169
it into a car again, and became himself, — was the Iron Hero
again. When the serpents saw this they fell to asking each of some
other one, "What didst thou see?" The other answering,
"What didst thou see ?" "We promised not to let this man go
over us, or under us, or through us, and now he has gone through
us." They grew so angry that they bit one another, and fell to
fighting savagely. There was a terrible uproar, some bit others
to death, and were themselves bitten to death.
After that the Iron Hero traveled on till he came to a lake.
Beyond the lake was a narrow strip of land, and beyond that a
second lake, a lake of poison. He took out his horse, and
asked: "What are we to do? How are we to cross these
lakes?" "Go back one day's journey," said the horse, "and I will
spring over the lakes. Hold fast to me."
They did so. The blue stallion sprang over both lakes; the
end of his tail and the tips of his hind hoofs touched the poison
water of the second lake, and fell off immediately.
The Iron Hero whipped his horse, and pulled the bridle till
blood came. "Why not spring through clean? Thou mightst
have fallen into the poison lake, then both of us would have
perished!" cried he.
"Till this day thou art a fool," answered the stallion, "and
knowest not that it would have been a sin not to touch the water.
We are living people, and must touch things as we pass them."
"True, I did not know this till now," replied the Iron
Hero. Then he made the stallion into flint again, and journeyed on,
pushing his car before him. He approached Red Mountain and
saw there a hill of men's bones, a hill of beasts' bones, a hill of
flesh, and a stream of blood. He saw a multitude of blind, a
multitude of lame, people without hands, people without feet,
and all, great and small, rich and poor, striving to climb the
mountain. The great and the rich went on horseback, they
rode up some distance and then fell back, with their horses.
The poor and maimed climbed up on foot, or crawled up as best
they were able. They wore all the flesh from the front part of

170 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
their bodies in climbing up, and tore all the flesh off their backs
in falling down. All who climbed fell, and every one who fell
perished. The Iron Hero went near. He looked at the hills of bones and
the multitude of people, and wept for three days and three nights.
He took out the flint, changed it to his steed, and the steed wept.
Then the Iron Hero made his steed flint, put him in his bosom ;
made the car flint, put it in his pocket; turned himself into a
skunk, and went one third of the way up the mountain, climbed
till his claws were gone; then he became a squirrel, and went
from the limb of one tree to the limb of another; went from place
to place. He was dreadfully tired, but he climbed till his claws
were gone. At last he became a falcon, and with great effort flew
to the top, fell there, and lay for three days and three nights
without moving.
At the end of the third day he revived, took the horse and the
car out, gave his horse water, and let him graze. Two deer passed
there ; these he killed, roasted on spits, and ate.
After he and the stallion had eaten he took an immense iron
barrel, with ninety-nine hoops, which he found there, filled it
with the Water of Life and of Youth, and rolled it down the
mountain. The barrel broke ; the water ran out in a broad stream, and
the people and horses at the foot of the mountain came to life.
One old man begged all the Burkans to prosper the Iron Hero.
"May he live," said that old man, "till a stone as large as a bull
turns of itself into ashes, and a stone as big as a stallion drops
out of a solid mountain."
From Red Mountain the Iron Hero saw on the edge of the
horizon an enormous white yurta which touched the sky, that was
the yurta of his father-in-law. From the mountain he came
down to a brass and iron hill which no foot of man had ever
touched, and he sat down on that hill. Then by his magic
he made big boils on his neck and on his back, and on his
hands and feet sores disgusting to look at. He made himself old,
sick, and wretched, made his car worn and battered, and then
pushed it ahead toward the yurta till he entered the courtyard.
In the middle of that courtyard was a pillar with branches, and

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 171
on those branches were ninety-six hitching rings. Seven splen
did horses were tied to seven of those hitching rings. Each horse
was of a different color; on the saddle of each were the arms of
its rider. The riders of those seven horses were suitors for the
maiden whom the Iron Hero wished to be his wife.
The Iron Hero pushed in his car, put it between two of the
horses ; then going over silver stairs and through golden doors
he entered the yurta as a nasty, malodorous old man covered
with sores. When inside the yurta he saw the seven splendid
young suitors sitting at a table, and with them sat the bride's
father. "A greeting to thee, O my father-in-law," said the old man,
tottering in and approaching the khan.
"What father-in-law am I to thee? May thou drop into
pieces ! The one of the seven who throws thee out will get my
daughter." One of the suitors sprang up to seize the old man and throw
him out, but he could not raise him from the floor ; the old man
was as if fastened down, no one could lift him.
"If all of you seize him you can throw him out!" cried the
father-in-law. "Some demon has come to me ! "
All seven took hold of the old man. One grasped a leg, another
an arm ; but the seven could not stir him. He pushed them away,
hurled them in different directions. One fell in a corner, another
under a table, a third into a third place, and soon all seven of the
suitors ran out to the courtyard in fright and confusion, untied
their horses and rode off at a gallop.
The old man dragged himself through the chambers. Sitting
down here and there in each chamber, he soiled all the floors and
the seats. The khan could do nothing, — could not frighten, en
tice, or drive him out, so he sent for two heroes who lived in the
southwest. It was necessary to ride three days to get to those
heroes. When the messenger reached them they said: "We
must make ready our weapons and armor. Go home; we will
follow and overtake thee."
Five days the old man was left to himself, and during that
time he soiled all the chambers of the yurta. Then he crawled
into the courtyard, took his car and went to the Iron and Silver

172 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Square on the hilltop; there he made a fire and lay down to
sleep quietly.
The day that the old man left the yurta the two heroes came.
They shouted at the entrance, and the khan went out to meet
them. "Where is he who is troubling thee?" asked the heroes.
" He left here just before ye came. Fifteen women are washing
the rooms which he soiled. He went away when he heard that
I had sent for two great heroes. The seven suitors could not
drive off the wretched old man, but he has fled now to the north
east, with his car."
Straightway the heroes followed in the direction which the
khan pointed out to them. They came to the Iron and Silver
Square on the hilltop and found the old man there sleeping
soundly and snoring loudly. They shouted at him. He stopped
snoring, opened his eyes, and sat up. The heroes came down
from their horses, and asked:
"What wounds and sores are those on thy hands and body?
Why lie there ? What art thou doing ?"
"If ye had been bitten by a venomous, yellow serpent as I
have, ye would be as sore as I am," said the old man.
"Why are there boils on thy neck and back?"
"If Hohodai Mergen (thunder) had struck you, ye would
have boils."
"Thy life is hanging on a red silk thread," said the heroes,
"and thou art speaking to us insolently. We will break thy
back for thee and pull off thy head !"
They sprang then to finish the old man. He rose. They
rushed at him, and wrestling began. He did not give way. He
limped and struggled. Nine days and nights did the conflict
last. Wherever a foot pressed a hole was made, wherever a
hole was made a pillar of dust rose. A hill of flesh was formed
from the pieces which the two heroes tore from the old man,
and which the old man tore from them. Crows came in clouds
from afar to seize the flesh; they came from all sides. "May
ye fight on for years!" croaked the crows. "It is pleasant to
look at you."
On the tenth day the old man began to grow weak, and
toward evening he fell to the earth, powerless. The two heroes

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 173
put him in an iron barrel with ninety-five hoops on it, and rolled
him into the Black Misty Sea. But before he fell into the
water the old man said :
"In the place from which I started there is a promontory,
on that promontory is a white cuckoo as big as a horse's head.
Between the Bronze and Silver Square and that promontory
are seventy mountain ranges. Along those seventy ranges
ninety mad wolves are prowling. That cuckoo will come with
the ninety mad wolves to save me;" then he fainted. Those
were his last words.
The white cuckoo heard those words and set out at once,
and the ninety mad wolves followed her.
Only when three days and nights had passed did the cuckoo
and the ninety mad wolves appear on the shore of the Black
Misty Sea. The cuckoo flew three times along the shore sing
ing loudly; and the whole Black Misty Sea vanished, went
into the earth before the power of the cuckoo, and the grass
which grew around on every side of that sea dried up and
withered at sight of her.
When the sea was almost dry the iron cask was seen on the
bottom. The ninety mad wolves rushed at the cask and gnawed
its ninety-five hoops off. When the hoops were gone the cask
fell apart, and they found the skeleton of the Iron Hero. The
wolves took the skeleton up carefully and carried it to the
cuckoo at the seashore. The cuckoo began to sing, began at
the Iron Hero's feet. When she reached his head the first time
flesh began to come on his bones; the second time he almost
breathed. When she reached his head the third time he sprang
up. "How long have I slept ?" cried he. Then he remembered
what had happened. He washed, and thanked the cuckoo and
the ninety mad wolves. He was in the same form as before,
a wretched old man with sores on his body.
"Why art thou so foolish?" asked the cuckoo. "Why not
go to the khan in thy real form?"
"If I went in youth, as I am, the khan would give me hard
tasks to do, — tasks which might kill me. It is better to act in
this way. My bride knows all that I am doing." Then he said
to the wolves and the cuckoo: "Ye have served me well; good

174 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
thanks to you, go home now, in peace." The wolves dragged
the car from the bottom of the sea. The sea took its old form
and grass appeared again along the shore.
The Iron Hero went a second time to the khan for his beau
tiful daughter, but in a worse form than before.
There was a wedding that day at the yurta. The khan was
giving his daughter in marriage to the younger of the two strong
heroes who had put the old man in the iron barrel and rolled
him into the Black Misty Sea to stay there.
When the two heroes saw the old man coming rolling his car
on in front of him they rushed out, mounted their steeds, and
rode away swiftly. They had thought never to see that old man
again, now they felt sure that they would never get rid of him.
The old man walked into the chamber which he had soiled
on the first day, and said, "A greeting from me to thee, father-
in-law!" The khan was terrified. "What does this mean?" cried
he. "The thirteen khans have all become wizards, the seventy-
nine languages are all used for sorcery ! I am frightened !
I know not why any one comes to me, whether for good or evil
reasons." "Give me entertainment though I am poor and wretched,"
said the old man. "It is due me."
"Give entertainment to this old man," commanded the
khan. They brought him milk, but in a trough from which dogs
drank. He took the trough, raised it as if to drink, and let the
milk run down all over him. The milk reached the floor and
soiled the chamber.
What was to be done ? The khan sent five days' journey for
Milen Buhe, an immensely strong hero ; wrote to him to come
quickly, that some terrible wizard in the form of an old man
was tormenting him greatly, that no one yet had been able to
conquer him. "If thou conquer him," wrote the khan, "thou
wilt have my daughter. The old wizard soils my yurta, and
thirty-three women are all the time cleaning chambers after
him." In nine days and a half the strong hero came, half a day be-

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 175
fore his time. When the old man heard of the hero's coming
he went away with his car to the Bronze and Silver Square on
the hilltop and fell asleep as before.
When Milen Buhe reached the khan's yurta he shouted and
the khan went out. "Is that demon here now?" asked the
hero. "No, he has just gone from here," said the khan, "but come
in for entertainment."
Milen Buhe followed the khan, but when he saw the vile
remnants the old man had left at the entrance he halted. "I
will not go in!" said he. "Come through other doors,"
said the khan, and they went in elsewhere. "I know not who
it is that has come to me," said the khan, "an old man with
good intent, or with evil. I know that if thou kill him I will
give thee my daughter."
The hero ate and drank quickly, then hurried off. He came
to the hilltop, saw the old man, dismounted, woke him up, and
asked, "Why hast thou such vile hands and feet ?"
"If poisonous yellow serpents had bitten thy hands and feet
they would be as mine are."
"Why are those boils on thy neck and back?"
"If Hohodai Mergen had struck thee thou wouldst have boils
also." "Thou art on the sharp edge of death, and answer me rudely
in this style ! I will tear thee to pieces ! "
They rushed at each other like two bulls, and were as fierce
and gloomy as two clouds filled with thunder. They closed and
wrestled, — wrestled two days so desperately that the third morn
ing their lowest ribs were bare. Each seized the other by the
last rib, each threw the other, and each pulled out a rib in the
struggle, but remained in his senses. They lay on the ground,
each holding a rib in his hand.
The thousand Heavenly Burkans called together a wise assem
bly. "These two are brothers," said they. "We made them
both, why do they fight ?"
The Burkans threw down a written message. It fell between
the two wrestlers, and it said: "Ye are brothers. The Iron
Hero is the younger." Milen Buhe took the message and read

176 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
it, then the Iron Hero read it, read that they were brothers
created by the thousand Burkans. The two were reconciled
at once. Each gave the other his rib, put it in place, and both
were well again.
The Iron Hero took out his steed and was ready to ride back
to the khan's yurta, when his brother asked :
"Why didst thou make thyself old? Why not go in thy
real form ? Let us both go to the khan."
They set out together.
"That old man was a terrible sorcerer," said Milen Buhe
to the khan. " He had immense magic power. I was not able
to conquer him alone, so I summoned from northern regions
my brother, this Iron Hero. He helped me, we conquered the
sorcerer, and finished him. Thou wilt never see that old man
again. I am married, so give thy daughter to my younger
brother, this Iron Hero here."
The khan consented. He sent men to kill rams, and held
the feast which is given at the asking in marriage. "Go now
to see thy bride," said the khan when the feast was over.
The bride was in the seventieth chamber, and was such a
beauty that her neck had the brightness of sun-rays. When
she looked toward the west her right cheek shone so that all
western people said, "The sun is rising!" When she looked
toward the east, all eastern people said, "The moon is rising! "
When the Iron Hero entered the seventieth chamber the maid
met him, and said: "I know all that has happened since you
left the home of Gesir Bogdo to come to me. Many of the
difficulties were made by me. I raised them to test thee, to
learn if thou wert able to overcome them. You came as an old
man, and ridiculed my father."
"If I had not come as an old man your father would have
killed me. Had I come as a young man he would have given
tasks that are impossible. I had to conquer him, and that was
the only way."
The Iron Hero rose just at sunrise and hurried to the khan.
The khan, Milen Buhe, and he drank together." I have been
delayed so long," said the Iron Hero, "that we should have the
wedding immediately."

Our Buriat Friends in the Sacred Island of Olkhon
in Lake Baikal, Siberia. Page 74
The man and woman who gave up their house to us

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 177
The khan invited all his people to the wedding feast. There
were mountains of meat and a sea of drink; amusements of
all kinds and dances. Nine days and nights did the feast last.
When it was over the bridegroom mounted his steed and the
bride mounted hers, a golden bay of great beauty. The bride
begged a gift of her mother. The mother gave her golden
scissors, which had the power to multiply cloth. When the
owner of the scissors began to cut, she could cut all day without
using up the cloth.
The khan had six brothers; he himself was the eldest of
seven. "What will my six uncles give me?" asked the bride,
as she turned to them.
The eldest uncle gave her a red kerchief, which had the
power to make a dead man alive. The second uncle gave a
silver cup. "When thou hast a son thou wilt drink soup with
bits of meat from this cup, and be strong," said he. "Here is
a golden horn," said the third uncle. "When thou hast a son
he will suck milk from this and never suffer from thirst." "Here
is a silver bracelet," said the fourth uncle. "It will protect thee
against all weapons and attacks of every kind." The fifth uncle
gave a ring, which had the power to make a poor man rich.
The sixth gave good wishes for health and wealth, nothing
more. Milen Buhe wished his brother health and great prosperity.
The Iron Hero invited all the people to a feast at his own house.
"When the road is straight," said he, "you will travel on; when
you see a circle, that is your camping place, spend the night
there." He took a larch tree, tied it to his horse's tail, and rode away
in front of his guests. The Iron Hero came to the mountain
which he had climbed with such difficulty, that Red Mountain
on which was the Water of Life and Youth, and there he waited
for the company. The bride knew another road down. All
drank of the water, and then went down by an easy road, which
no person in the world but the bride knew of.

12

178 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA

ASHIR BOGDO
AFTER Gesir Bogdo had been saved and cured by the Iron
Hero, and Ashir had gone westward to take as bride
Nalhan Taiji, the daughter of Gasir Baiyin, Gesir Bogdo
began to live with his old wife, and lived in peace for a while,
then eleven Mangathais came at one time. They were strong
and terrible. The eleven had four hundred and seven heads.
"Why have ye come?" asked Gesir Bogdo.
"We have come to find work. Give us tasks to do, if not we
will kill thee."
"I have work enough, why not give it," said Gesir.
He sent his thirty-three strong champions, mighty heroes,
to dig a very deep ditch. When the ditch was finished Gesir
said to the Mangathais, "Come, Mangathais, I will show you
where the work is." He started, and with him went the Man
gathais, followed by the thirty-three strong heroes. When the
Mangathais came to the edge of the ditch, and stood in a row
looking into it, the thirty-three strong heroes pushed them from
behind into the ditch, and then threw down one great long stone
and covered them.
The Mangathais struggled, were lifting the stone by main
force, but the thirty-three kept it down. The eleven Man
gathais died in that ditch ; the great stone settled on them, and
then other stones were piled up on that one. Gesir built a
splendid yurta above the ditch. On a wall of the yurta Gesir
had his image in full armor sitting on horseback, with his bow
drawn. Then he went back to his own yurta and found that the
Iron Hero had come with his bride and many attendants. All
the guests had not arrived, but when all were there Gesir Bogdo
assembled his own people, and made a feast which lasted nine
days and nights. After that the Iron Hero went to live in the
Iron and Silver Square as he had intended.
Ashir Bogdo, who had gone to get Gasir Baiyin Khan's
daughter, reached at last the boundary of that khan's dominion.

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 179
When he came the time was autumn; the leaves had turned
yellow, and were falling on his side, but beyond the boundary,
in the khan's country, it was springtime, — the leaves were just
opening and grass was beginning to grow.
Ashir sat there on the boundary between the two countries.
"I have traveled all summer," said he to himself, "and have
reached the boundary, what will happen to me now?" And
he began to weep. He wept for a time, then smoked, and rode
forward. On the road he met a youth riding a horse as red as blood.
In the ears of this youth were rings as big as a cart-wheel ; his
eyes were as large as plates, his face red, and his teeth were each
the size of a spade. They greeted, and each said to the other
that he was going to seek a bride.
Ashir rode farther till he met a Mangathai with seventy-
seven heads.
"Where art thou going?" asked the Mangathai.
"How does that concern thee? I am traveling on my own
affair," replied Ashir. "Thy road is open before thee. I am
Ashir Bogdo ; what is thy name ? "
"I am Huhshin Ahai; I live in the southwest. I heard of thy
birth, but did not think that thou hadst grown to such size."
"Hast thou killed many like me?" inquired Ashir.
"I have met many stronger men, and have killed every one
of them."
"Would it take thee long to kill me?"
The Mangathai sprang from his saddle; Ashir slipped down
from his horse and looked at the Mangathai. They approached
each other cautiously, and closed in struggle. Three days and
nights they fought furiously. Each bit away all the flesh from
the front of the other's body, and with his ten fingers tore off
all that was behind.
On the third evening Ashir killed the Mangathai. He tore
his body into two parts. The first part he put under a hill on
the west of the road, and the second under a hill on the east of
the road ; then he killed the horse and buried him under a third
hill. Now Ashir rode farther, rode on till he came to a meadow

180 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
so broad that he could see neither side nor end to it. Far off in
front of him on the horizon was a black house a verst and a
half long, and so high that the sky seemed to touch it. It was
roofed with brass. On each of fifty-seven stakes before this
house was a horse skull and on fifty-seven other stakes outfits of
arms and armor.
"My father told me," thought Ashir, "that he had killed all
the Mangathais. I have killed one and still I find more of
them." When he reached the yurta he turned himself into a
woodchuck and dug a hole under the floor; but the floor was
iron, and he could not cut through it. On the west side of the
yurta was a small hole, left by accident. Ashir crept through
that hole. Inside the yurta was a Mangathai with seven hundred
heads, the father of a great many Mangathais. His wife was
there also. It was dangerous to attack both, so Ashir crept out
very quietly. He made his horse one hundred and ninety
fathoms long, and himself so large that his head and the sky
seemed to touch each other. His neck was immense; he was
terrible to look at.
When Ashir was thus changed he shouted to the Mangathai
to come out and meet him.
"Who has dared to rouse me? Who has dared to call me?"
cried the Mangathai, going out. When he saw Ashir he asked :
"Who is this, who can it be ? Is this a Burkan ?"
"What kind of person art thou with fifty-seven skulls impaled
here before thy dark house ?" asked Ashir. "I am here to give
thee battle ; I have come on purpose to fight thee."
"Thou art Ashir Bogdo. I know thy father and mother; I
will not fight with thee ; thy father has never harmed me."
"If thou wilt not fight, dig a deep pit for me," said Ashir.
And he made the Mangathai dig a pit. He dug for seventeen
days, then he wished to come out, to be drawn up with a rope.
"I do not think," said Ashir, "that the pit is deep enough."
He called the wife of the Mangathai and said : " Go down and
see if thy husband has done the work well."
"Why should I go down, my husband is there; he can do
the work alone."
"He is not able to dig fast enough," said Ashir; "he cannot

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 181
dig the pit alone and fill buckets fast enough. Let him dig and
do thou fill the buckets."
She hesitated. "Get into the bucket," ordered Ashir. "Get
in I tell thee !" She stepped in reluctantly. "The pit must be
sixty feet in depth," said Ashir, as he let her down. She meas
ured as the bucket was lowered. "Sixty-one feet deep !" cried
the Mangathai. "I have measured carefully." "That is
enough," replied Ashir, "send up all the tools down there."
They sent up the tools. Ashir let the bucket down to them.
The Mangathai got in first. Ashir drew him up to the top al
most; then cut the rope quickly and the bucket fell. The
Mangathai was crushed and killed.
"Oh," cried the wife of the Mangathai, "I knew that thou
hadst such a plan. Thou art cunning; thou wert wheedling
and kind to me. Thou hast killed my husband. I yielded to
thy persuasive words and am ruined. I might have fought with
thee. I could have conquered if I had stayed up there."
Ashir Bogdo filled the hole with immense stones, then he
turned the iron yurta bottom upward, took all of the Man
gathai's property and sent it to his father's yurta.
Ashir traveled farther; traveled till he met a Mangathai
with three hundred heads and thirty horns in them, who called
out, "Thou thinkest thyself a hero! thou hast killed my
father and brother, but I will repay thee! Thou wilt not de
ceive or overcome or trick me!"
They sprang down from their horses and rushed at each
other. The struggle was long and dreadful. They wrestled
twelve days and nights. All the flesh was torn from their bones ;
ravens flew in from the east and the north and the south, crying :
"Fight on, fight on! Give us flesh forever!"
"Let us try arrows," said the Mangathai. They went to the
tops of opposite mountains. In the evening Ashir saw two
wild goats ; he killed both at one shot, spitted the two, put them
in front of the fire to roast, then lay down and slept. The next
morning he was eating the goats when the Mangathai called
to him.
"Thou hast killed my father, mother, and brother; do not
dare to shoot thy arrow before I shoot mine!"

182 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
The Mangathai had no arrow, he wanted to deceive Ashir.
His only weapon was an axe eighty fathoms broad. He threw
the axe. It went but halfway. Ashir's magic power stopped it.
"What is this !" thought the Mangathai. "Am I tired ? Have
I grown weak after fighting twelve days ? This is the first time
I ever failed to hit. What has happened ?" He started for his
axe. "Stop! I will shoot!" cried Ashir.
"Wait till to-morrow," said the Mangathai; "why art thou in
such a hurry?"
"Very well," replied Ashir, "my arrow might not reach thee.
Let us see which of us has most magic."
"Agreed," said the Mangathai.
Ashir read in his book and discovered that the Mangathai
had been made by Galta Ulan Tengeri. That far away in the
southeastern sky the Mangathai had an aunt, and that aunt
kept his life. Ashir made his horse into a flint, put the flint in his
pocket, turned himself into a falcon, and flew away toward the
southeast. He flew nine days and nine nights, flew till at last he
came to the aunt's house.
Ashir now made himself exactly like the Mangathai, and as
he went along he began to cry bitterly. The aunt lived in a
white yurta; she had only one tooth and one eye. She heard
her nephew crying, and came out of the yurta. "Why cry?"
asked she. "Come here." And she gave him her breast to
draw. "Ashir Bogdo has appeared on earth," said the false Man
gathai. "My strength is not enough to overcome him. Give
me strength enough, give me power."
"How strangely you draw my breast," said she. "You took
only a little milk in the old time, now you take much."
"I told you that I had lost strength in fighting so long with
Ashir Bogdo." He drew fiercely, drew all the life from her and
she fell senseless to the earth. Ashir trampled and killed her;
then he found a golden box. He kicked the box till it broke.
Inside were thirteen woodcocks. He caught them all, put them
in his pockets and hurried away. In nine days he was back to
the place of combat. The Mangathai was not there; he had

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 183
gone for Ashir's life. He made himself just like Ashir, went
up to Esege Malan and said:
"Why didst thou make me ? The Mangathai is fighting, and
I cannot conquer him. Give me more power ; give me strength
enough; give me my life."
Esege Malan did not recognize the Mangathai, thought him
Ashir and gave Ashir's life to him. Just then Ehe Ureng Ibi
came to Esege and said:
"Thou wert deceived. That is a Mangathai."
"How deceived?"
"Deceived. Those were not Ashir's eyes, his eyes are quite
different. Take thy spy glass and look at the Mangathai."
Esege took the rosy glass and saw the Mangathai flying as a
raven. He watched him long. Saw the raven reach the earth
and turn into a Mangathai. That moment Esege summoned
Hohodai. "I have been deceived by a Mangathai," said he,
"I want your help."
"I will help you," answered Hohodai. And that instant he
sent bloody rain and hail and hurled jagged lightning at the
Mangathai, tore him and his horse into fragments, smashed
them into small bits.
Ashir's life was on earth, and Esege Malan sent two Shalmos
(Invisible Spirits) to bring it back. The two turned into ravens,
went down, found the life, brought it with them, and gave it
back to Esege Malan.
After waiting some days on the mountain, Ashir would wait
no longer; he crushed the thirteen woodcocks and went farther.
Soon he met another Mangathai, the largest he had ever seen.
He had a thousand heads. The lower jaw of the main head
reached the earth when the Mangathai was standing and the
upper jaw touched the sky. He moved forward with open
jaws and began by his breath to draw Ashir into his
mouth. Horse and rider went racing toward that immense mouth,
they had no power to resist the current of breath.
All at once Ashir made his horse into a flint chip and himself
into a black stone as big as a large stallion. The stone rolled
along, swifter and swifter, rolled into the Mangathai's mouth,

184 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
straight on to his tongue. Ashir's hands and arms were stone;
they stuck in the Mangathai's throat, and resisted swallowing.
The Mangathai could not get the huge stone down, could not
spit it out. He struggled, groaned, ran around in great agony;
ran seven days and seven nights.
"This is Ashir Bogdo, surely," thought he. "He is the only
one who can beat me. Kill me if thou wilt," cried he to the
stone, "if not let me go!"
No prayer could move the stone; on the tenth day it had
worn through the tongue. Ashir now asked Esege Malan for
weapons ; they appeared and he cut up the lungs of the Man
gathai. The Mangathai fell dead on the earth. Ashir came
out, took the Mangathai's axe, which was fifty feet wide, and cut
off all his heads, cut out his ribs. Something was moving
through his interior. A terrible serpent came out. Ashir cut
the serpent open and found three hundred and seventy-five
people alive in the body. They had fires and were cooking food.
"What is thy name?" asked those people of Ashir Bogdo.
"We have lived here a long time. There is no change of season
in this place, no spring, no summer, no autumn, no winter.
What a good hero thou art to rescue us. May thou accomplish
all thy wishes and all that thou hast set out to do."
"Go all of you people to the places whence ye came," said
Ashir. "Go to the lands where ye lived before. I have fought
many years with this Mangathai and his father and brother. I
set out to find my bride, now I will go to her."
He killed the Mangathai's horse, mounted his own steed and
rode till at last he reached the house of his father-in-law, one of
the great Tengeri.
"Why hast thou come hither, earth creature?" asked the
Tengeri. "I have come for thy daughter."
"Wait, I will read thy book," said the Tengeri. Ashir gave
his book. The Tengeri read and discovered how Ashir had
warred with the Mangathais ; read all of his exploits. He read
for three days and finished. "Read thou my book," said the
Tengeri. Ashir read for fifteen days, read all. "Thou art a
master at reading," said the Tengeri, "I can hardly read it

MYTHS AND MONGOL RELIGION 185
myself in fifteen days. Now thou mayst see thy bride." And
he opened the door to Ashir with respect.
"Be greeted! Whence hast thou come ? " asked the bride.
"I have come for thee. There are many maidens down on
the earth," said Ashir, "but I heard of thy wonderful beauty,
and came."
"There is a bad odor on earth," said the maiden. "Such a
bad odor that I could not live there."
"There are houses down there just as good as those here,"
answered Ashir. "If the air were bad all the people would die,
but they live and are well. Burkans come down to visit us and
eat in our houses."
"Let me see thy book," said the maiden. She read Ashir's
book and embraced him. "Forgive me," said she, "I was not
sure that it was thee."
"We must have the wedding to-morrow," said Ashir. "How
much time have I spent in struggling? How many terrible
journeys have I made in coming ? "
"I knew of thy journey and thy struggles," said she. "I
knew that thou wert coming."
Next day the Tengeri assembled all the people of the sky,
and they feasted nine days and nights in great splendor. When
ready to start the bride received from her father a gray steed
ninety fathoms long, and a silver goblet of such kind that it
would neither sink nor move with the current when thrown into
a river. Before starting Ashir and his bride turned their horses into
pieces of flint, made the presents small and put everything in
their pockets. They became ravens then and flew down to
Gesir Bogdo's yurta, where they took their own shapes again
and restored their horses and presents. Gesir Bogdo then
assembled all his people, and they feasted for nine days and nine
nights as they had never feasted before.

CHAPTER XII
MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES
BURULDAI BOGDO, No. I
ONCE there was a khan named Buruldai Bogdo. He was
seventy years old and his wife was sixty, and they had no
children. One day the khan took a book out of his head and read in it.
In that book it was written that he had not counted his cattle
for fifteen years. So he set out to find and count them.
In one place he discovered that the cattle had not increased,
that they were thin and hungry, and had but little water to
drink. He went farther and came to a mare that had a colt.
This colt seemed to the khan to be as big as a mountain, and
looking at it he began to weep, for in his mind he was saying :
"This colt will be a wonderful steed, but I have neither son nor
daughter to ride him." Then he said to the colt : "I am seventy
years old, and when thou art fitted for the saddle there will be
no one to conquer and ride thee ; I am too old and I have neither
son nor daughter."
When he reached home the khan was still crying bitterly.
"Why art thou weeping?" asked his wife. When he refused
to tell her she went out, got a hair rope and declared she would
hang herself if he did not tell. Then he said: "I am crying
because I am an old man, and thou too art old. I saw a won
derful colt to-day, but when it is fit for the saddle there will be
no one to ride it, for we have neither son nor daughter."
"Cry no more," said his wife; "though I am old, I am not
without hope of having a son or a daughter; but go thou be
yond the mountain to the house of the seven Lamas and beg
them to soothsay for us."

