Page:The history of medieval Europe.djvu/92

 56 THE HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE mouths, and chins ; also their noses were flat, their ears were large, their eyes were oblique and slit like those of a China- man, and were dark and sunken. Their cheek-bones were prominent, and what hair they had — for their beards were scanty — was coarse, stiff, and black. The nature of the country accounts in large measure for the nomadic life of these Asiatics and for their never Th ., progressing to a higher stage of civilization. They graphical live to-day much the same life as two thousand environmen y ears a g Q j n tfie Caspian- Aral Basin the evapo- ration exceeds the rainfall, the two seas have shrunk to less than their original limits, and the rivers of the region fail to reach the ocean. The temperature varies from n8° Fahrenheit in the shade to 31 below zero, and the wind that drives the sand about in summer whirls the snows to and fro in winter. Deserts of sand or gravel predominate, and only a very small fraction of the region is fit for agri- culture. But in the south the salt steppes afford a good winter pasturage, though in summer they dry up and are uninhabitable from lack of water. Far to the north, how- ever, are well-watered grass steppes on the edge of Siberia. These provide abundant summer pasture, but are under deep snow in winter. Evidently the nomad must drive his flocks and herds back and forth each year, seeking his winter camp in the south when the snows begin to force him from, the northern grass steppes, and moving northward again when summer heat has dried up the luxuriant and nourishing early spring growth of the salt steppes. He natu- rally spent most of his life on horseback. Cattle could only with difficulty endure the sort of life just described, so that he chiefly kept sheep and horses, and sometimes camels. He ate little either of meat or grain and vegetables, but lived mainly upon milk products. Each man kept a number of mares, for his favorite food and drink was the nutritious k umiz, or fermented mare's milk. Horse's blood also ap- peared upon his restricted menu. When not on horseback, the nomads lived in tents, and wandered together in bands of a suitable size for a single