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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76610 ***
+
+
+
+
+
+                       [Illustration: MONGOLIA]
+
+
+
+
+                          A TOUR IN MONGOLIA
+
+
+
+
+                      [Illustration: THE AUTHOR]
+
+
+
+
+                                A TOUR
+                              IN MONGOLIA
+
+                                  BY
+                           BEATRIX BULSTRODE
+                       (Mrs. EDWARD MANICO GULL)
+
+         WITH AN INTRODUCTION BEARING ON THE POLITICAL ASPECT
+                          OF THAT COUNTRY BY
+
+                             DAVID FRASER
+                   (“TIMES” CORRESPONDENT IN PEKING)
+
+           ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR’S PHOTOGRAPHS AND A MAP
+
+                          METHUEN & CO. LTD.
+                         36 ESSEX STREET W.C.
+                                LONDON
+
+
+
+
+                       _First Published in 1920_
+
+
+
+
+                     DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION, TO
+
+              THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR JOHN NEWELL JORDAN
+
+                      G.C.I.E., K.C.B., K.C.M.G.
+
+                       H.B.M. MINISTER IN CHINA
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+Mrs. Gull (Mrs. Bulstrode as she then was) had the fortune, not to
+mention the pluck, to be in Urga at a time when history was being made
+for Mongolia. I well remember the perturbation in British official
+circles in Peking when this adventurous lady, at a time when the
+Chinese were fighting the Mongols, sought a passport to take her
+through the opposing lines, and so to the desired destination. Needless
+to say the passport was not forthcoming, whereupon Mrs. Gull, without
+papers, went off by herself, and succeeded in making a considerable
+journey which brought her perilously close to the unsettled region in
+which guerilla warfare was proceeding.
+
+Her experiences in Inner Mongolia made it plain that getting through to
+Urga meant a detour so long, expensive, and risky as not to be worth
+while. Accordingly, she and her sporting companion, Mr. E. M. Gull, a
+fire-eater in the pursuit of political developments, went round the
+back way by train and reached Urga from Siberia, no small adventure,
+considering the state of Mongolia at the time. What they saw Mrs. Gull
+describes in her own taking manner, and I need not say more about her
+book than that it is full of enlightenment as regards the character of
+both people and country. Mongolia is one of the few remaining great
+backwaters of the world, neglected because so remote from the sea and
+the civilisation arising out of marine communication. Nevertheless,
+through Mongolia, at no distant date, must be constructed that line
+which will link China with the Siberia Railway, and constitute part of
+the great trunk route joining Europe with the Far East.
+
+If those of us who dwell in the Far East are not very far out in our
+calculations, the Pacific is to be one of the great spheres of economic
+development in the future. In China there is illimitable scope for such
+development, and it is obvious that the question of the control of the
+quickest route between China and the West is one of much importance
+to all interested. Mongolia, moreover, is not all Gobi desert, nor is
+the Gobi a desert except in an unimportant degree. It is, in fact, a
+monster plateau, huge areas of which are capable of cultivation. At
+present, its pastoral inhabitants are like the Arabs of Mesopotamia,
+roaming the land with flocks and herds, but the land is a land of much
+promise. Its mineral wealth has hardly been examined at all, though
+gold and coal are known to exist. But, when we recollect the known
+mineral wealth of the whole of the mountainous region of the southern
+confines of Siberia, we realise that there is a corresponding region
+over the Mongolian border which is, in fact, part of the same mountain
+system. If the one is minerally wealthy, there is every reason to
+suppose that the other is similarly so. In thinking of the Mongolia
+of the future, then, it is only reasonable to suppose that, when
+penetrated by communications, it will develop out of all recognition,
+as compared with its present state.
+
+Mrs. Gull is particularly instructive in her analysis of Mongol
+character. The Mongol is simple, happy, good-natured, intensely lazy,
+and apparently entirely lacking in practical qualities. His very
+disposition is the cause of his past and present troubles. He is, in
+short, not fitted to compete with the outside world. Therefore, he
+has become the sport of other peoples, and the destiny of his land
+is being decided for him by foreigners. To begin at the beginning of
+recent developments, it is necessary to go back only to 1911. The
+Japanese defeat of the Russians had set the Chinese thinking, and,
+suffering much from foreign pressure at home, they thought to assert
+themselves in distant lands. They initiated a forward policy on the
+Burmah frontier that gave us trouble for some years, culminating
+in the Pienma incident. They invaded Thibet and occupied Llassa,
+establishing a degree of control over their vassal which they had never
+claimed before. They next turned their attention to Mongolia, where, as
+suzerain, they maintained only a few residents with trifling escorts.
+They planned to occupy Urga with a large force, and actually built
+huge barracks there. Meanwhile, Chinese colonists had been pressing
+into Inner Mongolia, buying land from the nomads and establishing
+great cultivated areas. Chinese bankers had been lending money at
+usurious rates to the simple Princes. All trade was in the hands of the
+Chinese. The Mongols became alive to the fact that China was acquiring
+a strangle-hold over them. They saw what had happened to their cousins
+of Thibet, and they became alarmed for their freedom, the overwhelming
+passion of the nomad. Russia, sore at the Japanese defeat, also, at
+this time, began to think of a future in which an arisen China might
+prove a danger, as Japan had proved dangerous. Chinese designs upon
+Mongolia might presage a threat against her at some far-off time.
+Accordingly it became Russian policy to block China in Mongolia, and,
+if possible, to set up Mongolia as a buffer State. To that end, Russian
+agents commenced a propaganda against the Chinese, emphasising the
+danger of absorption by China. Then arose a pro-Russian party in Urga,
+urging alliance with Russia as a protection against China.
+
+Then occurred the Revolution in China. The Manchus were dethroned. Then
+followed the expulsion of the Chinese from Thibet, and the declaration
+of independence by the Thibetans. Egged on by the Russians, the Mongols
+did likewise, justifying the breaking of the ancient connection by
+declaring that their allegiance had been to the Manchus, and that,
+as there was no more a Manchu dynasty in China, they no longer owed
+anything to China. Russia promptly recognised the new State, and signed
+political and commercial treaties with it. The Chinese refused to
+accept the _fait accompli_, and immediately made war upon Mongolia.
+Fighting was proceeding when Mrs. Gull was in Inner Mongolia, and
+later on at Urga. To make a long story short, the Chinese troops
+utterly failed to make any impression upon their opponents. Internal
+difficulties forced the Chinese to relinquish the struggle, and in 1919
+was signed the tri-partite Kiachta Convention. This document recognised
+and confirmed the treaties made with Russia, gave Mongolia autonomy and
+a guarantee against the intrusion of Chinese troops and colonists into
+Mongolia. The effect of the Convention was to give Russia exactly what
+she wanted--a buffer State.
+
+It is necessary now to jump to the date when Japanese troops, in
+agreement with the Allies, entered Siberia. The Japanese found it
+convenient to maintain at Chita, in Transbaikalia, the Cossack
+adventurer Semenov, a man with Buriat (or Mongol) blood in him. Admiral
+Kolchak dismissed Semenov from the command of the Trans-Baikal Division
+for malpractices, but the Japanese refused to allow his removal by
+force. Semenov, some months ago, inaugurated a pan-Mongol movement for
+the creation of a Mongol State, which should include the Mongols of
+Barga (a region of North Manchuria), the Buriats of Transbaikalia and
+Mongolia. The Hut’ukt’u, the Living Buddha of Mongolia, was invited
+to join, and, after consultation with the Princes, refused. Semenov
+next threatened invasion. It is difficult to know how much reality
+there is in Semenov’s movement, but it is still to the fore, and we
+are warned that developments from it may yet be expected. At any rate,
+it is established that the Japanese have been, and still are, closely
+associated with Semenov, and the assumption is that they are perfectly
+cognisant of the activities of their protégé.
+
+Returning to Urga, we find the Mongolians dissatisfied with the
+Russians, for a variety of reasons. They had done nothing for
+the economic development of the country, nor had they helped to
+organise an effective military force. Russia, as a protector, having
+vanished, the Mongols were helpless, and they were genuinely alarmed
+by the threats of Semenov. They appealed to the Chinese for military
+assistance, and in the twinkling of an eye, as it were, 4000 Chinese
+troops were in Urga, commanded by a General Hsu Shu-cheng, the most
+aggressive of those militarists who have done so much to involve China
+in political and financial trouble. It is instructive to note that
+the forces commanded by Hsu were equipped with Japanese money, and
+that Hsu himself is regarded throughout China as being entirely in
+the hands of the Japanese. It will, therefore, be perceived that the
+Mongols were frightened into calling in Chinese troops by the actions
+of one protégé of Japan, and that the assistance, when it came, proved
+to be an army under another Japanese protégé! The unfortunate Mongols
+were soon to be enlightened as to the meaning of these manœuvres. A
+pro-Chinese party, since the collapse of Russia, had been urging a
+return to the Chinese fold, and proposed a petition to China cancelling
+autonomy and asking for re-instatement. The Hut’ukt’u and a majority
+of Princes and Lamas were opposed to this step. General Hsu Shu-cheng,
+on arrival at Urga, immediately pressed for signature of the petition,
+and, on refusal, delivered an ultimatum, threatening deportation to
+China of the Hut’ukt’u and the Premier if his demands were not complied
+with. He further threatened the Mongols with Japanese troops from
+Transbaikalia, which threat the Japanese officially denied in Peking
+had been made with authority. The Mongols, however, were browbeaten
+into submission; the Government signed the petition, and the President
+of China has since issued a Mandate denouncing the Kiachta Convention
+and other relative treaties, and granting the prayer of the Mongols to
+become again subject to China. Autonomous Mongolia, therefore, is no
+more. The Chinese plan military occupation on a large scale, and will
+shortly send three more brigades into Mongolia. If the Chinese were
+more successful in the administration of their own country, it might be
+said that the Mongols would be better off under Chinese rule than their
+own; for, as Mrs. Gull says, there can be no doubt that the Mongols are
+closely akin to their southern neighbours. But the question seems to be
+rather whether Japan is not to be the predominant power in Mongolia in
+the future. She openly claims predominance in China, and, for the time
+being, is predominant. Through China she may yet acquire control over
+Mongolia, or may arrive at the same result by basing action in Siberia.
+She has plainly told the powers seeking to form the banking Consortium
+for China that she wishes Manchuria and Mongolia to be excluded from
+its operations, thereby indicating her desire for an exclusive position
+in Mongolia. Most significant is the announcement just published in
+the local press, and confirmed by other indications, that the Chinese
+Government propose the immediate extension of the Peking-Suiyuan
+Railway to Urga. The Chinese Government has no money for such an
+enterprise, and no possibility of getting it except by a foreign loan.
+This, above all, is a scheme that should be financed by the Consortium,
+yet it seems far more than likely that the railway will be built with
+Japanese money. And whoso builds the railway will assuredly be the
+master.
+
+DAVID FRASER
+
+PEKING, _January, 1920_
+
+ A word of explanation as to the tardy appearance of this book in
+ relation to the date of its completion seems necessary. It will
+ suffice to say that the manuscript reached the publishers within a
+ day or two of the declaration of war. The Introduction by Mr. David
+ Fraser, “Times” correspondent in Peking, is designed to give a
+ bird’s-eye yet comprehensive impression from the date of the visit
+ to Urga up to the present time of the political relations existing
+ between Mongolia and China.
+
+ B. M. G.
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  MAP OF MONGOLIA                                 _Inside front cover_
+
+  THE AUTHOR                                            _Frontispiece_
+
+                                                           FACING PAGE
+
+  THE AUTHOR ON A PEKING CART AT THE STARTING-POINT                 14
+
+  THE GREAT NORTH GATE AT KALGAN LEADING STRAIGHT INTO
+  MONGOLIA                                                          14
+
+  A BIRD FANCIER, KALGAN                                            28
+
+  SERVANTS IN THE COURTYARD                                         28
+
+  WITH DOBDUN, READY TO START                                       34
+
+  CROSSING THE HAN-O-PA PASS                                        34
+
+  A CAMEL CARAVAN                                                   58
+
+  THE LAMA IN EMBRYO AND HIS LITTLE SISTER GATHERING ARGOL          58
+
+  CARRYING MAILS                                                    60
+
+  A WELL BY THE WAYSIDE                                             60
+
+  HE DREW REINS TO TAKE STOCK OF THE FOREIGNER                      60
+
+  METHUSELAH AND HIS DAUGHTER-IN-LAW                                70
+
+  ONE OF THE LARGEST CAMEL CARAVANS I HAD EVER SEEN                 70
+
+  A MONGOL BRIDE                                                    72
+
+  A TYPICAL CHAKHAR                                                 74
+
+  TWO OR THREE HUNDRED LAMAS SQUATTING ON THE GROUND IN
+  THE SUNNY FORECOURT OF A TEMPLE                                   78
+
+  HANKARAWA                                                         78
+
+  A PASTORAL SCENE                                                  98
+
+  TROITZE-CASAVSK                                                  114
+
+  OUR BURIAT HOSTESS                                               114
+
+  THE JAMSCHIK AND HIS TARANTASS                                   114
+
+  A RUSSIAN SAMSON SEPARATED THE COMBATANTS                        128
+
+  THE LAMA AND HIS MAIDEN                                          128
+
+  A MONGOL AND HIS FAMILY ON THE PLAINS NEAR URGA POSED
+  FOR MY BENEFIT                                                   142
+
+  HE INVITED US TO INSPECT HIS CARAVAN                             144
+
+  THE SUMMIT OF THE ALTAI BERG                                     144
+
+  THE GREAT WHITE TEMPLE, URGA                                     152
+
+  THE HORSE AND CAMEL MARKET, URGA                                 152
+
+  A BEAUTIFUL TEMPLE AT MAI-MAI-CH’ENG                             158
+
+  A MONGOL PRINCESS IN HER OFFICIAL ROBES, ACCOMPANIED BY
+  HER TWO LADIES                                                   158
+
+  BOGDO’S BODYGUARD                                                176
+
+  LITTLE LAMA BOYS PLAY “TAG” ROUND THE BARRIERS                   176
+
+  CHURCH AND STATE: MONGOL PRINCE AND HIGH LAMA                    180
+
+  THE GREAT STATE UMBRELLA OF SILKEN EMBROIDERY                    182
+
+  IN AN ECSTASY OF WORSHIP THE MONKS PROSTRATE THEMSELVES
+  NEAR THE THRESHOLD OF THE SANCTUARY                              182
+
+  THE MEETING OF THE ARCHERS: THEY RANGED THEMSELVES IN
+  COUPLES AT THE STANCES                                           184
+
+  SCORING THE HITS AT THE BUTTS                                    184
+
+  A MASK AT THE DANCE OF THE GODS                                  186
+
+  A MONGOL PRINCESS WEARING A HEADDRESS OF GOLD                    186
+
+  A MONGOL GLADIATOR                                               190
+
+  A WRESTLING BOUT                                                 192
+
+  YOUNG LAMAS                                                      192
+
+  PRISONERS AT URGA, SHUT UP FOR THE REMAINDER OF THEIR
+  LIVES IN IRON-BOUND COFFINS                                      196
+
+  (_Reproduced by permission of the Illustrated London News_)
+
+  A TOMB IN URGA: DAGOBAS ERECTED OVER PRIESTS’ GRAVES             206
+
+  SOUTHERN SOLDIERS                                                206
+
+  A MONGOL ORTON                                                   226
+
+  CONTINUING THE JOURNEY ON OX-CARTS, DRAWN BY PONIES              226
+
+  A REMARKABLE ONE-YEAR-OLD BOY                                    228
+
+
+
+
+THE TALE OF A TOUR IN MONGOLIA
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+  “What is outside the world, daddy?”
+      “Space, my child.”
+  “But what is outside space then?”
+
+
+The fascination of the unknown, a deep love of the picturesque, and
+inherent desire to revert awhile to the primitive--these were probably
+some of the factors that made a little tour in Mongolia so essentially
+desirable to me at a period when, instead of turning my face homewards,
+I merely felt the compelling desire for more. The remark, “Such a pity
+you did not come here before the old order of things passed away,” had
+assailed my ears like minute-guns throughout my eighteen months in
+China, and here in Mongolia was at last an opportunity of meeting with
+mediævalism untouched.
+
+The most delightful, and by far the most interesting, expedition that
+lures the traveller for a couple of days from the gaiety of life in
+Peking, is that which leads him out to the Ming tombs and a little
+farther on to meditate upon change and decay from the summit of the
+Great Wall. The Great Wall may well have been the ultimate goal of all
+his wanderings in China, a goal indeed at which to pause and reflect
+upon all he has learned and seen through the months spent in journeying
+up from the turbulent south to the heart of China in the north. But
+even so it is a little disappointing upon arriving at the Nank’ou
+Pass to be informed that this, impressive though it be, is merely
+a relatively modern branch of the Great Wall itself, added no less
+than 1700 years later to the original construction. To see the _real_
+Great Wall then, the wall that has withstood the ravages both of Huns
+and Tartars, the wall that played a not unimportant part in warfare
+two centuries before the Christian era--this furnished me at least
+with an excuse to get away to Kalgan; and in a visit to Kalgan, the
+starting-point for the historic caravans which penetrate the desert,
+across which prior to the existence of the Trans-Siberian railway all
+merchandise passed to the north, I foresaw the germ which might, with a
+little luck, blossom out into a little expedition across the frontier.
+
+At Dr. Morrison’s hospitable board, to which drift inevitably those
+travellers who want something more than the social round and the
+sights provided for the globe trotter in Peking, I was fortunate in
+meeting a couple of Norwegian missionaries who were good enough to
+make arrangements for me to stay in their compound at Kalgan. The
+husband, after many years’ work, had abandoned the hope of converting
+the Mongols to Christianity, and had placed his unique knowledge of the
+people and of their country--doubtless in return for a handsome salary
+(on paper)--at the disposal of the new Chinese Government. In common
+with every one else to whom I mentioned my project of travelling in
+Mongolia, these good people did their best to put me off, but finally,
+seeing that I intended to carry out my idea willy-nilly, they helped me
+in making my plans, engaged the Chinese who accompanied me, and lent me
+the various accessories of camp life, etc., in the most generous manner
+possible.
+
+For some weeks past threatenings and rumours of war had been dribbling
+in from various points on the Mongolian frontier. Mongol soldiers
+(converted robber bands) in ridiculously small numbers, but effectual,
+as having been armed and trained by “the Urga government,” which to all
+intents and purposes is another name for Russian officers, were said
+to be marching south, “plundering everywhere and killing Chinese and
+Mongols without distinction”.
+
+The Chinese in Peking were doubtless growing uneasy, and the following
+paragraph which appeared about this time in the “Peking Daily News,”
+a Chinese-owned newspaper with an European circulation, suggests that
+the authorities were somewhat late in the field with their honours and
+encouragements for those Mongols who even now were perhaps flirting
+with presents of roubles from a more northern source. Already the storm
+was brewing past control:--
+
+“The Bureau of Mongolian and Tibetan affairs (in Peking) reports that a
+petition from the Shang Chia Hut’ukt’u has been received, stating that
+the Shang Chodba has supported the Republican cause and requesting that
+he be rewarded.
+
+“As Pa-yen-chi-erh-ko-la, the Shang Chodba and Dassak Da Lama, has been
+loyal to the Republic and is highly commendable, he is hereby permitted
+to sit on a Green Cart and to use Yellow Reins, as an encouragement.”
+
+No very highly imaginative mind is surely necessary to conjure up a
+scene of wonderful picturesqueness from the foregoing. To see a beaming
+“Da (or great) Lama” seated upon the shafts of his new Green Cart and
+driving a hefty white mule with his lately acquired Yellow Reins,
+feeling tremendously encouraged thereby in his loyalty to China, the
+recently established republic of Mongolia’s suzerain--it was worth
+while, _coûte que coûte_!
+
+Peking, so far as I was concerned, had more than come up to its
+reputation for kindness and hospitality. I had certainly put the former
+to the test during a short but sharp bout of illness I had encountered
+there, when I can only say that my room presented the appearance of
+a conservatory and that rarely an hour passed without some friendly
+“chit” of enquiry and sympathy. All the same, it had been much borne
+in upon me that any deviation from the narrow path to the golf links,
+or from the delightful picnics held in one or other of the recognised
+show places within hail of the Legation quarter, was looked upon with
+cold disfavour. Few things seem to cause a certain type of mind more
+annoyance than that one should care to travel on lines other than those
+parallel with their own.
+
+The less, I felt, that I discussed my projected plans the better.
+Therefore, informing merely a couple of friends who happened to be
+dining with me the previous evening--and who, by the way, did not in
+the least believe me--that I was off in the morning to Kalgan for a few
+days, I set forth for the Shih Chi Men station (the terminus of the
+Peking-Kalgan railway) at the break of one glorious day of April in
+1913.
+
+Two ’ricshas were necessary for myself and a very modest amount of
+luggage, and to each ’ricsha two coolies, for the Shih Chi Men is at
+the extreme north-west of Peking, to gain which one has to travel
+diagonally across the Tartar city, skirting the rose-coloured walls
+of the Forbidden City through which at that time the traffic was not
+allowed to penetrate. The road is bad and exceedingly dusty, and being
+the sole European upon arriving at the station, I had the inevitable
+uproar with my coolies as regards payment. One of the untoward
+influences that we Westerns seem to have exerted upon the Chinese
+coolie class is that they will always try to bully anyone who is at
+a disadvantage--a condition of affairs I never once experienced up
+country, off the beaten track, where I met with nothing but chivalry.
+The quartet followed me, shouting and yelling, on to the platform--I
+having taken good care not to pay them until my belongings were safely
+out of their hands--only to be buffeted and finally kicked out by the
+station officials.
+
+The journey from Peking to Kalgan has many points of interest, and I
+decided to break it half-way in order to pay a second visit to the
+tombs of the Emperors of the Ming dynasty, stopping overnight at the
+quaint little half-westernised hotel kept by a Chinaman at the foot of
+the Nank’ou Pass. There was not much choice as to the means of covering
+the eleven or twelve miles between Nank’ou and the tombs, and I decided
+in favour of the solitary pony instead of the unattractive looking
+mules, or the chair of the indolent which is carried on poles by four
+coolies. I had confidently expected to make the expedition in peaceful
+solitude; but not a bit of it. A pock-marked mafu, or groom, insisted
+upon accompanying me on foot, and it was soon evident that he set the
+pace not I. It was some little time too before I discovered the reason
+of the pony’s reluctance to trot except when we came to a strip of
+grass--he had four very tender feet, and my way lay across extremely
+rough country, along the boulder--strewn beds of mountain streams and
+rocky little paths bordering the planted fields.
+
+The beautiful pail’ou of five arches was the first indication that we
+were nearing our destination, but even then there were two or three
+miles along the uneven and loosely flagged avenue of huge symbolical
+stone men and beasts, camels, horses, and lions standing in silent
+attendance on the spirits of the departed rulers. The tombs, temples
+in effect, whose golden roofs rise out from among deep green cypresses
+and masses of white blossom, are enclosed in many courtyards by high
+rose-coloured walls pierced by magnificent gateways.
+
+To the chief of these gateways I rode, followed by my mafu, and
+offering the customary fee of twenty cents, I proposed to enter.
+Seeing that I was alone, the doorkeeper, an unusually tall man even
+for Chihli, began a bullying argument for more money. Not wanting to
+waste time, I compounded finally upon something like three times the
+proper sum, and he opened the great doors and admitted me into the
+courtyard. Here amidst the most dreamily beautiful surroundings of pure
+white marble terraces, weathered memorial archways, steps carved in low
+relief and the mellowed rose-coloured walls always for background, I
+felt very much at peace with the world as I sat and rested in the crook
+of a blossom-covered tree after my hot and wearisome ride.
+
+Greatly refreshed by the beauty and stately solitude of the scene (to
+say nothing of a delicate little lunch which had been so thoughtfully
+provided for me by my excellent host of the Ching Erh hotel), I now
+felt inspired to explore further, and walked over the grass to the
+entrance of the chief temple. Dropping from the clouds (or, what seemed
+more likely, appearing from the nether regions) I was again confronted
+by the same burly janitor who rather threateningly barred my way and
+demanded more money. I had now not even the support of my pony boy. I
+had no intention of being baulked of the whole object of my long ride,
+neither did I mean to be bullied into paying the rascal all over again.
+Seeing that I was not inclined to give in, the man began to lock up
+the great doors, which usually stood open, when, turning as though I
+were going away, I made a sudden move, pushed past him, and was inside
+the temple. He was very angry and for the moment nonplussed, swore
+at me volubly, casting aspersions doubtless upon my ancestry in true
+Celestial style. Quite unexpectedly, however, he stopped, and before I
+had time to realise his intention, he slammed to the door and turned
+the key in the lock.
+
+I made a desperate effort to escape, but I was too late. I was now in
+pitch darkness and as to when or whether he, my gaoler, intended to let
+me out, I did not know. I could hear him walking off and clanking his
+great keys triumphantly as he went down the flagged path. I was far
+too angry to be in the least frightened, and of all things, I had no
+intention of letting the ruffian think that he had scored. Recovering
+a little from my surprise, I groped my way about among the dusty gods
+and devils, thinking that probably there would be some other exit,
+and finally came upon a low door at the back of the high altar. This
+gave way to my pushing, and opened on to a narrow staircase up which I
+stumbled, eventually finding my way out on to the top of the open flat
+roof of the first story of the temple. Here at least I could see where
+I was. Moreover, I was in the open air, and I could solace myself with
+the truly lovely view of the surrounding temples and the thickly wooded
+country side.
+
+Not a soul was to be seen. The wretch evidently meant me to stay there
+until I thought better of my sins. For an hour or two I wandered about
+my prison, spending part of the time in speculating as to whether my
+gymnastic ability would enable me, with the help of friendly branches,
+to scale forty feet or so of rough wall and thus to escape. I decided,
+however, that to risk a broken limb was not worth while, and that to
+spend a night in a temple after all would not kill me. There would
+probably be other visitors turning up next day.
+
+By this time the afternoon was drawing in, and the wonderful colouring
+around me was rendered even more beautiful by the golden haze from the
+setting sun, when I observed three figures walking among the trees
+in the garden below. They were evidently in angry altercation. These
+were my mafu, the burly ruffian (who was gesticulating wildly), and a
+well-dressed and dignified Chinese gentleman. Without losing a moment,
+I scrambled hastily down the dark staircase again, and arrived in the
+temple just as a flood of light was admitted by the door being flung
+open.
+
+To my astonishment, my unknown friend in need addressed me in pidgin
+English, “Mississee mafu talkee my one bad man shutee up Mississee.
+Chlist! (I am afraid that he believed this to be quite a polite
+expression of amazement) Chlist! What bad man!” The “bad man” was
+grinning nervously while all this was going on, and in order to show
+him unmistakably what my opinion was of his behaviour, I gave him a
+resounding smack on the head as he released me. Even then he had the
+impudence to ask me for a “cumshaw” (tip), and in order that he might
+not lose face among the little crowd which had collected at the outer
+gateway, he only laughed as he rubbed his head and listened to a
+tremendous dressing-down delivered by the three of us. I decided as I
+rode back to Nank’ou in the twilight that I would report the matter to
+my Legation in Peking, but later on I thought better of it. They might
+have said, “I told you so!”
+
+Starting early next morning, I continued my journey to Kalgan, the
+line--the only one in China constructed, financed, and managed by the
+Chinese--following the course of the Nank’ou Pass, tunnelling below
+the Great Wall a few miles farther on. Travelling second class, from
+the viewpoint of mixing with the people rather than from economical
+motives, the difference in the price of tickets being a mere couple
+of dollars, I had for my sole European companion an old Swedish
+missionary who told me that our fellow-travellers were consumed with
+curiosity about me. They assumed, to begin with, that my husband must
+be luxuriating in the first-class portion of the train, and that among
+the English it was the custom to treat the wives as inferiors. Then,
+seeing the missionary and myself in conversation, they jumped to the
+conclusion that I was wife of the latter, and that I very properly only
+spoke to him when he addressed me. Finally, on this being denied, they
+settled down to the idea, on seeing me take a large volume from my bag
+and read it (J. O. P. Bland’s absorbingly interesting “Events in China”
+by the way) that I was a great scholar, and that as such, I of course
+preferred the simple life. That an ordinary Englishwoman should travel
+second class needed an explanation in their eyes.
+
+A wealthy young man, he who had asked most of the questions,
+entertained me greatly during the journey. His clothes were very
+beautiful, a long silk-damask lavender coat, fur-lined, surmounted by
+a handsome riding coat in plum-coloured broché. His great treasure
+seemed, however, to be a large silver watch, which he kept pulling
+out in the hope that I might be looking at him. Its going capacity
+must have been precarious for he always listened to it, and after
+looking carefully all round it, he generally smelt it as well. It was
+here that I really learned to appreciate the practical use of the
+two-inch thumb-nail which one frequently sees adorning the hands of
+the upper-class Chinese. My friend of the lavender coat had purchased
+a roast duck from an itinerant vendor at a wayside station, and
+commanded my admiration by the dexterity with which he cut up and ate
+it, his thumb-nail alone serving him as a carver. He was hungry, and he
+finished that bird at a sitting.
+
+The scenery on the way up was unexciting until a tempestuous sunset
+lighted up the rugged mountains, making their snow-covered peaks appear
+like flaming watch-towers until the sun went down, and with a snap it
+all suddenly changed. Even in this cold weather we met hundreds of
+coolies travelling down in open trucks, many of them equipped with
+motor goggles, which the dust storms of this part of the world render
+an absolute necessity.
+
+We were two hours late at Kalgan, having taken nine hours on the way
+(one can hardly expect a sudden transformation as regards punctuality
+to result from a change of government in China), and I spent a somewhat
+weary time in the dimly lighted carriage wondering what on earth I
+should do if the missionaries failed to meet me at the station. Knowing
+that he would be of no use should I manage to get away to Mongolia, I
+had taken no “boy” with me, and I doubted very seriously that my few
+words of Chinese would carry me far in this frontier town, which, I had
+heard, would be a babel of tongues, and where among 75,000 inhabitants
+the European population, Russian and German traders all told, did not
+number more than about forty or fifty.
+
+However, no sooner had I landed on the platform at Kalgan than a cheery
+voice, unmistakably American, hailed me in a friendly manner.
+
+After giving the required information concerning myself and my business
+to the courteous Chinese policeman, who, notebook in hand, awaited the
+train for such purpose, the pleasant young missionary, guessing that I
+was both tired and hungry, and not in the least put out on account of
+waiting over two hours on the platform for my train to come in, bundled
+me and my belongings into a Peking cart. The latter taking up most of
+the room inside, I sat cross-legged on the shaft, the Chinese driver
+sitting hard against my back on the opposite side; my host walked
+alongside of us.
+
+There had been the one rain of the season on the previous day and
+what under normal conditions had been a foot or so of dust, was now
+morass, and we passed through slush that reached to the axles of our
+wheels. “Tuck up your feet,” sang out the missionary as he took an
+unanticipated plunge into deep water from the pseudo-sidewalk; but I
+was prepared. This, strange to say, was my first experience of riding
+in a Peking cart, society in the capital having long ago voted them
+out-of-date and even in cold weather preferring the ’ricsha. True, I
+found their appearance of comfort somewhat of a delusion but their
+picturesque trimness I had always greatly admired. These strong,
+springless carts of light wood have solid axles, the ends being inlaid
+with a device in metal, and upon these the wheels revolve directly.
+The pale blue linen covers, with little windows made of black gauze on
+either side, all outlined with black velvet, present an attractive and
+cleanly appearance, as does also the heavy white leather harness with
+bright brass or silver buckles and ornaments, which embellishes the
+handsome black mule, who, at first sight, looks almost too powerful for
+his job.
+
+Our road lay across the river Yang through the heart of the city now,
+at nearly 10 o’clock, dark and silent as the grave--silent that is,
+save for the creaks and excruciating grindings of the wheels as the
+great boulders sent the cart high up on one side only to slither down
+into the slush on the other, the mule coming to a standstill from time
+to time in order to let things right themselves. The main street of
+Kalgan is scarcely a credit to the community. After half an hour or so
+of strenuous effort to keep my seat, we turned abruptly out of a
+narrow alley into the compound of the mission at which I was to board,
+and were welcomed by my hostess, a pretty girl in her early twenties,
+at the door of one of the two bungalows.
+
+[Illustration: THE AUTHOR ON A PEKING CART AT THE STARTING POINT]
+
+[Illustration: THE GREAT NORTH GATE AT KALGAN LEADING STRAIGHT OUT INTO
+MONGOLIA]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+“A great army may be robbed of its leader, but nothing can rob one poor
+man of his will”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+I shall always associate Kalgan with waiting for things to happen.
+Rumours of war were constantly coming to one’s ears, news of
+camel caravans on the point of starting for Mongolia reached one
+periodically. Nothing ever seemed to culminate. The missionaries, of
+whom there were some half a dozen, were very much opposed to my making
+an expedition alone into Mongolia, and with my limited knowledge of
+Chinese it was impossible without their help to make any plans for
+doing so. My hostess, a delicate little thing, very much younger than
+her colleagues, stood my friend throughout and did what she could
+to make enjoyable my stay within the somewhat circumscribed area of
+the compound. Deeply interested in English manners and customs her
+conversation had an almost childish _naïveté_, and circled around our
+royalties and other great English names that had come to her ears. She
+was, she told me “tickled to death” at the idea of entertaining an
+English lady, but was frankly disappointed that I bore no title. As a
+small girl, she said, she had longed to be English, and loved reading
+about lords and ladies (we now know the market for a certain class of
+light fiction), and persuaded her mother to call her “Lady Ermyntrude”.
+“Is it true,” she would ask me, “that if English girls don’t marry the
+first man that asks them, they never get another chance?”
+
+Life in a mission compound can never fail to interest the speculative
+mind, and although waiting about for plans to resolve themselves is
+a severe tax on one’s patience, my days at Kalgan are recalled with
+considerable pleasure notwithstanding. What I wanted was an excuse
+for taking a camel cart (which appealed to me as being exceedingly
+comfortable as well as a great novelty), and I watched a couple in
+course of preparation for the ill-fated expedition of Messrs. Grant and
+Henningsen who were to journey across the Gobi to Urga on telegraph
+service, which for the former was to end so disastrously. Camel carts
+bear a certain amount of similarity to the Peking cart, with the
+following differences: they are higher from the ground, having larger
+wheels; they are covered in entirely, having a window and door on the
+near side; they are of such ample dimensions that one may stretch
+oneself at full length and live in them in considerable comfort. In
+fact, I have in North Mongolia seen a man, woman, and two children
+camping very comfortably in one cart.
+
+One might well be asked what there was to prevent me from hiring a
+camel cart--a very natural question when one lives in Europe and
+where money will compass most of one’s desires. Not so in the East.
+A solitary camel cart was held to be unsuitable for my purpose, for
+a solitary camel cart wandering about Mongolia without escort would
+undoubtedly attract an undue amount of attention. Camel carts usually
+form part of a caravan.
+
+Kalgan, with its population of some seventy or eighty thousand souls,
+grown out of all proportion to the picturesque little walled-in city
+in its midst, the unusual temples, among which a couple of Mohammedan
+mosques came as a surprise to me, its many theatres, and little
+shops containing much that was interesting and novel, would under
+ordinary conditions have satisfied me for weeks; but the nearness to
+the goal of my desire to some extent spoiled it for me, rendering it
+tantalising and me restless. Not once, but many times, did I find
+my way on foot through the thick dust of the narrow streets to the
+wide road leading out to the north gate, the Mongol quarter of the
+city. There one met hundreds of camels padding softly along in the
+thick dust laden with immense bales of wool from Urga, picking their
+way over boulders polished by the traffic of 1200 years. The camels
+are in their most disreputable condition in April; their wool, being
+in process of shedding, left big bare patches, and made them look
+singularly naked in places. I loved to see their stately walk, and the
+stolid Mongols sitting, pipe in mouth, on their backs. Fine beasts.
+Fine men. To see, too, the Mongols themselves at their journey’s end,
+galloping recklessly along this terrific road, raising clouds of dust
+in their wake, stirrupless as often as not, their ponies slithering and
+stumbling over the concealed stones, recovering themselves in a manner
+perfectly marvellous. They are wonderful horsemen. A Russian post plies
+between Kalgan and Urga, suspended now, however, on account of the
+unrest in the country, and the Mongols cover the 800 miles in eight
+days, relays of ponies waiting for them every twenty miles or so. They
+ride at full speed during the entire journey, which averages ordinarily
+from thirty to thirty-two days.
+
+Small wonder that the wares in the innumerable little stalls which
+line this great north road should be dirty and unattractive at first
+glance. One must quickly consume one’s proverbial peck of dust here;
+everything in this Mongol market is thick with it; hair, clothes,
+food, and all. But what is the use of troubling about what cannot be
+helped? A medicine stall was one of the many at which I lingered,
+and from curiosity asked the prices of things that were displayed as
+“cures”--snakes, lizards, and similar small fry were kept in bulk. A
+rhinoceros tusk I gathered to be a charm of prophylactic nature, but
+a furry foot altogether baffled my intelligence. The vendor was by
+no means anxious to sell, but being pressed for a price said that I
+might have the object for fifteen dollars, i.e. thirty shillings. I
+discovered later that it was the pad of a bear, and esteemed of great
+value from a medicinal point of view. I refrained from purchasing
+it. Two charming souvenirs, however, I did pick up in Kalgan--a tiny
+green jade wine cup, and, as a mascot, a jade thumb ring guaranteed to
+bring me great good luck on all my wanderings. They were of the colour
+of rivers bringing down the snow from mountains, and moreover were
+bargains at a dollar and half a dollar respectively.
+
+Everything that one could conceivably want for the great journey
+across the desert is to be bought from this market, the last link
+with civilisation, and few caravans push straight through this busy
+quarter without a halt for a hank of rope, or another string of dried
+persimmons, or such like. To the gregarious Celestial it must indeed be
+a mighty effort to break away from Kalgan and start upon that lonely
+trek so fraught with dangers and possibilities unknown.
+
+The principal theatre in Kalgan is in this neighbourhood, and more than
+once I got drawn into a crowd of five or six hundred people in the
+triangular piece of waste ground near the north gate. The theatre was a
+pretty little temple, the stage open to the heavens on three sides and
+raised eight or ten feet from the ground. The play is as a rule, I am
+told, composed of scenes and episodes from the Chinese classics. Be
+that as it may, the actors, with handsome flowing beards, are as unlike
+the modern Chinese as well could be.
+
+Every one whose business was not too pressing strolled within seeing
+and hearing distance--there were no barriers or enclosures. At the
+back of the crowd, which, with less than half a dozen exceptions, was
+composed of men and boys, numbers of ponies and mules waited patiently,
+and among them from their Peking carts a few women obtained a good
+view while not being too much in evidence. Kalgan is conservative
+in preserving her traditions concerning the deportment of women.
+Vendors of all sorts of things, from dusting brushes to cigarettes
+and pea-nuts, took life easily on the outskirts of the laziest,
+pleasantest, smelliest crowd I have ever been in. In the background
+too were several barbers plying their trade, their victims gazing at
+the play while their heads were shaved or their _queues_ combed and
+plaited. The quaint mediæval play, with great clashing of cymbals, and
+lunging about with swords and scimitars, was lively enough to please
+the audience tremendously. The whole scene was picturesque to a degree,
+what with bright clothes and action on the stage, with a background of
+the mountains surrounding Kalgan, and nearer still the sombre old wall
+of many, many centuries, and again, in front of it, the flat and gabled
+roofs of Chinese houses and shops with their ornate fronts and gaudy
+signs and symbols, the gilded lettering in two languages as befits the
+meeting-place of China and Mongolia. Nearer still the handsome mules
+with their richly decorated saddle-cloths, passed and re-passed, and
+now and again a string of dromedaries pursued the even tenor of their
+way, undisturbed and unattracted by the babel of the multitude. The
+colour scheme was blue, blue, blue, in every conceivable tone, and for
+variation, soft maizy yellow, prune, and mauve--the distant mountains
+deeply purple.
+
+The old men of China are not the least pleasing of its inhabitants.
+They are so kindly, so dignified, so placid, and so really venerable.
+They stood around, dozens of them, with their pet birds in pretty
+wooden cages singing away all the time, often held on the flat of
+their hands high up and out of danger from the crowd. The cages are
+frequently finely carved and beautifully made, the little seed and
+water-pots of good porcelain, and the fittings of wrought silver
+or brass. In Kalgan a foreign woman is indeed a _rara avis_, but
+Chinese manners can be beyond reproach. The people crowd round one,
+and certainly in the city one never moved without a small following.
+But here, weird object that one must have seemed, they seldom made
+themselves objectionable or jeered. One cannot help reflecting upon the
+difference there would be in the case of a Chinese visiting a northern
+English town in his Oriental dress and with his stumbling speech. How,
+one wonders, would the crowds treat him?
+
+In pleasant contrast with the dust of the city were certain riding
+expeditions which took me, accompanied by my host, to the foot hills
+surrounding Kalgan, to inspect at close quarters the ruins of the Great
+Wall and the watch-towers which punctuate it every 200 yards. Whether
+he did it to test my riding capabilities or my courage before starting
+me off on my lonely tour, I never quite discovered, but vivid in my
+recollection is the climbing my host and I did on one occasion. By no
+means an accomplished rider, the second day out on a new pony is always
+more agreeable to me than the first, but when I saw how the little
+black beast that had been lent to me and which I was subsequently to
+take up-country, could scale precipitous banks, keep its feet among
+loose shale lying on hard slippery surfaces, creep along narrow,
+sloping tracks round mountain sides--places along which one would never
+have dared to lead, much less ride, a horse at home--my confidence
+developed considerably. In parts it was too dangerous to remain in the
+saddle at all, and I shall never forget one thrilling moment when my
+pony insisted upon turning right round upon our sole support, which was
+a bit of a tuft overhanging a chasm some forty to sixty feet deep. His
+heels sent the stones flying down, and I momentarily expected the whole
+thing to give way, and that we should roll down hopelessly mixed-up,
+sheer on to the rocks below.
+
+In connection with the extensive railway works at Kalgan and the
+projected extension of them, is quite an important little community
+of well-educated Cantonese, with some of whom I became acquainted by
+means of an introduction given to me in Peking by my friend, Dr. Wu
+Lien Teh, whose research work, especially in connection with plague, is
+well known throughout the scientific world. Several of these Cantonese
+are Christians and are keen supporters of the work carried on by the
+missionaries amongst their employees. My introduction was presented
+at a fortunate moment, for a feast to celebrate the arrival of a
+first-born son was just then in course of preparation, and the presence
+of a foreign lady apparently lent to it a welcome novelty.
+
+The proud father of the baby, Dr. Shi, knew a certain amount of
+English, and, in consequence, I launched out alone, on to that sea of
+unknown etiquette and custom, feeling a certain degree of security.
+What was my horror on arriving at the house to find my host anxiously
+awaiting my somewhat tardy arrival in order to introduce me to the
+sixteen ladies already present so that he might hasten off to preside
+at a similar banquet to his men friends at a restaurant near by. Not
+one word of anything but the Cantonese dialect did the ladies speak,
+and my carefully prepared sentences of felicitation in the Mandarin
+tongue were in consequence discounted. The company, among whom was
+the baby’s mother, greeted me with much ceremony and cordiality.
+The precise form of salutation varies in different parts of China,
+and here the correct bow resembles nothing so much as the action of
+surreptitiously pulling up one’s stocking. Dr. Shi was careful to
+explain to me that I was the guest of honour, and, after showing me
+where to sit, he departed and left me to the tender mercies of the
+little ladies. A little later on, however (and this suggests the innate
+kindness and consideration of the Chinese) his heart must have smote
+him, and thinking that chopsticks might be a source of embarrassment
+to me, he flew round from the restaurant with a borrowed plate, spoon,
+and fork. As a matter of fact these latter embarrassed me far more than
+the chopsticks had done, for my big plate afforded my two generous
+hostesses opportunity to overwhelm me with food which the ordinary
+little bowl would never have contained.
+
+Upon the round table were set no fewer than sixteen dishes, and these
+I gathered were only accessories to the huge bowls which were brought
+in from the kitchen, whence there appeared at least a dozen distinct
+courses. Eggs served in cochineal-stained shells were, it was explained
+to me, in special honour of the new baby, as also was the ginger of the
+same glad hue. The feast was heralded in by the customary joy sounds of
+China; crackers innumerable and deafening being fired off immediately
+outside the room in which we were assembled. Little leaden kettles
+of “the dew of the rose leaf” (samshui) were first of all brought in,
+and each of us was assisted to at least a thimbleful. Then began the
+“Ch’ing chih fan” (“invite you to eat”). Everybody “ch’inged” everybody
+else, and we proceeded at the same time to help one another to dainty
+morsels with our own chopsticks. Instead of drinking to each other in
+occidental fashion, the Chinese “eat to each other,” and when one’s
+neighbour planks a toothsome morsel of bird or fish into one’s bowl, it
+is etiquette to rise slightly in one’s chair and say “thank you”.
+
+Chopsticks, by the way, are like golf--it is largely a game of chance
+and temperament. Sometimes one is on one’s game, and one manages to put
+away a substantial meal; at other times one “can’t hit a ball,” and one
+leaves the table feeling rather empty. The meal had not progressed far
+before we were on terms of great conviviality, not to say familiarity.
+They all laughed at the way in which I mismanaged my chopsticks (I
+declined to give in and use a spoon and fork) and tried to teach me.
+It was of no use, I was not “on my game” that evening. Next to me was
+a dear old soul in a handsome black velvet coat; I think she must
+have been a near relation on account of the way in which she took me
+under her wing, from time to time popping a choice morsel, a chunk of
+pine-apple, or a gigantic prawn, straight into my mouth. At intervals
+dishes that I really enjoyed came on, buried eggs, bearing striking
+resemblance, by the way, to plover’s eggs, crisply baked apricot
+kernels, roast duck (horribly underdone), and the seeds of the lotus in
+syrup, being among the most palatable. Half-way through the feast my
+large plate was a horrible sight and full of things I felt I could not
+possibly swallow.
+
+A charming girl opposite me leaned forward and gave me a generous
+helping of some nice-looking whitish stew which nearly made me sick
+when I tried it. It was like eating a very slimy sponge. To cover
+my confusion, and with, I thought, great aplomb, I managed with
+some difficulty to perch a beautiful morsel of very raw duck on my
+chopsticks, which, instead of eating myself, I unselfishly plunged into
+the mouth of my old friend on my left. The attention nearly choked her.
+She did not expect it of me. But pleasant relations were established
+for the evening, and I received several invitations to other dinner
+parties as a result. There was a good deal of giggling at my foreign
+ways, but these, I imagine, were less productive of sheer glee than my
+attempt to adapt myself to their customs.
+
+At half-time or thereabouts, a woman servant of the coolie class,
+very slatternly, and with her own baby upon her back, distributed
+cigarettes, some cheap American brand in a tin, picking them out with
+her dirty fingers and pressing them upon us in a most hospitable way.
+All the servants, in fact, urged us on behalf of their master and
+mistress to eat and drink. From time to time they would quietly sneak
+a cigarette for themselves, and go to stand in the doorway to smoke
+it. One of them was quite an old woman, and it amused me to watch her
+casually take one from the table and light it between her withered old
+hands with her back turned to the company. Our hostess, for whom with
+two or three other guests there was not room at our table, came in
+periodically to see how we were progressing, and would hand us one or
+other of the delicacies persuasively. She peeled a Mandarin orange for
+the old T’ai-t’ai next to me. The latter took it, but at once passed
+it on to one of the urchins who were hanging around for tit-bits. It
+seemed ungracious, but I suppose it was quite polite. A great tip to
+be remembered at a Chinese feast is this; entice one of the many small
+children always present to your side. You have then, conveniently
+situated, a willing receptacle for the superfluous dainties that have
+been heaped into your bowl, besides which you gain merit for your
+“warm-heartedness” towards the dear little souls.
+
+[Illustration: A BIRD FANCIER, KALGAN]
+
+[Illustration: SERVANTS IN THE COURTYARD]
+
+Between ten and half-past--we had sat down soon after 6 p.m.--I
+felt that the time had arrived when I might reasonably, though
+reluctantly, take my departure; but the attempt to do so was met by
+much protestation and conversation, and it was borne in upon me that
+my old friend the T’ai-t’ai was inviting me to go back with her to her
+house there to “sit-a-sit”. I agreed with pleasure, and hand-in-hand we
+sallied forth in the moonlight, together with her daughter-in-law
+and her little daughter, a pretty little soul, this latter, who was
+the proud possessor of an English watch bracelet as well as several
+distinctly western rings and bangles. Their house was not very far
+off, and when we arrived the old lady ushered me into a bedroom where
+her husband and son were reading in somewhat _négligé_ costume. They
+quickly invited me into the guest room and, hastily donning their long
+coats of ceremony, joined us. The father spoke a little English--he
+had once stayed for three weeks in England, coming over, I understood,
+in the train of Li Hung Ch’ang; the son, with whom I had a most
+illuminating conversation on Chinese topics, had been educated in
+England, and another son was at that time an undergraduate at Caius
+College, Cambridge.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+“A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+Although I never found Kalgan lacking in interest and amusement,
+I began to feel at the end of a week there that my prospects for
+setting out for Mongolia did not seem to improve. The place teemed
+with soldiers, and reports came in of impending battles between
+Russo-supported Mongols and troops from the south which were daily
+being poured over the frontiers. What to believe, and how much
+reliance to place upon such information no one seemed to know, but
+the persistency of one report, of a battle that had lasted six hours
+at Dolo N’or, when the Chinese had to retire in the face of superior
+numbers, found justification later on in obvious fact.
+
+My long-looked-for opportunity came at last, however, in the shape of
+a Finnish missionary who wished to journey westward into Mongolia,
+and who expressed himself as not only willing but pleased to allow my
+little caravan to join his for our mutual protection. My preparations
+at once sprang into activity. A Peking cart drawn by a strong mule,
+and a most unpromising pony were hired for me, together with a
+ruffianly looking Chinese, said to be trusty, at any rate brave enough
+to face the terrors of Mongolia, at the rate of four dollars a day.
+Hearing that we were to make an early start, I finished every detail of
+my packing overnight, and was up betimes next day, lingering, however,
+long in the last bath that I was likely to get for many a long day. I
+ought by that time to have known that such plans as those for leaving
+early seldom materialise, but I felt anyhow that I would not be the one
+to cause delay. Instead of 8 a.m. we were under weigh soon after noon.
+
+I had employed the meantime greatly to my own advantage. When I went
+out to inspect my cart, the driver had already more than half filled
+the interior with his own and his companion’s belongings, sheep-skin
+coats of doubtful cleanliness, sacks of fodder, and what not. It is
+quite as typical of Chinese as of menials in other countries, to find
+out by such experiments just how far they dare to go, or how much their
+employer will stand--which comes to the same thing. My own theory is
+that if you do not at the very outset assume the whip-hand, you will
+get more or less bullied by those who should be obeying your orders. I
+used my own discretion here, therefore, and ordered everything to be
+turned out of the cart, including a sort of mattress-cushion which
+lined it. They did as they were told without a murmur, and laughed at
+my persistence and their own discomfiture in the clouds of dust they
+raised.
+
+I then had my own things carefully packed in, bedding in a hold-all,
+cushions, water-bottles, as well as such articles as my camera,
+books, and a certain amount of food. My box of provisions, including
+tinned meat, Bovril, tea, butter, cheese, rice, oatmeal, as well as a
+plentiful supply of walnuts and raisins, and a small box containing
+a change of clothes, were roped securely on to the tail of the cart;
+fodder for the animals being placed on the top of them. Eggs and
+potatoes I could rely upon buying from the Chinese for at least three
+days out from Kalgan. The Southern Mongols themselves have nothing at
+all to sell, living as they do on koumiss (soured milk), tsamba (a sort
+of crushed barley), and mutton when they can get it.
+
+A tiresome lad of eighteen or so made his appearance during the
+morning, and I foresaw that if he came too that I should be bothered
+with him as well as the driver sitting on the shafts of my cart and
+thus obscuring my view when I was inside. The missionaries spoke
+sternly to both boy and driver to this effect and told them plainly
+that I refused to allow the former to accompany me. They acquiesced;
+but before we were clear of the city the lad turned up again smiling,
+and later on I discovered that he was the owner of the little red
+demon of a pony, and also that he was a very necessary adjunct to my
+party.