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 187
Buruldai Bogdo went beyond the mountain, and came to a
great square yurta, but could find no door. He walked around
the yurta; there was no door to be seen. Then he said to him
self, "What a fool thou art; go back ten yards, run, kick the
wall with all thy strength." This he did and seventy doors flew
open before him. Inside were seven Lamas, but they were silent.
The khan begged them to soothsay for him, begged the first
day, begged the second and the third day. Then the youngest
of the Lamas asked without looking at him :
"Why make so much foolish noise? It is thy wish to have
children ; there is a child at thy yurta already."
Buruldai Bogdo went home. A son had been born to him,
but neither knife nor axe could cut the umbilical cord. The
father took a hair rope, tied one end to the child and the other
to his horse, but the rope broke ; he cried then, and begged his
good steed to tell him what to do, and the horse said :
"Take a hair from the tail of the wonderful colt, tie one end
of it around the child, and give me the other end."
The khan rode out to the field where the colt was at pasture,
but the colt would not let him come near. At last he found a
long hair that had caught on a thorn bush. This he took home,
tied one end of it around the child's body and gave the other
to the horse. The horse pulled, and the child stood up.
In seven days the skin of a sheep seven years old could not
cover the boy. When he was ten months old he minded sheep,
and was everywhere. One day he saw a wolf, and he asked
his father what it was.
"It is a brave fellow, kill it !" answered the father. The boy
asked for an arrow and bow, got them, and killed the wolf.
" See what a son we have ! " said the old father and mother to
each other.
One day the boy came upon a fine open meadow, and he de
cided to build a yurta there. After it was built he was tired and
lay down to rest. He wished to sleep seven months, but in the
fourth month his mother strove in every way to waken him;
when at last she stuck a file in the sole of his foot he sprang up
quickly. "Whilst thou wert sleeping a sister was born to thee," said

188 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
the mother, "but some one came in through the smoke hole and
stole her."
"Write a petition to Esege Malan for a horse. What can I do
without a wise horse," said the boy to his father. The petition
was written, and Esege Malan answered, "Horse and arms
are on the flat top of Red Mountain.'
The boy took three casks of tarasun and three sheep, made
libations, ate and drank, then went to Red Mountain.
Off at the edge of the sky he saw a horse ; it came near, ran
around him, but he could not catch it. At last the horse called :
"If thou art my right master shoot me in the heart, the arrow
will go through without drawing blood; if it draws blood thou
art not my master but an evil enemy."
The boy shot and drew no blood.
"Sit on me," said the horse, "thou art my master."
When the boy was on his back the horse ran for thirty days
trying to throw him, but he could not. "Art thou fooling with
me, thy rightful master? I will kill thee!" cried the boy at
last, very angry.
"I had to test thee and thy strength," replied the horse; "now
I will serve thee faithfully."
Straightway they set out to look for the sister. They traveled
on and on till they came to another kingdom. The boy saw a
trail and thought it was his sister's ; after following it for many
days it came to an end at the foot of a rock. He stopped, took
tobacco, threw some to the gods, and then smoked. While he
was smoking a young man on a black horse galloped up from the
west. He was the son of Khan Zuduk Shin Mergin Xubiin Zud.
He greeted the boy, and said he was in search of his sister, an
infant. Now a young man from the East came up on a gray horse.
He was the son of Gazar Xara Khan. Then from the south
west came a third young man, Nadur Gai Mergin, on a bay
horse. Each was in search of an infant sister, each had followed
a trail which led to the rock. The four held a council, and
decided that their sisters must be somewhere under that great
rock. "Raise the rock," said the first young man to the second.

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 189
He raised it until he sank into the ground to his knees. The
third man raised it until he went into the ground to his waist.
The fourth raised it until he went into the ground to his should
ers. Then the first one became angry and said : "Of what use
to come so far, if we can do nothing ?" And he seized the rock
of ninety-nine poods in weight, hurled it beyond seven valleys,
and found that it had covered a deep hole.
"Now," said the young men, "one of us must go and order
the nine heavenly blacksmiths to make a chain long enough to
reach to the bottom of this hole."
No one of them was willing to go. At last Buruldai Bugdo's
son went himself and begged for a chain nine hundred sachens
long, so long that it took the nine blacksmiths nine days to
make it.
He brought the chain to the opening and said "Whoever goes
down shall be drawn up as soon as he shakes the chain," then
he asked Zuduk to go first.
The young man went down two hundred sachens, then be
came frightened, and shook the chain. The second young man
went down four hundred sachens, then shook the chain. The
third young man went down six hundred sachens, shook the
chain, and they pulled him up.
"I went to the bottom," said he ; "there was no opening there
save one little hole as big as the eye of a needle."
Altun, the old khan's son, was angry now, and said to the
three young men, "If you have so little power in you why did
you come to look for your sisters?" Then he turned his horse
loose and said, "Stand at freedom, and wait me, for a time. If
I stay very long run home. In every case be watchful of these
three men, they may want to kill thee."
He went down the whole length of the chain ; it was a hundred
sachen* short. He thought and thought. At last he said to
himself, "To rise is inconvenient. Once I have undertaken I
will finish," so he dropped, fell on his side, broke all his ribs,
and sank one half into the earth. He had plenty of room, but
no one came to him, and he lay there nine years. At last a
mouse crept up and made her nest in his clothes. When he
saw that he thought, "I am only half alive, if I were altogether

190 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
alive the mouse would not build her nest on me." With that
he struck at the mouse, and crushed one of her sides. She
crawled away, found an herb, ate it, and was as well as before.
Altun crawled along on the ground for three days and three
nights, crawled until he found the same kind of herb. He ate
of it, and was as well as ever. He walked then till he came to
an open place and farther on to a great meadow, and there he
saw an old eagle that could not rise. "What troubles thee?"
asked Altun of the eagle. " I am so covered with sores," said
the eagle, " that I cannot move. Go thou and bring me living
water from nine springs."
Altun brought the water, the old eagle drank of it, and rose up
in the air. "When thou hast need of a friend," said he, "call
me, and I will come."
Altun went on through the meadow, and farther, till he came
to a flat-topped mountain; he climbed the mountain, and saw
people standing as thickly as planted trees. He went nearer
and saw a hundred kettles over fires scattered here and there.
In the kettles flesh of both men and beasts was boiling. He
turned himself into an old withered man, went up to one of
the kettles, and asked of the men standing near, "For whom
is all this meat in the hundred kettles ? "
"For the Mangathai of a hundred heads," replied they.
Not far away was the yurta of the Mangathai, and behind
seventy curtains he was sleeping. On the right were seven
curtains, and behind them were the four wives of the Mangathai.
" Whence hast thou come, old man ?" asked one of the wives,
when he went to the yurta.
"I am Xapmyam Yama's herdsman; some of his cows and
horses have strayed away. I am in search of them."
"They have not been seen here," said the woman, but just
then she looked into his eyes, and thought : "Though that man is
old he might be my brother." As Altun turned away she hurried
after him, and said : "I am your sister, but do not worry about
me; I am happy here. Do not fight with the Mangathai, for
he is a great wizard."
"I am the son of Khan Buruldai Bogdo, I must gain glory,
I will fight the Mangathai and free thee," replied Altun. She

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 191
could not dissuade him so she said: "I will tell thee a secret.
On the right of the door the Mangathai has Water of Life, on
the left he has poison water. If thou even catch the odor of
the poison water thou wilt die."
"I have magic too," said the brother. " I can change Water of
Life to poison water and poison water to the Water of Life, so
that when one drinks of the Water of Life it will be as though
he had drunk the poison water, and when one drinks of the
poison water it will be as though he had drunk of the Water of
Life." On a pillar near the yurta was this inscription: "If any one
wishes to fight with me, let him go to the top of the mountain
opposite, and wait until I come."
Altun drank of the Water of Life, and went to the mountain.
Two goats happened before him, he caught them, twisted their
necks, skinned them and put them to roast on spits before the
fire. He saw many bones of animals and of people; this
frightened him, but he said to himself: "I drank of the Water
of Life, the Mangathai will drink of the poison water, I shall
conquer him," and he lay down to sleep.
Soon the Mangathai rode up. He had an axe, seventy wedges,
and a hammer of ninety poods. "What sort of a hero art thou,"
cried he, "lying here on my land, and roasting my goats ? With
one blow I will kill thee ! "
He struck at Altun with the axe, but the axe made no im
pression. Then he chopped at his right side, made a slight gash,
and took the wedges to drive them in, but the wedges sprang
back, flew up to the sky, and floated away toward the ocean.
He struck at him with the hammer; it broke in the middle
and flew off to the sea. So the Mangathai was without weap
ons. "What man art thou on another man's land?" shouted
he in a rage.
Altun woke up, shook himself, and said: "How long I have
slept ! Fleas have been biting me," and he rubbed his side.
Then he saw the Mangathai, and at once they began to wrestle.
For three days they fenced for a hold, and then fought for
thirty days, but neither could overcome the other. At last the
Mangathai said : "I am thirsty, let us go down to the yurta and

192 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
get a drink of strengthening water." They went down, and
Altun drank of the Water of Life, and the Mangathai drank
of the poison water, for Altun by his magic had changed them.
They went back to the mountain, then fought for another
thirty days ; the Mangathai was getting a little weaker.
Again they rested ; Altun drank of the Water of Life and the
Mangathai drank of the poison. During the third thirty days
Altun knocked the Mangathai against one tree after another
until the trunks of all the trees on the top of that mountain were
bloody. Then in a rage he killed the Mangathai and tore his
heads off.
Altun made a mill, ground up the Mangathai's body and his
heads, burned the mass into ashes, threw the ashes into the
air, and the wind carried them off to the ocean. He went down
the mountain then, collected the people, and told them that
their master was dead, and they were free. "But he has a son
seven sachens under this floor and under a gold cover," said
Altun's sister.
Altun raised the floor, raised the gold cover, and brought up
the young Mangathai. He made a fire and threw him into it;
but the fire did not burn him.
"If he lives ten days he will be able to kill ten thousand people,
and in twenty days a hundred thousand could not overcome
him. Kill him quickly ! " said Agui na Gun, Altun's sister.
Altun built a great furnace and put the young Mangathai
into it. It took nine days and nine nights to burn him; then
Altun carried the ashes to the mother of the boy, who was her
self a Mangathai, and asked, "Which would you rather have,
seventy horse tails, or seventy tree-tops?"
"Out of the horse tails I could make ropes, out of the tree-
tops I could make wood," said she
Altun brought seventy horses and tied her to their tails.
This frightened the horses; they ran in all directions and tore
her to pieces. He collected the pieces and brought the woman
to life. Then he impaled her on seventy tree-tops, and she
died. He overturned the house and took whatever pleased him.
He drove the cattle ahead, and with him went the four women

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 193
to the hole where the chain was. He sent up everything by the
chain, and then told the four women to go.
"Go first," urged his sister; "there may be enemies up there."
"I had no enemy but the Mangathai, and he is dead," replied
Altun. They went up then and he followed; but just as he was
getting to the top the chain was cut, he fell to the bottom, and
went into the earth up to his chin.
Altun remembered the eagle; he called him and he came.
"Thou art in deep trouble," said the eagle, "but I will go for
living water."
When Altun had drunk of the Water of Life he came up out
of the earth and was as well as ever. "I saved thee once," said
Altun, "and thou hast repaid me, but canst thou get me out of
this underground kingdom?"
"I will take thee out on my back," replied the eagle, "but
first get me meat to eat, that I may grow strong."
In the open country Altun found a goat, killed it, and gave it
to the eagle. After he had eaten he took Altun on his back and
flew up, but when within a few sachens of the top the eagle
grew weak, was failing.
Altun cut a piece of flesh from his own thigh and fed the bird,
but the moment the eagle ate of the flesh he fell to the bottom.
"I am sick; I may die," said the eagle.
Altun hurried to bring the Water of Life and revive the bird.
"Why didst thou give me thy flesh?" asked the eagle; "I
should have exerted my last strength and carried thee out; now
thou canst get out of this place as may please thee."
The young man grew very sad; he put his hands behind his
back and walked away, saying, "I came down here to save, not
to offend. Why am I thus punished?" He went on and on
until he came to a shed made of hay. An old man and an old
woman were inside the shed counting silver coin. They were
disputing. "I have much," said one. "I have more," said the other.
When they saw Altun they called out to him, "Come and divide
evenly between us. As thou sayest we will do."
He divided the coin equally, and the old man asked what he
13

194 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
wanted for his trouble. "I wish to go to my home, which is in
a country above this," said Altun.
"Follow my advice, do what I say, and thou wilt go. Take
dudki (a kind of cane), bite it, thou wilt be at the hole; bite it a
second time, thou wilt be a skunk and climb till tired; bite a
third time, thou wilt be a magpie and fly high; bite the fourth
time, thou wilt be a raven and fly to the top."
Altun did this, and when he reached the top he took his own
form, put the dudki in his pocket and traveled on. He soon
found his horse lying on the ground, its hind quarters terribly
gnawed by wolves.
The three young men had tried to kill the steed ; he got away
from them, and, though they followed on horseback, they could
not overtake him. Then they got nine wolves from Esege Malan
Babai. The nine wolves chased the horse, sprang at him,
gnawed him; but he escaped, and made his way back to wait
for his master, or die near the hole. ,
Altun went to the top of Red Mountain, brought back some
of the Water of Life, sprinkled his steed with it and healed him ;
he was as strong and well as ever. Then Altun mounted and rode
toward the west, rode to the home of Zudu, he of the black
horse. When near the yurta he made his horse into a flint and
put the flint into his pocket. Then he turned himself into a fly
and sat on the edge of the smoke-hole. He listened and heard
Zudu's sister ask, "Why didst thou throw that good man down
into the hole ? " and the young man answered, "If thou art sorry,
why dost thou not go down after him?" and he scolded his
sister. Then Altun flew away, took his own form, turned the flint
into a horse and rode up to the yurta. When the brother and
sister saw him they were frightened. One ran one way and one
the other.
"Why are ye afraid?" asked Altun. "Who will be above
ground, and who below ?" and taking the dudki from his pocket
he called Zudu and forced him to bite it. As soon as he bit it
he turned into a fox and ran away into the woods.
Altun took possession of Zudu's yurta and people, and sent
Zudu's sister to his own home. Then he went to the yurta of

^_ V -¦;

Jjj^Pfe,..

••

% ?
»'4*Mi
I
~w
HI
* :T
II
fijjp^i
Hi
The Russian Exile and Two Buriat Shajians, One Standing
on Each Side of him. Pa?e 76
Mv Carriage Ready. The Italian Blacksmith. Pa^e 75
MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 195
the man of the gray horse, turned his steed into a flint, himself
into a fly, sat on the edge of the smoke-hole, and listened. Soon
he heard the young man's sister ask, "Why didst thou treat that
good man so cruelly ? He saved me from the Mangathai."
"If thou art so sorry thou canst go down into the hole and
die with him," said the brother.
Altun turned himself back to his own form, went into the
yurta, and said:
"While I was in the underground kingdom I found a present
for you." They were greatly surprised to see him, but the
brother was glad to receive a present. Altun made the dudki
look very attractive, held it out, and told the young man to bite
it; as soon as he bit it he became a skunk and ran off into the
woods. Altun took possession of everything and sent the sister
to his own yurta.
He went to the third man's house, turned himself into a fly,
listened, and heard the sister say, "Why didst thou cut the
chain and kill that good man ? "
"If thou art so fond of him," answered the brother, "why not
go back to him?"
Just then, much to the surprise of the man and the delight of
the sister, Altun walked into the yurta. He asked the brother
to bite the stick of dudki, and the young man did so out of
curiosity. That moment he turned into a magpie and flew away.
Altun took all of this man's possessions and his sister, and went
home to his own yurta. There he found the other sisters as
well as his own sister.
All the place around had fallen into bad condition, for his
father and mother were very old. His parents did not know
him, but the sister did, and there was great rejoicing.
He married the three sisters of the three young men. The
people assembled, and there was feasting for nine days and
nine nights.

196 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA

BURULDAI BOGDO KHAN. No. II.
BURULDAI BOGDO was the eldest of thirteen khans and
was master of seventy-three tongues. He was seventy years
old, and his wife was sixty. For many years they had no children.
Finally, behind seventy-three curtains twin boys were born to
them. One night while all in the yurta were sleeping the father and
mother were stolen away; it was unknown by whom. When
the children opened their eyes in the morning they could see no
one. Immediately one of the boys became as a child of three and
the other as a child of four years of age. They went into the
forest, turned themselves into squirrels, and began to eat nuts.
The next day seven hundred men came through the forest
looking for the boys, but they could not find them.
When the men had gone the boys took their own forms and
.walked eastward till they came to a yurta so immense that it had
seven hundred doors. The elder brother sent the younger
brother in to see what kind of a place it was. He went through
thirteen doors, and came to a sixty-three headed, six-horned Man
gathai, sleeping soundly. The boy was frightened and started
to go back quietly, but when he had reached the third door the
Mangathai woke, opened the eyes in all his heads, and called
out: "Whoever thou art, if pure, greet me; if impure, leave me."
Then seeing the boy he asked :
"Whence comest thou?"
"I am the son of Buruldai Bogdo Khan."
"Thy father has injured me, has done me great harm; now
thou hast come to torment me ! " cried the Mangathai, in a rage.
He seized the boy, bound him, and said, "To-morrow I will
eat thee."
The brother, who was waiting outside, grew tired, turned him
self into a squirrel and went back to the forest.
The Mangathai went to the woods for spits on which to roast

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 197
the boy. While there he met a merchant returning with goods
from various countries. The Mangathai invited the merchant to
his yurta and entertained him. The merchant heard a child
crying. "Who is that?" asked he.
"The son of a man who has done me much harm. I am going
to eat him to-morrow," answered the Mangathai.
The merchant gave the Mangathai seven kegs of strong wine.
The Mangathai drank the wine and grew merry ; then some of
his heads talked about war, some went to sleep, some cried,
and others laughed.
"Give me the boy," said the merchant, "I will put him on the
spit for thee." The Mangathai gave up the boy, but the merchant
did not kill him or put him on the spit. He took him home and
made him his own son.
The boy cried and cried. "He is afraid of the Mangathai,"
said the merchant's wife. " Go to the seven Lamas and let them
soothsay ; perhaps the child is sick." But the boy said :
"I am not sick ; I am crying for my brother."
The merchant sent seven hundred men to look for that brother ;
but he was still a squirrel, and the men searched nine days
without finding him. Then the boy went with the men to look
for his brother. He turned himself into a squirrel, and instead
of finding the brother the seven hundred lost the boy they had
brought with them.
The two squirrels met, but the elder did not recognize the
younger. "Is this an enemy," thought he; and he went
straight up to Esege Malan.
The younger brother followed him to the door of Esege Ma-
lan's yurta, but did not go in. "Let my brother come out!"
cried he. "If not I will choke myself." But the elder brother
did not believe that the other squirrel was his brother, and he
would not go out.
"I have a birth-mark as big as ten finger-tips under my
left shoulder; so has my brother," said the elder boy to Esege
Malan. "If this squirrel has the same, he is my brother; if not,
he is an enemy."
The mark was found, and the two brothers embraced. Then
they went to the merchant, who was flogging the seven hundred

198 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
men, first for failing to find the one boy, and then for losing the
other. The merchant was glad to have two boys in place of one, and
set them to herding cattle ; but they neglected their work, and the
calves took all the milk from the cows. The merchant was
going to flog the boys, but his wife would not let him. He asked
where they had been and why they were gone so long.
"We have been wrestling with the son of Khan Laraja Mina,"
answered the boys.
The second day they drove the cows home very late, and the
calves had taken all the milk. "Where have you been?"
asked the merchant. "You have not been watching the herd."
"We went up to the sky to order bows and arrows of the ninety
Heavenly Blacksmiths. Our bows and arrows will be ready in
seven days."
At the end of the seven days the blacksmiths had the bows
ready and a quiver of arrows for each boy. The brothers took
their bows and arrows home, and the merchant gave a great feast.
" I found these brothers in an open field," said he to the people.
"I ask you to give them names."
He put out a piece of butter as big as a cup, and a piece of
meat as big as a plate. An old man ate the butter and the meat,
and said :
"The elder boy I name Altin Gorye; the younger, Mungun
Gorye." The people gave each boy a horse; the elder a red stallion
ninety sachens long, with ears nine sachens in length. The horse
had forty teeth, four big ones and thirty-six smaller ones.
They gave the younger boy a bay stallion eighty sachens long,
with ears eight sachens in length. He had forty teeth, — four
big ones and thirty-six smaller ones. The brothers had now all
that was needed for warriors, and they made ready to travel until
they found their father and mother.
"When you were young I took you and have cared for you al
ways. Why do you leave us in our old age ? " asked the merchant.
"We are going in search of our own father and mother, but
we will come back ; for though we live a thousand years we will
not forget thee."

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 199
They went then to the place where they were born ; but every
thing had dropped away, except a hitching-post that had stood
near the yurta. On that hitching-post the father had written:
" If my sons live, let them read this: 'We are taken by Bugu
Curte Zulut, and are in his power. If ye are able, rescue us ! In
the yard of the sheep house is sheep's flesh, and an iron vessel
full of arsa, [solid sour, sour milk].' "
The brothers opened a granary, and found oats for their
horses. They found the sheep's flesh and the arsa ; they ate and
drank, and were about to leave the place when they saw that it
was written on the hitching-post that they must travel eighty
versts a day for eight days.
They had traveled for three days when they met the two sons
of a khan. Those two, by their magic, knew of the coming of
the brothers, and preferred to meet them with war. They had
an army, and weapons, and all things needed.
The four advanced, but could not decide who should shoot
first; finally Altin Gorye, the elder of the brothers, said that
the khan's sons might shoot first.
By magic the brothers caught the arrows and put them in
their saddles, then they laughed and said, "You cannot shoot,
and still you go to war. Now it is our turn. Yield not to any
magic," said they to their arrows, "but go and scatter the enemy
like sand before the wind." The arrows flew away from the
bows, and both the sons of a khan were killed. The two
brothers burned the two men and burned their horses as well.
Then they went to the yurtas of the dead men, found their wives
and children there, and said :
"We have come to see your husbands. When we came into
the world some one stole our father and mother. Have you seen
them?" "We are but women; we are not wise, like men. We know
nothing," they replied, but among themselves they laughed.
"Short hair, short sense," said they, when the brothers had
left. The two traveled toward the west till they saw a beautiful
yurta, closed and guarded; but it opened at their command.
They entered and found there their father and mother; their

200 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
right eyes, hands, and feet were gone. They did not recognize
their children.
"Where was your home ? " asked the brothers.
"In the opposite land," said the man. "I was once the eldest
of thirteen khans and I knew many languages. Two sons were
born to me. Have ye not seen them ? "
"We are thy sons; while we were asleep behind seventy-three
curtains thou with our mother and all thy property were carried
away. Though you are our parents, a merchant reared us. We
are going for the Water of Life, and will make ye well again."
They brought a vial of the Water of Life, restored the eyes,
hands, feet, and strength of their parents. Then they took
father, mother, and all the property and families of the khan's
sons and went home to their father's ruined yurta, which by
magic they made large and beautiful.
"Now," said the younger brother, "we must go to the mer
chant." "Go thou," said the elder; "I will remain here to guard our
father and mother."
They argued and disputed, and at last both went. The mer
chant was glad when he saw them, and he made a great feast
which lasted seven days and seven nights.
"We rescued you from death," said the merchant. "When
one brother was lost we sent seven hundred to hunt for him. All
this cost much time and treasure. Now you should not leave us.
If you wish we will go to your father's yurta, but in any case we
must not part."
"Come with us," said the brothers.
The merchant made all things ready, filled wagons with gold
and treasures, and he and his wife went with the brothers to their
father's home.
In time the two young men became great khans, but they lived
always with their two fathers and two mothers.

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 201

SHARAU
ONCE there was a young man by the name of Sharau. He
became restless, and one day told his mother that if he had
a small sum of money he would go out into the world and make
a great deal more. His mother gave him what he asked for, and
he started out to begin life. On the road he met an old man with
a cat under his arm.
"Where are you going with that cat ?" asked the young man.
" I am taking it away to kill it," replied the man ; "for it fights
my dog and scratches him."
"Don't kill the cat; sell him to me," said Sharau.
"Very well, but what will you give me for him ?"
"Will you take a hundred rubles ?"
The man could hardly hide his joy, but said, "Yes," very
grudgingly, and gave the foolish young man the cat.
Then, as he had no money, Sharau started toward home, but
he had not gone far when the cat sprang out of his arms and ran
away. When he reached home his mother asked, "What have you
done with your money?"
"I have bought a fine storehouse full of grain," replied the
young man. "If I had a hundred rubles more I could do as
well again."
His mother gave him the hundred rubles, and he started out
with the intention of being very wise this time. When only a
short distance from his mother's yurta he met a man with a dog.
"Where are you taking that dog ?" asked the young man.
"I am taking him out to kill him," replied the man. "He
fights my cat, and takes her food from her; I have no peace."
"Do not kill the dog; sell him to me. I will give you all the
money I have." He was afraid that the hundred rubles would
not be enough to buy the dog, for he had paid that much for a cat.
"I will give you a hundred rubles for him."
The man was glad to part with the worthless hound for such a

202 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
big sum of money, and the young man started toward home; but
the dog bit and jumped, and pulled so badly at the leash that at
last Sharau lost patience and turned him loose. The dog ran
away at once.
When the young man got home his mother asked what he had
done with his money.
" I bought much fine grain," replied he ; " now I wish to marry.
In a kingdom not far away lives Sazrai Khan (Magpie Khan) ;
he has a daughter Sarung-gohung (another kind of bird). I
would like to marry her."
The mother went to Sazrai Khan and said: "I have a fine
young son; you have a beautiful daughter. Let us become
relatives." "How can that be ?" asked Sazrai. "The father of your son
was a merchant, and I am a khan. If your son will build a
silver bridge from my yurta to yours I will give him my daugh
ter. If he does not build the bridge I will have his head."
The mother went home crying. "What are you crying
about?" asked Sharau.
"You must find some one else for your bride," sobbed the
mother. "Sazrai Khan says you are a merchant's son and can
not marry his daughter till you build a silver bridge from his
yurta to ours, and if you do not build this bridge he will cpt your
head off."
"Then I had better run away and keep my head," said the
young man, and he started off at once. He went far, went until
he came to a dense forest. In this forest he met the dog whose life
he had saved.
"Oh, dog!" cried Sharau, "I saved your life; now do you
help me. I must build a bridge of silver for Sazrai Khan, and
I know not how to do it, for I am a poor man."
"Take this ring," said the dog. "Go home, look at the sun,
make three circles with your hand, and say while turning around,
'Let a bridge of silver be built to-night from my yurta to that of
Sazrai Khan.'"
This the young man did, and when he woke the next morning
there was the silver bridge. He went to it, took an axe and began
to work, as though he were just finishing a difficult task. The

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 203
khan came to look at the bridge, was much surprised, but
only said, "Why are you so long at the work; were not all the
hours of the night sufficient?"
"I have built it in one night," said Sharau. "If any man
can build it in a shorter time he may have my claim to your
daughter." "We will have the wedding in seven days," said the khan.
After the wedding the khan's daughter went to live with her
husband, but she grew dissatisfied, and complained bitterly.
"How is this ? " asked she. "You can build a bridge of silver,
and yet you live in this wretched old yurta."
The young man said nothing about the ring, hid it very care
fully. At night he slept with it in his mouth. One night he
coughed and the ring blew out and fell to the floor, but he
grasped it quickly.
"What is that ? What do you keep in your mouth ? " asked his
wife ; and when he refused to tell she teased him both day and
night until, weary of her teasing, he told her that it was a ring
with such magic power that if he looked at the sun and made
three circles with his hand while turning around he would get his
wish, whatever it might be.
"Let me keep the ring for you," begged Sarung-gohung ;
"you may lose it." She teased him a whole week, teased
until he gave it to her.
Now Sarung-gohung had a lover in a kingdom beyond the sea,
and that very night while her husband was sleeping she deter
mined not to wait, but to rise with the sun, and "try the power of
the ring. So at sunrise she made the circles, wished, and that
moment she was with her lover.
When Sharau woke and found his wife gone he went to the
khan and said, "See what a wife I have. She has gone away and
left me."
"I gave you my daughter," said the khan; "if you have n't
her now you have killed her."
Straightway he seized Sharau, bound him, and threw him into
a dungeon. Then he said to him, "I will wait seven days. If
my daughter does not return by that time she is dead, and I
shall have your head cut off."

204 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
The young man sat in the dungeon a day and a night. He had
nothing to eat, and wondered what he could do to save his life.
The second day he heard a noise, and saw a cat coming toward
him. "You are a fool," said the cat. "You should not have
told about the ring. Your wife is in another kingdom, and
has married her lover. The dog and I have counseled, but can
think of no way to help you. How long are you to sit in this
dungeon ? "
"Seven days," answered the young man. "On the eighth day
I shall be killed."
"If the dog and I cannot get the ring back within the seven
days you are lost," said the cat. "But be of good courage; you
saved our lives, we will try to save yours."
The cat went to the dog and they counseled again. At last
the dog said, " Get on my back, we will go to that kingdom be
yond the sea."
When they came to the place where the wife was the cat caught
a mouse that lived in the yurta. "If you do as I tell you," said
the cat to the mouse, "I will let you go; otherwise I will crush
and eat you."
"I am without offence," replied the mouse. "Why destroy
me ? Do not crush or eat me ; whatever you wish I will do."
"This is what you must do. In the mouth of the woman in
whose yurta you live is a gold ring ; get it for me."
The mouse worked all night at making a hole into the room
where the woman was sleeping, and was there just at daybreak.
He sprang on to the bed, crept up to her face, and tickled her
nose. The woman sneezed once, and a second time, and the ring
fell from her mouth. The mouse snatched the ring and was out
through the hole that minute.
The cat went back to the dog, sat on his back, and they started
for their own kingdom. The dog wanted to carry the ring, but
the cat said:
"No, you have a large mouth, and always keep it open. Who
ever saw a dog running with his mouth closed ? My mouth is
small. I will carry the ring." The cat wished ; there was a
boat. They were halfway across the sea when the cat sneezed,
and the ring dropped into the water.

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 205
"The man is as good as dead," said the dog ; "for we can never
get the ring from the bottom of the sea."
They came to land, caught fish, and were eating them when
the cat found the ring in a fish she was gnawing.
"We must hurry ! " said the dog. "Hold as tight as you
can!" And he ran as never dog ran before. When daylight
came the dog looked at the sun, wished, and they were at the
dungeon. The cat went to the young man.
It was the afternoon of the seventh day, and Sharau had lost
hope of rescue.
"Take the ring," said the cat, "make the circles toward the
west, and, though the sun is not shining in this dungeon, you
will get your wish."
Sharau wished himself out of the dungeon and in the khan's
palace. He was there, and said to his father-in-law, "My wife is
living with a man in a kingdom across the sea. I want you to get
her back."
"You have killed your wife," replied the khan. "If not, bring
her here yourself and I will spare your life."
The young man looked at the sun, made three circles with his
hand, and wished his wife and her lover to be there before him.
They appeared immediately. "Now," said the young man to his
father-in-law, "what are you going to do ?"
"I will do to them what I was going to do to you to-day," said
the khan ; and he had their heads cut off.

