from Chapter XXVII: Of the lawe & the customs of the Tartarienes, duellynge in Chatay . . .

The folk of that country wear long garments without any fur trim. And they are clothed in cloth of Tartarye and in cloth of gold, and their garments are slit on the sides, and fastened with silk laces, and they also wear fur with the hide turned outward. And they wear neither caps nor hoods, and as the men go, so do the women, so that one is scarcely able to tell the men from the women--save for married women, who wear a token of a man's foot upon their heads, as a sign that they are under men's feet and subject to men. And the wives do not live communally, but live alone, and a husband may lie with whomever he likes. Everyone has a house, both men and women; it is made of staves set in a circle, with a round window above for light and to let the smoke out. . . And when the Tartars go to war, they load their houses upon chariots and take them with them, as men [elsewhere] do tents or pavilions. . . . The folk of that country begin everything during the phase of the new moon and they worship the moon and the sun and oftentime kneel to them. . . and they have a great sense of proper behavior and believe it is a great sin to cast a knife into the fire or to smite a horse with the handle of a whip . . . And the greatest sin that a man might commit is to piss in his house, and whoever is discovered in that sin they quickly slay him. . . . And that place in which a man has pissed must be purified or else no man dares to enter within. . . . And also if any man or woman is caught in adultery or fornication, they slay him or her right away. And whoever steals anything they slay him. People of that country are all good archers and shoot very well, both men and women, and are also good horseback riders, and run well. . . . And the women wear breeches as well as the men. All the folk of that country are very obedient to their sovereigns, and do not fight or quarrel with each other. . . . And they eat dogs, lions, leopards, mares and foals, asses, rats and mice and all manner of beasts, large and small, except for swine and those beasts forbidden by the old law [i.e., prescribed by the OT]. . . . And the rich men drink [fermented] milk of mares and of camels or of asses or of other beasts. And they will be made drunk easily on that milk and on another drink made of honey and water fermented together, for in that country is neither wine nor ale. . . . And the Tartars have small eyes and sparse beards and the hair of their heads is not that thick. And they are false and traitorous.