+
+The caravan consisted of the Finnish missionary, his two open carts
+drawn by two horses in each, myself in my Peking cart drawn by mule
+and pony, a saddle pony, three Mongols, two of whom were mounted--who,
+wishing to return to their homes on the borders of the Gobi, attached
+themselves to us for safety, and four Chinese to attend to the
+animals--nine of us in all. We were accompanied to the city gates
+by some of the missionaries. The government offices, the Tartar
+general’s yamen, the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, as also the offices
+in which business connected with Southern Mongolia is transacted, are
+all situated in this part of the city. There was some question as to
+whether I might not have difficulty in passing the Chinese guard at the
+gates of the city, since I possessed no passport even for travelling in
+Chihli, much less for leaving that province and penetrating into the
+wilds of Mongolia. Knowing quite well that had I applied for a passport
+it would have been refused, I decided--upon the advice, I may say, of
+an official high up in the Chinese government service--to dispense
+with that formality. The missionaries, good sportsmen that they were,
+intended to acquaint the Chinese Foreign Office with the fact that I
+was in Mongolia _after my departure_. The Chinese, however, take but
+little account of women, and I passed through the north gate on the
+high road to the goal of my ambition.
+
+Riding, I soon found, was not much fun over this rocky way. I had yet
+to grow used to trusting entirely to luck, and to letting the pony
+have his head under such conditions. Moreover, knowing nothing of the
+country one was obliged at first to keep within sight of the caravan,
+which hereabouts went forward at a snail’s pace. I therefore spared my
+pony for a spell, and giving it to the boy to lead, I retired to my
+cart to lie down, and with my feet sticking out over the mule’s back,
+meditate on what was before me.
+
+The road for ten miles or so follows the mud-coloured valley where
+the clusters of houses so tone in with their surroundings that one
+might think that they did so upon the theory of protective adaptation
+to their environment. From the rocks and boulders with which the road
+is strewn it might well have been a river-bed until the steep ascent
+of some 2400 feet from the level to the Chang Chia K’ou, the Kalgam,
+or Han-o-pa (meaning handle) Pass begins. The carts here began to
+progress in brief spasms, and the gradient, together with the general
+conditions, made this a somewhat painful experience. Leading our
+ponies, we were able by devious paths to discover rather smoother
+going, and the number one Mongol, a charming old man of some position,
+who, having no mount, now seated himself (without invitation) on the
+shaft of my cart, remarked that “The great one must be possessed
+of extraordinary strength to be able to walk like that”. I learned
+subsequently that a horseless Mongol is just about as much use as a
+seagull with its wings clipped.
+
+[Illustration: WITH DOBDUN, READY TO START]
+
+[Illustration: CROSSING THE HAN-O-PA PASS]
+
+The missionaries had arranged that this same old Mongol, Dobdun, by
+name, should act “boy” for me on the way up, i.e. boil water, peel
+potatoes, and spread my bedding at night. I liked him very much, but
+mainly for the sake of his picturesque appearance, for besides being
+very stupid, extremely lazy, and knowing not one word of Chinese, he
+had not the foggiest notion as to how to do anything for my comfort
+beyond getting me hot water, and smiling in a paternal way, when, to
+relieve my beasts, I got out and walked up the steep places.
+
+By the time we were at the top of the pass, between five and six
+thousand feet above sea level, it was dusk. We had taken our time
+over the ascent, an icy wind was blowing, and the scene before us was
+desolate indeed. Earlier in the day and under normal conditions the
+traffic here is very considerable. Not so at the time of my visit, for
+beyond being overtaken by a couple of Mongols trotting swiftly along
+on camels, who drew rein for a few seconds just in order to pass the
+time of day, or, more literally perhaps, to put the inevitable question
+as to our destination, before they flew on again, we encountered never
+a soul. I had never seen camels trotting before and they reminded me
+of leggy schoolgirls fielding at cricket, for they scatter their limbs
+about in just such an ungainly way.
+
+The explanation of the solitude of the pass was forthcoming and obvious
+enough later on, when, wheeling into the compound of a Chinese inn, we
+were told that the whole place had been commandeered by the Chinese
+troops. It was all very ghostly and mysterious, not to say formidable.
+Under a bright starlit sky, the wind was blowing a gale, and the
+prospect of sleeping in the open under such conditions by no means
+appealed to me. Han-o-pa is a fair-sized village, but it was only after
+our fourth attempt that we could gain admission to an inn.
+
+The inns, which are to be found only for thirty or forty miles north
+of the frontier, are similar to all inns in North China. Built of mud,
+the one-storied sheds line three sides of the compound wall. There are
+stone posts in the compound to which horses and mules are tied up; in
+the centre is a collection of carts and bales of hides and wool all
+carefully covered up, while occupying a corner to themselves a trio of
+camels was tethered. We entered the main room, the kitchen, two-thirds
+of which was taken up by the k’ang, a low platform some two feet from
+the ground, covered with a thick layer of hardened mud or boards, and
+heated from underneath by means of a small furnace. It is one man’s
+work to keep the fire going. With one hand he pulls a sort of bellows
+in and out, with the other he feeds the fire continuously by means of a
+ladle filled with dried horse-droppings. From this time onward, argol,
+the Mongolian word for this dried manure, was the only description of
+fuel I saw until my return to civilisation. There is neither wood nor
+coal (unless, maybe, the latter is hid from sight in the bowels of
+the mountain) in Inner or South Mongolia. The k’ang was crowded with
+Mongols and Chinese as well as a number of soldiers, and I learned that
+the tiresome boy who had insisted upon accompanying me was regaling the
+company with a personal description of the foreigner whom he had in
+tow, more especially how that she had had four shots on one occasion
+before her pony would let her mount; a feat which seemed to give rise
+to great hilarity when they saw me--the relation of eleven stone to the
+size of the pony, I imagine.
+
+In the room adjoining were several Chinese traders, and I had to make
+my choice between, sharing a k’ang with these gentlemen and the Finn,
+or sleeping under the stars in the courtyard in my cart. Throwing
+convention to the winds (one really could not trouble about Mrs.
+Grundy in Mongolia some five or six thousand feet above sea level
+with a thermometer well below zero and an icy blast blowing from the
+snow-covered mountains), I decided upon the former without a moment’s
+consideration, and arranged a sheet of oilcloth with my cork mattress
+on the top on the opposite side to that on which the Chinese had
+already stretched themselves. It was late, and we lost no time in
+preparing and eating our chief meal of the day. We sat cross-legged
+on our beds, a low Chinese table between us, while we ate. We were
+tired, and very hungry, and to save unpacking, I shared my provisions
+with the missionary. Having travelled a good deal about Mongolia, he
+knew the people and the language well, and I found him an interesting
+companion in consequence, delightfully ready to pour information out to
+so keen a listener as I was. I am afraid that he thought me quite mad
+to wish to make such a journey from motives other than evangelisation
+or business, and he told me later that he was greatly surprised at my
+powers of endurance, and that I could take things as they came with
+such equanimity. Moreover, at the end of the journey he expressed his
+willingness to allow me to join his caravan some time in the future
+on an extensive tour over several months in the western region of the
+country--which was, I felt, the greatest compliment he could have paid
+me.
+
+“You won’t be able to undress, you know,” the Finn informed me, as he
+nervously watched me divesting myself of my heavy riding boots; for
+which superfluous information I politely thanked him. I had had no
+intention of doing so in this motley company. One’s toilet on such
+an occasion was both brief and simple. I travelled in the only garb
+possible in that country, a cross-seat riding habit, and at night
+merely divested myself of my outer garment in order to put on a long
+sheepskin coat, took off my stock, crammed a fur cap down over my ears,
+and tried to sleep. I found this last somewhat difficult on those hard,
+hard k’angs, with a regular orchestra of snores bellowing forth from my
+neighbours on all sides. The boards do not accommodate themselves to
+one’s pampered body, and I used to wish there were less of me to ache.
+
+It was not much after 4 a.m. when the Mongols woke us next day, and
+we drank our tea and ate some bread and butter to an accompaniment of
+much shouting as they persuaded the animals into their harness. There
+was little inducement to wash, for the top of the Han-o-pa Pass was
+intensely cold in April, and what tried me more than anything else was
+the difficulty of keeping the skin on my hands and face in that harsh,
+alkali-laden atmosphere. Our Chinese companions, who had put us through
+a perfect catechism before we all settled down for the night, we left
+still snoring on the k’ang. Our joint hotel bill for the accommodation,
+and including the tip to the man who sat up all night at the bellows,
+was somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3½d., but being foreigners, we
+doubtless paid more heavily than did the Chinese.
+
+Our early start was somewhat discounted by the breaking down of one
+of the wagons half an hour afterwards on the most exposed part of
+the mountain. The wind cut us through and through, and the sight of
+the snow and ice on all sides did not tend to make us feel any more
+comfortable. (One learns patience and philosophy in this country, if
+one learns nothing else.) My beautiful old Mongol presented his advice
+to the carters as to repairing the wagon, and then proceeded to climb
+up into the other one, thrust himself deep down amongst the cargo, and
+drawing all the available covering over his head became, for the time
+being, lost to view. I quickly adapted myself to my environment and
+followed his example, thus beginning the day by endeavouring to finish
+the night, and sleeping in my cart until nearly nine o’clock, when,
+calling up my pony, I had a delightful ride until our next halt, at
+tiffin time.
+
+The day had by this time resolved itself into a condition of springlike
+perfection, and we had passed from the rugged barrier of the Han-o-pa
+region to a grassy plateau, finding a good deal of the land as well
+under Chinese cultivation, crops of wheat and oats just beginning
+to show themselves above the ground. By their assiduity, their
+perseverance, thrift, and industry, the Chinese here are persistently
+pressing onward and forward into Inner Mongolia, year by year a little
+more and a little more, colonising, and putting land under cultivation,
+ploughing up great tracts which perhaps the previous year had furnished
+grazing ground for Mongol live stock, their clusters of little mud
+houses forming landmarks in the bare landscape.
+
+Long strings of ox-carts were here winding their way up towards the
+mountains--unhappy-looking oxen with a vast amount of endurance,
+wretched little carts carrying a load of three sacks apiece, weighing
+from six to seven cwt. They travel very slowly, and on this narrow
+rocky road they are compelled to stop and make way for everything that
+either passes or meets them. The creaking of a string of ox-carts,
+sometimes as many as a 100 to 150 tied to one another, once heard
+will never be forgotten. The wheels are fixed on to solid axles which
+revolve with them and the rest of the structure is the personification
+of simplicity. Held together by wedges, the one thing needful to its
+well-being is water. Allowed to become too dry, the ox-cart falls to
+pieces. Kept properly damp, it forms the most serviceable of all means
+of transport across the desert. The camel for celerity, but slow and
+sure is decidedly the characteristic of the ox-cart.
+
+The first camel caravan we saw bearing hides and wool down to Kalgan
+met us hereabouts. The Mongols at the rate of one to every fifteen
+beasts, stared and stared at me and my pony, while I returned the gaze
+with interest. The staying power of camels is proverbial. The caravans
+in Mongolia march from twenty-five to twenty-eight miles a day,
+averaging a little over two miles an hour, for a month, after which
+the animals require a two weeks’ rest when they will be ready to begin
+work again. Their carrying powers all the same do not bear comparison
+with the ox-cart. The ordinary load for the Bactrian, or two-humped
+Mongolian, camel is about 2 cwt. For riding purposes, though despised
+by the horsey Mongol, a good camel may be used with an ordinary saddle
+for seventy miles a day for a week in spring or autumn without food or
+water. The points of this particular species are a well-ribbed body,
+wide feet, and strong, rigid humps. The female camel is pleasanter to
+ride and generally more easy-going than the skittish young bull camel,
+who in the months of January and February is likely to be fierce and
+refractory. I have heard it said that if a camel “goes for you” with an
+open mouth, you should spring at his neck and hang on with both legs
+and arms until some one renders you timely assistance and ties him up.
+Generally speaking, however, they are not savage. They make as though
+to bite, but seldom actually do. The female might, in fact would, try
+to protect her young; and the cry of a cow camel when separated from
+her calf is as pathetic as that of a hare being run down by the hounds.
+
+It was at a somewhat superior inn we drew rein at midday with the
+double object of resting our animals and refreshing ourselves. The
+pleasant Chinese who owned it invited us into his private apartment,
+a relatively clean room, and it was here that I made my first cooking
+experiment on the journey. In a biscuit box, which when we set out
+contained a dozen eggs, was discovered the early development of an
+omelette. Weeding the eggshells carefully away from the same, I
+replaced them by chips of cold ham, thus in course of time producing
+what I considered to be a dish worthy of the excellent _chef_ to whom I
+had so lately said farewell at the Wagon-lits hotel at Peking.
+
+Alas! for my well-meant effort. The Finn felt extremely unwell after
+partaking thereof, but in a subsequently confidential moment he
+explained to me that the omelette had unhappily not harmonised with
+a vast amount of cake which he had during the morning eaten in the
+sad intervals of wakefulness while I was riding and he was snoozing
+in my cart out of the wind. The innkeeper kept us company, of course,
+during the meal, when he gave us the latest intelligence concerning
+the movements of the Mongol and Chinese troops. All along the caravan
+route to Urga, he told us, the Mongols were removing their camps and
+flocks to remoter quarters for fear of being pillaged; and even down
+here, little more than a day’s journey from the frontier, most of the
+colonists were ready to pack up their ox-carts at an hour’s notice and
+hurry away to the security of Chihli.
+
+The day, which had begun with so much promise, developed badly, a high
+wind sprang up from the north, and, laden with alkaline saturated
+sand lashed one’s face into a condition of soreness. Riding, as we
+were, straight into the teeth of it, our progress was slow and the
+hour late when we made for an isolated and miserable little compound
+in which to pass the night. So few wayfarers had we seen during the
+day that it seemed reasonable to suppose that we should have the place
+almost to ourselves; but not at all. A most unholy looking crew of
+Chinese and Mongols appeared to occupy every possible corner when the
+door was opened, and we were told baldly that there was no room for
+us here at all. There was, however, no alternative but to remain, and
+with a little persuasion on the part of my old Mongol, a few of his
+fellow-countrymen betook themselves to a less comfortable shed which
+the innkeeper had considered unworthy of sheltering us. Some of them
+remained, and there was, of course, nothing to do but to make the best
+of it. The Finn told me that he thought he could get the Chinese men
+turned out as well if I liked, but this would have been a desperately
+unsportsmanlike thing to do, and I felt that one could not possibly
+allow a missionary so to prejudice his profession. I could see that he
+was relieved by, and much appreciated, my point of view, which I must
+say seemed merely an elementary action in “playing the game”.
+
+There were some nine or ten of us to share the room, and two of the
+Mongols looked most awful villains. I always slept with my revolver
+under my pillow--most people did, I fancy, during those troublous
+times--and I was amused at the Finn remarking, “You should put your
+trust in God rather than in firearms”. I told him that I quite agreed
+with him, but that I had always believed that intelligence combined
+with a straight eye had been given to us with a view to helping
+ourselves in tight corners. This same excellent man, be it related,
+never himself travelled without a revolver in his pocket and was at
+this time the proud possessor of a shot gun into the bargain. It struck
+me afterwards that he was not unreasonably a little nervous as to whom
+I might shoot were I to wake up suddenly frightened in the night. As a
+matter of fact, the known possession of firearms in such a country is
+in itself a certain amount of security.
+
+Getting away in the early morning was always rather a business. My
+stubborn mule had sometimes to be coaxed and threatened alternately
+for half an hour before he would allow himself to be put between the
+shafts of the cart, and finally our caravan would get under weigh,
+disentangling itself from the apparently inextricable confusion of the
+crowded compound.
+
+Mongolian dogs, roused by the crackings of whips, keeping up an
+incessant growl, breaking into a savage bark should the unwary
+visitor venture too near; weary ponies with drooping heads tethered
+to the stone pillar in the middle; ill-conditioned pigs nosing about
+everywhere in somewhat hopeless search of provender; and, as souls
+apart, the stately camels in picturesque groups looking superciliously
+on, snarling and snapping as their owners urge them to kneeling posture
+to receive their loads--such is the composition of the inn compound
+as one hangs around shivering in the chilly dawn, ready to hoist
+oneself into the saddle and be off the moment that the caravan is on
+the point of starting. It does not need great experience in this sort
+of travelling to be firm in seeing one’s entourage set out before one
+departs oneself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+“Those who know when they have enough are rich”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+The countryside at this point, some seventy miles north-west of the
+Great Wall, begins to lose its cultivated aspect and to develop into
+great stretches of undulating prairie as far as the eye can see, which
+would have been ideal for riding had one had no retarding caravan to be
+kept in view. By this time I had grown quite attached to my pony, for
+although obstinate, as Mongolians must always appear by comparison with
+Europeans, he had a very fair mouth and was evidently used to being
+well treated. The monotony of the plains was broken not far from the
+last sign of civilisation, Haraossu, a place composed of a temple and
+a few houses, to reach which we had the excitement of fording a river,
+the carters making no end of a bother about this. First of all they
+persuaded one of the younger Mongols to divest himself of his trousers
+in order to wade out to ascertain at which point the animals would best
+be able to negotiate it. He walked into the water gingerly enough, the
+others all pouring advice into his ears at the tops of their voices,
+and after a considerable delay and a ridiculous amount of fussing
+and preparation--the water in the deepest part did not come up to our
+axles--we got over with great yelling and shouting. The little red
+pony in my tandem flew over as though demons were after him, nearly
+upsetting the cart by rushing up the steep bank on the opposite side.
+My saddle pony went over quietly enough with me on his back, I having
+reassured him by letting him drink a little water first, and having
+therefore no difficulty at all.
+
+The last mud hut, a private house--there being no more inns on this
+side of the Gobi desert--was reached long after dark. It was a truly
+depressing habitation, the only virtue of which was that it was almost
+deserted save for an old man and his two sons. They may have had
+relatively comfortable quarters, but all that they could be induced
+to give us was the merest little outhouse, a lean-to shed, from the
+roof of which hung cobwebs heavy with the dust of ages. Warmth or
+comfort there was none. Stacked round the walls and in the corners were
+harness, primitive agricultural appliances, a collection of fusty bags,
+and a mass of rubbish. When the dim light of our candles penetrated to
+the rafters we saw hanging therefrom a number of skins of sheep, goats,
+etc., some of them quite recently disassociated from their carcasses
+and in sanguinary condition, as well as a skeleton of what I diagnosed
+as a cat.
+
+It was a horrible place and so appallingly dirty that one felt desire
+neither to eat nor rest in it. Packed up on the tail of my cart,
+however, I carried a canvas camp-bed of which I had not expected to
+make use before arriving at Ta-Bol. Here it was a great comfort, for
+at least it raised me above the dust-level of the crowded k’ang, and
+one did one’s best to become oblivious of the surroundings as soon as
+possible. The owners of the place were evidently very nervous, and a
+murmur of conversation kept me awake most of the night. They would tell
+us nothing, however, and pretended ignorance of all that was taking
+place in the country. Seeing some fowls, we persuaded them with some
+difficulty to sell us a few eggs, which they assured us were perfectly
+fresh. To my surprise, however, in applying the test of spinning them
+round, they whirled like a teetotum, and I learned for the first time
+of the native custom of hard-boiling them as soon as they were laid.
+
+We awoke to very cold weather next day, and I found to my sorrow that
+my pony had developed a swollen back and that it would be unwise to
+saddle him. Starting by leading him, I tied him up later on to the
+tail of the cart just in front of my own, thinking to keep an eye on
+him as we followed. But this was too undignified for the game little
+beast, and with a toss of his head he broke his reins and went off at
+a gallop, heading for the detestable quarters we had left an hour
+earlier. This delayed us considerably, for we had already made a late
+start owing to my stupid old Mongol first breaking the strap which held
+my bedding together and then so packing everything into my cart that I
+could not possibly get into it as well. The entire contents had to be
+disgorged and re-arranged.
+
+By this time I had got my carters pretty well into shape, and they
+were beginning to realise that things had to be done in my way, that
+the cart was mine _pro tem._, and that I was not out for their sole
+amusement. In a country where women are wont to take such an entirely
+back seat it needs time and perseverance to establish this novel
+state of affairs. As I had foreseen, there being two of them to one
+of me, they tried in a mild way to bully me by seating themselves on
+my shafts at the same time, thereby, when I was inside, completely
+obscuring my view, and putting me on a level with the native women who
+are neither seen nor heard. It was, too, only by considerable firmness
+that I established a right to my favourite possession, a large sheet of
+Chinese oilcloth. My bed was spread upon it at night, when it made a
+sort of neutral territory between myself and the many insects by which
+I was likely to be attacked. By day it shielded my baggage from the
+dust and occasional rain storms, as well as gladdening my eyes when
+they rested upon its brilliant imperial yellow. Not once but many times
+did my driver try to annex this precious oilcloth in order to protect
+his fodder therewith.
+
+With two of the Mongols who accompanied us for their own convenience,
+I had very little to do. One of them, a son-in-law of the older
+man, was a mere youth, very under sized, of seventeen or eighteen,
+whose wedding, I learned later, was the great event of a few months
+previously in Inner Mongolia. The father-in-law treated him with much
+respect and consideration, for the boy is rich as Mongols go, and was
+returning from Kalgan with saddle bags filled with purchases for his
+bride; most uncomfortable they must have been, since they pushed out
+his short legs from the saddle in a most ludicrous way. Starting an
+hour or so later than we did, they were handed a packet of letters
+which arrived just after I left, as well as a dollar’s worth of stamps.
+They remembered to give me the letters a day or two afterwards, but I
+can only conclude that they kept the stamps to trade with next time
+they visited Kalgan, for I saw them never at all.
+
+Mongols pure and simple inhabited the hut at which we drew rein for our
+horses’ midday rest, and girls with bright chubby cheeks and large dark
+eyes came out to stare at us. After this between us and the Gobi there
+was nothing but boundless prairie with an occasional group of Mongol
+yourts, or tents. The air here was so clear that the eye carried for
+a considerable distance. Far out on the horizon one may see objects
+bobbing up and down, and, like a ship upon the high seas the sails of
+which come into view long before her hull, these objects gradually
+resolve themselves into figures, and a couple of Mongols mounted upon
+camels dawn upon one’s view, swinging along at a great pace, the wind
+at their backs. They are the pioneers of a storm and great clouds
+of dust are rolling up behind them. The unusual sight not only of a
+whirlwind, but of a whirlwind walking across the prairie was very
+striking. It revolves at a tremendous rate upon its own axis as well as
+making swift progress. In the high wind we found hereabouts, I several
+times saw two or more solid columns of dust rising high into the air,
+apparently stalking each other over the plains. Another curious and
+equally amusing sight was that created by lumps of camel wool, which,
+becoming detached, are blown along gathering loose dry grass and more
+wool on their way, gradually forming huge boluses and trundling along
+in the high wind with an amazing velocity.
+
+We were now in Mongolia proper, and the language of the people we met
+appealed to me as infinitely more musical and harmonious than the
+throaty sounds that emanate from the mandarin speaking Chinese. Early
+in the day we arrived at the home of my old Mongol, Dobdun, and here
+in his yourt we were evidently not only eagerly expected, but received
+a very hearty welcome from the wives, a lama priest, brother of our
+host, and from a number of young people and children. There were
+several yourts clustered together, and outside the ubiquitous Tibetan
+prayer flags fluttered in the wind. As we rode up, we were greeted by a
+volley of barks from several ferocious dogs, and in Mongolia one soon
+learns never to dismount until some one from the yourt comes out to
+control them. When within shouting distance of the settlement at which
+one wishes to stop, one should stop and call out the word “Nuhuoi”
+(Mongolian for dogs), which as a rule brings out not only the dogs
+themselves, if they are not already on your tracks, but the inhabitants
+of the yourts who are bound by law to control them.
+
+The yourt is an umbrella-like framework of trellis-wood covered with
+rather thick felt, which when new is perfectly white, and in travelling
+in cold weather I ask for nothing better than to be housed in one of
+these. Some 14 to 18 feet in diameter, they are circular in form,
+having a dome-shaped roof. The door, which is originally painted red,
+faces always south or south-east. Upon entering the yourt, you are
+confronted by the little family altar, on which is arranged a Buddha
+and perhaps several smaller and subsidiary gods, together with sundry
+little brass cups containing offerings of one sort and another. In
+front of the altar is a low Chinese table, and round the sides of
+Dobdun’s yourt were some fine old red lacquer chests for clothes and
+valuables. Most of these had nice old Chinese locks, but on one of
+them the Finn recognised an European padlock as his own which he lost
+when travelling a year ago with this same Mongol. He did not call
+attention to the fact; it would be of little use, for Mongols pick up
+and pocket things when the opportunity occurs and think nothing at all
+of it.
+
+Dobdun’s yourt was exceptionally well-equipped. The ground was covered
+with semi-circular mats of very thick white felt with a device
+_appliqué_ in black as a border. Some handsome skins were also strewn
+about. The centre of the yourt was occupied by an iron basket of
+flaming argol, the smoke from which escaped through a circular opening
+in the roof. Our host, my quondam “boy,” being a man of means, had
+some handsome cushions for his guests to sit upon, and on these we
+squatted cross-legged. There is a considerable amount of etiquette to
+be observed in visiting a Mongol family, and the first thing to be
+remembered is of significant importance. Just as one does not carry an
+umbrella into a London drawing-room, neither should one take a whip
+or stick into a Mongol yourt. To do so is tantamount to an act of
+aggression, and the proper thing is to lay them on the roof outside as
+one enters. Once inside, the usual palaver, as in China, takes place
+as to where one shall sit, and it is interesting to reflect how very
+nearly related after all in some respects our own manners are to those
+of the Asiatics. It would surely be a very modern young person who
+would plump himself into the largest armchair before his elders and
+betters were disposed of.
+
+To the left of the fire are the seats of the lowly, and the inevitable
+invitation to “come up higher” necessitates a certain amount of
+elasticity on the part of those unaccustomed to sink gracefully to the
+ground into a cross-legged position. Should cramp ensue from squatting
+thus, the visitor should remember that to sit with his feet pointing to
+the back of the tent is a heinous breach of good manners. If stretch
+they must, it should be towards the door, not the altar. On the other
+hand, if the foreigner divests himself of his headgear, which among the
+Mongols is not customary, he must place it higher up than, that is, on
+the altar side of, himself. If the word of greeting has for the moment
+been mislaid, as in my own case it invariably was, bows and smiles
+carry one a long way all the world over. Friendliness, but never to the
+point of permitting the least familiarity, seemed to me in the East to
+pave the way as a rule.
+
+With their warm welcome, a good deal of curiosity is naturally
+combined, and I did not flatter myself that it was “love at first
+sight” which made the ladies of the family so anxious to sit near to
+me. Again, as the Chinese do, the Mongols like to finger one’s clothes,
+get a close look at our “funny white eyes and light hair,” and if one
+wears a ring, they are as amused as children to be allowed to try it
+on. But Dobdun, having had some experience of Europeans was not going
+to allow his womenkind to over-reach themselves, and their share in
+the entertainment was to initiate me into the mysteries of Mongol
+tea-making, and keep the fire going, and then, literally, to take a
+back seat and allow the superior sex to converse.
+
+Having finally settled into such seats as befitted the relative dignity
+of the visitors, an interchange of snuff-bottles took place, but in the
+case of Mongols alone it would be the caller who would offer his to the
+host and then to the others present. Of all their personal possessions,
+there is nothing more highly prized by the Mongols throughout the
+country than their snuff-bottles, which, in the case of rich men,
+are frequently made of carved jade, crystal, and precious stones. A
+considerable amount of ritual surrounds the offering and receiving of
+the snuff-bottle. Our host, however, pandering to our foreign ways,
+produced his snuff, and I learned from him to receive it in the palm of
+my hand, lift it slowly to my nose, sniff, and then bowing return it
+with deliberation to the owner. Dobdun’s habitat, I was warned, was not
+to be taken as an index to all yourts, for the general cleanliness, as
+well as the quality of the tea there, were vastly superior to anything
+else I was likely to meet in Mongolia. I was, in fact, being let down
+very easy in my initiation.
+
+The Mongols are very hospitable and insist upon giving the visitor tea
+and milk. It is at first a trying experience to know that good manners
+compel you to drink from a filthy bowl the still filthier milk which
+you see taken from a skin bag, made from the “innards” of a sheep,
+hanging up the side of the yourt, and offered to you by hands which
+from the day they were born appear never to have been washed. Brick
+tea, of which there are several qualities, and which in some parts of
+Mongolia still forms the currency, is made at Hankow from the dust and
+sweepings of the leaf. It is used throughout the country, and forms the
+staple drink of the Mongols. It is brewed by shavings, cut from the
+slab, being pounded up and stewed indefinitely in milk, to which salt
+and a cheesy description of butter are added.
+
+The relation between the tea and the argol was somewhat too intimate
+for my peace of mind, and it went sometimes much against the grain to
+drink from a bowl wiped out by the fingers of some dirty old woman who
+the moment before had been employed in feeding the fire with the horse
+or camel droppings. The collecting of argol is a source of constant
+occupation throughout the spring and summer, when after being spread
+over the ground in the sun, it is piled in great mounds near the yourts
+for use during the winter months. It makes a good hot fire and has
+practically no smell at all when burning. While engaged in endeavouring
+to drink this saline mixture and at the same time to convey the
+impression that I liked it, an elderly man in a loose robe of dark
+red cotton cloth, his head clean-shaved, rode up, dismounted, and came
+in. He was presented to me as “my brother, the lama”. He was an old
+friend of the missionary, and they at once entered into an animated
+conversation.
+
+A particularly handsome small boy with large and merry brown eyes made
+his appearance soon after, and to my surprise, lama priests being
+vowed to celibacy, was introduced by Dobdun as “the son of my brother,
+the lama”. The Finn chaffed the priest gently on the subject of the
+breaking of his vows, whereupon every one laughed, including the
+illegitimate son, who, a fine lad of twelve or so, had already been
+dedicated to the temple and was now a lama student. They retaliated, I
+heard subsequently, by asking the missionary what on earth he was doing
+travelling about the country with a woman. This might have embarrassed
+me had I known the language. It is not the first time that I have
+experienced the blissfulness of ignorance. The lama in embryo and his
+little sister were quite willing to be photographed later on, and were
+posed for me by their seniors at their usual occupation--gathering
+argol.
+
+[Illustration: A CAMEL CARAVAN]
+
+[Illustration: THE LAMA IN EMBRYO, AND HIS LITTLE SISTER GATHERING
+ARGOL]
+
+In spite of Dobdun’s constant association with missionaries at Kalgan,
+in spite of the fact that he knows by heart quite half of the Bible,
+that he has had every opportunity and every encouragement to become
+a Christian, he remains as devout a Buddhist as ever he was; and,
+although interested in the religion of the Western world, he regards
+it as similar but vastly inferior to his own faith. And so he continues
+to enshrine his little brass figure of the prophet, and at sundry times
+he doubtless makes his prostrations, and fills up the many little metal
+cups with suitable offerings of corn and wine to his god.
+
+Thus my first impression of a Mongol yourt was an extremely pleasant
+one, and I was sorry at the end of an hour or more to say farewell to
+my first Mongol friend, little knowing that he had no intention of
+letting me very far out of his sight and that he would turn up again
+within the next forty-eight hours in order to present his foreign
+protégée to his various friends in the neighbourhood. But you never
+know your luck in travelling, and in seeking shelter for the night you
+are as likely as not in winter to find a very different sort of yourt.
+The young calves and lambs share the warmth of the stove with their
+owners, and, if the size of the family (a very elastic term here) is
+out of proportion to the accommodation of the yourt, they will all lie
+down together, well wedged in with their feet towards the fire in the
+middle, the animals squeezing in where they can.
+
+Delightfully drowsy hours in my cart over smooth prairie followed the
+substantial meal in the warmth of the yourt as we pressed on toward
+Ta-Bol, when I was suddenly awakened by an unexpected halt, in time to
+see the Finn dismount at the sight of a couple of Mongols on camels
+who drew up to speak to him. The camel-riders made their beasts kneel
+and they swung themselves out of their saddles to shake the missionary
+warmly by both hands. By this time a third man riding one and leading
+another pony appeared on the scene and the four men squatted on the
+ground in earnest conference. It transpired that they were attached to
+a great caravan on its way down to Kalgan; that they had already been
+obliged to go much out of their way in order to avoid the soldiers;
+and that they would be thankful if the Finn would give them “written
+words” in case any further effort were made to commandeer their camels.
+I provided them with leaves from my note-book for the purpose, and the
+Finn did what he could for them.
+
+[Illustration: CARRYING MAILS]
+
+[Illustration: BY THE WAYSIDE]
+
+[Illustration: ‘HE DREW REINS TO TAKE STOCK OF THE FOREIGNER’]
+
+Exactly why his words should have weight with Government troops in a
+country under martial law, I could never quite fathom. Perhaps it was
+that the soldiers from China and these Mongols from Urga would not be
+able to speak one another’s language--more than probable. These Mongols
+at all events departed quite happy and apparently much reassured by the
+missionary’s advice. The horseman lent the Finn the capital little pony
+he was leading. They would meet again before long, he said, and then it
+could be returned to him. That night I reached the most northerly point
+of my little excursion into the wilds, and camped out in the vicinity
+of the only mission in the heart of Mongolia.
+
+Lack of hospitality has never been one of the variety of faults so
+erroneously attributed to missionaries, but the little five-roomed mud
+structure which housed two families as well as three or four unattached
+men and women, to say nothing of an adopted Mongol orphan, had its
+limitations, and I was not at all sorry to pitch my own tent rather
+than tax the already overburdened resources of this newly established
+station. It was but a few weeks after my visit that this little
+community had to fly for their lives in the face of the pillaging
+Mongols from the north, and up to the present time there has been
+apparently but little hope of their returning to rebuild the ruins of
+their compound, and to resume their almost hopeless task of conversion.
+Missions in China are making quite unprecedented progress at the
+present time, owing doubtless in some degree to the prevailing desire
+for Western education and enlightenment in general. But Buddhism, or
+indeed any other form of belief, has nothing approaching so strong a
+hold over the Chinese as Lamaism has over the Mongols, where in every
+family at least one boy is dedicated from birth to the priesthood, and
+where lamas are estimated as forming over 60 per cent. of the total
+male population.
+
+Within hail of this plucky little band I pitched my tent, and for the
+first time experienced the diversions of life under canvas in what
+was practically winter and during a gale. Among certain things I lay
+claim to have learnt at Ta-Bol was how to appear cheery and optimistic
+at breakfast time when from early dawn and even earlier one had been
+engaged in finding out all about the ways and possibilities of canvas
+during a raging hurricane. The Mongols are an astonishingly feckless
+lot of people compared with the Chinese who nearly invariably “go one
+better” and improve upon anything one shows them from the Western
+world. The first thing that happened when I retired for the night
+was the collapse of my canvas bed. The “boy,” to whom the business
+of erecting it and my tent had been entrusted, had satisfied his
+conscience by merely hooking the ends to the bed supports, and had
+left the sides (literally) to rip. They did. With a tremendous effort,
+the light blowing out at intervals, I managed to detach the frame from
+the canvas and begin again. In course of time, and extremely cold, I
+got into bed. By 3 a.m. I was aroused by the flap of the tent untying
+itself and making a most irritating noise. There was nothing for it but
+to wake up thoroughly and make it fast.
+
+I think I could not have been asleep more than half an hour before
+I gradually became conscious that my tent appeared to be the sole
+obstacle in the path of a tremendous hurricane on its way down from
+Urga to Peking, for all the force of the gale sweeping over hundreds
+of miles of desert seemed to be expending its force upon the canvas.
+The flap-flap was merely the overture to a grand chorus, and the cords
+on one side of the tent suddenly freeing themselves from the pegs
+outside, the entire place became transformed in the twinkling of an eye
+into a pandemonium.
+
+The dust was dense and my belongings blew round in it in base imitation
+of the whirlwinds which had amused me so much during the early part of
+the previous day. Loose corners of the tent smacked at everything with
+extraordinary vigour, smashing all that came within their reach and
+inflicting stinging slaps as one sought to make them fast. Any sort of
+light was out of the question and chaos reigned for hours. Having made
+the ropes fast again and, regardless of dust, deposited everything upon
+the ground with the heavier articles on the top as the only possible
+expedient, I again made a bid for the oblivion of a final nap. From
+sheer exhaustion I managed to sleep again even in that storm, to wake
+up shivering with cold and in a gritty condition of great discomfort.
+For the rest--every single article in the tent had to be cleaned when
+the wind went down. Among things I noted during that eventful night was
+that it is essential when sleeping so near to the bosom of mother earth
+in winter to pack as many clothes underneath as on the top of one’s
+body in a canvas bed. More than once I woke up in the morning quite
+stiff with cold.
+
+Life, however, is full of contrasts, and “joy cometh with the
+morning”. At an early hour a missionary called upon me with a pleasing
+proposition from the Mongols, who, hearing that I had a gun, thought
+that it would be a good opportunity to organise a wolf hunt. Wolves are
+the arch enemies of the Mongols on account of the tremendous amount
+of damage they do to the stock. The Mongols hunt them with a zest
+bred of vengeance, and ride them down (at a somewhat severe cost to
+their ponies, for the pace is terrific and the strain great), finally
+lassoing them with a loop of raw hide attached to the end of a pole.
+The wolf thus caught has a poor time at the hands of the revengeful
+hunter, and I heard horrible stories of the unfortunate brutes being
+pegged down to earth, jaws bound, skinned alive except the head, and
+then set free. Of Mongol bravery there is no doubt, but the reason
+they give for wolves never attacking men in Mongolia is typical of
+their “bounce” and conceit. Wolves certainly “go for” people in Russia
+immediately north, and in Manchuria and China immediately to the east
+and south of Mongolia. The Russians and Chinese, say the Mongols, are
+cowards and run away, while they, the Mongols, attack the wolves,
+yelling and shouting.
+
+A certain she-wolf had for some time carried on successful forays in
+the neighbourhood, and had done considerable damage, not only among
+the flocks and herds, but had even pulled down a colt quite near to a
+settlement. Her lair, where it was suspected that she was maintaining
+a litter of young cubs, had been located on a distant hill-side. Our
+armament on this occasion was, though varied, quite insufficient, and
+consisted only of our service and two smaller revolvers as well as a
+shot gun. We lacked the essential rifle. The expedition, however, was
+not wholly unsuccessful. Taking a line well to leeward of the suspected
+hill-side, four of us with as many Mongols, armed with spades and
+picks, spreading ourselves out with a view to cutting off the retreat
+of the old wolf, should she attempt to dodge us, began a silent march
+over the dried-up grass. We had walked for less than half an hour when,
+sure enough, the vibrations of our footsteps carried the news of our
+approach through the earth to the lair, and in the distance we descried
+the lady, who, while keeping her weather eye upon us, was making off at
+a swinging lope at right angles to us. If only we had had a rifle! Each
+of us was ready to pose as a certain shot and swore to the unquestioned
+demise of the wolf in such a case. A couple of excellent shots from the
+service revolver scuffed up the dust after her retreating form, and
+some of us ran at an angle and tried to head her off by shooting in
+front of her. But pack of novices that we were, she got well away, her
+tongue no doubt in her cheek, and we watched her regretfully into dim
+distance.
+
+Hard work was to take place of suitable weapons. The lair was not
+difficult of discovery. The hill-side was a perfect honeycomb of holes,
+and we tried several before settling down to the task of a navvy upon
+the most promising group. We all took our turn in wielding the two
+Chinese spades the Mongols had brought with them, and before long we
+had made a deep gully some eight or nine feet in length and four or
+five in depth which we fondly hoped would soon disclose the nest. Our
+disappointment in discovering that we had merely turned up a passage
+which went off sharply to the innermost recesses of the slope was
+great, and two of the party threw up the sponge, declaring that the
+game was not in the least worth the candle. Personally, I had ulterior
+motives in view, and was nothing loth to getting my muscles into trim
+by such excellent exercise as digging. To become the owner of a couple
+of wolf cubs and to take them back with me to Peking and possibly ship
+them home alive seemed to me very well worth while.
+
+We dug all day, and towards evening decided, on the advice of the
+Mongols, to try to smoke out the wolves by lighting a fire at another
+entrance to the group of holes upon which we were engaged. We were
+certainly rewarded, not by a capture of wolves, but by one of the most
+wonderful sights I had experienced in the East. Whether accidental or
+intentional, it was not very clear, but in any case the Mongols managed
+to start a prairie blaze which ran like wildfire over acres and acres
+of dried-up grass. It was a wonderful display. Numbers of eagles,
+harrier eagles, they called them, hovered and hung over the burning
+expanse, swooping down with deadly certainty upon any ground game that
+might run. It was very interesting to watch four of these great birds
+hunt and chase a miserable white hare which simply had no chance at all.
+
+There is any amount of sport even in this unpromising part of Mongolia;
+antelope, prairie chicken, and hare offering a welcome variety to
+the everlasting mutton of the stewpot. It was fortunate that the
+fire spread in a direction away from the little mission station and
+the Mongol yourts near it. At night the whole horizon to the west
+was glowing, and one could see flames leaping high from time to time
+as they licked up some little bush or scrub, the hillocks becoming
+sharply outlined for a while and then part of the blaze itself. Had the
+strong wind of the night before kept up we should have been in a tight
+corner. It was an alarming as well as a beautiful sight. The relentless
+progress of the crackling flames was awe-inspiring, and the phenomenal
+part of it all was that after laying bare some thousands of acres, the
+whole thing seemed to fizzle out almost as rapidly as it had begun.
+I gathered that it was against the law of the country to start such
+fires, but the Mongols seemed to think that it all made for good and
+that the new grass would have all the better chance by the clearing off
+of the old.
+
+At daybreak the following morning a couple of us sallied forth once
+more to the scene of yesterday’s excavations, and seeing from the
+distance some movement among the upturned earth we fired, to find upon
+closer inspection that one fluffy little cub playing outside the hole
+had been badly peppered and that another one had been killed outright.
+That there were more inside was fairly certain, for a litter usually
+consists of from five to seven or more. We decided to continue digging
+operations. After several hours’ extremely hard work and a display of
+great bravery on the part of one of the missionaries who burrowed into
+the hole, where there might very well have lurked the parent wolf,
+until nothing but his feet could be seen outside, we came upon a nest
+of three more cubs as well as a wounded one in a passage leading to it.
+
+The Mongols were delighted with the bag, and clamoured for the pretty
+soft little creatures whom it went to my heart to destroy. One was
+spared for me, and I fed it for several days from a Mongol baby
+bottle--but it died. The baby bottle of the country, I may mention, is
+the horn of a cow pierced through to the tip, with a teat cut from the
+udder of a sheep attached thereto. A great many babies whose mothers
+have died in childbirth are, I am told, brought up in this way. By the
+time we had finished our labours we had dug a trench of over twenty
+feet long, sometimes seven feet in depth, to say nothing of various
+false tracks, in the process of which we turned up several tons of very
+tough earth, blistered our hands badly, and made a most untidy mess
+of the hill-side. Over and above their joy at having given the happy
+despatch to no fewer than six of their potential enemies, the Mongols
+were delighted to cut up the wolves for the sake of their livers, which
+form one of their most highly valued medicines.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+“That the wicked have plenty to eat is no indication of the approval of
+heaven”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+It would be unkind to recommend any sensitive person to make a first
+experiment in camping out among such a friendly, but inquisitive
+crew as the natives hereabouts, and I could but be thankful to have
+served my apprenticeship in this respect in China. After travelling,
+very much off the beaten track, sometimes for eighteen months in his
+country, the Chinese, wherever I met him, in Mongolia or in Russia,
+or in Russo-Japanese Manchuria, seemed far more to me like “a man and
+a brother” than the inhabitants of any of the latter countries. The
+casual manner in which the Mongol would walk into one’s tent was, to
+say the least of it, embarrassing; and I have heard it said that quite
+a little grievance exists among those who from time to time visit
+Peking for trading purposes or on official business because the houses
+of Europeans are not open to them as are their hospitable yourts to the
+traveller in their country.
+
+[Illustration: METHUSELAH AND HIS DAUGHTER-IN-LAW]
+
+[Illustration: ONE OF THE LARGEST CAMEL CARAVANS THE AUTHOR HAD EVER
+SEEN]
+
+An old, old man dropped in one day to see me, stone deaf, and
+dumb. I had been hearing a good deal and in great variety about
+their superstitions regarding devils, and when this wrinkled old
+leather-face, overshadowed by a sheepskin cap black with the dirt of
+ages, silently approached me in the half-light of late afternoon, it
+was as though the evil one had materialised. Very thin--there is no
+soft corner in the Mongol heart, as in the Chinese, for the aged--very
+tattered, and with bleared eyes, Methuselah gently fingered all my
+belongings, passing his filthy fingers up and down the bristles of
+my hair- and tooth-brushes with evident enjoyment. My interest, to
+say nothing of my astonishment, was far too great for me to think of
+raising any objection. Poor old man!
+
+Far from being venerated on account of advancing years the old people
+in Mongolia run a very good chance of being crowded out of their
+yourts by the younger generation, and left to live or die with no more
+possessions than a bit of felt covering and a meagre allowance of food
+on the dust heaps surrounding the settlements.
+
+A son of my old visitor had been a lesser mandarin in this part, but
+was dispossessed as the result of having been altogether too grasping
+in his “squeeze” of the soldiers whom he was supposed to pay with money
+that was provided for that purpose. Four or five fairly well-to-do
+yourts were the fruit of his ill-gotten gains, and his chief wife,
+the T’ai-t’ai, showed me with pride her beautiful headdress which she
+said was worth over one hundred taels, which it was not difficult to
+believe. A number of relations crowded into the yourt when I went to
+pay my call--an astonishingly picturesque crowd in blue, purple, and
+lavender coats, mingling with the bright orange and dull red of the
+lamas’ habits--all more or less dirty, and some very ragged. The men
+with their shaggy fur caps and silver-mounted hunting knives, ivory
+chopsticks hanging in cases, and flint and tinder purses slung on
+silver chains round their waists or attached to their girdles; the
+women with elaborate headdresses of the same metal, richly studded with
+jade, coral, and sometimes pearls, are all really very imposing.
+
+Nothing would satisfy them but that I should go to call upon the little
+bride of the family and their son, her boy husband. Escorted by the
+mother-in-law, I made my way to a very new-looking yourt covered with
+clean white felt and with a newly painted red door. It formed quite a
+landmark among the others, which were in varying stages of dirtiness
+and decay. We were received by the young bridal couple, who, arrayed in
+all the splendour of their wedding garments in my honour, had omitted
+to tidy up their habitation, which presented a sorry spectacle of
+thriftless disorder. I gathered that some of the wedding presents had
+been of a practical nature, for I noticed--incidentally by hitting
+them with my head--haunches of antelope and joints of mutton hanging
+from the roof just inside the entrance. The marriage did not seem to
+me to promise particularly well, for although amply endowed with
+such worldly goods as the Mongol heart could desire, the boy and girl,
+children that they were, seemed distinctly snappy with each other, and
+each kept his or her own key of the red lacquer chests which contained
+their respective treasures.
+
+[Illustration: A MONGOL BRIDE]
+
+The girl’s bridal coiffure was quite wonderful, and back and front
+her strings of coral and silver chains, with their massive ornaments,
+reached almost to the bottom of her coat. I noticed that the older
+women’s strings of beads seemed to grow shorter with age, and gathered
+that, as the girls of the family married, their headdresses were
+contributed to by the senior generation. A bride, therefore, in a poor
+family possesses much finer jewels than does her mother, who, like many
+a mother at home, has been impoverished by the wedding.
+
+The tribe of this region is the Chakhar of South or Inner Mongolia, and
+owing to the proximity of China they are, I believe, the least pure
+bred of any. In the main a nomadic people, they move their settlements
+under normal conditions but twice in the year, the principal object
+being, of course, fresh pasture for their cattle. They also, however,
+attach some importance to tradition, and will move their yourts just
+a few yards sometimes just for the sake of having done so. A fairly
+well-watered country, the locale of the yourts is to some extent
+determined by the wells, but the areas are relatively circumscribed,
+and there is little difficulty in discovering at any given time the
+whereabouts of any particular family one may be seeking.
+
+The great lamaseries are necessarily of permanent structure, and
+fine temples surrounded by a number of yourts and rough houses of
+Chinese type form villages of considerable size. One comes upon them
+unexpectedly like oases in the desert. Once a most warlike tribe and
+foes greatly to be feared by their Chinese neighbours, the Chakhars
+appear to be now a more peaceable folk than their cousins of the North,
+and have not, in unison with the Khalkhas, sought to throw off the
+Chinese yoke with the downfall of the Manchu dynasty. I have heard it
+said that the Chakhars are cleaner than other tribes, but for the truth
+of this statement I am unable to vouch; and truly, in view of the fact
+that it would be difficult to be dirtier than they, I myself find it
+hard to believe it. Mongols, generally speaking, are an extraordinary
+dirty people, and one of their superstitions is that if they have too
+much to do with water in this life they will become fish in the next
+incarnation. They suffer much from contagious diseases, on account of
+their habits as well as owing to their lack of morality.
+
+[Illustration: A TYPICAL CHAKHAR]
+
+The Mongols are, I am told, some of the most frankly immoral people in
+the world, and this is not the result of the absence of moral code,
+for theoretically this latter is of the strictest possible character.
+The lamas certainly have an extremely bad reputation; certain orders
+of them are allowed to marry, but the great bulk of the immense
+population of priests is nominally celibate. Among the various orders
+of the priesthood are some whose mission it is to travel about the
+country to collect money for the temples. When one of these holy men
+(the greatest villains unhung, would be my honest opinion) visits
+a settlement he is invited to stay in the richest yourt, given the
+best of everything to eat, and the chief wife, or, if he prefers her,
+the daughter, is offered to him as a matter of course. There is no
+question, I believe, of these women, who belong to the lamas, being
+looked down upon--far from it. But as far as I could observe and
+understand, women entering into this irregular alliance do not wear the
+distinctive and very beautiful headdress of the married woman.
+
+Lamas throughout Mongolia have their heads clean-shaven, and in this
+region their ordinary dress consists of long tunics of coarse cotton
+in varying tones of terra-cotta and yellow, bound round the waist
+with sashes of dark red, as well as long folds of the same material
+which, worn ordinarily across the chest, are on ceremonial occasions
+and whilst officiating unwound and used in shawl fashion. Even were
+there no other distinguishing feature between the Mongol and Chinese,
+by their boots you would know them all the world over; clumsy,
+loose-legged affairs, coming two-thirds of the way up to the knee,
+the dignity of the Mongol is very greatly diminished if he has to
+walk or run in such a footgear. Toes upturned, the sole is thick and
+cumbersome, the boot fits nowhere at all, and the walk degenerates
+into a shuffle in consequence. For purposes of differentiation the
+laity are called black men, their hair being worn in long handsome
+pig-tails, the front of the head shaved in Chinese fashion. I was
+present on the occasion of the inauguration of the first Parliament
+of China’s Republic in Peking in the spring of 1913, when the Mongol
+representatives, three of them from Inner Mongolia, were conspicuous
+in that ultra modern and newly cropped assembly by their _queues_, by
+their high boots, and by their old-world satin-brocade, fur-trimmed
+coats of a richness and quality now seldom seen in Peking.
+
+Men and women are extremely fond of dress and ornaments; the former
+run to beautiful and valuable snuff-bottles, elaborate decoration of
+their hunting knives, tobacco pouches, chopsticks, and flint and tinder
+boxes. Extremes seem to me to meet in the cherished possessions of an
+old Mongol mandarin. He showed me with much pride an up-to-date rifle,
+a splendid pair of Zeiss field-glasses, and then his flint and tinder
+box.
+
+Ta-Bol, the meaning of which, “five mountains,” suggests a somewhat
+distorted view of the slight elevations which surround it, proved to
+be a pleasant centre for my short sojourn in the Chakhar country, and
+I managed to get a variety of experiences into the time I was there.
+In a north-westerly direction and distant some 60 li from Ta-Bol lies
+Hankarawa, an important citadel of lamaism and the largest temple of
+Inner Mongolia. In perfect weather and over the most delightful riding
+country imaginable, with a good track across undulated prairie, an
+early start was made in order to have plenty of time on arrival. My
+star seemed in the ascendant, and it was truly a lucky day that I chose
+for the expedition.