206 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA

HUNKUVAI AND THE HORSE WITH ROUND
HEAD
AFTER this world had become a world, and this earth had
become earth, and water had become water, there lived
near the northern side of the Altai mountains, on the ridge
called Huhiii, a khan so rich that he could not grow poor, and
so healthy that he could not die.
This khan had a wife named Deri Sisin (Steel File). She
held every place where she was with her dignity and filled her
own yurta with her presence. The thoughts of Deri Sisin were
as clear as the sunlight.
The khan had a gray steed with round head, and this steed
was kept at pasture on the Altai mountains, where thirteen elks
pastured with him.
When the khan began to rule, his herds had not been counted
for a long time, so he determined to count them. He went first
to Arin, his white uncle in the northwest, collected all his people,
every clan there, ordered the elders to assemble, and began to
count on the northwest side. When he had counted all on that
side he went to the southwest, and counted every animal in that
place. The khan found that his people and his cattle had increased
very greatly, and he was much pleased ; but he failed to find his
gray steed with round head. He saw tracks of a man and of an
immense horse, and knew that some one had come to the Altai
and stolen his wonderful steed. Because of this he went home
in great sadness.
Deri Sisin placed food and drink of all kinds before him.
" Why art thou sad ? " asked she. " What evil has happened ? "
"Some one has stolen my gray steed with round head," said
the khan, and he told of the tracks he had seen.
"Thou hadst a book given thee at birth, look in that and learn
what has happened. The book is under thy midriff."
The khan opened his midriff, took out the book, read, and

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 207
found that the son of Timur Shi Bain Khan had stolen the gray
steed with round head. In the book it was written also that
Timur's kingdom was distant a journey of fifty-five years, that
the khan himself had not power to go so far, but there was a
great hero, a certain Hiinkuvai, who could do it.
To find this Hiinkuvai, the khan summoned all subject
people. All appeared except one young man.
"Why did all come and not that man ?" asked the khan.
The young man's uncle spoke up and said: "Hiinkuvai, my
nephew, is the only son of his father; he is not here because he
has much wealth. He is so rich and powerful that he did not
regard thy call."
The khan was enraged, and sent three heroes to bring Hiin
kuvai. When the three heroes reached Hiinkuvai's yurta they saw that
it was richer than even the khan's yurta.
"We are here from our khan!" proclaimed the three mes
sengers to the servants of Hiinkuvai.
Shik Shuri Nogon, Hiinkuvai's wife, appeared before the
yurta. "Why have ye come?" asked the woman.
"We have come at command of the khan to tell thy husband
that he is summoned."
"For the last three days my husband has had a headache.
He sees no man, goes nowhere," answered Shik Shuri. Then
she seized a club and drove away those three messengers.
"Hiinkuvai's yurta is better than thine, O Khan," said the
three on returning. "It is so bright from gold and silver that
we could not look at it with open eyes."
"Who came? Why did the dogs bark?" asked Hiinkuvai
of his wife when she went into the yurta after beating the
messengers. "People were passing and the dogs barked at them," was her
answer. When he heard what his men said the khan fell into a terrible
rage. "What!" screamed he, "ye three heroes beaten, driven
away by a woman !"

208 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
He sent nine heroes now to summon Hiinkuvai. When they
appeared in the distance the man at the yurta whose duty it was
to watch for people, told Shik Shuri that nine men were coming.
She went out to meet them.
"Why do ye come ?" screamed she. "I have told all that no
man is received here ! " And seizing a great club she beat away
the nine heroes as she had the first three, but beat them more
savagely. "What is the trouble? Why do the dogs bark?" asked
Hiinkuvai when Shik Shuri went into the yurta.
"A she elk ran by with her little one ; the dogs barked at her."
"We could do nothing," said the nine heroes when they stood
before the khan. "The woman clubbed us savagely and drove
us away."
Confined by the khan in an iron prison was a very strong
hero. The khan raged at the nine beaten men and let out the
strong hero, whose iron cap weighed forty poods. He seated
this hero in a car drawn by nine stallions and sent him to con
quer Shik Shuri. When he was near her husband's yurta Shik
Shuri came out to meet him. She seized her heaviest club and
began at the hero. She clubbed him, and he fought with her till
at last both had to stop for breath. The woman tottered into
the yurta, panting heavily.
"With whom art thou fighting?" asked Hiinkuvai.
"I have seen no one," replied she; "I am not well to-day."
"She must be doing something," thought Hiinkuvai. "The
dogs have barked three times. She is keeping some secret from
me." And he went outside to see what was taking place; at
that moment the great hero was starting off in his car drawn by
nine powerful stallions.
"Why art thou here?" shouted Hiinkuvai.
"The khan has sent men three times for thee," answered
the hero, "but thy wife has let no one come near thy threshold."
"If that is true I will obey the khan's orders." So saying
Hiinkuvai made ready and went with the hero.
"Why not come at first?" asked the khan. "I wish thee to
find and bring back my gray steed with round head. It has been
stolen. Thou mayst be khan after me."

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 209
"I am willing to go, but I must have the right steed and good
fighting weapons. In three weeks I might start," said Hiin
kuvai. "Ask all the people to pray to the Burkans ; thou thyself
pray, and I will pray too, that weapons be given me, and a steed
on which I may ride such a distance."
When Hiinkuvai went back to his yurta he had become more
active; he was full of resolve and venom and was twice as
strong as before.
One day during those three weeks a stallion appeared in the
courtyard, and on his saddle was a hero's full outfit.
When the time came to go for the steed with round head the
khan himself and all the people came to Hiinkuvai's yurta.
They prayed to the Burkans and asked for success. People
said that no one could go with the young hero, since the road was
so long that if a boy of five years were to start he would be sixty
years old at the end of his journey, and if a man of full age were
to go he would die while still traveling.
With each step which Hiinkuvai's stallion made he covered
sixty paces, and went on increasing the length of his steps. He
threw out behind lumps of earth each as big as a calf a year old,
and his speed was of that sort that in one day he made the
whole journey.
Hiinkuvai was at Timur Shi's yurta on the following evening,
and shouted for some one to come out and meet him. Timur
Shi sent a man to say that the hour was late; the guest must
sleep in some other place and he would meet him on the
morrow. Hiinkuvai turned his stallion into a flint chip, went to the
neighboring forest, and passed the night there.
He met Timur Shi next day, and they went out together to
wrestle on a high place. When they had gone the distance of a
promontory Timur Shi and Hiinkuvai began the trial of strength.
Each seized the other, and they wrestled for three weeks. They
tore away all the flesh from the backs of their bodies, and bit
away all that was in front of them.
At the end of the three weeks they were so feeble that when
a slight wind blew they bent before it. The sun and moon
had grown red from the awful dust which they raised in that
14

210 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
country and from the blood which they shed there. They
could not stop fighting, for neither could free himself from the
other. The thousand Burkans looked down from the sky and were
frightened. They called an assembly and decided to separate
the two champions; so they sent Timur Buqii (Iron Bull), a
great hero, to part them. When Iron Bull came down from the
sky and touched the two, they broke one of his legs. That strong
hero went up to the sky again, and declared to the Burkans that
neither Timur Shi nor Hiinkuvai would stop till one had killed
the other. Then the thousand Burkans asked Hohodai (Thun
der) to strike and kill both with a thunderbolt.
Hohodai tried, but could not kill them ; they did not yield to
his thunderbolt, though it separated them.
They rested for a time, greeted each other, and smoked. Then
they decided to shoot at each other with arrows. One went to
the top of the southwest mountain, the other to the top of the
northeast mountain.
"I am master in this place and ought to send the first arrow,"
shouted Timur Shi, when they were on the two mountains.
" I came from afar, I am a guest, I should send the first arrow,"
answered Hiinkuvai.
After much disputing it was decided at last that Timur, as
the master of the place, should have the first shot. He took
from his quiver an arrow having three edges, drew his bow, and
said to the arrow:
" Cut my enemy into seven pieces, and cover the seven pieces
with seven mountains, so that they may never grow into one."
The arrow flew straight at Hiinkuvai, cut him into seven
pieces, and covered each piece with a mountain. Barely were
they under the mountains, when the seven pieces turned into
seven huge, raging wild bulls, broke their way out with their
horns, freed themselves, and became Hiinkuvai. The hero,
now in his own form, called to Timur Shi from the northeast
mountain and said : "Now it is thy turn to stand and my turn
to shoot!" Then he stretched his bowstring and said to the
arrow : " Strike him in his right arm above the elbow, break his
spinal column below the neck, and kill him ! "

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 211
The arrow broke the right forearm of Timur Shi and then
his spinal column. The hero fell to the earth, but had barely
touched it, when he rose well and strong again, just as if nothing
had happened.
The two came down from the mountains and met in the
valley, greeted each other like friends, smoked, and talked.
"There is nothing left for us to do but to find where our lives
are," said Hiinkuvai.
"Thy life," said Timur Shi, "is beyond the third valley. On
the fourth mountain lives a black bear in whose body thy life
is. I will take that bear by the ears and tear him in two;
that will be the end of thee."
Hiinkuvai knew not where Timur Shi's life was, and he asked
his stallion to tell him.
"On the top of Sehir Mai, the white mountain," said the
steed, "is a great, flat round stone; under that stone are thirteen
skylarks ; the life of Timur Shi is in those skylarks."
Hiinkuvai sat on his horse, rode away, and never stopped till
he came to Sehir Mai. At the foot of the mountain were bones,
immense piles of them; they were the bones of men who had
tried to go to the top of that mountain and had perished, — had
fallen and been killed, for no man could reach the top of Sehir
Mai. "How are we to climb to that high summit?" inquired
Hiinkuvai. "We must go back one day's journey," said the stallion,
" then turn and rush to the mountain. With the force of the
running I may spring so high as to hang at the top. At that
moment do thou cut a strip from each front hoof of mine. I
shall succeed then; otherwise I shall fail."
All was done as the steed directed. Hiinkuvai rode back a
day's journey; the stallion rushed with mighty force, rose with
one leap to the highest edge of Sehir Mai, and clung to it. Hiin
kuvai took his knife and cut strips from the front hoofs of the
horse, and he sprang to the summit. Right there on the top of
the mountain was the Water of Life, and Hiinkuvai and his
horse drank deeply.
Hiinkuvai's whip handle was hollow, and he filled it with

212 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
water. This water he scattered down on the bones which he
had seen at the foot of the mountain, and all those men were
alive again.
"A great hero has brought us to life," cried out thousands of
people. " May he go to whatever object he wishes."
Hiinkuvai went farther, went to the great, flat round stone,
but struggle as he might he could not raise it ; so he collected
wood, lighted a fire on the stone, and heated it red hot ; then he
begged the thousand Burkans to make rain fall. The rain
came, and the stone split into four pieces. Hiinkuvai raised one
of those pieces, caught the thirteen skylarks, killed ten of them,
put three in his pocket, refilled his whip handle with the Water
of Life, and went down the mountain. He went toward the
fourth mountain, where his own life was in the black bear. He
knew that Timur Shi was going there. When near the moun
tain he saw a light, rode up to it, and there lay Timur Shi with
his back toward a fire.
"I am sick," said Timur Shi, "I have a terrible headache,
I am warming my spine. Where hast thou been ? What hast
thou seen, or what hast thou heard ? What hast thou been
doing?" "I have just traveled around here and there, I have seen
nothing of value, but I caught three little skylarks."
"Show them to me!" cried Timur Shi.
Hiinkuvai showed the three skylarks.
"Oh," said Timur Shi, "those birds are sacred; a young
person should not touch them. Give those birds to me. I am
master of this place, I will let them fly away."
"Here they are," said Hiinkuvai, and he stretched out his
hand as he strangled the three skylarks. That moment Timur
Shi put his palm on his mouth and dropped dead. His head
fell toward the north mountain, his feet stretched out south-
westward. Hiinkuvai gathered wood, made a pile, and burned Timur
Shi Bain Khan, broke his larger bones fine, and scattered to
the winds all that was left. Then he went to Timur's yurta
and searched for the gray steed with round head. At first he
could not find him anywhere. But he looked and looked, and

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 213
at last he found him in a stable of three iron walls, one wall
inside the other.
The steed could hardly stand, was barely living. Hiinkuvai
gave him the Water of Life from his whip handle and led him
out of the iron stable.
Timur Shi had much silver and gold, flocks and cattle. He
had thirty-three heroes to serve him, and a great many people.
Hiinkuvai took away everything, took the thirty-three heroes
and all the people. He told them the way to his yurta, and
went home himself by magic as quickly as possible, leading
the gray steed with round head and riding his own stallion.
After he had ridden a part of the way and was on his own land,
he came to a great Shaman place, Huhai Hubshi, and stopped
a short time to rest there.
When going from home Hiinkuvai had left his uncle, Hara
Zaton (Black Zaton), to manage in place of himself. While
Hiinkuvai was returning Shik Shuri gave birth to twins and
named them Huragin and Isbegin.
The uncle had hoped that his nephew would never come
back and that he himself would manage all and possess it.
When he knew that his nephew had conquered and was coming,
he decided to meet him on the road at some distance, and he
made ready.
He distilled tarasun of ten strengths and mixed strong poison
with it. From ten pots of this poisoned tarasun he made one
pot, from twenty pots of pure tarasun he made one pot. Next
he killed ten sheep and made the flesh of those ten into the bulk
of one sheep. After that twenty sheep were cooked and made
into the size of one sheep. Then he put all into saddlebags,
went to the yurta, and called to his nephew's wife, Shik
Shuri :
" Come out ! I thought that my nephew had conquered, but
it seems that he was beaten, and his own stallion trampled and
killed him. War is near us. Three hundred and thirty-three
heroes are coming to drive away my nephew's cattle and take
all he valued most. Give me the two little boys, I will hide them
away in a place of safety."
"They are in the cradle," said Shik Shuri. "They are but

214 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
three days old; let me keep them till to-morrow. Let them
grow up a little. The next day take them whithersoever thou
wishest." As she would not give up the boys willingly and Hara Zaton
could not wait, he mounted quickly. "While I am gone,"
said he," if thou feed the boys badly or hide them in any
place, I will kill thee."
Hara Zaton rode away to the Shaman Mountain, and there
they met, — the uncle and the nephew.
"I greet thee, and am glad that thou hast gained a great
victory," said Zaton; and he stretched out his hand.
Hmikuvai would not take it.
"While thou wert gone two sons were born to thee. They
were born only four days ago."
Hiinkuvai never stopped, or gave his hand, but rode away
toward his yurta.
"Nephew!" cried Zaton, "what is the matter? Why dost
thou scorn me?"
Hiinkuvai would not stop, would not listen.
"Oh, nephew, of what art thou thinking ? Thou hast gained
a great victory, but thou art passing a holy mountain without
pouring out a libation. This is a sin, and, think, thy sons are
only four days old !"
Hiinkuvai stopped. He stopped because of his sons. When
they dismounted Hara Zaton embraced his nephew and kissed
him. He seemed very glad, the deceiver. They poured a
libation of good tarasun, sat down, ate, and drank. Zaton
drank very little ; he just feigned to drink. Soon they had drunk
all the pure tarasun and eaten the good meat.
"Well, uncle," said Hiinkuvai, "since we have begun let us
finish. Hast thou more tarasun?"
The three horses were tied to trees near them. Hara Zaton
now brought the poisoned meat and drink. The nephew ate
and drank and soon dropped down without life or motion.
From his right nostril a green and a blue flame quivered, from
his left came a red flame. The uncle sat down at some distance,
with a drawn bow, ready to send an arrow should his nephew
revive. He sat there day and night and waited. On the third

Village of Alaguersk-rod in Siberia. Page 76

A Group of Unmarried Mongol Women or Young Ladies
in Usturdi. Page 8-2

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 215
day Hiinkuvai raised his head somewhat, and saw that Hara
Zaton was sitting with bow drawn ready to send an arrow.
"Uncle, it is thy wish to kill me! Well, kill, but spare my
children." Zaton let the arrow go and killed his nephew. When the
arrow struck Hiinkuvai his stallion and the gray steed with
round head tore themselves free and called out to Zaton :
"While we have hoofs thou wilt not possess us, we will fly to
him who made us ! " And they went to the sky.
The widow of Hiinkuvai knew by her magic of all that had
happened. "The murderer will come to-night," thought she;
"I must save my two sons."
She put one boy under her right armpit, the second under the
left one, and hurried on toward that same Shaman mountain.
By a turn to the northwest she came to a spot where two
immense pine trees stood close together. She made two small
pits under those two pine trees and put her little boys into them.
Shik Shuri wished to hurry home and be there before the evil
uncle. When she had left her sons behind and had gone some
distance, she looked back. The children had crawled out of the
pits and were sucking each other's fingers. This sight made
the mother cry. She turned back, and gave them her breasts;
then she put the boys down in the holes and vanished.
Near the yurta Shik Shuri saw a ewe with two little lambs.
She killed the lambs, heated an oven and put them into it, and
when both were well burned she placed the bones in a bag,
took the bag to a lake, tied a stone to it, and sank it at a place
which she marked carefully. Now it was daylight, and she went
back to the yurta and waited. Hara Zaton was not long in
appearing. "Come out," called he to Shik Shuri.
She went out to him.
"I saw my nephew's body lying dead," said he. "Give me
the little boys. I will put them in a place where no enemy can
find them; I will feed and bring them up carefully."
"Thou didst say," replied Shik Shuri, "that warriors were
coming to kill us. I thought that we should all have to die ; so
I burned the boys, put their bones in a bag, and hid them."

216 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
"Show me where they are hidden. I must know the place,"
said the false uncle.
She led him to the place, raised the bag, and showed it to him.
He took the bag from her and carried it to the yurta. Whether
from fear that the bones might come to life, or thinking that they
would strengthen him, for the boys would have been great heroes,
he ground the bones into very fine dust, mixed the dust with
fat, cooked the mixture, and ate it.
Hara Zaton moved now into his nephew's yurta and took
possession of all his wealth and utensils. He put Shik Shuri's
left eye out, broke her left arm and left leg, and set her then, as
a serving woman, to feed the dogs of his courtyard.
The two boys, Huragin and Isbegin, grew up under the two
pine trees very quickly. They made bows for themselves, and
then arrows. In two days they killed birds as well as rabbits ;
they ate them raw. On the third day they killed nothing, though
they hunted till midday. After midday they met in a small
valley of a great forest Dainjin Sharaman, a Mangathai of
seventy-three heads.
"I have traveled the forest all day and found nothing till
now," said Dainjin Sharaman; "here I find splendid eating!"
And seizing the two boys by the feet, he strode on, holding them
like sticks. At his yurta he tied each boy to a pillar, cut two
slices of flesh from their thighs and spitted them for his supper.
While the pieces were roasting he fell asleep. The two boys,
from pain and fear, cried bitterly.
At just this time a man who was as rich as any khan but
was childless was passing with eighty packs of merchandise.
He heard the boys crying, and stopped all his train. He went
into the yurta and roused the sleeping Mangathai. "Why dost
thou eat the flesh of these boys ?" asked he.
"I hunted all day and found nothing till I met them. Their
flesh is good, and I am glad to eat it."
"Well," said Turgubai, the rich merchant, "eat what is on the
spit, but sell me the boys. I will give thee eighty horses for them."
"Take them!" said the Mangathai.
The merchant took the boys to his home, cured them, and
called them his sons.

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 217
Huragin and Isbegin lived a whole year with the merchant.
They grew large, and became skilful hunters, filled their father's
storehouses with game and with fine fur of all sorts.
"Hunt no more, I have no place for game," said the mer
chant, at last.
"Let us herd cattle then," said the brothers.
Near by was Tomtoy mountain. They drove out the mer
chant's flocks and herds to pasture on that mountain. While
the cattle were eating, the boys exercised, tried their strength;
hurled stones, as big as a sheep, so far that a man would need
two days to go to the place where the stones fell. Then they
threw great rocks, as big as a bullock, and those fell one day's
journey distant. Near by was a fallen cliff covering two acres;
they carried this cliff home in turn, — one brother carrying it a
short distance, then the other. They placed the cliff near the
gate, and carved on it the history of their lives since they hunted
the first time. They told how they had searched for game, how
the Mangathai treated them, how the merchant had bought
them. They told all the present as well, and added: "If any
man harms our new father we will take dreadful vengeance on
that man and then slay him."
They went into the yurta, ate and slept, and afterward went to
the high mountain where they had found the fallen cliff. The
boys had never been to the top of Tomtoy. As they climbed
they heard cattle roar and men cry. The cattle roared much,
and the men cried as if suffering terribly, and these sounds
seemed to come from a distance. When the boys reached the
top of the mountain they saw a long narrow valley. From the
beginning to the end of that valley was a row of pots; in each
pot were ten bullocks, and at the side of each pot was a huge
spit with ten men impaled on it.
The two brothers sat down on the mountain-top and looked.
"Who is doing all this?" asked they. Then by magic they
learned that those were the people and cattle of Todai Bain
Khan. This khan had warred for three years with Shara
Nagoy (Yellow Dog), mad master of the Land of Peace, and
had been conquered.
Todai Bain Khan had two daughters, Altan Hurubshe and

218 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Miingun Hurubshe. When he had beaten Todai, Yellow Dog
demanded those two daughters.
Huragin and Isbegin, the two brothers, now planned on the
mountain-top how to conquer Yellow Dog and assist Todai
Khan. "How much harm Yellow Dog is doing !" thought they.
"He boils one thousand bullocks each day and spits one thou
sand people."
Now the two brothers took two huge round stones, which
were like two great wheels, heated them as red as red cloth,
and one said to the other :
"Yellow Dog has such jaws that when he travels the upper
one touches the clouds and the lower one grazes the earth.
At sunrise he rushes up the valley toward the spot where we
are now sitting, and goes toward the sun with open mouth.
At that time we will roll these two red-hot stones into his mouth.
If we are lucky he will swallow the two, and they will burn out
the heart in his body."
The next day, as the sun was rising, Shara Nagoy rushed
toward it with open mouth. The two brothers rolled down the
hot stones. They bounded into his mouth. He sprang high,
howled dreadfully, and fell backward. His head struck the
northwest mountain, and his feet stretched to the southeast
mountain. When the mad master of the Land of Peace was dead the
two brothers went along the valley, threw the bullocks from the
pots, and drew the men from the spits. Some were half roasted,
and some half alive. They brought all to sound health, the
bullocks from the pots as well as the men from the spits, and
then went toward Todai Bain Khan's yurta.
When they were in sight of the yurta the largest and oldest
blue mare, the largest and oldest red cow, the most aged and
decrepit old woman, came out and addressed the two brothers :
"In vain have ye come to relieve us. Go not against Yellow
Dog; he will kill you, and we shall be lost, whatever else
happens." When Todai Bain Khan heard that Yellow Dog was dead he
harnessed eight blue horses and hurried forward to meet the
two brothers. After the greeting they went with him to his

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 219
splendid yurta. Nine days they spent there, and Todai Bain
Khan made great feasts of all kinds to please them. "You have
done such a deed," said he, "that it could not be greater. I will
give whatever reward may seem good to you."
"We live far from here, no reward is needed; only give us
your two daughters."
"I will do that," said Todai Khan; and he went to prepare
the wedding. A sea of drink and a mountain of meat were
made ready. Nine days and nights did the wedding last. When
the time came, and the brothers were ready to go back to their
father's yurta, Todai Khan gave orders to harness eight bay
stallions and send with them a low chariot and eight heroes.
The mother went half-way home with her daughters. On the
road they stopped at the yurta of Dainjin the Mangathai, who
had cut flesh from the two brothers and spitted it. The brothers
seized him, put chains on his wrists and ankles, chains weighing
forty poods. They laid a strong beam across the smoke-hole
and hung him face downward over the fire, where he died, and
they continued their journey, rejoicing.
At last they reached the yurta where Huragin and Isbegin
were born and where their false uncle was master. Near the
yurta they met a woman with one eye, one hand, and one foot ;
she was carrying meat to the dogs of the place, and lamenting.
"What khan's children are ye?" inquired she of the
brothers. "Have ye ever known my Huregin and Isbegin ?
Have ye ever heard of them? Are they still living in any
place?" "We have heard that Dainjin the Mangathai caught them in
Hapgata valley, that he spitted their flesh, and then ate it."
"Oh," cried the mother, " I had hoped till this day that they
were living, and that hope held me up in my misery." Then
she fell back and died there before her two sons.
The brothers went in and seized the false uncle. They carried
him and his family northward to the foot of a mountain where
three roads met; there they nailed them to seven pines, put an
empty cask near each pine, with a dull knife and a pair of blunt
scissors fastened to each cask. Above each person was nailed
these words : "If a man passes this place he is to cut off with a

220 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
knife a small piece of flesh from each person hanging here. If
a woman passes by she is to cut with the scissors a small piece
of flesh from each person. The one who fails to do this will be
beheaded." The two steeds which had gone to the sky rushed in from the
west and stopped at the hitching-posts near the yurta. On
them was everything necessary for the outfit of horse and rider.
The two brothers took the horses and removed the outfits ; then
they prayed long in thanks, prayed three days and nights to the
Heavenly Burkans ; after that they mounted the steeds and rode
away beyond thirteen lands to the northwest, where stands a
high mountain, Sehir Mai, the White mountain. On that moun
tain were the healing Water of Life and the red restoring larch
tree. They went to the top of the mountain and took bark
from the tree and water from the spring.
Khan Herdik Shubun (eagle) had gone up three fourths of
the way ; three years was he flying. He could go no higher and
lay there exhausted, barely living, holding on by his wings and
his beak to the mountain side.
The brothers took some of the water from the spring and
some of the bark from the red restoring larch tree, and sprin
kled the eagle with the water mixed with the bark. He revived,
circled three times about, then flew to the mountain-top and
still higher.
"Thanks to you," said Khan Herdik. "If war or any peril
threatens call me, I will fly to you ; we should help one another."
Then he vanished in the clouds.
The two brothers hurried home. They put some of the bark
in Shik Shuri's mouth, poured in the Water of Life, cured her.
She grew young ; regained hand, foot, and eye. When she came
to her senses she knew her two sons, embraced and kissed them,
led them into the yurta. There were five of them now.
"Was there a father of ours?" asked the brothers.
"There was, but he was beaten in battle and killed when ye
were infants."
"Thou art hiding something from us, thou art afraid to tell
us. We will dig out and discover the ashes and bones of our
father, wherever they may be."

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 221
Shik Shuri took their father's book out of a box, brought it
to her sons, and they read all that was in the book. They read
how their father went to find the gray steed with round head,
how their uncle had killed him. All was described there. They
saddled their two stallions and rode away. Shik Shuri had no
power to stop them. They went to Huhai Hubshi Barsam, the
Shaman mountain, and there found their father's bones, over
which moss had grown.
Huragin and Isbegin gathered the bones ; all were there save
the great toe of the right foot. They searched everywhere, and
at last found the trail of Ungin (fox) ; she had stolen the toe.
They followed the trail, followed till they discovered that Ungin
had been eaten by Shono (wolf). Going farther, they saw that
Shono had been devoured by Hara Grojung (black bear); yet
farther on they found that Hara Grojung had been eaten by
Bara (tiger), and then that Bara had been eaten by Irbit (lion).
They hunted till they came upon Irbit. They killed him and
found in his stomach the great toe of their father; then they
returned and fixed the toe to the foot properly.
They sprinkled the skeleton with the healing Water of Life,
mixed with powdered bark from the red restoring larch tree.
The first time they sprinkled flesh came on the bones, the second
time Hiinkuvai was like a man sleeping, the third time he was
living and well.
Then Huragin and Isbegin went home with their father, and
all feasted for many days.

222 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA

VARHAN TULAI HUBUN
ONCE there were two brothers, — the elder Albat Mergin
Hubun, the younger Varhan Tulai Hubun. The elder
had a wife named Deri Sisin (Steel File), the younger was not
married. "Let us try and see which of us is the stronger," said Varhan
to his brother one day.
They went to the shore of the Yellow Sea, and there found a
stone as big as a great stallion. The elder brother raised this
stone to his girdle and sank in the ground to his waist. Varhan,
the younger brother, raised the stone, swayed it thrice, and
hurled it into the Yellow Sea. Then they went home and began
to shoot with arrows. Albat Mergin took an arrow with forty
edges and said to it:
"Beyond the thirteenth mountain is an elk and his mate. If
I am to live, kill them ; if not, let them live."
The arrow did not strike the elk, but chanced on a hundred
and eight headed and thirteen horned Mangathai, went in at
the side of his sixth rib, and killed him.
Varhan, the younger brother, sent his arrow beyond the
twenty-third mountain and killed two elks there.
"Thou hast conquered," said Albat Mergin, " thou mayst not
live on as hitherto."
Varhan cut his forehead, opened it, and took out a book. In
the book he read that the most beautiful woman in the world
was Shandagan Sagai, daughter of Esege Malan, and that she
was to be his bride.
Beyond a certain mountain, where she pastured with thirteen
asses, was a milk-white mare, with her colt going after her.
The colt was ninety fathoms long and dark gray in color. Varhan
Tulai led home this colt, fed him for thirty days, saddled him,
and started to ride to the sky and find there the yurta in which
lived Shandagan Sagai, the beauty of all the world above and
below.

