While traveling in the wind and snow, among the white mountains, there was a gray and yellow felt tent suddenly appearing in the low-lying valley sheltered from the wind.
"Friends of Kaibe! This is our winter camp in Yamabe!..."
"Well, praise the Lord God!"
Zuvalo, the exploration captain, stood on the top of the mountain and looked from a distance. Hundreds of tribesmen were busy in the winter camps in the valley, and it was unclear what they were doing. Groups of gray reindeer gathered in the valley.
On the periphery, sometimes they spread out looking for food aimlessly, and sometimes they looked left and right, looking for the leader of the group.
Under the guidance of the hunters, the children of the mountain tribe rode and played on the relatively docile reindeer. They have been familiar with these powerful creatures and the techniques of domesticating the reindeer since they were young. In fact, the children of each tribe must be five years old.
Riding deer at the age of seven, herding at the age of seven, and learning rope roping, reindeer and simple "deer fighting" at the age of ten... It is not until the children reach the age of fifteen and learn this complete set of survival skills that they are considered adults in the tribe.
, has the qualification to marry an independent wife.
"O Lord God! Your Majesty's Divine Revelation!... Could it be that the four-legged beasts galloping in Your Majesty's Divine Revelation are these giant deer with long horns?!..."
The exploration captain Zuvalo's eyes widened as he approached these strong reindeer that were not afraid of people and could be ridden. These adult male reindeer were about one meter and one meter tall, which was actually taller than the Japanese horses of this era.
.They are physically strong, good at running, and can withstand extreme cold. Male reindeer weigh about 300 pounds and have very strong long horns on their heads.
Zuvalo observed carefully for a while and found that this "giant deer" had a lot of hair, even on its hooves. The ears of the "giant deer" were particularly small, and their eyes were very bright, and they seemed to be there.
Observe the person in front of you.
During this era, tribes in the Eurasian polar regions, from the Scandinavian tribes in the west to the Kamchatka tribes in the east, domesticated reindeer on a large scale. However, in the polar regions of the North American continent, the scale of reindeer was
It is much smaller and is only found in the Inuit tribes in the far north.
The exploration fleet came all the way west along the warm Gulf of Alaska, blocked by coastal mountains. It was indeed the first time that we learned that the reindeer that dominates the Arctic can be domesticated and ridden!
"God bless you! Friends of Yamabe, can this... ride these giant deer and run and fight?..."
"Haha! Friend Kaifu, do you want to ride a reindeer to fight?... Reindeer are not meant for riding! Their backs are very fragile, and they can easily get injured when running with a strong man on them! And they can't even run while carrying things on their backs.
Not as fast as pulling something..."
Hunting captain Mu Quan blinked his eyes, smiled and shook his head. The Haibu leader in front of him seemed to be particularly fascinated by the rideable beasts and could not forget them. Could it be that he had been living on the island and had never seen reindeer and horses?
…
"Guide from the ancestors! Those who are truly suitable for riding and fighting are the 'muri' (muri) and 'horses' of the horse tribe in the west, west, west, west!"
"The Lord God witnesses! What did you say? 'Muri', 'horse'?...What does a horse look like?"
"Oh! Horses, with long bodies and shoulders taller than reindeer, are smart and obedient, and can carry riders on migrations... According to the ancient rumors passed down by the tribe from generation to generation, there are countless horses in the far west and further to the southwest.
The horse herding tribe lives in the warm south with abundant water and grass!…”
"Ah! Countless horse herding tribes, countless horses!..."
Hearing this, the exploration captain Zuvalo's eyes widened instantly, his heart was surging, and he was so excited that it was difficult to express in words!
"Muri, Muri, horse!..."
He repeated over and over again the Tungus word "muri" that came from the Ewen people and horse tribe. And if they continue to go west and reach the Ewenki tribes on the edge of the Mongolian cultural circle, the horse in their mouths,
It’s the Mongolian word for “mori”! As for going further south and coming to the Jurchen tribes who also belong to the Tungusic language family, the horse they talk about is very similar, with the same origin as “morin”!…
"Praise the Lord God! Praise Your Majesty! Four-legged beasts that can ride and fight, it turns out that they really exist, in the far west...It turns out that they are called 'Muri', called 'horse'!..."