+
+Forming a suburb to the lamasery were half a dozen or less yourts near
+the entrance, and these I found on closer inspection were primitive
+little stores kept by the Chinese for supplying the lamas--who here, as
+in most other places, do no work at all and produce absolutely nothing
+for their own use--with the necessities of life. The courtly owner of
+one of them pressed me to enter, when he at once offered me the best
+tea that I had had since I left South China. In stumbling phrases, I
+expressed my appreciation and enquired whether the tea was not from
+the Bohea hills of Fukien. This let loose a flood of conversation (of
+which, I must confess, I hardly understood a word), out of which I
+disentangled the fact that my host had come from that province and
+was delighted to speak with one who knew and admired his native city,
+Foochow. As to paying for my entertainment, they scouted the idea, and
+when I departed I felt that at least I had now one friend in Mongolia.
+
+As I approached the entrance to the place it all seemed abnormally
+quiet and deserted. I knew there were hundreds of lamas there, but
+no one was about and not a sound was to be heard. It was all very
+mysterious. It was not until I had tentatively opened many doors and
+peered into the gloom of sundry temples, in one of which a very old
+lama sat quite alone, droning his prayers in the Tibetan tongue,
+clashing a pair of cymbals and beating a big drum with his hands and
+feet respectively all at the same time, that I heard sounds as of
+clapping and applause. I found them difficult to locate. Chancing on
+the entrance to an unpromising looking and, as far as I could see
+deserted, compound, I leaned my weight against the great painted
+wooden doors, which giving way with a loud creak, precipitated me
+most unexpectedly into the midst of an unlooked-for entertainment. My
+own surprise can hardly have been less than the combined astonishment
+of some two to three hundred lamas, ranging from little boys to old
+hoary-heads, all squatting on the ground in the sunny forecourt of a
+temple.
+
+[Illustration: TWO OR THREE HUNDRED LAMAS SQUATTING ON THE GROUND IN
+THE SUNNY FORECOURT OF A TEMPLE]
+
+[Illustration: HANKARAWA]
+
+My sudden appearance with a camera in their midst was apparently most
+disconcerting, and one and all they covered their heads with the dark
+red sashes. To take a snapshot on the spur of the moment was literally
+a reflex act on my part, and had my life been at stake in the doing of
+it I could not have refrained. As it was, for a moment or two perhaps
+the situation was a trifle strained, and whether my intrusion would
+be resented, as it might well have been in that out-of-the-way
+corner of the earth, was exceedingly uncertain. Scowls and anger were
+expressed all too plainly on the debased faces of many of the younger
+men, but at a sign from one of the leaders they seemed quickly to
+recover their equanimity, resumed their occupation, and offered not the
+slightest objection to my presence, when, by signs, I asked permission
+to walk round the outskirts of the gathering.
+
+The deep red, vivid orange, and pale cinnamon of their clothes
+suggested great borders of parrot tulips ranged on either side of a
+wide flagged path leading up to the chief lama, who quite possibly
+had seen, what probably few of the others had, white faces visiting
+the temples in Peking. He allowed me to take a photograph at close
+quarters, smiling (at his own cowardice, I presume) the while. The
+little boys made hideous faces at me as I strolled round, and the
+young men of twenty or so, an age at which I always feel there is most
+to fear from devilment and cruelty, looked at me in an unmistakably
+hostile manner.
+
+A little group of men stripped to the waist formed the centre of
+operations, and these it transpired were candidates for a degree. They
+were being examined by the seniors and cross-examined by their junior
+colleagues of all ages. Each side backed its fancy apparently and all
+indulged in wild clapping and gesticulation, some of them rising from
+the ground in their excitement and yelling approbation or the reverse
+to the victim of the moment. The brown-faced old chief lama sat suave
+and imperturbable throughout. The scene was as picturesque as it was
+interesting and fraught with mystery.
+
+Soon afterwards the assembly dispersed, and, freed from the restraint
+of their elders, the young lamas hustled round me in an aggressive and
+pugnacious sort of mood. I have found in my limited experience that to
+meet this kind of thing good-humouredly, but never to show the least
+sign of embarrassment, usually has a placating effect. I allowed one
+or two of the more objectionable youths to look through my camera, for
+instance, but when one of them wished to take it from me for a closer
+inspection I smacked his hand away as I would have done a child’s,
+whereat they laughed. Not more than five per cent of the uninitiated
+seem able to see anything through the lenses of a camera, but if one
+or two can be made to do so the others are placed at a disadvantage,
+which, to some extent gives one the whip hand.
+
+In the same way with the Chinese. On rare occasions I was faced with
+the type of swanking young man who conceives it to be his mission in
+life to make the foreigner “lose face”. He usually begins by calling
+attention to one’s limited knowledge of his language, but I succeeded
+more than once in turning the tables by enquiring if he knew “English
+talk,” “French talk,” “Russian talk,” and so forth. A contemptuous
+shrug of the shoulders and an expressive movement of the hands, with a
+well-there-you-are look on your face, and the crowd laughs with you,
+while the swanker retires to reflect on the fact “that they don’t know
+everything down in Judee”.
+
+On one occasion in Mongolia it became essential for me to assert
+my position. The lad who had insisted, against my wishes, upon
+accompanying my caravan up country (I discovered afterwards that
+he was actually the owner of and alone could manage the pony which
+helped to draw my cart) declined to carry out my instructions in some
+small matter or other one day, and, moreover, when I insisted, he
+was cheeky, imitating me in the way I spoke Chinese almost before my
+face. This could not, of course, be permitted for an instant. I waited
+my opportunity, and later in the day on returning from an expedition
+I asked a missionary to explain his misdeeds very carefully to him,
+and to help him to realise that though I might not be able to speak
+his language I did not intend to stand any nonsense from him. I
+stepped in at the end of the harangue and seizing him by the pigtail I
+administered the severest chastisement I have ever given, boxing his
+ears soundly several times. The crucial question had arisen. Was I to
+lose face, or was he? I have to admit that I was not “hitting a man of
+my own size,” but the effect on the Mongol onlookers was excellent, and
+as for the lad himself--well--he and I and a young Mongol spent the
+greater part of next day together hunting for eagles’ eggs, far away
+from the camp. That I taught him the approved Western method of blowing
+eggs with one hole only (some of them were in an unpleasantly mature
+condition) sealed our relationship, which remained friendly until I
+left China.
+
+One romantic evening in South Mongolia comes back to my remembrance
+in Europe as it were in a dream. I had arranged to accompany my old
+friend the Finn on a visit to a distant settlement in order to see
+whether these people there with whom he was totally unacquainted would
+give him a hearing at all. After a ride of some twenty li or so, we
+arrived late one Sunday afternoon at a group of tents sheltered from
+the north and easterly winds by a belt of low hills, and came to a halt
+a hundred yards away from the most important looking yourt with a shout
+of “Nuhuoi”.
+
+The people emerged from the surrounding tents and restrained the very
+savage dogs who were howling for our blood. Women controlled them,
+kneeling on the ground and holding them in by their collars. The moment
+the dogs see that strangers are given a friendly reception there is no
+more trouble with them until the time for departure comes, when the
+same performance has to be repeated. The owner of the yourt we had
+selected for our visit was a Mandarin of some standing, and his fine
+manners greatly impressed me as he offered us the snuff-bottle in the
+most courtly fashion imaginable. With him was a very handsome man who
+might from his gentle and learned appearance have been--what one likes
+to imagine they are--an Oxford don. This was the Mandarin’s secretary,
+and having lived from time to time in Peking, he had acquired something
+of the culture and refinement of the Chinese upper class. Through him,
+the Finn addressed most of his remarks to the Mandarin who was keenly
+entertained until the subject of Western religion was broached, when he
+completely changed his aspect, becoming palpably indifferent, if not a
+little sulky, remaining with us only because good manners compelled him
+to do so.
+
+People from neighbouring tents swarmed in, crowding and jostling each
+other at the entrance in order to catch a glimpse of the foreigners.
+The atmosphere became not a little thick, the doorway being absolutely
+blocked up by a solid little mass of humanity, little faces even
+peering in between the ankles of the older folk. A motley crew indeed,
+the sun streaming in like a brilliant shaft through the hole in the
+roof, the rest of the interior in deep shade, the colours of their
+clothes and the whimsical faces of the people making altogether a
+fascinating study. The Finn suggested that I, as a new-comer to
+Mongolia, would like to hear some of the music of the country, and
+there was a great pow-wow as to who should perform for my benefit.
+After a prodigious wait, two young lamas disappeared, soon to return,
+the one with a long multi-stringed instrument of wood distantly
+related, perhaps, to the zither family; and the other bearing a
+banjo-like affair provided with four strings.
+
+In the dim light from the setting sun, and with a shyness charming
+to behold in these usually somewhat truculent youths, they twanged
+their strings in pretty little minor chords, and from time to time
+one of them would sing quietly and very bashfully of the prowess of
+his historic forebears. The singer of the settlement, a girl, was, I
+gathered, too shy to appear at all. It was all so weird and barbaric,
+so remote from life as I had known it, and so extraordinarily like a
+dream. The Mongols, as I learnt during my months in Peking, are totally
+unlike the Chinese in their relation to music. While I was in Peking
+the last of the Manchu empresses departed from the disturbed life of
+her country, and the lamas, of course, played an important part at
+the funeral ceremonials. Grouped in a little temple-like structure
+to one side of the platform upon which the obeisance to the memorial
+tablet of the dead empress was made, some forty or fifty priests in
+brilliant togas of Imperial yellow satin intoned a solemn dirge which
+was absolutely in harmony with the atmosphere of mourning. Many people
+who deny entirely the least suggestion of musical sense to the Chinese
+were, I remember, greatly struck with the extraordinarily deep and
+rich tones that came from the Mongol throats in their Gregorian-like
+chanting.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+“The best riders have the hardest falls”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+The people in the neighbourhood of Ta-Bol were quite a friendly lot,
+and I was frequently invited to go and have a chat in the various
+yourts. To persuade one inside and therefore to be at close enough
+quarters to enjoy a thorough inspection of the foreigner’s clothes,
+hair, “light eyes,” etc., was a source of much enjoyment to some of
+the younger women, and turning a blind eye, that _sine quâ non_ of
+all good travellers, upon the dirt and disorder, I managed to see the
+people under more or less normal conditions, which one seldom succeeds
+in doing when journeying with a definite goal and object. In some of
+the yourts, each one, it seemed to me, dirtier than the last, were
+delightful babies, confiding little creatures who had never known
+harshness, some of whom wore really beautiful charms of jade and lumps
+of amber round their brown necks, which nothing could induce the
+mothers to sell, for fear of jeopardising the fortunes of their little
+ones. From what I saw of them, both in the north as well as in the
+south, I came to the conclusion that the youthful Mongolian, until
+he arrives at such an age to be dedicated to the vicious life of the
+lamasery, is a particularly happy little person. The boy baby dominates
+the yourt as much as he dominates the palace, but I imagine his little
+sister has a rather fairer chance in life than she often enjoys in
+the Chinese family. At any rate, I never saw a child being ill-used
+in Mongolia, and to hear one cry is of rare occurrence. Families all
+over Mongolia are, I am told, small, and in one yourt when the mother
+of twins was presented to me as a somewhat phenomenal person, she
+apologised for the fact and said, “The foreigner will regard me as
+being like a dog to produce two children at one birth”.
+
+Upon returning one evening to my camp, I found that the local Mandarin
+had sent across one of his camels in response to a remark of mine
+that I had never ridden one. The natives, I think, expected a fine
+entertainment, for there were several unwonted loafers hanging about
+the compound. The camel looked a nice gentle young thing, and we took
+to each other at first sight. At a word from the man who brought her,
+she knelt in order to receive me in the saddle, which was the usual
+sort of Mongol affair with very short stirrups. Having neither reins
+nor bridle is at first disconcerting, but I was assured that it was
+simple enough to steer with the single rope of camel’s hair which is
+attached to a wooden pin running through the cartilage of the animal’s
+nose. I was lucky in not coming off at once, for it takes a little
+experience to remember that in rising, hind legs first, the camel
+pitches you forward against the front hump and then shoots you back
+again when the fore-quarters of the creature come into position. I had
+no intention, however, of making merry for the Mongols, and blithely
+declining to be led (I somehow trusted that camel), I started off at a
+gentle pace, wondering how on earth I would stop her should Madame la
+Chamelle take it into her head to run away with me.
+
+Days of see-saws and swings are to me a still cherished reminiscence.
+I by no means disliked the undulating motion which to many people
+recalls the Dover-Calais boats, and, gaining assurance, I dug my heels
+in and essayed a gentle amble. Madame obliged me, and we were, I fondly
+believe, mutually satisfied, when I, becoming rashly familiar upon
+so short an acquaintance, used a word I had learned from the Chinese
+when riding a donkey along the dusty roads near the Imperial summer
+palace at Peking. “Dôk, Dôk,” I gaily remarked to Madame, merely (and
+quite unnecessarily) to suggest that she should pick up her feet and
+not stumble. I forgot that her scholastic attainments included only
+her mother tongue and that she did not know the Chinese language. The
+effect was striking in more senses than one. She came to a sudden
+standstill and with a tremendous heave shot me on to her front hump as
+she plumped down upon her knees. It was but by the mercy of providence
+that my neck was not broken, and that with the second movement reversed
+I regained my seat. Fortunately we were well out of sight of onlookers,
+but my confidence was badly shaken, and it was only when it occurred to
+me that “Sŏk, Sŏk,” was the expression of the Mongols when they wished
+their camels to kneel to be loaded up that I felt forgiving and able to
+forget the little misunderstanding.
+
+The expression of a camel’s face is always one of supreme contempt.
+Camels remind me of certain elderly and aristocratic spinsters who,
+possessing no money and but little brain, have one asset, their
+social superiority. But I like it all the same, breeding in camels or
+spinsters either as far as that goes.
+
+During the whole time that I was at Ta-Bol rumours came daily to
+our ears of the increasingly disturbed condition of the country, of
+fighting that had taken place or was expected to take place at no very
+great distance. The missionaries were warned by the authorities that
+they must hold themselves in readiness for flight at an hour’s notice,
+and that they would be wise if they lost no time in sending their women
+and children into regions of safety. A trio of Chinese officials were
+located somewhere in the vicinity, and the utmost secrecy was observed
+in regard to their movements while the general atmosphere of unrest and
+nervousness prevailed.
+
+It was not difficult to see that if I wanted to carry my whole scheme
+into effect, which was to return to Peking, make my preparations, and
+start again at once for Europe by way of the Gobi and Siberia, I had
+better lose no time. This little expedition was merely by way of a
+preliminary canter in order to gain experience for the more ambitious
+journey right across the desert, as well as to test my capacity for
+really rough travelling and primitive living. My journey back to China
+promised to be a lonely one. I should this time have neither Finn nor
+Mongols riding with me for company, but merely the two Chinese who were
+daily becoming more uneasy and restless at the news from the north, and
+who were pestering me with enquiries as to when we were to return to
+the safety of Kalgan.
+
+Disliking anything savouring of monotony and being, moreover,
+interested in the possibilities of Inner Mongolia from the European
+point of view, I decided to go back to Kalgan by a different route from
+that by which we came. I had heard in Peking of a large horse-farm
+financed by a small syndicate in China, at which lived a solitary
+German overseer, a long day’s journey to the south-east of Ta-Bol at a
+place called Dol-na-gashi. I was told that this would be interesting to
+visit.
+
+Although it was only early May, I had on the whole been most fortunate
+as regards weather during my trip, but at the time of my proposed
+departure a typical Gobi gale sprang up and delayed me for a couple of
+days, during which time it was impossible to do anything at all. The
+only satisfaction I had was that all my belongings were packed up and
+out of the dust.
+
+My Chinese driver demanded money before starting; he had apparently
+run up a bill with some Mongol, for fodder, he said, and he would not
+be allowed to go before he paid up. I had stayed away longer than my
+servants had anticipated, the original arrangement being that half
+their total hire should be paid down at starting, and the remainder
+handed over when they delivered me safe and sound in Kalgan again. I
+certainly believe that it added considerably to my safety to travel
+very light as regards money: I took with me but a few dollars. I was
+careful now to give my men money enough only for their immediate
+necessities, and to retain the whip hand by keeping the bulk of it
+until the end of the journey. I am afraid that we were a somewhat surly
+trio as we turned our backs upon Ta-Bol and set our faces homewards in
+the icy wind and stinging dust. The Chinese were annoyed at having to
+make this détour by--to them--an unknown route, while I have to admit
+being rather “under the weather” myself.
+
+A Mongol rode with us some distance to put us in the right direction
+for the horse-farm, and before nightfall we arrived at a substantially
+built and very comfortable bungalow, planked down in the middle of
+interminable prairie, upon the borders of an extensive shallow lake
+which provided resting place for numbers of wildfowl. Surrounding
+the bungalow were yourts, and long, low stables, in which I learned
+later the magnificent Russian stallions who were to improve the breed
+of Mongol ponies were housed. Concealing his astonishment at the
+unexpected appearance of an European lady at his door, the German
+overseer, speaking excellent English, gave me a most cordial welcome.
+The interior of the bungalow contained all the comfort of a farmhouse
+in Saxony, and glad I was to stay there for a night, and thus to reduce
+by one the number of uncomfortable inns to be experienced on the way
+back to Kalgan. After the ugly, undersized though serviceable little
+Mongol ponies to which one had become accustomed, the magnificent
+horses--Russian crossed with German, if I remember aright--looked like
+giants. Their powerful build with short arched necks and small heads
+was very dignified indeed, and for the first time in all my wanderings
+I felt a suggestion of homesickness as I looked at them, and wondered
+how far the development of the motor-car would have gone to oust the
+horses which are seen to greater advantage in London during the season
+than anywhere else in the world.
+
+A bunch of 500 Mongol ponies scattered about the prairie was the
+material with which my host had to work. He had not, he told me, so
+far had particularly good luck with them owing to sickness amongst
+the mares, and he did not seem to think that the immediate prospects
+as regards financial success were any too rosy. One point about
+this horse-farm that interested me particularly was that with all
+their horsey proclivities, their vaunted horsemanship, and general
+prowess, the German overseer preferred to employ Chinese to Mongols as
+infinitely more reliable with the animals in all respects.
+
+We made an early start next day. The weather had cleared again. A
+handful of cigarettes between them transformed my Chinese into the
+cheeriest and most considerate companions. Previous to this they had
+been, perhaps, rather rubbed up the wrong way--most unintentionally, I
+am sure--by first one person and then another conveying instructions
+to them. But now that they were solely responsible for me and to
+me, no one could have behaved better. Once succeed in giving your
+Chinese employee a real sense of responsibility and you have one of
+the most trustworthy men in the world to deal with is not only my own
+experience, but that of men who have lived half a lifetime in China.
+Those, indeed, who live there longest like them best. I have long since
+come to the conclusion that as far as is practicable with virtually no
+knowledge of their language the more one manages one’s native servants
+oneself and without assistance the better one will hit it off with
+them. As soon as ever the third person intervenes, misunderstandings,
+ill-temper, and disagreement result.
+
+I was certainly pleased with my drivers when they told me that if I did
+not mind cutting tiffin and the midday rest, they thought that they
+could take me to a distant inn where I should be much more comfortable
+than at the obvious halt. Nothing loth, and quite content with a diet
+of walnuts and dates, since that was all that was accessible in my
+cart, we travelled for twelve solid hours on end. The men were in
+high spirits, shouting “Whoa, whoa,” to the animals (which in Chinese
+topsey-turveydom means of course “hurry up”--I was taken in by this
+every time) and cracking jokes all day, because, as the Yankees say,
+they “felt so good”. It was certainly a hard day, and at the end of it
+we met, what to me was a never-failing joy, one of the largest camel
+caravans I had ever seen. Slowly climbing up over the horizon it loomed
+between us and a gorgeous sunset, gradually dawning upon our vision
+as it came swaying along in the golden haze, richly dressed Mongols
+lolling easily upon the camels’ backs. There must have been over 200
+camels and sixteen or eighteen men, all fully armed, riding them,
+bright patches of colour in their blue, purple, or priestly red.
+
+So completely was I absorbed in this beautiful picture that I did not
+notice, neither apparently did the men, that we were approaching the
+compound of an inn on the off-side, until suddenly our leading pony
+made a tremendous dash right through the middle of the caravan across
+the track, scattering the camels and causing something of a stampede.
+The little brute was hungry and had no intention of allowing a few
+camels to stand between him and his supper. The camels, who are only
+loosely roped together in order to save their pierced noses should any
+untoward incident, such as a stumble or cast load, occur, spread out
+in all directions, and for the moment the air was rendered sultry with
+Mongol execrations. No harm was, however, done, and every one laughed
+at the d’hivilment of the fiery little red pony. But our destination
+was not yet, and it was long after dark when we arrived “at the haven
+where we would be”. A long parley at the gateway of the inn filled me
+with fear that we were going to have trouble in securing accommodation,
+but after much wheedling on the part of my pock-marked Chinese, we were
+allowed to enter, and without a word from me some men were turned out
+of a room in order that I might have it to myself.
+
+The lad whose head I had so severely smacked but a few days previously
+behaved admirably, setting up my bed, fetching me hot water, and then
+staying to see me eat my supper. It was only by presenting him with
+the greater part of a leg of mutton (I detest old mutton!) that I got
+rid of him at all. Alone for a short spell, I settled down to a hearty
+meal composed of the various remains in my food box, and hurried off
+to bed with the uncomfortable recollection that the boy had held up
+four fingers as indicating the hour at which we were to start, or at
+least at which I was to be called, on the morrow. Expecting to reach
+Kalgan within twenty-four hours, I bestowed certain articles of food
+upon the coolies who stood round watching me pack up next morning, and
+was amused to see that my men got a _quid pro quo_ for anything I gave
+away. A copy of “Punch” was the means, I observed, of purchasing fodder
+for the red pony from the inn proprietor.
+
+Another somewhat strenuous day brought us to the top of the Han-o-pa
+Pass, and by the time we reached the heights the colouring was superb.
+Purple and pale blue mountains pushed through a misty atmosphere,
+the sun shone brilliantly, and great masses of clouds shed their
+deep shadows over the gateway to North China. It was here that the
+road from Dolo N’or joined our caravan route, and we had indeed the
+evidence of our own eyes that the fighting of which we had heard so
+much was no mere myth. We overtook ox-cart after ox-cart escorted
+by small detachments of Chinese soldiers, bringing down knapsacks,
+accoutrements, and caps belonging to the poor Chinese who had fallen
+to the splendid marksmanship and dash of the Mongol troops at the
+battle of Dolo N’or. The Chinese are much too thrifty (and poor) to
+allow their caps to be buried with the soldiers. More than once, too,
+we saw some miserably wounded officer being carried down that terribly
+rocky pass on a rough stretcher. One man had had to pass the night at
+the last inn at which I stopped, and it was pitiful to see the agony
+he suffered in being lifted on to his stretcher again. He had been
+badly shot in the lower part of the body, and I am sure he must have
+wished that he had been killed outright. People say that the Chinese
+are insensitive, and that relatively speaking that they do not suffer.
+One thing I know about them is that some of them have the power of
+self-control very wonderfully developed. As to their sensitiveness to
+pain, I should not like to speak, but I am very certain that it is rash
+to generalise.
+
+It is strange what a haven of comfort and security one’s headquarters,
+however temporary, become for the time being, and my last day on the
+road was marked by the now-we-shall-soon-be-home feeling. By way of a
+final experience, we encountered for three hours over the highest part
+of the pass the thickest dust storm that it has ever been my lot to
+see in the East. So dense it was, that covering myself up completely
+with the oilcloth I cowered as far back as I could get in my cart,
+and breathed in air which might have been caused by a practical
+joker with a bag of flour, while for safety, as well as out of sheer
+humanity, I gave my motor goggles to my perspiring driver. Appearances
+do not trouble me much off the beaten track, but the whole of the day
+following was devoted by myself and a “boy” in trying to drive the dust
+out of the riding kit which I had worn in the storm, and even from the
+few things which were carefully packed away in a small box.
+
+The descent from the heights some fifteen miles north of Kalgan was
+one of continuous jolt, joggle, bang-joggle, bang, jolt. One wheel
+would mount a time-worn boulder, linger a second on the top, and
+slide off with a gulp into the soft sand. The other meanwhile, would
+execute a “pas seul” on a rock newly disintegrated from the mountain
+side. Packed even by an old hand well versed in Chinese travelling,
+everything breakable got broken on my journey down over the Kalgan
+Pass, and even the sides of my books were ground against each other
+until the cardboard showed through the cloth covers. As for my camera,
+my cherished old Kodak which for over fifteen years had served me well
+and in many countries, and which especially in Mongolia had given me
+cent per cent of good results, I did not mean to let it get broken if
+I could possibly help it, and I saved its life by carrying it slung
+round my neck so that it rested on my chest, thus providing a certain
+amount of resistance against the jarring. The reason of this somewhat
+excessive destruction was that we came down the mountain side at top
+speed, reckless as to driving, in order to reach Kalgan before the
+closing of the city gates.
+
+Away down on the level all our troubles were forgotten in the
+compensating peacefulness of shelter from the wind. The road along the
+Kalgan valley was very beautiful, very soothing, and full of incident.
+The rugged mountains round us were bathed in the soft warm glow of
+sunset, the shadows closing in behind us fell in rich violet tones. The
+trees, which little more than a month ago had been bare, were now fully
+clad in their daintiest, freshest green, and what had been a frozen
+river-bed was once again a running stream. Many men and boys watering
+their horses greeted my drivers, and incidentally myself, as heroes
+who had deeds of daring done, and welcomed us as travellers returned
+in safety from a distant and dangerous land. The Chinese are horribly
+afraid of the Mongols.
+
+[Illustration: A PASTORAL SCENE]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+“With coarse food to eat, water to drink, and the bended arm as a
+pillow, happiness may still exist.”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+So greatly had I enjoyed my experiences of travel in Inner Mongolia,
+that it was in a sanguine frame of mind I returned to Peking to engage
+in the pleasant task of making my preparations for a more extensive
+expedition. I had not, however, been long in the capital before I
+received from an authentic quarter news which made my prospects of
+carrying my plans into effect look somewhat dubious. Confirming the
+rumours I had heard at Ta-Bol, a Reuter’s telegram was published to the
+effect that a battle in which 1200 Chinese soldiers had been routed had
+taken place immediately north of that place, and that the Hung-hu-tzes,
+once a robber band, now authorised Mongol soldiery, were plundering
+within a few hundred li of Kalgan, and killing Mongols and Chinese
+without distinction.
+
+The next thing that happened was that one afternoon at the British
+Legation, forty-eight hours only after my return from the north, I met
+Mr. Edward Manico Gull, then of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service,
+who, like myself, undeterred by the question of risks, was keenly
+desirous of crossing the Gobi and of visiting Urga with a view of
+learning at first hand something of the political conditions which led
+up to the rebellion of Mongolia against Chinese rule. A few days later
+he propounded the very practical suggestion that it would be decidedly
+economical, and, what was of far greater importance, very much safer,
+if we joined forces in order to make the attempt. Plans then grew
+apace. Mr. Gull left for Kalgan almost immediately, and spent a weary
+fortnight in making strenuous efforts to secure first camels, and then
+a Mongol to accompany us as guide. Only people who have had this sort
+of experience can realise the constant disappointment, the promises,
+the breaking of promises, the endless procrastinations and delay that
+attend an endeavour to persuade the Asiatic into doing something
+concerning which he has misgivings--it resolves itself into a perfect
+see-saw of anticipation and disillusion.
+
+At extortionate rates, camels were commissioned over and over again; a
+southern Mongol undertook the duties of guide. When the time arrived
+for their appearance there were no camels. The Mongol backed out of his
+bargain. For my part, I undertook the purchase of stores--a somewhat
+unknown quantity, for under the unsettled conditions of the country
+it was wise to be prepared for all emergencies, such as dodging the
+fighting forces, which conceivably might mean making a détour taking
+weeks. I also bought a capital pony--alas! only to sell him back again
+to his owner a few days later. But I at Peking was less sanguine
+than my friend at Kalgan. The little experience I had already had of
+Mongolia had taught me something of the difficulties of the situation,
+and by then the frontiers were so tremendously guarded that there was
+never the ghost of a chance of getting out of China nor of our caravan
+going through the lines.
+
+To the kindness of certain friends at Peking at this time I owe
+more even than perhaps they realise. Plans had of necessity to be
+kept private under the circumstances, and the sympathy as well as
+the practical assistance in preparing my outfit that were given to
+me in the most generous manner possible by the two people who were
+in my confidence can never be forgotten. But to cut a long, and to
+me a heartrending, story short, we had, after straining every nerve
+to achieve our object, to abandon the notion of crossing the Gobi,
+and, travelling by train in the most prosaic manner possible through
+Manchuria and Siberia, we arrived at Verkne-Oudinsk on the Eastern side
+of Lake Baikal. The journey thither, had not the vision of all we had
+missed in being forced to cut out the Gobi from our calculations loomed
+large on our horizon, would have been very interesting. As it was,
+I broke my journey by the South Manchurian Railway for twenty-four
+hours in order to see something of the old capital and metropolis of
+Manchuria, Moukden, while Mr. Gull travelled on to spend a few days
+with some friends at Harbin.
+
+Moukden attracted me on several counts. I wanted to see with my own
+eyes something of the effect of the Japanese influence (the line from
+Peking to Ch’angch’un is Japanese) on the Chinese in Manchuria, as
+well as to visit what had been the scene of great slaughter during
+the Russo-Japanese war. Most of all was I anxious not to miss the
+opportunity of inspecting the small but fine collection of Ch’en Lung
+pictures which interested me deeply. These, together with an enormous
+collection of porcelain, are kept, thick with dust and but rarely
+seeing the light of day, in the old palace, the ancestral home of the
+late dynasty, perilously exposed, it seemed, to danger from fire, but
+perhaps safer as regards looting than they might be in China proper.
+One of these days one fears that a needy Government, if it continues to
+sail under Republican colours, will cast its predatory eye on this mass
+of treasure, and a long purse from the United States will replenish
+the coffers of the iconoclasts at the expense to the nation of some
+of the most precious heirlooms of the faded monarchy, the priceless
+possessions of Ch’en Lung the magnificent. The tombs of the Manchu
+sovereigns a few miles out of the city also helped to convince me that
+it had been well worth while to break my journey at Moukden.
+
+From Ch’angch’un to Harbin one travels under Russian auspices on the
+Chinese Eastern Railway. Never in all my experience have I arrived
+at a more depressing place than Harbin, some eighteen hours’ journey
+on from Moukden. Never have I felt more of a stranger in a strange
+land. Chaos reigned among the cosmopolitan crowds on the platforms,
+and I was in despair at securing my luggage before the train went
+on. A friend in need, in the person of a hotel porter, came to my
+assistance after I had effected the whole business myself, and haled
+me off to the dreariest hotel it has ever been my lot to enter. Of
+mushroom growth consequent on the opening of the Siberian Railway,
+there is little that is attractive in Harbin, and it was depressing to
+find that Russian holidays, when all shops are closed, necessitated
+remaining there for several days in order to make final purchases. I
+could find no redeeming feature in Harbin, although it was there that
+an extraordinary piece of good luck befell us. In a dismal tea garden,
+Mr. Gull and I were using up a great deal of energy in the endeavour to
+persuade a Russian waitress to provide us with bread and butter, when
+a handsome old man turned round and in dulcet tones said, “Would you
+like me to interpret for you?” We did indeed like, and still more did
+we enjoy the conversation that ensued. We learned that our friend, a
+much-travelled man, had been in Urga, and was therefore able to give
+us most valuable information as to the means of getting there. In the
+kindness of his heart, he even presented us with introductions to a
+Russian who had it in his power to be exceedingly useful to us, but
+who unfortunately was absent from Mongolia when we arrived there. This
+kindness on the part of a perfect stranger was truly refreshing, not to
+say inspiring.
+
+Leaving Peking as we had done by so entirely different a route from
+that we had projected, we had been unable to provide ourselves with
+the permits necessary for carrying firearms in Russia. The Russian
+customs are the bugbear of trans-Siberian travel. Even when all is in
+one’s favour, passports duly _viséd_, every detail _en règle_, endless
+difficulties are apt to crop up, and sad and varied are the stories
+with which passengers regale each other of lost luggage, missed trains,
+and other uncalled-for troubles, one and all resulting from--shall
+we say excess of zeal?--at the customs. The Russians still seem to
+think that they are doing one a favour in allowing one to travel in
+their unattractive and expensive country, in which I for one certainly
+encountered more sheer discomfort than in any other place I have stayed
+in.
+
+The settlement, it is scarcely worthy of being called a town, of
+Manchuli is separated by some forty-eight hours’ journey from Harbin.
+It is solely of importance as being the Russian frontier, and is the
+scene therefore of all that is exasperating in connection with customs.
+It was here that we anticipated trouble with our guns, revolvers,
+and ammunition. But good fortune was beginning to shine upon us, and
+owing to a little kindly advice from another casual acquaintance, we
+experienced no difficulty at all. We had been warned that if the guns
+were too much in evidence they would unquestionably be confiscated and
+that imprisonment without the option of a fine would result without
+doubt. Stories of the awful dungeons on the Volga floated through my
+mind.
+
+My gun, therefore, was taken from its case (the latter being sent
+back by post to Peking) and the three sections wrapped up and packed
+among the underwear in my trunk. The ammunition, I was advised, should
+be so distributed as to give no clue to its presence. This was by no
+means an easy matter. Over a hundred rounds packed away into a tin jug
+and basin, with walnuts placed on the top, were made into an untidy
+brown paper parcel. The remainder was carried in a haversack. It being
+generally agreed that the less likely of the two of us to be suspected
+was myself, I undertook to do my best to perpetrate the deception.
+Underneath my Burberry I slung the Mauser pistol and a large Colt
+revolver; my smaller weapon I carried in my pocket. The ammunition for
+all these I had also spread about my person. Outside my coat was the
+haversack, the strap concealed round my neck, and in order to suggest
+the lightness of--food, shall we say?--I carried this jauntily on the
+tips of two fingers. The total was somewhat weighty, and I felt for all
+the world like a Gilbert and Sullivan pirate.
+
+The examination of my small trunk was to me a nerve-racking
+performance. To present a bland appearance to the officials who
+conducted the search was, under the circumstances, rather hard. Layer
+after layer was lifted out, but when on the verge of disclosing my
+disjointed gun the generalissimo in command stayed the hands of his
+underling and all was well. But it was touch and go.
+
+Upon our box of stores we had fully expected to pay duty, since
+everything entering Russia is liable, and a few days previously I had
+been told of a lady travelling home by this route with her baby being
+charged full price on sixteen tins of milk which she had purchased for
+her journey. But the officials were content with the turning out of the
+entire contents of the box, when finding that there was no one article
+in sets of dozens, they were good enough to pass the lot through
+without charging us a penny.
+
+The remainder of the journey to our destination, Verkne-Oudinsk, was
+pleasant enough by the ordinary trans-Siberian daily express, and
+without incident worth recording. There was no restaurant car, but
+the station buffets all along this route are excellent, and in taking
+advantage of these for meals we were able to husband the contents of
+the food box for Mongolian emergencies. We drew up at more or less
+suitable times for meals thrice daily, and soon learned to accommodate
+ourselves to these or to go without altogether. At the buffets we
+found capital food at very reasonable prices, and it was usually
+cooked to the minute of the train’s arrival. At wayside stations
+too, we were able to buy wild raspberries in any quantity, but never
+were we able to hit these off at the same station at which we bought
+beautiful cream--the equivalent of about half a pint for a penny. Food
+on such a journey (there were about fifty hours between Manchuria and
+Verkne-Oudinsk) plays no unimportant part, and for the sake of those
+who fear lest they may go hungry should they have the courage to travel
+other than by the _train de luxe_, I will just mention in passing that
+the little spatch-cock chickens fried in egg and breadcrumb, after a
+liberal helping of the famous Russian Bortsch (which indeed is a meal
+in itself) make a dinner hard to beat. Travelling second class for
+economy’s sake--for we were in utter ignorance as to how our financial
+resources would hold out in Mongolia--our travelling companions were
+mainly Russian officers and their families, and from time to time a
+couple of priests of the Greek Church would get in. But one of all
+these knew any language other than his mother tongue. To find the
+wonderful linguists with which Russia is usually accredited one must
+go, I fancy, into the society of Petersburg or Moscow. This particular
+linguist, a priest, had lived in America. The conductors on the trains,
+though civil enough, spoke Russian only. The well-equipped washrooms at
+the end of each compartment were dreadful traps for losing things, and
+an unpleasing coincidence occurred when we discovered the loss of our
+respective watches both on the same day.
+
+They were undoubtedly stolen. Mine was less easily explained than that
+of my fellow-traveller. For less than two minutes he had left it on the
+edge of the lavatory basin, and on becoming aware of this second loss
+it seemed that the time had come for complaint. Complaint in Russian,
+however, is not so easy when one does not know one word of the tongue,
+and we resorted to the primitive method of drawing the watch, and then
+making pantomimic enquiries of our companions--at that time a couple of
+priests and the two sons of one of them. It was one of these latter we
+had reason to suspect, and going sternly up to them, I brandished the
+drawing in their faces and demanded the watch. The father broke out to
+our astonishment in voluble English, and assured us (what parent would
+not have done?) that his were good little boys, and would not think of
+keeping the watch had they found it. Our surprise was even greater when
+the second priest produced his cigarette case, opened it, and disclosed
+the watch. He presented it to me with an unctuous bow, explaining that
+not knowing to whom it belonged he had retained it. I am afraid that
+we must have mingled incredulity with our gratitude, or perhaps his
+uneasy conscience smote him, for he pulled forth a large crucifix from
+his voluminous garment, kissed it sanctimoniously, held out his hands
+to both of us, and before we had time to realise the situation kissed
+first one and then the other of us amid great protestations of honesty.
+A most revolting person.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+“Whom Heaven has endowed as a fool at his birth it is a waste of
+instruction to teach”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+Our real difficulties had, however, barely begun, and it was upon
+arrival at the Hotel Siberie at Verkne-Oudinsk that we felt completely
+at sea in the absence of one word of a common language. Reaching
+our destination late at night we had the greatest trouble in making
+them understand that we were hungry and wished to have supper before
+seeking our rooms. Eggs, we thought, would be the simplest and most
+easily obtainable fare. I therefore drew an egg. What they did _not_
+think it was meant for can hardly be described; that it was an egg
+never occurred to them. Certainly an egg drawn in a hurry might be
+many things. Therefore I added an egg-cup to my sketch; and at this
+they stared in blank astonishment. I think they had never seen such a
+thing. I then tried to draw a chicken; at which they laughed, but had
+no conception as to my intention. With all the resourcefulness of the
+superior sex, Mr. Gull had a brilliant notion. Out of all patience--he
+is a peppery little man--he pointed to my picture, and, violently
+flapping his arms, he squawked “Cock-a-doodle-doo” at the top of
+his voice. Delight on the part of the staff. The demonstration had
+penetrated their thick skulls, and we had eggs for supper that night.
+
+Next day our intention was to find out all about the steamboat which
+was to carry us up the Selenga River to Kiachta, but how to encompass
+this was almost an insurmountable problem. The clerks of the telegraph
+office had been our solitary hope, but on acquaintance we found that
+this means was worse than useless. They knew not one word of French,
+German, or, of course, English. We wandered, somewhat disconsolate,
+along the dusty streets, wondering what we should be able to do, when,
+when coming away from a private house, we encountered the amiable
+countenance of a Chinaman. We seized upon him, and our troubles were,
+for the time being at least, at an end. What he did not know himself,
+he put us in the way of finding out, and retracing his steps into the
+house he invited the master thereof to come forth and to speak with us.
+This gentleman turned out to be a German-speaking Russian engaged in
+one of the more important businesses of the place, and of his kindness
+we have the most grateful recollection. He helped us to order dinner,
+he walked with us, and drove with us. He took us to the steamship
+company’s office, purchased our tickets, and finally put us and our
+luggage on board the “Rabatka,” waving us farewells from the wharf
+like the good friend that he was.
+
+Verkne-Oudinsk is not a place of many attractions. Once a penal
+settlement, now a military stronghold, its main feature is the huge
+white prison standing on the banks of the Selenga River a short
+distance outside the town; it seems out of all proportion to the
+population of some 40,000 inhabitants. This prison is capable of
+containing 600 men and women, and in some of the rooms there are as
+many as seventy persons herded together. Criminals of the worst order,
+as well as those prisoners who have escaped and been recaptured, are
+isolated, confined in dungeons, and wear fetters on their ankles.
+Of Verkne-Oudinsk’s 40,000 inhabitants some 10,000 are said to be
+Chinese, while of the remainder an appreciable proportion is no doubt
+composed of Russian political exiles and ticket-of-leave men with their
+families, or their descendants.
+
+In relation to the size and position of the place the shops of
+Verkne-Oudinsk are fairly good. There are also a couple of factories,
+while a brisk trade is carried on at certain hours of the day in
+the big market square. Considerable business is transacted in
+Verkne-Oudinsk in connection with skins, fur, wool, and timber.
+The first-named are, however, exported in their raw condition and
+therefore not a great many people are employed in this trade. As in
+most Russian towns, the church forms the dominant feature, and that
+in Verkne-Oudinsk, with its copper-green roof and white walls, is
+decidedly attractive to the eye, standing as it does, on the banks of a
+flowing river.
+
+The houses, mainly of wood, and often composed of rough logs with the
+bark remaining, are for the most part of one story and border the roads
+on which the dust is habitually ankle deep. The only possibility of
+comfort under such conditions is to wear the long soft top boots of the
+country. Yet it is only the men of the place who do so, and the women
+for the most part go about in trodden-down slippers and with shawls
+over their untidy heads.
+
+The weather was by this time growing hot, and the prospect of two
+days’ travelling on a river steamboat sounded exceedingly pleasant
+after the shadeless, dust-laden streets of Verkne-Oudinsk. But we had
+reckoned without the mosquitoes. The “Rabatka” can hardly be called a
+luxurious boat, and the vibration and noise from the paddle-wheels were
+at first not a little trying. The cabins, arranged with three hard,
+velvet-covered seats in place of berths, were very small, while the
+necessity that arose for the thick wire-gauze screens over the windows
+as soon as the sun went down, rendered them almost unendurably hot.
+There was a roomy upper deck upon which we had fondly contemplated
+spending all our time, but alas! the funnel emitted, not smoke, but a
+continuous rain of red-hot charcoal, and in view of the danger from
+fire there was, of course, no awning.
+
+The scenery, which was mildly pretty as we passed between the pine-clad
+hills outside Verkne-Oudinsk, soon became flat and uninteresting.
+Selenginsk, the only village of any size and with the usual large
+white church with green domes, was passed about half-way between our
+starting-point and Ost-Kiachta, and may be remembered as having been
+during the early part of last century the field of a group of English
+missionaries who established there an excellent work among the Buriats
+(a Russian-nationalised tribe of Mongols). They lived there in complete
+exile until Nicholas Imperator ordered them out of the country in the
+early forties, the reason being that it was English influence and not
+the Christianising of the Buriats that was feared by the authorities.
+
+Delightful indeed it was to reach the little port of Ost-Kiachta in
+the cool of the morning, to make a bad bargain with the owner of a
+tarantass, and to find ourselves driving along through country which
+was in refreshing contrast to that we had recently left--stretches
+of flowery moorland bordered with pines and silver birches. At one
+point across a shallow valley drifted sounds of melody, which, we
+discovered later, arose from the tents of an encampment of Russian
+soldiers. This part of Siberia, in fact, bristles with bayonets, and
+the ulterior motives of massing such numbers of soldiers in territory
+so obviously peaceful is significant enough. We must have driven for
+some ten miles or more when we dashed through the gay little town
+of Troitze-Casavsk, in which churches and barracks seemed to dominate
+everything right up to the door of the unpretentious, one-storied,
+barn-like erection which called itself the Hôtel Metrôpole.
+
+[Illustration: TROITZE CASAVSK]
+
+[Illustration: OUR BURIAT HOSTESS]
+
+[Illustration: THE JAMSCHIK AND HIS TARANTASS]
+
+The place presented a depressed aspect, and the bedrooms, like cells,
+opening off a long and odoriferous passage, were far from cheering.
+The washing arrangements, just a trickle of water coming from a tin
+receptacle of doubtful cleanliness fixed above a basin, and the
+sheetless, blanketless beds were by no means inviting. The landlord,
+however, a portly Serb, was a pleasant enough fellow, and sent us in an
+appetising lunch, which, after our picnicing experiences on both boat
+and train was welcome. Kiachta, of which Troitze-Casavsk is merely a
+division on the northern side, we found to be a far more interesting
+place than Verkne-Oudinsk. A great military centre, with newly-erected
+barracks of strikingly ugly design and capable of accommodating over
+15,000 soldiers, mars the foreground of what would otherwise be a most
+charming view extending as far as the eye can reach into Mongolia.
+
+A ribbon of no man’s land divides Kiachta from Mai-mai-ch’eng (buy-sell
+city), a pretty little Chinese township which fringes the northernmost
+border of Mongolia opposite Kiachta--the neutral territory being
+defined by a couple of stone pillars on the strip of dusty waste.
+But Russia has long ago broken the laws of neutral territory by the
+establishment of barracks within five miles of the frontier, and
+Mai-mai-ch’eng is depressed. They are very depressed indeed, for the
+Russians are pressing the Chinese very hard here, and, while the latter
+doubtless squeezed the Mongol to the limits of his endurance, they
+in their turn are being ground down and out of existence by dues and
+taxation on both incoming and outgoing goods, in face of the special
+protection which is afforded to all Russian products. The Chinese
+were very ready to talk about their grievances, and we sat in their
+little shops and drank excellent tea, in Russian fashion, in vast
+quantities one hot afternoon while they poured these grievances into
+our sympathetic ears. Chinese, Mongols, and Russians live cheek by jowl
+in Kiachta, but all told, apart from the military, the total population
+numbers not many more than a thousand souls.
+
+It is here in Kiachta that one first makes the acquaintance of the
+Khalkha or Northern Mongol. In the streets, in the market place, in the
+burning heat where the sand refracts every atom of glare, they are to
+be encountered. Always mounted, they presented the most extraordinarily
+picturesque appearance, and the first impression fascinated me.
+One couple, an elderly rake and his pretty young wife, we followed
+about while they made their purchases. The girl, sitting easily and
+gracefully on her pony, bartered for things at the various stalls,
+while her elderly swain doled out the roubles with a cheeriness
+which made me think that she must surely be the wife of “the other
+fellow”--it certainly was not marital. At a Chinese booth she drank,
+what looked like, sherbet, made an awful face over it, whereat Don
+Yuan laughed derisively. Riding astride, she appeared both eminently
+practical and unpractical at the same time--the curious spreading
+coiffure looking as though it would catch the wind to any extent when
+she was going fast. This seemed to me as though it might possibly have
+been the forerunner of the Manchu headdress which strikes one as being
+so attractive the first time one sees it in Peking. The typical Mongol
+swagger, of which later we were to see plenty, was not absent from the
+pair, and the maiden evidently enjoyed our interest, and was, moreover,
+quite coy about it.
+
+How to get away from Kiachta was a problem somewhat difficult of
+solution. Wild rumours regarding the turbulent soldiery and the
+Hung-hu-tzes, or “red-beards,” as these murderous robbers are
+called, sent up the prices alarmingly. By an European we had met in
+Verkne-Oudinsk we had been told that our route might be infested by
+such, and that on meeting a bunch of mounted men in Russian boots and
+slouch hats we were to shoot at sight and not to wait for them “to
+plug the lead in first”. Hung-hu-tzes have the reputation of killing
+first and robbing afterwards. How sound this advice may have been it
+is difficult to determine now, for fortunately we never had occasion
+to put it into practice. Through the kind offices of a solitary Dane
+in charge of the telegraph system at Kiachta, to whom we were lucky in
+having an introduction, we were able to come to terms with the owner
+of a tarantass. The latter is a rough cradle-like, hooded structure,
+virtually springless, on four wheels, drawn by three fiery horses,
+driven by a Jamschik or Russian coachman. For sixty roubles (nearly
+£7), ten of them in advance (which we inadvertently forgot to deduct
+when we got to our journey’s end), our ruffianly looking driver
+undertook to convey us to Urga, but, he said, owing to the rivers at
+this time of year being in flood, he would not guarantee to do so
+under a week. From my point of view this was no drawback; lingering on
+the road enables one frequently to obtain an intimacy with the local
+conditions which hurrying through against time and under contract
+completely frustrates.
+
+I was glad to shake the dust of Russia from my feet for a while and
+depart from the hotel which at 8 o’clock on this perfect summer’s day
+was still slumbering and slothful. Evidence of the previous night’s
+debauch sufficed to make breakfast in the dining-room an unattractive
+experience, and it was not a place in which one cared to remain longer
+than absolutely necessary. A charge in our bill of something over five
+shillings for a cooked cauliflower was proof enough that the Russians
+love money though they do not love work. Rather a Mongol yourt at any
+time than an Hôtel Metrôpole in Siberia. Civilisation, so called, is
+all very well, but more often than not it destroys simplicity while in
+no sense augmenting comfort.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+“The Great Way is very easy, but all love the by-paths”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+The sheer discomfort of our crowded tarantass could not quench the
+glorious optimism with which on the last day of June we sallied forth
+on the highway to Urga. Our driver, though he looked a ruffian, was not
+unpromising on further acquaintance, and we ended up by liking him very
+much. On the day previous to our departure he had called to see exactly
+how much luggage we wanted to take with us, and this he was inclined
+to limit severely. Needless to say it had expanded considerably during
+the night, and we cudgelled our brains as to how to get it into the
+tarantass without exciting his criticism too much. The Jamschik was
+all smiles in the morning however, and took no notice as package after
+package was stowed away. The awful thought passed through my mind
+that perhaps he was in league with the Hung-hu-tzes and felt that the
+more the stores the better the booty. We were far too crowded to be
+comfortable. Experience, however, had taught us that in due course one
+shakes down to anything, and anyhow we were feeling altogether too
+pleased with life to worry much at this juncture. With us, surrounding
+us, and suspended above our heads from the roof of the tarantass,
+making hard corners and lumps when we tried to sit on or lean against
+them, were our food supplies for the double journey (which as regards
+time limit was exceedingly vague), a modicum of personal baggage, our
+bedding, and, not least, our cameras, firearms and cartridges. The
+weapons had to be so arranged as to be immediately available. We had
+but one desire--to get to Urga.
+
+The tarantass was drawn by three horses abreast with a fourth tied up
+and trotting alongside always--in the way, poor little chap, being
+crowded up banks when the road narrowed and coming in for the sharpest
+cuts from the long whip on account of his ill-luck every time. Our
+last stop, long before we had shaken down into anything like comfort,
+was at Mai-mai-ch’eng, just across the frontier, where we had hoped
+to lay in a stock of cigarettes, to purchase fresh bread, and to post
+final letters. But, Russian influence prevailing, Mai-mai-ch’eng had
+not waked up, the post-office and bakers’ shops were still shut,
+and our sole catch was cigarettes. Once out of Kiachta and through
+Mai-mai-ch’eng we were actually in Mongolia proper, speeding over
+undulating country on tracks rather than on roads, driving across
+flowery prairie, having said good-bye to all civilisation and houses
+for the time being. At midday we fetched up at the first Russian
+resthouse, a new and therefore fairly clean log-hut, and congratulated
+ourselves upon the prospect of simple comfort when a blue-eyed,
+blue-bloused young Russian produced the ubiquitous _samovar_ and made
+for us even here tea the like of which you can get neither for love
+nor money outside Russia. While we ate our lunch the Jamschik amused
+himself by detaching and thoroughly oiling the wheels of the tarantass,
+a business which delayed us considerably and which it seemed to us
+might very well have been performed before we started.