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 223
He rode long and fast till his horse was wearied; then he
turned him into flint, put the flint in his pocket, made himself
a wolf, and raced on and on. Traveled as a wolf till he was
tired; then he took his own form again, and rode on the dark
gray colt till at last he reached an opening, the door through the
highest point in the sky. This door is called Sinbur Ulai Tolgai.
Varhan Tulai went through and saw on the other side the end
of a great yurta; then he went farther and saw the whole yurta.
It was splendid and so immense that it reached up till it touched
a second sky. When he came to this beautiful yurta he went in,
and there in the seventy-fifth chamber found Shandagan Sagai.
"Whence hast thou come?" asked she, "and whither art
thou going?"
"I am the son of Galtun Umri. I am going to find a bride, I
am looking for Agin Nogdn." Shandagan Sagai made tea then
from a silver kettle, and they drank together.
"I have traveled far," said Varhan Tulai, "I am tired ; some
thing troubles ; something irritates my head. Look in it." He
put his head on her knees. Her fingers, searching through his
hair, gave him wonderful pleasure, and he fell asleep. All at
once she screamed. Varhan sprang up and rushed out. There
were seventy-four doors besides the outer door, seventy-five in
all. He shut these, and there were ninety-five chambers before
him. He closed every chamber tightly ; then made the house
very small, as small as a little box, put it on his horse, and with
Shandagan Sagai inside raced away swiftly.
Esege Malan had three Shalmos (invisible spirits) in his
service, three attendant spirits, who went around through every
place, watching all the time and looking in all directions very
quickly. These Shalmos saw that the house was gone, the
daughter gone, all things gone. They hurried to Esege Malan
and told him.
Esege Malan opened his doors and saw Varhan Tulai stealing
his daughter away, — saw him far off, hurrying, racing with all
speed. He called the three Shalmos and sent them to bring to
him a perfect fool. They brought the fool quickly, and Esege
Malan said to him: "I brought thee, thou fool, for this pur
pose. A man came and stole my yurta, with my daughter and all

224 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
her property. Do thou hurry, hasten, overtake him, catch him,
kill him, and bring back my daughter."
" Give me means and help," replied the perfect fool.
Esege Malan sent three hundred champions with clubs, three
hundred more with hammers, and three hundred with sharp
swords, to help the fool. They went swiftly and were gaining
on Varhan Tulai. He was on earth now, hurrying always. His
horse was untiring, but the fool and the champions were gain
ing, coming nearer each moment; so Varhan rose in the air
with his horse and rushed to a high country at one side.
The fool and his men lost the trail, but the fool knew what
to do. He rose in the air also. "I will fly too, but stay ye here,"
said he to his nine hundred helpers. They passed the night at
the place where he left them. During the night they burned up
all the trees in the forest around, and their horses ate up all the
grass, and since that day nothing has grown there.
The fool saw Varhan at a great distance. When he had almost
caught up with him Varhan turned himself into an old man
and sat down near a spring of pure water. He had made a hut
there, and a woman was sitting inside; the woman was Shan
dagan Sagai.
Varhan, with a girdle of the inner bark of a larch tree around
his middle, seemed very poor. This trick did not mislead the
fool, however.
"What manner of man art thou, who has stolen the daughter
of another and with her his house and goods?" asked he.
"What right hadst thou to do this?"
They sprang at each other, closed, and began to fight, and
they fought for nine days with little rest for breathing. At last
the fool threw Varhan Tulai over three mountain ranges, then
rushed after him, and when he came up, he asked :
"With such small power how couldst thou think to be a hero ?"
Varhan had sunk to his waist and was hardly living, but
when he heard these jeering words he grew terribly angry; he
rose out of the earth, and as he rose he overturned one hundred
and fifty acres in a circle around him.
"Though thou art a perfect fool, thou hast thrown me across
three mountain ranges," cried Varhan ; " now I will throw thee

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 225
so far that thou wilt never be seen again ! " That moment he
seized the fool and threw him over seven mountain ranges. He
sank eighty fathoms through the earth and stayed there.
Varhan Tulai returned to his hut by the spring, took Shandagan
Sagai with all her property, and went home. He found nothing
there ; his yurta was gone, his cattle gone, all was gone. There
was nothing where the yurta had been save one black raven
and one yellow fox. Near by was a hitching-post with these
words on it: "Under this post are ten pots of tarasun and the
flesh of ten sheep. Eat the meat and drink the tarasun. We
have been taken from our home, and are captives of a hundred
and eight headed Mangathai. Find us, and save us."
Varhan ate and drank and then went to rescue his people.
He traveled till he came to a bottomless swamp and a dense
forest. He passed both. Beyond the dense forest he saw his
brother's stallion, with one eye out and a broken leg. He made
his own horse poor, a little, gray, wretched creature, and himself
a miserable, starving old man with hair sticking out a whole
foot through his cap and finger-nails growing out through his
gloves. He went farther and saw seven hundred of his brother's bul
locks, six hundred sheep, five hundred goats, and only one he-
goat. Farther still he saw two dogs; two wolves ran up to
fight with the dogs. Varhan killed both wolves and went farther.
Next he met four young men on four red horses. Each man
had an iron whip.
"Whither are ye going?" asked Varhan.
"We are herdsmen," said they; "we run after cattle."
Varhan waved his whip thrice; the horses were fettered and
the men were tied to their saddles. Farther on he saw the hun
dred and eight headed Mangathai walking along.
"Whither art thou going, old man?" asked the Mangathai.
"I am one of Tudai Khan's herdsmen looking for his cattle.
I have come to see if they are with yours. I am dry; hast thou
nothing to drink here ? "
"Thou knowest much," said the Mangathai, "knowest thou
where Varhan Tulai Hubun is ? If thou knowest tell me."
"Of course I know. He was killed long ago by the perfect
15

226 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
fool. What a great man Varhan Tulai was, a bony fellow! It
would take three days to walk over his bones."
"This moment I will spit something," said the Mangathai.
He spat out a big stone. "I will give you this stone to keep.
Go home and put it away carefully," said he. "While you have
the stone no one will offend, no one will harm you. I must go
after my cattle."
Varhan Tulai broke the stone against a tree, and a box cov
ered with tin fell out. He opened the box, sixteen little birds
were in it; thirteen he killed and three he put in his pocket.
Then he went to find the Mangathai's yurta while the Man
gathai was off hunting for his cattle.
The Mangathai's wife was at home, an angry woman with
an ugly face. On one of her knees Varhan's brother was sitting;
on the other was Deri Sisin, Albat's wife. Whenever the Man
gathai woman went out they had to go with her.
"Why did you make my brother and his wife your servants ?"
asked Varhan, as he pushed the woman over and caught hold
of his brother and Deri Sisin.
"My husband will come quickly and pay you for this!"
screamed the Mangathai's wife.
"He will not come to me, for I am going to him," said Varhan.
Then with a horsehair rope he bound her securely, and leaving
his brother and sister-in-law, went to find the Mangathai. While
he was going he squeezed to death the three birds that he had
in his pocket. When he reached the Mangathai he found him
dead. Varhan brought dry trees and burned the body. Then he
made a wooden mill and ground up the larger bones of his
enemy, turned all into ashes and scattered the ashes every
where. "Which will you have, seventy tree tops or seventy good
horse tails?" asked he of the Mangathai's wife.
"I could make firewood of the tree tops," said she; "I could
make ropes of the horse tails."
He took seventy tree tops, made a stake of them, put her on
the stake, impaled and killed her; then he brought her to life
again. Next he took seventy horses, tied her to their tails, and

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 227
tore her into seventy pieces. After that he put the seventy
pieces together and made her alive a second time; then he im
paled her on a stake again and left her there. He searched the
house carefully. In one chamber he found an iron cradle; in
the cradle an infant, the son of the Mangathai. Varhan seized
the boy and threw him against a corner of the chamber to kill
him. "Oh, no !" cried the child, "you cannot kill me to-day."
Varhan threw him to the second corner.
"No," cried the boy, "you cannot kill me to-day."
He threw him into the third corner.
"Oh, no !" said the child, "you cannot kill me to-day."
"What shall I do to kill this creature?" thought Varhan.
"Dig me a hole twenty fathoms deep," said he to his men, and
put all the wood into it that you can find about here."
It was done, and down deep in the hole a great fire was built;
then they threw the young Mangathai into it.
"Oh, how pleasant and comfortable it is here, so warm and
nice ! " cried the boy ; and he began playing with the hot coals.
As nothing could be done to kill the child, Varhan went to
take counsel of the thousand Burkans. They gave him four
chains. "Fasten these chains," said they, "to his hands and
feet and take him to a place in the forest where there are four
trees; chain him to those trees. Near the trees build a house.
Inside the wooden house make an iron one, inside the iron
house a lead one. Pack all the space between the wooden, the
iron, and the lead houses with ice; when you have done that
stay inside the lead house for nine days. During these nine
days we will make a dreadful heat, and the boy will burst."
Varhan built the houses; then he and his brother and his
brother's wife took refuge in the lead house, while the Burkans
made such a terrible heat in all the country around the Man
gathai's house where the boy was that he became dreadfully
swollen and at last burst.
When the nine days were over Varhan and his brother came
out of the lead house, burned the body of the Mangathai child,
scattered the ashes, took all of the cattle and wealth of the
Mangathai, and went home. When Varhan reached his yurta

228 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
his wife was gone; she had fled back to Esege Malan, her
father. Varhan started on a second journey to the sky. While he
was on the way up Shandagan's father saw him, and going to
Hohodai Mergen (thunder), he said, "Strike that Varhan
with a thunderbolt and kill him." Hohodai did as Esege Malan
commanded, and Varhan fell to the earth; the sun and the
moon fell with him, and it became dark in every place.
The thousand Burkans held a council and said to Esege
Malan: "You must send messengers to bring back the sun and
the moon. We cannot live in this way."
Esege Malan sent three hundred heroes with three hundred
horses and three hundred crowbars to raise the sun and the
moon, but the heroes could not raise them and went
back. Esege Malan now called the seven heavenly smiths from the
sky and sent them down with their forges ; he sent also the three
hundred heroes, and this time each hero carried a hammer
ninety poods in weight. The smiths were to heat up and the
heroes to hammer. They worked a whole month, but accom
plished nothing; everything they did was useless.
All this time there was darkness everywhere. At last the
thousand Burkans held a second council. There was one very
great sage, Zarya Azergesha (hedgehog). They sent this wise
old Burkan to Esege Malan, and he said :
"Bring to life Varhan, whom thou hast killed, and delay not;
give Shandagan Sagai to him. Are the sky and the earth to be
in darkness because of thy daughter ? "
Esege Malan said, "I will give him my daughter immedi
ately." And that moment he summoned Herdik Shubun
(the eagle), and said:
"Take my daughter to the place where Hohodai Mergen
struck her husband with a thunderbolt. Take with you a bottle
of the Water of Youth and Life. Pour the water on Varhan's
body and bring him to life again."
Khan Herdik did all that Esege Malan commanded. Varhan
Tulai Hubun sprang up alive and well, and that instant the sun
and the moon rose to their places in the sky.

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLKTALES 229
Varhan went home with his wife, collected all the people,
killed sheep and cattle, and made a grand wedding-feast.
"I have been traveling for a long time," said Varhan to his
wife; "I am tired and want to sleep. I want to sleep four days
and four nights. Do not rouse me, unless evil people come and
there is great need ; then strike me on the left thigh with your
fist." He lay down and was soon sleeping soundly. After two days
a woman rushed up to the door. "I am afraid of your dogs !"
screamed she. "Let me in ! let me in ! I am your neighbor !"
She was a Mangathai woman who had come to steal away
Varhan ; but Shandagan Sagai, thinking that she was a neighbor,
let her in, brought a silver kettle, made tea, and gave her
honey, then went out for a moment to get tarasun, leaving the
woman with Varhan, who all this time was sleeping behind
seven curtains.
When Shandagan came back the strange woman was gone.
Varhan was gone also. Albat Mergin, his brother, went in search
of him. He followed the woman's trail till he came upon a
sixty-three headed Mangathai.
For seven years Albat Mergin fought with this Mangathai,
and during those years Vardan's wife had two sons; the elder
was called Altin Shagoy, and the younger Murgun Shagoy.
The boys grew very fast. When they were nine days old a
ten-year-old ram's skin was not large enough to make a coat
for either one of them. Soon they became wonderful marksmen
and great hunters. There was a company in the country near
by, youths who arranged to shoot at a mark three versts off;
no one could hit at that distance except the two brothers. "We
hit ! we hit !" cried the others. "Why say that when ye know
that it is we who hit?" asked the brothers.
The youths were confused and angry. One of them spoke up
and said :
"If ye are such men to shoot why not rescue your father from
the Mangathai?"
The brothers had never thought about having a father, but now
they went home and asked their mother if a Mangathai woman
had carried off Varhan Tulai Hubun, and was he their father ?

230 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
"Vorhan Tulai was your father," answered Shandagan
Sagai, "but he died before you were born."
They did not believe this, and when they could not find out
where their father was they went to the field and made a plan
there. "Go into the house," said the elder brother; "the kettle is
boiling. I will cry from outside that the calves have sucked the
cows dry; our mother will hurry out. Then you cry from the
house that the water is boiling over. We will run in, take
the cover off the kettle, seize her and hold her hands down in
the water till she tells where our father is."
The younger brother went into the house and was talking
with his mother, when suddenly the elder brother, who had re
mained in the field, cried : "Mother, come quickly ! The calves
are sucking the cows dry, we shall have no milk ! "
The mother hurried out, but had not reached the field when
the younger brother cried from within the house: "Oh, mother,
come quickly! The water is boiling over and putting out the
fire!" Shandagan Sagai rushed back, and the elder boy followed
as though to help her. When she was inside the house the two
brothers seized her hands and held them in the hot water. "Tell
us where our father is," said they.
"Thy father's ashes are where his sons' ashes should be,"
replied she angrily. They put her hands into the water a second
time, and she told them everything, for the water was very hot.
Then the two brothers took their weapons and started away
on foot. They went to the boundary of their father's land,
took twelve tapers in their hands, and implored the Burkans for
horses. They prayed one day and night, holding the twelve
tapers. The second night they put twenty tapers on the ground
and prayed for three days and three nights. On the fourth day,
in the morning, they saw four bay horses near them, and on the
saddle of each horse was a hero's outfit. They mounted two
of the horses and rode away, leading the other two. After
riding for a long time they met their uncle, who was on his way
home. "I have killed the sixty-three headed Mangathai," said Albat

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 231
Mergin, "but have seen nothing of my brother, Varhan Tulai
Hubun." "Varhan Tulai is our father," said the two brothers, " and
thou art our uncle." The uncle turned back then and went
with his nephews, and they rode straight to the house of the
Mangathai. They saw no one there, but found tracks going
into a forest. They followed the tracks, went on and on, till
at last the boys found their father. On his head was a wheel
ninety poods in weight, and eight iron spikes were sticking into
his body, four in his right side and four in his left side.
Albat and his brother seized seven young Mangathais and
bound them, bound their mother also. Then they took the
wheel from Varhan's head and drew the spikes out.
Near by was a great, broad, level-topped mountain where
four roads crossed. At the crossing were eight immense larch
trees. To this place they brought the young Mangathais and
their mother and tied each, with a strong hair rope, to a larch
tree. Then they nailed their heads, feet, and hands to the tree
trunk and took the ropes away.
A barrel was placed before each Mangathai, and by each
barrel hung a blunt knife and a pair of dull scissors. On each
tree were these words: "Whoso passes, man or woman, must
cut a bit of flesh from the body of each of the eight hanging here.
Let every woman cut with the scissors and every man cut with
the knife. Whoso fails to cut will be nailed to a tree as these
eight are nailed."
They left the Mangathai woman and her seven sons at the
cross-roads, turned the Mangathai's house bottom upward, took
all that she had, went home with it, and lived there afterward,
rejoicing.

232 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA

ALTIN SHAGOY
TO a forest at the foot of a mountain came a man seventy years
of age and a woman who was sixty. They cleared a small
space there, and the man cut down trees to build a yurta.
When the yurta was finished they lived in it, and soon the old
woman gave birth to a son who was silver below the waist and
gold above it.
In two days after his birth the skin of a two-year-old sheep was
too small for the boy. In three days the skin of a three-year-old
sheep was too narrow for him.
The two old people had a very scant living. They had only
one cow, and the cow had not milk enough for that boy three
days old. The father and mother began to scold their young son.
"What a glutton thou art !" said they.
In five days the boy said to them, "I am your only child, and
ye are not able to nourish me ; what would you do if there were
two or three other sons ? "
"Such as thou art there can never be. To pour milk on the
ground or give it to thee is all one. Thou hast never enough,
no matter how much we may give thee."
"Ye are mistaken," said the boy; "a bigger glutton than
I am may be given to you. Ye grudge me milk from a cup, but
if one were born who would eat your cow up what would ye say
then?" He drew from his mother's breast also.
"When I drink a little from the breast I am satisfied," added
the boy.
"Though young, he understands," said the parents in alarm.
"Let us throw him out ! Let us be rid of him ! "
"Throw me out if ye wish," said the boy, "but if ye do that,
take me far away to a mountain ; do not throw me out near by.
There, far away, I will ask food of the Heavenly Burkans."
The father and mother thought their son was making sport of
them beyond forgiveness and that they must get rid of him.

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 233
"Oh, an evil, a very evil child was born to us!" said the
father and mother.
A lofty mountain stood opposite. The father took his son to
that mountain and left him on the summit. The child cried for
one half of twenty-four hours, then turned to the thousand
Heavenly Burkans, and asked :
"Why make parents who will not nourish me? Since ye
have made them who have thrown me away, give me food and
clothing, give me a horse and an outfit." He cried till he fell
asleep. When he woke the next morning he was in a room in a
strange yurta. Many people were there, and herds of horses, and
many cattle were pasturing on the meadow near by. The boy
went out, looked around, came back, and passed a second
night. When the father took his son to the mountain the child could
not walk. The next morning the parents, looking at the moun
tain and wondering what had become of the boy, noticed the
beautiful yurta and marveled that it had appeared there in
one night.
"Some enemy of ours has come, surely to kill us in the end,"
said they. "Let us go up to the mountain. Let us give an offer
ing to the Burkans. Our son must be dead by this time."
They did not go to the mountain ; they made no offering to
the Burkans.
The boy stayed nine days and nights in his yurta ; he walked
through all the rooms in it. On the night after the eighth day he
found a book. This book, which was as big as a common door,
had fallen in through the smoke-hole. The boy read the book,
and understood all. It was written that he would be a great
khan. It was also written what land would be under his power,
and his name, Altin Shagoy, was given there. He read three
and a half nights and as many days as nights. In the book it
was stated that all his people and all his herds were in good
condition. Soon Altin was as if ten years of age, and he said, "Now I
must count all my people, my cattle, and my herds of horses."
His mother now gave birth to a second child, a real glutton, a
terrible eater. People brought word to Altin that his father and

234 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
mother had a daughter, that they had killed their one cow to
feed her, and were suffering from want, — that his mother was
dying of hunger.
Altin commanded to drive ten bullocks to his father's yurta,
and he went himself with the men who drove them. He helped
to prepare meat for his mother, then took her and his father and
sister to his own yurta.
"Ye thought me a glutton when ye threw me out," said he,
"but now ye have a real glutton."
The young sister was terrible ; she cried, cried night and day,
and when not crying she was drinking milk. Altin read in his
book, and found that the child must be named and have a
cradle. He called together the people, gave a great feast, and had
his sister named with proper ceremony. She was quiet after that,
she cried no more; her father and mother had peace and rest.
"I must count my cattle," said Altin, when he was the size of
a boy thirteen years of age. His steed, given by the Burkans, was
on the mountain Tiphen Ulan Hada. He went to that great
mountain on foot, reached the base of it, climbed and climbed.
At last he stopped, for he could go no farther. He turned into
a falcon then and flew up, — flew for three days, flew till he
came to the summit.
On that mountain stood a golden-trunked, silver-leafed aspen
tree. At the foot of that tree the Water of Life gushed forth.
The horse was not there. Altin drank water, turned into a
reed and waited. At midday the horse came to drink. On the
horse was the whole outfit of a hero.
It never rains on that mountain and never snows there. When
the horse come toward the spring he stopped on a sudden, before
touching the water. "What is this?" asked he. "There is an
odor of flesh here. It smells of man. No man should be in this
place." The horse did not know that his master was born yet. "No
man but my future master has the right to be here," said he,
looking around everywhere. Seeing no one, he began to drink.
From the reed Altin became himself and seized the bridle.
The horse was so frightened that he ran and dragged Altin,
dragged him a day and a night, around that great mountain.

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 235
"If thou wish to kill me," said Altin, "kill me quickly. If
thou wish to save, stop at once. If not I shall be dizzy and die
very quickly."
The horse stopped, and Altin mounted. Unused to being
ridden, the beast rushed away, ran one day and one night around
that flat-topped red mountain. At last, after twenty-four hours,
running, the horse said, "Now I am ready for the saddle."
"What magic hast thou?" asked Altin.
" I have this magic. If one puts a cup of milk on the fire I can
run three times around the world before it boils. What strength
hast thou?"
"I am so strong that none can conquer me. How are we to go
down this mountain?"
"Shut your eyes," said the horse. "Hold fast, very fast to the
saddle, bind both your ears with a kerchief. If you do not your
head will be dizzy. I will go back one mile, run with all my speed,
spring into the air, and alight on the earth safely."
When they were ready the horse went back, then rushed
toward the edge of the mountain. Altin held fast, heard nothing,
felt nothing, and found himself at home on his own mountain,
right in front of his yurta. He tied the horse to the hitching-post ;
then he saw his sister. She was walking already. "Whence
hast thou come, brother ? " asked she, and she went toward the
horse. "Come not near this horse," said Altin; "he might kill thee."
"Why should the horse kill me? I ought to be friendly with
my brother's steed."
She walked around, looked at the horse carefully, then went
to her father and mother. "Oh, my brother has a fine steed,"
said she. "He is fat and big and must be very strong."
The father went out, and when he saw the horse he was so
terrified by his size that he fell to the ground without sense.
When he recovered he was so weak that he could not rise; he
crawled into the yurta on his hands and knees.
Altin drank, sat on his horse, and rode to count his herds and
his cattle. He drove all the animals into an immense meadow,
counted them for three days and nights, but could not finish. On
the fourth day he discovered that three years before the best

236 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
mare in his herd had had a colt; that colt was gone. They
searched for bones to see if a wolf had eaten the colt, but could
find none.
At last on the north side of the meadow they found a trail.
A thief had stolen the colt. Three brothers lived off in that direc
tion, and Altin thought that they had taken it ; so he rode to their
yurta and tied his horse to their hitching-post. The post would
not stand, came out of the ground. Altin took an arrow, thrust
it into the earth, and tied his steed to it. Then he went into the
yurta and upbraided the three brothers, stamped with his feet
till their yurta was quivering.
"Did ye think that that colt was without an owner ?" shouted
he. "How did ye dare to take what was mine ?"
He went out of the yurta then and saw his colt in a pen with
two other young horses. The colt was tremendous to look at,
immense, like Altin's own saddle horse. The three brothers
spoke up now very boldly.
"Shout not so loud!" said they. "If you wish war we are
ready. There is a place not far from here called Taimi Sagan
Her (Open White Steppe). On that steppe are five very large
pine trees ; there we can see who is the strongest."
Altin mounted immediately and rode to that place. He made
a fire, let out his horse, and lying down to rest, fell asleep.
That minute he turned into stone. The three brothers followed
Altin and said to one another as they traveled, "If he is sleeping
we will finish him quickly."
They found him lying on the ground asleep, and they shot at
him with three arrows. Altin made no move. He woke, took his
own form, and thought that fleas from the dust had been biting
him. Seeing the brothers, and finding the arrows by his side, he
inquired :
"What kind of persons are ye, who try to kill a man while he is
sleeping ? Ye will never be able to do that to me, for when I am
asleep I am stone. How have ye planned to attack me, — all three
at once, or one after another ? Will ye meet me with arrows or
with wrestling?"
"I will go against thee alone," said the elder brother. "We
will wrestle and we shall see who is stronger, thou or I."

Gods which Guard the House from the Outside
Olkhon Island. Page 85

Buriat Gods, or Representations of their Gods
Outside Ongons. Page 85

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 237
That moment Altin seized the boaster by the back of the neck,
whirled him three times around his own head, struck a pine tree
with his body, and killed him. The second brother came now.
Altin treated him in the same way; killed him as he had his
brother. Next came the youngest. He was very strong, almost
the equal of Altin. The two struggled three days and three
nights. Each bit away all the flesh from the front of the other's
body and tore off all the flesh from his back. They made
ditches in the ground with their feet as they wrestled. Crows and
magpies flew in from the north and the south, carried the flesh
away, and ate it.
On the fourth day Altin threw the third brother, who before
death spoke these words : "In vain have I fought with thee, but
I fought for the sake of my brothers." Then he died.
Altin pulled up three pines by the roots and burned the three
brothers. He went then to their yurta, turned it bottom upward,
and took all their people, property, and cattle, and went with
his own three horses to his yurta on the mountain.
"I have counted my horses and colts," said he to his father.
"All is finished ; I will go now and seek a bride for myself."
"Thou shalt do that," said his father and mother. "We are
old ; it is time for thee to marry."
For three days Altin read in his book. " Gal Nurman Khan,
thy bride's father, lives in the far South," said the book. "His
daughter's name is Gagurai Nugiin ; she is thy bride."
Gal Nurman let no one come near him, and never slept day
or night except a moment just before daybreak ; how was Altin
to go to such a man, how was he to leave his sister, how was he to
leave his father and mother, who were old now and helpless ?
He collected the people to ask advice of all who were above ten
and less than fifty years of age. He put out food and drink
and told what he wanted. "I am going," said he, "to find a
bride. What man will manage while I am gone ? "
One old sage, eighty years of age, who chanced to be there,
said: "Though I am old, I have wisdom. This is my advice:
take a lettered man from the people; let him manage in thy
place." "Where can I find such a person, a good man ?" asked Altin.

238 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
No one spoke, till at last the old man said : "I have a son of
twenty years who knows seven languages. He may manage the
country for thee."
Altin sent three horsemen to bring him. "The khan asks you
to come," said the messengers. The young man was in one
shirt. "I am khan for myself," said he. "I owe your khan
nothing; I taught myself with my own father's means, I took
nothing from any man, I am not in debt to any one. But since
the khan calls I will go." He put on a black shuba, black trou
sers, a cap, and fishskin shoes ; then he went to Altin, who came
out to meet him, took him by the hand, and led him into the
yurta. "What wilt thou eat?" asked Altin. He had drink
placed before the young man, and next the book which he him
self had read.
"If thou finish this book in three days," said Altin, "I shall
believe that if thou art here in my place it will be as well as if
I were here myself. If thou canst not finish, it will be worse."
The young man began to read. He finished in season.
"Thou art wise," said Altin. "Thou art here now in my
place, and I will leave thee. When I come back thou wilt go to
find a bride for thyself."
"I cannot stay here," said the young man. "My mother is
seventy years old and my father is eighty. Who will nourish
them? I have no brothers."
"Bring thy father and mother to this place," said Altin; "be
my brother."
"My father's yurta and my own affairs are dearer to me than
all other things," said the young man. "I had never a thought
to leave them."
"I am going away for nine years," said Altin. "Leave thy
parents at home and visit them from time to time. Send them
food and clothing. Take from my things whatever may be
lacking in thy yurta."
The young man consented, not wishing to offend Altin
Khan. "I am satisfied," said Altin. "But when I am away I need
to know that thou art well. Canst thou give me a sign ? "
The young man gave his own silver ring. "If I am well and

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 239
in health," said he, "the ring will glitter. If I die it will fall
into two parts. Give me a sign also."
"I will show thee thy dwelling-place first," answered Altin,
"and then give thee a sign." After he had showed him a yurta
aside, he gave him an arrow and said : " Keep this arrow care
fully. If I die it will rot. If I live it will be as it now is."
Altin was ready to mount when on a sudden he thought of
something he had forgotten, and called out, "I have not sum
moned the people to wish me good fortune." He summoned
them, then placed out meat and drink in plenty. They gave
good wishes, and he went toward the South, unattended.
"I can go mightily if you wish," said Altin's steed. And he
rushed forward like a strong wind. Soon he was at the boun
dary. The sun was high when Altin left home, but he was on
the boundary at midday. Taking tobacco, he smoked. "We
can work well together," said he to his steed.
About evening they came to three roads, and a yellow fox
crossed before them. "How dost thou dare to cross my road ?"
called out Altin, as he let fly an arrow, which cut the fox in two.
The hind part sank in the earth and cried to Altin :
"I shall tell the Heavenly Tengeris what thou hast done to
me." And the head and fore part flew to the sky.
Altin rushed forward rapidly, but if he did a heavenly hero
came down from the sky and stood before him. This hero's
name was Tiyil Biige Tengeri. He rushed straight at Altin,
struck him across the breast, cut him in two, and seizing the
upper part flew to the sky with it; the lower part he left where
it fell. "I did this," said he, while flying, "because thou hast killed
my one daughter. I sent her to earth on no evil errand; she
went to find and dig lily roots."
When his master was gone Altin's horse stood still and dropped
tears. "Cry, or not cry," said he at last, "I must do something."
And he changed himself to a falcon. "I will go now," thought
he, "and ask the one who made me why my master has been
killed. That wretched fox cuts the road to people; what right
has she to cause a man's death? I will make her take up to
heaven what is left of my master."

240 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
The falcon flew to the sky, straight to Zayasha Zayan Ten
geri, who had made him, and told what had happened. "There
will be a council," said Zayasha, and he sent at once for the
thousand Heavenly Burkans.
"Who dared to kill the man whom I made?" asked he,
when all the thousand Burkans were assembled the next morn
ing at daybreak. They told him, and then summoned Tiyil
Biige and sentenced him to bring the lower half of Altin's body
to the sky. "Thou hast not done right," said they ; "thy daughter
was to blame altogether. She has led an evil life on earth and
has no right to cut across people's roads."
Tiyil Biige went down to the earth and got the lower part of
Altin's body three days after he was killed. It was still there
near the cross-roads.
Altin's sister came to the sky now; she complained bitterly,
and asked the Burkans who had dared to kill her brother.
Tiyil Biige took the two parts to the heavenly smiths. Seven
days and nights they worked over Altin. Hardly could they
bring him to his right form again. They could not put the
breath back; the thousand Burkans had to do that, and start
life anew in him. Then Altin commanded his sister to go
home without delay. She turned into a raven and flew to the
earth. "Must I fight with any one on the way ?" asked Altin, as he
left the Burkans.
"No, thou wilt go forward with good fortune," said they.
"Thou wilt go to thy father-in-law. Opposite his yurta, on a
very high mountain, is a golden aspen. There is Water of Life
at the foot of that tree, and on the top of the tree sits a white
cuckoo as big as a horse's head. This bird knows all that is
done in the sky, everything thought out there by the Burkans.
She can bring the dead to life and give riches to poor people;
she has immense wisdom, this cuckoo. Drink of that Water
of Life, give some to thy horse, and ride forward next morn
ing. From here to that mountain are golden stairs." Altin
reached the mountain and never stopped till he stood by the
golden-trunked aspen tree. He dismounted, then drank of the
water, gave some to his horse, made a fire, and ate silver leaves

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 241
from the aspen. Whoso ate of those leaves was not hungry
or cold thereafter.
Altin looked straight south and saw the immense yurta of
his father-in-law. It was a whole mile in length, enormous in
size, and so high that its roof touched the sky. He slept well
that night, and rising very early, went down the mountain to
the great yurta. He rode up, tied his horse to the hitching-post,
and hurried in. Gal Nurman had just risen. Altin walked up
to him and said :
"A greeting from me to thee, father-in-law."
"What sort of a fellow art thou, who hast come to me without
invitation?" asked Gal Nurman. "How hast thou dared to
appear here? No one may come to me, either on foot or on
horseback ! "
"Thy daughter is to be my wife. This has been settled by
the Heavenly Burkans and depends on them."
"If that is true," said Gal, "thou canst see her. She is be
yond seventy-seven doors ; go to her."
The doors were of iron, strong and heavy. With a kick Altin
opened each door. When he reached the seventy-seventh
chamber a maiden was sitting there. She was very beautiful,
she shone as the sun shines in the day and the moon shines
during night hours.
"How didst thou open the doors?" asked she. "No one has
ever before had strength to open them. My father has never
let any one pass. How didst thou pass?"
"I am Altin Shagoy; thou art my bride; that was fixed
by the Heavenly Burkans, and recorded in my book of life. I
have seen thy father, and he sent me to hear what thy wish is."
"I do not credit thy book," said the maiden. "I know not
if thou art telling me truth or art lying. Perhaps thou hast
come for my beauty, with the desire to deceive me. As to my
father I do not trust him in anything. Art thou really to be my
husband ? But I will read in my book and discover."
She had in her bosom a small book, the size of a man's palm.
She took it out and read : "Thou art to marry Altin Shagoy."
When she read that she commanded to bring food and drink
and began to entertain Altin. 16

242 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
In the morning Gal Nurman cried outside Altin's door.
"Thou art sleeping long !" Altin went out to his father-in-law.
"Why sleep so long?" asked the khan.
"I came from afar and was weary; why should I not sleep ? "
Gal Nurman entertained Altin, and then sent him back to
his bride in the seventy-seventh chamber. At sunrise on the
second day Altin rose and went out immediately.
"Why sleep so long?" inquired the father-in-law. "Didst
thou not rest ? Couldst thou not rise earlier ? "
"When I am tired I am more tired the second than the first
day" "Come and drink and eat with me," said the khan. "I am
going to give thee my daughter, but I have a yellow dog on a
distant mountain. If thou bring that dog, thou canst take her
to thy yurta ; if not, thou 'It not get her."
Altin went to his bride, consulted with her, asked her how
he was to get the yellow dog.
"No one can get that dog," said she. "Better go back to
thy yurta. Many and many a bridegroom has come here and
lost his life in trying to bring that yellow dog to my father."
"I think that thou wilt aid me in getting the dog."
"How can laid thee? I can do so only in one way. Through
my magic thou wilt be able to live without sleeping."
"I shall go in every case," said Altin, "and shall bring back
the dog."
He went then to Gal Nurman, and said, "I am going for
thy dog." And he rode away northward very swiftly, never
stopping till he came to the Black Sea. There, near the coast,
was a single great pine tree. On the tree were three beautiful
maidens; the first one was crying, the second was laughing,
the third was singing.
"How is this?" asked Altin. "Why are your minds so
different?" "We are the daughters of Khan Herdik Shubun (eagle).
Our father warred three years with Mogoi Khan. At the end of
that time Mogoi broke our father's wings. We sent him to be
cured at a place on a distant mountain. Now Mogoi Khan
wants to eat us while our father is gone. He will come to-day

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 243
and eat my sister who is crying, to-morrow he will eat my
sister who is singing, and the third day he will eat me."
"Where does Mogoi Khan live?"
"In Hara Dalai (the Black Sea), directly opposite. When he
comes out the whole sea roars and rages. He has two heads,
and one great eye in his chief head. That eye is as big as the
moon. If thou canst send an arrow into it thou wilt kill him
immediately. But to send such an arrow is terribly difficult.
If it brings back even one drop of blood thou wilt die, without
rescue." "Leave this place, save yourselves!" said Altin. "Do not
wait for him." They would not move ; they stayed there. Altin
left his horse in the field near the pine tree, and went on foot
toward the sea, taking with him his bow and arrow. Near the
place where Mogoi was to come out of the sea Altin became a
reed. Soon the sea began to roar and rage, and he saw Mogoi
Khan coming. Altin drew his bow, and aimed at Mogoi's one
eye. "Bring not back a drop of blood, wipe thyself clean," said
Altin to the arrow.
The arrow went straight into the eye, and tore Mogoi Khan's
head into many small pieces. The arrow did not return. It
could not, it was bloody.
Altin took his own form, and ran back to the three sisters,
ran swiftly. But Mogoi Khan was terribly poisonous. All Altin's
hair fell off, and for one mile around each spear of grass with
ered up.
"I have conquered your enemy," said Altin to the sisters.
"Whither art thou going?" asked they.
"I did not come to save you," said Altin, "but to get the
yellow dog for Gal Nurman Khan. I wish to see your father,
Khan Herdik ; perhaps he can help me." They made no answer
at first; then the eldest sister said :
"I should be thy wife, but since thou art wooing the daughter
of another khan it would not be proper to talk of that. But
remember, I will be thy son's wife. Our father is helpless and
cannot aid thee in any way."
Altin rode to that mountain from which golden stairs reach

244 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
the sky. He went up those stairs on his steed, went to the
heavenly smiths for hoofs, chains, and fetters. "We have no
time to make those things," said one of the smiths. "We work
always for Esege Malan."
"May thy bellows burst ! May thy hands not rise ! And be
thou crooked ! " cried Altin in a rage. All happened as he
said. He went to each one of the other smiths, got the same
answer always, and cursed them all in the same way.
The first and second and third smith cried : " Come back !
Come back ! Recall thy evil words, and we will do whatever is
thy wish."
He restored them, and they worked quickly, made everything
well, made all that he asked for. Altin took the hoops, chains,
and fetters, went down the golden stairs on horseback, and went
then to the mountain where the yellow dog lived.
Five days and nights was Altin climbing that great mountain.
He was thinking always : "Which is the better time to seize the
dog, morning or evening?" Just before daybreak he reached
the summit of the mountain. He put his horse in his pocket
as a flint chip, became a raven, and going in search of the dog,
found him sleeping.
"If I am well, let all these chains, hoops, and fetters fasten
to him ! " chanted Altin, as he asked aid of the Burkans. That
moment all those chains and fetters were on the dog. The dog
woke up, fettered. He sprang, ran, pulled. No good in all that !
He could do nothing; he was bound beyond loosening. The
raven was there near him as he struggled. "I have heard that
Altin is born," said the dog. "He must have come. He must
be here ; no one else could do this to me ! "
"Altin has come indeed," said the raven. "I am he."
"Let me off," begged the yellow dog. "I will go with thee,
or dost thou wish to kill me ? Free me. Let us be friends."
Altin took his own form and mounted his steed. He let hoops
and fetters drop and led the dog by the chain. He was near Gal
Nurman's when he met two men on the road. The two said :
" Let the dog loose. That is Gal Nurman's command ; he has
sent us to meet thee."
" Gal Nurman would not believe me if I went to him without

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 245
the dog ; he would make me go again on this long journey. Ye
must be strange people and think me very simple. Eat up
those two men and their horses !" said Altin to the yellow dog.
The dog ate them straightway.
Altin reached the yurta of Gal Nurman, tied his steed to the
hitching-post, tied the dog to the right corner of the yurta, and
went to his father-in-law.
"I have brought the yellow dog," said he. "Come and look
at him."
Gal Nurman looked out of the door, saw the dog, and was
so frightened that he fainted and lay there without motion.
Altin shook him till he brought him to his senses. "See what
thy valor is," said Altin; "thou art afraid to even look at the dog.
I went to him, captured him, brought him to thee. The dog has
a dreadful appetite ; he can eat up all thou hast, destroy all thy
property in one day."
"Thou hast brought the dog, now thou must get rid of him.
He may eat up all my people ! " said Gal Nurman, in great
alarm. "Have the wedding to-morrow, and I will send the dog
home." "I will have it," replied the khan.
Altin gave the dog one half of an ox, and said, "Eat well and
go back to thy mountain."
"Call the people together," said Altin. "Let the wedding be
to-morrow, for I must hurry home." Then he went to his
bride. "Where wert thou ? What hast thou seen and done ?" asked
she. He told her how he had climbed the golden stairs, how he
had got chains, hoops, and fetters of the heavenly smiths, had
fettered the yellow dog, and brought him to her father.
"Thou hast said nothing about the three sisters on the pine
tree. When shooting the arrow thy command to it was to re
turn to thee. Why did it not come back ? I know about those
sisters and what they said. One said that she would be thy son's
wife." The next day was the wedding. There were many people, and

246 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
they had much meat and drink. Ravens and magpies had their
fill. On the fifth day Altin and his bride were at his own yurta on
the mountain. And then the young man whom he had left in
charge went for his bride; but that is another story.

