Beauplan.
or ten of them in the Front, and as many in the Rear: they themselves are in the middle with Firelocks, and half-Pikes and Scythes upon long Poles the best mounted among them about their Taborts, with a Sentinel a quarter of a League before them, another at the same distance behind, and one upon each Flank. If these discover Tartars, they make a sign, and the Tabort halts. If the Tartars are discover'd first, the Cossacks beat them; and if the Tartars, discover the Cossacks first, they give them a fierce Assault by way of surprize in their Tabort.
In short, they who travel over those Plains must have, as the Italians term it, good Feet and good Eyes. I have often met them in the field at least soo together, who assaulted us in our Tabort; and tho I had but so or 60 Cossacks with me, they could do us no harm, nor could we gain any advantage over them, for they would not come within the reach of our Arms, but after making several Essays as if they would fall upon us, and let fall showers of Arrows on our heads, for they shoot flights twice as far as our Arms will carry, they go off and cunningly hide themselves in the Plains to surprize some Caravan before they are discover'd.
How the Tartars shun the Cossacks. You must understand that those Plains are cover'd with Grass two foot high, so that they cannot go without treading it down, which leaves such a track as it is easy to guess what number they were, and which way they went; and therefore for fear of being pursued by a greater Power, they have found out this contrivance, that if there are 400 in a Troop, they will make four Ranks of about an hundred Men each, some march North, others South, others East, and others West: Every one of them goes about a League and a half strait on its way, and then each little Parcel divides into three of about 33 in a Company, who move, as is mention'd before, excepting towards the River; then at about half a League distance they divide into three again, and so travel till they come to be but ten or twelve together, as may be better conceiv'd by the Draught than can be explain'd by words.
.jpg)