+
+The day which had begun so well grew dull, and grey clouds turned into
+steady rain which made us anxious as to what the night might have in
+store for us. Through pretty country, grassy and well sprinkled with
+flowers, a small species of scarlet and yellow tiger-lily growing in
+abundance everywhere, we drove on for four or five hours before pulling
+up in a torrent of rain at dusk, at an unexpected shanty surrounded by
+three or four yourts out of which several Mongols promptly appeared. On
+further acquaintance we came to the conclusion that they were Buriats,
+but be their nationality what it may, they gave us a warm welcome;
+the woman who appeared to rule the roost there did her best to make
+us comfortable, dusting the rain from us and even going so far as to
+wipe the mud from Mr. Gull’s mackintosh with my sponge which I had
+unfortunately unpacked a thought too soon. The family appeared to be
+extensive, both numerically and in size. They all helped to carry in,
+and were eager to unpack, our belongings. The good lady soon had a
+_samovar_ bubbling cheerily and a fire crackling in the mud stove which
+occupied quite a third of the floor space. She conveyed to us, entirely
+by pantomime and we afterwards verified her statement that she had once
+been in the Russian consul’s service, that she was a Christian--there
+was an icon in the corner of the room to which she pointed--and that
+therefore she loved us very much and would do anything she could for us.
+
+The men brought in a goodly supply of wood--it was cold even in the
+early July nights--and then stood and gazed at us solemnly. The
+entire family and many friends from the neighbourhood entered quite
+unceremoniously from time to time to have a look at us. They would walk
+straight in, stand and stare for a minute or two, finger anything that
+attracted their notice, and go on their way. Not so the little boys, of
+whom there were three or four, who refused to leave us and from whom,
+while they were picking up little bits of food, we tried to pick up a
+word or two of Mongolian. The sheep and goats too, squeezing together
+under the eaves, tried to enter each time the door was opened, and
+would have crowded us out had we not been firm. As it was, they kept up
+a melancholy “Baa, ba-a,” throughout the greater part of the night.
+There was here, of course, no Kangue, and following our Jamschik’s
+example, we spread all the available clothes and rugs upon the floor.
+I lay awake for, it seemed to me, many hours, the men snoring on the
+other side of the stove, listening to the rain beating down, and
+thankful to be in such relatively comfortable quarters. Before 7 a.m.
+we were up again, spreading our hard biscuit with blackberry jam (how
+I regretted not having insisted upon taking over the commissariat
+department and buying bread!) and drinking our cocoa as hot as possible
+in order to warm ourselves. The children came in for the dregs, in
+return for which they did their best to teach me to count up to six
+in their mother tongue. I do not think that their own knowledge went
+beyond the figure.
+
+It had rained all night and continued to do so all the next day, and
+the night following that again, and we were not sorry when our Jamschik
+intimated to us that we had better for the moment stop where we were.
+We knew that we had shortly to cross a river, and when he raised his
+arms above his head and said “Ura Gol,” we rightly concluded that the
+river, swollen high, was impossible to negotiate. Besides, next night
+might, for all we knew, mean camping in the open, and this under the
+present conditions of weather was by no means enticing. We had a very
+lazy day, writing a little, reading and talking, playing with any small
+Mongols who happened to put in an appearance.
+
+By the following morning the river was said to have gone down
+sufficiently for us to cross, and we were well under weigh by 6 a.m. in
+none too promising weather. The Ura Gol was not far off, and we crossed
+the rushing waters by means of a flat-bottomed barge pulled over by
+wire hawsers. We all crowded together on our tarantass, horses, and
+men, paying the Mongols who thus transported us about three shillings
+for their trouble. The banks were flat, and there was nothing to charm
+the eye in this part of the river or in the bleak and hilly landscape
+over which a watery sun was making a futile attempt to shine. By tiffin
+time we had accomplished our third stage and drew up at a mud hovel
+depressing to a degree. The heavy rains had partially destroyed the
+roof and the floor was in consequence a morass of filth. There were
+living here in melancholy exile three or four unkempt and murderous
+looking men, and a very unhappy woman with three little boys clinging
+about her draggled skirts--miserable and dissolute Russians upon whom
+the hand of fate had fallen too heavily to admit even the faintest ray
+of hope upon their horizon. There is something peculiarly pathetic
+in the sight of the reversion to this condition of animal existence
+by people who have obviously at some time or another belonged to
+civilisation. What they lived on here was more of a mystery than how
+they lived.
+
+The day had cleared to a perfect brilliance, and the world seemed a
+cheery place as we ascended from the mosquito-ridden and marshy valleys
+and wended our way among the hills to the highlands. Coming over a
+long and somewhat tedious pass, a tremendous view rewarded us at the
+top of the climb--an immense plain, ascending by gentle slopes to the
+mountains, a ribbon of wheel-tracks running across it. It was evening
+when our Jamschik suddenly turned in his seat and, pointing with his
+whip, shouted out something as unintelligible as it was exhilarating.
+In the twinkling of an eye we seemed to be transplanted into another
+life. There, right at our feet, was a huge Mongol settlement, girdled
+about on all sides by the low-lying mountains. Numbers of yourts,
+clustered in twos or threes, formed the centre of great activity.
+Colour, form, and motion were literally rampant. What in the distance
+had looked like ant-hills with ants swarming around them turned out
+to be the yourts surrounded by cattle and flocks. Brilliantly dressed
+Mongols galloped around in every direction; hundreds of horses were
+scattered about in herds over the foothills. The men were rounding them
+up for the night. From time to time some wayward little beast would
+break away from the rest, proposing to spend the night in mountain
+solitude. A gaudy stalwart would dart off after it, standing in his
+stirrups, leaning well forward in his saddle, reins held high in one
+hand, while in the other he trailed behind him what looked like a
+fishing-rod ending up in a loop of raw hide. With a twirl of his
+wrist he would bring this flying round at the right moment, and lasso
+the pony with great adroitness, hauling it, subdued at once by the
+tightening thong, back to the herd.
+
+Nearer the camp, the women coped with the gentler cattle and sheep,
+and by the time we arrived numbers of cows were tethered with their
+calves reluctantly allowing a modicum of their milk to be diverted from
+its natural destiny. The milking of a Mongol cow is less easy than it
+might appear. The latter has far more character than that cow which
+is confined to the proverbial three acres, and on no account will the
+Mongol bovine yield up her milk until her calf has had its whack. I
+have seen them myself arching up their backs and persistently refusing
+to allow one drop to be drawn.
+
+“We shall be able to get new milk here,” rejoiced my travelling
+companion, to which I replied, “The newer the better,” and foraged for
+a jug among the contents of our food basket. He was all for buying some
+from the pail of a laughing maiden who was drawing freely on the teats
+of a cow tethered near by. I, however, having been brought up for so
+many years under the direct jurisdiction of those who frame the public
+health laws, did not fancy the milk that had filtered through dirty
+fingers into a still more questionable sheepskin pail. I therefore
+waded in on my own account, and, tin jug in hand, walked up to the
+nearest cow, laughing and joking with the Mongols who crowded round me,
+oblivious of a murmured protest in connection with my “appalling cheek”
+from Mr. Gull, and proceeded to milk her. But no, the cow did not
+see the joke. She declined to be milked by an impertinent foreigner.
+I turned to another, a gentler creature, who was quite willing. The
+Mongols greeted my attempt, my successful attempt, I may proudly add,
+with the utmost hilarity, and my jug was half-full when--what I thought
+was--a furious old woman pushed through the ring, and gave me very
+plainly to understand that this was her cow, and that if I stole any
+more milk she would set her equally furious dog, which was barking
+loudly at her heels, upon me. The other Mongols urged me to continue,
+and soundly rated the old--man, I discovered him to be--on his lack
+of hospitality. To them it was a stupendous joke, and so popular did
+the incident for the moment make me that I might have milked every cow
+in the place after that had I wanted to. My companion, while strongly
+condemning my action, drank the milk with keen appreciation--“Adam”!
+
+[Illustration: A RUSSIAN SAMSON SEPARATES THE COMBATANTS]
+
+[Illustration: THE LAMA AND HIS MAIDEN]
+
+In the meantime, Mr. Gull and the Jamschik had fixed up our quarters
+for the night. A handsome young lama had pressed the hospitality of
+his yourt upon us, and intimated that the only other occupants would
+be himself and the maiden who appeared to be attached to him. There
+were from thirty to forty yourts on the plain, some clean and
+new, others filthy and in the last stage of dilapidation. Ours was
+reasonably clean, and the felt, with an effective decoration in black
+for a border, was in good condition. As I returned from my milking
+exploit, the lama beckoned me to enter, and as I did so, mindful of my
+manners, I laid my stick on the roof above the door. To my surprise,
+the priest picked it up and brought it inside--he evidently thought
+that such a handsome foreign stick would be too great a temptation
+to his enemies. A great fire sending forth volumes of smoke was
+blazing in the centre of the yourt, and I found my fellow-traveller
+suffering greatly in consequence as he struggled with our baggage and
+the unpacking of the food box preparatory to the evening meal. We had
+arrived at a satisfactory division of labour--the culinary side, which
+included “washing up,” fell to my lot, the unpacking, repacking and
+cording--which had to be done with great thoroughness--was carried out
+by my companion. The great tip in a smoky yourt is to squat on one’s
+heels and so keep one’s head out of the smoke which rises at once to
+the roof leaving the ground more or less clear.
+
+Half a dozen Mongols besides our host and hostess came and sat on the
+opposite side of the yourt as we spread our supper in front of us. They
+boiled the water for us and I made tea, when a happy thought struck me.
+I poured out two mugs full of tea, added plenty of sugar and milk, and
+rising, we handed them respectively to the priest and to the girl.
+They were delighted, and the others chortled at the unexpected good
+manners of the foreigners. They rose to the occasion at once, poured
+the tea from our _mugs_ to their _bowls_ (for which I was thankful),
+and, turning to the pail of milk behind them, filled the mugs and gave
+them back to us. In phraseology journalistic, “an excellent impression
+was produced”.
+
+After supper, in total ignorance as to the rules of procedure for going
+to bed in a yourt, we walked about and watched night falling on the
+camp. The fierce guard dogs were let loose, and we were left alone
+with two or three little lama boys who never ceased pestering us for
+cigarettes. Then we turned in; our rugs and waterproof sheeting spread
+along the periphery of the yourt in order to catch all the air that was
+moving. They had evidently been waiting for us. The lama entered soon
+afterwards, and undressing to the extent of only divesting himself of
+his long coat and boots disposed himself quite near to my head and was
+soon sound asleep. By and by, the little girl crept quietly in, and
+pulling off her great boots with their embroidered tops of black and
+green, she curled herself round like a kitten at the priest’s feet,
+and with sundry little grunts settled down for the night. Shortly
+afterwards, the deep silence of the wilds was unbroken save for the
+snores of our trusty Jamschik, whose hefty form lay stretched across
+the entrance to the yourt.
+
+I lay awake for some time trying to realise the strangeness of my
+environment; trying to realise that I had attained the desire of my
+heart for the moment--primitive life among an unmistakably primitive
+people--realising alas! too well, that the freshness and novelty of all
+things wear quickly away in the face of one’s amazing adaptability to
+the immediate requirements and realities of life. Then gradually, with
+that easy exaggeration that attends the semi-conscious condition, I
+dawdled off into the land of the wildest dreams, becoming merged into
+that essential factor which is common to all existence, be it primitive
+or civilised--sleep.
+
+Dawn broke amazingly soon it seemed to me, and by 5 o’clock we had
+spread our breakfast in the pale golden sunshine on the grass outside
+the yourt. By degrees the settlement awoke once more. The camp was
+alive again. The women drove the flocks hither and thither suckling,
+their babies at the same time, astonishingly picturesque in their
+wonderful headdresses of hair flattened out into the shape of rams’
+horns, finished off with long plaits, at the extremities of which were
+suspended coins, as often as not of Russian origin. There was again a
+great deal of tearing about on ponies, and one could but admire the
+splendid horsemanship as the men sorted out their animals and drove
+them to browse upon fresh pastures. After breakfast, I watched our
+hostess of the previous night making little cakes of koumiss, which she
+did by squeezing the thickened mares’ milk through her grubby little
+hands. She presented me with a cake, and watched to see whether or no
+I would eat it. As she finished them she placed the cakes on a large
+bamboo sieve and put them to dry in the sun on the roof of the yourt.
+If one could dissociate the taste from the appearance of the fingers
+that had made it, the koumiss was not at all bad, and reminded me
+strongly of a certain cheese which, but a few years ago, promised long
+life wholesale to mankind on the dictum of a great name in science. I
+should have liked to remain there for weeks, and we left the settlement
+most reluctantly. That one experience alone made my visit to the East
+worth while.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+  “I would that I were as I have been,
+  Hunting the Hart in Forest Green,
+  With bended bow and bloodhound free,
+  O that’s the life for Joy and me”
+
+  --_Scott_
+
+
+The wisdom of an early start soon became apparent when we were obliged
+literally to cut our way through forest undergrowth for hours on
+end. Starting with a steep climb, we had to dodge the water which
+was pouring down in rivulets between the trees. The erstwhile track
+had been washed away and now formed the bed of a torrential river,
+which having scattered the loose material was in parts quite deep.
+The horses floundered about in great distress and uncertainty for
+some time, and finally we decided that there was nothing for it but
+to make a path for ourselves through the thicket--fortunately not of
+a particularly dense description. To make the whole concern narrower,
+one pony was unhitched, and I led him, while the men struggled to get
+the tarantass through the trees, branches from which had from time to
+time to be hacked off in order to let it pass. Frequently we had to
+negotiate rushing streams. One of us would leap over first to receive
+the leading rein of the loose pony--anything but a docile little
+beast--which would then jump across. It went down once, but fortunately
+was none the worse, and the Jamschik was on ahead and did not see it.
+I also went down once, in the very middle of a stream, the banks of
+which had not afforded a very good take-off. Amusement in that instance
+seemed to deprive my fellow-traveller of all sympathy.
+
+Our gymnastic feats, however, were not such as to swamp our
+appreciation of the scenery around us. It was as though one gardener
+had decided to make a rockery of ferns and foliage whilst the other had
+come along and sewn seeds of every variety of flowers among them. We
+feasted on the sight and scent. It was marvellously pretty here, and
+we lamented that the Jamschik saw fit to press on, and bring us, after
+some strenuous hours, to an open hill-side before he would allow us to
+outspan and have tiffin. Certainly it was dry enough there; hot beyond
+expression. The weather had undergone a sharp reaction, and we sat
+grilling in the sun until our thoughtful driver rigged up a sailcloth,
+when the effect of our hard morning’s work, to say nothing of lunch,
+induced us to succumb promptly to a siesta in its shade.
+
+As to why the Jamschik should loaf now when but a few hours previously
+he had hurried us uncomfortably, we could not fathom until in the
+late afternoon we arrived on the banks of the Hara Gol, the most
+important river on our route, and found it to be so high that it might
+be another two days before we could get over in safety. Other people
+had been hung up in the same way, and we fraternised with a large
+family of Russians whose destination was the gold-mining district to
+the north-east of Urga. It was here that my fellow-traveller and I had
+our first--and almost our only--difference of opinion. I had my own
+notions as to suitable places for camping out, and did not at all wish
+to do so upon ground that from time to time was covered with water,
+and which after all was only temporarily dried-up swamp. I was certain
+that we should be much harassed by mosquitoes. We were both rather
+tired, and--shall I admit it?--I, at least, felt a bit irritable. In
+turn we had each indulged in a considerable bath in the river, but I,
+being in no sense a strong swimmer, had to content myself with a muddy
+backwater, instead of plunging into the stream. On my return I found
+that the superior sex had settled matters and had unpacked upon a piece
+of ground about 300 yards only from the little encampment belonging to
+our Russian neighbours, instead of, as I had wished, driving back a
+mere mile to a delightful hill-side where we should be free from the
+pest which had been my greatest trial throughout my sojourn in the
+East. As a matter of fact, the Jamschik had had, I suppose, the casting
+vote; moreover, our neighbours might have felt hurt had we gone so far
+away, so, with his usual consideration for the feelings of others, my
+fellow-traveller had given way during my absence.
+
+I was, again I admit it, decidedly cross, and found great relief in
+putting my gun together (for the first time, for it was practically a
+new toy), stuffing my pockets full of ammunition, and stalking off by
+myself to some marshy land at a considerable distance from the camp.
+My new toy was tremendously soothing to my feelings, and I banged
+away a dozen or so cartridges--incidentally killing a wild fowl which
+I was unable to retrieve--with great satisfaction. A small lame boy
+appeared from nowhere, and followed me about in delighted anticipation
+of empty cartridge cases. I tried to kill at too great a range. There
+were wild geese and duck in plenty, but they circled above my head,
+making derisive squawks at me; and finally with the lightest of light
+bags I got back to our camp happy and hungry. I managed to maintain
+a dignified reserve throughout dinner, at the end of which, however,
+rested and replete, we decided that formality and strained relations
+on the banks of a river a thousand miles away from civilisation were
+hardly consistent with our philosophy. A confidential little talk
+during our after-dinner stroll in the dusk put matters right again.
+
+As a matter of fact we scored decidedly in making friends with the
+Russian miners. One of the party spoke a little German, and we were
+thus enabled to trade tinned food and chocolate for the fresh meat and
+bread which they had killed and baked on the river banks. Next day we
+fed royally, and I maintain that the best râgout I have ever tasted was
+the result of my own genius in allying well-soaked, dried apricots with
+half a leg of mutton, and stewing the lot for hours. The apricots made
+an admirable substitute for the vegetables we were unable to procure.
+The smell arising from our delicious stew, must, we thought, be making
+the Jamschik’s mouth water considerably, and at some sacrifice to
+ourselves--it was hungry work, this trekking--we decided to invite
+him to share the feast. What was my disgust, chagrin, when he dug his
+jack-knife into the saucepan and speared out the meat, deliberately
+pouring off all the gravy and apricots upon the ground. There was
+nothing to be done, but I swore there and then that this was the last
+time I would invite any foreigner to share pot luck of my providing.
+
+But if the Jamschik did not appreciate the râgout, the dogs did.
+I had been driven by the onslaughts of the mosquitoes to sleeping
+rather uncomfortably in the tarantass, and all through the night I
+was disturbed by these horrible animals prowling about underneath,
+sniffing round the sleeping forms of the men under the sailcloth. They
+did not appear to be conscious of them, but later I discovered that the
+Jamschik slept with one ear at least on the “qui vive,” for apparently
+he knew his own horses’ footsteps among a hundred, and got up in the
+dead of night to hobble them when they wandered together with scores
+of others too near to the camp.
+
+Apart from the dogs, the persistently inquisitive Mongol boys, and
+the mosquitoes, camping on the banks of the Hara Gol returns to my
+memory as one of the pleasantest episodes in the journey. I found a
+perfect bathing place a little lower down the river, with a hard,
+shingly bottom, and though not in the current it was perfectly clear
+and away from the public gaze. From yourts far and near we were visited
+by Mongols, who usually, when they found that we did not speak their
+language and could convey no news to them in consequence, spent but
+a few minutes in making their inspection and rode off again. On one
+occasion we witnessed a very amusing sight. We had given a particularly
+ragged lama some odds and ends of food, and a squabble immediately
+arose between him and another. They quickly came to blows, when the
+smaller man, finding himself outmatched, stopped suddenly, and picking
+up a large boulder proceeded to hammer the head of his adversary. The
+Russian sense of fairplay could not stand this, and a huge man with the
+ruddy countenance of a David and the flaming beard combined with the
+muscularity of a Samson, walked in, and seizing each man by the scruff
+of his neck, hurled the twain apart, to the great glee of the onlookers.
+
+At a very early hour of our third day’s camp, I was awakened with the
+news that the river had gone down sufficiently to admit of a trial
+trip to cross it. A great deal of preparation was necessary in order
+to keep things dry, and when we were about the middle of the river it
+was just “touch and go” lest the water would overflow the sides of the
+tarantass. A great caravan of us crossed together, Russians, Chinese,
+and a rabble of Mongols, who, stripped almost naked, carried over our
+loads on their saddle bows. I regretted afterwards that I took no
+photograph of the crossing, but I was far too much occupied in keeping
+my camera and cartridges dry to think of doing so.
+
+The next two stages offered no special attraction in the matter of
+scenery, and we broke into the routine of the day only by leaving our
+tarantass for the space of an hour that we might inspect at closer
+quarters what looked uncommonly like a foreign building about half a
+mile away from the road. It turned out to be quite a large flour mill
+called Wang Ch’ang Shan, belonging to a Chinese firm, and employing
+apparently some twenty-five to thirty men. Although they offered us tea
+and sold us some eggs and stodgy little dough rolls at high prices,
+they maintained that baffling reserve as to their business, which
+amounts only to the polite Chinese method of telling you to mind yours.
+Another couple of hours brought us to an unexpected little oasis in
+the shape of a promising and well-built house in Russian style, but
+owned fortunately by a young Chinaman, who welcomed us most warmly and
+who could not do enough for us. We sat on chairs and ate a delicious
+tiffin of lightly boiled eggs, toasted dough rolls, and _samovar_ tea,
+at a table in great comfort, after which Mr. Gull thought to crown all
+by indulging in a luxurious siesta in--what looked like--a nice clean
+little bedroom adjoining. I sat and read a book over a final cup of
+tea. I had not settled down for more than ten minutes when the peace
+was suddenly disturbed by execrations coming from the other room,
+and an earnest entreaty that I should send in the Chinese proprietor
+at once “to see”. He did so, and found the usually philosophical
+Englishman rampant and furious. Biting him, crawling over his clothes
+and on the cork mattress which he had taken in with him, were numbers
+of large and lively--I must write it--bugs. Nothing but a complete bath
+in a very small basin, followed by a change of all his clothes--which
+involved the entire unpacking of the tarantass--would soothe him.
+The incident had really a humorous side, for we had, in theory,
+contemplated encounter with every variety of carnivorous insect on our
+journey; and then at first sight to produce such a hullabaloo!
+
+Our Chinese host was careful to explain that the majority of his guests
+who made use of his rooms were less cleanly than ourselves, and that
+the Russians who were his most frequent visitors were “dirty pigs”. He
+was himself suffering from a highly inflamed condition of both eyes,
+and was mightily pleased when I gave him some “foreign medicine” with
+the use of which I predicted a speedy cure, as well as showing him
+how to open his eye in a wine-glass. I bore the mild contempt of my
+fellow-traveller with the patience bred of faith, and nobly refrained,
+when some weeks later we returned from Urga and found that the solution
+of boracic acid had done its work in effecting a complete cure, from
+saying, “I told you so”.
+
+The night following we were far away from all humanity and passed
+the night sheer out on the open hill-side down by the wheels of the
+tarantass. We had had a long and somewhat dreary drive, twelve hours in
+all, exclusive of a midday rest. To go to sleep with a vision of heaven
+beyond the twinkling stars is one thing--to wake up in the cheerless
+grey dawn, saturated with dew and stiff with cold, is another. We had
+little difficulty in starting off at four o’clock that morning, and I
+do not remember that there was a great deal of conversation between the
+three of us for the first couple of hours or so.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+“Better good neighbours than relations far away”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+Our proximity to Urga became now apparent in the increasing traffic
+over the prairie. From the hill-side on which we halted at breakfast
+time we watched the life of the plains--little groups of horsemen
+sitting casually in their saddles, turning round to stare at us,
+standing in their stirrups, sped quickly past. A settlement was in
+process of striking camp; the trellis and felt of the yourts were
+folded up and piled on the backs of the unwilling camels. A splendid
+Mongol riding proudly at the head of a string of camel carts came along
+from the west, dismounted, stretched himself, and climbed up to see
+what we were doing. By unmistakable signs he invited us to descend to
+his caravan below. In the first cart were his wife and two little sons,
+the jolliest little creatures imaginable. In pukka Oriental style I
+admired and fingered the headdress of the lady, and then dandled the
+children, expressing my appreciation of their weight and beauty. The
+man quite grasped the photographic idea, and posed his family for my
+benefit. Afterwards he surprised us greatly by asking for money;
+despite the fact that one string of his wife’s pearls would have
+fetched far more than we were able to raise between us. But he did not
+resent our refusal, and hailed us with the cheery greeting of “San
+bainu” when we overtook him later in the day.
+
+[Illustration: A MONGOL AND HIS FAMILY ON THE PLAINS NEAR URGA, POSED
+FOR THE AUTHOR’S BENEFIT]
+
+Moving on from the plains which stretched away into the mountains and
+valleys on all sides, we soon began the steep ascent of the Urga Pass
+when the subtlety of our Jamschik showed itself in suggesting that
+in the bordering woods hereabouts there was any amount of game. We
+jumped out of the tarantass--which was soon out of sight--in a sanguine
+frame of mind, and guns over our shoulders we trudged and trudged up
+that mountain side. Tiring it was, in the fierce July sun, beyond
+expression, and we got--never a shot. But the scenery here was well
+worth the fag of the climb. Range upon range of mountains disclosed
+themselves as we ascended among a perfect wilderness of flowers.
+Peonies, roses, and delphiniums, Japanese anemones, blue columbines,
+red and yellow lilies--a background of dark pine forest, and away in
+the distance, blue mountains beneath a canopy of soft masses of rolling
+clouds.
+
+Half-way up, we were overtaken by a number of Russian officers who
+looked, as well they might, in astonishment at the sight of a couple of
+English people, apparently without belongings or conveyance, calmly
+strolling up a mountain in the heart of Mongolia. We met them again at
+the summit of the Altai Berg. Their Mongols were having a rest, and
+incidentally, I dare say, “gaining merit” by adding a few stones to the
+great cairn, from which numbers of dirty rags serving as prayer flags
+fluttered. I think the officers were waiting in order to discover what
+on earth we were doing there and what was our object in going to Urga.
+They did not, however, make much headway with us. Their knowledge of
+German was very limited and we on our side did not see the force of
+burdening them at this juncture with our confidences. They, needless
+to say, had remained in their conveyances all the way up. The latter
+were being drawn Orton fashion by four mounted Mongols. A pole is fixed
+across the thin ends of the shafts, and is carried by the Mongols
+between the pummel of their saddles and their stomachs. Usually a
+couple of men ride on either side of the shafts. Six to eight Mongols
+accompany each carriage, women as well as men taking turn and turn
+about. They laugh and fool about all the time, tearing up hill and down
+dale, the tarantass swaying about with plenty of play at the other end
+of the shafts. They are absolutely reckless and care not one straw what
+happens--as we learned to our cost later on.
+
+[Illustration: THE AUTHOR’S PARTY INSPECTING A CARAVAN]
+
+[Illustration: THE SUMMIT OF THE ALTAI BERG]
+
+Our Jamschik greeted us cheerily when we met him again at the top of
+the pass, and at once “took on” the Mongol outriders for a race down
+into Urga. We did not know the Russian for “not so quick” or “steady,”
+and we flew over the ground holding on like grim death, our three
+horses galloping and taking the most reckless short cuts at breakneck
+speed. Down, down we tore, over the roughest and most impossible tracks
+to an accompaniment of terrific jolts and bangs. The Mongols kept up,
+yelling and laughing as they rolled about in their saddles. It was no
+less terrifying than it was painful, but personally I was far too tired
+to care much what happened, or to feel as alarmed as I do even now in
+retrospect. But we got in ahead of the Russians, which was a great crow
+over for us.
+
+Urga was at length in view. Situated on the north bank of the Tola
+River, it lies 600 miles north of the Chinese frontier at Kalgan, and
+200 miles south of the Russian frontier at Kiachta. A long straggling
+vista of gaudy temples and groups of yourts, little wooden houses
+enclosed by high palisades, numbers of brightly painted sheds which we
+found afterwards to contain the Tibetan prayer wheels, a few foreign
+bungalows looking like dolls’ houses and built of pitch-pine, as
+well as clusters of Chinese houses--such was our first impression of
+Mongolia’s capital. On the western side lies the Holy City, where, it
+is estimated, dwell some thirty thousand lamas, and in which no lay man
+or woman may remain after sundown. The Chinese city, Mai-mai’ch’eng
+again, is situated to the east, and between the twain are a number of
+untidy, depressing little shanties, as well as the pleasant Russian
+consulate, out of all harmony and character with the rest, belonging to
+the ever-increasing army of Russian traders. Closed in on all sides by
+mountains, some of considerable altitude and densely wooded, the sacred
+mountain of Bogdo N’or dominates the city. Bogdo N’or abounds in game,
+but nothing must here be killed, and no one may pitch a tent on that
+side of the Tola River which separates the holy ground from the plains
+upon which Urga is situated. Death is the punishment for the Mongol who
+so far forgets his traditions as to kill bird, beast, or fish on Bogdo
+N’or, and imprisonment for life--the far worse fate--for any foreigner
+who should be rash enough thus to transgress.
+
+One trusts to luck very largely in travelling under such circumstances,
+and we had no very definite idea as to what we were going to do when
+we reached Urga. At the time of our visit, exclusive of Russians there
+were only two Europeans in Urga, probably in Mongolia, and Mr. Gull
+and I were the sole representatives of Great Britain and Ireland. The
+two Europeans were a Norwegian and a German, both engaged in trading
+with the Mongols. The latter I had already met in Kalgan, and he was
+certainly as good as his word and twice as hospitable when I saw him
+again in Urga. To the former Mr. Gull had an introduction, and on
+arrival we made straight for his compound where he received us most
+kindly, allowing us to make our headquarters with him during our stay
+in Urga, as well as letting us go shares in his commissariat for the
+time being. The Russian Agent, to whom we reported ourselves next day,
+treated us with the greatest hospitality and contributed greatly to
+our comfort by lending me some chairs and other luxuries for the tiny
+Chinese house provided for me in the Norwegian’s compound. Our luck
+held good.
+
+Anxious to see the Mongols as they really are and through the
+unprejudiced eyes of those unconnected with political considerations,
+we were fortunate indeed in having for our host a man of such
+intellectual qualities and broad sympathies as Mr. Mamen. Speaking
+their language as one of themselves--he had, I believe, lived in
+Mongolia for under two years--this young Norwegian of the appearance
+and stature of a Viking, was on friendly terms with most of the Mongol
+princes and officials, evidently being well-liked and trusted by them.
+
+One has but to forego for a short time what are regarded as the
+commonplaces of existence in order to appreciate them at their true
+value, and, after a week of far from restful nights, I could have
+dilated at length upon the sheer luxury of a very tenth-rate bed. It
+was a day or two after I reached Urga that I felt my old appetite
+for sightseeing return, and this was whetted by a curious little
+ceremony of daily recurrence, a good view of which was obtainable
+without going beyond the limits of the compound. Less than two hundred
+yards away there appeared above the compound wall a small stage about
+four or five feet square supported by a rough scaffolding of perhaps
+twenty-five feet high. Each day when the sun was well up, two lamas,
+climbing laboriously up to their perch, would don their official yellow
+Chanticleer pull-on caps, queer ragged capes of many colours, and
+proceed to call their gods to the Temple. Turning to the east, north,
+west, and always ending up with the south, thus facing the sacred
+mountain, they would, first one and then the other, produce prolonged
+and continuous blasts by blowing upon a conch shell, the melancholy and
+hollow note of which seems to come back to me over time and space.
+
+Living as we were in the Chinese quarter of the place, and an
+intolerably gritty road of almost two miles in extent separating us
+from West Urga, obviously the first thing to be done was to obtain
+ponies. I was all for purchasing a couple outright, but other counsels
+prevailed and we hired them, thus placing ourselves at the mercy of a
+scallywag horse-dealer, a lesser mandarin by the way, who imposed upon
+us from beginning to end. The price, small though it sounds at home,
+was high at thirty roubles (then £3) a month for each nag (in a place
+where one can purchase a very nice little beast for less than double
+that amount), even though it included such feed as could be picked
+up on the plains during the night, and when we were not using them. I
+really think their owner must have had his tongue in his cheek when
+he sent along the first pair for us to try. Mine had the appearance
+of a worn-out van-horse--a tall, thin brute, with a mouth of iron
+and legs that scattered in all directions when I forced him into a
+canter--which was not very often. I kept him for one day only. For Mr.
+Gull a miniature pony was provided. It had a sore mouth which made it
+extremely irritable. Together we certainly presented a very comical
+appearance. But any mount in dusty Urga is preferable to none, and on
+sight-seeing bent it really did not matter much that our nags were
+“crocks”; the fact that with patient, drooping heads they would stand
+for any length of time, was perhaps, under the circumstances, rather
+convenient than otherwise.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+“He that does not believe in others finds that they do not believe in
+him”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+Our very first ride took us right into--what any Mongol other than a
+lama would, I am sure, describe as--the heart of Urga. At the foot of
+the hill upon which the holy city, K’urun, stands is the centre of
+activity in Mongolia’s capital--the horse and camel market. All day
+and every day the bartering goes on, and it is here perhaps that you
+may study with the greatest advantage the salient characteristics of
+the race. The Chinese, I believe, invariably score off the Mongols
+in business transactions, but not so in connection with horses. The
+Mongol is born, bred, gets drunk, and dies in the saddle, and, like
+many others with a knowledge of horse flesh, he would cheat his own
+grandmother over a deal of this nature--except for the fact that the
+old lady would probably be one too many for him.
+
+In a dusty expanse, fringed on either side with small Chinese shops
+crowned with low curved roofs, painted poles, and swinging signs with
+gold characters carved large on them, stand the ponies in their
+hundreds, and the supply would seem to be well-nigh inexhaustible.
+Generally speaking, the animals are small and unattractive looking, and
+it would certainly require the “seeing eye” to make a selection from
+this mass of unkempt little beasts who, until they are mounted, show
+not the least suggestion of the spirit that is in them. The camels are
+few and far between, and I have never seen anything approaching a fine
+beast on sale here. One has to penetrate into the compounds of the
+camel owners in order to buy the best, I think, for usually it is but
+the indifferent and unwanted that find their way into the open market.
+
+Urga, the Da Huraz (the first monastery) or Bogda Lama en Hurae (the
+encampment of the supreme lama) as it is severally described by the
+Mongols themselves (Urga being probably a Russian corruption), Urga,
+the religious centre as well as the capital of Mongolia, may be split
+up into three distinct and separate divisions, the market-place serving
+as a link between two of them, the holy city and the Russian quarter.
+The former, in shape resembling a gigantic dust mound and in appearance
+a piece of crazy patchwork, is covered with a perfect rabbit warren of
+compounds, in most of which felt yourts take the place of buildings. By
+circuitous paths between the high palisades which cut one compound off
+from another, one reaches as one nears the top the so-called University
+buildings, “the Gando,” from which at certain hours of the day lamas
+in their thousands may be seen pouring forth.
+
+Crowning the hill is the great white temple, newly erected and barely
+finished when I saw it. In walking round a temple, either in or
+outside, foreigners should remember that sacred objects should always
+be kept on the right hand as a mark of respect. Inside the temple is
+one of the largest Buddhas in the world; an immense brazen figure
+with four arms rising nearly one hundred feet out of the centre of
+the symbolic lotus flower. This was presented by Bogdo, the ruler,
+spiritual and temporal, of Mongolia--a thank-offering for restored
+eyesight (which I heard is now as bad as ever) at a cost of 1,500,000
+roubles. Facing the idol, and in direct violation of all Buddhistic
+principles which ordain the celibacy of its priesthood, two thrones,
+equal in every respect and draped in royal canary-coloured silk
+damask, are placed for the lama pontiff and--his consort. This really
+beautiful temple, with its mass of gilding and harmonious decoration,
+forms a perpetual testimony to the inability of the Mongols to go far
+independently of Chinese assistance, for one does not contemplate as a
+likely event in the near future the building and decoration by Russian
+workmen of what they would regard as pagan edifices. This Mongolian
+building, with all its Tibetan ornamentation and detail, was erected
+entirely by Chinese hands, the brass for the Buddha being brought
+across the desert from Dolo N’or. In no sense do politics come
+within the sphere of my observations, but having seen a certain amount
+of Chinese, Russians, and Mongols in juxtaposition, there appears to
+me to be but little doubt as to which two nations form natural allies.
+The Mongols, beyond breeding ponies and cattle, making the felt of
+their yourts and engaging in a certain amount of transport business, do
+practically nothing, make practically nothing, for themselves. Their
+very clothes and ornaments are of Chinese manufacture, and certainly it
+is the Chinese who are alone responsible for anything that is beautiful
+in Urga.
+
+[Illustration: THE GREAT WHITE TEMPLE, URGA]
+
+[Illustration: THE HORSE AND CAMEL MARKET, URGA]
+
+I, as other travellers in Mongolia have done, found it very difficult
+to buy any characteristically and exclusively Mongolian objects, and
+was therefore delighted to discover, not many days before my departure,
+that a Mongol auction was in progress immediately outside the great
+temple. I went boldly in amongst the crowd and made bids for various
+things belonging, so far as I could make out, to departed lamas. The
+articles on sale were in the main clothes, altogether too dirty to
+handle, but with a few interesting little objects connected with the
+temple services among the rubbish, of which two, a priest’s bell and a
+small brass drumstick, passed into my possession. A fine milk-jug in
+white metal with thick raised repoussé bands became mine at the price
+of five roubles. Instead of an aperture, the top was covered in and
+holes pierced through the metal to allow the milk to be poured into the
+jug. Thus, there was not the faintest chance of its ever being properly
+washed out, which, seeing the use to which it was to be put, seemed a
+drawback.
+
+A very decorative pail, of copper and brass, much worn, and certainly
+without great expectation of life before it from an utilitarian point
+of view, greatly excited my envy, and I made a bid for it--two roubles.
+A Mongol promptly offered a few kopecks more, and my price finally rose
+to three roubles or six shillings. No one outbidding me, so far as I
+could see, I was fully under the impression that the pail was now my
+property; but not so. In company with the auctioneer and three or four
+others, I went the round of the neighbouring yourts to find out whether
+or no anyone else wanted it and would give more. The man, however, whom
+the auctioneer thought might care to make a higher bid was not at home,
+and after hanging about for fully a couple of hours I came away without
+my pail, and learned once more that hurry is a word unknown in the
+East. There is apparently no time limit for bids at a Mongol auction,
+and a transaction frequently takes several days to complete.
+
+The Russian quarter is adjacent to the holy city and separated
+therefrom, as I have said, by the horse market and the Chinese shops.
+It boasts of some half a dozen general stores, at which tinned foods,
+boots, and materials for clothes can be purchased at ridiculously
+inflated prices; there is also a restaurant of a most depressing
+description, as well as a chemist’s shop. It may well be imagined that,
+the majority of the Chinese traders having been driven forth during
+the rebellion in 1912 on the one hand, and the virtual suppression of
+Chinese goods by a grinding taxation on the other, Russian retail trade
+in Urga is in a flourishing condition.
+
+The Mongols are now to all intents and purposes forced very largely
+into dealing with Russian stores, and when one is told that 40 to 50
+per cent is regarded as a reasonable profit, one can only wonder how
+long it will be before the natives realise that they have exchanged
+the frying pan for a remarkably fierce fire. But it is to be trusted
+that this condition of affairs will right itself again in time. Russian
+enterprise--should it develop--will probably fail through lack of
+labour. Their own command of labour in these regions is practically
+_nil_, and the cost of imported energy would be likely to spell failure
+to anyone engaging in business. On the other hand, the Mongols never
+have worked and it is highly improbable that they ever will. Mongol
+requirements are simple, but such as they are it is clear that they
+need the Chinese to supply them.
+
+This Russian quarter forms the least attractive division of Urga. The
+houses are small, squalid, and untidy; their inhabitants possess
+apparently not the faintest knowledge of sanitation. What must be the
+civilising effect, of which one hears, of the Russian influence upon
+the Mongols, it is not difficult to foretell. The Chinese may be dirty,
+are extremely dirty in some respects, no doubt, but at least they do
+not appear to lose their sense of the artistic for all their defects
+in this direction, and under normal conditions even in the poorest
+quarters of their cities, a certain “esprit,” a “joie de vivre,” is
+seldom absent. It is exceedingly difficult to arrive at anything
+representing even an approximate estimate of the number of Russians
+in Urga. Of civilians, perhaps 1000 forms a liberal estimate, but all
+enquiries as regards the military strength are politely but firmly
+repulsed. The people in the Russian quarter, in the shops, restaurant,
+and on the streets, are a surly looking lot. Their suspicious character
+is plainly painted upon their uncouth faces, and every one with whose
+business in life they are not entirely “au fait,” they regard as a spy
+of some sort. Throughout our stay in Urga it was significant that we
+rode nowhere but that we met the same Buriat soldier ostentatiously
+uninterested in our existence.
+
+Urga must have presented a gayer appearance under Chinese rule, when
+the great untidy stretch of waste land reaching almost from West
+Urga into Mai-mai’ch’eng, waste land formerly bordered with Chinese
+shops and houses, would have had a far more cheery atmosphere than
+it possesses nowadays. Now the few Mongol yamens stand isolated and
+unsupported, and the merry “va-et-vient” of commercial prosperity
+is no more. At night it is said to be rash to venture across it
+unaccompanied, and indeed on more than one occasion we encountered a
+Cossack riding full pelt across the stony expanse, brandishing his
+naked revolver in his right hand. But latterly there appears to have
+been a somewhat arbitrary planning out and dividing up of the main part
+of Urga by the Russians, and an expanse which must be of dimensions
+approaching something like two miles long by three-quarters of a mile
+wide in the very heart of Urga, and in the centre of which the Russian
+consulate happens to stand, is to be doled out in concessions to
+Russians and to Russians only. To the north of this desolate scene are
+sundry temples, and outside them stand a number of brightly painted
+little sheds containing the well-known Tibetan prayer wheels. Sexagonal
+in form, and with the characters representing “Om Mani Padme Hum”
+painted in red letters upon the panels, these prayer cylinders turn on
+a central pin, and anyone giving a hefty swing to them as he passes
+says his prayers with a minimum of trouble for a maximum of result. The
+Mongols, both lamas and laity, use the wheels devoutly, and one’s ears
+grow accustomed to the light creaking sound long before one realises
+whence it comes.
+
+The Russian consulate, in the midst of a heterogeneous collection
+of barracks, officers’ quarters, and outbuildings, is a pleasant
+house enough, English in style and furnished, the Russian diplomatic
+agent told me, to resemble an English country house inside as far as
+possible. Of modest dimensions, it stands back from the road in an
+untidy compound, over the gates of which the Imperial standard looms
+large and menacing. The present agent is a man of marked ability, and
+speaks, I believe, no less than eight modern languages with a fluency
+equal to his native tongue. He has obviously succeeded in bringing the
+Mongol authorities to heel in a surprising degree as was evidenced not
+long ago when he insisted that the Hut’ukt’u, the ruler of all the
+Mongols, supported by some of the chief men of his country, should toe
+the line in person and make profound apology at the consulate for some
+slight that had been shown to the Russian flag. Whether or no this was
+a well-calculated action has yet to be proved. But that the Mongols
+are making a desperate effort not to be swallowed up exclusively and
+irrevocably by Russia is strongly suggested by their recently expressed
+desire to the other powers that the latter should be represented
+by consuls in Urga “in order to conclude treaties of commerce and
+friendship”. It is moreover rumoured that the Mongolian Government has
+recently issued an order forbidding the Chinese to sell any land in
+Mongolia to Russians. The only other house of any size or importance
+is the hideous red-brick erection which forms the headquarters of
+the Mongolore Company, which represents an important concession of
+gold-mining rights granted to the Russians prior to the declaration of
+independence.
+
+[Illustration: A BEAUTIFUL TEMPLE AT MAI-MAI’CH’ENG]
+
+[Illustration: A MONGOL PRINCESS IN HER OFFICIAL ROBES, ACCOMPANIED BY
+HER TWO LADIES]
+
+In so far as the structural picturesque is concerned, this is
+undoubtedly now centred in and confined to the Chinese quarter,
+Mai-mai’ch’eng, where fine gateways and a very beautiful little temple
+remain as evidence of the prosperity enjoyed under Chinese rule. Now
+the entire place, which is surrounded by a strong stockade of fourteen
+or fifteen feet high, which, in a country where stone is so rare and
+labour so expensive, takes the place of the usual encompassing wall,
+is almost entirely deserted, and one may walk from end to end without
+encountering half a dozen people. The courtyard and temple far surpass
+in decoration and cleanliness anything that I saw in China. The mural
+paintings illustrate Chinese fables and are exceptionally well carried
+out and preserved. They have evidently been most carefully cherished
+by the guild of Shansi merchants, the Shih Erh Chia, of whom it is the
+headquarters. The Mongols use the temple as much as the Chinese do,
+and I watched a Mongol princess in her official robes, accompanied by
+her two ladies, most devoutly performing her prostrations one day. She
+allowed me afterwards to take two or three photographs of her, but it
+was difficult to persuade her into sufficient light to make a very
+satisfactory picture.
+
+Immediately outside the north gate of Mai-mai’ch’eng is the Chinese
+cemetery, where hundreds of unburied coffins are piled awaiting, I
+gathered, the far distant day when they might be carried back to be
+interred in Chinese soil. The poorer Chinese, for whom there was never
+such happy prospect, are buried in alien earth behind the Russian
+consulate--a series of little mounds like magnified molehills being all
+that remains to indicate the fact.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+“Since men live not for a hundred years it is vain to scheme for a
+thousand”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+Whereas in Inner Mongolia I did not see the Chakhars in sufficient
+numbers to enable me to form even an impression upon which to base a
+generalisation as to typical characteristics, the Khalkha or Northern
+Mongol struck me as being of rather superior build. Roughly speaking,
+I think that the average height of a Khalkha man must be in the
+neighbourhood of five feet eight inches, while a large number of them
+are really tall. The women are strikingly smaller, and, generally
+considered, are not less than ten or twelve inches shorter than the
+men. The recollection I have carried away of them is that they are a
+fairly handsome race. Masses of black hair surmount almond-shaped,
+strikingly bright and responsive eyes; the cheek-bones are high and
+slightly flattened. Small, well-formed aquiline noses above shapely
+mouths and firm chins lend a suggestion of strong character. The teeth
+are, as a rule, beautiful, and a ruddy colouring showing through the
+sun-scorched, wind-weathered skin, gives them a very healthy appearance.
+
+The principal difference in dress between the northern and southern
+Mongol lies in the arrangement of the hair of the married women. In
+Inner Mongolia the form of headdress might be described as a skull cap
+of silver filagree, from which long chains studded with precious stones
+are suspended. The hair is fastened up and hardly shows at all.
+
+The Khalkha matron, however, is contented with nothing so simple. Her
+sleek locks are strained over a wire frame which spreads out like wings
+above her ears, and are held together by some resinous preparation,
+with jewelled slides at intervals to keep the whole in place.
+Surmounting this is the filagree skull cap, often richly set with
+turquoises and pearls, and from it hang tassels of pearls ten or twelve
+inches in length. In poorer circumstances the jewelled slides have
+their counterparts in little strips of bamboo, and the pearls would be
+substituted by chains of silver and strings of coral. One and all adopt
+this obviously inconvenient style of coiffure, the unmarried girl alone
+wearing her hair in long plaits and entirely unadorned. The Khalkha
+women must have exceedingly long tresses, for although nine or ten
+inches are thus taken up by the wings, the remainder is of sufficient
+length to form into long plaits which, as shown in the picture of the
+princess, are either confined in highly decorative silver tubes, or
+are allowed to fall free on each side of the figure to the waist.
+
+Hat pins being an unknown weapon in Mongolia, it was a matter of
+much conjecture to me as to how these ladies contrived to keep their
+smart little hats so securely perched on the summit of this elaborate
+headdress. The hats themselves are very trim and dainty. Made of course
+by the Chinese, who are always great hands with the paste pot, a shape
+is first created from bamboo paper, hard and unpliable, not unlike a
+jelly mould. Over this is stretched yellow satin, while the brim is
+turned up with black velvet in summer, or with a handsome piece of fur
+in winter. The crown of the hat tapers to a point embellished by a
+gold or silver ornament, which in the case of men supports the ball of
+coloured crystal denoting by its colour the rank of the wearer. Men’s
+hats are otherwise similar to women’s, and if the wearer belongs to the
+mandarin class a peacock’s feather protrudes horizontally from below
+the crystal ball. The main difference, headdress apart, between men’s
+and women’s clothes is that the former sport a sash bound round and
+round their waists with the ends tucked in. All wear long coats and
+trousers, the women having their shoulders padded up into little peaks
+such as were worn in Elizabethan days. All have very long sleeves, the
+cuffs of which are turned up with pale blue--no matter what the colour
+of the coat--and cover the finger-tips.
+
+The material from which the clothes of the more wealthy are made is
+such as we use for our Court trains. In really beautiful satin brocades
+and thick soft silks both men and women are attired in this remote
+corner of the globe, and I can well believe that dress forms a heavy
+item in Mongol expenditure. Extremely fond of colour, the Mongol taste,
+or rather that of the Chinese Worth or Paquin who dictates to them,
+runs to rich harmony rather than to garishness, while their constancy
+to the prevailing fashion, which here is the very reverse of fleeting
+since it probably has not modified in any way for the past hundred
+years--maybe much more--renders the finish and workmanship quite
+excellent. While possessing small and well-shaped hands and feet, the
+Mongols thrust these latter into clumsy boots which we should consider
+many sizes too large for them. They are made of inferior looking
+leather and the toes turn skywards; their loose tops, coming half-way
+to the knee, are usually ornamented with very pretty green and white
+sticking.
+
+Of their character one must speak of course almost entirely by
+hearsay. Their very name is suggestive, “Mong” meaning “brave,” while
+volumes might be filled with legends concerning their prowess. It
+would indeed be absurd to generalise at all upon those with whom
+one came into personal contact in the space of a few weeks, and in
+the complete absence of knowledge of the language. That they have a
+keen sense of humour is apparent to the most casual observer, and
+anything in the way of a practical joke played off on the foreigner or
+equally upon one of their number will produce hilarious merriment. In
+common with most people who preserve a simple life and do not allow
+their desires to advance beyond the possibility of fulfilment, the
+Mongols are, in the absence of a cause which provokes them to anger,
+very good-tempered, and most distinctly are they philosophical. An
+angry Mongol is, however, an ugly sight, and one, if possible, to be
+avoided. Of his capacity for endurance there can be no doubt. It is
+constantly exemplified in everyday life. I have indeed heard it stated
+that a Mongol will ride 600 miles in nine days, using the same horse
+throughout. An instance of their toughness was shown by the cheery old
+mafu who looked after our host’s ponies and occasionally rode with us
+while we were in Urga. A somewhat heavy fall from his horse one day
+resulted in a trio of broken ribs, and the man, whose age must have
+been in the neighbourhood of sixty, remained huddled up in his yourt
+for twenty-four hours. For bed, however, in our sense of the term, the
+Mongol has but little use, and if he cannot live his ordinary life he
+usually dies in preference. The mafu turned up the day following his
+accident, and upon enquiry as to the damage to his ribs, admitted that
+“It hurts a little when I cough”. On another occasion, in the depth
+of winter, one of the ponies in his charge strayed, and for thirty
+hours was missing. Taking another horse, the old mafu went out into
+the neighbouring mountains to find him, and as the hours went on his
+employer grew anxious. Night fell, and the thermometer descended two or
+three degrees below zero. It was evening on the following day when he
+re-appeared, none the worse for his exposure, nor from the fact that
+he had not broken his fast throughout the day and a half he had been
+absent.
+
+That the Mongols are wantonly cruel, I have never heard any evidence.
+Certain cruelty arises from a dogma in their faith rather than from
+any direct idea of being maliciously hurtful. They will, for instance,
+leave an animal to die in anguish rather than put it out of its misery,
+for nominally they are not allowed to take life, and consequently do
+not trouble themselves to perform an act of humanity for its own sake.
+That they will be brutally cruel when it is a question of revenge
+there can be no doubt. On the other hand, that they are capable of
+real devotion to their animals is, I think, suggested by the following
+incidents, written down as told to me one evening by the Norseman, when
+we were sitting on a river bank waiting for wild duck to come up.
+
+“The man will never get over it,” he said. “He was overwhelmed by his
+grief. He loved those two fine dogs of his and he kept them only for
+his hunting. He took them with him to the mountains to hunt lynx in
+the dense forest which cover them over there. Three or four days at a
+time, he would go out and his bag was never less than two or three,
+sometimes four or five, skins, worth from twenty to thirty roubles
+apiece. Then for two days he would sit in his yourt, resting, and
+cleaning his guns, feeding heavily, and perhaps drinking the vodka the
+Russians had given him when he sold his skins. Pig should be his next
+object, he decided, and with one companion and his two dogs he sallied
+forth to the mountain side. From a thicket, out rushed four great
+boars. Off flew the lynx hounds after them. Bang, bang, went the guns,
+and the quarry was slain. But alas! the trusty hound who had leapt up
+to it was slain too--shot through the heart. The hunter returned to
+his yourt on the plains near Urga, leaving the slaughtered pig behind
+him on the mountain side, but bearing with him only the corpse of his
+dog. Never before has a Mongol been seen to weep like this man. For
+three days he sorrowed terribly. He would take no food. He desired
+speech with no man. In life there was no comfort for him because of the
+thought that with his own hands he had shot his dog. And now he goes
+hunting, taking with him his one lynx hound only, and does not do so
+badly. The better of the two dogs is the survivor, but the hunter will
+never admit this fact.