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 247

YERENTE KHAN AND HIS SON SOKTO
YERENTE was ninety-five years of age, and his wife, Untun
Duryai, sixty. Though they lived in an immense stone
yurta, they had neither son nor daughter.
Yerente owned thousands and thousands of cattle, but for
fourteen years he had not thought to number them. At last he
went to count all his herds, and on counting found that he had
lost one light bay stallion and eighty-five mares with colts and
without colts. When he learned this he began to shed tears.
"I am old, I have no children," lamented he, "and now I
have lost my best horses. At Dalantai lives a Mangathai of
seventy-seven heads. He is the thief; he it is who has stolen
my horses." And Yerente went home weeping.
"Why art thou weeping?" asked his wife, Untun Duryai.
"I am not weeping," replied Yerente. "The wind made my
eyes smart and made the tears flow."
They sat down to eat and drink.
"Though I was not weeping," said Yerente, "I have lost
many mares and a stallion. I must look for those horses at once,
I must find them."
"Why do that to-day?" asked Untun Duryai. "You must
not go now, you must stay with me."
"I will go without delay," said he; "soon I shall be too old to
go, I shall not have the strength to travel."
He made ready immediately, put on his trousers of bull-skin
(there were seventy-five skins in that one pair of trousers) ; then
he drew on boots of fish-skin, put a silver belt around his body, a
silk shuba over his shoulders, and a sable-skin cap on his head.
Next he took a quiver and all that belonged to it, ninety-five
arrows. Then he drank spider oil. He had no need of food
for ten years after drinking that oil. When ready, he opened his
iron storehouse and led forth a red bull with horns sixty fathoms
long, took a rope of rawhide, put it through the bull's nose,
sat on the beast's back, and rode away westward.

248 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Yerente rode far, rode to a certain mountain beyond the
boundary of his land, and there found his mares and his stallion.
The right eye of the stallion had been dug out, his right front
leg had been broken. Yerente cured the stallion and sent the
beast home; with him went the eighty-five mares with colts and
without colts. Then the old man rode farther on the red bull
to find the Mangathai and take vengeance.
After a time he met two young men on horseback; they had
iron staffs in their hands and were looking for a herd of lost
horses. He called to them and said, "I can tell ye where that
herd is."
"How couldst thou know, old man? Thou art lying." And
the two laughed at him as he sat on the long-horned red bull.
Yerente was enraged at their ridicule. He sprang from the
bull, seized the young men, tied each to the tail of the horse
which he had been riding, lashed the horses, and sent them
rushing homeward over the sandy steppe.
Then he rode farther on his red bull. When he reached the
top of the mountain he stopped there and looked around on all
sides very sharply, thinking where it was best to go. He saw
on the horizon a yurta which seemed to touch the blue sky; it
was shining and splendid. Near the yurta stood the Mangathai's
stallion. This stallion was black, except a white spot on the
right side of his rump.
"Rise up!" called the stallion to his master. "Some one
is on Onhoy Undir Ushin; it must be that an enemy is coming."
The Mangathai came out in one shirt to look; then he sprang
on the stallion and rushed to the mountain.
"Why didst thou take a herd of horses from me in my old
age?" asked Yerente.
"Thou art old; so I was free to take them and keep them,
and now I will tear thee into small bits ! " said the Mangathai,
springing from his black stallion and rushing toward the red
bull. Yerente slipped off the bull and went toward the Mangathai.
They approached each other sidewise and came together fiercely.
Each with all his ten fingers tore bits of flesh from the other.
The stallion ran at the bull and bit his spine. The bull drew

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 249
back, freed himself, and rushed with his long horns at the stallion,
fought with him, pierced him through the breast. Then the
bull rushed at the Mangathai, pierced him, raised him on his
horns, and killed him.
On the bull's back was the horse's head. The horse had bitten
into the bull so fiercely that he could not let go, and when he
died his head was torn from his body. Yerente took the head
away now.
"The Mangathai's property is of no use to me," said he, and
he rode home on the back of his red bull.
All were well at his coming, but two days afterward Untun
Duryai gave birth to a son and a daughter. Yerente summoned
the people. He put tarasun and meat before them on the first
day; on the second day he placed the infants in a cradle and
asked for men to name them.
A gray-haired old man from the North named the boy, called
him Sokto Khan. A gray-haired old man from the South named
the girl Agiii.
Yerente sent home the first old man with honor, gave him
trousers and a shuba, gave him the marrow bone of an ox.
The gray old man gave Sokto a cane. The second gray old man
received trousers, a shuba, and a marrow bone, and he gave
Agiii a magic stick. Each of the midwives got a silk shuba and
a carcass of beef. To the woman who received his son he gave
a gold ring; to the woman who received his daughter he gave
a silver ring. The two women gave each child a silver ring.
All the people went home then, well satisfied and happy.
When ten days had passed the children were as if ten years
old, and a ram's skin was too small as a coat for the boy to wear.
At this time Duryai said to her husband :
"Go and get for me the flesh of a wild goat. I am tired of
common meat."
The old man had a red stallion ninety fathoms long. This
stallion was far from the yurta, pasturing, with thirteen wild
deer, in the mountains. Yerente took his flute and played on
it very sweetly; with this music he summoned the red stallion,
and it ran home quickly. Yerente put a silk saddle-cloth on
the stallion, then a saddle of silver ; he put a silver bit in its mouth

250 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
and silver trinkets on the saddle. Then he mounted, took bow
and quiver, and went to hunt.
The first day he found nothing, the second day no more.
That evening he prepared to spend the night in the forest. "I
am old," said he to himself; "that is why I see no game!"
The third day he killed many goats, took fifteen of them on
his red stallion, and started homeward. When halfway to the
yurta the horse sank to the earth on his knees and began to
listen. The old man grew angry at the stallion ; he thought he
was lazy and began to beat him. "Why stop half-way?" cried
he. "Thou hast lived to old age without gaining wit or wisdom,"
said the stallion. "Why beat thy horse?"
"Why dost thou stop?"
"I stopped for a reason, and now I will tell it. While thou
wert away hunting game thy wife went to Orhoy, raised the
Mangathai to life, and brought him with her to thy yurta. At
this moment he is hidden there behind seventy-seven closed
doors. They have pots of poisoned tarasun to give thee. Thou
art to drink first of good tarasun; in the second pot will be
poison. Thou wilt be drunk from the first pot and poisoned
from the second. The moment thou art home let me out, take
off the bridle, saddle, and all that is on me. Let not thy wife
touch my bridle. Thy wife wants to kill thee and me. Drink
not what thy wife gives. If thou drink thou art dead. More
good I cannot do thee. Thy fate is told. Later on I will help
thy son and daughter."
When they reached the yurta Untun Duryai came out to meet
Yerente. "How long thou wert gone ! Thou hast wearied
thyself for nothing. Give me the horse. I will help thee, I
will tie him to the hitching-post."
"I have never let any one tie my horse; I will do that my
self," said Yerente.
He unsaddled the horse quickly and let him out. "Be as
fat as possible," said he to the stallion. Yerente went into the
yurta. Duryai took him by the hand, commanded to skin the
goats and dress them. All things were made ready; tarasun
was brought in quickly. Duryai gave Yerente one cup after

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 251
another, and soon he was drunk. "Let me have more drink !"
said he.
"I do not know that there is more tarasun," said the woman.
"If there is I will bring it."
Duryai was in high spirits ; she brought another pot of tarasun.
Yerente drank all from the pot and was senseless. The poison
came out in blue and red flames through his mouth and his
nostrils. As her husband lay there, Duryai called to the Man
gathai : "Thy enemy is dead now, come out to me !"
The Mangathai came out, but Yerente was not dead. He
sprang up, and the two fought; the old man fought his false
wife and the Mangathai as well. They struggled for three days
and three nights. Yerente was beginning to overcome the
Mangathai. "Why didst thou raise me?" cried he to Duryai. "Better lie
where I was if I must suffer a second time. Better lie dead in
peace than be punished in this way."
Duryai took blue grains of barley and threw them at the feet
of the Mangathai, chanting words while she scattered them.
The Mangathai grew stronger; then she threw red barley grains
at the old man's feet and chanted ; he grew weak and stumbled.
On the fourth day Yerente was very feeble, and the Mangathai
finished him, choked him, killed him. The two put his body in
a cask with ninety-five iron hoops on it and rolled the cask into
the Hara Dalai (Black Sea) ; then they feasted.
"Thou must kill thy son and daughter," said the Mangathai;
"they may avenge their father's death on me."
"I cannot kill my own children," said Duryai. "If thou wish
thou mayst kill them."
"I have not the strength in me to do it, I have fought so many
days with thy husband. I will rest, and then I will see to them."
In the night the red stallion broke into the yurta, stole Yerente's
son and daughter, and ran away southward to the flat top of a
high mountain.
The Mangathai and Duryai went in pursuit.
The red stallion galloped far and very fast. They could not
overtake him, and he saved the two children. On the top of
that mountain was the Water of Life.

252 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
"Let us go back," said the Mangathai. "What can that
horse do alone ? What good is a horse without a master ? What
good is a knife without a handle ?"
The red stallion gave living water to the children. He found
there by the spring an iron horn, from which they drank. He
kept them three whole years on the mountain. From the north
came rain in summer, and for that reason the right side of the
stallion was covered with moss ; on his left side the hair fell off
from heat. For three years the children played ; after that the
horse said to them. "Ye are large enough now, I may take you
down to the valley. If ye are lucky ye will prosper."
They went down the mountain, and then hand in hand wan
dered farther. Soon they came to a large open place, where
there were eighty-five immense pine trees. Beyond the trees
was a splendid yurta which shone like silver. Near the pine
trees Sokto made a shelter for his sister. "Stay here," said he,
"till I come " ; and he went to the high silver yurta. Inside he
saw a Mangathai with a hundred and eight heads, and his wife,
a very tall woman.
"Whence dost thou come ? From what country ? " asked the
Mangathai. "Thou must be some khan's son."
"People say, I know not if truly, that I am the son of
Yerente Khan, that I was taken from my father when an
infant." "Thy father was my great enemy. I am glad that thou hast
come. I have need of thee."
Straightway the Mangathai struck Sokto twenty-five strong
blows ; then he shut him up in a stone storehouse and gave him
a little strip of black bread to eat. Sokto had passed many days
in that storehouse, when some khan, a friend of the Mangathai,
was taking home seventy-five casks of tarasun. The khan
gave tarasun to the Mangathai. He drank and grew talkative.
"I have the son of Yerente Khan shut up here. I gave him
twenty-five blows of a rod and a bit of black bread. This will
do for him daily till I kill him."
"I have no sons; better give him to me," said the khan.
"Such a little fellow can do no harm."
"If I do not kill him he may become my enemy."

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 253
The khan gave the Mangathai half a cask of tarasun to drink
and begged again for the boy.
"Let me have all thy casks of tarasun and take him," said
the Mangathai at last.
The khan took the boy home and shouted at the gate, "I
have brought a son with me ! " His wife was very glad ; she took
the boy into the yurta and said :
"I will summon the people to a feast and adopt him."
All the people came, and while the feast was going on the boy
began to cry. They fondled him and tried to quiet him. On
one side stood the new father, and on the other the new mother.
"Why cry?" asked they.
"There were two of us," said the boy, "I and my sister. I
left my sister in a shelter; I know not whether she is dead or
alive." The khan had four black horses brought, and he went with
men to find the sister. Sokto went with them. They rode
swiftly, and never stopped till they reached the shelter. Agiii
was not there. They found ashes which were warm, and Sokto
cried, "She must be alive, and not far from here."
They looked for tracks and found them. The time was early
morning. The tracks led to a valley near by. There was dew on
the grass, and they found Agiii drinking dew, which she gath
ered on her palms. Her face and body were covered with sores
from the bites of insects; she had no clothing whatever. They
gave her milk from home, one spoonful. The khan took her in
his arms and carried her; when half-way to his yurta he gave her
a spoonful and a half of milk. At the gate he cried out :
"I have brought thee a daughter!"
The khan's wife was very glad. She ran out, took the child in
her arms, and carried her into the yurta. Then they called all the
people and had a new feast, which lasted nine days and nine
nights. During that time the brother and sister grew large and
beautiful. In the stable was a splendid gray colt. "This colt will do for
my son," said the khan ; and he made a bridle of red cloth, and
reins of the same stuff. Sokto cared for the colt ; he was fond
of horses. When a year had passed he said to his new father :

254 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
"Show me thy shuba and trousers; I want to see thy clothing
and weapons."
The khan brought his trousers made of seventy elk skins, and
boots made of fish-skin. Sokto was two inches thinner than his
father, but the boots just fitted. Next they brought a splendid silk
shuba, a silver girdle, and a sable-skin cap, as big as a haycock.
"Now bring my bow and all my weapons, " said the khan.
Sokto put on the clothes and stood there in his father's
splendid outfit. "Be not angry," said he to the khan. "I
must go to see the place where I was born ; after that I will come
back." "Thou art too young," replied his mother. "Thy years are not
many. Thy steed is young also. Better wait one year, even."
"Once he has planned to go, let him go," said his father. "We
should not stop him."
Sokto mounted, and started on his journey. He rode far;
at last he let his horse out to graze. Then he prayed to the
thousand Burkans. "Why create a man and leave him without
a proper steed?" asked he.
Immediately the Burkans gave him a steed ninety fathoms
long, with ears nine ells high, an outfit of arms, and a splendid
dress. He turned out his little horse, put his father's dress and
weapons under a rock, and mounting the great new steed, went
straight to the hundred and eight headed Mangathai who had
flogged him.
Sokto was now a hero, and the Mangathai was terrified when
he saw him.
"Thou hadst power and didst flog me," said Sokto. And he
caught the Mangathai by his waist and throat and pushed him
toward the pine trees. He took ninety-nine spikes and spiked
him to the biggest pine; then he took ninety-nine hoops and
bound him to the pine with them.
"Thou wilt neither die nor be free. Thou canst never free
thyself, and another will not free thee. Thou wilt stay here for
ever," said Sokto. Then he left him and went toward the
yurta; when one verst from the place he sent an arrow at it,
saying to the arrow:
"Destroy the yurta and kill the wife of the Mangathai." The

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 255
arrow went through the center of the yurta and hit the woman.
She gave premature birth to a son and died. The child sat on
the floor and cried, "Only three days from now was the time
for my birth."
Sokto threw the boy into a furnace and made a big fire there.
The next morning he was playing with live coals. "In what a
nice, warm sleeping-place thou didst put me," said he.
Sokto got more wood, made a bigger fire. The child was alive
the following morning. The third night Sokto watched and saw
water flowing into the furnace on to the infant and keeping him
cool. A tube came from the sky to the furnace.
"Three days were left me to be born," complained the boy,
"and nine days later I was to be ready for battle."
The fourth night Sokto cut the tube and the child was con
sumed by the fire.
The young hero then took the Mangathai's property and went
home to his father's yurta. All was silent there. He left every
thing he had brought and went off to the great house where
his mother and the seventy-five headed Mangathai lived. He
called to them from outside. Uutun Duryai recognized his
voice. "Whoever has a son," said she, "will never perish! My
son has come ! "
She touched the Mangathai with her cane, and both went out.
"Which do you prefer," asked Sokto, "a sharp stake or a
square stone?"
"We want nothing of either," replied they. "We wish thee
for our son to take care of us."
"Come," said he. "Walk out here before me. I will find a
good place for you." He took them to where three roads met;
on one side was a great pine, on the other an immense larch tree.
He nailed the Mangathai to the larch tree with ninety-five
spikes, and his mother to the pine tree with ninety-five other
spikes. He left two great casks near them ; by one cask was a
dull knife, and by the other a blunt pair of scissors, and on the
trees he wrote these words : "With the dull knife every man who
passes must cut a piece of flesh from each of these two who hang
here, with the blunt scissors every woman who passes must

256 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
cut a piece of flesh from them also. If not they will be treated
like this Mangathai, and this woman."
He turned the Mangathai's yurta bottom upward, and drove
away all the cattle. When he reached his father's yurta he saw
no one. He went straight to his birthplace. The snow that had
fallen there was untouched and unmelted. No living thing was
in sight. An iron storehouse stood near the great yurta.
"What can be in there?" thought Sokto, the hero.
The red bull was in that iron building ; he had lived on his
cud all the time he had been confined there.
"Thanks to thee," said the bull. "But for the son of my
master I should have perished."
Sokto let the bull out to graze ; then he went to Hara Dalai,
the Black Sea, where his father's body was in a cask. He turned
himself into a large fish, and soon he met a still larger one and
asked: "Why is this water so muddy, and why does it smell of
blood ? If thou wilt not clear the water Aberga Zgohun will
summon thee."
"Whence art thou ?" asked the larger fish.
"I live near the Gazada Dalai," replied Sokto.
" Go home ; when thou art gone I will cleanse this sea."
Sokto took his own form again. Near the seashore was a
mountain. He went to that mountain and waited. The sea
stormed thrice in three days; the third time it hurled the cask
out, threw it a whole verst from the water.
Sokto came to the shore and beat the cask open, but found
nothing in it save bones. He brought water from nine springs,
washed the bones with nine waters. From nine places he got
juniper and burned it for incense. Next he took Water of Life
from the spring on the mountain and washed the bones three
nights with that water; then Yerente became alive and as well
as ever. On the way home they met the red stallion.
"Through thee," said the red stallion, "I have suffered much,
and thy son and daughter have also suffered greatly. Though I
advised thou wouldst not listen ; from this came all the trouble."
The stallion seized Yerente by the neck, and shook him three
times fiercely. Then they went to the khan's yurta.
"I never thought that thou wouldst be such a hero," said

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 257
the khan's wife to Sokto. The next morning all came to
gether, — two fathers, one mother, one sister, and one brother.
"If I say a word will ye be willing that I accomplish it?"
inquired Sokto.
"We will listen to all that thou sayest," answered his mother.
"Once my father was a khan. I should like to have all my
buildings on the boundary between the lands of both my fathers."
"It is difficult to do that," said the khan. "The buildings on
both dominions are large and numerous. Thou wilt be old before
thou canst move them all."
"No, I can do it in one night if ye say so."
"Do what may please thee," said the mother.
That night Sokto sat at home, went nowhere. From evening
until midnight he prayed to the Heavenly Burkans. At midnight
he fell asleep. When he woke the next morning every building
was on the boundary. The khan assembled all the people at the
new place and feasted.
"Now I wish to find a bride," said Sokto.
"Without a wife it is impossible to be," replied the people.
"Thou shouldst read thy book of life," said his mother.
He opened his midriff and found the book in his liver. He
read this book for three days and nights, — at night by torch
light, in the day by sunlight. At times he cried, at times he
sang songs.
"In the south country lives Gul Khan, and he has a daughter,
Goye Gohun Duhe; she is thy bride," said the book.
Sokto began preparations for the journey. He kept his horse,
the red stallion, standing on ice for three days and three nights,
gave him hay and a little water. This was to make his hoofs
strong. Then during three days and three nights the horse stood
on sand. "Now we may go!" thought Sokto.
"Brother," said Agiii, "thou art going far away ; give me some
sign by which I may know how thou art, whether dead or living,
slain or in health."
"I will give you this sign," said he. "Outside, at the southeast
corner of the yurta, grows a golden-trunked aspen tree with
silver leaves. On the twigs of that aspen tree thousands of little
birds will be twittering. These birds will speak in their own
17

258 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
way; from them news may be heard through knowledge of their
speech. If I die the tree will rot and fall, and the birds will fly
away. If I am well the tree will be green and beautiful, and the
birds will increase in it. Here is another sign," said he, taking
an arrow and putting it by his sister's bed : "if I am well this
arrow will be red and increase in beauty; if I die it will fade
and grow ugly."
"Thou hast done well," said Agiii. "By these signs I shall
know all about thee. I will give thee a sign." She handed him
her gold ring. "If I am alive and well, this ring will glitter; if
dead or ill, or married in spite of my wishes, the ring will be
ugly and dim."
Sokto assembled all the people, placed before them drink
and meat in plenty, and asked them to wish him success and re
member him. "I will bring a bride home to you," said he, in
parting. An old man, gray bearded to the knees, wished him good health
and success on his journey.
Sokto set out on a gallop, rode till he reached another king
dom, then halted, for right before him was a spring. He took
out his pipe and burned tobacco to the spring; then he threw
tobacco into the water. He named all the thousand Burkans and
asked for a favoring journey.
Then he rode farther, rode beyond the boundary of the king
dom. Soon he heard the tramp of ten horses and the voices of
ten riders. He reined in his steed. "Are those enemies or good
people ? A man should accomplish his purpose," said he to him
self. "Why should I fear? Those are people like me!"
He hurried on, turned himself into eleven young heroes on
horseback, made just such a tramping and sound of voices as
that which he heard, only greater.
Soon after he met a big red-faced man. Each tooth in his head
was as large as a spade, and in his ears were rings as big as a
cart-wheel. He was riding on a light bay horse, whose body was
eighty fathoms long and ears sixteen inches high. When they
drew near they gave greeting and passed ; then they halted and
turned toward each other.
"From what place art thou?" inquired Sokto.

Contents of "God Bags." Page 85
Pieces of cloth and silk on which are sewn tiny figures
of men cut out of tin

Buriat Household Gods. Page 41
Andrei Mihailovitch's house gods

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 259
"I am going to Yerente Khan," said the big man. "I have
heard that he has a daughter, Agiii Nogun Duhe ; I want her for
a wife, but though I have heard of her, I know not where to find
her. I have been told that a hero is her brother. Whence art
thou, and what is thy name ? "
"I am Nashin Huimer Hubun. I have also started to find
my bride, Geye Gohiin Duhe, but she is far away."
They took a friendly farewell. "Go thy way; I go mine,"
said each to the other. "May we succeed, and our wishes be
accomplished." The big man found Yerente's yurta at last, and declared his
wish without waiting.
" I am not willing to marry thee," said Agiii. " My brother has
gone for his bride. I will not marry before he does. I will marry
thee when the time comes, if thou wilt do one thing that my
brother does. Off in the field is a stone the size of a bullock;
throw that stone over thy shoulder, from the place where it lies to
this yurta. If thou do that, I will marry thee ; if not, I will
never be thy wife."
He went straight to that stone, raised it to his waist, but could
raise it no farther, and let it fall, then he mounted his steed and
went home without speaking to any man.
Sokto rode on till he came to a great iron yurta. In front of
the yurta were twenty-five horse skulls on stakes; crows had
eaten the flesh from each one of them. Outfits, weapons, and
dress were fastened there also. He stopped, changed his horse
into a flint chip, put the chip in his pocket, changed himself to
a weasel, burrowed under the house, passed through the floor,
and came up to see who lived in that great iron yurta. He saw
a hundred and eight headed Mangathai sleeping; near his
principal head lay an axe, his feet were fixed against the wall
firmly; from his mouth blue and red flames were quivering.
The weasel stole up, hid the axe,- sprang at the throat of the
Mangathai and cut it through ; he crept out, then became Sokto
again and the flint chip became the red stallion.
"Boast not of killing the Mangathai," said the stallion, "no
blood is sold cheaply by any man. This will be a great Shaman
place hereafter."

