y impressive.
Such peaceful scenes, we thought, could never be the haunt of warlike
robbers. The flocks at last came home; the shouts of the shepherds ceased;
darkness fell; and all was quiet.

One by one the lights in the tents broke out, like the stars above. As the
darkness deepened, they shone more and more brightly across the
amphitheater of the encampment. The tent in which we were now sitting was
oblong in shape, covered with a mixture of goats' and sheep's wool,
carded, spun, and woven by the Kurdish women. This tenting was all of a
dark brown or black color. The various strips were badly joined together,
allowing the snow and rain, during the stormy night that followed, to
penetrate plentifully. A wickerwork fencing, about three feet high, made
from the reeds gathered in the swamps of the Aras River, was stretched
around the bottom of the tent to keep out the cattle as well as to afford
some little protection from the elements. This same material, of the same
width or height, was used to partition off the apartments of the women.
Far from being veiled and shut up in harems, like their Turkish and
Persian sisters, the Kurdish women come and go among the men, and talk and
laugh as they please. The thinness and lowness of the partition walls did
not disturb their astonishing equanimity. In their relations with the men
the women are extremely free. During the evening we frequently found
ourselves surrounded by a concourse of these mountain beauties, who would
sit and stare at us with their black eyes, call attention to our personal
oddities, and laugh among themselves. Now and then their jokes at our
expense would produce hilarious laughter among the men. The dress of these
women consisted of baggy trousers, better described in this country as
"divided skirts," a bright-colored overskirt and tunic, and a little round
cloth cap encircled with a band of red and black. Through the right lobe
of the nose was hung a peculiar button-shaped ornament studded with
precious stones. This picturesque costume well set off their rich olive
complexions, and black eyes beneath dark-brown lashes.

There were no signs of an approaching evening meal until we opened our
provision-bag, and handed over certain articles of raw food to be cooked
for us. No sooner were the viands intrusted to the care of our hosts, than
two sets of pots and kettles made their appearance in the other
compartments. In half an hour our host and friends procee