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 sphere complete in itself, removed from the rest of the world. In truth, it was a real mountain stronghold, accessible only with the greatest of difficulty. But in those days of ceaseless warfare when not only persons but communities as well were subjected to continuous attacks, the Tukholians were thankful for their isolation and preeminently because of it, were they able to continue to preserve their independent, ancient Rus, democratic form of government longer than the villages at the base of the Carpathian Ranges, all of which were now gradually passing into the hands of the booty-rich, privileged class of boyars.

The people of Tukhlia made their living mostly from breeding and pasturing domestic animals. Only the Tukholian valley where the village and hamlets were situated lent itself to agricultural cultivation. Here rich harvests of oats, barley and millet were reaped every year. In the upland downs and glades of the forest, which were not individually owned but the property of the entire community, grazed flocks of sheep, representing the chief treasure store of the mountaineers, supplying them with wool for their clothing and flesh for food.

In the woodlands adjacent to the villages the people pastured their cattle, but the rough, mountainous nature of the region forbade the raising of great numbers of these heavier, clumsier animals.

The Tukholians’ second most important source of supply was the forests. Not only were they well furnished with firewood and lumber for building purposes, but also were able to obtain from them an abundance of wild life, honey and fruit.

True, life in this rude mountainous woodland region was hard, exacting a continuous struggle with the savage forces of nature, snow, wild beasts, floods and the entire surrounding untamed primeval wilderness, but this struggle and the hardships of the life had been conducive to the development of a hardy, courageous and resourceful people whose freedom-loving