260 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Sokto mounted his steed, rode farther and met a twenty-five
headed Mangathai on a gray stallion.
"How didst thou ride by my father's yurta, which no man
ever passes on foot or on horseback?" asked the Mangathai.
"As I rode past I saw twenty-five horse skulls on stakes. A
black raven was croaking, and a young fox was walking about
there. The place is deserted."
"Is it long since you left your father's yurta?"
"Three years ago I had the first wish to marry. I am going
for my bride, Geye Gohun Duhe."
"I should like to know who killed my father. I will find him
wherever he may be," said the Mangathai as he rode away.
Sokto took an arrow and shot it behind himself saying: "As
sure as I am alive and well do thou slay this twenty-five headed
Mangathai and his horse." The arrow killed the Mangathai
and his horse and came back to the quiver.
Sokto went farther, and saw three roads. Between two of
them was a shed and in it a terribly wrinkled old woman. She
had but one eye and one tooth in her head.
"If thou art the son of a good father," said she, "stop. If the
son of an evil father pass on without stopping."
Sokto halted, looked in, and saw tarasun in a silver goblet.
"I am tired, O my grandmother, give me tarasun to drink. I
am on a long journey, I am weary and thirsty."
She gave the tarasun. He saw worms in the goblet, hundreds
of them, but did not like to refuse the tarasun given him. "What
good tarasun !" said he, "but give me more, O my grandmother.
There is not enough for a drink here, give a good large gobletful.
Be generous. Why so stingy? O my grandmother, give me
more, give me a plenty."
She smiled and went to the rear of the shed. This time she
brought out three gallons in a strong roomy vessel. He placed
the vessel on the saddle. "I am at fault," said he. "Before I
drink bring your pipe, I will give you tobacco." When she
turned to go for the pipe he threw all the tarasun on her, then
galloped off very swiftly.
She hurled after him a scraper twenty fathoms long which
was used in tanning leather. Then she fell down and that

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 261
moment seven acres of land were covered with foul worms. All
the land covered by the tarasun was burned up immediately.
The scraper followed Sokto; he felt it coming. He made a
great stone mountain behind him and waited on the other side
of that mountain to see what would happen.
He waited three days and nights, then the scraper pierced
through the mountain and came out on the other side. Sokto
seized it and broke it. Then he traveled on till he came to a
light bay stallion eighty fathoms long and ears eight ells high;
near the stallion lay a young man whose flesh was almost eaten
off by worms from his body. The horse had dug the earth
deeply and was very lean. Sokto let out the horse to graze. The
rider lay still and motionless, though he was not dead yet.
"Thou art my comrade," said the stranger, "thou wilt bury
me. I passed an old witch at the roadside, drank of her tarasun,
and the worms from it have almost devoured me. I am the
son of Shur Galgiin Khan. I set out to find a bride. My name
is Shurak Taiji Hubun."
Sokto brought water from nine springs, washed the young man,
burned juniper from nine places, and cured him. The two were
great friends now. Sokto went farther and came to a meadow.
In that meadow was a multitude of frogs, some of them as large
as a three-year-old bullock.
"Do not let that traveler pass," said one of the frogs to an
other. Sokto turned his horse into a flint chip and himself into
a black frog as big as a young bullock, so that the others should
not know him; then he moved forward slowly. He moved for
nine days and nights through that frog-covered meadow. When
he was on the other side he took his own form again. "Why
did ye let him pass ? " asked some of the frogs when they saw
him safe beyond their boundary, and they were very angry.
Farther on was a second meadow covered with snakes of
many kinds. "Let not that traveler pass," said the snakes to
one another. "If he crosses this meadow we will kill those
snakes which let him pass."
Sokto went back some distance, made his horse a flint chip
and himself a snake like the snakes of that meadow. He spent
seven days and nights among those hostile, venemous snakes,

262 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
passed by them unobserved and then became a man again. The
snakes were terribly angry and had a furious battle when they
found that Sokto had crossed the meadow.
He went farther till he saw a mountain which touched the
sky. He rode to the foot of it and found many bones there and
skeletons. He measured the horse bones ; they w.ere three times
as large as the bones of his own steed. He measured men's
bones ; they were three times the size of his own. He wept for
nine days and nine nights. The mountain was so steep that no
man could climb it. At last his stallion said :
"Be calm, there is no use in weeping! Go back one day's
journey and tighten my saddle girth. There is a hair on the end
of my tail from which three hairs grow. Take that hair and
put it under thy arm. It has magic power in it. Hold to me
firmly." Sokto went back one day's journey. "Now," said the horse,
"I will rush with all the might in me, and spring to the top of
that mountain."
He did so. On the top, at the very edge, was a stone as big as
an ox. The horse's forelegs were beyond that stone and he held
to the edge of it. It was easy to fall and hard to hold. "Throw
that hair out in front of me," said the horse.
Sokto threw the hair. That moment the stone disappeared;
out in front was a good level road through a valley and farther
on a broad forest. They passed the valley and were soon on
the mountain top, where there was a golden-trunked, silver-
leafed aspen tree. At the foot of the tree was the Water of Life,
and a silver cup was hanging from a branch of the tree. Without
the cup no man could drink at the spring or take water out of it.
Sokto drank and gave water to his horse. Then the horse be
gan to graze, and Sokto kindled a fire, made a bed of the saddle
cloth, a pillow of the saddle, lay down and slept soundly.
The next morning when he rose his horse had changed
greatly; he was fat and strong. Sokto himself felt stronger and
better and planned how he was to finish his journey. Beyond
the mountain were the lands of his father-in-law. He mounted
and rode toward them.
On the boundary Sokto made his horse gray and lean, made

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 263
himself decrepit, white bearded to the knees, old, and wretched.
Then he rode toward the yurta. Five horses of various colors
were tied to the hitching-post. Five splendid young men had
come to get brides and had entered the beautiful yurta. Sokto
tied his poor, miserable, gray horse to the hitching-post, and
walked into the yurta.
"A greeting, father-in-law!" said the wretched old man.
The five young heroes laughed as he said this. "What sort
of bridegroom art thou, poor old fellow?" asked they.
"Who art thou, old man?" asked the khan.
"Why talk to me in this way ? What a strange father-in-law !
Thou hast five daughters, they should choose their own bride
grooms. Assemble the people to-morrow, let each daughter
choose the man who pleases her."
The daughters were behind seventy-seven doors at this time.
The next day the khan assembled the people and entertained
them. He gave his daughters five marrow bones. "Choose
thy bridegroom," said he to each daughter. Each was to give
a marrow bone to the man whom she selected.
The five sisters went out together and four gave bones to four
of the five young strangers. The fifth, who was the youngest
sister, would not give hers to the fifth stranger, but threw it
toward the old man, and ran away quickly. All wondered at this
and were sorry for the fifth young man who was left without a
bride. The khan gave four fine yurtas to the four young strangers,
to the fifth bridegroom, the old man, he gave a shed made of
hay. "Ye will live here," said the father-in-law.
The next morning he called out the four sons-in-law and said :
"I am tired of eating common meat, kill some wild goats for
me." To the old man he said nothing. The old man's bride
went to her father:
"I will send my husband to hunt," said she.
"Why send that old fool ?" asked her father, "he will knock
against a tree and kill himself."
"Let him kill himself if he wishes, I am ashamed to be the
bride of that old man."
The four went out to hunt wild goats, and the old man went

264 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
also. He made his horse lame. The beast could hardly move
he was so crippled and wretched. They reached the forest.
The four young strangers hunted all day, but found no game.
The old man killed only one goat; when he shot it he said:
"Let the whole body be poison except the entrails; let the
entrails be the cure." Then he sat down in the forest by a
fire which he had made. The four came to him. "Have ye
killed anything?" asked he. "No, hast thou?"
"One small goat and I don't know how to skin it." They
skinned it for him. "Divide the meat into five parts," said they.
He divided it ; gave them the clear meat, and kept the skin and
entrails. They carried the flesh to their father-in-law. The
old man's bride cooked the entrails and took them to her father.
She found him sick, swollen, very ill, and complaining :
"I ate meat and am sick from it. Why bring entrails ? Dost
thou wish to kill me ? " cried the khan in anger.
"Thou mightst even taste, even catch the odor!" urged the
daughter. He took a spoonful ; found it good, took a cupful, was cured,
became well altogether.
The next morning he called the four bridegrooms and said :
" Go again to hunt but bring me the entrails this time." Before
they left the youngest daughter came to her father. "I will send
the old man to hunt," said she.
"Do not send him, his horse is lame. That old fellow can kill
nothing." "Let him go," begged the daughter; "if something happens to
him I shall not be sorry."
The four young bridegrooms laughed, ridiculed the old man.
He grew angry at their laughter and jokes and when they
reached the forest he kindled a fire and sat down by it. " Go ye
to hunt," said he. "I will stay here by the fire." He killed an
other goat. When he sent the arrow he said : "Let the entrails
be poison and the meat the cure."
"What have ye killed ? " asked he of the four when they came
in the evening. "Nothing," said they.
"Though I have killed one big goat I will not divide this
time," said the old man. They insisted on division till at last

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 265
he said: "I will divide if each of you will give me a finger's
width of skin from his neck to the end of his back." They
agreed to this. The old man cut the strap, then they took the
entrails and left him the clean meat.
The four daughters cooked the entrails and gave them to
their father. He ate them, and grew very sick ; was swollen to
the size of a three-year-old bullock and began to cry: "My end
is coming, my end is near ! I must die this time ! "
The old man's bride cooked clean meat and brought it to her
sick father. "Why bring me meat?" asked he. "I do not
want it." She bowed down to him, entreated : "Try a little."
The meat was very savory. The moment the khan ate a mouth
ful he was well again.
On the third morning he called the four bridegrooms and said :
"To-night my big gray mare will have a colt. Will ye watch
her? She has had three colts in three years and each one was
stolen from me."
The four agreed to watch. The old man's bride heard of
this and said : "I will send my husband to watch with them."
"No need of him," said the father. "Why send that fool ?"
"I can spare him," answered the wife. "I am not sorry for
him. Let him kill himself if he wishes." "Send him then,"
said the father.
The herd was in a valley, and the five bridegrooms went there.
A heavy frost came down in the night and the air was very cold.
They built a fire and the four sat by it shivering. The old man
was not cold.
"Warm yourselves," said he to the four, "I will go to the
other side of the valley." He went, found the gray mare, turned
himself into a reed and watched to see who it was that stole the
colt each year.
At midnight a fifty-five headed and fifty horned Mangathai
came. The mare had her colt. The reed shot the Mangathai
with an arrow, killed him, took the colt and placed it with the
mother. Then he collected sticks, made a fire and burned the
Mangathai. The ashes from his bones filled ninety-seven bags.
Then the old man made a windmill, ground all the ashes in the
ninety-seven bags and let the wind bear the ashes away. All

266 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
was finished by morning. The four bridegrooms knew nothing
of what had happened. At dawn the old man was by their
fire. They were nearly frozen, almost dead from cold. He
gathered wood, warmed them, then asked :
"What have ye seen during the night? What have ye been
doing?" "We have seen nothing. What hast thou seen?"
"I have seen a fine thing. I have seen who it is that steals the
colts, but I will not tell you." They urged and begged. At
last he said : " Give me four straps from the flesh of your thighs,
then I will tell."
They looked at one another. "We must give the straps,"
said they. They cut the straps and gave them. "I saw," said
the old man, "only this — that a shadow, a bird or something,
I know not exactly what, took the colt and swallowed it. That
is all I saw."
The four returned, appeared before their father-in-law and
said: "At midnight came a shadow, or a bird, or something of
that sort, we are not sure what, and swallowed the colt. We
could not shoot it."
"For three years the same thing has happened," said the
khan. " Go home now and eat." When the four had gone the
old man came.
"What are thy four sons-in-law doing?" asked he. "Are
they shooting ? Do they kill anything ? "
"My four sons-in-law saw last night how a shadow swallowed
the gray mare's colt. But thou, old man, what art thou doing ?"
"Nothing, but getting straps."
"Let me have them," said the father-in-law. "What kind of
straps are these?" asked he, as he looked at them.
"I got those straps from thy four sons-in-law. They went to
kill goats, killed none. I gave them clear meat, and kept the
entrails. Thou wert sick from the meat, and wert cured by the
entrails. Then I gave them entrails for straps from their backs ;
thou wert sick from entrails, and wert cured by the clear meat."
"Thou art wiser, it seems, than the four, and have better
understanding than any one of them. How didst thou get the
other four straps from the bridegrooms?"

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 267
"For telling them that a shadow, or bird, seized the colt. I
did not tell them what really happened. I will tell thee the
whole truth. A Mangathai came in the night; I shot that
Mangathai, and killed him. The colt is alive now, and any one
may see it at the place where I killed the Mangathai."
"Thou art the son of a khan, and thou art young," said the
father-in-law. " Be kind and take thy own shape." The father-
in-law bowed down a whole day, and begged: "Tell the truth.
Tell what thy name is." At last the old man said :
"My name is Khan Sokto, and I am the son of Yerente Khan."
"Why didst thou not tell me thy name?"
Sokto gave no answer. The father-in-law summoned the
four bridegrooms, made them show their backs and thighs,
tried the straps and saw that they fitted.
"Ye cannot be my sons-in-law," said he. "Ye cut up your
own bodies, and might cut up my daughters." And he drove
them away that same evening.
The next day a splendid feast was given and it lasted nine
days and nights, for Sokto was young now and had his own
form. "Prepare the wedding quickly," said Sokto. "I must go
home to my father, my mother, and my sister."
"Near the Gazada Dalai," said the khan, "is Yellow Dog.
Get that dog for me, and we will have the wedding immediately.
If not we will not have it at any time."
Sokto went to his bride and told her all. "What does thy
father wish to do with me ? " asked he.
"No hero can get Yellow Dog," said the bride. "Better
go home than try. It is impossible to get it. Though many
men have gone for it no man has ever come back. Find some
other bride; there are many maidens in other lands."
"I will not go home," said Sokto. "I will go for Yellow
Dog. It is unknown whether I shall die on the way, or come
back, but I will make the trial." Then he went to consult with
his horse.
"Thou must go to the sky," said the horse, "and tell Esege
Malan; take advice of him. The seven heavenly smiths may
help thee."

268 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Sokto made his horse into a flint chip, and went to the sky as
a gray falcon.
"What hast thou to do?" asked Esege Malan. Sokto told
what the task was.
Esege Malan ordered the seven smiths to make an immense
chain for the dog's neck, heavy fetters for his feet, and two iron
hoops to confine his mouth.
Sokto went to the smiths and they made all that was needed.
While they were forging Sokto chanted : "As I live and am well
this chain is to give Yellow Dog to me." He went through the
heavens to where Yellow Dog was; he could not go on the earth,
could not find him. He saw the dog from the sky. When above
the shore of the Frozen Ocean he threw the chain, fetters, and
hoops, and chanted: "If I am victorious let this chain fasten
around Yellow Dog's neck, let the fetters fasten on his feet, and
these two hoops confine his mouth. If I am not victorious let
them drop to the earth and be harmless." As he spoke they
fell on the dog and captured him. Sokto then rushed down to
the earth. The dog whined, dashed about, but could do nothing.
Then he stopped, and said :
"In all the world there was no magic that could harm me.
I have heard that Khan Sokto is born ; a great hero must he be,
for no other could bind me in this way. O Sokto, if thou wish
to conquer, conquer quickly. If to kill, kill me now. If to help,
help this minute."
That moment the chain became laxer, the fetters dropped
off, the hoops loosened. Sokto sat on his horse; led the dog
to his father-in-law's yurta, and tied him to the hitching-
post. " Such a dog is not needed here ! " screamed the khan. " Take
him back to where you found him ! "
"I cannot take him back," said Sokto. "He eats a whole
bullock at a meal."
The dog heard the conversation and said to Sokto :
" Give me enough to eat, and I will go back to my own place
alone. I fear nothing on earth. For ten years I shall be a great
friend to thee. If any trouble happens between thee and thy
father-in-law I will be on thy side."

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 269
Yellow Dog ate much ; he ate a whole ox and went home to
the edge of the Frozen Ocean.
At Sokto's wedding all the people feasted nine days and nine
nights. "What will you give me as a present ? " asked the bride
of her father. He gave her a bay horse, ninety fathoms long,
his ears nine ells high, with a saddle of silver and housings of
silk. They mounted, and the people followed them. Sokto
showed the road to the company. He tied to his horse's
tail a larch tree so thick that nine men could not encircle it.
"When I halt on the road," said he, "it means that we are
to smoke, when I make a circuit with the tree it means a night
camp." He traveled swiftly and in nine days was at home. All were
well there, and they were waiting for him. He summoned the
people ; meat and drink were set out for all ; but they waited
for those who followed. In three days they arrived and then
every one feasted for nine days and nine nights. At the end of
that time the guests went home, and Sokto and his wife lived
on as people live usually.
Now Narin Huimer Hubun, the big man, who could not
hurl the great stone, came a second time for Sokto's sister.
"What is thy business, and why hast thou come?" inquired
Sokto. "I have come to ask for thy sister."
"What is thy reason for thinking to get her?"
"Esege Malan said that I was to have her as wife."
"I believe thee," said Sokto. "But thou must remain three
years with me, help me in making lists of my people, and count.
ing my herds and cattle. I am terribly tired. For twelve years
I have been traveling and struggling. I need thy assistance."
Narin Hubun agreed to this, and aided in counting the herds.
At the end of three years Sokto said to him, "It is time for thee
to have thy own yurta." Then he invited the people and the next
day began a wedding which lasted nine days and nine nights;
at it ravens and magpies ate all they wanted. The whole world
ate, and was glad.
"I took care of thy yurta for twelve years," said the sister,
"what wilt thou give me for a present?"

270 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Sokto had a bay horse eighty fathoms long, which had been
trained for eight days.
"Take this horse," said he, "and ask nothing of another per
son. I thank thee for thy care of my yurta while I was strug
gling with Mangathais, and winning my bride."
Sokto's sister mounted and rode away with her bridegroom,
contented and happy.

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 271

ALAMALDJIN AND HIS TWIN SISTER HANHAI
ALAMALDJIN BOGDO and his twin sister Hanhai were
born in Iryil of a father who was seventy-five years of
age and a mother who was sixty.
After the twins were born the father called all the people to
a feast of three days' duration. At the feast he took two marrow
bones and asked for a man to come forth and name the boy.
One old man named him, and received one marrow bone. An
old woman then named the twin sister, and got the second
bone. In ten days the skin of a ten-year-old sheep was not big enough
for Alamaldjin. When the boy was three years old his father
taught him to reckon. When the child played with other chil
dren he said always that he would be khan.
This life continued till the boy was eleven, then he hired men
to quarry stone, and he built a yurta one verst long, and so high
that the roof, which was of silver, seemed to touch the sky.
There were seven thousand windows below, and nine thousand
windows above. All the outside was covered with silver, and
it was finished inside with gold. There were seventy-seven
immense chambers in that yurta.
Alamaldjin had many cattle and many people; and he lived
in splendor. Fine roads went from his yurta to all places.
When seventeen years of age he was so wise and famous that
the people made him khan.
For thirteen years his catties and herds had been uncounted,
now he determined to have them counted. The khan had two
uncles ; he summoned them, and they came on bay horses. He
took both by the hands, led them into his yurta and feasted
them. "I have no time to count my herds," said the nephew,
"will ye do this counting for me?"
They began, but in three days they could not finish counting,
there were so many cattle. At last they finished. The cattle in
front were very thin and uneasy, those behind very fat and

272 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
well satisfied. The two uncles cried out when they saw this.
They went to their nephew and asked him to choose other pas
tures. He was not willing to do so.
"My father's cattle did not suffer," said he. "How is it that
my cattle suffer?"
"Our nephew does not believe us," said the two uncles, and
they went then to hang themselves. "I will not let this come
to pass," said Alamaldjin, and he stopped them. "I will go in
search of new pastures, and find them."
Alamaldjin had a brown steed ninety fathoms long with ears
nine ells high. This steed was in the Altai Deda, beyond
mountains, at pasture with thirteen wild deer. He might have
called the steed with a whistle, but he did not wish to do that,
so he sent his two uncles to bring him.
The uncles went to the Altai Mountains, found the horse,
but were dreadfully frightened at sight of him, and came back
without him. "Let us go home and hang ourselves," said they.
"Our nephew laughs at us, and pays no heed to the advice
which we give him."
Alamaldjin blew his whistle ; the horse and the thirteen wild
deer heard the call. They had pastured together thirteen
years, and the thirteen deer said : "We may be lost if we go, but
we wish to go with thee."
Altai Deda, the place where they had lived in company, was
very beautiful. The water was sweet, the grass an ell high, and
the deer did not like to leave it. " Go not," said they to the
steed. "Stay thou with us, we are afraid to be without thee."
They did not wish to lose the horse ; they did not like to leave
the mountain.
"Fear not," said the horse. "If I perish the water will dry
up, and the grass wither. If I am well all will be as it now is.
Have no fear, I shall not perish."
The horse lay down and rolled ; some of his hair fell out, as
much in bulk as a big stack of hay. "If enemies come," said
he, "get under this hair and hide there, ye will be safe from
them. If I am well the hair will last many years. If I am lost
it will vanish. But I shall not be lost, and this hair will remain
here. If ye grieve for me, smell the hair, and ye will be cheerful."

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 273
They agreed now to stay in the Altai Mountains.
The horse ran toward his master at full speed, came at the
summons of the whistle ; rushed to the hitching-post, stood and
neighed there.
Alamaldjin hurried out in a single shirt. In one hand he held
a bridle, in the other a hair rope. He put a bit in the mouth of
his horse and tied him to a hitching-post. The horse stood there
three days. Alamaldjin gave him nothing to eat, and only spring
water to drink. Then he led him to a sandy place, tied him to
another post, left him three days on the sand ; nex$ he tied him
to a post in an icy place, left him standing on ice three days;
that was the last preparation.
Alamaldjin now placed on his steed a silk saddle-cloth and
a silver saddle. Then he made himself ready. He wore trousers
made of fifty elk skins, shoes of fish-skin, a silken shuba with
seventy-five fastenings, a silver belt, and a cap of sable. He
took a bow and a quiver with ninety-five arrows. He drank
worms, after which he had no need to eat for twenty-five days ;
then he mounted and rode away swiftly. His uncles were glad.
He rode far, rode into another country, and saw on the edge
of the earth an immense iron building which rose to the sky.
He made his horse small and wretched, and himself old and full
of wrinkles, a Shaman. He reached the great iron building.
He tied his horse to a hitching-post, then tried to find a door
to the building, but could not, and he broke in the southwest
corner of the yurta. Inside was a Mangathai of a hundred and
fifty heads. The Mangathai sprang up, and shouted, "Who art
thou, who hast dared to break into my house in this manner ? "
The Mangathai took his axe, forty fathoms broad, and sharp
ened it, but when he heard that the strange old man was a
Shaman he threw the axe aside. Then it turned out that the
right eye of the Mangathai had been struck by an arrow and
was injured.
"It is well that a Shaman is here," said he, "my eye is sore."
"It is not difficult to cure thy eye," said Alamaldjin ; "let me
look at, it. Three years ago some one struck thy eye with an
arrow; thy sight is poor, there are many worms in thy eye at
this moment." 18

274 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
"True," said the Mangathai.
"I will cure thee quickly," said Alamaldjin. "I am afraid
thou art so big that a strong remedy is needed. Wilt thou en
dure it?"
"I will."
The Mangathai brought a hair rope ninety fathoms long. "I
will lie down ; do thou tie me to the four corners of the chamber,
and fasten me so that I shall not move."
Alamaldjin tied him firmly, took a great pot, put it on the
tripod of the central fire, then filled the pot with lead. When the
lead was melted, Alamaldjin said, " Look at the sky with
thy sound eye, count the stars in it. Look to one side with thy
sick eye."
The Mangathai did so, and Alamaldjin poured the whole
kettle of molten lead into the well eye. The Mangathai felt
dreadful pain ; he trembled, pulled, roared. Alamaldjin found
three iron doors closed; he broke them and rushed out. He
saw a yellow goat on the road with horns three ells long. The
khan turned himself into a flea and sat on the goat's ear
contentedly. The Mangathai tugged at the rope, pulled three times, tore
it to bits, and rushed out to find the Shaman, but could not see
him. The goat ran to the Mangathai and butted him. The
Mangathai saw a little yet with his injured eye. The goat
butted him a second time; he fell, hurt his forehead, and was
terribly angry.
"That goat never came near me before," said the Mangathai
to himself, "now when my eye is gone he butts me."
The Mangathai made an iron wall with his magic, a very
high wall, so the Shaman might not save himself. Then he
took the goat and threw him over the high enclosure. The flea
stayed in the goat's ear till he was outside, then it became Ala
maldjin. Alamaldjin mounted his horse and called to the Man
gathai, "Well, is thy eye any better?"
"It is better, thanks to thee. For reward I will give thee this
axe ! " And he threw the axe over the wall at Alamaldjin, in
tending to kill him. The axe did not hit Alamaldjin. He picked
it up, stuck it in the wall of another yurta, and said, "Stay here

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 275
till I come, see that this Mangathai does not leave that house
and enclosure. This place will be mine hereafter ; my pastures
will be here."
All the Mangathai's magic, all his strength, was in that axe.
Now Alamaldjin went home. The two uncles knew what
had happened to their nephew. They killed ten sheep, made
many kettles of tarasun, and went out to meet him. They
stopped at Red Mountain, built a shed there, and waited.
When the nephew appeared they went to meet him. "We are
here to greet thee," said they ; "we have brought a feast with us."
Alamaldjin was angry, "Why have ye come? why bring a
feast ? why can I not go home alone ? "
"We did this as a mark of respect, because thou hast con
quered a great Mangathai."
He tied his horse to a tree and went into the shed with his
uncles. First they gave him ten pots of tarasun. He emptied
them all and became very gladsome. Next he ate ten sheep.
"Is there no more tarasun?" asked he. They gave him a small
keg of tarasun mixed with poison. He drank of it, and fell to
the ground. Blue and red flames came from his nostrils.
"Though ye have killed my master, I will not yield to you !"
said the horse, and he broke away and rushed home. He reached
the yurta, ran to the hitching-post, and neighed very loudly.
Alamaldjin' s sister came out, embraced the horse's feet, and
fell to crying, "How is thy master? where is he?"
"My master is dead at the boundary; thy two uncles have
killed him." Hanhai mounted and rode to the boundary
quickly. Her brother's body was lying in the shed ; she found
no one there with it. She tied two silk cloths around the body,
and wrapped it up carefully. Not far away was Red Moun
tain ; she buried her brother at the foot of that mountain and
went home. In her brother's yurta was his book; she read
this book and learned from it how to guard against death, and
how to bring the dead back to life. This is what the book said :
"Far away, on the opposite end of the earth, is an impassable
swamp, in the middle of that swamp is a golden aspen with
silver leaves, at the foot of that aspen tree is the Water of Life.
On the top of the tree sits a cuckoo. If any one goes there the

276 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
cuckoo will help them ; the water will heal and bring the dead
back to life again."
The sister put on her brother's dress, took his weapons,
mounted his steed, and rode away swiftly. At the end of six
days she was near the impassable swamp. She made her horse
a flint chip, and put him into her pocket, then she turned her
self into a raven.
It was forty versts from the edge of the swamp to the living
water. She had a small keg and flew to the place. The water
flowed up out of the earth sweet and pure. The cuckoo was not
there. The raven drank of the water, and then filled a small
keg. After that she turned into a reed and watched, waiting for
the cuckoo.
At midday the cuckoo flew home and drank water. The
reed seized the bird by the neck, grasped her tightly.
"Let me go!" cried the cuckoo; "or if thou wish to kill,
then kill quickly. Art thou Hanhai?"
"I am," said the sister. "I have come for thee to save my
brother." "I will go with thee," said the cuckoo. Then both flew back
to where Alamaldjin was buried. There the sister took her own
form and prayed to the Heavenly Burkans for three days. On
the third day the ground opened and Hanhai drew out the body.
It was in good condition, except the right shoulder-blade ; a fox
had dug into the grave and carried off that shoulder-blade.
Hanhai told the cuckoo to watch the body while she herself
followed the trail of the fox.
She went to Shara Dalai (the Yellow Sea) and found the fox
there. She had the shoulder-blade in her mouth when Hanhai
met her.
"What art thou doing with that shoulder-blade?" asked the
sister. "I took it to a Shaman to have him soothsay. This is the
third day that I have a headache. The Shaman knew that it
was thy brother's and sent me back with it. I am going now to
where thy brother is buried."
"What right hadst thou to take the shoulder-blade from a
dead man? Who gave thee permission?"

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 277
"I hunted the world over, but could not find a shoulder-blade
of man or beast. Passing thy brother's grave I knew by the
odor that a corpse was lying in it, then I made bold to take the
shoulder-blade. I will give it back to thee. Do not beat me."
Hanhai took the shoulder-blade and forgave the fox. Then
she returned and found the cuckoo guarding her brother. She
put the shoulder-blade in its right place and poured the Water
of Life on her brother's body, which took on its own form again
quickly. The cuckoo began to sing, began at his feet and sang
till she stopped at the crown of his head. Then Alamaldjin
stood up well and said, "How long I have been sleeping here !"
Alamaldjin and Hanhai went home. They took the cuckoo
with them, and gave her good entertainment, — entertained her
one day.
"We shall be friends from this time, and forever," said Ala
maldjin when the cuckoo was going. "Be thou kind, and assist
us." "I will," said the cuckoo, "whenever the need comes."
"I am going out to hunt," said Alamaldjin on the following
day to his sister.
"Hunting is good," said Hanhai, "but thou shouldst rest ten
days at least."
"Why rest? I shall hunt on my own land." And he rode
away quickly.
In the forest he met a woman as tall as a pine tree — the
wife of that Mangathai whose eye he had put out, and who was
dead now. She had been hunting for Alamaldjin. This woman
held in her hand a scraper ten fathoms long, — the scraper was
for dressing rawhide.
"Oh, look!" called she, "see how many men are coming
behind thee!"
He looked around. She hit him on the back of his neck,
and he fell with head on the right side of the horse, and body
on the left. The horse ran toward home. The Mangathai
woman followed the horse, but failed to catch him.
"What good is a horse without a master? What good is a
wife without a husband ? " cried she as the horse rushed away
from her.

278 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Again the horse neighed loudly at the hitching-post. Hanhai
ran out, embraced his feet, and cried : "Where is my brother?"
"The Mangathai's wife has killed thy brother in his own
forest." Hanhai put her brother's dress on, mounted his steed, and
rode off to meet the Mangathai woman. Rode straight to her;
she knew by her magic power where the tall woman was. Hanhai
turned herself into a man ; the Mangathai woman did not know
her. As Hanhai passed the tall woman she called out to her,
"Whence comest thou, O woman ? Who art thou ? "
"I am the wife of a Mangathai."
"What art thou doing in this forest?"
"I have lost a flock of sheep, a herd of horses, and many
cattle. I have asked every one where to look for them, but
cannot find them. But look around ! " cried the woman on a
sudden, "see how many men are behind thee!"
"Let them stay behind me, they are my people. Look be
hind thyself! There are twenty Mangathais coming against
thee ! " said Hanhai.
The tall woman forgot herself, looked, and Hanhai dealt her
such a blow with her strong, sharp whip that she took the
woman's head off. The Mangathai's horse ran away. Hanhai
followed on her swift steed, caught him, brought him back, and
killed him. She gathered wood and burned up the horse and
the Mangathai woman.
Hanhai then went to find her brother. First she found his
head and then his body; she put them together, wrapped them
in two silk cloths, tied the bundles to the saddle, and went
to Red Mountain, where her brother was buried the first time.
She prayed one day and one night to the Heavenly Burkans,
then buried him deep, far from foxes and other animals.
Then Hanhai went home, searched the book, and read in it :
"In the west lives Gazar Bain Khan. He has a daughter, Nalhan
Taiji Basagan; she is the only person in all the world who can
raise Alamaldjin the second time. But to raise him she must
become his wife; she must marry him."
When Hanhai finished reading she cried, "I am a maiden;
how can I go to that country?"

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 279
She read the book three days and three nights and then pre
pared to go. She put on her brother's clothes, took his weapons,
mounted his steed, and rode to the boundary.
"All is left behind," thought Hanhai; "what will become of
the people and the cattle, who will protect them?" But she
had immense magic power, and by that power she made a great
iron wall around the whole country ; then she made a flat dome
of silver above it. Over the silver she put earth, and made
grass and trees grow out of it ; so that her brother's whole country,
with the people, flocks, herds of horses, cattle, and everything
that was in it, was hidden and unseen by all the world outside.
On the east she left small, secret apertures to let in the sunshine.
Then she rode westward swiftly in search of Nalhan Taiji
Basagan. Hanhai went far, rode three weeks, till at last she saw a great
white stone yurta. She rode up to the yurta, and found ninety
horse skulls on ninety stakes, and on ninety other stakes ninety
outfits of men and horses. She stopped her steed and shed
many tears.
With women hair is long, but thought is short. She stood a
while thinking, strengthening her heart, and then she said to
herself, "Once I have started on this business I will go to the
end of it."
She made her horse a flint chip, put the chip in her pocket,
turned herself into a skunk, burrowed under the yurta and into
it. Burrowed forward, peeped up at last through the floor, and
saw a Mangathai sleeping. He had seven hundred heads on his
body, and seventy horns on the heads.
"I have never heard," thought she, "of a Mangathai with
so many heads; this must be the greatest, the father and chief
of all Mangathais."
Near the Mangathai lay an axe eighty fathoms broad. Hanhai
became Alamaldjin, seized the axe, roused the Mangathai, and
said to him, "I have come to thee with battle !"
He woke, strove to rise ; she hewed his central head off with
the axe, which was full of magic. " Cunning people have come ;
this is the end of me ! " these were the last words of the seven
hundred headed Mangathai.

280 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
Hanhai made a forest by magic, and on one of the largest of
the trees she wrote, "This will be a sacred forest henceforward ; "
then she mounted and rode away.
Next she met a twenty-seven headed Mangathai on horseback.
"Why art thou riding through my father's land ?" asked he.
"No man passes on foot or on horseback and remains alive
after that. I will hurry home, read in my book, and see who
killed my brother by magic. I will hunt and slay the one who
killed him." As he turned to go home Hanhai sent an arrow
after him, saying to the arrow, "If thou kill that Mangathai
and his horse come back to me." The arrow came back and
said to her, "The Mangathai and his horse are dead."
Hanhai rode on, but soon met another Mangathai, this one
had seventy-seven heads, and called out, "What kind of man
art thou, and from what country?"
"People call me Alamaldjin Bogdo," said she.
"I have heard," replied the Mangathai, "that such a one was
born. Art thou he?"
"I am."
"My father and I wished to go to-morrow and kill thee,"
said the Mangathai, "and now thou art here of thyself. That
is well ! Thou hast killed many already, but I have finished
better than thou art. What work will there be with thee ? Get
down from thy horse ! "
Hanhai slipped down quickly. They sprang at each other
and the struggle began, — a dreadful struggle, with teeth and with
hands. Three days and three nights they fought. There was
no flesh left on the Mangathai; all his ribs and bones were
visible. On the fourth day he fell. He roared terribly. Hanhai
went to a larch tree, opened it, cut off some of the Mangathai's
heads and thrust him in there. With magic power she hooped
the tree up with ninety-five hoops, all of them iron; killed the
Mangathai, killed his horse, and went farther.
Soon she met a Mangathai with five hundred heads, fifty
horns on the heads and a goat-skin thrown over his shoulders.
"Thou hast killed my father and two brothers ; whither now ? "
shouted the Mangathai, springing from his horse. "I will tear
thee into bits ! "

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 281
"Very well," answered Hanhai, coming down from her steed.
They rushed at each other, fought nine days and nine nights
without stopping. Ravens and magpies flew in from the north
and the south and called out to them : " Fight on, good heroes !
Fight on ! Give us flesh, give us plenty of it."
"We can do nothing by wrestling," said the Mangathai.
"Let us use arrows now. I will go to the southwest, thou to the
northeast mountain and shoot from there."
Hanhai consented. They were to rest for one day.
The Mangathai had arrows as big as a larch tree. Hanhai
rested near a forest. Two elks came into view ; she killed both.
Then she made a fire, took a pine and a larch tree for spits and
roasted the elks. She rose up at sunrise and ate the animals.
The Mangathai signaled to begin. "I must shoot first,"
cried he.
"No," said Hanhai; "I came in search of thee, I will shoot
first." "I will never agree to that!" screamed the Mangathai.
"Thou hast killed my father and two brothers, now it is thy
wish to kill me ! "
"Shoot!" said Hanhai, and she lay down. The Mangathai's
arrow hissed and roared as it flew toward her, but she turned
instantly into a very hard stone and the arrow broke in two on
that stone. She became Hanhai again, thrust the broken arrow
into her saddle, and signaled to the Mangathai, "Thou art not
able to hit me, thou hast only hit my saddle."
"I missed," said the Mangathai, "but do not shoot at me
to-day, shoot to-morrow."
"Am I to wait days to please thee ? I will shoot now !" cried
Hanhai, and she sent a magic arrow. That arrow shivered the
Mangathai into fragments, broke him into small pieces. Hanhai
went then to the broken body of the Mangathai. His horse did
not run away, but stood weeping there near his master. Hanhai
killed the horse, collected wood, and burned master and horse
into ashes.
After that she rode farther; rode swiftly, till she came at last
to two seas, where the land between was only one ell wide and
rose one ell above the water. The sea on the right was a poison

282 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
sea, the sea on the left was a sea of fresh water. Hanhai halted,
and said to her steed, "Thou canst not pass this sea." She
made flint of him and turned herself into a swallow, then she
flew on, flew for three hours, reached the other side, then turned
herself and the horse back to their own forms.
There was a very high mountain on the road straight out in
front of them. At the foot of it were blind, crooked, lame, and
deformed people, people with every ill possible, and the bodies of
dead men and of dead horses. There were mounds of those
bodies, piles of them, hills of them. When Hanhai saw these
heaps of bones of the men and horses that had fallen while trying
to climb the great mountain she asked her steed, " Canst thou
cross this mountain or not ? "
"I cannot cross, as thou knowest," said the horse.
She made a flint chip of the horse, put the chip in her pocket,
turned herself into a squirrel and ran up the mountain. She ran
on and on till her paws were nearly gone, till she had climbed
one third of the mountain, and was falling ; then she caught on a
tree and became a skunk. As a skunk she went up the second
third with great difficulty; then became a swallow, and flew
the last third of the way. Three days and three nights and the
half of another day was she flying till she dropped on the sum
mit, and lay there without stirring for one whole day and a half
of a day. Then she revived and looked around. Right there
in front of her was a spring of the Water of Life, Youth, and
Health. A gold goblet hung from a bough of the tree by a chain
of pure silver. Hanhai drank, gave her horse to drink, and then
made a fire.
The next morning she felt stronger and better. She drank
again from the water of the spring. After that she looked and
saw far away the great yurta of Gazar Bain Khan ; she saw also
his countless cattle and horses. The yurta was immense, a verst
long, a great white house of silver, glistening and glorious,
straight out southwest from her.
She mounted immediately and rode to the house of Gazar
Bain Khan. Three horses were tied to a hitching-post near it.
She tied hers also and entered. Three splendid young men had
entered before her.