The exploration captain Zuwa’s eyes flashed and he muttered to himself absentmindedly for a while. You must know that finding and bringing back four-legged riding beasts and four-legged farming beasts is one of the most important tasks in His Majesty’s divine exploration! At this moment
He heard the exact rumors, and the hope of finding these four-legged riding beasts was really close at hand!
"The Lord God bless us! Your Majesty's divine revelation is never wrong! Ah, friends of Yamabe, is there any 'Muri' in your tribe? Are there any horses?... We can exchange with you, using precious salt and weapons
Come and change!…”
"Uh? You want to ride a horse?... Chief of the Kaibu, we in the Mountains do not raise horses. Riding those animals is very troublesome and not suitable for running on the snowy fields... My grandmother also said that they are difficult to raise and can easily die. Raise them.
It’s not cost-effective to eat because you eat too much and you’re too picky!… In the snowy fields, reindeer and dogs that are not afraid of the cold are the best! They are easy to feed and easy to eat, and they can easily eat meat even after they die!…”
The hunting team leader Mu Dog talked a lot about the benefits of raising reindeer and huskies. In fact, before the arrival of the Russians, there were indeed no horses on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the snowy fields of the Far North. Because in the harsh polar environment, there were no horses.
There are wild horses. However, the cost of horses domesticated by tribes is too high and their food is too picky. Reindeer can eat all kinds of lichen, moss and grass roots in winter, but delicate horses cannot be raised so simply. They must be supplemented by beans or grass.
At the same time, in the snowy environment, running horses have no advantages in moving and carrying loads compared to reindeer and dog sleds. In fact, only after the cold-resistant rye was introduced to various Kamchatka tribes from Europe, various tribes gradually developed
Agricultural Basics of Feeding Horses…
"Friends from Kaibu! The reindeer in our mountains are also very good! They can drag our tents and move tirelessly. They can travel every day. Well, it takes a person five full days to complete the journey.
And it only takes less than half a month to travel from the southernmost island of the peninsula to the northernmost deer!…”
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The hunting captain Mu Quan patiently spoke for a long time and praised the reindeer in the mountains before ending with an ancient tribal proverb.
"Ancestors witness! The oldest Rendeer nurtures all tribes in the snowfield! They are the real masters of the snowfield. And whoever is their friend is the friend of the snowfield, and can continue to exist on the snowfield forever!..."
"O God! Are the real owners of the snowfields these giant gray deer?... There are no horses in the mountains, only deer and dogs. There are horses in the horse department, but they are far to the west!..."
Zuvalo, the exploration captain, pursed his lips and tried to write down these key information. Soon, the excited barking of dogs sounded in his ears.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!..."
"Phew! We're finally home! We can have a warm meal of stewed venison...! Haha! Blessed by the sacred mountain! This trip went so smoothly, I thought we were going to fight... Eh! You? Mutu, the tribe
Why are all the Dingzhuangs coming out with weapons?"
"Witness the ancestors! This is the order of the old grandmother Mulushan! She asked the children to be more energetic, wear armor and carry bows, so that the 'guests' of Kaibu can't look down upon!..."
"Oh! The wise old grandmother has the blessing of the sacred mountain, she can't be wrong!...Those hunters from the Haibu are indeed very elite! They have many, many good armors!..."
The elite hunters from the mountains arrived at the camp, with chubby smiles on their faces, and greeted the surrounding tribesmen. At the entrance of the camp, there were nearly two hundred tribesmen, all wearing armor as thick as leather.
Wearing a deerskin robe, carrying a recurve bow and arrows, and carrying several stone axes, he warmly "welcomes" the "guests" from the distant sea.
"Haha! Blessed by our ancestors! The leader of the Kaibu tribe, our Hot Spring Mountain tribe, is the most powerful tribe on the peninsula! ...Look, these are outstanding warriors in the tribe, who can shoot a running reindeer from dozens of steps away!
They can also march for ten days, cross the entire peninsula, and go to the north to fight the deer tribe that invaded the territory!..."
This chapter has been completed!