+
+“It was this man’s own cousin I often went out with,” continued my
+companion, “and he was every bit as keen on dogs. Once when I was with
+him up beyond that ridge to the west there, a powerful bull elk broke
+cover, and in the twinkling of an eye the dogs were upon him. A careful
+aim was taken by the Mongol and--his gun dropped. With a tremendous
+kick the elk had freed himself from his pursuers, and uttering a cry of
+acute agony the dog fell and lay helpless on the turf. The elk’s hoof
+had caught her full in the muzzle, and the space of time during which
+she would have the power to breathe through the pouring blood could
+be but short. His master ran up, calling to the other man to hurry.
+‘Do what you can for her, do all you can to save her life.’ He knew it
+was hopeless, and he left to his friend’s care his dying dog. Revenge
+surged up in his heart. He thought of nothing but that cruel kick from
+the elk’s hoof, and nothing did he consider as to where he was going,
+nor as regards provision for the hunt. For two days he pursued his
+prey, foodless, drinkless--and he returned empty handed to the camp. ‘I
+have killed that elk,’ was all that he vouchsafed when he came back,
+and he straightway went out to look at the frozen body of his dog with
+its mangled muzzle.”
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Mongols are astonishingly fine shots, and it would take a very
+accomplished sportsman to compete with them in potting the pretty
+little sable-like tarbagans, whose heads flash in and out of their
+holes on the prairie hereabouts with lightning-like rapidity. While
+some of the well-to-do Mongols possess fine weapons (rifles of the
+most modern design, which I was told were imported from Germany on very
+easy terms), the majority of the hunting fraternity content themselves
+with old muzzle loaders. Practically all Mongols rest their guns on
+some support when aiming, and the muzzle loaders frequently have a
+forked attachment which can be let down and fixed in an instant.
+
+The Mongols possess that most enviable capacity for putting away an
+immense amount of food at a sitting, following which they can, if
+necessary, fast for a very considerable time. The staple food of the
+Khalkha Mongol appears to be meat in direct relation to the length of
+his purse; horse, camel, mule, antelope, mutton, nothing seems to come
+amiss; he takes, too, preparations of milk, farinaceous food, such
+as koumiss and millet, as well as brick-tea made with milk. Added to
+these, the well-to-do in Urga doubtless buy such delicacies as the
+Russian shops provide when it takes their fancy. In a general store
+we met one day a charming old mandarin of obvious refinement and high
+breeding. He was in company with several ladies for whom he was buying
+sweets in the most approved Western style. There were six of them
+altogether, four ladies and two men. All were gorgeously dressed, the
+ladies with most wonderful ornaments and string upon string of pearls.
+The men had fine single stones, one a pearl, and the other a large aqua
+marine, set in front of their caps. They tasted two or three kinds of
+sweets, and finally, going in for quantity rather than quality, the
+doyen of the party purchased a 7-lb. tin of rather unattractive looking
+pear-drops, which was wrapped in paper and tied up for him. A moment
+afterwards the string broke and the tin fell to the ground, burst open,
+and part of the contents scattered on the questionable boards. They
+took it most good humouredly, laughing inordinately, and all of them
+went down on their knees on the floor to retrieve the sweets. To us
+they were exceedingly friendly, and the older mandarin chatted away to
+us in indifferent Chinese irrespective as to whether we understood or
+not.
+
+Drunkenness, said to be on the increase, is, relatively speaking, far
+more common among the Mongols than among the Chinese, and in Urga it is
+no unusual thing to see two or three men going about with the cangue,
+a wooden collar nearly two feet square, padlocked round their necks
+as a punishment for the recent lapse from the paths of sobriety. A
+frequent repetition of the offence results in the culprit being marched
+off to the yamen and being severely beaten. The most usual method of
+becoming intoxicated is by drinking arac, a spirit which is produced
+by fermenting mares’ milk. I understand that one has to drink this in
+large quantities to attain to the condition, but bulk, if in the end
+the object is achieved, seems to offer no drawback to the inebriate,
+for I have known Breton peasants who would put away as many as ten
+litres and become gloriously drunk before half their day’s work
+was done. A certain amount of Chinese whisky derived from grain is
+imported, but it is very much more expensive, of course, and, generally
+speaking, even with its more tardy result, distilled mares’ milk is
+preferred by the Mongols. The lamas, whose vows in addition to those of
+celibacy include abstinence from strong drink and the flesh of animals,
+are also to be found amongst the bibulous.
+
+The more degenerate Chakhar is said to be addicted in a very slight
+degree only to the use of opium, but so far as I was able to ascertain
+the vice in Outer Mongolia is practically unknown. In view of this
+fact it was interesting to read in “The Times” immediately on my
+return from Mongolia that an English syndicate at Harbin had been
+reported to have made a proposal to the Mongol Government to pay
+them £100,000 annually for the privilege of importing opium into
+their country. Upon the Russian Agent at Urga protesting, the Mongol
+Government replied to the effect that the danger arising from opium
+in Mongolia was in no sense commensurate with the advantages to be
+derived from the annual receipt of a million roubles; also, that the
+opium would not be for the consumption of the Mongols. Under the
+present conditions of their relations with China and the flight of
+the vast majority of Chinese from Mongolian territory, this latter
+contention carries its own confutation. The Chinese in Mongolia are
+certainly in nothing approaching sufficient numbers at the time being
+to justify any syndicate in paying £100,000 per annum for the privilege
+of providing them with the pernicious drug. Besides, away from the
+influence of Russians, whom he now undoubtedly resents as having got
+the better of him, the Mongol when you meet him on his own ground is a
+cheery, friendly person enough, and under the most trying and arduous
+conditions of travel it is the Mongol who keeps his temper best and who
+remains complacent when every one else is inclined to grumbling and
+irritability. His utter laziness and hopeless lack of gumption make him
+useless in an emergency, and where, I always felt, the Chinese are our
+superiors in their wonderful resourcefulness and quick adaptability,
+the Mongol is stupid and shiftless in the extreme.
+
+Tremendously under the influence of their priests, the result of their
+religion or, perhaps it would be better to put it, the application of
+their religion, is not such as to compel one’s admiration. Humanity,
+for instance, is by no means one of their salient characteristics, and
+their behaviour to old people, whom they will turn out of their yourts
+to die on the dust heaps, is absolutely barbarous.
+
+The loose matrimonial relations prevailing amongst the Mongols are much
+condemned amongst the Chinese, who, although they take temporary wives
+during their sojourn in Mongolia, where Chinese law will not allow
+their own women-kind to accompany them, they never attach themselves to
+Mongol women in any legal sense. The Mongol women, on the other hand,
+are said to prefer the Chinese to their own race as husbands on the
+grounds that the former possess kinder and gentler dispositions. The
+children resulting from these mixed alliances, of which there are a
+great many in Urga, are called “orles” or half-breeds, by the Mongols.
+They are easily distinguishable from the others.
+
+Women have no very respected position or _locus standi_ in Mongolia. If
+anything in the life of the country can be called drudgery at all, it
+certainly falls to the lot of the women. Their claim on their menkind
+appears to be mainly sexual, for while they are young and pretty they
+seem to enjoy life and “have a good time” (I am speaking, of course,
+of life in the capital). They are often very pretty, chic, and healthy
+looking, for, in sharp contrast with their Chinese sisters, they lead
+a life of freedom and of open air, ride about everywhere with the men,
+attend all the festivities that are going on, wear gorgeous apparel and
+lovely jewels, and, generally speaking, “go the pace”.
+
+What they do not know about the gentle art of flirtation is not worth
+knowing, and the young woman who is unable to attract two or three
+lovers to her side is, they say, generally looked down upon. The
+northern Mongols appeared to me to be remarkably merry and bright
+as compared with the southern. There is on occasions a great sense
+of gaiety in Urga when the people seem full of the joy of life, and
+perhaps the women are wise enough to accept their privileges rather
+than to worry too much about their rights. Mongols, however, are said
+to mistrust women greatly, never taking them into their confidence,
+or allowing them a finger in the pie of any important business
+transaction.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+  “Each path with robes and various dyes bespread,
+  Seems from afar a moving tulip bed”
+
+  --_Tickell_
+
+
+Our visit to Urga had been most fortunately timed, and we were
+delighted to hear within a few days of reaching the capital that the
+great semi-religious, semi-athletic festival of the Ts’am Haren, or
+sacred dance, was to take place during the second week in July. A more
+bewilderingly picturesque and fantastic sight than this presented day
+after day--held at intervals it prolonged itself over a fortnight--I
+never expect to see. Proceedings included the presentation of tribute
+to the Hut’ukt’u, followed by an archery competition, continued with
+the dance of the gods, a great wrestling tourney, and wound up with a
+race meeting.
+
+Reminiscent in some degree of their past glories, the Mongol princes
+and their banner-men came from distant principalities of the dominion
+to take part in these feats of strength and skill, and at the same time
+to present their gifts and to do homage to their spiritual and temporal
+chief. Bogdo, the Hut’ukt’u (“he who is born again”), the Living God
+of Mongolia, is nominally the ruling spirit of these festivities, but
+although his chair of state was always prominently in position, this
+mighty ruler, whom his subjects believe to be the richest as well as
+the most potent monarch in the world (has he not 2000 white ponies and
+a 1000 white camels?), did not come to sit in it. On one occasion only
+did “He that can do no wrong” put in an appearance, and that was when
+lamas and princes assembled to hand over to him the money and presents
+that had been begged from, and squeezed out of, his subjects throughout
+the length and breadth of Mongolia. Great were the rejoicings when it
+became known that Bogdo was to be present in person, to receive with
+his own fair hands the offerings that had been brought to Urga. Bogdo,
+the Djibson Dampa Lama (Holy Reverence) Edsen Han, as he is severally
+styled, the chief of all the Hut’ukt’us, by birth a Tibetan, being
+son of a steward to the Dalai Lama, is a man of middle age, already
+decrepit, in appearance bloated, dissipated, uninspiring. The spiritual
+head of the Mongolian Buddhists, he now lays claim, since Mongolia
+is no longer subject to Chinese rule, to temporal authority as well.
+Indeed the position of this lama pontiff is of unusual character, and
+might almost be said to embrace a dual personality. On the one hand,
+the celibate ruler of priests, the religious leader of the faith.
+On the other, the crowned emperor of the Mongols; crowned with his
+wife, and firmly insistent that their ten-year old son should be
+crowned as his heir, that there should be no room for doubt as to his
+intentions in regard to the succession to the Mongol throne.
+
+[Illustration: BOGDO’S BODYGUARD]
+
+[Illustration: LITTLE LAMA BOYS PLAY ‘TAG’ ROUND THE BARRIERS]
+
+That all actions of the Hut’ukt’u must of necessity be right is
+ingrained in the minds of his people, and taken quite literally by
+his adherents. That he, the reincarnation of the sainted historian
+Taranatha, should openly, and I use the word advisedly, for Mongolia is
+a wonderful country for winking at things nominally taboo, take unto
+himself a wife must, even though such action is a violation of all
+Buddhistic principles, be right, because Bogdo can do no wrong. There
+are many stories rife as to the iniquities of their ruler, and one that
+I myself heard on good authority made him responsible for the cruel
+murder of a well-known Mongol official, whom he is said to have forced
+into drinking in his presence a cup of poisoned wine.
+
+Into Bogdo’s house we did not penetrate. It would have been difficult
+enough under ordinary circumstances to have obtained an audience, but,
+as it was, the Hut’ukt’u was in a bad state of health, and moreover
+it was rumoured that an addition to his family was daily expected. A
+pleasant ride along the valley of the Tola River brought us to the
+confines of Bogdo’s compound, and we were interested in the queer
+mixture of styles the house presented. Built of wood, the main part of
+the structure might have been an English farm-house, but out of all
+character with this was the square green tower in the middle of it,
+and the many little Chinese turrets and pavilions with yellow-tiled
+roofs. The compound was surrounded by a rough fir tree fence and the
+place presented an untidy appearance. There was nothing to suggest the
+immense wealth with which Bogdo is credited, beyond the insignificant
+fact of a small herd of antelope inside a neighbouring compound. Far
+more picturesque, at a stone’s throw distant, was the residence of the
+Choi Gin Lama, Bogdo’s brother, a well-planted garden surrounding a
+number of small houses and a temple, all with green roofs and Tibetan
+in style.
+
+The general arrangements for the Ts’am Haren were carried out with
+great forethought and method; the discipline and general order as
+one event followed another would really rival the management of like
+festivities in the Western world. Our main difficulty was that we
+could seldom ascertain within a few hours as to when the performances
+began, and in consequence of this we were always up to time and had
+a good deal of waiting about. For the presentations to Bogdo great
+preparations were made; the approaches to the temple were well
+protected by southern soldiers who supplement the body-guard of the
+Hut’ukt’u, and the barriers around which the little lama boys played
+“tag,” or a Mongolian form of it, fenced off great spaces across which
+the unwary foreigners might otherwise have cantered their horses in
+disrespectful light-heartedness.
+
+The Temple of the Gods, situated on the north side of the stony expanse
+between the Consulate and West Urga was the centre of a brilliant
+scene. The body-guard in royal blue silk damask coats with black velvet
+facings outlined with silver braid, prune coloured waistcoats and pale
+lemon cummerbunds, formed a valiant looking band enough; their weapons
+were modern in type, and their clothes apart from being picturesque
+were, what is far rarer in the extreme East, smart, clean, and in
+good condition. Quite satisfied with the impression their appearance
+produced upon me, they showed no little keenness to be photographed.
+
+Inside the barriers the ground was lined on one side with a number of
+marquees, under which in deep shadow sat the Mongol mandarins, silently
+contemplative and out of the glare, the richness of the blue-purple
+and chocolate of their silken garments looking all the richer in the
+half light. Opposite them, at a distance of 150 yards or so, the rank
+and file of the lama community were herded together, squatting on the
+ground and standing in the back rows, thousands of them, from whom
+from time to time darted forth some naughty boy with the object of
+exchanging his seat for a better one. A mass of dull Indian red was the
+effect they produced, unrelieved but for the wonderful banners that had
+been erected on great frames of wood opposite the temple entrance. The
+mob was kept within bounds by angry lamas who cut at the people if they
+pressed forward or got out of place with sharp little switches. The
+faces of these men were quite diabolically hideous; their expressions
+evil and cruel. There is some idea, no doubt, that the uglier the face
+the more alarming it is.
+
+A group of high lamas in gorgeous vestments of orange and scarlet sat
+enveloped in their loose folds out of the sun beating down upon an
+archway, their hard gilded hats, in shape reminding one of the tops of
+raised pies, glittering where the light filtered through the roof with
+a metallic brilliance. The crowds are moving now, lamas and “black men”
+are mingled, although it is an essentially lamaistic occasion and the
+predominating tones range from lemon to vermilion.
+
+Final preparations are now being made, yards upon yards of Imperial
+yellow cloth are stretched in a golden pathway from the yourts hidden
+away inside an inner compound, through the great p’ailou, under which
+the priests shelter from the sun, and away and beyond to the main
+entrance to the Temple of the Gods. The yourts behind the palisade form
+the robing and refreshment rooms for the Hut’ukt’u, and we note a cart
+drawn by a magnificent bullock pull up outside in order that the huge
+pots of mares’ milk may be lifted from it. Bogdo is within the gates,
+and none but prelates and princes have access to the sacred precincts.
+At the portals high lamas sit, and two tall figures support the great
+state umbrellas of silken embroidery on either side. The heat is
+intense, and a row of sleepy dignitaries doze uncomfortably on the long
+benches under the portico. There is a drowsiness about the day, and the
+hum of conversation is subdued and soothing.
+
+[Illustration: CHURCH AND STATE: MONGOL PRINCE AND HIGH LAMA]
+
+Suddenly there is a stir, and a thrill of expectation runs through
+all of us. A crowd of princes and mandarins and their sons hurries
+forth from the little tents and forms up in lines on either side of
+the golden pathway. Lama officials come forward and thrust lighted
+joss-sticks into each of the outstretched hands. Space is left between
+the long rows for three people to walk abreast. A look of intense
+eagerness, even of anxiety, spreads over the bronzed faces, for their
+god is but a sick man. A harsh trumpeting presages the approach of
+their incarnate deity; continuous and raucous. Two heralds, each
+holding what we suppose to be a glorified “hatag” on his upturned
+wrists but made of leopard’s skin stuffed in the form of an elongated
+sausage, made their appearance. Following them are the trumpeters,
+first one and then the other producing a long unbroken wail from his
+copper and brass instrument which resembles that which I bought as a
+war trophy months past in Peking.
+
+A posse of lamas in robes and the mitred headdress of high ceremony,
+looking for all the world like a perambulating bed of nasturtiums in
+full bloom, precede their pontiff, who, fat, pallid, and ponderous, his
+diseased eyes protected by round black glasses, supported (held up, it
+seemed to us) by a priest on either side, walks labouringly along the
+yellow cloth. The bearers of the embroidered umbrellas are close upon
+his heels, and the crowd of privileged persons, priests, and laity,
+jostling each other for priority, follow in his train to the Temple of
+the Gods. Humbler lamas from remote corners of Mongolia stand about in
+little groups. They are there to watch the passing of their god. The
+feeling is tense. Fervid adoration shines from their straining eyes.
+Clasped hands stretch forth in expression of profound emotion as the
+procession winds its way into the temple, up to the tribute throne.
+There is silence, save for the sound of the heavy footsteps of the
+central figure as he stumps over the yellow tissue covering the boarded
+pathway. In an ecstasy of worship the monks prostrate themselves near
+the threshold of the sanctuary. They have beheld him whom they would
+fain see: him whom they have travelled footsore and hungry so many
+miles, for so many weeks, to honour. They are happy. Their faces are
+sublime. They have reached the haven of their desire.
+
+[Illustration: THE GREAT STATE UMBRELLA OF SILKEN EMBROIDERY]
+
+[Illustration: IN AN ECSTASY OF WORSHIP THE MONKS PROSTRATE THEMSELVES
+NEAR THE THRESHOLD OF THE SANCTUARY]
+
+Lined up along a wall not far from the great gateway to the temple,
+waiting with radiantly expectant countenances, and bearing their
+gifts in their hands, are some hundreds of ragged pilgrims. Fifty men
+of Bogdo’s guard are in attendance here, ready when the time comes
+to marshal them into the Presence. They have been waiting since
+dawn, but in a state of supreme exaltation. They have drawn the lucky
+number amongst their fellows, and carry their offerings on trays and
+platters--little ornaments for the temple altars, sometimes even food
+have they brought to lay at the feet of their spiritual sovereign.
+But their turn is not yet. Precedence has been given to the princes
+and rich men in fine raiment, and these, holding aloft in both hands
+costly tribute hidden from sight in silken coverings of daffodil
+yellow, make a wonderful procession as the crowd opens out for them,
+and they pass from a blaze of sunshine into the dimly mellow light of
+the great temple interior. A low droning chant rises and falls from the
+throats of Urga’s priests as the doors open and close on the bearers of
+treasure, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They are so numerous that they
+can only be admitted in sections of a hundred or so at a time.
+
+Less stirring perhaps, but every whit as picturesque, was the meeting
+of the archers held on the great grassy expanse between the sacred
+mountain and the city. I rode out to it to find a scene which suggested
+a herbaceous flower-bed in bright autumn sunshine. A background
+of wooded hills rose up in the distance across the Tola River to
+some 1500 or 1600 feet. The garments of the crowds--the laity were
+in preponderating forces to-day--were indeed a study in contrasts
+and harmonies. Pointsettia scarlet vied with pure turquoise and
+lapis-lazuli blue; lavender and rich violet, sober mouse colour, pale
+lemon chrome ranging to vivid orange--the brilliance of a field of
+parrot tulips such as brought back to my memory the bulb farms in full
+bloom which surround Haarlem. Cup day at Ascot would seem pale and
+anæmic as compared with this Mongolian toxophilite display.
+
+At one end of the ground were half a dozen little marquees, light or
+dark blue linen _appliqué_ with yellow and white devices. Under them,
+upon comfortable square cushions, sat the princes and princesses, the
+mandarins and their wives, with sundry other officials. Surrounding
+them were the crowds, and again, like a wall beyond, hundreds and
+hundreds of ponies were tethered, for no one ever dreams of walking in
+Mongolia. In front of the tents at the south end of the ground were
+half a dozen stances for the archers. They shot in pairs, princes and
+peasants alike, and undistinguished save for the badge of office in
+the form of the peacock’s feather which protrudes horizontal from the
+crown of the round pork-pie hat with red streamers, and by the richer
+material of the garments. They had four shots apiece, and their range
+was about seventy to seventy-five yards distance.
+
+[Illustration: THE MEETING OF THE ARCHERS ‘RANGED THEMSELVES IN COUPLES
+AT THE STANCES’]
+
+[Illustration: SCORING THE HITS AT THE BUTTS]
+
+The competitors were in great force, and coming out eight or ten at a
+time they ranged themselves in couples at the stances, bowed low to the
+magnates in the marquees, saluted the butts likewise, and let fly their
+heavy, ivory-tipped arrows--not at targets, but at birch-bark rings
+piled loosely as a child might build a “castle” with his bricks one on
+top of the other, and making little low walls of perhaps ten or twelve
+feet in length by eighteen inches high. At the butts were a number of
+men scoring the hits, and as the arrows flew they flapped their long
+arms above their heads and chanted a sort of dirge-like incantation,
+not dissimilar to that with which our sailors accompany the hauling in
+of anchor cables.
+
+The song rose and fell, crescendo and diminuendo, in harmony with the
+success or failure of the competitors. A gentle swaying movement of
+the crowds as their eyes followed the arrows was like a corn-field
+shivering in waves as the breeze stirs it. The umpires stood right
+in the line of the hurtling missiles, and little lamas in embryo,
+bare-footed and bare-limbed, gathered the arrows as they fell, tripping
+back with them to the archers like sun-kissed amorini with their
+quivers full. The utmost order prevailed, and this event, as were also
+the others, was organised to perfection.
+
+The Dance of the Gods which took place in the spacious outer courtyard
+of the temple was similar in effect to the Devil Dances I had watched
+with such interest at the lama temple in Peking in the previous spring.
+The ground was marked out in sections and all operations were directed
+towards a canopy of yellow silk ornamented with conventional devices
+in blue, beneath which the throne of the Hut’ukt’u was placed. That
+he would be present in _persona proprîa_ nobody expected, but in
+his absence all honour was paid to the space which should have been
+occupied by him.
+
+The status of Russia was officially recognised by the erection of a
+special marquee not far from that of the Bogdo, and under this the
+Russian Consul sat cross-legged and perspiring, supported by a number
+of officials, an interpreter, and his handsome Persian valet at his
+elbow. A large number of Russians also stood and looked on at the weird
+gyrations of the masked dancers which continued untiringly hour after
+hour beneath a fierce sun beating mercilessly down upon the thousands
+of spectators fringing this gritty and treeless expanse. Picturesque
+and novel though the dancing was, it became monotonous after a while as
+troop after troop of actors, concealed beneath the most grotesque masks
+which covered their heads and shoulders, issued forth in turn, and
+went through what appeared to us to be the same evolutions one after
+the other. It is very difficult to arrive at any exact interpretation
+of such religious dances, but the most likely explanation is that the
+scenes gone through are a representation in pantomime of incidents in
+the early history of Buddhism. The dancers are masked to represent
+the gods, mythological animals, and hideous devils, and they prance
+about the chalked-in area to the strains of Tibetan trumpets and
+other weird sounds. The gods, whose amiable and pallid countenances
+very naturally bear strong resemblance to the sublime expression of
+contemplation admired by the Chinese, overcome the devils in due
+course, but to our disappointment by the means of peaceful exorcism and
+not by muscular conflict. This sort of thing continued for the best
+part of a day, and it was easy to see that the spectators grew bored,
+for the majority were as ignorant, we were told, as we ourselves as to
+what it was all about.
+
+[Illustration: A MASK AT THE DANCE OF THE GODS]
+
+[Illustration: A MONGOL PRINCESS WEARING A HEAD-DRESS OF GOLD]
+
+Attendance at the sacred dance may to some extent have been a matter of
+obligation on the part of a considerable proportion of the audience,
+but for the subsequent event, the annual wrestling competition, it was
+a very different story, and the approaches to the ground were thronged
+by men, women, and children, about whose keenness there was little
+room for doubt. As far as the arrangement of the ground was concerned,
+proceedings followed to a large extent those of the previous occasions.
+The main difference, as far as I was able to observe, seemed to be that
+all the princesses in Urga (if they were all princesses) were present
+in order to lend encouragement to their swains. Seated demurely enough
+in rows, these charming little ladies displayed their wonderful jewels
+and clothes to vast advantage. Beneath their hats was to be discerned
+the gold headdress that is worn only on very special occasions. In
+shape similar to an inverted finger-bowl and of open-work design, many
+of them were made of gold and must have been uncomfortably heavy on
+this hot day. Suspended from the frame were strings of pearls, and a
+modest estimate of these suggested that some of these grand ladies wore
+from 300 to 400 pearls, many of them as large as peas and quite perfect
+in colour. In this great mixed assembly they doubtless felt that their
+dignity behoved them to present a formal appearance, but the brown eyes
+and rosy lips looked merry enough, and one caught mocking and seductive
+glances shooting backwards and forwards in spite of all their primness.
+
+The loose long coats worn habitually by the Mongol men conceal
+successfully their proportions and claims to physical development, and
+it was with some interest that we watched the wrestlers prepare for
+the ring. Their faces, burned alternately by the strong sun and rasped
+by icy winds, are usually weathered to the colour of old copper, and
+one is astonished to see when they are stripped that their bodies are
+as fair as those of the average Englishman. Strong rather than agile
+in appearance, these braves, lamas and laymen alike, practice from the
+time they are little boys and train seriously when the opportunity
+offers; they are as hard as nails when the time comes for their prowess
+to be put to the test.
+
+The signal is given, and four pairs of competitors enter the
+gladiatorial ring, each being arranged at a given point and closely
+watched by a couple of umpires, who, acting as backers into the
+bargain, never cease pouring advice and encouragement upon them,
+occasionally even punctuating their sentiments by administering
+resounding smacks on the softer portions of their anatomy. Before
+getting to work, however, convention has prescribed, doubtless from
+time immemorial, that salutations shall be offered to the gods, or
+to the presiding deity, be he who he may. Alas for the influence of
+Western ways! The feet of the deity who should have presided have
+developed perhaps just a shade too big even for his Mongol boots, and
+salutations must be made instead to that empty symbol of sovereignty,
+the unoccupied throne of the absent Hut’ukt’u.
+
+Moving in single file towards the northern end of the ground,
+exclaiming as they go, the gladiators advance one by one to the empty
+chair literally by leaps and bounds. Their prancing action brings the
+knees up to the stomach with every step, and they present the most
+ludicrous sight imaginable. Arrived at the dais, the braves leap in
+the air, fall on their knees, and touching the ground three times with
+their foreheads, perform profound obeisance.
+
+The bout began, and to the eyes of the uninitiated it appeared in some
+instances a trial of brains rather than of muscles. A smart trick would
+send one man down with lightning celerity, and at once the victor
+would prance off again to tell that vacant throne that he had won. In
+other cases a pair would remain in close embrace for several minutes,
+motionless, and apparently thoughtful. Here one could only suppose that
+endurance was playing its part, since for no apparent reason one of
+the men would suddenly collapse, and the other would fly off to tell
+the story. Notwithstanding my lack of technical knowledge, I found
+this an absorbingly interesting form of entertainment, and rejoiced to
+hear from the Norwegian, German, Russian, and Englishman that these
+well-made specimens of humanity were sportsmen in every sense of the
+word, that they played the game as well as any Westerner. Indeed they
+may be said in one respect to set an example to the Western world in
+the total disparity of the reward to the merit that had attained it.
+A handful of little cakes, the greater part of which were distributed
+among his friends by the victor, formed the entire “purse” for which he
+fought. The honour of the thing is good enough for these uncivilised
+Mongols.
+
+[Illustration: A MONGOL GLADIATOR]
+
+The closing event of the festival of Ts’am was most enjoyable of
+all, and I feel that I cannot improve upon the description given by
+Mr. Gull in the paper which he read before the Central Asian Society
+on his return to England. “The race meeting was held in a beautiful
+green valley a little east of Urga. We rode out to it in a merry
+party of Mongols and their wives, who, though in gala array, rode
+astride. There were thirty entries for a race over flat open country
+for five miles. The jockeys were little boys and girls, the youngest
+eight, the oldest not more than fourteen. The ponies, their riders
+up and singing in chorus, paraded in a circle between tents coloured
+light and dark blue. Presently a lama in flowing robes of yellow with
+a pennon at the end of a lance placed himself at the head of the
+line, and the slow parade broke into a trot. Four or five times the
+circle was completed till the trot momentarily quickening became a
+fast canter. Then the excitement of the ponies worked up to a pitch,
+the lama gave the signal. With a sweep of his lance he shot off at a
+gallop the circle behind him uncoiling like a lasso. It spread out
+towards the plain racing towards a bend in the hills, the actual
+starting-point. We followed for a little and then dismounting we waited
+until in straggling file, flanked by those who had gone all the way,
+the competitors reappeared. The first home was a girl with a sash of
+orange bound round her jet black hair. A mounted lama caught her bridle
+and led her up to each of the tents in turn. Before each he intoned a
+prayer, and at the last the girl was handed a bowl of milk, and milk
+was poured over her pony’s head. Each of the competitors was then taken
+up to the tents in turn, and each pony anointed in the same way. At the
+end of the afternoon the owners and others stripped off their clothes
+and wrestled until the sun, crowned with a floating splendour of flame
+sank behind the hills.”
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The friendliness of the Mongols towards Europeans was on this occasion
+decidedly marked, and in company with half a dozen Russian officers
+who had brought over a number of their men to see the sport, we
+were entertained “at tea” in one of the pale blue tents near the
+winning-post. We all sat on the ground in a row, cross-legged, and the
+lamas handed round queer little Chinese cakes and bowls of mares’ milk.
+The latter looked dirty but was really not at all bad to taste.
+
+Our meeting under these strange but pleasant circumstances with
+the Russian officers led to the establishment of cordial relations
+between us, in spite of the fact, which surprised us not a little,
+that one only of their number knew any language other than their own.
+This great burly fellow, a Captain in a Siberian rifle corps, was
+hail-fellow-well-met directly he saw us, and, coming from the Baltic
+provinces, spoke German fluently. We took advantage a few days later of
+his invitation to ride over to his quarters that we might see something
+of the extensive new barracks which are being built by the Russians.
+The soldiers are at present mainly housed in barracks which were begun
+by the Chinese, who in 1910 proposed to keep a small force there.
+Anyone more hospitable than these gallant Russians I have seldom met,
+but their notions of entertainment did not run on lines exactly
+parallel with our own, and it was impossible to persuade them that I
+really did not like my tea half-and-half with neat brandy, and that in
+view of a very solitary ride home across dangerous country there were
+limits to my capacity for drinking vodka.
+
+[Illustration: A WRESTLING BOUT]
+
+[Illustration: YOUNG LAMAS.]
+
+I fancy that some of these officers, though nominally this Mongolian
+exile is very distasteful to them, manage to amuse themselves and
+to take advantage of the great possibilities of sport that this
+region offers; they extended to us a variety of inducements such as
+expeditions after bear, lynx, and wolves, to say nothing of wild-fowl
+shooting, if we would remain in Urga long enough. There is plenty of
+bird and animal life both in South and North Mongolia, harrier eagles,
+vultures, sheldrakes, bustards, geese, ducks, magpies, crows and larks
+abounding, while in North Mongolia beautiful herons, always seen in
+couples, were so tame that they allowed one to get within very short
+range before spreading their wings and sailing away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+“It is only kindness and not severity that can impress at the distance
+of a thousand miles”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+Among all the brightness and sparkle of life in Urga, there is alas!
+a very dark and sinister side. Day after day, we rode past a certain
+little inconspicuous enclosure surrounded by a rough pine stockade,
+little recking of the appalling amount of misery it encompassed. How
+far circumstances and how far sheer native cruelty are responsible
+for the terrible condition under which the Mongols drag out a ghastly
+existence in punishment for crimes either great or small, and even
+prior to condemnation, it would be difficult to establish. Deprivation
+of liberty and rigorous confinement is the accepted form of punishment
+held by the Mongols in common with all nations of modern civilisation,
+and the present form probably originated before there was any other
+way of imprisoning malefactors than the felt yourt of the nomad, from
+which, of course, any prisoner could escape in ten minutes.
+
+Few, if any, Europeans other than Russians have seen the inside of this
+Mongol prison; and truly the dungeons at Urga beggar description.
+Through the kind offices of one of our Russian friends we obtained a
+pass from the Mongol Government to enable us to visit the prisoners.
+The authorities were not a little suspicious as to our object in
+wishing to do so, and since a reason had perforce to be furnished,
+they were informed that we were merely humane travellers who desired
+to distribute largesse among the suffering inmates. Accompanied by a
+couple of Mongol officials, three Russians, and Mr. Gull, I was taken
+over the entire place, and I believe that none of its horrors escaped
+me.
+
+It would indeed be a hard heart that did not open to the hopeless
+misery of the prisoners. Within a small compound fenced in by high
+spiked palisades are five or six dungeons. The dungeons are thrice
+enclosed by a stockade of rough pinewood some eighteen feet high, and
+to gain access to them many heavily bolted doors have to be unbarred.
+All the doors were double, and two great padlocks ensured the security
+of each. As we entered, the gaolers, who struck us as being a most
+unholy looking couple who literally gloated over the misery of the
+prisoners in their power, met us, and called our attention, quite
+unnecessarily, to a trio of pale-faced Mongols sitting on the ground
+just inside the gates. Their hands and feet were heavily chained
+together, and they fell on their knees when they saw us. We had each
+contributed three roubles before entering the prison, and, having
+reduced it to small change, one of the party doled it out, making the
+sum go as far as possible among the miserable suppliants.
+
+Passing on to the interior, we came upon a heavy wooden chest, some
+4 to 4½ feet long by 2½ feet deep, iron-bound and secured by two
+strong padlocks. To our horror we discovered that it contained a
+man--one might have imagined that a wild beast to be sent by train was
+temporarily imprisoned therein! But a man! The hole in the side was
+of sufficient size to enable the prisoner to thrust out his manacled
+hands. This also provided the sole means of ventilation. But this
+unfortunate creature was well off compared with the others we saw
+subsequently. At least he was breathing in the open air. The dungeons,
+we were told, were so full that this prisoner had to remain outside.
+While we were discussing his pitiable lot, clank, clank, went the great
+bars and bolts, and the gaoler had opened the double doors leading into
+the first dungeon. There must have been from twenty to thirty coffins
+in this, some piled on the tops of the others, and the atmosphere was
+absolutely putrid. The two Mongol officials, whose general tone I
+cannot say impressed us very favourably, now very ostentatiously held
+their long sleeves over their noses, accustomed to smells though they
+were. One imagines that there may have been some means of cleaning out
+the coffins from underneath as is the case in cages in a menagerie,
+for it was most strongly impressed upon us that never under any
+circumstances whatsoever are the prisoners allowed to come out except
+for execution or--rarely--to be set free. The majority are in for life
+sentences.
+
+[Illustration: PRISONERS AT URGA, SHUT UP FOR THE REMAINDER OF THEIR
+LIVES IN HEAVY IRON-BOUND COFFINS]
+
+One’s eyes growing accustomed to the darkness--the only light that
+penetrates it is from the doors when they are opened--one became
+gradually aware of wild shaggy heads poking through the round holes
+in the coffin’s sides. I was standing, quite unconsciously, close to
+a coffin, when, glancing down, I saw a terrible face, nothing more,
+almost touching the skirt of my riding coat. Beside one coffin was a
+pool of blood which told its own tale. Within it there was a poor devil
+coughing his lungs up. The Russian officer, knowing Mongolian well,
+spoke a few words to one or two of them, but they seemed too dazed to
+understand. Their minds, like their limbs, quickly atrophy in this
+close confinement. After a breath of fresh air in the tiny space that
+separates the dungeons, which, by the way, are four or five feet below
+ground level, another double door was unbarred for us, and we entered
+the second dungeon where there were a similar number of Chinese, in
+the coffins. It struck us as infinitely sad to find these gentle,
+highly civilised Chinese here, Shansi merchants most of them, friends
+and neighbours no doubt of the men with whom we had drunk tea in their
+charming guild rooms adjoining the little temple in Mai-mai-ch’eng.
+There they were, shut up for the remainder of their lives in heavy
+iron-bound coffins, out of which they could never under any conditions
+or for any purpose move. They could not lie down flat, they could not
+sit upright, they were not only manacled but chained to the coffins.
+They saw daylight but for a few minutes, when their food was thrust
+into their coffins through a hole four or five inches in diameter,
+twice daily. In one way only did they score over their Mongolian
+fellow-sufferers. Their narrower Chinese skulls enabled them, painfully
+and with difficulty, to protrude their heads through the hole in the
+coffin side. The Mongol cranium is too wide to do so at all.
+
+Mr. Gull talked to the Chinese as long as the brutal-looking gaolers
+would let him, and I admired the pluck which enabled him to remain so
+long in that fearsome atmosphere. The men told him that all they knew
+was that they were suspected of supporting the Chinese Republic at the
+time of the Mongol declaration of independence. They had apparently had
+no trial, and they saw not the slightest chance of escape from this
+appalling situation. They seemed thankful to have a few words with
+anyone in their own tongue.
+
+There were five dungeons and we went into all of them. It was
+impossible in the dim light to estimate how many prisoners they
+contained, and one got very varying figures, but I imagine that the
+total must be in the neighbourhood of 150. One of the Russians wished
+to take a photograph of the three prisoners outside, and the brutes
+of gaolers held their hands when they tried to cover their faces. I
+felt that one ought not insult their misery by doing such a thing.
+Indeed, no matter what their crimes, one had nothing but the deepest
+pity for the prisoners. We were profoundly moved by all the experiences
+of the afternoon and rode back much saddened in the twilight to
+Mai-mai-ch’eng. Nothing I can ever see in the future will wipe out the
+memory of that terrible prison.
+
+What I had learned of the prison system in Urga helped me the better
+to understand what I saw later on. I was present, not indeed from any
+morbid curiosity, but in order to witness the much-vaunted Mongol
+courage in the face of death, at the execution of three Mongol
+soldiers, who six months before had murdered their general, Gen Dung
+Geng, and since that time had been dragging out their lives in those
+awful coffins.
+
+A perfect July morning. The ride over the short turf for miles along
+the wide valley to the north-east of Urga made us forgetful for the
+time being of the gruesome object of our expedition. Three of the
+soldiers who had murdered their general--the prince, who had led them
+400 strong against 4000 Chinese within the walled city of Kobdo, and
+whose title was the reward of his conquest--were to be executed.
+Discipline among his ranks had been terribly severe; his soldiers hated
+him, and the glory with which they were covered as a consequence of
+their victory did not outweigh the rancour in their hearts. A chosen
+few were supported without exception by their fellows. They were
+unanimous to a man.
+
+The prince must die. They rose against him on the morning of an
+ice-bound day in January, and twenty Mauser rifles emptied their lead
+into his body. Miraculous seemed the strength possessed by the General.
+A bullet shattered his thigh, but he continued to run. The soldiers
+hesitated when they saw that he did not fall. For one English mile he
+fled from his pursuers, limping but swift. To the city he fled, and
+people ran out from their dwellings to ask the reason for such doings.
+They were out of earshot when the answer came flinging back to them.
+But as he ran he called to those that would have come up with him,
+“Stand away from me, or you also will surely be killed,” and in his
+agony he pushed into a place of safety some little children who were
+in his path. His heart was tender in spite of the severity of his
+discipline.
+
+He ran; and coming to a gateway where he might hope to find sanctuary,
+he threw himself with all his force against the door. He was a strong
+man, and the door fell in, and he with it. He lay as he fell. His own
+soldiers came quickly up with him, and to the first he cried, “Kill
+me, then, that I may enter the new life without further delay”. And
+straightway the man shot him through the head.
+
+... And we sat on the hill-side and waited, while our ponies found
+fodder more luscious than that to which they were accustomed on the
+nearer plains. We waited for over two hours. The Mongols are not a
+punctual people.
+
+Presently, riding in twos and threes, they came straggling over the
+hill; the hill that shall obscure from view the bloody deed which must
+be carried out without the knowledge of the gods, which on no account
+may take place within sight of the sacred mountain of Bogdo-N’or upon
+whose face all Urga gazes.
+
+The horsemen rode slowly across the mountain, for they knew that more
+slowly still would the ox-carts with their mounted escort of soldiers
+from the south wend their way around its foot. Besides, there was no
+hurry. The prince’s soldiers, three only of the many who were eating
+their hearts out in those awful dungeons, were to die to-day for his
+murder.
+
+Some sixty or seventy Chinese herded together near us, a cheery,
+chattering crowd, make a jarring note in this sombre atmosphere. They
+rejoice to witness death, more especially when a Mongol is to die. They
+sit apart from all others. There is no natural affinity between these
+warring races; and the chances just now are that in the near future
+Mongolia’s relations with her celestial neighbours may be fundamentally
+altered.
+
+Suddenly round the bend of the valley appears a multi-coloured little
+group of riders, the predominant tint being the blue uniforms of the
+southern soldiers making general harmony with the grey-green of the
+grass on the slopes. They are quickly within range, and by the peacock
+plumes in their velvet hats one sees that many officials accompany
+the criminals. There, in the midst of the soldiers, are the primitive
+little ox-carts, two of them, and in them sit, arms tightly bound to
+their backs, the shock-headed criminals. Shock-headed and bearded they
+have become during their sojourn in the coffins in which they have been
+closely confined in Urga’s dungeons. Death is indisputably preferable
+to imprisonment in Mongolia. One of the trio, in spite of the terrible
+six months through which he has passed, is full of life and vigour, and
+he shouts up in a truculent manner to the officials who have gathered
+together in a little tent overlooking the stakes to which later on
+the prisoners are to be bound, “Hi, you there,” he calls, “don’t go
+and hide yourselves inside the tent. You have to watch our execution.
+Come out and see us die.” And when the simple meal, with which they
+are served immediately before the execution takes place, is served to
+them--unable to feed themselves, the bowls are held to their lips by
+the gaolers--this same man demands his rights, and asks for meat and
+tea instead of the water and tsamba which are given to him.
+
+And then--having satisfied their hunger, they are quickly and securely
+bound in kneeling posture to the stakes. For the last time the sturdy
+ruffian expostulates at not being allowed to face the fire. “Why do you
+not let us face the guns?” he argued. “Why will you not allow us to die
+like soldiers?” This position is ignominious. It is unworthy of their
+traditions. But no notice is taken of him, and perhaps his earlier
+discipline impels him to submit without further demur. A lama, carrying
+in his hands a framed picture of the Great Prophet, walks in front of
+the captives. What he says to them we cannot hear, but one replies,
+“I only want to be a soldier when I am born again”. The three gaze
+reverently enough at the Buddha, and perhaps pray to him that their lot
+in the speedy re-incarnation, which they confidently anticipate, may
+be cast in pleasanter places. The lama retires, and with a startling
+rapidity, three blue-clad soldiers have placed themselves at close
+range, five yards at most from the murderers, and then--thud, thud,
+and the dust on the hill beyond puffs up in three little clouds. The
+heads of two of the men fall backwards with a jerk on their necks. The
+bullets have done their work. But custom demands that a second and
+even a third round shall be fired. Then we see that one of the men,
+the central figure of the group, is still alive, and the awful thing
+is that no one but ourselves appears to give heed to the fact, until
+the Norwegian runs down the hill to the unfortunate victim and calls
+the attention of the Mongols to his condition. Five minutes--they seem
+like hours--pass before one of the troop of soldiers, already mounted
+and galloping up the hill towards Urga, is called back. He dismounts,
+kneels, and takes aim and fires. There is no mistake about the despatch
+this time. The poor wretch has died hard indeed.
+
+We are a very quiet little party as we ride slowly homewards through
+the valleys. Away behind us the kites circle round the spot we have
+just left; waiting until the last of the crowd has taken himself off.
+A human vulture has paid a few kopecks for the privilege of stripping
+those three poor bodies of the filthy clothes in which they so bravely
+expiated their crime, and he too waits until we are all out of sight
+before he commences his gruesome task. And the dogs, the ghoulish dogs
+that infest Urga, will compete with the vultures.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+“Those who know do not speak; those speak who do not know”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+The Mongol belief in an immediate re-incarnation leads them to be
+entirely careless of their dead, and the only description of tomb I
+saw in Urga were a couple of dagobas erected over priests’ graves.
+“What does it matter?” they say. “The body is only a case for the
+spirit, and the spirit is at once born again into a new case.” I think
+that herein lies the reason they never seem to trouble to wash their
+“cases”. Corpses are carried out on to the hill-side on the tail of an
+ox-cart, a lama accompanying the man in charge of it. The lama selects
+an auspicious spot; the man whips up his pony, jerks the corpse to the
+ground, and they drive quickly off without looking back. The rest is
+left to luck. If the body is rapidly devoured by wild beasts and birds
+of prey, the virtue of the deceased is established in the face of any
+evidence to the contrary. If, however, the process of dissolution is
+protracted, a bad name will cling to the reputation of the departed
+and also reflect inconveniently on his surviving family as long as
+spiteful memory permits.
+
+A lasting impression of Urga is that of a city strewn with bones, and
+horrible, ghoulish, and terribly savage dogs prowling among them. You
+may count these dogs sometimes in hundreds about the refuse heaps that
+surround Urga. Often they may be seen silently gnawing, gnawing away at
+something which makes you shudder as you ride quickly past. One never
+ventures outside one’s door unarmed, for in winter the dogs are very
+fierce with hunger, and in summer there is always danger of meeting
+a mad brute. Only a few months before we stayed there a young lama
+from the temple just outside our compound was torn to pieces by these
+pariah dogs. He was a fine strong young man, but had gone forth alone
+one winter’s day and was without a weapon. A number of dogs attacked
+him and before anyone could respond to his cries they had dragged him
+away to a neighbouring refuse heap and there torn him limb from limb.
+The dogs belong to nobody, and as well as being a constant source of
+danger, they are most repulsive looking creatures, always unsightly
+from some horrible disease that seems to beset them. The Mongol view
+is that these dogs act as scavengers and so save them the trouble of
+disposing of their refuse.
+
+[Illustration: A TOMB IN URGA DAGOBAS ERECTED OVER PRIESTS’ GRAVES]
+
+[Illustration: SOUTHERN SOLDIERS]
+
+Cut off completely from the world, as it seemed, I received neither
+letters nor news of outside affairs, nor did I observe during this
+gala time at Urga much evidence as to the unsettled state of Chinese
+and Mongolian political matters. An occasional telegram was received
+by my host from his colleague at Kalgan telling him something of the
+movements of the two opposing forces, but it was little that we learned
+as to what was happening, and if one had remained much longer there one
+would certainly have come to regard Urga as the centre of the universe,
+and to attach paramount importance to Mongolia as a political unit.
+
+The news, therefore, that Mr. Grant, a young Scotsman engaged in the
+Chinese telegraph service, had been murdered by Mongol soldiery at
+Ta-Bol was a great shock. We had met the companion who set out with
+him, the preparations for whose expedition I had watched with such
+interest three months before from the mission compound at Kalgan, when
+we passed through Verkne-Oudinsk, and were told by him that Mr. Grant
+would probably reach Urga before we left it. The story as it came to
+us through Mongol sources was that Hung-hu-tzes had descended upon
+this poor young fellow for food at an isolated telegraph station, and
+that when they had exhausted his supplies, he, though resenting their
+importunities, had despatched urgent messages to the Chinese Government
+for relief. It is said that a telegram was sent to Yuan Shih K’ai
+himself; but the Chinese Government were apathetic, or they did not
+see the force of feeding this robber band whose object was to destroy
+their men, when it was all they could do to supply their own soldiers
+with the barest necessities. In any case, no relief came, and Grant
+in desperation, no Chinese or Mongol being willing to undertake the
+journey, finally set off to Kalgan that he might obtain the stores
+necessary in order to continue his tour of inspection north. Why the
+authorities allowed him to return under the conditions prevailing in
+Inner Mongolia at that time it is difficult to understand. Be that as
+it may, upon reaching Ta-Bol again in company with three Chinese he was
+apparently captured by Mongol soldiers, who met him with the demand
+that he should hand over his supplies and his Chinese as well to them.
+He should go free, they said, if he complied, but if he refused they
+would kill him.
+
+To his eternal honour be it recorded that Grant stood by his Chinese
+companions. The Mongols, although they murdered him in cold blood,
+have at least been forced to admit that the white man was their equal
+in their boasted bravery; that he knew something of which they know
+nothing--the supreme virtue of self-sacrifice. He did not die with
+the satisfaction of knowing that he was saving the life of others in
+so doing--one hopes that many of us would be capable of paying that
+price for such a reward. He died because he would not save his own
+life at the price of blood even though that blood was inevitably to be
+shed. From Mongol lips the account of the final scene comes to us.
+Announcing their intention of putting him to death, soldiers crowded
+round him to take him captive. He jeered that so large a number should
+be necessary to bind a single man. “We will soon stop your laughing,”
+they said, and lining up twenty men they shot him down.
+
+Grant met his death in such a manner as to make his nation proud of
+him. His action, combined with his last brave words, was of a gallantry
+that places him high in the company of heroes. “You may kill me, but
+you can never frighten me,” he said. A month or more later his body was
+found with a bullet through the head, as were the bodies of the three
+Chinese with whom he died rather than leave to their fate. Though the
+murderers had fled, the camp near which the bodies were found still
+remained, and it was on that account that they were found undisturbed;
+that the wolves and vultures had left them untouched. It would almost
+seem as though the Mongols, having done their worst, had guarded the
+remains; as though they realised that a hero’s death must surely be
+avenged.
+
+Although, as I have said, there was little enough on the surface in
+the capital to suggest that a few hundred miles away fighting was in
+progress and unrest was prevalent, one could not describe Urga as being
+either a peaceful or a soothing place in which to settle. The fact that
+one must always keep a loaded rifle at hand does not make for that.
+A somewhat “nervy” little experience of my own one night was when
+I heard rifle and revolver shots too near to be exactly a lullaby.
+Creeping out into the compound, my revolver at full cock, and taking
+cover under shadow of the low Chinese buildings that bordered it, I
+discovered that a Mongol was sitting upon my roof taking pot shots at
+his enemy over the wall. This is the one and only time that I think I
+can claim literally to have been “under fire”.
+
+Another uncomfortable moment was one night in riding home in the dark
+after dining with our Russian friends, when we inadvertently disturbed
+a horde of pariah dogs very busily engaged in gnawing at--heaven knows
+what! Several of them leapt up angrily at us, and there was temporary
+uncertainty as to whether we might not be in for an extremely ugly time
+of it. At night, too, our ponies were fearfully nervous, and after a
+violent “shy” because my fellow-traveller struck a match to light a
+cigarette, my little brute chucked me over his head most unexpectedly
+when, on reaching the compound gates, I essayed to rouse the inmates
+by banging on the doors with my riding-crop. We learned before leaving
+Urga that to be out after dark was looked upon as exceedingly rash and
+unwise, and before we left that city an order was issued by the Mongol
+Government to the effect that no one was to go outside his house after
+8 p.m.; that in one house in every twelve a man was to sit up all night
+in order to give warning should Hung-hu-tzes threaten; and that in
+every house or yourt a light was to be kept burning all night.
+
+These were not exactly reassuring auspices under which to make our way
+back along the lonely tracks to civilisation. It decided us, in fact,
+to give up the idea of taking a different route back in order to visit
+the gold mines in the Iro district, for it was especially in that
+neighbourhood that there was most likelihood of meeting desperate and
+evil characters. Anxious therefore to prolong our stay in Urga to the
+limit of the time we had at our disposal, we decided to cut the journey
+back to Siberia as short as possible and travel “orton” in as rapid
+stages as might be. The Russian Consul was very good in helping us to
+make our arrangements. In fact, the uncomfortable feeling lingered
+unexpressed at the backs of our minds that friendly though he had been,
+he would not be sorry to see us turn our faces from Urga. It is obvious
+that the Russians would not like a couple of inquisitive foreigners
+poking their noses into all sorts of corners, especially in a country
+where Russian jurisdiction is in the balance and control by no means
+complete.