Buriats — Husband and Wife in the Ha vfield, Olkhon Island. Page 116
Their implements for turning and raking grass

Representations of Buriat Gods. Page 121
These are held sacred in each Buriat household

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 283
"A greeting from me to thee, father-in-law ! " said Hanhai.
"Whence hast thou come, a son of what khan art thou?"
asked Gazar Bain Khan.
" I am Alamaldjin Bogdo. I have heard that thou hast a beau
tiful daughter, Nalhan Taiji is her name ; I have come to ask
for her. In my book it is written that she must be my bride."
"These suitors here came earlier; they have not spoken yet.
Why dost thou hurry so ? "
"I had no thought to wait for them or for others. I tell at
once what my wish is."
"We came to ask for thy daughter," said the three young
men. "She will choose whom she likes; I will not force her," said
the father.
"Are we to wait here or go to her?"
"Spend the night here. To-morrow I will call all the people.
Let my daughter come out then and choose him who may please
her." Next day there was a feast. Nalhan Taiji, who was behind
forty-three doors in the forty-third chamber, came out. Her
father gave her a goblet of wine and a marrow bone to give to
the man who pleased her most.
"Here are four bridegrooms," said he, "give these to the one
you like best."
She looked a number of times at the four, and at last gave the
bone and the wine to Hanhai. When the choice was made the
people and the suitors went away
"Go to thy bride and rest; thy horse will be cared for and
fed," said the father-in-law.
Nalhan Taiji was waiting in her chamber. Drink, food, and
all things were ready. They sat there and feasted till night was
near, then Hanhai sprang up. "I must go now," said she, "I
may not stay with thee longer. Since my horse is enchanted, it
is impossible to stay."
"It cannot be! On that horse thou travelest, how can thy
stay here affect him? What sort of bridegroom art thou to
leave me thus?"
" Only let me go home on this horse, then I will leave him. I

284 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
will send him back to the Altai Deda, where he pastures in the
mountains with thirteen wild deer. In all this world he is the
luckiest and best horse for the road. No ill is possible with
him, but misfortune would happen in a moment were I to break
his enchantment, which is this, that no man fully married may
ride him. Not only should I die, but my wife would die
also." Nalhan Taiji believed her bridegroom now ; she let him go
from that forty-third chamber. The next morning his father-
in-law called him : "I will give thee my daughter, but thou must
do something for me : bring me a quill from the wing of Khan
Herdik, I wish to write with it. If thou bring not the quill I
will not give my daughter."
"How is this?" asked Hanhai. "I have barely ridden to
thee, and now must I go to another country ? "
"Do as may please thee. Bring me the quill or thou wilt not
get my daughter."
"I will go, but let me see Nalhan Taiji."
Hanhai went to her bride. "I am going on a long journey,"
said she; "thou must help me in some way."
"Thou wilt meet no hindrance on the journey; but Herdik
Khan will delay in giving thee the feather. This is the second
year that he is fighting with Mogoi Khan. Thou wilt not get the
quill till the war is ended."
"I cannot wait till the war is ended," said Hanhai. "I must
go at once and thou must assist me."
"Thou wilt not feel hunger or need much sleep. I cannot
give thee other assistance," said Nalhan Taiji.
Hanhai rode away swiftly. On the fifth day she came to an
immensely high mountain. On that mountain stood a great
pine; ten men could not embrace it. On that tree lived
Khan Herdik and his two daughters.
"Whence dost thou come, good youth ?" asked the daughters
of Hanhai.
"I am Alamaldjin Bogdo, I have come on business to thy
father." "Art thou a khan? Was thy father a khan also?" asked
Khan Herdik's elder daughter. "Our father is at war with

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 285
Mogoi Khan. He is near the Icy Ocean, but thou canst go to
him." Hanhai set out for the Icy Ocean, and when she reached it
Khan Herdik had arrived three days earlier. She found him on
a great pine tree near the ocean shore. Hanhai bowed down to
Khan Herdik. "A greeting from me to thee!" said she, and
then told him the cause of her coming.
"I cannot give thee a feather now," said Herdik. "In four
days I must fight with Mogoi Khan. If thou help me I will give
thee my feather."
Hanhai agreed, made her horse into a flint, put him in her
pocket, became an eagle herself, and sat there on the pine tree
with Herdik.
"Mogoi Khan comes out of that valley," said Khan Herdik.
"He has two heads, and between the two is a shining white
spot; if thou hit that spot he is dead. I will fly away with
thee then and give thee a quill."
On the fourth day Mogoi Khan came out of the Icy Ocean
and came through the valley straight toward them. If Mogoi
Khan conquered, he was to get Khan Herdik's daughters. If
Khan Herdik conquered, he would have Mogoi Khan's
daughters. When Mogoi Khan was near enough Hanhai saw the white
spot, sent her arrow into it, and killed Mogoi, then took her own
form. Herdik Khan put her on his back and hurried to his
daughters at the pine tree, and there they feasted three whole
days. "Thanks for thy aid. Take the quill," said Herdik. "Tell
thy father-in-law that he will hardly lift that quill to write. But
thou and I will be friends in the future."
Hanhai returned to her father-in-law. On the sixth day she
reached his yurta, tied her horse to the hitching-post and left
the feather leaning against the corner of the yurta. The great
building bent till it was near falling.
"Misfortune will come from this quill ! It will break down
my yurta !" cried Gazar Bain Khan. "Take it away ! Take it
back to Khan Herdik !"
"Have the wedding and I '11 take it." Hanhai turned then

286 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
to Nalhan Taiji: "I have brought the quill, now your father
does not want it, and asks me to take it back."
"You need not take it back yourself; make it small, tie it to
your arrow, and tell the arrow what to do."
Hanhai did as her bride advised. "Do no harm to Khan
Herdik," said she to the arrow, "only return the feather to him."
The arrow did as commanded and came back again. The
next day the people had all assembled for the wedding when a
female Shaman cried out: "What a misery! Our khan is
crazy to give his daughter to a woman ! "
The khan was frightened and sent for Gazari Ganek, a cham
pion, to try the bridegroom in a contest. Hanhai hurried to
her steed. "What am I to do now ? How am I to hide my
bosom?" "Bind two silk kerchiefs around thy breast and tie them
tightly crosswise. All will be well then."
"What answer can I give if people ask why I do this ?"
"Say that thy breast was injured by thy horse, and thou must
keep it bound in this manner."
Gazari, the champion, did not seem so very heavy or tall, but
he was strong and stalwart. Hanhai dismounted, took off
her outer dress and stood in wrestler's trousers. Her horse
whispered to her, "I will snort and raise a cloud of dust; then
seize him, hurl him high above thy shoulder, and drive him
deep into the earth before thee."
When she went out to wrestle people asked, "Why is thy
breast bound?"
"My horse hurt me on the road and I had to bind up my
breast." "That may be so," said the people.
The two closed ; their strength was nearly equal. The horse
snorted, raised a terrible dust. Hanhai seized Gazari, hurled
him high above her shoulder and dashed him to the earth. He
fell head downward, and went into the ground to his shoulders.
She grasped his legs, pulled him out and threw him to one side.
"What kind of champion is this?" asked she.
The champion was very heavy, nine horses drew him away.
"I say that this bridegroom is a woman!" cried Shorgo, the

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 287
Shaman. "Let four men go to the sea and swim with her;
they will find out then what she is."
Four men hurried off to Narin Dalai (Narrow Sea). Hanhai
mounted and rode to the shore. The men were already in the
sea when she came in sight. The horse snorted. The waves
rushed high upon the shore and spray was dashed everywhere.
Hanhai undressed while the waves were roaring madly; no
one could tell whether she was man or woman. She swam out
very far from shore, swam quickly around the men, passed them.
No one could come near her or catch her, she swam with such
swiftness. At last she swam in directly to shore. The horse
snorted. Again the waves rose high. Waves and thick spray
were around her, and before the men could come to shore she
was out, dressed, and on horseback.
"What shall we say ?" asked the men of one another. "Shall
we say man or woman when the khan asks us ?"
"Of course say man," replied one of the four. And all agreed
to say man.
The khan asked the four, "Is the bridegroom a man or a
woman ? "
"A man," said the four.
Again Shorgo sang out: "This is a woman, this is no man !
This is a woman, this is no man !"
Hanhai now made a gray wolf by magic. Not far from the
khan's yurta a herd of five^ hundred horses were grazing. The
gray wolf sprang at the horses. When they saw the great crea
ture they were frightened and ran, stampeded to the yurta.
There was great terror among the people; they had to follow
and kill the gray wolf. Shorgo, the Shaman, was left alone.
Hanhai slipped into the place. There was a large barrel of
sour milk standing near. She seized the witch and put her
head first into the barrel.
When the khan came back from killing the wolf the bride
groom took the Shaman woman by the feet and stirred the milk
with her as with a stick.
"How is this?" asked Hanhai. "Instead of wood you mix
milk with an old woman. You stir milk with people's bodies !"
"What a wonderful thing!" exclaimed the khan. "I left

288 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
this old woman here alive and well. How did she fall into the
milk barrel?"
"I suppose," said the bridegroom, "that she crawled into the
milk from fright when the wolf was running after the horses."
" But what shall I do with her now ? " asked the khan. "This
woman was a Shaman ; people may think that I killed her; they
may say so."
"They will say so, surely," said Hanhai. "But give me thy
stallion, I '11 mount him, and carry the old woman off to her own
yurta very quickly."
The stallion was brought. Hanhai, who had driven a nail into
each of her boot heels, mounted and took the old woman. Shorgo,
the Shaman, swayed like a drunken person as the stallion rushed
forward. When Hanhai reached the old woman's yurta she
called to the Shaman's three daughters, "Come out and take
your mother; she is drunk!" Then she drove a nail into one
side of the horse with her heel. The girls ran out. The stallion,
made wild by the prick of the nail, sprang aside quickly; threw
both the old woman and the bridegroom. The bridegroom fell
under, was senseless, seemed dead; the horse ran off home
madly. Hanhai lay motionless ; she waited to hear what the daughters
would say. All three began to cry. "If only our mother had
died it would not have been so bad, but now the khan's son-in-
law is killed, what will happen ? What will become of us ?"
After a while the bridegroom recovered. "It appears," said
he to the old woman's daughters, "that I only fainted, but maybe
your mother is killed."
"We were only weeping for you. We can outlive the loss of
our mother," said the daughters.
Hanhai went back on foot to the khan's yurta. The khan was
glad to be freed from the suspicion of killing the Shaman woman.
"Now, father-in-law, we must have the wedding immediately,"
said Hanhai.
The wedding began again on the morrow, and lasted nine days
and nine nights. "What present will you give me?" asked the
bride of her father, when she was ready to go home with her
bridegroom.

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 289
The father gave her a horse ninety fathoms long with ears
nine ells high. The mother gave her a silver goblet ; the brother
a silk, magic kerchief, which had power to bring a dead man to
life and make a poor man rich.
The young couple started for home, and the people followed.
Hanhai fastened a larch tree to her horse's tail, and rode on
ahead to show the places for rest, refreshment, smoking, and
night camps.
On the seventh day Hanhai was almost in view of her hidden
kingdom. Before she came up to this covered country she said
to the young wife, "I must hurry home before thee; I am
sure there is bad management. I must put things in order, and
make ready to receive thee. Follow on my trail." She hurried
quickly to the boundary, removed the iron walls. The silver
dome, the grass, and forest all vanished.
Then, instead of going home directly, Hanhai rushed off to
her brother's grave at Red Mountain, raised the body, and took
it home with her. There was nothing left save the skeleton;
this Hanhai put in the yurta, which the bride must enter first, and
then the guests who followed with her. She put the bones on
the floor near the door, turned herself into a fly, sat in the room,
and waited.
The guests rode up quickly. Hanhai's father and mother
were so old now that they did not leave the yurta. Bride and
guests entered. The skeleton was on the floor before the
bride. "How quickly thou art asleep!" said the bride, and raising
the blanket she saw the skeleton, and was terribly frightened.
Hanhai, who had undressed before turning into a fly had thrown
the clothes near her brother's skeleton. The bride had power,
was possessed of great magic. "Since things are thus they must
be cured," thought she, and stepped thrice over the skeleton.
Then she took juniper leaves, put them into her silver goblet,
burned them, and walked thrice around the bones while the
leaves were burning. Next she threw leaves and coals into the
fire, and covered the skeleton head with the goblet turned bottom
upward, then she waved her kerchief thrice, saying each time
before she waved it, "How long thou art sleeping !" The third
19

290 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
time that Nalhun Taiji waved the kerchief Alamaldjin sprang
UP- "Somehow I have slept long," said he. Immediately he
commanded the people to come, and all feasted. They feasted
nine days and nine nights with great pleasure.
The fly slipped out of the yurta. Not far away was a forest,
and it flew there. The fly made itself into a hare in that forest.
Three days later Alamaldjin, while out to look for wild beasts,
saw many hare tracks. "There are hares in this place. We
should trap them," said he; and he went to set traps. The
next day, when he looked at his traps he found one hare caught,
but alive yet.
"See what a nice hare I have caught. I will tame it, and keep
it as a pet," said Alamaldjin ; and he took the hare to the yurta.
The hare seemed fond of Nalhan Taiji, ran after her whenever
she stepped out of the yurta.
"I will go and see what is happening in my pastures," said
Alamaldjin one day.
While he was away his wife began to make a silk shuba. The
hare came in, stood on its hind legs, and looked at her sewing.
This watching annoyed the young woman. At last she threw
pincers at the hare, wounded her nose and scratched it. When
the husband came home the hare was sitting near the door.
"Who beat this poor hare?" inquired Alamaldjin.
"I was sewing; it came near me too often, annoyed me; I
threw pincers at it," said the wife.
"Better kill the poor beast than torment it. Why torment it ?
I will not permit this. " And he began to beat his wife, beat her
soundly. "Do not beat me ! " screamed Nalhan Taiji. " I will not strike
the hare a second time."
The hare ran away then, ran outside. Alamaldjin beat on,
beat his wife more. She began to cry bitterly. The hare turned
to a woman and went into the yurta.
"What art thou doing, brother ?" cried she. "Thou art beat
ing the wife whom I brought thee. How much have I suffered
from thy folly already? How much have I passed through?"
Then she told the whole story. Told how her brother had died

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 291
twice; told all the wonders. Then came tarasun and a feast.
There was much conversation and great joy.
"I will not go far away from thee," said Hanhai to her brother
the next morning. "Make me a white stone yurta with silver
roof." He did so, and she lived ever after in that white stone
yurta which Alamaldjin Bogdo built for her.

292 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA

THE TWIN BOYS, ALTIN SHAGOY AND MUNGUN
SHAGOY
VERY, very long ago lived Hodoy Shon Mergen Khan. He
had a wife named Agwi Nogon ; he had also a sister, whose
name we do not know.
Hodoy Khan said one day, "I will build a great white, square
roomy yurta."
And he built for himself an immense house, in the upper part
of which he made many windows, and in the lower part many
doors. The main building was gold on the outside and silver
inside. The wings and rear buildings were silver.
Hodoy Khan made bazaars, he made thirty-three of them, and
thrice daily at each of these were exchanged gold and silver for
furs of all sorts; sable, beaver, and ermine were offered for
sale in them. He sold to twelve other khans, and to peoples of
seventy-three languages.
South of his golden yurta ten thousand cattle were at pasture ;
thousands and thousands of people were under his hand, and
obeyed him.
Hodoy loved his one sister very greatly, so he built a splendid
yurta for her, with many windows in the upper part and many
doors in the lower. She was not living long in this splendid new
yurta when the wife of a Mangathai came to her. This woman
was a lying, deceitful, old flat-nose, who began to persuade the
khan's sister to marry her son, a hundred and eight headed
Mangathai. "My brother is very stern," said Hodoy's sister. "He is chief
of the thirteen khans; I do not wish to disobey him. He will
not let me marry ; he wants me to live in this house where I am,
and be near him."
The mother went away after these words. "I will put an end
to Hodoy Khan," said she in her own mind. She went out to the
broad steppe, the open country, and got a plant which makes all
people who eat of it swell up, but does not otherwise injure them.

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 293
"Eat this," said she to the khan's sister; and foolishly she ate
it. Then she began to swell up, and was terribly frightened.
"Nothing can cure you, or save you," said the Mangathai
woman, "but the liver of Shara Nagoy (Yellow Dog). Tell your
brother to go for it."
She went then to her brother, and said : "I am sick, very sick."
"What hast thou seen in dreams ?" asked Hodoy Khan.
"I saw in a dream that Yellow Dog lives beyond nine mountain
ranges, and that if I eat his liver I shall be well ; if not, I shall
continue to swell and shall die surely."
"I have always told thee," said the brother, "that Shara
Nagoy is a great friend of mine ; how canst thou eat my friend's
liver?" "I tell thee my dream," replied the sister.
The sister went home. Hodoy Khan saddled a red horse that
was ninety fathoms long and had ears three ells high ; he mounted,
took his bow with its quiver, and rode away with all swiftness.
He rode and rode, but still he was far from Yellow Dog's kingdom.
Then he made his horse into a flint chip, put the chip in his pocket,
made himself into a wolf, ran on and on, but the wolf could not
reach Yellow Dog's kingdom. He traveled till a great swamp
was before him, then he turned himself into a falcon, flew and
flew far; flew over the great swamp and over a wet meadow.
After that he turned himself into a fox, and raced on, raced far
beyond that. Still the fox could not go to Yellow Dog's kingdom.
Now Hodoy took his own form again and went toward Ulan
Hada, a mountain which seemed to touch the sky. He could not
pass over that mountain, so he tried to go around it, but found
at one side a stream of blood flowing down straight in front of
him. This blood was from people who had fallen and killed
themselves while trying to climb that mountain.
"How are we to pass this mountain?" asked Hodoy of his
horse. "We must go back eighty versts," said the horse. "Then I
will rush forward with all my might. But hold thou to me
firmly." They went back; the horse rushed forward, sprang, reached
the top, crossed the mountain, went down on the other side, and

294 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
went farther, but could not reach Yellow Dog's land for a long
time. They came to the boundary at last, and crossed it. Yellow
Dog heard them approaching, and began to call to them, to
attract, and to draw them on by his magic.
When Yellow Dog called Hodoy's horse stuck his feet in the
earth and resisted, held back with all his strength. The wind
made by Yellow Dog raised Hodoy's skirts above his head and
was dragging them off. The power that drew him on was tearing
the clothes from his body. Now on his horse he rose to the sky
to get nails there. The seven sky smiths gave him the nails, and
he nailed his skirts to the saddle behind and in front.
Yellow Dog then began to howl, and all the nails were drawn
and dropped out of the saddle. All the trees in the forest round
about fell to the earth from the howling. The horse could resist
no longer. It rushed forward swiftly till Hodoy saw Yellow
Dog's open mouth before him ; the upper jaw touching the sky,
the lower jaw on the earth ; he moved not. Hodoy was pulled
off his horse and drawn into the mouth. He grasped an upper
tooth with one hand and pushed a lower tooth with his
foot. "Why come to fight me?" inquired Yellow Dog. "We were
friends, thou and I; for that reason I will leave thee alive."
He placed Hodoy in a deep pit, poured living water upon
him, that he might live and not die there. "Remain here,"
said Yellow Dog, "till a son of thine comes to rescue thee."
Then he placed a great heavy stone over the pit and left Hodoy
covered there, safely.
Next he turned to the horse, put all Hodoy's things on his
back, and said: "If thy master has sons, or daughters, take
these things to them."
The horse went home, but found no one there except Hodoy's
wife. The sister was gone ; the houses had vanished ; all was
gone. The young Mangathai had taken sister, houses, cattle,
people, and had left nothing behind but a poor little yurta, and
Hodoy's wife, living in it. Soon after twins were born to her;
their backs were of gold and their hearts were of silver. They
grew so fast that three days after their birth the skin of a sheep
three years old was too narrow to wrap around them.

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 295
The Mangathai by his magic knew that Hodoy's wife had
twins, and he said : "We must kill those two children."
A magpie flew into the yurta, and told the poor mother that
the wicked Mangathai was coming to kill her two children.
She took the boys, put them on the red horse, with provisions,
and rode away to a mountain. She left the boys on that moun
tain and went home again quickly. Soon after the Mangathai
came to her wretched little yurta.
"Thou hast two young sons," said he. "Where are they?
Where hast thou put them?"
One ewe with twin lambs was left to the woman. This ewe
was the last of her flock. She had taken the twin lambs and
burned them.
"Tell me where thy two boys are !" screamed the Mangathai.
"I threw them into the fire," said the mother, "because they
were shapeless, born prematurely."
"If they were thrown into the fire there must be bones left.
Where are their bones?"
"Here they are," said she, showing the bones of the little
twin lambs.
The Mangathai looked at them. "These are the bones of a
beast," said he, "not the bones of children," and he fell to beat
ing her with a club very cruelly.
She would tell nothing about her sons, except that the charred
bones were theirs. The Mangathai went home; then he sent
seven hundred men quickly to search in all places, to hunt for
the children and find them at any cost.
The men searched three days for the children. On the
fourth day the whole company was at the foot of the mountain
and the boys on the summit.
"Let us go down," said one boy to the other at midnight.
"Let us take provisions from those men who are hunting
for us."
When the boys reached the foot of the mountain the seven
hundred were sleeping. The brothers took two saddled horses
and two baskets of bomshoy (cream mixed with rye flour)
and went back to the mountain top. They sent home the red
horse, ate bomshoy, and started ; rode away southward ; escaped

296 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
on the two small horses. The seven hundred could not find
them, and went back empty handed.
The brothers rode on and on till they reached a broad meadow.
At one side of the meadow was a poor little hut with a big
smoke rising out of it. They tied their horses to the hitching-
post and went into the hut. There they saw a gray old man,
and a little old woman sitting by the fire, but no child was
there. "We are childless," said the man and the woman; "be our
children. Whose sons are ye ? Where is your birthplace ?"
"We were born on Ulan Hada. We know not our father or
mother. We are willing to be your children."
The boys let out their horses and sat down to eat. The next
morning they went off with the old man to herd sheep. While
following the sheep they saw wild goats racing around through
the forest. "What beasts are those?" asked the brothers.
"If a man is a master at shooting he kills them; they are good
to eat," said the old man. "If he is not a master he looks at
them, and does nothing."
The next day the old man made bows and arrows, and gave
them to the twin brothers. "Shoot," said he. They shot, and
killed many goats. The old man and woman dressed and cooked
the flesh gladly.
Farther on in the forest was a house. "What is that?"
asked the boys of the old man and woman.
"Small boys like you must not look into that house," said the
old people.
"Why not ?" asked they. "Any man may look in, or he may
enter." The next day, when out herding, they left the sheep, and went
into the house. Inside were two hundred men, one half of them
crying, the other half laughing.
"Why are ye shut up here ?" asked the brothers. "Why are
some of you laughing, while others are crying ? "
"Those who are crying will be eaten to-day by the Man
gathai; those who are laughing will be eaten to-morrow. The
Mangathai comes every day to eat people. Do ye go away
quickly."

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 297
"We have no fear of that Mangathai," said the boys. "What
will ye give us if we kill him?"
"One half of our gold and one half of our cattle."
"When the Mangathai comes we will be here. Shut the door,
and bar it firmly. Do not let him enter."
The two boys turned into two bees, one above the door, and
one at the side of it. When the Mangathai knocked the people
answered, "We '11 not let you in!"
"Who taught you to keep me out?"
"No one."
"If you do not let me in at the door, I '11 come down through
the smoke-hole ! " said the Mangathai in a rage, and he started
to climb to the smoke-hole, then the two bees went one into
one ear, the other into the other ear of the Mangathai, and
stung the brain in him till he died in great torment.
The two hundred men gathered wood, burned the Mangathai,
and scattered his ashes; then they brought meat with tarasun,
and feasted the brothers. The next day they gave half their
gold and half their cattle to the boys, who sent all this wealth
to their mother's yurta. They went back then to the old man
and woman, and said this to them:
"We are the sons of Hodoy Khan. We must go to our parents.
We can live with you no longer."
The old people cried, and begged, but the brothers went home
in spite of their tears. They found the gold in their mother's
yurta, and the cattle at pasture near by.
"Where is our father?" asked they.
"Thy father was killed long ago while away from home
fighting," said the mother.
"Where was he killed?"
"I will not tell, for you are too young yet to hear of this."
After that she boiled milk for them. When it was boiling they
seized her, thrust her hands into the milk, and said : "Tell us
now where our father is." Then she told all that the red horse
had told her. "He is in Yellow Dog's kingdom where a great
stone confines him," said Agwi Nogon.
The two brothers mounted their horses straightway and rode
to Yellow Dog's kingdom. When they were near that great

298 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
kingdom Yellow Dog heard them coming and pulled them in
by his magic, and when they were close enough, he asked :
"Whose sons are ye?" They told him. "I was always a
friend of your father," said Yellow Dog, " but his sister forced
him to come here to kill me, so I put him in a pit, and placed a
heavy stone over him. Draw him out of that pit, and take him
home to his own place."
The stone was very heavy. The elder of the twins raised it
a little, the younger raised it higher, with great effort, and then
they rolled it to one side completely. Their father was won
drous to look at. His hair had grown out through his cap ; his
toe-nails had gone through his boots, and his finger-nails through
his gloves. He was barely alive when they freed him.
A raven was flying from the north, it was flying toward them
with great speed. When she came near, they called out to her :
"Bring the Water of Life. Bring it quickly !"
The raven flew away, and wherever she found that water,
she brought back her beak full, and poured it over Hodoy. He
revived at once, became youthful, shook himself and stood
up. "How long I have slept !" said he.
He begged Yellow Dog then to go with him and his two sons
to punish the Mangathai, and kill him.
Yellow Dog agreed and they started off together. When
Hodoy was near home he sent his sons to their mother, and
went with his friend to meet the Mangathai. Not far from the
Mangathai's house Hodoy Khan saw his own cattle, and among
them a bull that in fighting had lost one horn and one eye.
They met two herdsmen and asked :
"Have ye not seen any strange cattle? Ours ran away
from us."
The herdsmen gave no answer. Hodoy and Yellow Dog
broke the necks of those herdsmen. The two friends went on
farther, and saw Hodoy's horses. Again they met two herdsmen,
and Hodoy asked: "Have ye seen my horses?" They gave
no answer, and received the same death as the other two.
Next they met two women driving seventy small calves.
These women did not answer questions put to them, and they
were killed also.

MONGOL MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES 299
When the friends were near the house of the Mangathai they
turned into two immense dogs of great strength, and became
of the very same age. Everything was bright at the Man
gathai's yurta, gleaming. Guards would not let in the strange,
dreadful dogs ; the dogs tore the heads off those guards, and then
walked into the yurta very boldly.
The Mangathai was sitting at the left side of the room, his
wife was at the side opposite, and was kneading a rawhide.
The dogs began smelling around.
"Such immense dogs," said the Mangathai, "must belong to
a very rich man; give them something to eat. It may serve
us to feed them."
When food was given the dogs fought for it savagely. The
Mangathai tried to quiet them. The dogs fell on him. He
rushed from the house, and ran off to save himself. The two
dogs followed and attacked him outside. Yellow Dog tore him
to pieces, ate him up where he killed him, devoured every bit
of his body.
When Yellow Dog had finished the Mangathai, the two
friends took their own forms immediately. "Now," asked they
of the Mangathai's wife, "which wilt thou have as a present,
seventy horse tails, or seventy sharp stakes?" She answered
not a word. They took her by the hair then, and dragged her
to a place where three roads met, nailed her alive to a very
great larch tree, poured the Water of Life on her so that she
might survive every torment, and live on for countless years,
unable to die. Then they put in front of the tree two casks, on
one was a blunt knife, on the other a pair of dull scissors. On
the tree they wrote this inscription : "When a man passes here
he must cut, with the knife, a piece of flesh from this woman's
body; when a woman goes by she must use the dull scissors
in cutting."
Each time that flesh was cut from the woman a new piece
grew quickly, taking the place of the old one cut off by the
knife or the scissors.
Hodoy now drove home all his cattle. Yellow Dog went
with him, and they had a great feast; a sea of drink and a
mountain of meat for all present. Then he gave half of his

300 A JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN SIBERIA
cattle and riches to Yellow Dog, and conducted him homeward
with honor. "We shall be friends," said he, "from this day
forth, and forever."
The next day Hodoy summoned all his people and said: "I
have conquered the Mangathai, and these are my two sons."
Among the guests was one old man, white bearded to the knees.
"I will give names to thy sons if thou wish," said this old man.
Hodoy gave permission.
"The elder will be called Altin Shagoy, Gold Knee Cap, the
younger Mungun Shagoy, Silver Knee Cap," and so it was.

