The tabuntshik, to whose care the taboon is intrusted, must be a man of indefatigable activity, and of an iron constitution, proof alike against the severest cold and the most burning heat, and capable of living in a constant exposure to every kind of weather, without the shelter even of a bush. It must be a matter of indifference to him whether he make his bed at night among the wet grass, or upon the naked earth baked for twelve hours by an almost vertical sim. In the coldest weather he can seldom hope for the shelter of a roof ; and though the hot wind blow upon him like the blast of a furnace, and his skin crack with very dryness, yet he must pass the greater part of his day in the saddle, ready at every moment to gallop off in pursuit of a stray steed, or to fly to the rescue of a young foal attacked by a ravenous wolf. The shepherd and the herdsman carry their houses with them. Their large waggons, that always accompany them on their wanderings, afford shelter from the weather, and a warm nest at night ; but these are luxuries the tabuntshik must not even dream of. His charges are much too lively to be left to their own guidance. His thousand horses are not kept together in as orderly and disciplined a fashion as those of a regiment of dragoons, and it may be doubted whether an adjutant of cavalry has to ride about as much, and to give as many orders, on a day of battle, as a tabuntshik on the quietest day that he spends in the steppe. When on duty, a tabuntshik scarcely ever quits the back of his steed. He eats there, and he even sleeps there ; but he must beware of sleeping at the hours when other men sleep, for, while grazing at night, the horses are most apt to wander away from the herd, and at no time is it more necessary for him to be on his guard against wolves, and against those adventurous dealers in horse-flesh, who usually contrive that the money wliich they receive at a fair shall c(misist exclusively of profit. During a snow-storm, the poor tabuntshik nmst not think of turning his back to the tempest ; this his horses are but too apt to do, and it is his business to see that they do not take fright, and run scouring before the wind.
The dress of a tabuntshik is chiefly composed of leather, fastened together by a leathern girdle, to which the whole veterinary apparatus, and a variety of little fanciful ornaments, are usually appended. His head is protected by a high cylindrical Tartar cap, of black lambskin, and over the whole he throws his sreeta, a large, brown, woollen cloak, with a hood to cover his liead. This hood, in fine weather, hangs behind, and often serves its master at once for pocket and larder.
The tabuntsliik has a variety of other trappings, of which he never divests himself. Among these, his harabnik holds not the least important place. This is a whip, with a short thick stem, but with a thongofteu fifteen or eighteen feet in length. It is to him a sceptre that rarely quits his hand, and Avithout which it would be difficult for him to retain his riotous subjects in any thing like proper order. Next comes his sling, which he uses like the South American lasso, and with which he rarely misses the neck of the horse whose course he is desirous of arresting. The wolf-club is another indispensable part of his equipment. This club, which mostly hangs at the saddle, ready for immediate use, is three or four feet long, with a thick iron knob at the end. The tabuntshiks acquire such astonishing dexterity in the use of this formidable weapon, that, at full gallop, they will hurl it at a wolf, and rarely fail to strike the iron end into the prowling bandit's head. The club skilfully wielded carries almost as certain death with it as the rifle of an American backwoodsman. A cask of water must also accompany the tabuntshik on every ride, for he can never know whether he may not be for days without coming to a well. A bag of bread and a bottle of brandy are likewise his constant companions, besides a multitude of other little conveniences and necessaries, which are fastened either to himself or his horse. Thus accoutred, the tabuntshik sallies forth on a mission that keeps his dexterity and his powers of endurance in constant exercise. His thousand untamed steeds have to be kept in order with no other weapon than his harabnik, and this, it may easily be supposed, is no easy task. His greatest trouble is with the stallions, who, after spending their ten or twelve years on the steppe, without having once smelt the air of a stable, or felt the curb of a rein, become so ungovernable that the tubuntshik will sometimes threaten to throw up liis office, unless such or such a stallion be expelled from the taboon.