+
+An antediluvian tarantass was procured, and we were told that the owner
+lived in Kiachta and that we might deposit it there for him. The small
+sum of ten roubles seemed to ensure sufficient repair being carried
+out on it to see us through the two hundred miles that lay between
+Urga and our destination. The first day of August was spent in packing
+up and making preparations for our journey, which we hoped to compass
+in four instead of the seven days we had taken in coming. The friends
+we had made during our stay came to speed us on our way and regaled
+us during tea-time with stories of adventures that travellers had met
+with on previous occasions over the same road. The Consul, very genial
+and cheery himself, brought us our “huchaos” as well as the passes
+which would enable us to carry our weapons out of Mongolia and through
+Russian territory. Our last evening, as we fondly thought, we spent on
+the banks of the Tola River, and with the whitened skull of a camel for
+a target we tried to improve our marksmanship with the Mauser in the
+twilight, using up all the ammunition we dared spare from the possible
+requirements on the journey home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+“To spoil what is good by unreasonableness is like letting off
+fireworks in the rain”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+Again we had reckoned without our--Mongols. Rising betimes and being
+from an early hour in a state of preparedness, we sat down and waited
+for the appearance of our tarantass, our horses, and our men. We
+waited all day, and in the evening gave them up as a bad job and went
+off for a final ride over the short springy turf among the foothills
+surrounding the holy city. Next day, five weeks exactly since we had
+left Kiachta, the Mongols arrived before 8 a.m., but such are their
+feckless and procrastinating ways, that it was noon before they were
+ready to start. Our first halt came all too soon, for we were not more
+than 300 yards from the compound gates when we had smash number one.
+This, by the way, was the first and last time that I have ever seen a
+Mongol unseated, and to do him justice, the man came off his pony, not
+from having lost his grip, but in preference to being crushed against
+the palings of the temple we were passing.
+
+We had started off three men short, and one of the ponies, never having
+been used to draw anything before, and being, moreover, extremely
+fresh, took advantage of the situation to jib, throw its rider, and
+bolt off across the valley. Without a moment’s delay, the other Mongol
+freed his steed from the tarantass and sped off after the runaway. We
+were left sitting in the tarantass. The pony, after a wild chase, was
+caught again, and then in order to knock the stuffing out of him a
+little, his owner, belabouring him freely, took him for a sharp gallop.
+Meanwhile, and just as we were ready to depart once more, the rascally
+horse-dealer, who, by the way, had been our next-door neighbour as
+well, rode up, obviously in a state of indignant excitement. Mr. Mamen,
+our Norwegian friend, who, hearing of our smash, had come along to help
+if he could, explained that the man was very angry and was under the
+impression that we had insulted him.
+
+The story of the skull, the _casus belli_ with the horse-dealer, brings
+back to me considerable regret. Ten days or so prior to our departure
+I had found on a hill-side some distance from Urga a fine, and
+apparently, clean, specimen of Mongol skull, and tyro in the subject
+that I was, thought that to possess and take it home with me would be
+interesting from an anthropological point of view. Threading a bit of
+string through the eye socket, therefore, I tied the skull to my saddle
+and rode back with it. My friends very kindly, instead of crushing my
+aspirations, suggested that to let it steep for a few days in a pail of
+disinfectant might be a wise and sanitary precaution. When, however,
+I wanted to pack it up, I found on pouring off the disinfectant, that
+the dogs and vultures had not performed their functions with the
+thoroughness that I had anticipated, and that the cranium was still
+half full of decomposed cerebral matter. My Chinese boy, of course,
+would not look at it, and I could persuade neither of my European
+companions to clean out the thing for me. The easiest way out of the
+difficulty seemed to be to leave the skull behind. As soon, however,
+as we had taken our departure, the boy in clearing up took the pail
+and its contents to a neighbouring dust-heap and deposited the latter
+thereon.
+
+Our Mongol horse-dealer had unfortunately been cognisant of the
+proceedings, and, on the look out, no doubt, for a grievance, had
+jumped on his horse that he might overtake us and complain of our
+action in leaving the skull so near to the confines of his compound.
+We apologised, of course, and tried to impress upon him the fact that
+we had intended no insult. Noticing that he still appeared irate, my
+noble fellow-traveller, with the object, I believe, of leaving nothing
+but pleasant impressions behind, offered to go back and to remove the
+skull from the vicinity. A further delay, and he re-appeared, bringing
+with him a bulky parcel tied up in a newspaper. My penitence was not
+assumed, and coals of fire were heaped on my head when not one solitary
+word of reproach was uttered as we packed my very gruesome possession
+away in the bottom of the tarantass. Even now it was in no pleasant
+condition for transporting by civilised routes through Europe, and
+I willingly agreed that it would be as well to rid ourselves of the
+encumbrance at the first opportunity. To remind me of that incident,
+even ever so gently, during the rest of the journey was to render
+me immediately docile and amenable to any scheme, no matter how
+distasteful it might be.
+
+We picked up our remaining Mongols in Urga, and bade adieu to the
+Russian officer, Captain Gabriek, who came to see us off, give us some
+parting words of advice, and take a photograph of us as a souvenir.
+We were nearing the top of the first hill out of the capital when
+smash number two occurred. The new pole which had been fixed across
+the shafts of the tarantass and was being carried in the usual way
+athwart the saddles of four Mongols, suddenly broke in two, and,
+without a moment’s warning, the tarantass began to trundle backwards
+down the incline. We sat tight, expecting to turn over every minute,
+the Mongols, who are useless in a crisis, looking on aghast at what
+had happened. We fetched up against a heap of stones in a manner
+truly providential, when, keeping the right side uppermost, we
+disembarked, and set the Mongols to work on mending the broken pole.
+The opportunity having arrived, I took advantage of all their attention
+being concentrated elsewhere to walk off with the newspaper parcel
+containing the skull, and sauntering away to some distant bushes, I
+concealed my burden amongst them. Years hence some Sherlock Holmes will
+doubtless discover it, and making four out of two plus three, will with
+his customary acumen come to the conclusion that a dastardly crime has
+been committed here; that some brutal Englishman has murdered a Mongol
+and disposing of the body (heaven knows how!) has attempted to conceal
+the head by wrapping it in a copy of the “North China Herald,” and
+leaving it by the wayside. You never can tell.
+
+We were forced into the position of making the best of a very bad job
+as far as the repair to our broken pole was concerned, and came to the
+conclusion that it would not bear the severe strain of descending the
+long road which led down to the farther side of the Urga Pass, up which
+we had trudged so cheerily little more than a month before. So, with a
+couple of ropes to haul the tarantass back in order to avoid weight on
+the pole, we allowed the now somewhat subdued Mongols to take it down,
+while we ourselves led their ponies. Our accident delayed us for over
+an hour, and this, combined with our tardy start, made us very late
+in arriving at the end of the first stage. Here a relay of men and
+horses was forthcoming, and we did our best to instil into them caution
+as regards the fragile condition of our conveyance. The way diverged
+considerably from the route our Jamschik had taken in bringing us, and
+before reaching our night quarters we had a somewhat disconcerting
+stream to negotiate. Under ordinary conditions the Mongols would have
+raced over and torn up the steep bank on the farther side with wild
+“Hoop-la’s”. Our broken pole necessitated a very different procedure,
+and there was nothing for it but “all hands to the wheels” and to push
+the heavy tarantass across. They gave me one of the ponies to ride, but
+what with the water being deep and the pony splashing about I think I
+got as wet as they did. Mongols detest getting even their feet wet and
+made a prodigious fuss before they could be induced to wade.
+
+Our men on this stage were not a particularly ingratiating set, and,
+though the subject did not come up for discussion, neither of us felt
+any too safe in their hands. Their character was disclosed when we
+arrived at our destination for the night, and they tried to force us
+into paying eight roubles instead of the usual three, or the actual
+five, which we offered them. The Mongols bluffed all they knew, and
+swore (one of them spoke enough Chinese to act as interpreter) that the
+sum of eight roubles was entered in black and white upon our “huchao,”
+or posting permit. My less pugnacious companion was for paying and
+thus saving discussion, but I felt that to give in at so early a stage
+would mean being bullied at every subsequent one, and I therefore
+gave them to understand that I would go back to Urga with them in the
+morning to settle matters rather than be imposed upon in such a manner.
+They made as though they would depart without the money, but finally
+caved in before our firm stand, and after a pow-wow which had lasted
+over an hour, they settled down to tea and cigarettes before taking
+their departure, by which time it was nearly ten o’clock.
+
+Tired out with our long parley, thankful to see the last of them, but
+pleased that we had managed to keep our tempers and that we had finally
+scored off these Mongols, we fed hastily and settled down in the
+traveller’s yourt for the night with as little preparation as might be,
+feeling none too secure in this obviously hostile camp. In the wee sma’
+hours a sound of soft footsteps wakened me, and I sat up to listen.
+I could hear from the deep regular breathing of the other occupants
+of the yourt that nervousness was not troubling them unduly. But the
+slight sounds developed, and a sudden creaking outside woke Mr. Gull up
+too. An unexpected rush of horses’ hoofs and more creaking presented
+in a flash to me what was happening outside. “They are stealing our
+tarantass,” I whispered, and grasped my revolvers, one in each hand.
+We sat still and waited in silence for a while, when lights and voices
+reached us through the chinks and crevices of the yourt. “Those brutes
+have come back to rob us,” muttered Mr. Gull, and crawling quietly to
+the door I could see through the crack above it a crowd of faces.
+
+“What the devil do you want?” shouted one of us, and rejoicing to find
+my hand steady as a rock, I prepared to fire at the first indication of
+attack. Indeed I was veritably within an ace of pulling the trigger,
+when suddenly I became conscious of a fair moustachioed, blue-eyed
+face, topped by a forage cap, gazing at me in gentle amazement. I could
+have fallen upon the neck to which it was attached in the reaction from
+what we believed to be a desperate situation. The Mongols were not
+there to attack us, but merely to usher in to the traveller’s yourt a
+Russian officer and his servant who were posting through to Kiachta in
+like manner to ourselves. We quickly helped them to settle in, plied
+them with food and brandy (which seemed to please them enormously),
+and the lot of us were soon sleeping soundly and securely, I with the
+comfortable feeling that together we would be able to account for a
+good many Mongols were the ruffians to come back and raid us.
+
+We had rather hoped that we might be able to continue our journey in
+this pleasant, if speechless, company, but the Russians were travelling
+very light, and were up and off by daybreak, while we had to wait for a
+new pole; a young Scotch fir being cut down, smoothed a bit, and sold
+to us for fifty kopecks for the purpose. I was interested in watching
+the toilet of the officer, whose servant stood at attention opposite
+him holding a small saucepan full of water in which he washed and
+gargled with great thoroughness.
+
+The appearance of the group of Mongols who were to take us on our
+next stage did not impress us favourably, and we felt that our men
+of yesterday had probably done their best to make things difficult
+for us. The other people in the camp too, seemed truculent and surly,
+begging for food from us in no too pleasant a manner. One of our new
+men was indeed a formidable looking ruffian, six feet tall, and with
+a scowl that never left his face. The others consisted of a “black
+man,” two girls, and a lama of twenty or so. The younger girl was very
+pretty. She obviously mistook me for a man, and all the time she was
+off duty she rode alongside the tarantass making overtures to me for
+sweets (we had laid in a good supply on finding a particularly pleasing
+brand in a Russian shop in Urga), pins, flowers, or any other trifle
+she espied and as promptly coveted. She was so coy and merry that I
+felt quite sorry for my companion that all her attentions should thus
+be squandered upon myself. It annoyed some one else too. The young
+lama whose beloved, I gathered, she was, seemed distinctly uneasy,
+and his head was much more frequently turned in our direction than to
+his business of guiding the tarantass. At one halt he appeared to be
+telling her plainly what he thought of her frivolous behaviour, but
+although she pouted very prettily it was all to no avail, and her
+swain tied up again, figuratively speaking, between the shafts of the
+tarantass, the minx relapsed once more into her engaging little ways.
+
+At the end of the stage there was the fuss we had anticipated, and
+our scowling outrider looked by no means a pleasant customer when he
+began bullying argument for a double fare. We were, however, at this
+time of day in no mood to be trifled with, and throwing the money on
+the ground, waved our “huchao” in the face of the head man of the
+settlement and demanded fresh horses without delay. Two can play at a
+game of bluff, and we were the winning side this time. With a lively
+crew of no less than eight youngish men--dare-devil scallywags they
+looked--we were soon under way again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+“When the mind is enlarged the body is at ease”
+
+  --_Chinese proverb_
+
+
+The antiquity of our tarantass was a source of constant anxiety to
+us, and minor mishaps, ropes wearing out, shafts slipping, and nuts
+becoming loose, were of frequent occurrence. Two of our riders were
+mere boys--one a lama, of fifteen or sixteen--who when they were
+drawing us insisted on riding at a reckless pace over some very
+rough country. I protested several times and finally, after they had
+repeatedly disregarded my injunctions, succeeded in bringing them to
+a halt. Things were soon again as bad as ever however, and we were
+travelling at a tremendous rate when snap, scurrrr, scuff! our front
+axle-tree had broken clean in two, and a wheel rolled clear away on
+the near side. We were now in a sorry plight, and what we were going
+to do we had not the slightest idea. The Mongols looked on helplessly,
+and were quite subdued when I told the two young ruffians, who had
+been so entirely responsible for the damage, in fluent English exactly
+my sentiments regarding themselves at that moment. By the sheer
+intervention of Providence we were saved from an uncommonly awkward
+situation. In the dim distance, the forms of a couple of Russians
+riding along were descried by one of our Mongols, and leaping into
+his saddle he had galloped away to solicit their aid before we had
+diagnosed what was passing in his mind.
+
+Of the resourcefulness, the kindness, and general _bon camaraderie_
+of those Russians I can hardly say enough. Our troubles were at an
+end. Of the pair, we diagnosed one as being perhaps a cattle-dealer in
+low-water--his shaggy and disreputable appearance maybe belied him:
+the other man was a raw young soldier carrying despatches to Kiachta.
+The first was a man of brains. He took in the situation at a glance
+and immediately set the Mongols to work; one to cut down a sapling,
+others to clear out some of the wreckage. Meanwhile he gave them such
+a dressing down as did my heart good to hear. By transforming the
+sapling into a sort of sleigh runner, he achieved what had seemed next
+to impossible, a means of conveying the tarantass, which now had a
+tremendous list to starboard, with our belongings inside to the next
+stage of the journey.
+
+Thankful to have got even so far, we were preparing to pay off and
+dismiss the Mongols who had been responsible for so much trouble, but
+the Russian stopped us and gave us to understand that in consequence of
+the smash it would be better to give them nothing, and we therefore
+got rid of them by writing a letter on the spot to the Yamen at Urga,
+setting forth our complaint and explaining that we had been obliged to
+abandon the tarantass at the fourth stage of our journey. The headman
+appeared to support the Russian’s judgment, and moreover cautioned the
+new set of men who were to take us along in gingerly fashion in our
+three-wheeled and almost disabled tarantass to our resting-place for
+the night. Fortunately this turned out to be a very short stage, and we
+walked almost all the way.
+
+Having travelled by a different, although, I presume, more or less
+parallel road from Urga, we were agreeably surprised to find ourselves
+when night fell at the little wooden shanty occupied by the young
+Chinese whose eyes I had treated on the downward journey, but with
+whose house my fellow-traveller had less pleasant associations.
+His quarters, however, were taken up by Chinese travellers, and we
+therefore put up with a family of Russians who occupied the adjoining
+rooms. As regards cleanliness this was certainly no improvement on the
+apartment next door, and I think Mr. Gull, who decided to sleep in the
+tarantass, had the better part. I had quite anticipated sharing the
+room with the Russian family who at supper time ate their meal in one
+corner while we, with the soldier and our friend in need as guests, had
+ours in the other. But they all dwindled away after their repast and I
+felt somewhat nonplussed when, after I had retired to my plank bed,
+they trooped in one by one to say their prayers in front of the icon
+which decorated the corner of my abode. The men, of whom there seemed
+to be a nondescript half-dozen, appeared to find sleeping accommodation
+in odd carts and corners in the yard, and I heard next morning that the
+compound had not been such a quiet place of repose after all; that the
+cows lowed, the pigs grunted, that cocks crowed long before dawn, and
+finally that snores were to be heard coming from every direction.
+
+From this time forward the two Russians, civilian and soldier, were as
+our brothers. For the sake of their company and from sheer gratitude
+for their helpfulness and resource we welcomed them gladly, and
+willingly shared with them all that we had in the way of provisions. We
+had every reason to believe that our “huchao” carried the cattle-dealer
+through the remaining stages free of expense, and not once but many
+times I gathered from an intelligible word here and there that he
+described us to the Mongols as near relations of the Hut’ukt’u, and
+therefore that there must be no further nonsense about overcharging us.
+This must have been the explanation of the fact that at one stage the
+Mongols refused payment altogether, and I am afraid it must ever remain
+on our consciences that we were benefiting from what was in effect an
+offering to the living God.
+
+[Illustration: A MONGOL ORTON]
+
+[Illustration: CONTINUING THE JOURNEY ON OX-CARTS DRAWN BY PONIES]
+
+The damage to our vehicle was examined by every man, woman, and
+child within reach, and a general concensus of opinion was arrived at
+to the effect that repair was impossible, and that the alternatives
+available were either to continue our journey by ox-carts drawn by
+ponies and to abandon our tarantass, or to remain where we were for a
+very precarious fortnight while a new axle was made and sent down to us
+from Kiachta. The latter course was out of the question, and we gaily
+embarked upon a journey of some 120 miles on ox-carts, little recking
+of the possibilities of discomfort that this means of transit involved.
+On one cart, which we did our utmost to keep in sight and in front of
+us, we packed the baggage, on the other we somewhat perilously perched
+ourselves. There was no protection either at the back or sides of the
+rough conveyance, and it was some time before we could learn to balance
+ourselves with any degree of comfort or feeling of security.
+
+Arriving at the next stage about midday we were so tired with the
+jolting and the strain of keeping our seats that we were literally too
+exhausted to unpack our food, and merely stretched our cramped limbs
+on the grass and dozed while the ponies were caught and put between
+the shafts and a new relay of Mongols carried out their customary
+pow-wow with the last lot. The stages were now of shorter duration,
+and as the carts were the property of the Mongols at various points,
+their capacity for comfort presented a pleasing variety. None of them,
+however, would in our luxurious and extravagant country, I am sure, be
+considered worthy of carrying manure from the farmyard to the field.
+The description of ox-carts which cross the Gobi and which I constantly
+met in Inner Mongolia applies equally to those of this region.
+
+A further stage was rendered lively and really interesting by the
+discovery of the most remarkable one-year-old boy it has ever been
+my lot to meet. To say that the child could walk and talk like a
+four-year-old is to mention the least striking of his accomplishments.
+Mr. Gull, at the appearance of the baby in his mother’s arms, was
+smoking a cigarette, and by unmistakable signs, to say nothing of
+sounds which were apparently intelligible to the surrounding Mongols,
+he expressed his desire for one too. He was forthwith presented with a
+cigarette, and we quite expected him to do what all normal children of
+his age would have done, pull it to pieces. But not so this child. He
+put it in his mouth most carefully, and looking round gravely to watch
+the effect he had produced, he allowed it to be lighted, when he puffed
+it for a moment or two before struggling to his feet and toddling off
+to the yourt to show his trophy to a doting grandfather. It was quite
+evident that that baby, as certain other babies of my acquaintance,
+ruled not only the yourt of his parents, but his various kith and kin
+in the camp to boot.
+
+[Illustration: A REMARKABLE ONE-YEAR-OLD BOY]
+
+The settlement thus dominated appeared to us to be of a somewhat
+more wealthy character than others at which we had rested--at least,
+it produced a slightly superior cart, larger, and with a plank
+upon which to sit, while the harness had the high Russian arc-like
+arrangement attached to the shafts. Between this and the next stage we
+again crossed the Hara-Gol (at a point higher up the river than last
+time) and found it almost unrecognisable, so greatly had its volume
+decreased. That the Mongols do not devote the pick of their herds to
+supplying the traveller with horse-flesh for the journey between Urga
+and Kiachta goes without saying. As a rule, however, the ponies that
+were available were more or less docile, and on two stages only did we
+seem in peril of never reaching our destination at all; once on account
+of too great a pace, on another on account of no pace at all.
+
+Starting at 5 o’clock on the morning after we had re-crossed the
+Hara-Gol, and with a very good-looking and pleasant young priest as
+outrider--it should be mentioned that to each cart was attached one
+pony only and that this was led by a mounted Mongol--we seemed likely
+to take a short cut across the Great Divide. The wheeler was hopeless,
+beginning with a tremendous tussle on being put between the shafts; and
+it was more than probable that this was his first experience of such
+encumbrances as cart and harness. The Mongol, whose own steed was in
+none too good a temper, held him up short against his bridle, and from
+time to time seemed likely to be pulled from his saddle by the jerks
+and tugs with which the little brute tried to free himself.
+
+Our Russian friend and the soldier had ridden ahead, and there seemed
+every likelihood that we were in for a lively time. After a while,
+however, the pony appeared to have come to terms and to settle down
+to the fact that he had met his master. The strain, however, had been
+too much for the harness, and a piece of the raw hide that formed it,
+parting company from the rest, gave the animal his chance. Without
+an instant’s warning he was off, helter-skelter, over the prairie.
+Our lama, taken off his guard by the fracture, was left behind for a
+moment, but, recovering himself, darted away at a little distance,
+and instead of trying to catch us up did his best to head the pony up
+the hill, instead of allowing us to be dragged to certain destruction
+along a narrow road which wound up with a steep incline down to the
+dried-up bed of a river. There was nothing for it but to sit tight and
+hope for the best, and holding on to one another like grim death, we
+danced about like parched peas on a drum head. Sitting tight seemed to
+suggest relative security for a moment or two, but in front of us was
+a bank, and heaven knows what beyond it. “The bank will stop him,” I
+cried; but no such luck. Up he went, and to our breathless amazement
+we found we had leapt, cart, pony, ourselves, and all, not only the
+bank but the gully that was on the other side as well. It said much for
+the stability of our cart no less than for our nerves. But there were
+limits to the little beast’s powers, and the sharply ascending ground
+to which he turned to avoid his master was too much for him, and,
+completely played out, he allowed himself to be caught. By this time
+our Russian friend, not understanding our delayed appearance, had very
+thoughtfully ridden back, and, practical man that he was, mended the
+harness, swearing volubly at the lama meantime. That we were alive to
+tell the tale seemed to us a miracle indeed.
+
+Our next experience was a great contrast, for on the north bank of
+the Iro-Gol where we again changed horses, we picked up the slowest
+brute I met during the whole time I was in the East. So slow it was
+that the Russian lent me his whip in order that I might urge it on a
+bit from the cart. This and the fact that on one occasion I touched it
+gently on the back with the toe of my boot rather annoyed the Mongol
+who led it, and turning round he informed us in Chinese that his horse
+was “li h’ai” (terrible). Once and once only did it suggest the least
+justification of the statement, and that was when nearing camp it
+appeared suddenly to call its traditions, and made a very respectable
+entry, dashing up to the travellers’ yourt in fine style.
+
+This proved to be a very friendly settlement, and the people crowded
+round the yourt to bid us welcome. I dare say friendliness was mingled
+with curiosity. Seeing me pour a drop or two of eau-de-Cologne on a
+handkerchief and pass it over my face, they were keenly desirous of
+paying me the compliment of imitation, and held out their hands for the
+bottle. Mongols are not backward in asking for what they want, and are
+quite of the belief that to him who asks shall be given. “Ai-iaa” they
+ejaculated delightedly. Most of them liked the scent, but one woman who
+sniffed it up too hard from the palm of her hand was greatly annoyed
+when it stung her nose, shaking her head like a dog, and walking off
+in high dudgeon when the others roared with laughter at her. They all
+copied my method of using it, and were smearing their faces over with
+their dirty hands, when our Russian took a rise out of a new-comer who
+had not been present at the first operation. Seeing every one rubbing
+their cheeks he wished of course to take part in the game, and the
+Russian pouring the questionable dregs of a water bottle into his
+outstretched palms, the trusting lama applied it to his face. The rest
+keenly appreciated the joke and the man himself took it in good part
+when he found that they were fooling him. As consolation I administered
+a lump of sugar dipped in tea, and this was much relished. They were
+a cheery lot of people here who played with us and each other like so
+many children.
+
+We woke up next morning to make the acquaintance of a learned professor
+from the University of Tomsk, who had arrived during the night, coming
+in so quietly that he had disturbed no one. We learnt that he was on a
+surveying expedition to Ulliasutai and Kobdo. We left him planting his
+theodolite on the top of a hillock near the camp, the Mongols regarding
+his movements with the greatest suspicion and dislike. Another couple
+of stages brought us near the end of our journey, and as we jogged
+along within sight of Kiachta we reviewed our experiences during the
+weeks in wild Mongolia, with, to quote my fellow-traveller, “at all
+events this result--that at the end of the journey we both wished we
+were back again at the beginning”.
+
+Kiachta looked picturesque enough as we approached its
+quasi-civilisation once more. Still, we had no desire to remain there
+an hour longer than was necessary, and now that Mongolia was for the
+time being a thing of the past--a veritable castle in Spain which this
+time at any rate had materialised--I looked forward with pleasure to
+the--to me--unknown capital of Russia. The journey down the Selenga
+River contrasted pleasantly as regards duration with the up-river
+trip, and arriving once more at dusty Werkne-Udinsk, we lost no time
+in embarking upon the express train to Chelyabinsk, passing through
+Transbaikalia in rainy gloom. At Chelyabinsk we changed and boarded a
+very inferior train for St. Petersburg, the first-class carriages of
+which were small and less comfortable than the average second class in
+any other country. Petersburg in late summer was quiet enough to be
+restful after our wanderings, while the cleanliness and comfort that
+attends sightseeing in the orthodox manner were, I am bound to admit,
+distinctly refreshing. But the essence of life lies in its contrasts,
+and after returning to London by means of the luxurious boats which
+ply from point to point among the beautiful islands of the Baltic, it
+was not many weeks before one looked back with longing to the simple
+life, the simple customs of a primitive people--veritably a call to the
+wild. Mongolia fascinated me in anticipation; in materialisation; in
+retrospect; and most of all in the prospect of going back again--some
+day.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+  Altai Berg, summit of, 144.
+
+  Archers, meeting of, 183.
+
+  Architecture at Mai-mai-ch’eng, 159.
+
+
+  Baltic Provinces, 192.
+
+  Bogdo, compound, structure of his, 177;
+    Mongolia, ruler of, 152.
+
+  Bogdo N’or, 146, 201;
+    sacred mountain of, 146.
+
+  Bohea, Fukien hills of, 77.
+
+  British Legation at Peking, 99.
+
+  -- perturbation at Mrs. Gull’s intentions, vii.
+
+  Buriats, Mongols, Russian nationalised tribe of, 114.
+
+  Burmah frontier, Chinese and, ix.
+
+
+  Cemetery, Chinese, at Mai-mai-ch’eng, 160.
+
+  Chang Chia K’ou, 34.
+
+  Ch’angch’un, 102, 103.
+
+  Chelyabinsk, author’s departure for, 233.
+
+  Ch’en Lung, pictures, collection of, 102.
+
+  Chihli, 7, 33, 43.
+
+  China, 64, 70, 72, 76, 82, 89, 92, 95, 101, 102, 159.
+
+  -- economic possibilities of, viii.
+
+  -- foreign policy of, ix.
+
+  -- form of salutation in, 25.
+
+  -- Mongolian petition to, xiii.
+
+  -- North, inns of, 36, 95.
+
+  -- Revolution in, xi.
+
+  -- unsettled political state of, 207.
+
+  -- war between, and Mongolia, xi.
+
+  Chinese at Urga, vii.
+
+  -- banquet in honour of baby, 24.
+
+  -- Foreign Office, 33.
+
+  -- Inner Mongolia, gradual invasion of, by, 40.
+
+  Choi Gin Lama, the residence of, 178.
+
+  Consortium, banking, for China, xiv.
+
+
+  Dance of the Gods, 185.
+
+  Dassak Da Lama, 4.
+
+  Dol-na-Gashi, horse-farm at, 89.
+
+  Dolo N’or, 30, 95, 153.
+
+
+  Empress of China, death of, in Peking, 84.
+
+
+  Foochow, 77.
+
+  Fukien, Bohea hills of, 77.
+
+
+  Gen Dung Geng, General, 199.
+
+  Gobi, viii, 17, 33, 48, 51, 89, 100, 101, 228.
+
+  Gold-mining, Mongolore Co. at Urga, 159.
+
+  Grant, Mr., murder of, at Ta-Bol, 207.
+
+  Great Divide, 229.
+
+  -- Wall, 2, 10, 23, 47.
+
+
+  Haarlem, 184.
+
+  Hankarawa, Inner Mongolia, largest temple of, 77.
+
+  Hankow, 57.
+
+  Han-o-pa Pass, 34, 39, 40, 95.
+
+  -- village of, 36.
+
+  Hara-Gol, 134, 138, 229.
+
+  Haraossu, 47.
+
+  Harbin, 102, 103, 104, 171.
+
+  Holy City of Mongolia, 145.
+
+  Horse-breeding at Dol-na-Gashi, 89.
+
+  Hsu Shu-cheng, General, xiii.
+
+  Hut’ukt’u, the ruler of the Mongols, 158, 175, 176, 180.
+
+
+  Inner Mongolia, 51, 73, 76, 77, 89, 99, 164, 228.
+
+  -- -- Chinese gradual invasion to, 40.
+
+  -- -- fuel of, 37.
+
+  -- -- headdress of, 162.
+
+  -- -- Northern Mongols of, 161.
+
+  Iro-gol, 231.
+
+
+  Japan and Mongolia, xiv.
+
+  -- future of, xiv.
+
+  -- troops of, in Siberia, xii.
+
+  Japanese-Russo War, effect of, ix.
+
+
+  Kalgan, 13, 2, 3, 6, 12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 30,
+          32, 34, 51, 58, 89, 90, 91, 100, 101, 145, 146, 207, 208.
+
+  -- consignment of wool and hides to, 41.
+
+  -- departure for, 5.
+
+  -- descent from heights north of, 97.
+
+  -- inhabitants, number of, 75,000, 13.
+
+  -- journey continued to, 10.
+
+  -- Pass, 97.
+
+  -- plunder of, by band of Hung-hu-tzes, 99.
+
+  -- Valley, road along, 97.
+
+  Kiachta, 118, 121, 211, 213, 220, 224, 227, 233.
+
+  -- convention of, xi.
+
+  -- cosmopolitan inhabitants, 116;
+    problem of departure from, 117.
+
+  -- Selenga River to, 111;
+    Troitze-Casavsk, division of, 115.
+
+  Kobdo, 199, 233.
+
+  Kolchak, Admiral, xii.
+
+
+  Llassa, occupation of, by Chinese, x.
+
+
+  Mai-mai-ch’eng, architecture of, 159, 160, 116, 156, 197, 199.
+
+  -- Chinese township of, 115.
+
+  -- halt at, 121.
+
+  -- situation of, 145.
+
+  Manchu dynasty, xi, 74.
+
+  Manchuli, settlement of, 104.
+
+  Manchuria, 64, 101, 102, 107.
+
+  Mission compound, life in, 17.
+
+  Mongol family, visit to, 54.
+
+  -- State, suggested creation of, xii.
+
+  Mongolia, 13, 17, 31, 33, 37, 40, 41, 56, 57, 67, 71, 73, 75, 77,
+            81, 82, 83, 97, 104, 107, 115, 144, 146, 147, 153, 158,
+            161, 162, 171, 172, 176, 177, 181, 184, 193, 201, 202,
+            208, 212, 233, 234.
+
+  -- Chinese policy in, viii.
+
+  -- departure for, 30.
+
+  -- Independence of, xi.
+
+  Mongolia, Inner, 51, 73, 76, 77, 89, 99, 164, 228.
+
+  -- -- fuel of, 37.
+
+  -- -- gradual invasion of Chinese to, 40.
+
+  -- -- headdress of, 162.
+
+  -- -- Northern Mongols of, 161.
+
+  -- Japan and, xiv.
+
+  -- North, 17, 161, 193.
+
+  -- -- bird and animal life in, 193.
+
+  -- Northern, headdress of, 162.
+
+  -- proper, arrival in, 52.
+
+  -- re-incarnation, believed in, 205.
+
+  -- Russia and, xi.
+
+  -- unsettled state of, 207.
+
+  -- Urga, capital of, 145.
+
+  -- -- religious centre of, 151.
+
+  -- war, rumours of, 16.
+
+  -- wolf hunt in, 64.
+
+  -- women’s position in, 173.
+
+  Mongolian frontier, war, rumours of, 3.
+
+  -- Government, order issued to Chinese by, 158.
+
+  Mongolians and Chinese, movements of, 43.
+
+  -- character of, ix, 165.
+
+  -- dress of the, 164.
+
+  -- Europeans, friendliness to, 192.
+
+  -- food of, 169.
+
+  Mongolore Gold-mining Co., headquarters of, at Urga, 159.
+
+  Moscow, 108.
+
+  Moukden, tombs of the Manchu Sovereigns, 102, 103.
+
+
+  Nank’ou Pass, 2, 6, 10.
+
+  North China, inns of, 36; 95.
+
+
+  Ost-Kiachta, 114.
+
+  Outer Mongolia, 171.
+
+
+  Pa-yen-chi-erh-ko-la, 4.
+
+  Peking, 4, 5, 10, 24, 43, 62, 66, 70, 79, 83, 87, 101, 102, 105,
+          117, 181, 185.
+
+  -- British Legation at, 99.
+
+  -- Chinese in, 3.
+
+  -- death of Manchu Empress in, 84.
+
+  -- departure from, 104.
+
+  -- first Parliament, inauguration of, 76.
+
+  -- to Kalgan, journey from, 6.
+
+  -- preparations for return to, 89.
+
+  -- return to, 99.
+
+  Peking-Suiyuan Railway, xv.
+
+  Punishment, barbarous methods of, 170.
+
+
+  Re-incarnation, belief of, Mongolians in, 205.
+
+  Republican cause, Shang Chodba, supporter of, 4.
+
+  Russia, 64, 115, 118.
+
+  -- alarm of, at Chinese policy, x.
+
+  -- and Mongolia, xi.
+
+  -- establishment of barracks on neutral front, 116.
+
+  -- treaties with, recognised by China, xi.
+
+  Russian Consulate in Urga, 158.
+
+  -- post, between Kalgan and Urga, 19.
+
+  -- retail trade of Urga, 155.
+
+  Russo-Japanese War, effects of, ix.
+
+
+  St. Petersburg, 108, 234.
+
+  Selenga River, journey down, 233; 111, 112.
+
+  Selenginsk, 114.
+
+  Semenov, General, xii.
+
+  Shang, Chia Hut’ukt’u, 4.
+
+  Shang Chodba, supporter of Republican cause, 4.
+
+  Shin Chi Men, 5.
+
+  -- -- -- Station, departure for, 5.
+
+  Shih Erh Chia, Shansi merchants, headquarters of, 159.
+
+  Siberia, 89, 101, 114, 119, 211.
+
+  -- Japanese troops in, xii.
+
+  Siberian Railway, viii, 103.
+
+  South Manchurian Railway, 102.
+
+
+  Ta-Bol, departure from, 90.
+
+  -- journey towards, 59.
+
+  -- meaning of, 76.
+
+  -- rumours of war, 88.
+
+  -- Mr. Grant, murder of, at, 207.
+
+  -- visiting at, 85; 61, 77, 89, 99.
+
+  Tartar City, 5.
+
+  Temple of the Gods, position of, 179.
+
+  -- -- -- -- main entrance to, 180.
+
+  -- -- -- -- procession to, 182.
+
+  Thibet, Chinese invasion of, x.
+
+  -- Independence of, suggested, xi.
+
+  To-la River, 145, 146, 177, 183, 212.
+
+  Transbaikalia, 233.
+
+  Trans-Siberian Railway, 2.
+
+  Troitze-Casavsk, 115.
+
+  Ts’am Haren, arrangements for, 178.
+
+  -- race meeting at, 190.
+
+
+  Ulliasutai, 233.
+
+  Ura Gol, crossing the, 125; 124.
+
+  Urga, 3, 17, 19, 43, 60, 62, 100, 104, 118, 121, 135, 141, 144,
+        145, 146, 147, 165, 167, 169, 174, 176, 183, 187, 190, 193,
+        195, 199, 201, 202, 204, 205, 206, 207, 209, 210, 211, 212,
+        214, 216, 221, 225.
+
+  -- capital of Mongolia, 145.
+
+  -- Chinese rule in, 156.
+
+  -- -- troops in, xiii.
+
+  -- departure for, 120.
+
+  -- -- from, 213.
+
+  -- division of main part of, 157.
+
+  -- headquarters of Mongolore Gold-mining Co., at, 159.
+
+  -- mixed alliances in, 173.
+
+  -- Pass, ascent of, 143; 217.
+
+  -- prison at, 194.
+
+  -- proximity to, 142.
+
+  -- punishments in, 170.
+
+  -- religious centre of Mongolia, 151.
+
+  -- Russian Consulate in, 158.
+
+  -- -- quarter of, 155.
+
+  -- -- retail trade of, 155.
+
+  -- Russians at, xi.
+
+  -- Ts’am Haren, sacred dance at, 175.
+
+  -- University buildings of, 151.
+
+  -- visit to heart of, 150.
+
+  -- West, 148; 156, 179.
+
+  -- wool from, 18.
+
+
+  Verkne-Oudinsk, 101, 107, 110, 113, 115, 117, 207.
+
+  -- main features of, 112.
+
+  -- remainder of journey to, 106.
+
+  -- scenery of, 144.
+
+  Volga, 105.
+
+
+  Wang Ch’ang Shan, flour mill of, 139.
+
+  Werkne-Udinsk, arrival at, 233.
+
+  West Urga, 148; 156, 179.
+
+  Wolf hunt in Mongolia, 64.
+
+  Women’s position in Mongolia, 173.
+
+
+  Yang River, 14.
+
+
+PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, ABERDEEN
+
+
+
+
+  Transcriber's Notes:
+
+  Italics are shown thus: _sloping_.
+
+  Variations in spelling and hyphenation are retained.
+
+  Perceived typographical errors have been changed.
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76610 ***
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+<body>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76610 ***</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="cover">
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f1">
+<a href="images/fig1big.jpg">
+<img src="images/fig1.jpg" alt="map">
+</a>
+<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Mongolia</span></p>
+<p class="caption"><span class="greentext">(click image to enlarge)</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<h1>A TOUR IN MONGOLIA</h1>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f2">
+<img src="images/fig2.jpg" alt="author">
+<p class="caption">THE AUTHOR</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p class="c big sp">
+A TOUR<br>
+IN MONGOLIA</p>
+
+<p class="c sp p4">
+<span class="med">BY</span><br>
+<span class="up">BEATRIX BULSTRODE</span><br>
+<span class="med">(Mrs. EDWARD MANICO GULL)</span></p>
+
+
+<p class="c sp p4 med">
+WITH AN INTRODUCTION BEARING ON THE POLITICAL ASPECT<br>
+OF THAT COUNTRY BY</p>
+
+
+<p class="c sp">
+<span class="large">DAVID FRASER</span><br>
+<span class="mid">(“TIMES” CORRESPONDENT IN PEKING)</span></p>
+
+
+<p class="c sp mid p4">
+ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR’S PHOTOGRAPHS AND A MAP</p>
+
+
+<p class="c sp p4">
+METHUEN &amp; CO. LTD.<br>
+<span class="lsp">36 ESSEX STREET W.C.<br>
+LONDON</span>
+</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="c sp p4 med"><i>First Published in 1920</i></p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<p class="c sp p4 more">DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION, TO</p>
+
+
+<p class="c sp"><span class="smcap">The Right Honourable Sir</span> JOHN NEWELL JORDAN</p>
+
+<p class="c sp more">G.C.I.E., K.C.B., K.C.M.G.</p>
+
+<p class="c sp more">H.B.M. <span class="smcap">Minister in China</span></p>
+
+
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="ph2">INTRODUCTION<span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</span></p>
+</div>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">M</span>RS. GULL (Mrs. Bulstrode as she then
+was) had the fortune, not to mention
+the pluck, to be in Urga at a time when
+history was being made for Mongolia. I well remember
+the perturbation in British official circles
+in Peking when this adventurous lady, at a time
+when the Chinese were fighting the Mongols,
+sought a passport to take her through the opposing
+lines, and so to the desired destination.
+Needless to say the passport was not forthcoming,
+whereupon Mrs. Gull, without papers, went off by
+herself, and succeeded in making a considerable
+journey which brought her perilously close to the
+unsettled region in which guerilla warfare was
+proceeding.</p>
+
+<p>Her experiences in Inner Mongolia made it
+plain that getting through to Urga meant a detour
+so long, expensive, and risky as not to be worth
+while. Accordingly, she and her sporting companion,
+Mr. E. M. Gull, a fire-eater in the pursuit of
+political developments, went round the back way
+by train and reached Urga from Siberia, no small<span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</span>
+adventure, considering the state of Mongolia at
+the time. What they saw Mrs. Gull describes in
+her own taking manner, and I need not say more
+about her book than that it is full of enlightenment
+as regards the character of both people and
+country. Mongolia is one of the few remaining
+great backwaters of the world, neglected because
+so remote from the sea and the civilisation arising
+out of marine communication. Nevertheless,
+through Mongolia, at no distant date, must be
+constructed that line which will link China with
+the Siberia Railway, and constitute part of the
+great trunk route joining Europe with the Far
+East.</p>
+
+<p>If those of us who dwell in the Far East are not
+very far out in our calculations, the Pacific is to
+be one of the great spheres of economic development
+in the future. In China there is illimitable
+scope for such development, and it is obvious that
+the question of the control of the quickest route
+between China and the West is one of much importance
+to all interested. Mongolia, moreover,
+is not all Gobi desert, nor is the Gobi a desert
+except in an unimportant degree. It is, in fact, a
+monster plateau, huge areas of which are capable
+of cultivation. At present, its pastoral inhabitants
+are like the Arabs of Mesopotamia, roaming the
+land with flocks and herds, but the land is a land
+of much promise. Its mineral wealth has hardly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</span>
+been examined at all, though gold and coal are
+known to exist. But, when we recollect the
+known mineral wealth of the whole of the
+mountainous region of the southern confines of
+Siberia, we realise that there is a corresponding
+region over the Mongolian border which is, in fact,
+part of the same mountain system. If the one is
+minerally wealthy, there is every reason to suppose
+that the other is similarly so. In thinking of the
+Mongolia of the future, then, it is only reasonable
+to suppose that, when penetrated by communications,
+it will develop out of all recognition, as
+compared with its present state.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Gull is particularly instructive in her
+analysis of Mongol character. The Mongol is
+simple, happy, good-natured, intensely lazy, and
+apparently entirely lacking in practical qualities.
+His very disposition is the cause of his past and
+present troubles. He is, in short, not fitted to
+compete with the outside world. Therefore, he
+has become the sport of other peoples, and the
+destiny of his land is being decided for him by
+foreigners. To begin at the beginning of recent
+developments, it is necessary to go back only to
+1911. The Japanese defeat of the Russians had
+set the Chinese thinking, and, suffering much
+from foreign pressure at home, they thought to
+assert themselves in distant lands. They initiated
+a forward policy on the Burmah frontier that gave<span class="pagenum" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</span>
+us trouble for some years, culminating in the
+Pienma incident. They invaded Thibet and occupied
+Llassa, establishing a degree of control over
+their vassal which they had never claimed before.
+They next turned their attention to Mongolia,
+where, as suzerain, they maintained only a few
+residents with trifling escorts. They planned to
+occupy Urga with a large force, and actually built
+huge barracks there. Meanwhile, Chinese colonists
+had been pressing into Inner Mongolia,
+buying land from the nomads and establishing
+great cultivated areas. Chinese bankers had been
+lending money at usurious rates to the simple
+Princes. All trade was in the hands of the
+Chinese. The Mongols became alive to the fact
+that China was acquiring a strangle-hold over them.
+They saw what had happened to their cousins of
+Thibet, and they became alarmed for their freedom,
+the overwhelming passion of the nomad.
+Russia, sore at the Japanese defeat, also, at this
+time, began to think of a future in which an arisen
+China might prove a danger, as Japan had proved
+dangerous. Chinese designs upon Mongolia
+might presage a threat against her at some far-off
+time. Accordingly it became Russian policy to
+block China in Mongolia, and, if possible, to set up
+Mongolia as a buffer State. To that end, Russian
+agents commenced a propaganda against the
+Chinese, emphasising the danger of absorption by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</span>
+China. Then arose a pro-Russian party in Urga,
+urging alliance with Russia as a protection against
+China.</p>
+
+<p>Then occurred the Revolution in China. The
+Manchus were dethroned. Then followed the
+expulsion of the Chinese from Thibet, and the
+declaration of independence by the Thibetans.
+Egged on by the Russians, the Mongols did likewise,
+justifying the breaking of the ancient connection
+by declaring that their allegiance had
+been to the Manchus, and that, as there was no
+more a Manchu dynasty in China, they no longer
+owed anything to China. Russia promptly recognised
+the new State, and signed political and
+commercial treaties with it. The Chinese refused
+to accept the <i>fait accompli</i>, and immediately made
+war upon Mongolia. Fighting was proceeding
+when Mrs. Gull was in Inner Mongolia, and later
+on at Urga. To make a long story short, the
+Chinese troops utterly failed to make any impression
+upon their opponents. Internal difficulties
+forced the Chinese to relinquish the struggle, and
+in 1919 was signed the tri-partite Kiachta Convention.
+This document recognised and confirmed
+the treaties made with Russia, gave Mongolia
+autonomy and a guarantee against the intrusion
+of Chinese troops and colonists into Mongolia.
+The effect of the Convention was to give Russia
+exactly what she wanted—a buffer State.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</span></p>
+
+<p>It is necessary now to jump to the date when
+Japanese troops, in agreement with the Allies,
+entered Siberia. The Japanese found it convenient
+to maintain at Chita, in Transbaikalia, the
+Cossack adventurer Semenov, a man with Buriat
+(or Mongol) blood in him. Admiral Kolchak
+dismissed Semenov from the command of the
+Trans-Baikal Division for malpractices, but the
+Japanese refused to allow his removal by force.
+Semenov, some months ago, inaugurated a pan-Mongol
+movement for the creation of a Mongol
+State, which should include the Mongols of Barga
+(a region of North Manchuria), the Buriats of
+Transbaikalia and Mongolia. The Hut’ukt’u, the
+Living Buddha of Mongolia, was invited to join,
+and, after consultation with the Princes, refused.
+Semenov next threatened invasion. It is difficult
+to know how much reality there is in Semenov’s
+movement, but it is still to the fore, and we are
+warned that developments from it may yet be
+expected. At any rate, it is established that the
+Japanese have been, and still are, closely associated
+with Semenov, and the assumption is that
+they are perfectly cognisant of the activities of
+their protégé.</p>
+
+<p>Returning to Urga, we find the Mongolians
+dissatisfied with the Russians, for a variety of
+reasons. They had done nothing for the economic
+development of the country, nor had they helped<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xiii">[Pg xiii]</span>
+to organise an effective military force. Russia, as
+a protector, having vanished, the Mongols were
+helpless, and they were genuinely alarmed by the
+threats of Semenov. They appealed to the
+Chinese for military assistance, and in the twinkling
+of an eye, as it were, 4000 Chinese troops
+were in Urga, commanded by a General Hsu Shu-cheng,
+the most aggressive of those militarists
+who have done so much to involve China in
+political and financial trouble. It is instructive to
+note that the forces commanded by Hsu were
+equipped with Japanese money, and that Hsu
+himself is regarded throughout China as being
+entirely in the hands of the Japanese. It will,
+therefore, be perceived that the Mongols were
+frightened into calling in Chinese troops by the
+actions of one protégé of Japan, and that the
+assistance, when it came, proved to be an army
+under another Japanese protégé! The unfortunate
+Mongols were soon to be enlightened as to
+the meaning of these manœuvres. A pro-Chinese
+party, since the collapse of Russia, had been
+urging a return to the Chinese fold, and proposed
+a petition to China cancelling autonomy and
+asking for re-instatement. The Hut’ukt’u and a
+majority of Princes and Lamas were opposed to
+this step. General Hsu Shu-cheng, on arrival at
+Urga, immediately pressed for signature of the
+petition, and, on refusal, delivered an ultimatum,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xiv">[Pg xiv]</span>
+threatening deportation to China of the Hut’ukt’u
+and the Premier if his demands were not complied
+with. He further threatened the Mongols with
+Japanese troops from Transbaikalia, which threat
+the Japanese officially denied in Peking had been
+made with authority. The Mongols, however,
+were browbeaten into submission; the Government
+signed the petition, and the President of China
+has since issued a Mandate denouncing the Kiachta
+Convention and other relative treaties, and granting
+the prayer of the Mongols to become again
+subject to China. Autonomous Mongolia, therefore,
+is no more. The Chinese plan military
+occupation on a large scale, and will shortly send
+three more brigades into Mongolia. If the Chinese
+were more successful in the administration of
+their own country, it might be said that the
+Mongols would be better off under Chinese rule
+than their own; for, as Mrs. Gull says, there can
+be no doubt that the Mongols are closely akin to
+their southern neighbours. But the question
+seems to be rather whether Japan is not to be the
+predominant power in Mongolia in the future.
+She openly claims predominance in China, and,
+for the time being, is predominant. Through
+China she may yet acquire control over Mongolia,
+or may arrive at the same result by basing action
+in Siberia. She has plainly told the powers
+seeking to form the banking Consortium for China<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xv">[Pg xv]</span>
+that she wishes Manchuria and Mongolia to be
+excluded from its operations, thereby indicating
+her desire for an exclusive position in Mongolia.
+Most significant is the announcement just
+published in the local press, and confirmed by
+other indications, that the Chinese Government
+propose the immediate extension of the Peking-Suiyuan
+Railway to Urga. The Chinese Government
+has no money for such an enterprise, and no
+possibility of getting it except by a foreign loan.
+This, above all, is a scheme that should be financed
+by the Consortium, yet it seems far more than
+likely that the railway will be built with Japanese
+money. And whoso builds the railway will
+assuredly be the master.</p>
+
+<p class="r large">DAVID FRASER</p>
+
+<p class="l"><span class="smcap">Peking</span>, <i>January</i>, 1920</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot p2">
+
+<p>A word of explanation as to the tardy appearance of this
+book in relation to the date of its completion seems necessary.
