herodotus

lies in wait there for his game (now trees are abundant in all thiscountry), and each has a horse at hand, which has been taught to liedown upon its belly in order that it may make itself low, and also adog: and when he sees the wild animal from the tree, he first shootshis arrow and then mounts upon his horse and pursues it, and the dogseizes hold of it. Above these in a direction towards the East dwellother Scythians, who have revolted from the Royal Scythians and sohave come to this region.23. As far as the country of these Scythians the whole land which hasbeen described is level plain and has a deep soil; but after thispoint it is stony and rugged. Then when one has passed through a greatextent of this rugged country, there dwell in the skirts of loftymountains men who are said to be all bald-headed from their birth,male and female equally, and who have flat noses and large chins andspeak a language of their own, using the Scythian manner of dress, andliving on the produce of trees. The tree on the fruit of which theylive is called the Pontic tree, and it is about the size of a figtree:this bears a fruit the size of a bean, containing a stone. Whenthe fruit has ripened, they strain it through cloths and there flowsfrom it a thick black juice, and this juice which flows from it iscalled /as-chy/. This they either lick up or drink mixed with milk,and from its lees, that is the solid part, they make cakes and usethem for food; for they have not many cattle, since the pastures thereare by no means good. Each man has his dwelling under a tree, inwinter covering the tree all round with close white felt-cloth, and insummer without it. These are injured by no men, for they are said tobe sacred, and they possess no weapon of war. These are they also whodecide the disputes rising among their neighbours; and besides this,whatever fugitive takes refuge with them is injured by no one: andthey are called Argippaians.[30]24. Now as far as these bald-headed men there is abundantly clearinformation about the land and about the nations on this side of them;for not only do certain of the Scythians go to them, from whom it isnot difficult to get information, but also some of the Hellenes whoare at the trading-station of the Borysthenes and the other tradingplacesof the Pontic coast: and those of the Scythians who go to themtransact their business through seven interpreters and in sevendifferent languages. 25. So far as these, I say, the land is known;but concerning the region to the North of[20] the bald-headed men noone can speak with certainty, for lofty and impassable mountainsdivide it off, and no one passes over them. However these bald-headedmen say (though I do not believe it) that the mountains are inhabitedby men with goats' feet; and that after one has passed beyond these,others are found who sleep through six months of the year. This I do