NOTES

NOTES
1V4Y collection of Buriat myths and folk-tales is small. The
work should have been done years ago. I found many incom
plete stories and fragments of myths, and am convinced that during the
past five decades a large amount of rich Mongol material has been lost.
The collection of the folk-lore of the different peoples of the world
should not be neglected, for it is of great value. It is the entire stock
of wisdom accumulated by the unlettered masses of mankind in all
ages. Like language, it is the product neither of one mind nor a given
number of minds, but of all the various groups which together form
humanity. Like language, it is property bequeathed by anonymous
ancestors or predecessors. As there is no nation, tribe, or group of
persons without language, there is none without folk-lore, which in a
broad sense is the fruit of the intellectual activity of men before they
are modified by what is called education, and represents their religion,
philosophy, and literature, if the latter term may be used with reference
to people unacquainted with letters.
The term "Folk-lore " first appeared in 1846. Mr. Thorns, in a letter
to the "London Atheneum " dated August 12 of that year, signed Am
brose Merton, proposed it, adding, "Remember I claim the honor of
introducing the epithet Folk-lore, as Disraeli does that of introducing
Fatherland into the literature of this country." The term has, I be
lieve, no exact equivalent in other languages. The words more nearly
corresponding to our folk-lore refer only to that part of it included in
stories or tales, such as the German marchen; the French conies; the
Russian skazlci; the Bohemian pohadki; and the Magyar meselc.
I think no language except the English has a word that describes the
result of the whole mental activity of uneducated men. The Russians
have a term as broad as the English, Narodnoe tvorchestvo, meaning
people's creativeness. This phrase describes the activity, while ours
gives the result of the activity.
The folk-lore of the great nations of antiquity, the Greeks and
Romans, is lost to us in its popular form, which we can only infer from
what we find preserved in literature, religion, and art. The folk-lore
of the Kelts, Teutons, and Slavs has come to us preserved by the un
educated people. Keltic folk-lore from Irish and Welsh sources has

304 NOTES
entered largely into the poetry and imaginative literature of western
Europe. The folk-lore of Germany has had great influence on national
literature and music. By a happy chance the Scandinavian branch of
Teutonic folk-lore was preserved by Iceland, and preserved in its most
developed form, — one in which it more nearly approaches the maturity
of Grecian mythology than that of any other folk-lore in Europe.
The folk-lore of the Aryans of India is preserved in the Vedes and
the great poems, the Maha Bharata and the Ramayana, and exists in
a rich growth of popular lore, only a part of which is yet collected.
What there is in Persia in a modern form is unknown ; of the ancient
stories the Shah Nameh, or Book of Kings, is the great storehouse.
The Slavs, the most numerous of the Aryan race in Europe, present
the most interesting field possible for the philologist, and no division
of the race has a richer or more beautiful stock of folk-lore.
Folk-lore, though interesting in many directions and of the utmost
value, — for taken together with language it furnishes us with a docu
mentary history of the human mind, — is undoubtedly of most impor
tance in what may be called its religions, meaning by religions theories
of the universe and man's place in it.
The first five myths in this volume are not considered as myths by
the Mongols, but as true descriptions of the Creation, the destruction
of evil creatures, and the preparation of the world for its present in
habitants. They are for the Pagan Buriats what the Bible is for Chris
tian peoples. Esege Malan is the Creator. To destroy the harmful
creatures which inhabited the earth, Gesir Bogdo, his grandson, leaves
heaven and is born of woman. The Iron Hero is created for the pur
pose of aiding Gesir Bogdo. When the earth is purified and inhabited
by man, Mindiu appears.
MINDIU QUBUN NOYAN
Page 105
The story of the birth of Mindiu Qiibun Noyan, whose father was
one of the fifty-five Tengeris, is interesting as having parallels in many
mythologies. The spirit of the god enters into a hailstone which falls
to the earth and is swallowed by Meluk Shin. In one version of this
myth the hailstone falls on Meluk Shin's head. In due time a son is
born. This son of a heavenly Tengeri establishes the Mongol religion.
He instructs the people, tells them to whom they are to pray, and what
offerings are most acceptable to the gods. He consecrates the first
Shamans and teaches them how to offer sacrifices.

NOTES 305
In Greek mythology, Helena, the heroine of Troy, is the daughter of
Leda and of Zeus, the over-arching heaven, with all its light. Leda
after her death was raised to the rank of a divinity. No such honor
was given Meluk Shin, but her son is a god, or, at least, prayers are
offered to him and he is supposed to answer them.
Among the Algonkin Indians there is a myth of the Earth-maiden
who becomes a mother when looked upon by the sun. She gives birth
to a daughter who is called Wakos ikwe, the fox woman. In time Wakos
ikwe gives birth to a great hero, the benefactor of aboriginal man in
America, the food-giver. This benefactor's name has not been changed
or its meaning forgotten; he is known to be that warm air which, in
fine weather, we see dancing and quivering above the earth, — that
same hot, dancing air which Mother Earth gave to Esege Malan.
THE BURNING OF THE DEAD
Page 101
It is almost certain that in Mongol mythology there was once a long
myth about the Cuckoo from which we could get some idea of why this
bird is connected with the burning of the dead. Prom the time that
the cuckoo ceases to sing in August till its first song in spring no one
who dies is burned. The Mongols do not know why this is. To ques
tions asked the old men in the Buriat land, the answer was always the
same: "Mindiii Qiibun told us when and how to burn our dead."
The cuckoo appears in many of the myths in this volume, and usually
in connection with bringing the dead to life. When the Iron Hero is
killed and thrown into the Black Misty Sea the cuckoo appears, and
before her power the sea vanishes. When the skeleton is taken from
the cask she sings as she moves around it. When she reaches the head
the third time the Iron Hero springs up. When Hanhai is trying to
bring her brother to life, she reads in her book that she must ask a
certain cuckoo to aid her.
A Buriat will never kill or shoot at a cuckoo.
THE MORNING STAR
Page 124
There was once a Mongol myth about Solobung Yubiin, the morn
ing star, but, so far as I could find, only fragments of it remain.
In the religious system of the Buriats the morning star is a great
personage, the son of Esege Malan the Creator. Solobung Yubiin is
Z\J

306 NOTES
benevolent ; if properly propitiated he will grant increase of crops and
of cattle. But the offerings to him must be made at the dawn of day,
and the dance in his honor must continue from sunset till daybreak.
Solobung Yubiin, the Lucifer of the Latins, has in Mongol myths
much the same character as in the myths of the Indians, especially in
those of the Modocs and Delawares. The Modocs have a very long
story which contains much valuable material. In this story the morn
ing star appears as the attendant spirit of the sun. (Introduction to
"Myths and Folk-lore of the Russians, Western Slavs, and Magyars.")
In Delaware myths the morning star often assists people by bringing
daylight quickly. In Yana myths the morning star, Halai Auna, and
the evening star, Paiowa, are the daughters of Wakara, new moon.
("Creation Myths of Primitive America.")
A SHAMAN STORY
Page 111
The Buriats believe that the spirit can leave the body and return to
it, even after having been away several days. Many of our Indian
tribes have the same belief. When in the Indian Territory an old
man of the Sauk tribe told me of the many countries he had seen "with
his spirit," stating also that his spirit was not happy when away from
the body, for it feared that something would happen to the body and
it could not return. In India where this conception is universal among
the native peoples, a "wise man" will say "I am going to such a vil
lage or town." He finds where his body will be safe, lies down and
apparently falls asleep, then the spirit leaves the body, makes the long
journey and returns. When the man wakens he describes accurately
places which he knew nothing about previous to his spirit journey.
The Malays do not like to waken a sleeper, lest they may harm him by
disturbing his body while his spirit is away.
BURIAT BURIAL OF THE DEAD.
Page 102
For three days after death the spirit remains near the body. .It is
lonely and sad, and is sorry to go from among the living. The Buriats
think that when a mother dies her spirit hovers around in the mountains,
returning to its home from time to time.
Professor Mooney of the Bureau of Ethnology notes a similar belief
among the Cherokee Indians. (Journal of American Folk-lore, Vol.

NOTES 307
XIII.) "When a member of a family dies, it is believed that the spirit
is loath to leave the scenes of life and go alone upon the long journey
to the Darkening Land in the west."
GESIR BOGDO
Page 127
The idea of a man's life being in one place and his body in another
is common to many mythologies. In Mongol tales, no matter how the
man is slaughtered or cut up, he does not die until his life is found and
destroyed. This idea runs through Buriat mythology, and there are
few myths in which it does not appear. The same conception is found
in both Keltic and Slav mythology. There is a well-known Russian
myth called "Koshchei Without Death." Koshchei was not deathless.
His death was in the world but "in a place apart from him." There
is a good illustration of the idea in "Phakir Chand," in "Folk-tales of
Bengal," by Rev. Lai Behari Day; also in "The Herding of Cruachan,"
in "Folk and Hero Tales from Argyllshire," by Rev. D. Maclnnes;
and in the Norse tale of "The Giant who had no Heart in his Body."
The idea frequently occurs in the myths of our North American
Indians. It seems to be explained by the fact that these tales deal with
the adventures of non-human heroes. Whatever the names of the
heroes are at present, the original heroes were not men.
Indian mythology sheds light upon this idea. There are myths
which still preserve the primitive names of the characters. In a myth
told me by the Warm Spring Indians of Oregon the conflict is between
the North Wind and the South Wind. In a Wintu myth the heroes
are Rain and Snow.
In a very beautiful myth, found among the Modoc Indians, who live
near Klamath Lake, the chief personage is Winter, or SnowTmaker,
whose heart is hidden away at a distance. The heart is found by
Winter's enemy, Heat. This enemy burns Snow-maker's heart and
he dies.
When the real heroes are known we find the myth accurate and
truthful. It is only when the heroes are looked upon as men and
women that they perform impossible deeds, — deeds which only one of
the forces of Nature could perform if it had the volition, and desire of
a person.

308 NOTES
THE IRON HERO
Page 164
The stubborn battles fought by the heroes of Buriat mythology are
strikingly similar to those fought by mythologic Kelts. Buriat heroes
often fight nine days and nine nights. They tear off all the flesh from
each other's backs with their hands and from each other's breasts with
their teeth, wherever they press their feet they knock out earth to the
size of a calf, they make hills and valleys, "where there was a hill there
is a valley, where there was a valley there is a hill."
Gaelic heroes fight till they make soft ground hard and hard ground
soft, they make high places low and low places high, they bring cold
spring water through hard gravelly ground. Clods the size of a bull
shoot out from under their feet. Usually the battle lasts for a day and
a year, and each day is a day of fierce struggle.
In Indian myths struggles for supremacy are not decided by fight
ing, as in Aryan and Mongol myths, but by trials of skill, strength, and
dexterity. The opponents always bet their heads, and the head of the
losing party is cut off at once.
HUNKUVAI Page 206
A prominent characteristic of Buriat myths is the wisdom of the
horse, which in many instances is sent from heaven in answer to prayers.
These wonderful stallions of Buriat mythology are different in some
respects from the steeds in Aryan myths ; they have the same appear
ance always, whereas in Aryan myths the steed when taken from the
stable or pasture is often either a miserable mangy colt or a shaggy-
haired, crooked-legged mare; its wonderful power and beauty being
made manifest only when in action.
The god-given stallion of the Buriats is of enormous size, and
travels with such speed that "he can reach in one day a place so far
distant that a boy of five years of age would be sixty when at the end
of the journey, and a full-grown man would die on the road." Some
times the horse foresees the death of his master and warns him.
The steed which the Iron Hero rides is always spoken of as "the
blue stallion of the sky." In most instances the color of the stallion is
mentioned, and not infrequently it is blue or red. Probably in the
original story these steeds were clouds. In Hungarian myths the food

NOTES 309
of the steed is glowing coals. There are Hungarian myths in which
little, if any, doubt is left that the steed is lightning. It was a steed of
this kind that carried Cahal, son of King Conor, to Striker's castle, a
place to which no ship could go (" Hero-Tales of Ireland ").
BRINGING TO LIFE
Page 170
Bringing to life is one of the most ordinary acts in Mongol as well
as in other mythologies : usually where there are hundreds of skeletons
and many piles of dry bones, the Mongol hero sprinkles them with the
Water of Life taken from a spring near a silver-leafed aspen tree;
immediately the bones assume their old connection and take on flesh,
and the men rise to bless their benefactor. When the hero himself is
killed, restoring life is more difficult. For several days the wife, sister,
or friend must pray to the Heavenly Burkans. Often the Water of
Life is far away, and to procure it a long and dangerous journey must
be made. Usually the cuckoo assists. She sings around the body,
beginning at the feet. When she reaches the head the first time flesh
comes on the skeleton, the second time breath enters the body, and
when she reaches the head the third time the hero springs up.
In Gaelic mythology, if the hero has been dead long the bones are
collected, or if they have fallen into dust the dust is gathered up ; some
one strikes the bones or the dust with the rod of enchantment or
Druidic switch, and immediately the hero rises up as well and strong
as ever.
In the myth tales of the Iroquois Indians the bones of hundreds or
thousands of people are found lying in a heap. The hero pushes a
near-by hickory tree as if to throw it on them, crying at the same time,
"Rise up ! Rise up ! or the tree will fall on you." The bones assume
their old arrangement, take on flesh, and the multitude rise up, thank
their benefactor, and each man returns to his home.
Among the Yana Indians of California there are several methods
for restoring life, sometimes it is done by kicking or turning over a
corpse with the foot, sometimes by boiling one hair or the heart, fre
quently it is accomplished by the stroke of a twig from a red rose
bush. In Modoc mythology, when the hero has been dead many hours or
perhaps days the morning star calls out to him, "Rise up ! Rise up !
why sleep so long?"

310 NOTES
THE WORLD BEFORE THIS
Page 130
In Mongol myths we find a conception of "a world before this world,"
a common conception in the Creation myths of the Indians of the
Pacific coast, in some of which the idea is worked out with great detail
and beauty. But the "first people" of the Wintu and Yana and other
Indian tribes of the coast and of Mexico, the people who occupied
"that world before this," are unlike the "first people" of the Buriats.
With the Indians the first people lived for untold ages in perfect har
mony, then very slowly a change came, discord appeared, and in time
conflict, which grew in venom and continued till all the first people,
except a very small number, were turned into the various kinds of
living creatures — beasts, birds, insects, trees, plants, etc. — that are
now, or ever have been, on earth.
Two enemies would meet and fight. When one was triumphant he
said to the vanquished, "Hereafter you will be nothing but a  ,"
and he mentioned what his enemy was to be, and at once the change
was accomplished.
With the Mongols the people of the earlier world were so wicked
that Esege Malan the Creator, and his grandson, Gesir Bogdo, deter
mined to destroy them. In one or two instances the destruction is
accomplished in the same way as described in the Indian myths, — for
example, Gesir Bogdo takes all power from the Raven; from being
a great personage he makes him the insignificant bird that he is to-day,
saying to him, "Hereafter you will be puny and weak, unable to harm
people." The first people were not Mongols, but Marat and Man
gathai, evil spirits.
ALTIN SHAGOY
Page 232
Mongol, Aryan, and Indian ideas agree as to the way a father should
treat the man who wishes to marry his daughter. In Gaelic myths the
suitor is given such tasks as thatching a byre with bird feathers, the
stem of each feather to be inwards and its point outwards ; catching a
steed that has never seen a blink of earth or air, etc. ("Folk and Hero
Tales from Argyllshire"). In Mongol myths the suitor is sent on a
dangerous journey to accomplish what is supposed to be an impossible
feat. In Indian mythology similar tasks are given by the father-in-law
tb the new son-in-law.

INDEXES

GENERAL INDEX

Abakumovitch leads an expedition to
Sibir (Siberia), 1628, IS.
A birthday in Siberia, 87.
Adaha Zayang, Buriat divinity, crea
tor of cattle, 46.
Alamaldjin and his twin sister, 271.
Alexander of Macedon, visits Yu
gria, 5.
Altin Shagoy, a myth, 232.
Altyn Khan, sends the first tea to
Russia, 15.
Amoor River, 13, 16, 32.
Arkokoff, his family, 80, 83.
Arsa, substance left after distilling
tarasun, 92.
Ashir Bogdo, 152, 161, 178.
Baiandai, an ex-convict post station,
55; description of, 78; soldiers
arrive, 79.
Baikal, 1, 3, 4, 15, 16, 17, 18, 44, 69,
71, 100.
Barguzin is founded, 16.
Baronye Tabin, first spirit in the uni
verse, 105.
Batu, grandson of Jinghis Khan, 1.
Beketoff, sent against the Buriats, 15.
Beriozoff, founds, 13.
Berkut, white-headed eagle, 100.
Bolhovski, first government official
sent to Siberia, 11, 12.
British in India, 2; allies of the Mon
gols, 3.
Buddhism, 50, 51.
Budung Yihe Ibi, Buriat divinity, 45.
Buga Noyon, Buriat divinity, 45.
Bugor sent to explore Lena River, 15.
Buhan Khan, mythical character, 97.
Bulugat, mythical character, 98.
Buriats, besiege Verholevsk, 15; con
flict with Russians, 16, 17, 22;
Buriat horsemen, 31 ; their houses,

35; their religion, 50; beyond the
Baikal, 97; burning of the dead,
101; burial, 102; ghost story, 113.
Burkans, Buriat gods, 43, 45, 49, 107.
Buruldai Bogdu, a mythical character,
No. I., 187; No. II., 196.
Cape Chukchi, easternmost point of
Asia, 16.
Chabukoff, envoy to Sibir, 8; enters
Sibir as master, 10.
Chronicle of Nestor, 5, 6.
Chukchi, natives of northeastern Si
beria, 16.
Chulkoff, leads an army to Sibir, 12 ;
captures the capital, 13.
Collecting myths, 38.
Creation, 121.
Cyprian, first bishop sent to Sibir, 14.
Danilo, of Moscow, an exile, 79.
Dejneff, leads an exploring party;
doubles Shelag Point ; first man to
discover the passage between the
Arctic and Pacific Oceans, 16.
Difficulties, of introducing a new re
ligion, 50.
Delquen Sagan Burkan, world white
god, Esege Malan, 105.
Ehe Ureng Ibi, Buriat divinity, 46.
Ejin, son of Fiery Heaven, 100.
Elantsin, post station, 67.
Epancha, a Tartar prince, 10.
Esege Malan, a Buriat god, 39, 46,
99; also called Baronye, 105, 122,
124, 127.
Esh, hedgehog, 124, 125.
Exile, 25, 35, 55, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81,
82, 83, 85.
Fort Balazansk established, 17.

314

GENERAL INDEX

Gaqui Guldief, a Shaman, 113, 114.
Gesir Bogdo, Buriat god, 39, 122;
No. I., 127; No. H., 130; No. HI.,
134.
Glukoff, sent to Sibir, 10; goes to
Moscow, 12 ; returns to Sibir, 12.
Gods of the Buriats, 118.
Gortchakoff (Peter), founds Pelym,
13.
Grand Moguls, masters of India, 2.
Great Britain, in India, 2; conquest
of India, 3.
Habaroff, explores the Amoor River,
16.
Hedgehog, a deity, 45.
Hogotskaya, post station, 56, 59, 78.
Homutooka, a post station, 24.
Hotogov Mailgan, Buriat goddess, 46.
House Ongons, 120.
Hulagu, grandson of Jinghis Khan, 1.
Hunkuvai and the horse with a round
head, 206.
Irkutsk, established, 17, 18; gymna
sium, 52, 77, 86, 91, 111, 113.
Iron Gates, pass in Ural Mountains, 5.
Iron Hero, creation of, 160, 164, 178.
Ivan the Terrible, entitles himself
Commander of Sibir, 7; sends Ku
chum a message, 8; sends force to
capture Yermak, 8, 10, 12, 13.
Ivan Veliki, sends Skryaba to subject
Yurgia, 6; adds Yugorski to his
titles, 7.
Jerdovski, a post station, 26.
Jinghis Khan, his birthplace, 2 ; ruler
of Russia, 37, 38.
Journey to the Buriats, 18.
Journey to the island of Olkhon, 53.
Kalym, the price paid for a wife, 93.
Kamchatka, added to Russia, 17.
Klamath River, myths, 6.
Koltso, associate of Yermak, 9; envoy
to Moscow, 10; killed, 11.
Kongoroff, rich Buriat, 85 ; names his
gods, 84, 85.
Kosaya Steppe, post station, 67.

Kosostep, post station, 75, 77.
Kublai Khan, grandson of Jinghis
Khan, 1.
Kuchum, captures Sibir, 7, 9, 10;
killed by Tartars, 13.
Kuda, (Where), a village of ex-convicts,
90.
Kurbski, leads troops to Yugria
(Sibir or Siberia), 7.
Kutul, a Buriat village, 68, 71, 75.
Lazareff, the Cross-eyed, 33; his
home, 36, 51, 53, 75, 77, 78.
Lena River, 14, 15, 25, 40.
Lvoff, founds Surgut on the Ob, 13.
Mahamet Kul, relative of Kuchum, 8;
taken to Moscow, 10.
Manshut, a "wise man," 39, 86, 87,
88, 89.
Mansureff, governs Sibir, 12.
Marriage, ceremonies of, 93.
Martyroff, discovers the Yakuts, 14.
Masalski, punishes Kuchum, 13.
Meluk Shin, mother of Mindiii, 105.
Mesatski, crushes Kuchum, 13.
Mikailoff, a pagan Buriat, 20, 21, 25;
his home, 27; a visit, 38, 40, 68,
86.
Minga Nudite Mila, mythical char
acter, 111.
Mongols, their origin and rule, 1, 2.
Mother Earth, a Buriat god, 39, 124.
Muravieff, 19, 68.
Novgorod counts Yugria as a posses
sion, 6.
Nur, a village on Olkhon, 71.
Obdovski, founded, 13.
Olkhon, island, 15, 51, 68, 69, 73, 74,
100.
Olzoni, post station, 42, 53, 54, 55,
83, 84, 111.
Ongons, household gods, 41, 85, 110.
Ostyaks, an Asiatic tribe, 10.
Ottomans, 3.
Pelym, founded, 13; first place to
which exiles were sent, 13, 14.

GENERAL INDEX

315

Perfilyeff, sent to force the Buriats to
pay tribute, 15.
Perskin, Curator of Irkutsk museum,
20, 21.
Pisemski, founds Tomsk, 14.
Pohakoff, founds Irkutsk, 17.
Popoff, editor of "The Eastern Re
view," 20.
Roboff sent in search of a northern
continent, 17.
Rogovitch, visits Yugria, 5.
Romanoff (Ivan and Vassili), first
exiles of rank sent to Siberia, 14.
Romanoff (Fedor), ancestor of the
founder of the Romanoff dynasty,
14.
Russia, establishes itself in Siberia,
14; becomes acquainted with Bu
riats, 14, 17 ; Russian language, 90.
Russianized Buriats, 57.
Sacred groves, 116.
Sacred trees, 117.
Sem Sosen, village in Olkhon, 71, 72.
Shah Mohammed, slain, 2.
Shaman, 42, 51, 69, 70, 89, 97, 98,
99, 101, 104, 105, 108, 109, 111, 115.
Sharau, mythical hero, 201.
Shauarok, a Buriat village, 33.
Shelag Point, doubled, 16.
Siberia, extent, 3 ; lostto Russia, 11, 21.
Sibir, name which preceded the name
Siberia, 4, 6, 13 ; first used as name
for whole country, 7, 8, 10; invested
by Karacha, 11, 12, 13.
Sickness, 70, 99.
Sojourn on the sacred island of Olk
hon, 73.
Starkoff, carries the first tea to Russia,
15.
Stroganoffs, receive grant of land on
the Kama, 7, 8, 9 ; their heirs, 9.
Sukin, extends Moscow rule, 12;
founds Tiumen and Tobolsk, 12.
Swans, three daughters of Esege
Malan, 98.
Tamarlane, his birthplace, 1; his
power, 1, 2.

Tarasun, making of, 92.
Tea, first taken to Russia, 15.
The Iron Hero, 39.
The Twin Boys, a myth, 292.
Tiumen, first Russian city built in
Sibir, 13.
Tobolsk, founded, 12; made chief
city, 13, 14.
Tohtamish, Khan of the Golden
Horde, murdered in Sibir, 6.
Tomsk, founded, 14.
Trahanistoff, founds Berizoff, 13.
Trans-Baikal Buriats, 99.
Tsar Fedor, sends Mansuroff to Si
beria, 12 ; sends first exiles to Sibir,
13.
Tumbinai, great-great-grandfather of
Jinghis Khan, 2.
Tyrtoff, founder of Tomsk, 14.
Ugri, same as Yugria, 4.
Uha Soldong, the golden sorrel, a
divinity, 46.
Uher, the Hill of Sacrifice, 44, 45, 86.
Uhurut, mythical ancestor of the Ve-
pholensk Buriats, 98.
Uligin Sagan Deda, revered pure earth,
a divinity, 45.
Undir Sagan Tengerin, the lofty clear
heaven, 45.
University of Siberia, 14.
Ural, mountains, 4, 5, 12.
Urga, capital of Setsen Khan, 16.
Usturdi, post station and town, 22;
arrival at, 29, 30, 36, 39, 41, 42, 44,
53, 86, 90, 109, 116.
Varhan Tulai Hubun, a mythical
character, 222.
Vassili Mihailoff, a young Buriat, 30,
48, 51, 86.
Vernolensk, its ignorant ispravnik, 90.
Yakuts, territory, 14, 15, 16 ; traveling
to Yakuts country, 25, 40, 53, 59, 79.
Yerente Khan and his son, a myth,
247.
Yermak, his origin, 9; meets the na
tives of Sibir, 10 ; sends Koltso to lay
Tsardom of Sibir at the feet of Ivan

316

GENERAL INDEX

the Terrible, 10; his death, 11, 12,
13, 17.
Yugria (Ugri), name for Siberia in the
eleventh century, 4; story of the
Yugrians, 5; pay tribute to Nov
gorod, 6, 7, 17.

Zakuska, Russian lunch, 56.
Zayahung Yihe Zayasha, Buriat di
vinity, 45.
Zayang Sagan Tengeri, Buriat di
vinity, 45.

INDEX OF INCIDENTS IN MYTHS

Arrow, obeys its owner, 142, 149, 167;
cuts trees, 168; scatters enemies,
199; with forty edges, 222; given
as a sign, 239, 258 ; sent to kill a sea
monster, 243 ; sent to cut an enemy
into seven pieces and cover the
pieces with seven mountains, 210.
Aspen tree, restores life and youth, 141,
146, 149, 155, 158, 234, 240, 262.
Blue Steed of the sky, 131, 145, 161,
167, 169; eight blue steeds, 218.
Boats made of bits of tamarack bark,
cross the sea and then become bits
of bark again, 132.
Book in which every event of its
owner's life is foretold, 156; found
in hero's liver, 164, 182, 184; found
in midriff, 206; taken from the
hero's forehead, 222; book of life
falls in at smoke hole, 233, 238, 278.
Boundary, on one side spring on the
other autumn, 179.
Boys, hurl stones so far that a man
must travel two days to reach the
place where they fall, 217; restore
mother's hand, eye, and foot, 219;
plot against mother, 230 ; pray for
three days and horses are sent
from heaven, 230; pray for horses
and outfit, and get them, 233;
thrown out by parents, 232.
Bull fights for his owner, 248.
Burkans make an Iron Hero and
breathe life into him, 160.
Cat renders great assistance to hero,
204.
Child whom only fire from heaven
can kill, 227.
Cold so great that horse droppings
turn to ice while falling, 168.

Cuckoo, 101; sings and the sea van
ishes, 173; assists in restoring life,
240, 275, 276, 277.
Dead men dance, 113.
Dog, gives hero a ring which accom
plishes whatever is required of it,
204.
Eagle assists hero in his escape from
the underground kingdom, 193; at
war with Mogoi Khan, 285.
Eagle's daughters, 242.
Enchantment, 251.
Evil spirits cast from heaven, 134.
Fighting, hero and Mangathai, 146,
149, 165, 172, 175, 181, 209, 237,
248, 281.
Forest so dense that the thinnest snake
could not squeeze through, 168.
Fox from heaven killed by an arrow,
239; steals shoulder-blade of hero,
276.
Frogs the size of a bullock, 261.
Gesir Bogdo comes to earth to destroy
evil creatures, 127, 135 ; full grown
when three days old, 254 ; to please
his wife turns himself into a horse,
gnaws grass and draws a plow, 159.
Golden stairs from earth to heaven,
243.
Hair with magic power, 262.
Hanhai, goes in search of her brother,
282; given task by father-in-law
who supposes her to be a man, 284 ;
feats to prove herself a man, 286;
brings her brother to life, 289.
Heat so great that horse droppings
turn to dust while falling, 168.

318 INDEX OF INCIDENTS IN MYTHS

Heavenly hero born of woman, 128,
130, 135.
Hedgehog, 123; curses bulls and
horses, 228.
Hero, begs Esege Malan for a horse,
188; makes himself and horse of
enormous size, 180 ; turns, to stone,
167, 183; turns himself and bride
to ravens, 185 ; goes to Yellow Dog,
244 ; curses the heavenly black
smiths, 244; makes himself old,
225; makes a stone mountain be
hind him, 261 ; goes to heaven for
aid, 261; prays three days to the
Heavenly Burkans, 220 ; drinks
spider oil and has no need of food,
247; poisons food by magic, 264;
goes to heaven for chains to bind
Yellow Dog, 268; brings a multi
tude of people to life, 247; makes
a journey to Yellow Dog's king
dom, 293 ; turns to a flea, 297.
Heroine, looks for insects in Hero's
hair, 223 ; goes to the sky to get aid
of the gods, 240 ; cannot escape, is
always *drawn back by magic, 139;
turns to stone, 236, 281.
Highest being orders his grandson to
come to earth and destroy evil
spirits, 130.
Hohodai Mergen (thunder), 151;
called upon to kill enemy, 210;
sent to kill a hero, 228.
Horse red as blood, 179; turned to
flint, 132, 155, 170, 182; pastured
with thirteen deer, gives hair to
protect them, 272; drops tears for
his master, 239.
Impaled on stakes, 180, 260, 217.
Journey so long that a boy of five
years of age would be sixty at the
end of the journey, 209.
Juniper, used for incense, 42, 162, 289.
Kerchief with power to bring the dead
to life, 177.

Lake of poison, 169.
Life in a place aside from the body,
in woodcocks, 149, 182; in sky
larks, 211; in a feather, 150; in
three birds, 226.
Looking back, 42, 158.
Magic cup, 158.
Mangathais, bad spirits who lived in
a world before this, 132, 133, 134,
etc.; goes to heaven to get Ashir
Bogdo's life, 108 ; upper jaw reaches
the sky, lower touches the earth, 183 ;
cuts slice of flesh from boy's thigh,
roasts and eats it, 216, 252, 280.
Mogoi Khan, a sea demon wars with
eagle, 243.
Perfect fool, throws hero over three
mountain ranges, 224.
Raven (ancient of), changed to harm
less bird, 138, 151, 181.
Red restoring larch tree, 220, 221.
Scissors which multiply cloth, 177.
Serpent with many lives, 184.
Shalmos, invisible spirits, 130, 131,
137, 183, 223.
Silver stairway to the sky, 158.
Spring from which horse never drank,
164.
Steed, given by Esege Malan, 127;
sent in answer to prayer, 139; of
terrible speed, 209; from the sky,
215; which can run three times
around the world before a cup of
milk, placed over a hot fire, boils,
235 ; red as blood, 249 ; sinks to the
earth to listen, 250 ; foretells his mas
ter's death, 250; gives advice, 267.
Sun and moon fall to the earth, 228.
Swans become women, 98, 125.
Tasks difficult of accomplishment
given to new son-in-law, 176, 242,
267, 284.
Traveling on the rainbow, 140.
Tree on which all religions are re
corded, 155.

INDEX OF INCIDENTS IN MYTHS 319

Uncle grinds up and eats the bones of
his nephew, 216.
Underground kingdom, 190, 195.
Valley filled with serpents, 168.
Water of Life, restores life, 149, 155,
158, 170, 177, 211, 213, 220, 228,
234, 240, 298.
Woman of sixty years of age, gives
birth to a child, 135, 186; gives

birth to twin boys, 196, 249,
271.
World before this, 206.

Yellow Dog, upper jaw touches the
sky, lower jaw grazes the earth,
rushes toward the sun, 218; draws
people into his mouth, 293, 294.
Yurta (Buriat house), hanging be
tween sky and first heaven, 155.