+It will suffice to say that the manuscript reached the publishers
+within a day or two of the declaration of war. The Introduction
+by Mr. David Fraser, “Times” correspondent in
+Peking, is designed to give a bird’s-eye yet comprehensive
+impression from the date of the visit to Urga up to the present
+time of the political relations existing between Mongolia and
+China.</p>
+
+<p class="r large">B. M. G.</p>
+</div>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xvii">[Pg xvii]</span></p>
+
+<p class="ph2">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</p>
+</div>
+
+<table>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Map of Mongolia</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f1"><span class="mid"><i>Inside front cover</i></span></a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Author</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f2"><span class="mid"><i>Frontispiece</i></span></a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><span class="mid">FACING PAGE</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Author on a Peking Cart at the Starting-point</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f3">14</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Great North Gate at Kalgan leading straight into<br>
+Mongolia</span></td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#f4">14</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Bird Fancier, Kalgan</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f5">28</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Servants in the Courtyard</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f6">28</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">With Dobdun, ready to start</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f7">34</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Crossing the Han-o-pa Pass</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f8">34</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Camel Caravan</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f9">58</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Lama in embryo and his little Sister gathering Argol</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f10">58</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Carrying Mails</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f11">60</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Well by the Wayside</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f12">60</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">He drew Reins to take Stock of the Foreigner</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f13">60</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Methuselah and his Daughter-in-law</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f14">70</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">One of the largest Camel Caravans I had ever seen</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f15">70</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Mongol Bride</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f16">72</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A typical Chakhar</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f17">74</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Two or three hundred Lamas squatting on the ground in<br>
+the sunny forecourt of a Temple</span></td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#f18">78</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Hankarawa</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f19">78</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Pastoral Scene</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f20">98</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xviii">[Pg xviii]</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Troitze-Casavsk</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f21">114</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Our Buriat Hostess</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f22">114</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Jamschik and his Tarantass</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f23">114</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Russian Samson separated the Combatants</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f24">128</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Lama and his Maiden</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f25">128</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Mongol and his Family on the Plains near Urga posed<br>
+for my benefit</span></td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#f26">142</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">He invited us to inspect his Caravan</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f27">144</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Summit of the Altai Berg</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f28">144</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Great White Temple, Urga</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f29">152</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Horse and Camel Market, Urga</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f30">152</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A beautiful Temple at Mai-mai-ch’eng</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f31">158</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Mongol Princess in her Official Robes, accompanied by<br>
+her two Ladies</span></td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#f32">158</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Bogdo’s Bodyguard</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f33">176</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Little Lama Boys play “Tag” round the Barriers</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f34">176</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Church and State: Mongol Prince and High Lama</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f35">180</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The great State Umbrella of Silken Embroidery</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f36">182</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">In an ecstasy of worship the Monks prostrate themselves<br>
+near the threshold of the Sanctuary</span></td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#f37">182</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Meeting of the Archers: they ranged themselves in<br>
+couples at the stances</span></td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#f38">184</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Scoring the Hits at the Butts</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f39">184</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Mask at the Dance of the Gods</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f40">186</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Mongol Princess wearing a Headdress of Gold</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f41">186</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Mongol Gladiator</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f42">190</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Wrestling Bout</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f43">192</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Young Lamas</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f44">192</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xix">[Pg xix]</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Prisoners at Urga, shut up for the remainder of their<br>
+lives in Iron-bound Coffins</span></td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#f45">196</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdc">(<i>Reproduced by permission of the Illustrated London News</i>)</td>
+  <td class="tdr"></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Tomb in Urga: Dagobas erected over Priests’ Graves</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f46">206</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Southern Soldiers</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f47">206</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Mongol Orton</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f48">226</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Continuing the Journey on Ox-carts, drawn by Ponies</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f49">226</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A remarkable One-year-old Boy</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#f50">228</a></td></tr>
+
+</table>
+
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</span></p>
+
+<p class="ph22">THE TALE OF A TOUR IN<br>
+MONGOLIA</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c sp">CHAPTER I</p>
+
+<p class="c less">
+“What is outside the world, daddy?”<br>
+“Space, my child.”<br>
+“But what is outside space then?”
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE fascination of the unknown, a deep
+love of the picturesque, and inherent
+desire to revert awhile to the primitive—these
+were probably some of the factors
+that made a little tour in Mongolia so essentially
+desirable to me at a period when, instead of
+turning my face homewards, I merely felt the
+compelling desire for more. The remark, “Such
+a pity you did not come here before the old order
+of things passed away,” had assailed my ears like
+minute-guns throughout my eighteen months in
+China, and here in Mongolia was at last an
+opportunity of meeting with mediævalism untouched.</p>
+
+<p>The most delightful, and by far the most
+interesting, expedition that lures the traveller for
+a couple of days from the gaiety of life in Peking,
+is that which leads him out to the Ming tombs<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</span>
+and a little farther on to meditate upon change
+and decay from the summit of the Great Wall.
+The Great Wall may well have been the ultimate
+goal of all his wanderings in China, a goal indeed
+at which to pause and reflect upon all he has
+learned and seen through the months spent in
+journeying up from the turbulent south to the
+heart of China in the north. But even so it is
+a little disappointing upon arriving at the Nank’ou
+Pass to be informed that this, impressive though
+it be, is merely a relatively modern branch of the
+Great Wall itself, added no less than 1700 years
+later to the original construction. To see the
+<i>real</i> Great Wall then, the wall that has withstood
+the ravages both of Huns and Tartars, the wall
+that played a not unimportant part in warfare two
+centuries before the Christian era—this furnished
+me at least with an excuse to get away to Kalgan;
+and in a visit to Kalgan, the starting-point for
+the historic caravans which penetrate the desert,
+across which prior to the existence of the Trans-Siberian
+railway all merchandise passed to the
+north, I foresaw the germ which might, with
+a little luck, blossom out into a little expedition
+across the frontier.</p>
+
+<p>At Dr. Morrison’s hospitable board, to which
+drift inevitably those travellers who want something
+more than the social round and the sights
+provided for the globe trotter in Peking, I was
+fortunate in meeting a couple of Norwegian missionaries
+who were good enough to make arrangements<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</span>
+for me to stay in their compound at
+Kalgan. The husband, after many years’ work,
+had abandoned the hope of converting the Mongols
+to Christianity, and had placed his unique knowledge
+of the people and of their country—doubtless
+in return for a handsome salary (on paper)—at
+the disposal of the new Chinese Government. In
+common with every one else to whom I mentioned
+my project of travelling in Mongolia, these good
+people did their best to put me off, but finally,
+seeing that I intended to carry out my idea willy-nilly,
+they helped me in making my plans, engaged
+the Chinese who accompanied me, and lent
+me the various accessories of camp life, etc., in the
+most generous manner possible.</p>
+
+<p>For some weeks past threatenings and rumours
+of war had been dribbling in from various points
+on the Mongolian frontier. Mongol soldiers (converted
+robber bands) in ridiculously small numbers,
+but effectual, as having been armed and trained by
+“the Urga government,” which to all intents and
+purposes is another name for Russian officers,
+were said to be marching south, “plundering
+everywhere and killing Chinese and Mongols
+without distinction”.</p>
+
+<p>The Chinese in Peking were doubtless growing
+uneasy, and the following paragraph which appeared
+about this time in the “Peking Daily
+News,” a Chinese-owned newspaper with an
+European circulation, suggests that the authorities
+were somewhat late in the field with their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</span>
+honours and encouragements for those Mongols
+who even now were perhaps flirting with presents
+of roubles from a more northern source.
+Already the storm was brewing past control:—</p>
+
+<p>“The Bureau of Mongolian and Tibetan affairs
+(in Peking) reports that a petition from the Shang
+Chia Hut’ukt’u has been received, stating that the
+Shang Chodba has supported the Republican cause
+and requesting that he be rewarded.</p>
+
+<p>“As Pa-yen-chi-erh-ko-la, the Shang Chodba
+and Dassak Da Lama, has been loyal to the Republic
+and is highly commendable, he is hereby
+permitted to sit on a Green Cart and to use
+Yellow Reins, as an encouragement.”</p>
+
+<p>No very highly imaginative mind is surely necessary
+to conjure up a scene of wonderful picturesqueness
+from the foregoing. To see a beaming
+“Da (or great) Lama” seated upon the shafts of
+his new Green Cart and driving a hefty white
+mule with his lately acquired Yellow Reins, feeling
+tremendously encouraged thereby in his loyalty
+to China, the recently established republic of Mongolia’s
+suzerain—it was worth while, <i>coûte que
+coûte</i>!</p>
+
+<p>Peking, so far as I was concerned, had more
+than come up to its reputation for kindness and
+hospitality. I had certainly put the former to the
+test during a short but sharp bout of illness I had
+encountered there, when I can only say that my
+room presented the appearance of a conservatory
+and that rarely an hour passed without some<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span>
+friendly “chit” of enquiry and sympathy. All
+the same, it had been much borne in upon me
+that any deviation from the narrow path to the
+golf links, or from the delightful picnics held in
+one or other of the recognised show places within
+hail of the Legation quarter, was looked upon
+with cold disfavour. Few things seem to cause
+a certain type of mind more annoyance than that
+one should care to travel on lines other than those
+parallel with their own.</p>
+
+<p>The less, I felt, that I discussed my projected
+plans the better. Therefore, informing merely a
+couple of friends who happened to be dining with
+me the previous evening—and who, by the way,
+did not in the least believe me—that I was off in
+the morning to Kalgan for a few days, I set forth
+for the Shih Chi Men station (the terminus of the
+Peking-Kalgan railway) at the break of one glorious
+day of April in 1913.</p>
+
+<p>Two ’ricshas were necessary for myself and a
+very modest amount of luggage, and to each
+’ricsha two coolies, for the Shih Chi Men is at
+the extreme north-west of Peking, to gain which
+one has to travel diagonally across the Tartar
+city, skirting the rose-coloured walls of the Forbidden
+City through which at that time the traffic
+was not allowed to penetrate. The road is bad and
+exceedingly dusty, and being the sole European
+upon arriving at the station, I had the inevitable
+uproar with my coolies as regards payment. One
+of the untoward influences that we Westerns seem<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span>
+to have exerted upon the Chinese coolie class is
+that they will always try to bully anyone who is
+at a disadvantage—a condition of affairs I never
+once experienced up country, off the beaten track,
+where I met with nothing but chivalry. The
+quartet followed me, shouting and yelling, on to
+the platform—I having taken good care not to pay
+them until my belongings were safely out of their
+hands—only to be buffeted and finally kicked out
+by the station officials.</p>
+
+<p>The journey from Peking to Kalgan has many
+points of interest, and I decided to break it half-way
+in order to pay a second visit to the tombs
+of the Emperors of the Ming dynasty, stopping
+overnight at the quaint little half-westernised hotel
+kept by a Chinaman at the foot of the Nank’ou
+Pass. There was not much choice as to the
+means of covering the eleven or twelve miles
+between Nank’ou and the tombs, and I decided in
+favour of the solitary pony instead of the unattractive
+looking mules, or the chair of the indolent
+which is carried on poles by four coolies. I had
+confidently expected to make the expedition in
+peaceful solitude; but not a bit of it. A pock-marked
+mafu, or groom, insisted upon accompanying
+me on foot, and it was soon evident that he
+set the pace not I. It was some little time too
+before I discovered the reason of the pony’s reluctance
+to trot except when we came to a strip of
+grass—he had four very tender feet, and my way
+lay across extremely rough country, along the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span>
+boulder—strewn beds of mountain streams and
+rocky little paths bordering the planted fields.</p>
+
+<p>The beautiful pail’ou of five arches was the first
+indication that we were nearing our destination,
+but even then there were two or three miles along
+the uneven and loosely flagged avenue of huge
+symbolical stone men and beasts, camels, horses,
+and lions standing in silent attendance on the
+spirits of the departed rulers. The tombs, temples
+in effect, whose golden roofs rise out from among
+deep green cypresses and masses of white blossom,
+are enclosed in many courtyards by high rose-coloured
+walls pierced by magnificent gateways.</p>
+
+<p>To the chief of these gateways I rode, followed
+by my mafu, and offering the customary fee of
+twenty cents, I proposed to enter. Seeing that
+I was alone, the doorkeeper, an unusually tall man
+even for Chihli, began a bullying argument for
+more money. Not wanting to waste time, I
+compounded finally upon something like three
+times the proper sum, and he opened the great
+doors and admitted me into the courtyard. Here
+amidst the most dreamily beautiful surroundings
+of pure white marble terraces, weathered memorial
+archways, steps carved in low relief and the
+mellowed rose-coloured walls always for background,
+I felt very much at peace with the world
+as I sat and rested in the crook of a blossom-covered
+tree after my hot and wearisome ride.</p>
+
+<p>Greatly refreshed by the beauty and stately
+solitude of the scene (to say nothing of a delicate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span>
+little lunch which had been so thoughtfully provided
+for me by my excellent host of the Ching
+Erh hotel), I now felt inspired to explore further,
+and walked over the grass to the entrance of the
+chief temple. Dropping from the clouds (or, what
+seemed more likely, appearing from the nether
+regions) I was again confronted by the same burly
+janitor who rather threateningly barred my way
+and demanded more money. I had now not even
+the support of my pony boy. I had no intention
+of being baulked of the whole object of my long
+ride, neither did I mean to be bullied into paying
+the rascal all over again. Seeing that I was not
+inclined to give in, the man began to lock up
+the great doors, which usually stood open, when,
+turning as though I were going away, I made a
+sudden move, pushed past him, and was inside
+the temple. He was very angry and for the
+moment nonplussed, swore at me volubly, casting
+aspersions doubtless upon my ancestry in
+true Celestial style. Quite unexpectedly, however,
+he stopped, and before I had time to realise his
+intention, he slammed to the door and turned the
+key in the lock.</p>
+
+<p>I made a desperate effort to escape, but I was
+too late. I was now in pitch darkness and as to
+when or whether he, my gaoler, intended to let
+me out, I did not know. I could hear him walking
+off and clanking his great keys triumphantly as
+he went down the flagged path. I was far too
+angry to be in the least frightened, and of all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span>
+things, I had no intention of letting the ruffian
+think that he had scored. Recovering a little
+from my surprise, I groped my way about among
+the dusty gods and devils, thinking that probably
+there would be some other exit, and finally
+came upon a low door at the back of the high
+altar. This gave way to my pushing, and opened
+on to a narrow staircase up which I stumbled,
+eventually finding my way out on to the top of
+the open flat roof of the first story of the temple.
+Here at least I could see where I was. Moreover,
+I was in the open air, and I could solace myself
+with the truly lovely view of the surrounding
+temples and the thickly wooded country side.</p>
+
+<p>Not a soul was to be seen. The wretch evidently
+meant me to stay there until I thought better of
+my sins. For an hour or two I wandered about
+my prison, spending part of the time in speculating
+as to whether my gymnastic ability would enable
+me, with the help of friendly branches, to scale
+forty feet or so of rough wall and thus to escape.
+I decided, however, that to risk a broken limb was
+not worth while, and that to spend a night in a
+temple after all would not kill me. There would
+probably be other visitors turning up next day.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the afternoon was drawing in, and
+the wonderful colouring around me was rendered
+even more beautiful by the golden haze from the
+setting sun, when I observed three figures walking
+among the trees in the garden below. They were
+evidently in angry altercation. These were my<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span>
+mafu, the burly ruffian (who was gesticulating
+wildly), and a well-dressed and dignified Chinese
+gentleman. Without losing a moment, I scrambled
+hastily down the dark staircase again, and arrived
+in the temple just as a flood of light was admitted
+by the door being flung open.</p>
+
+<p>To my astonishment, my unknown friend in
+need addressed me in pidgin English, “Mississee
+mafu talkee my one bad man shutee up Mississee.
+Chlist! (I am afraid that he believed this to be
+quite a polite expression of amazement) Chlist!
+What bad man!” The “bad man” was grinning
+nervously while all this was going on, and in order
+to show him unmistakably what my opinion was
+of his behaviour, I gave him a resounding smack
+on the head as he released me. Even then he
+had the impudence to ask me for a “cumshaw”
+(tip), and in order that he might not lose face
+among the little crowd which had collected at the
+outer gateway, he only laughed as he rubbed his
+head and listened to a tremendous dressing-down
+delivered by the three of us. I decided as I rode
+back to Nank’ou in the twilight that I would
+report the matter to my Legation in Peking, but
+later on I thought better of it. They might have
+said, “I told you so!”</p>
+
+<p>Starting early next morning, I continued my
+journey to Kalgan, the line—the only one in
+China constructed, financed, and managed by the
+Chinese—following the course of the Nank’ou
+Pass, tunnelling below the Great Wall a few miles<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span>
+farther on. Travelling second class, from the
+viewpoint of mixing with the people rather than
+from economical motives, the difference in the
+price of tickets being a mere couple of dollars, I
+had for my sole European companion an old
+Swedish missionary who told me that our fellow-travellers
+were consumed with curiosity about
+me. They assumed, to begin with, that my
+husband must be luxuriating in the first-class
+portion of the train, and that among the English
+it was the custom to treat the wives as inferiors.
+Then, seeing the missionary and myself in conversation,
+they jumped to the conclusion that I
+was wife of the latter, and that I very properly
+only spoke to him when he addressed me. Finally,
+on this being denied, they settled down to the idea,
+on seeing me take a large volume from my bag
+and read it (J. O. P. Bland’s absorbingly interesting
+“Events in China” by the way) that I was
+a great scholar, and that as such, I of course
+preferred the simple life. That an ordinary
+Englishwoman should travel second class needed
+an explanation in their eyes.</p>
+
+<p>A wealthy young man, he who had asked most
+of the questions, entertained me greatly during
+the journey. His clothes were very beautiful,
+a long silk-damask lavender coat, fur-lined,
+surmounted by a handsome riding coat in plum-coloured
+broché. His great treasure seemed,
+however, to be a large silver watch, which he
+kept pulling out in the hope that I might be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span>
+looking at him. Its going capacity must have
+been precarious for he always listened to it, and
+after looking carefully all round it, he generally
+smelt it as well. It was here that I really learned
+to appreciate the practical use of the two-inch
+thumb-nail which one frequently sees adorning
+the hands of the upper-class Chinese. My friend
+of the lavender coat had purchased a roast duck
+from an itinerant vendor at a wayside station,
+and commanded my admiration by the dexterity
+with which he cut up and ate it, his thumb-nail
+alone serving him as a carver. He was hungry,
+and he finished that bird at a sitting.</p>
+
+<p>The scenery on the way up was unexciting
+until a tempestuous sunset lighted up the rugged
+mountains, making their snow-covered peaks
+appear like flaming watch-towers until the sun
+went down, and with a snap it all suddenly
+changed. Even in this cold weather we met
+hundreds of coolies travelling down in open
+trucks, many of them equipped with motor goggles,
+which the dust storms of this part of the world
+render an absolute necessity.</p>
+
+<p>We were two hours late at Kalgan, having
+taken nine hours on the way (one can hardly
+expect a sudden transformation as regards
+punctuality to result from a change of government
+in China), and I spent a somewhat weary
+time in the dimly lighted carriage wondering
+what on earth I should do if the missionaries
+failed to meet me at the station. Knowing that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span>
+he would be of no use should I manage to get
+away to Mongolia, I had taken no “boy” with
+me, and I doubted very seriously that my few
+words of Chinese would carry me far in this
+frontier town, which, I had heard, would be a
+babel of tongues, and where among 75,000 inhabitants
+the European population, Russian and
+German traders all told, did not number more
+than about forty or fifty.</p>
+
+<p>However, no sooner had I landed on the platform
+at Kalgan than a cheery voice, unmistakably
+American, hailed me in a friendly manner.</p>
+
+<p>After giving the required information concerning
+myself and my business to the courteous Chinese
+policeman, who, notebook in hand, awaited the
+train for such purpose, the pleasant young missionary,
+guessing that I was both tired and hungry,
+and not in the least put out on account of waiting
+over two hours on the platform for my train to
+come in, bundled me and my belongings into a
+Peking cart. The latter taking up most of the
+room inside, I sat cross-legged on the shaft, the
+Chinese driver sitting hard against my back on
+the opposite side; my host walked alongside of
+us.</p>
+
+<p>There had been the one rain of the season on
+the previous day and what under normal conditions
+had been a foot or so of dust, was
+now morass, and we passed through slush that
+reached to the axles of our wheels. “Tuck up
+your feet,” sang out the missionary as he took an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span>
+unanticipated plunge into deep water from the
+pseudo-sidewalk; but I was prepared. This,
+strange to say, was my first experience of riding
+in a Peking cart, society in the capital having
+long ago voted them out-of-date and even in cold
+weather preferring the ’ricsha. True, I found
+their appearance of comfort somewhat of a delusion
+but their picturesque trimness I had always
+greatly admired. These strong, springless carts
+of light wood have solid axles, the ends being
+inlaid with a device in metal, and upon these the
+wheels revolve directly. The pale blue linen
+covers, with little windows made of black gauze
+on either side, all outlined with black velvet,
+present an attractive and cleanly appearance, as
+does also the heavy white leather harness with
+bright brass or silver buckles and ornaments,
+which embellishes the handsome black mule, who,
+at first sight, looks almost too powerful for his
+job.</p>
+
+<p>Our road lay across the river Yang through the
+heart of the city now, at nearly 10 o’clock, dark and
+silent as the grave—silent that is, save for the
+creaks and excruciating grindings of the wheels
+as the great boulders sent the cart high up on
+one side only to slither down into the slush on
+the other, the mule coming to a standstill from
+time to time in order to let things right themselves.
+The main street of Kalgan is scarcely a
+credit to the community. After half an hour or
+so of strenuous effort to keep my seat, we turned
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span>abruptly out of a narrow alley into the compound
+of the mission at which I was to board, and
+were welcomed by my hostess, a pretty girl
+in her early twenties, at the door of one of the
+two bungalows.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f3">
+<img src="images/fig3.jpg" alt="cart">
+<p class="caption">THE AUTHOR ON A PEKING CART AT THE STARTING POINT</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f4">
+<img src="images/fig4.jpg" alt="gate">
+<p class="caption">THE GREAT NORTH GATE AT KALGAN LEADING STRAIGHT OUT INTO MONGOLIA</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2>CHAPTER II</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“A great army may be robbed of its leader, but nothing can<br>
+rob one poor man of his will”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">—<i>Chinese proverb</i>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap1">I</span> SHALL always associate Kalgan with waiting
+for things to happen. Rumours of war
+were constantly coming to one’s ears, news
+of camel caravans on the point of starting for
+Mongolia reached one periodically. Nothing ever
+seemed to culminate. The missionaries, of whom
+there were some half a dozen, were very much
+opposed to my making an expedition alone into
+Mongolia, and with my limited knowledge of
+Chinese it was impossible without their help to
+make any plans for doing so. My hostess, a
+delicate little thing, very much younger than her
+colleagues, stood my friend throughout and did
+what she could to make enjoyable my stay
+within the somewhat circumscribed area of the
+compound. Deeply interested in English manners
+and customs her conversation had an almost
+childish <i>naïveté</i>, and circled around our royalties
+and other great English names that had come to
+her ears. She was, she told me “tickled to
+death” at the idea of entertaining an English
+lady, but was frankly disappointed that I bore no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span>
+title. As a small girl, she said, she had longed to
+be English, and loved reading about lords and
+ladies (we now know the market for a certain
+class of light fiction), and persuaded her mother
+to call her “Lady Ermyntrude”. “Is it true,”
+she would ask me, “that if English girls don’t
+marry the first man that asks them, they never
+get another chance?”</p>
+
+<p>Life in a mission compound can never fail to
+interest the speculative mind, and although waiting
+about for plans to resolve themselves is a
+severe tax on one’s patience, my days at Kalgan
+are recalled with considerable pleasure notwithstanding.
+What I wanted was an excuse for
+taking a camel cart (which appealed to me as
+being exceedingly comfortable as well as a great
+novelty), and I watched a couple in course of
+preparation for the ill-fated expedition of Messrs.
+Grant and Henningsen who were to journey across
+the Gobi to Urga on telegraph service, which
+for the former was to end so disastrously. Camel
+carts bear a certain amount of similarity to the
+Peking cart, with the following differences: they
+are higher from the ground, having larger wheels;
+they are covered in entirely, having a window and
+door on the near side; they are of such ample
+dimensions that one may stretch oneself at full
+length and live in them in considerable comfort.
+In fact, I have in North Mongolia seen a man,
+woman, and two children camping very comfortably
+in one cart.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span></p>
+
+<p>One might well be asked what there was to
+prevent me from hiring a camel cart—a very
+natural question when one lives in Europe and
+where money will compass most of one’s desires.
+Not so in the East. A solitary camel cart was
+held to be unsuitable for my purpose, for a solitary
+camel cart wandering about Mongolia without
+escort would undoubtedly attract an undue
+amount of attention. Camel carts usually form
+part of a caravan.</p>
+
+<p>Kalgan, with its population of some seventy or
+eighty thousand souls, grown out of all proportion
+to the picturesque little walled-in city in its midst,
+the unusual temples, among which a couple of
+Mohammedan mosques came as a surprise to me,
+its many theatres, and little shops containing much
+that was interesting and novel, would under ordinary
+conditions have satisfied me for weeks; but
+the nearness to the goal of my desire to some
+extent spoiled it for me, rendering it tantalising
+and me restless. Not once, but many times, did
+I find my way on foot through the thick dust of
+the narrow streets to the wide road leading out
+to the north gate, the Mongol quarter of the city.
+There one met hundreds of camels padding softly
+along in the thick dust laden with immense bales
+of wool from Urga, picking their way over
+boulders polished by the traffic of 1200 years.
+The camels are in their most disreputable condition
+in April; their wool, being in process of
+shedding, left big bare patches, and made them<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span>
+look singularly naked in places. I loved to see
+their stately walk, and the stolid Mongols sitting,
+pipe in mouth, on their backs. Fine beasts.
+Fine men. To see, too, the Mongols themselves
+at their journey’s end, galloping recklessly along
+this terrific road, raising clouds of dust in their
+wake, stirrupless as often as not, their ponies
+slithering and stumbling over the concealed
+stones, recovering themselves in a manner perfectly
+marvellous. They are wonderful horsemen.
+A Russian post plies between Kalgan and Urga,
+suspended now, however, on account of the unrest
+in the country, and the Mongols cover the
+800 miles in eight days, relays of ponies waiting
+for them every twenty miles or so. They ride at
+full speed during the entire journey, which averages
+ordinarily from thirty to thirty-two days.</p>
+
+<p>Small wonder that the wares in the innumerable
+little stalls which line this great north road should
+be dirty and unattractive at first glance. One
+must quickly consume one’s proverbial peck of dust
+here; everything in this Mongol market is thick
+with it; hair, clothes, food, and all. But what is
+the use of troubling about what cannot be helped?
+A medicine stall was one of the many at which I
+lingered, and from curiosity asked the prices of
+things that were displayed as “cures”—snakes,
+lizards, and similar small fry were kept in bulk.
+A rhinoceros tusk I gathered to be a charm of
+prophylactic nature, but a furry foot altogether
+baffled my intelligence. The vendor was by no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span>
+means anxious to sell, but being pressed for a
+price said that I might have the object for fifteen
+dollars, i.e. thirty shillings. I discovered later
+that it was the pad of a bear, and esteemed of
+great value from a medicinal point of view. I
+refrained from purchasing it. Two charming
+souvenirs, however, I did pick up in Kalgan—a
+tiny green jade wine cup, and, as a mascot, a jade
+thumb ring guaranteed to bring me great good
+luck on all my wanderings. They were of the
+colour of rivers bringing down the snow from
+mountains, and moreover were bargains at a dollar
+and half a dollar respectively.</p>
+
+<p>Everything that one could conceivably want for
+the great journey across the desert is to be bought
+from this market, the last link with civilisation,
+and few caravans push straight through this busy
+quarter without a halt for a hank of rope, or
+another string of dried persimmons, or such like.
+To the gregarious Celestial it must indeed be a
+mighty effort to break away from Kalgan and start
+upon that lonely trek so fraught with dangers and
+possibilities unknown.</p>
+
+<p>The principal theatre in Kalgan is in this neighbourhood,
+and more than once I got drawn into a
+crowd of five or six hundred people in the triangular
+piece of waste ground near the north gate. The
+theatre was a pretty little temple, the stage open
+to the heavens on three sides and raised eight or
+ten feet from the ground. The play is as a rule,
+I am told, composed of scenes and episodes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span>
+from the Chinese classics. Be that as it may, the
+actors, with handsome flowing beards, are as unlike
+the modern Chinese as well could be.</p>
+
+<p>Every one whose business was not too pressing
+strolled within seeing and hearing distance—there
+were no barriers or enclosures. At the back of
+the crowd, which, with less than half a dozen
+exceptions, was composed of men and boys,
+numbers of ponies and mules waited patiently, and
+among them from their Peking carts a few women
+obtained a good view while not being too much in
+evidence. Kalgan is conservative in preserving
+her traditions concerning the deportment of
+women. Vendors of all sorts of things, from dusting
+brushes to cigarettes and pea-nuts, took life
+easily on the outskirts of the laziest, pleasantest,
+smelliest crowd I have ever been in. In the background
+too were several barbers plying their trade,
+their victims gazing at the play while their heads
+were shaved or their <i>queues</i> combed and plaited.
+The quaint mediæval play, with great clashing of
+cymbals, and lunging about with swords and
+scimitars, was lively enough to please the audience
+tremendously. The whole scene was picturesque
+to a degree, what with bright clothes and action
+on the stage, with a background of the mountains
+surrounding Kalgan, and nearer still the sombre
+old wall of many, many centuries, and again, in
+front of it, the flat and gabled roofs of Chinese
+houses and shops with their ornate fronts and
+gaudy signs and symbols, the gilded lettering in two<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span>
+languages as befits the meeting-place of China and
+Mongolia. Nearer still the handsome mules with
+their richly decorated saddle-cloths, passed and re-passed,
+and now and again a string of dromedaries
+pursued the even tenor of their way, undisturbed
+and unattracted by the babel of the multitude.
+The colour scheme was blue, blue, blue, in every
+conceivable tone, and for variation, soft maizy
+yellow, prune, and mauve—the distant mountains
+deeply purple.</p>
+
+<p>The old men of China are not the least pleasing
+of its inhabitants. They are so kindly, so dignified,
+so placid, and so really venerable. They stood
+around, dozens of them, with their pet birds in
+pretty wooden cages singing away all the time,
+often held on the flat of their hands high up
+and out of danger from the crowd. The cages
+are frequently finely carved and beautifully made,
+the little seed and water-pots of good porcelain,
+and the fittings of wrought silver or brass. In
+Kalgan a foreign woman is indeed a <i>rara avis</i>, but
+Chinese manners can be beyond reproach. The
+people crowd round one, and certainly in the city
+one never moved without a small following. But
+here, weird object that one must have seemed,
+they seldom made themselves objectionable or
+jeered. One cannot help reflecting upon the
+difference there would be in the case of a Chinese
+visiting a northern English town in his Oriental
+dress and with his stumbling speech. How, one
+wonders, would the crowds treat him?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span></p>
+
+<p>In pleasant contrast with the dust of the city
+were certain riding expeditions which took me,
+accompanied by my host, to the foot hills surrounding
+Kalgan, to inspect at close quarters the
+ruins of the Great Wall and the watch-towers
+which punctuate it every 200 yards. Whether
+he did it to test my riding capabilities or my
+courage before starting me off on my lonely tour,
+I never quite discovered, but vivid in my recollection
+is the climbing my host and I did on one
+occasion. By no means an accomplished rider,
+the second day out on a new pony is always more
+agreeable to me than the first, but when I saw
+how the little black beast that had been lent to me
+and which I was subsequently to take up-country,
+could scale precipitous banks, keep its feet among
+loose shale lying on hard slippery surfaces, creep
+along narrow, sloping tracks round mountain sides—places
+along which one would never have dared
+to lead, much less ride, a horse at home—my
+confidence developed considerably. In parts it
+was too dangerous to remain in the saddle at
+all, and I shall never forget one thrilling moment
+when my pony insisted upon turning right round
+upon our sole support, which was a bit of a tuft
+overhanging a chasm some forty to sixty feet
+deep. His heels sent the stones flying down,
+and I momentarily expected the whole thing to
+give way, and that we should roll down hopelessly
+mixed-up, sheer on to the rocks below.</p>
+
+<p>In connection with the extensive railway works<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span>
+at Kalgan and the projected extension of them,
+is quite an important little community of well-educated
+Cantonese, with some of whom I became
+acquainted by means of an introduction given to me
+in Peking by my friend, Dr. Wu Lien Teh, whose
+research work, especially in connection with
+plague, is well known throughout the scientific
+world. Several of these Cantonese are Christians
+and are keen supporters of the work carried on
+by the missionaries amongst their employees. My
+introduction was presented at a fortunate moment,
+for a feast to celebrate the arrival of a first-born
+son was just then in course of preparation, and
+the presence of a foreign lady apparently lent to it
+a welcome novelty.</p>
+
+<p>The proud father of the baby, Dr. Shi, knew
+a certain amount of English, and, in consequence,
+I launched out alone, on to that sea of unknown
+etiquette and custom, feeling a certain degree of
+security. What was my horror on arriving at
+the house to find my host anxiously awaiting my
+somewhat tardy arrival in order to introduce me
+to the sixteen ladies already present so that he
+might hasten off to preside at a similar banquet
+to his men friends at a restaurant near by. Not
+one word of anything but the Cantonese dialect
+did the ladies speak, and my carefully prepared
+sentences of felicitation in the Mandarin tongue
+were in consequence discounted. The company,
+among whom was the baby’s mother, greeted me
+with much ceremony and cordiality. The precise<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span>
+form of salutation varies in different parts
+of China, and here the correct bow resembles
+nothing so much as the action of surreptitiously
+pulling up one’s stocking. Dr. Shi was careful
+to explain to me that I was the guest of honour,
+and, after showing me where to sit, he departed
+and left me to the tender mercies of the little
+ladies. A little later on, however (and this
+suggests the innate kindness and consideration
+of the Chinese) his heart must have smote him,
+and thinking that chopsticks might be a source
+of embarrassment to me, he flew round from the
+restaurant with a borrowed plate, spoon, and fork.
+As a matter of fact these latter embarrassed me
+far more than the chopsticks had done, for my
+big plate afforded my two generous hostesses
+opportunity to overwhelm me with food which
+the ordinary little bowl would never have contained.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the round table were set no fewer than
+sixteen dishes, and these I gathered were only
+accessories to the huge bowls which were brought
+in from the kitchen, whence there appeared at
+least a dozen distinct courses. Eggs served in
+cochineal-stained shells were, it was explained
+to me, in special honour of the new baby, as also
+was the ginger of the same glad hue. The feast
+was heralded in by the customary joy sounds
+of China; crackers innumerable and deafening
+being fired off immediately outside the room in
+which we were assembled. Little leaden kettles<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span>
+of “the dew of the rose leaf” (samshui) were
+first of all brought in, and each of us was assisted
+to at least a thimbleful. Then began the “Ch’ing
+chih fan” (“invite you to eat”). Everybody
+“ch’inged” everybody else, and we proceeded
+at the same time to help one another to dainty
+morsels with our own chopsticks. Instead of
+drinking to each other in occidental fashion, the
+Chinese “eat to each other,” and when one’s
+neighbour planks a toothsome morsel of bird
+or fish into one’s bowl, it is etiquette to rise
+slightly in one’s chair and say “thank you”.</p>
+
+<p>Chopsticks, by the way, are like golf—it is
+largely a game of chance and temperament.
+Sometimes one is on one’s game, and one manages
+to put away a substantial meal; at other times one
+“can’t hit a ball,” and one leaves the table feeling
+rather empty. The meal had not progressed
+far before we were on terms of great conviviality,
+not to say familiarity. They all laughed at
+the way in which I mismanaged my chopsticks (I
+declined to give in and use a spoon and fork) and
+tried to teach me. It was of no use, I was not
+“on my game” that evening. Next to me was a
+dear old soul in a handsome black velvet coat; I
+think she must have been a near relation on account
+of the way in which she took me under her wing,
+from time to time popping a choice morsel, a
+chunk of pine-apple, or a gigantic prawn, straight
+into my mouth. At intervals dishes that I really
+enjoyed came on, buried eggs, bearing striking<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span>
+resemblance, by the way, to plover’s eggs, crisply
+baked apricot kernels, roast duck (horribly underdone),
+and the seeds of the lotus in syrup, being
+among the most palatable. Half-way through the
+feast my large plate was a horrible sight and full
+of things I felt I could not possibly swallow.</p>
+
+<p>A charming girl opposite me leaned forward and
+gave me a generous helping of some nice-looking
+whitish stew which nearly made me sick when I
+tried it. It was like eating a very slimy sponge.
+To cover my confusion, and with, I thought, great
+aplomb, I managed with some difficulty to perch
+a beautiful morsel of very raw duck on my chopsticks,
+which, instead of eating myself, I unselfishly
+plunged into the mouth of my old friend on
+my left. The attention nearly choked her. She
+did not expect it of me. But pleasant relations
+were established for the evening, and I received
+several invitations to other dinner parties as a
+result. There was a good deal of giggling at my
+foreign ways, but these, I imagine, were less productive
+of sheer glee than my attempt to adapt
+myself to their customs.</p>
+
+<p>At half-time or thereabouts, a woman servant
+of the coolie class, very slatternly, and with her
+own baby upon her back, distributed cigarettes,
+some cheap American brand in a tin, picking them
+out with her dirty fingers and pressing them upon
+us in a most hospitable way. All the servants,
+in fact, urged us on behalf of their master and
+mistress to eat and drink. From time to time<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span>
+they would quietly sneak a cigarette for themselves,
+and go to stand in the doorway to smoke it. One
+of them was quite an old woman, and it amused
+me to watch her casually take one from the table
+and light it between her withered old hands with
+her back turned to the company. Our hostess,
+for whom with two or three other guests there
+was not room at our table, came in periodically
+to see how we were progressing, and would hand
+us one or other of the delicacies persuasively.
+She peeled a Mandarin orange for the old T’ai-t’ai
+next to me. The latter took it, but at once passed
+it on to one of the urchins who were hanging
+around for tit-bits. It seemed ungracious, but I
+suppose it was quite polite. A great tip to be
+remembered at a Chinese feast is this; entice
+one of the many small children always present to
+your side. You have then, conveniently situated,
+a willing receptacle for the superfluous dainties
+that have been heaped into your bowl, besides
+which you gain merit for your “warm-heartedness”
+towards the dear little souls.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f5">
+<img src="images/fig5.jpg" alt="bird">
+<p class="caption">A BIRD FANCIER, KALGAN</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f6">
+<img src="images/fig6.jpg" alt="servants">
+<p class="caption">SERVANTS IN THE COURTYARD</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Between ten and half-past—we had sat down
+soon after 6 p.m.—I felt that the time had arrived
+when I might reasonably, though reluctantly, take
+my departure; but the attempt to do so was met
+by much protestation and conversation, and it
+was borne in upon me that my old friend the
+T’ai-t’ai was inviting me to go back with her to
+her house there to “sit-a-sit”. I agreed with
+pleasure, and hand-in-hand we sallied forth in the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span>moonlight, together with her daughter-in-law and
+her little daughter, a pretty little soul, this latter,
+who was the proud possessor of an English watch
+bracelet as well as several distinctly western
+rings and bangles. Their house was not very far
+off, and when we arrived the old lady ushered me
+into a bedroom where her husband and son were
+reading in somewhat <i>négligé</i> costume. They
+quickly invited me into the guest room and, hastily
+donning their long coats of ceremony, joined us.
+The father spoke a little English—he had once
+stayed for three weeks in England, coming over, I
+understood, in the train of Li Hung Ch’ang; the
+son, with whom I had a most illuminating conversation
+on Chinese topics, had been educated in
+England, and another son was at that time an
+undergraduate at Caius College, Cambridge.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER III</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">
+—<i>Chinese proverb</i>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">A</span>LTHOUGH I never found Kalgan lacking
+in interest and amusement, I began to feel
+at the end of a week there that my prospects
+for setting out for Mongolia did not seem
+to improve. The place teemed with soldiers, and
+reports came in of impending battles between
+Russo-supported Mongols and troops from the
+south which were daily being poured over the
+frontiers. What to believe, and how much reliance
+to place upon such information no one
+seemed to know, but the persistency of one report,
+of a battle that had lasted six hours at Dolo
+N’or, when the Chinese had to retire in the face
+of superior numbers, found justification later on
+in obvious fact.</p>
+
+<p>My long-looked-for opportunity came at last,
+however, in the shape of a Finnish missionary
+who wished to journey westward into Mongolia,
+and who expressed himself as not only willing
+but pleased to allow my little caravan to join his
+for our mutual protection. My preparations at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span>
+once sprang into activity. A Peking cart drawn
+by a strong mule, and a most unpromising pony
+were hired for me, together with a ruffianly looking
+Chinese, said to be trusty, at any rate brave
+enough to face the terrors of Mongolia, at the
+rate of four dollars a day. Hearing that we were
+to make an early start, I finished every detail
+of my packing overnight, and was up betimes
+next day, lingering, however, long in the last bath
+that I was likely to get for many a long day.
+I ought by that time to have known that such
+plans as those for leaving early seldom materialise,
+but I felt anyhow that I would not be the one to
+cause delay. Instead of 8 a.m. we were under
+weigh soon after noon.</p>
+
+<p>I had employed the meantime greatly to my
+own advantage. When I went out to inspect
+my cart, the driver had already more than half
+filled the interior with his own and his companion’s
+belongings, sheep-skin coats of doubtful cleanliness,
+sacks of fodder, and what not. It is quite
+as typical of Chinese as of menials in other
+countries, to find out by such experiments just
+how far they dare to go, or how much their
+employer will stand—which comes to the same
+thing. My own theory is that if you do not at
+the very outset assume the whip-hand, you will
+get more or less bullied by those who should
+be obeying your orders. I used my own discretion
+here, therefore, and ordered everything
+to be turned out of the cart, including a sort of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span>
+mattress-cushion which lined it. They did as
+they were told without a murmur, and laughed
+at my persistence and their own discomfiture
+in the clouds of dust they raised.</p>
+
+<p>I then had my own things carefully packed
+in, bedding in a hold-all, cushions, water-bottles,
+as well as such articles as my camera, books, and
+a certain amount of food. My box of provisions,
+including tinned meat, Bovril, tea, butter, cheese,
+rice, oatmeal, as well as a plentiful supply of
+walnuts and raisins, and a small box containing
+a change of clothes, were roped securely on to
+the tail of the cart; fodder for the animals being
+placed on the top of them. Eggs and potatoes
+I could rely upon buying from the Chinese for at
+least three days out from Kalgan. The Southern
+Mongols themselves have nothing at all to sell,
+living as they do on koumiss (soured milk), tsamba
+(a sort of crushed barley), and mutton when they
+can get it.</p>
+
+<p>A tiresome lad of eighteen or so made his appearance
+during the morning, and I foresaw that if he
+came too that I should be bothered with him
+as well as the driver sitting on the shafts of
+my cart and thus obscuring my view when I was
+inside. The missionaries spoke sternly to both
+boy and driver to this effect and told them
+plainly that I refused to allow the former to
+accompany me. They acquiesced; but before
+we were clear of the city the lad turned up again
+smiling, and later on I discovered that he was the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span>
+owner of the little red demon of a pony, and also
+that he was a very necessary adjunct to my
+party.</p>
+
+<p>The caravan consisted of the Finnish missionary,
+his two open carts drawn by two horses in each,
+myself in my Peking cart drawn by mule and
+pony, a saddle pony, three Mongols, two of
+whom were mounted—who, wishing to return to
+their homes on the borders of the Gobi, attached
+themselves to us for safety, and four Chinese to
+attend to the animals—nine of us in all. We
+were accompanied to the city gates by some of
+the missionaries. The government offices, the
+Tartar general’s yamen, the Bureau of Foreign
+Affairs, as also the offices in which business
+connected with Southern Mongolia is transacted,
+are all situated in this part of the city. There
+was some question as to whether I might not
+have difficulty in passing the Chinese guard at
+the gates of the city, since I possessed no passport
+even for travelling in Chihli, much less for
+leaving that province and penetrating into the
+wilds of Mongolia. Knowing quite well that had I
+applied for a passport it would have been refused,
+I decided—upon the advice, I may say, of an
+official high up in the Chinese government service—to
+dispense with that formality. The missionaries,
+good sportsmen that they were, intended
+to acquaint the Chinese Foreign Office with the
+fact that I was in Mongolia <i>after my departure</i>.
+The Chinese, however, take but little account<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span>
+of women, and I passed through the north gate
+on the high road to the goal of my ambition.</p>
+
+<p>Riding, I soon found, was not much fun over
+this rocky way. I had yet to grow used to trusting
+entirely to luck, and to letting the pony have
+his head under such conditions. Moreover,
+knowing nothing of the country one was obliged
+at first to keep within sight of the caravan, which
+hereabouts went forward at a snail’s pace. I
+therefore spared my pony for a spell, and giving
+it to the boy to lead, I retired to my cart to lie
+down, and with my feet sticking out over the
+mule’s back, meditate on what was before me.</p>
+
+<p>The road for ten miles or so follows the mud-coloured
+valley where the clusters of houses so
+tone in with their surroundings that one might
+think that they did so upon the theory of protective
+adaptation to their environment. From the
+rocks and boulders with which the road is strewn
+it might well have been a river-bed until the
+steep ascent of some 2400 feet from the level
+to the Chang Chia K’ou, the Kalgam, or Han-o-pa
+(meaning handle) Pass begins. The carts here
+began to progress in brief spasms, and the
+gradient, together with the general conditions,
+made this a somewhat painful experience. Leading
+our ponies, we were able by devious paths
+to discover rather smoother going, and the
+number one Mongol, a charming old man of
+some position, who, having no mount, now seated
+himself (without invitation) on the shaft of my
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span>cart, remarked that “The great one must be
+possessed of extraordinary strength to be able
+to walk like that”. I learned subsequently that
+a horseless Mongol is just about as much use
+as a seagull with its wings clipped.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f7">
+<img src="images/fig7.jpg" alt="start">
+<p class="caption">WITH DOBDUN, READY TO START</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f8">
+<img src="images/fig8.jpg" alt="pass">
+<p class="caption">CROSSING THE HAN-O-PA PASS</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The missionaries had arranged that this same
+old Mongol, Dobdun, by name, should act “boy”
+for me on the way up, i.e. boil water, peel potatoes,
+and spread my bedding at night. I liked him
+very much, but mainly for the sake of his picturesque
+appearance, for besides being very stupid,
+extremely lazy, and knowing not one word of
+Chinese, he had not the foggiest notion as to
+how to do anything for my comfort beyond getting
+me hot water, and smiling in a paternal way,
+when, to relieve my beasts, I got out and walked
+up the steep places.</p>
+
+<p>By the time we were at the top of the pass,
+between five and six thousand feet above sea level,
+it was dusk. We had taken our time over the
+ascent, an icy wind was blowing, and the scene
+before us was desolate indeed. Earlier in the
+day and under normal conditions the traffic here
+is very considerable. Not so at the time of my
+visit, for beyond being overtaken by a couple of
+Mongols trotting swiftly along on camels, who
+drew rein for a few seconds just in order to pass
+the time of day, or, more literally perhaps, to put
+the inevitable question as to our destination,
+before they flew on again, we encountered never
+a soul. I had never seen camels trotting before<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span>
+and they reminded me of leggy schoolgirls fielding
+at cricket, for they scatter their limbs about in
+just such an ungainly way.</p>
+
+<p>The explanation of the solitude of the pass
+was forthcoming and obvious enough later on,
+when, wheeling into the compound of a Chinese
+inn, we were told that the whole place had
+been commandeered by the Chinese troops.
+It was all very ghostly and mysterious, not
+to say formidable. Under a bright starlit sky,
+the wind was blowing a gale, and the prospect
+of sleeping in the open under such conditions
+by no means appealed to me. Han-o-pa is a
+fair-sized village, but it was only after our fourth
+attempt that we could gain admission to an inn.</p>
+
+<p>The inns, which are to be found only for thirty
+or forty miles north of the frontier, are similar
+to all inns in North China. Built of mud, the
+one-storied sheds line three sides of the compound
+wall. There are stone posts in the compound
+to which horses and mules are tied up; in the
+centre is a collection of carts and bales of hides
+and wool all carefully covered up, while occupying
+a corner to themselves a trio of camels was
+tethered. We entered the main room, the
+kitchen, two-thirds of which was taken up by
+the k’ang, a low platform some two feet from the
+ground, covered with a thick layer of hardened
+mud or boards, and heated from underneath by
+means of a small furnace. It is one man’s work
+to keep the fire going. With one hand he pulls<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span>
+a sort of bellows in and out, with the other he
+feeds the fire continuously by means of a ladle
+filled with dried horse-droppings. From this time
+onward, argol, the Mongolian word for this dried
+manure, was the only description of fuel I saw
+until my return to civilisation. There is neither
+wood nor coal (unless, maybe, the latter is hid
+from sight in the bowels of the mountain) in Inner
+or South Mongolia. The k’ang was crowded
+with Mongols and Chinese as well as a number
+of soldiers, and I learned that the tiresome boy
+who had insisted upon accompanying me was
+regaling the company with a personal description
+of the foreigner whom he had in tow, more
+especially how that she had had four shots on one
+occasion before her pony would let her mount;
+a feat which seemed to give rise to great hilarity
+when they saw me—the relation of eleven stone
+to the size of the pony, I imagine.</p>
+
+<p>In the room adjoining were several Chinese
+traders, and I had to make my choice between,
+sharing a k’ang with these gentlemen and the
+Finn, or sleeping under the stars in the courtyard
+in my cart. Throwing convention to the winds
+(one really could not trouble about Mrs. Grundy
+in Mongolia some five or six thousand feet above
+sea level with a thermometer well below zero
+and an icy blast blowing from the snow-covered
+mountains), I decided upon the former without a
+moment’s consideration, and arranged a sheet of
+oilcloth with my cork mattress on the top on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span>
+opposite side to that on which the Chinese had
+already stretched themselves. It was late, and
+we lost no time in preparing and eating our
+chief meal of the day. We sat cross-legged on
+our beds, a low Chinese table between us, while
+we ate. We were tired, and very hungry, and to
+save unpacking, I shared my provisions with the
+missionary. Having travelled a good deal about
+Mongolia, he knew the people and the language
+well, and I found him an interesting companion
+in consequence, delightfully ready to pour information
+out to so keen a listener as I was. I am
+afraid that he thought me quite mad to wish to
+make such a journey from motives other than
+evangelisation or business, and he told me later
+that he was greatly surprised at my powers of
+endurance, and that I could take things as they
+came with such equanimity. Moreover, at the
+end of the journey he expressed his willingness
+to allow me to join his caravan some time in
+the future on an extensive tour over several
+months in the western region of the country—which
+was, I felt, the greatest compliment he could
+have paid me.</p>
+
+<p>“You won’t be able to undress, you know,”
+the Finn informed me, as he nervously watched
+me divesting myself of my heavy riding boots;
+for which superfluous information I politely
+thanked him. I had had no intention of doing so
+in this motley company. One’s toilet on such an
+occasion was both brief and simple. I travelled<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span>
+in the only garb possible in that country, a cross-seat
+riding habit, and at night merely divested
+myself of my outer garment in order to put on a
+long sheepskin coat, took off my stock, crammed
+a fur cap down over my ears, and tried to sleep.
+I found this last somewhat difficult on those hard,
+hard k’angs, with a regular orchestra of snores
+bellowing forth from my neighbours on all sides.
+The boards do not accommodate themselves to
+one’s pampered body, and I used to wish there
+were less of me to ache.</p>
+
+<p>It was not much after 4 a.m. when the Mongols
+woke us next day, and we drank our tea and ate
+some bread and butter to an accompaniment of
+much shouting as they persuaded the animals
+into their harness. There was little inducement
+to wash, for the top of the Han-o-pa Pass was
+intensely cold in April, and what tried me more
+than anything else was the difficulty of keeping the
+skin on my hands and face in that harsh, alkali-laden
+atmosphere. Our Chinese companions, who
+had put us through a perfect catechism before
+we all settled down for the night, we left still
+snoring on the k’ang. Our joint hotel bill for the
+accommodation, and including the tip to the man
+who sat up all night at the bellows, was somewhere
+in the neighbourhood of 3½d., but being
+foreigners, we doubtless paid more heavily than
+did the Chinese.</p>
+
+<p>Our early start was somewhat discounted by
+the breaking down of one of the wagons half an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span>
+hour afterwards on the most exposed part of the
+mountain. The wind cut us through and through,
+and the sight of the snow and ice on all sides did
+not tend to make us feel any more comfortable.
+(One learns patience and philosophy in this country,
+if one learns nothing else.) My beautiful old
+Mongol presented his advice to the carters as to
+repairing the wagon, and then proceeded to climb
+up into the other one, thrust himself deep down
+amongst the cargo, and drawing all the available
+covering over his head became, for the time being,
+lost to view. I quickly adapted myself to my environment
+and followed his example, thus beginning
+the day by endeavouring to finish the night,
+and sleeping in my cart until nearly nine o’clock,
+when, calling up my pony, I had a delightful ride
+until our next halt, at tiffin time.</p>
+
+<p>The day had by this time resolved itself into a
+condition of springlike perfection, and we had
+passed from the rugged barrier of the Han-o-pa
+region to a grassy plateau, finding a good deal of
+the land as well under Chinese cultivation, crops
+of wheat and oats just beginning to show themselves
+above the ground. By their assiduity, their
+perseverance, thrift, and industry, the Chinese
+here are persistently pressing onward and forward
+into Inner Mongolia, year by year a little more
+and a little more, colonising, and putting land
+under cultivation, ploughing up great tracts which
+perhaps the previous year had furnished grazing
+ground for Mongol live stock, their clusters of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span>
+little mud houses forming landmarks in the bare
+landscape.</p>
+
+<p>Long strings of ox-carts were here winding
+their way up towards the mountains—unhappy-looking
+oxen with a vast amount of endurance,
+wretched little carts carrying a load of three sacks
+apiece, weighing from six to seven cwt. They
+travel very slowly, and on this narrow rocky road
+they are compelled to stop and make way for
+everything that either passes or meets them.
+The creaking of a string of ox-carts, sometimes as
+many as a 100 to 150 tied to one another, once
+heard will never be forgotten. The wheels are
+fixed on to solid axles which revolve with them and
+the rest of the structure is the personification of
+simplicity. Held together by wedges, the one
+thing needful to its well-being is water. Allowed
+to become too dry, the ox-cart falls to pieces.
+Kept properly damp, it forms the most serviceable
+of all means of transport across the desert.
+The camel for celerity, but slow and sure is
+decidedly the characteristic of the ox-cart.</p>
+
+<p>The first camel caravan we saw bearing hides
+and wool down to Kalgan met us hereabouts.
+The Mongols at the rate of one to every fifteen
+beasts, stared and stared at me and my pony,
+while I returned the gaze with interest. The
+staying power of camels is proverbial. The caravans
+in Mongolia march from twenty-five to
+twenty-eight miles a day, averaging a little over
+two miles an hour, for a month, after which the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span>
+animals require a two weeks’ rest when they will
+be ready to begin work again. Their carrying
+powers all the same do not bear comparison with
+the ox-cart. The ordinary load for the Bactrian,
+or two-humped Mongolian, camel is about 2 cwt.
+For riding purposes, though despised by the horsey
+Mongol, a good camel may be used with an ordinary
+saddle for seventy miles a day for a week in
+spring or autumn without food or water. The
+points of this particular species are a well-ribbed
+body, wide feet, and strong, rigid humps. The
+female camel is pleasanter to ride and generally
+more easy-going than the skittish young bull camel,
+who in the months of January and February is
+likely to be fierce and refractory. I have heard
+it said that if a camel “goes for you” with an open
+mouth, you should spring at his neck and hang on
+with both legs and arms until some one renders
+you timely assistance and ties him up. Generally
+speaking, however, they are not savage. They
+make as though to bite, but seldom actually do.
+The female might, in fact would, try to protect
+her young; and the cry of a cow camel when
+separated from her calf is as pathetic as that of
+a hare being run down by the hounds.</p>
+
+<p>It was at a somewhat superior inn we drew
+rein at midday with the double object of resting
+our animals and refreshing ourselves. The
+pleasant Chinese who owned it invited us into his
+private apartment, a relatively clean room, and it
+was here that I made my first cooking experiment<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span>
+on the journey. In a biscuit box, which when we
+set out contained a dozen eggs, was discovered
+the early development of an omelette. Weeding
+the eggshells carefully away from the same, I
+replaced them by chips of cold ham, thus in course
+of time producing what I considered to be a dish
+worthy of the excellent <i>chef</i> to whom I had so
+lately said farewell at the Wagon-lits hotel at
+Peking.</p>
+
+<p>Alas! for my well-meant effort. The Finn felt
+extremely unwell after partaking thereof, but in
+a subsequently confidential moment he explained
+to me that the omelette had unhappily not harmonised
+with a vast amount of cake which he had
+during the morning eaten in the sad intervals of
+wakefulness while I was riding and he was snoozing
+in my cart out of the wind. The innkeeper
+kept us company, of course, during the meal, when
+he gave us the latest intelligence concerning the
+movements of the Mongol and Chinese troops.
+All along the caravan route to Urga, he told us,
+the Mongols were removing their camps and
+flocks to remoter quarters for fear of being
+pillaged; and even down here, little more than
+a day’s journey from the frontier, most of the
+colonists were ready to pack up their ox-carts at
+an hour’s notice and hurry away to the security
+of Chihli.</p>
+
+<p>The day, which had begun with so much promise,
+developed badly, a high wind sprang up from the
+north, and, laden with alkaline saturated sand<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span>
+lashed one’s face into a condition of soreness.
+Riding, as we were, straight into the teeth of it,
+our progress was slow and the hour late when we
+made for an isolated and miserable little compound
+in which to pass the night. So few wayfarers
+had we seen during the day that it seemed reasonable
+to suppose that we should have the place
+almost to ourselves; but not at all. A most unholy
+looking crew of Chinese and Mongols appeared to
+occupy every possible corner when the door was
+opened, and we were told baldly that there was
+no room for us here at all. There was, however,
+no alternative but to remain, and with a little persuasion
+on the part of my old Mongol, a few of his
+fellow-countrymen betook themselves to a less
+comfortable shed which the innkeeper had considered
+unworthy of sheltering us. Some of them
+remained, and there was, of course, nothing to do
+but to make the best of it. The Finn told me that
+he thought he could get the Chinese men turned
+out as well if I liked, but this would have been a
+desperately unsportsmanlike thing to do, and I felt
+that one could not possibly allow a missionary so
+to prejudice his profession. I could see that he
+was relieved by, and much appreciated, my point
+of view, which I must say seemed merely an elementary
+action in “playing the game”.</p>
+
+<p>There were some nine or ten of us to share
+the room, and two of the Mongols looked most
+awful villains. I always slept with my revolver
+under my pillow—most people did, I fancy, during<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span>
+those troublous times—and I was amused at the
+Finn remarking, “You should put your trust in
+God rather than in firearms”. I told him that I
+quite agreed with him, but that I had always
+believed that intelligence combined with a straight
+eye had been given to us with a view to helping
+ourselves in tight corners. This same excellent
+man, be it related, never himself travelled without
+a revolver in his pocket and was at this time
+the proud possessor of a shot gun into the bargain.
+It struck me afterwards that he was not unreasonably
+a little nervous as to whom I might
+shoot were I to wake up suddenly frightened in
+the night. As a matter of fact, the known possession
+of firearms in such a country is in itself
+a certain amount of security.</p>
+
+<p>Getting away in the early morning was always
+rather a business. My stubborn mule had sometimes
+to be coaxed and threatened alternately for
+half an hour before he would allow himself to
+be put between the shafts of the cart, and finally
+our caravan would get under weigh, disentangling
+itself from the apparently inextricable confusion
+of the crowded compound.</p>
+
+<p>Mongolian dogs, roused by the crackings of
+whips, keeping up an incessant growl, breaking
+into a savage bark should the unwary visitor
+venture too near; weary ponies with drooping
+heads tethered to the stone pillar in the middle;
+ill-conditioned pigs nosing about everywhere in
+somewhat hopeless search of provender; and,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span>
+as souls apart, the stately camels in picturesque
+groups looking superciliously on, snarling and
+snapping as their owners urge them to kneeling
+posture to receive their loads—such is the composition
+of the inn compound as one hangs around
+shivering in the chilly dawn, ready to hoist oneself
+into the saddle and be off the moment that the
+caravan is on the point of starting. It does not
+need great experience in this sort of travelling
+to be firm in seeing one’s entourage set out
+before one departs oneself.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“Those who know when they have enough are rich”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">
+—<i>Chinese proverb</i>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE countryside at this point, some seventy
+miles north-west of the Great Wall,
+begins to lose its cultivated aspect and
+to develop into great stretches of undulating
+prairie as far as the eye can see, which would
+have been ideal for riding had one had no retarding
+caravan to be kept in view. By this time I had
+grown quite attached to my pony, for although
+obstinate, as Mongolians must always appear by
+comparison with Europeans, he had a very fair
+mouth and was evidently used to being well
+treated. The monotony of the plains was broken
+not far from the last sign of civilisation, Haraossu,
+a place composed of a temple and a few
+houses, to reach which we had the excitement of
+fording a river, the carters making no end of
+a bother about this. First of all they persuaded
+one of the younger Mongols to divest himself
+of his trousers in order to wade out to ascertain
+at which point the animals would best be able to
+negotiate it. He walked into the water gingerly
+enough, the others all pouring advice into his
+ears at the tops of their voices, and after a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span>
+considerable delay and a ridiculous amount of
+fussing and preparation—the water in the deepest
+part did not come up to our axles—we got over
+with great yelling and shouting. The little red
+pony in my tandem flew over as though demons
+were after him, nearly upsetting the cart by
+rushing up the steep bank on the opposite
+side. My saddle pony went over quietly enough
+with me on his back, I having reassured him by
+letting him drink a little water first, and having
+therefore no difficulty at all.</p>
+
+<p>The last mud hut, a private house—there being
+no more inns on this side of the Gobi desert—was
+reached long after dark. It was a truly depressing
+habitation, the only virtue of which was that it
+was almost deserted save for an old man and
+his two sons. They may have had relatively
+comfortable quarters, but all that they could
+be induced to give us was the merest little outhouse,
+a lean-to shed, from the roof of which
+hung cobwebs heavy with the dust of ages.
+Warmth or comfort there was none. Stacked
+round the walls and in the corners were harness,
+primitive agricultural appliances, a collection of
+fusty bags, and a mass of rubbish. When the
+dim light of our candles penetrated to the rafters
+we saw hanging therefrom a number of skins of
+sheep, goats, etc., some of them quite recently
+disassociated from their carcasses and in sanguinary
+condition, as well as a skeleton of what I
+diagnosed as a cat.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span></p>
+
+<p>It was a horrible place and so appallingly dirty
+that one felt desire neither to eat nor rest in it.
+Packed up on the tail of my cart, however, I
+carried a canvas camp-bed of which I had not
+expected to make use before arriving at Ta-Bol.
+Here it was a great comfort, for at least it raised
+me above the dust-level of the crowded k’ang,
+and one did one’s best to become oblivious of the
+surroundings as soon as possible. The owners
+of the place were evidently very nervous, and
+a murmur of conversation kept me awake most
+of the night. They would tell us nothing, however,
+and pretended ignorance of all that was
+taking place in the country. Seeing some fowls,
+we persuaded them with some difficulty to sell
+us a few eggs, which they assured us were perfectly
+fresh. To my surprise, however, in applying
+the test of spinning them round, they whirled
+like a teetotum, and I learned for the first time
+of the native custom of hard-boiling them as soon
+as they were laid.</p>
+
+<p>We awoke to very cold weather next day, and
+I found to my sorrow that my pony had developed
+a swollen back and that it would be unwise to
+saddle him. Starting by leading him, I tied him
+up later on to the tail of the cart just in front of
+my own, thinking to keep an eye on him as we
+followed. But this was too undignified for the
+game little beast, and with a toss of his head he
+broke his reins and went off at a gallop, heading
+for the detestable quarters we had left an hour<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span>
+earlier. This delayed us considerably, for we had
+already made a late start owing to my stupid old
+Mongol first breaking the strap which held my
+bedding together and then so packing everything
+into my cart that I could not possibly get into it
+as well. The entire contents had to be disgorged
+and re-arranged.</p>
+
+<p>By this time I had got my carters pretty well
+into shape, and they were beginning to realise
+that things had to be done in my way, that the cart
+was mine <i>pro tem.</i>, and that I was not out for their
+sole amusement. In a country where women are
+wont to take such an entirely back seat it needs
+time and perseverance to establish this novel
+state of affairs. As I had foreseen, there being
+two of them to one of me, they tried in a mild
+way to bully me by seating themselves on my
+shafts at the same time, thereby, when I was
+inside, completely obscuring my view, and putting
+me on a level with the native women who are
+neither seen nor heard. It was, too, only by
+considerable firmness that I established a right
+to my favourite possession, a large sheet of
+Chinese oilcloth. My bed was spread upon it
+at night, when it made a sort of neutral territory
+between myself and the many insects by which I
+was likely to be attacked. By day it shielded my
+baggage from the dust and occasional rain storms,
+as well as gladdening my eyes when they rested
+upon its brilliant imperial yellow. Not once but
+many times did my driver try to annex this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span>
+precious oilcloth in order to protect his fodder
+therewith.</p>
+
+<p>With two of the Mongols who accompanied us
+for their own convenience, I had very little to do.
+One of them, a son-in-law of the older man, was
+a mere youth, very under sized, of seventeen or
+eighteen, whose wedding, I learned later, was the
+great event of a few months previously in Inner
+Mongolia. The father-in-law treated him with
+much respect and consideration, for the boy is
+rich as Mongols go, and was returning from Kalgan
+with saddle bags filled with purchases for his bride;
+most uncomfortable they must have been, since
+they pushed out his short legs from the saddle in
+a most ludicrous way. Starting an hour or so
+later than we did, they were handed a packet of
+letters which arrived just after I left, as well as
+a dollar’s worth of stamps. They remembered
+to give me the letters a day or two afterwards,
+but I can only conclude that they kept the stamps
+to trade with next time they visited Kalgan, for
+I saw them never at all.</p>
+
+<p>Mongols pure and simple inhabited the hut at
+which we drew rein for our horses’ midday rest,
+and girls with bright chubby cheeks and large
+dark eyes came out to stare at us. After this
+between us and the Gobi there was nothing but
+boundless prairie with an occasional group of
+Mongol yourts, or tents. The air here was so
+clear that the eye carried for a considerable
+distance. Far out on the horizon one may see<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span>
+objects bobbing up and down, and, like a ship
+upon the high seas the sails of which come into
+view long before her hull, these objects gradually
+resolve themselves into figures, and a couple of
+Mongols mounted upon camels dawn upon one’s
+view, swinging along at a great pace, the wind
+at their backs. They are the pioneers of a storm
+and great clouds of dust are rolling up behind them.
+The unusual sight not only of a whirlwind, but of
+a whirlwind walking across the prairie was very
+striking. It revolves at a tremendous rate upon
+its own axis as well as making swift progress. In
+the high wind we found hereabouts, I several
+times saw two or more solid columns of dust
+rising high into the air, apparently stalking each
+other over the plains. Another curious and
+equally amusing sight was that created by lumps
+of camel wool, which, becoming detached, are
+blown along gathering loose dry grass and more
+wool on their way, gradually forming huge
+boluses and trundling along in the high wind with
+an amazing velocity.</p>
+
+<p>We were now in Mongolia proper, and the
+language of the people we met appealed to me
+as infinitely more musical and harmonious than
+the throaty sounds that emanate from the mandarin
+speaking Chinese. Early in the day we arrived
+at the home of my old Mongol, Dobdun, and here
+in his yourt we were evidently not only eagerly
+expected, but received a very hearty welcome
+from the wives, a lama priest, brother of our host,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span>
+and from a number of young people and children.
+There were several yourts clustered together,
+and outside the ubiquitous Tibetan prayer flags
+fluttered in the wind. As we rode up, we were
+greeted by a volley of barks from several ferocious
+dogs, and in Mongolia one soon learns never to
+dismount until some one from the yourt comes
+out to control them. When within shouting
+distance of the settlement at which one wishes
+to stop, one should stop and call out the word
+“Nuhuoi” (Mongolian for dogs), which as a
+rule brings out not only the dogs themselves, if
+they are not already on your tracks, but the
+inhabitants of the yourts who are bound by law
+to control them.</p>
+
+<p>The yourt is an umbrella-like framework of
+trellis-wood covered with rather thick felt, which
+when new is perfectly white, and in travelling in
+cold weather I ask for nothing better than to be
+housed in one of these. Some 14 to 18 feet in
+diameter, they are circular in form, having a dome-shaped
+roof. The door, which is originally painted
+red, faces always south or south-east. Upon
+entering the yourt, you are confronted by the
+little family altar, on which is arranged a Buddha
+and perhaps several smaller and subsidiary gods,
+together with sundry little brass cups containing
+offerings of one sort and another. In front of the
+altar is a low Chinese table, and round the sides
+of Dobdun’s yourt were some fine old red lacquer
+chests for clothes and valuables. Most of these<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span>
+had nice old Chinese locks, but on one of them
+the Finn recognised an European padlock as his
+own which he lost when travelling a year ago with
+this same Mongol. He did not call attention to
+the fact; it would be of little use, for Mongols pick
+up and pocket things when the opportunity occurs
+and think nothing at all of it.</p>
+
+<p>Dobdun’s yourt was exceptionally well-equipped.
+The ground was covered with semi-circular mats
+of very thick white felt with a device <i>appliqué</i> in
+black as a border. Some handsome skins were
+also strewn about. The centre of the yourt was
+occupied by an iron basket of flaming argol, the
+smoke from which escaped through a circular
+opening in the roof. Our host, my quondam
+“boy,” being a man of means, had some handsome
+cushions for his guests to sit upon, and on these
+we squatted cross-legged. There is a considerable
+amount of etiquette to be observed in visiting
+a Mongol family, and the first thing to be
+remembered is of significant importance. Just
+as one does not carry an umbrella into a London
+drawing-room, neither should one take a whip or
+stick into a Mongol yourt. To do so is tantamount
+to an act of aggression, and the proper
+thing is to lay them on the roof outside as one
+enters. Once inside, the usual palaver, as in
+China, takes place as to where one shall sit, and
+it is interesting to reflect how very nearly related
+after all in some respects our own manners are to
+those of the Asiatics. It would surely be a very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span>
+modern young person who would plump himself
+into the largest armchair before his elders and
+betters were disposed of.</p>
+
+<p>To the left of the fire are the seats of the lowly,
+and the inevitable invitation to “come up higher”
+necessitates a certain amount of elasticity on the
+part of those unaccustomed to sink gracefully to
+the ground into a cross-legged position. Should
+cramp ensue from squatting thus, the visitor should
+remember that to sit with his feet pointing to the
+back of the tent is a heinous breach of good
+manners. If stretch they must, it should be towards
+the door, not the altar. On the other hand,
+if the foreigner divests himself of his headgear,
+which among the Mongols is not customary, he
+must place it higher up than, that is, on the altar
+side of, himself. If the word of greeting has for
+the moment been mislaid, as in my own case it
+invariably was, bows and smiles carry one a long
+way all the world over. Friendliness, but never
+to the point of permitting the least familiarity,
+seemed to me in the East to pave the way as a
+rule.</p>
+
+<p>With their warm welcome, a good deal of curiosity
+is naturally combined, and I did not flatter
+myself that it was “love at first sight” which
+made the ladies of the family so anxious to sit
+near to me. Again, as the Chinese do, the Mongols
+like to finger one’s clothes, get a close look
+at our “funny white eyes and light hair,” and if
+one wears a ring, they are as amused as children to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span>
+be allowed to try it on. But Dobdun, having had
+some experience of Europeans was not going to
+allow his womenkind to over-reach themselves,
+and their share in the entertainment was to initiate
+me into the mysteries of Mongol tea-making, and
+keep the fire going, and then, literally, to take a
+back seat and allow the superior sex to converse.</p>
+
+<p>Having finally settled into such seats as befitted
+the relative dignity of the visitors, an interchange
+of snuff-bottles took place, but in the case of
+Mongols alone it would be the caller who would
+offer his to the host and then to the others present.
+Of all their personal possessions, there is nothing
+more highly prized by the Mongols throughout
+the country than their snuff-bottles, which, in the
+case of rich men, are frequently made of carved
+jade, crystal, and precious stones. A considerable
+amount of ritual surrounds the offering and receiving
+of the snuff-bottle. Our host, however, pandering
+to our foreign ways, produced his snuff, and
+I learned from him to receive it in the palm of my
+hand, lift it slowly to my nose, sniff, and then
+bowing return it with deliberation to the owner.
+Dobdun’s habitat, I was warned, was not to be
+taken as an index to all yourts, for the general
+cleanliness, as well as the quality of the tea there,
+were vastly superior to anything else I was likely
+to meet in Mongolia. I was, in fact, being let
+down very easy in my initiation.</p>
+
+<p>The Mongols are very hospitable and insist upon
+giving the visitor tea and milk. It is at first a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span>
+trying experience to know that good manners
+compel you to drink from a filthy bowl the still
+filthier milk which you see taken from a skin bag,
+made from the “innards” of a sheep, hanging
+up the side of the yourt, and offered to you by
+hands which from the day they were born appear
+never to have been washed. Brick tea, of which
+there are several qualities, and which in some
+parts of Mongolia still forms the currency, is made
+at Hankow from the dust and sweepings of the
+leaf. It is used throughout the country, and
+forms the staple drink of the Mongols. It is
+brewed by shavings, cut from the slab, being
+pounded up and stewed indefinitely in milk, to
+which salt and a cheesy description of butter
+are added.</p>
+
+<p>The relation between the tea and the argol was
+somewhat too intimate for my peace of mind, and
+it went sometimes much against the grain to drink
+from a bowl wiped out by the fingers of some dirty
+old woman who the moment before had been
+employed in feeding the fire with the horse or
+camel droppings. The collecting of argol is a
+source of constant occupation throughout the
+spring and summer, when after being spread over
+the ground in the sun, it is piled in great mounds
+near the yourts for use during the winter months.
+It makes a good hot fire and has practically no
+smell at all when burning. While engaged in endeavouring
+to drink this saline mixture and at the
+same time to convey the impression that I liked it,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span>
+an elderly man in a loose robe of dark red cotton
+cloth, his head clean-shaved, rode up, dismounted,
+and came in. He was presented to me as “my
+brother, the lama”. He was an old friend of the
+missionary, and they at once entered into an
+animated conversation.</p>
+
+<p>A particularly handsome small boy with large
+and merry brown eyes made his appearance soon
+after, and to my surprise, lama priests being
+vowed to celibacy, was introduced by Dobdun as
+“the son of my brother, the lama”. The Finn
+chaffed the priest gently on the subject of the
+breaking of his vows, whereupon every one laughed,
+including the illegitimate son, who, a fine lad of
+twelve or so, had already been dedicated to the
+temple and was now a lama student. They retaliated,
+I heard subsequently, by asking the missionary
+what on earth he was doing travelling about
+the country with a woman. This might have
+embarrassed me had I known the language. It is
+not the first time that I have experienced the blissfulness
+of ignorance. The lama in embryo and
+his little sister were quite willing to be photographed
+later on, and were posed for me by their
+seniors at their usual occupation—gathering argol.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f9">
+<img src="images/fig9.jpg" alt="caravan">
+<p class="caption">A CAMEL CARAVAN</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f10">
+<img src="images/fig10.jpg" alt="lama">
+<p class="caption">THE LAMA IN EMBRYO, AND HIS LITTLE SISTER GATHERING ARGOL</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In spite of Dobdun’s constant association with
+missionaries at Kalgan, in spite of the fact that
+he knows by heart quite half of the Bible, that he
+has had every opportunity and every encouragement
+to become a Christian, he remains as devout a
+Buddhist as ever he was; and, although interested
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span>in the religion of the Western world, he regards
+it as similar but vastly inferior to his own faith.
+And so he continues to enshrine his little brass
+figure of the prophet, and at sundry times he
+doubtless makes his prostrations, and fills up the
+many little metal cups with suitable offerings of
+corn and wine to his god.</p>
+
+<p>Thus my first impression of a Mongol yourt was
+an extremely pleasant one, and I was sorry at the
+end of an hour or more to say farewell to my first
+Mongol friend, little knowing that he had no intention
+of letting me very far out of his sight and
+that he would turn up again within the next forty-eight
+hours in order to present his foreign protégée
+to his various friends in the neighbourhood. But
+you never know your luck in travelling, and in
+seeking shelter for the night you are as likely as
+not in winter to find a very different sort of yourt.
+The young calves and lambs share the warmth of
+the stove with their owners, and, if the size of the
+family (a very elastic term here) is out of proportion
+to the accommodation of the yourt, they will
+all lie down together, well wedged in with their
+feet towards the fire in the middle, the animals
+squeezing in where they can.</p>
+
+<p>Delightfully drowsy hours in my cart over
+smooth prairie followed the substantial meal in the
+warmth of the yourt as we pressed on toward
+Ta-Bol, when I was suddenly awakened by an unexpected
+halt, in time to see the Finn dismount
+at the sight of a couple of Mongols on camels who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span>
+drew up to speak to him. The camel-riders made
+their beasts kneel and they swung themselves out
+of their saddles to shake the missionary warmly
+by both hands. By this time a third man riding
+one and leading another pony appeared on the
+scene and the four men squatted on the ground in
+earnest conference. It transpired that they were
+attached to a great caravan on its way down to
+Kalgan; that they had already been obliged to
+go much out of their way in order to avoid the
+soldiers; and that they would be thankful if the
+Finn would give them “written words” in case
+any further effort were made to commandeer their
+camels. I provided them with leaves from my
+note-book for the purpose, and the Finn did what
+he could for them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f11">
+<img src="images/fig11.jpg" alt="mails">
+<p class="caption">CARRYING MAILS</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f12">
+<img src="images/fig12.jpg" alt="wayside">
+<p class="caption">BY THE WAYSIDE</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f13">
+<img src="images/fig13.jpg" alt="reins">
+<p class="caption">‘HE DREW REINS TO TAKE STOCK<br>
+OF THE FOREIGNER’</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Exactly why his words should have weight with
+Government troops in a country under martial
+law, I could never quite fathom. Perhaps it was
+that the soldiers from China and these Mongols
+from Urga would not be able to speak one
+another’s language—more than probable. These
+Mongols at all events departed quite happy and
+apparently much reassured by the missionary’s
+advice. The horseman lent the Finn the capital
+little pony he was leading. They would meet
+again before long, he said, and then it could be
+returned to him. That night I reached the most
+northerly point of my little excursion into the
+wilds, and camped out in the vicinity of the only
+mission in the heart of Mongolia.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span></p>
+
+<p>Lack of hospitality has never been one of the
+variety of faults so erroneously attributed to missionaries,
+but the little five-roomed mud structure
+which housed two families as well as three or four
+unattached men and women, to say nothing of an
+adopted Mongol orphan, had its limitations, and
+I was not at all sorry to pitch my own tent rather
+than tax the already overburdened resources of
+this newly established station. It was but a few
+weeks after my visit that this little community
+had to fly for their lives in the face of the pillaging
+Mongols from the north, and up to the present
+time there has been apparently but little hope of
+their returning to rebuild the ruins of their compound,
+and to resume their almost hopeless task
+of conversion. Missions in China are making
+quite unprecedented progress at the present time,
+owing doubtless in some degree to the prevailing
+desire for Western education and enlightenment
+in general. But Buddhism, or indeed any other
+form of belief, has nothing approaching so strong
+a hold over the Chinese as Lamaism has over the
+Mongols, where in every family at least one boy
+is dedicated from birth to the priesthood, and
+where lamas are estimated as forming over 60 per
+cent. of the total male population.</p>
+
+<p>Within hail of this plucky little band I pitched
+my tent, and for the first time experienced the
+diversions of life under canvas in what was practically
+winter and during a gale. Among certain
+things I lay claim to have learnt at Ta-Bol was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span>
+how to appear cheery and optimistic at breakfast
+time when from early dawn and even earlier one
+had been engaged in finding out all about the ways
+and possibilities of canvas during a raging hurricane.
+The Mongols are an astonishingly feckless
+lot of people compared with the Chinese who
+nearly invariably “go one better” and improve
+upon anything one shows them from the Western
+world. The first thing that happened when I
+retired for the night was the collapse of my canvas
+bed. The “boy,” to whom the business of erecting
+it and my tent had been entrusted, had
+satisfied his conscience by merely hooking the
+ends to the bed supports, and had left the sides
+(literally) to rip. They did. With a tremendous
+effort, the light blowing out at intervals, I managed
+to detach the frame from the canvas and begin
+again. In course of time, and extremely cold, I got
+into bed. By 3 a.m. I was aroused by the flap of
+the tent untying itself and making a most irritating
+noise. There was nothing for it but to wake
+up thoroughly and make it fast.</p>
+
+<p>I think I could not have been asleep more than
+half an hour before I gradually became conscious
+that my tent appeared to be the sole obstacle in
+the path of a tremendous hurricane on its way
+down from Urga to Peking, for all the force of the
+gale sweeping over hundreds of miles of desert
+seemed to be expending its force upon the canvas.
+The flap-flap was merely the overture to a grand
+chorus, and the cords on one side of the tent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span>
+suddenly freeing themselves from the pegs outside,
+the entire place became transformed in the
+twinkling of an eye into a pandemonium.</p>
+
+<p>The dust was dense and my belongings blew
+round in it in base imitation of the whirlwinds
+which had amused me so much during the early
+part of the previous day. Loose corners of the
+tent smacked at everything with extraordinary
+vigour, smashing all that came within their reach
+and inflicting stinging slaps as one sought to make
+them fast. Any sort of light was out of the question
+and chaos reigned for hours. Having made
+the ropes fast again and, regardless of dust,
+deposited everything upon the ground with the
+heavier articles on the top as the only possible
+expedient, I again made a bid for the oblivion of
+a final nap. From sheer exhaustion I managed
+to sleep again even in that storm, to wake up
+shivering with cold and in a gritty condition of
+great discomfort. For the rest—every single
+article in the tent had to be cleaned when the wind
+went down. Among things I noted during that
+eventful night was that it is essential when sleeping
+so near to the bosom of mother earth in winter
+to pack as many clothes underneath as on the top
+of one’s body in a canvas bed. More than once I
+woke up in the morning quite stiff with cold.</p>
+
+<p>Life, however, is full of contrasts, and “joy
+cometh with the morning”. At an early hour
+a missionary called upon me with a pleasing
+proposition from the Mongols, who, hearing that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span>
+I had a gun, thought that it would be a good
+opportunity to organise a wolf hunt. Wolves are
+the arch enemies of the Mongols on account of
+the tremendous amount of damage they do to the
+stock. The Mongols hunt them with a zest bred
+of vengeance, and ride them down (at a somewhat
+severe cost to their ponies, for the pace is terrific
+and the strain great), finally lassoing them with
+a loop of raw hide attached to the end of a
+pole. The wolf thus caught has a poor time at
+the hands of the revengeful hunter, and I heard
+horrible stories of the unfortunate brutes being
+pegged down to earth, jaws bound, skinned alive
+except the head, and then set free. Of Mongol
+bravery there is no doubt, but the reason they
+give for wolves never attacking men in Mongolia is
+typical of their “bounce” and conceit. Wolves
+certainly “go for” people in Russia immediately
+north, and in Manchuria and China immediately
+to the east and south of Mongolia. The Russians
+and Chinese, say the Mongols, are cowards and
+run away, while they, the Mongols, attack the
+wolves, yelling and shouting.</p>
+
+<p>A certain she-wolf had for some time carried
+on successful forays in the neighbourhood, and
+had done considerable damage, not only among
+the flocks and herds, but had even pulled down
+a colt quite near to a settlement. Her lair, where
+it was suspected that she was maintaining a litter
+of young cubs, had been located on a distant
+hill-side. Our armament on this occasion was,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span>
+though varied, quite insufficient, and consisted
+only of our service and two smaller revolvers
+as well as a shot gun. We lacked the essential
+rifle. The expedition, however, was not wholly
+unsuccessful. Taking a line well to leeward of
+the suspected hill-side, four of us with as many
+Mongols, armed with spades and picks, spreading
+ourselves out with a view to cutting off the retreat
+of the old wolf, should she attempt to dodge
+us, began a silent march over the dried-up grass.
+We had walked for less than half an hour when,
+sure enough, the vibrations of our footsteps
+carried the news of our approach through the
+earth to the lair, and in the distance we descried
+the lady, who, while keeping her weather eye
+upon us, was making off at a swinging lope at
+right angles to us. If only we had had a rifle!
+Each of us was ready to pose as a certain shot and
+swore to the unquestioned demise of the wolf in
+such a case. A couple of excellent shots from the
+service revolver scuffed up the dust after her
+retreating form, and some of us ran at an angle
+and tried to head her off by shooting in front of
+her. But pack of novices that we were, she got
+well away, her tongue no doubt in her cheek, and
+we watched her regretfully into dim distance.</p>
+
+<p>Hard work was to take place of suitable
+weapons. The lair was not difficult of discovery.
+The hill-side was a perfect honeycomb of holes,
+and we tried several before settling down to the
+task of a navvy upon the most promising group.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span>
+We all took our turn in wielding the two Chinese
+spades the Mongols had brought with them, and
+before long we had made a deep gully some eight or
+nine feet in length and four or five in depth which
+we fondly hoped would soon disclose the nest. Our
+disappointment in discovering that we had merely
+turned up a passage which went off sharply to the
+innermost recesses of the slope was great, and
+two of the party threw up the sponge, declaring
+that the game was not in the least worth the
+candle. Personally, I had ulterior motives in
+view, and was nothing loth to getting my muscles
+into trim by such excellent exercise as digging.
+To become the owner of a couple of wolf cubs
+and to take them back with me to Peking and
+possibly ship them home alive seemed to me very
+well worth while.</p>
+
+<p>We dug all day, and towards evening decided,
+on the advice of the Mongols, to try to smoke
+out the wolves by lighting a fire at another
+entrance to the group of holes upon which we
+were engaged. We were certainly rewarded,
+not by a capture of wolves, but by one of the
+most wonderful sights I had experienced in the
+East. Whether accidental or intentional, it was
+not very clear, but in any case the Mongols
+managed to start a prairie blaze which ran like
+wildfire over acres and acres of dried-up grass.
+It was a wonderful display. Numbers of eagles,
+harrier eagles, they called them, hovered and
+hung over the burning expanse, swooping down<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span>
+with deadly certainty upon any ground game that
+might run. It was very interesting to watch four
+of these great birds hunt and chase a miserable
+white hare which simply had no chance at all.</p>
+
+<p>There is any amount of sport even in this
+unpromising part of Mongolia; antelope, prairie
+chicken, and hare offering a welcome variety to
+the everlasting mutton of the stewpot. It was
+fortunate that the fire spread in a direction away
+from the little mission station and the Mongol
+yourts near it. At night the whole horizon to
+the west was glowing, and one could see flames
+leaping high from time to time as they licked up
+some little bush or scrub, the hillocks becoming
+sharply outlined for a while and then part of the
+blaze itself. Had the strong wind of the night
+before kept up we should have been in a tight
+corner. It was an alarming as well as a beautiful
+sight. The relentless progress of the crackling
+flames was awe-inspiring, and the phenomenal
+part of it all was that after laying bare some
+thousands of acres, the whole thing seemed to
+fizzle out almost as rapidly as it had begun.
+I gathered that it was against the law of the
+country to start such fires, but the Mongols
+seemed to think that it all made for good and
+that the new grass would have all the better
+chance by the clearing off of the old.</p>
+
+<p>At daybreak the following morning a couple of
+us sallied forth once more to the scene of yesterday’s
+excavations, and seeing from the distance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span>
+some movement among the upturned earth we
+fired, to find upon closer inspection that one fluffy
+little cub playing outside the hole had been badly
+peppered and that another one had been killed
+outright. That there were more inside was fairly
+certain, for a litter usually consists of from five to
+seven or more. We decided to continue digging
+operations. After several hours’ extremely hard
+work and a display of great bravery on the part
+of one of the missionaries who burrowed into
+the hole, where there might very well have lurked
+the parent wolf, until nothing but his feet could
+be seen outside, we came upon a nest of three
+more cubs as well as a wounded one in a passage
+leading to it.</p>
+
+<p>The Mongols were delighted with the bag, and
+clamoured for the pretty soft little creatures whom
+it went to my heart to destroy. One was spared
+for me, and I fed it for several days from a Mongol
+baby bottle—but it died. The baby bottle of the
+country, I may mention, is the horn of a cow
+pierced through to the tip, with a teat cut from
+the udder of a sheep attached thereto. A great
+many babies whose mothers have died in childbirth
+are, I am told, brought up in this way. By
+the time we had finished our labours we had dug
+a trench of over twenty feet long, sometimes
+seven feet in depth, to say nothing of various false
+tracks, in the process of which we turned up
+several tons of very tough earth, blistered our
+hands badly, and made a most untidy mess of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span>
+hill-side. Over and above their joy at having
+given the happy despatch to no fewer than six
+of their potential enemies, the Mongols were
+delighted to cut up the wolves for the sake of
+their livers, which form one of their most highly
+valued medicines.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER V</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“That the wicked have plenty to eat is no indication of the<br>
+approval of heaven”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">
+—<i>Chinese proverb</i><br>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>T would be unkind to recommend any sensitive
+person to make a first experiment in camping
+out among such a friendly, but inquisitive
+crew as the natives hereabouts, and I could but
+be thankful to have served my apprenticeship in
+this respect in China. After travelling, very much
+off the beaten track, sometimes for eighteen
+months in his country, the Chinese, wherever I
+met him, in Mongolia or in Russia, or in Russo-Japanese
+Manchuria, seemed far more to me like
+“a man and a brother” than the inhabitants of
+any of the latter countries. The casual manner
+in which the Mongol would walk into one’s tent
+was, to say the least of it, embarrassing; and I
+have heard it said that quite a little grievance
+exists among those who from time to time visit
+Peking for trading purposes or on official business
+because the houses of Europeans are not open
+to them as are their hospitable yourts to the
+traveller in their country.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f14">
+<img src="images/fig14.jpg" alt="methuselah">
+<p class="caption">METHUSELAH AND HIS DAUGHTER-IN-LAW</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f15">
+<img src="images/fig15.jpg" alt="caravan">
+<p class="caption">ONE OF THE LARGEST CAMEL CARAVANS THE AUTHOR HAD EVER SEEN</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>An old, old man dropped in one day to see me,
+stone deaf, and dumb. I had been hearing a good
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span>deal and in great variety about their superstitions
+regarding devils, and when this wrinkled old leather-face,
+overshadowed by a sheepskin cap black with
+the dirt of ages, silently approached me in the
+half-light of late afternoon, it was as though the evil
+one had materialised. Very thin—there is no soft
+corner in the Mongol heart, as in the Chinese, for
+the aged—very tattered, and with bleared eyes,
+Methuselah gently fingered all my belongings,
+passing his filthy fingers up and down the bristles
+of my hair- and tooth-brushes with evident enjoyment.
+My interest, to say nothing of my astonishment,
+was far too great for me to think of
+raising any objection. Poor old man!</p>
+
+<p>Far from being venerated on account of advancing
+years the old people in Mongolia run a
+very good chance of being crowded out of their
+yourts by the younger generation, and left to live
+or die with no more possessions than a bit of felt
+covering and a meagre allowance of food on the
+dust heaps surrounding the settlements.</p>
+
+<p>A son of my old visitor had been a lesser mandarin
+in this part, but was dispossessed as the result
+of having been altogether too grasping in his
+“squeeze” of the soldiers whom he was supposed
+to pay with money that was provided for that
+purpose. Four or five fairly well-to-do yourts
+were the fruit of his ill-gotten gains, and his chief
+wife, the T’ai-t’ai, showed me with pride her
+beautiful headdress which she said was worth over
+one hundred taels, which it was not difficult to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span>
+believe. A number of relations crowded into the
+yourt when I went to pay my call—an astonishingly
+picturesque crowd in blue, purple, and
+lavender coats, mingling with the bright orange
+and dull red of the lamas’ habits—all more or less
+dirty, and some very ragged. The men with their
+shaggy fur caps and silver-mounted hunting knives,
+ivory chopsticks hanging in cases, and flint and
+tinder purses slung on silver chains round their
+waists or attached to their girdles; the women
+with elaborate headdresses of the same metal,
+richly studded with jade, coral, and sometimes
+pearls, are all really very imposing.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing would satisfy them but that I should go
+to call upon the little bride of the family and their
+son, her boy husband. Escorted by the mother-in-law,
+I made my way to a very new-looking
+yourt covered with clean white felt and with a
+newly painted red door. It formed quite a landmark
+among the others, which were in varying
+stages of dirtiness and decay. We were received
+by the young bridal couple, who, arrayed in all the
+splendour of their wedding garments in my honour,
+had omitted to tidy up their habitation, which presented
+a sorry spectacle of thriftless disorder. I
+gathered that some of the wedding presents had
+been of a practical nature, for I noticed—incidentally
+by hitting them with my head—haunches
+of antelope and joints of mutton hanging from the
+roof just inside the entrance. The marriage did
+not seem to me to promise particularly well, for
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span>although amply endowed with such worldly goods
+as the Mongol heart could desire, the boy and girl,
+children that they were, seemed distinctly snappy
+with each other, and each kept his or her own key
+of the red lacquer chests which contained their
+respective treasures.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f16">
+<img src="images/fig16.jpg" alt="bride">
+<p class="caption">A MONGOL BRIDE</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The girl’s bridal coiffure was quite wonderful,
+and back and front her strings of coral and silver
+chains, with their massive ornaments, reached
+almost to the bottom of her coat. I noticed that
+the older women’s strings of beads seemed to
+grow shorter with age, and gathered that, as the
+girls of the family married, their headdresses were
+contributed to by the senior generation. A bride,
+therefore, in a poor family possesses much finer
+jewels than does her mother, who, like many a
+mother at home, has been impoverished by the
+wedding.</p>
+
+<p>The tribe of this region is the Chakhar of South
+or Inner Mongolia, and owing to the proximity of
+China they are, I believe, the least pure bred of
+any. In the main a nomadic people, they move
+their settlements under normal conditions but twice
+in the year, the principal object being, of course,
+fresh pasture for their cattle. They also, however,
+attach some importance to tradition, and
+will move their yourts just a few yards sometimes
+just for the sake of having done so. A fairly
+well-watered country, the locale of the yourts is
+to some extent determined by the wells, but the
+areas are relatively circumscribed, and there is
+little difficulty in discovering at any given time<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span>
+the whereabouts of any particular family one may
+be seeking.</p>
+
+<p>The great lamaseries are necessarily of permanent
+structure, and fine temples surrounded by
+a number of yourts and rough houses of Chinese
+type form villages of considerable size. One
+comes upon them unexpectedly like oases in the
+desert. Once a most warlike tribe and foes
+greatly to be feared by their Chinese neighbours,
+the Chakhars appear to be now a more
+peaceable folk than their cousins of the North,
+and have not, in unison with the Khalkhas, sought
+to throw off the Chinese yoke with the downfall
+of the Manchu dynasty. I have heard it said that
+the Chakhars are cleaner than other tribes, but
+for the truth of this statement I am unable to
+vouch; and truly, in view of the fact that it would
+be difficult to be dirtier than they, I myself find
+it hard to believe it. Mongols, generally speaking,
+are an extraordinary dirty people, and one of their
+superstitions is that if they have too much to
+do with water in this life they will become fish in
+the next incarnation. They suffer much from
+contagious diseases, on account of their habits as
+well as owing to their lack of morality.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f17">
+<img src="images/fig17.jpg" alt="chakhar">
+<p class="caption">A TYPICAL CHAKHAR</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Mongols are, I am told, some of the most
+frankly immoral people in the world, and this is
+not the result of the absence of moral code, for
+theoretically this latter is of the strictest possible
+character. The lamas certainly have an extremely
+bad reputation; certain orders of them are
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span>allowed to marry, but the great bulk of the immense
+population of priests is nominally celibate.
+Among the various orders of the priesthood are
+some whose mission it is to travel about the
+country to collect money for the temples. When
+one of these holy men (the greatest villains unhung,
+would be my honest opinion) visits a settlement
+he is invited to stay in the richest yourt,
+given the best of everything to eat, and the chief
+wife, or, if he prefers her, the daughter, is offered
+to him as a matter of course. There is no question,
+I believe, of these women, who belong to the
+lamas, being looked down upon—far from it. But
+as far as I could observe and understand, women
+entering into this irregular alliance do not wear
+the distinctive and very beautiful headdress of
+the married woman.</p>
+
+<p>Lamas throughout Mongolia have their heads
+clean-shaven, and in this region their ordinary
+dress consists of long tunics of coarse cotton in
+varying tones of terra-cotta and yellow, bound
+round the waist with sashes of dark red, as well
+as long folds of the same material which, worn
+ordinarily across the chest, are on ceremonial occasions
+and whilst officiating unwound and used
+in shawl fashion. Even were there no other distinguishing
+feature between the Mongol and
+Chinese, by their boots you would know them
+all the world over; clumsy, loose-legged affairs,
+coming two-thirds of the way up to the knee, the
+dignity of the Mongol is very greatly diminished<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span>
+if he has to walk or run in such a footgear. Toes
+upturned, the sole is thick and cumbersome, the
+boot fits nowhere at all, and the walk degenerates
+into a shuffle in consequence. For purposes of
+differentiation the laity are called black men, their
+hair being worn in long handsome pig-tails, the
+front of the head shaved in Chinese fashion. I
+was present on the occasion of the inauguration
+of the first Parliament of China’s Republic in
+Peking in the spring of 1913, when the Mongol
+representatives, three of them from Inner Mongolia,
+were conspicuous in that ultra modern and
+newly cropped assembly by their <i>queues</i>, by their
+high boots, and by their old-world satin-brocade,
+fur-trimmed coats of a richness and quality now
+seldom seen in Peking.</p>
+
+<p>Men and women are extremely fond of dress and
+ornaments; the former run to beautiful and valuable
+snuff-bottles, elaborate decoration of their
+hunting knives, tobacco pouches, chopsticks, and
+flint and tinder boxes. Extremes seem to me to
+meet in the cherished possessions of an old Mongol
+mandarin. He showed me with much pride an
+up-to-date rifle, a splendid pair of Zeiss field-glasses,
+and then his flint and tinder box.</p>
+
+<p>Ta-Bol, the meaning of which, “five mountains,”
+suggests a somewhat distorted view of the slight
+elevations which surround it, proved to be a
+pleasant centre for my short sojourn in the Chakhar
+country, and I managed to get a variety of
+experiences into the time I was there. In a north-westerly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span>
+direction and distant some 60 li from
+Ta-Bol lies Hankarawa, an important citadel of
+lamaism and the largest temple of Inner Mongolia.
+In perfect weather and over the most delightful
+riding country imaginable, with a good track
+across undulated prairie, an early start was made
+in order to have plenty of time on arrival. My
+star seemed in the ascendant, and it was truly a
+lucky day that I chose for the expedition.</p>
+
+<p>Forming a suburb to the lamasery were half a
+dozen or less yourts near the entrance, and these
+I found on closer inspection were primitive little
+stores kept by the Chinese for supplying the
+lamas—who here, as in most other places, do no
+work at all and produce absolutely nothing for
+their own use—with the necessities of life. The
+courtly owner of one of them pressed me to enter,
+when he at once offered me the best tea that I
+had had since I left South China. In stumbling
+phrases, I expressed my appreciation and enquired
+whether the tea was not from the Bohea
+hills of Fukien. This let loose a flood of conversation
+(of which, I must confess, I hardly
+understood a word), out of which I disentangled
+the fact that my host had come from that province
+and was delighted to speak with one who knew
+and admired his native city, Foochow. As to
+paying for my entertainment, they scouted the
+idea, and when I departed I felt that at least I had
+now one friend in Mongolia.</p>
+
+<p>As I approached the entrance to the place it all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span>
+seemed abnormally quiet and deserted. I knew
+there were hundreds of lamas there, but no one
+was about and not a sound was to be heard. It
+was all very mysterious. It was not until I had
+tentatively opened many doors and peered into
+the gloom of sundry temples, in one of which a
+very old lama sat quite alone, droning his prayers
+in the Tibetan tongue, clashing a pair of cymbals
+and beating a big drum with his hands and feet
+respectively all at the same time, that I heard
+sounds as of clapping and applause. I found
+them difficult to locate. Chancing on the entrance
+to an unpromising looking and, as far as I could
+see deserted, compound, I leaned my weight
+against the great painted wooden doors, which
+giving way with a loud creak, precipitated me
+most unexpectedly into the midst of an unlooked-for
+entertainment. My own surprise can hardly
+have been less than the combined astonishment
+of some two to three hundred lamas, ranging from
+little boys to old hoary-heads, all squatting on
+the ground in the sunny forecourt of a temple.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f18">
+<img src="images/fig18.jpg" alt="lamas">
+<p class="caption">TWO OR THREE HUNDRED LAMAS SQUATTING ON THE GROUND IN THE<br>
+SUNNY FORECOURT OF A TEMPLE</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f19">
+<img src="images/fig19.jpg" alt="hankarawa">
+<p class="caption">HANKARAWA</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>My sudden appearance with a camera in their
+midst was apparently most disconcerting, and one
+and all they covered their heads with the dark
+red sashes. To take a snapshot on the spur of
+the moment was literally a reflex act on my part,
+and had my life been at stake in the doing of it
+I could not have refrained. As it was, for a
+moment or two perhaps the situation was a trifle
+strained, and whether my intrusion would be
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span>resented, as it might well have been in that out-of-the-way
+corner of the earth, was exceedingly
+uncertain. Scowls and anger were expressed all
+too plainly on the debased faces of many of the
+younger men, but at a sign from one of the leaders
+they seemed quickly to recover their equanimity,
+resumed their occupation, and offered not the
+slightest objection to my presence, when, by signs,
+I asked permission to walk round the outskirts of
+the gathering.</p>
+
+<p>The deep red, vivid orange, and pale cinnamon
+of their clothes suggested great borders of parrot
+tulips ranged on either side of a wide flagged
+path leading up to the chief lama, who quite
+possibly had seen, what probably few of the others
+had, white faces visiting the temples in Peking.
+He allowed me to take a photograph at close
+quarters, smiling (at his own cowardice, I presume)
+the while. The little boys made hideous faces at
+me as I strolled round, and the young men of
+twenty or so, an age at which I always feel there
+is most to fear from devilment and cruelty, looked
+at me in an unmistakably hostile manner.</p>
+
+<p>A little group of men stripped to the waist
+formed the centre of operations, and these it
+transpired were candidates for a degree. They
+were being examined by the seniors and cross-examined
+by their junior colleagues of all ages.
+Each side backed its fancy apparently and all
+indulged in wild clapping and gesticulation, some
+of them rising from the ground in their excitement<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span>
+and yelling approbation or the reverse to the
+victim of the moment. The brown-faced old chief
+lama sat suave and imperturbable throughout.
+The scene was as picturesque as it was interesting
+and fraught with mystery.</p>
+
+<p>Soon afterwards the assembly dispersed, and,
+freed from the restraint of their elders, the young
+lamas hustled round me in an aggressive and
+pugnacious sort of mood. I have found in my
+limited experience that to meet this kind of thing
+good-humouredly, but never to show the least sign
+of embarrassment, usually has a placating effect.
+I allowed one or two of the more objectionable
+youths to look through my camera, for instance,
+but when one of them wished to take it from
+me for a closer inspection I smacked his hand away
+as I would have done a child’s, whereat they
+laughed. Not more than five per cent of the
+uninitiated seem able to see anything through the
+lenses of a camera, but if one or two can be made
+to do so the others are placed at a disadvantage,
+which, to some extent gives one the whip hand.</p>
+
+<p>In the same way with the Chinese. On
+rare occasions I was faced with the type of
+swanking young man who conceives it to be
+his mission in life to make the foreigner “lose
+face”. He usually begins by calling attention
+to one’s limited knowledge of his language,
+but I succeeded more than once in turning
+the tables by enquiring if he knew “English
+talk,” “French talk,” “Russian talk,” and so<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span>
+forth. A contemptuous shrug of the shoulders
+and an expressive movement of the hands, with
+a well-there-you-are look on your face, and the
+crowd laughs with you, while the swanker retires
+to reflect on the fact “that they don’t know
+everything down in Judee”.</p>
+
+<p>On one occasion in Mongolia it became essential
+for me to assert my position. The lad who had
+insisted, against my wishes, upon accompanying
+my caravan up country (I discovered afterwards
+that he was actually the owner of and alone could
+manage the pony which helped to draw my cart)
+declined to carry out my instructions in some
+small matter or other one day, and, moreover,
+when I insisted, he was cheeky, imitating me in
+the way I spoke Chinese almost before my face.
+This could not, of course, be permitted for an
+instant. I waited my opportunity, and later in the
+day on returning from an expedition I asked a
+missionary to explain his misdeeds very carefully
+to him, and to help him to realise that though I
+might not be able to speak his language I did not
+intend to stand any nonsense from him. I stepped
+in at the end of the harangue and seizing him by
+the pigtail I administered the severest chastisement
+I have ever given, boxing his ears soundly several
+times. The crucial question had arisen. Was I
+to lose face, or was he? I have to admit that I
+was not “hitting a man of my own size,” but
+the effect on the Mongol onlookers was excellent,
+and as for the lad himself—well—he and I and a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span>
+young Mongol spent the greater part of next day
+together hunting for eagles’ eggs, far away from
+the camp. That I taught him the approved
+Western method of blowing eggs with one hole
+only (some of them were in an unpleasantly
+mature condition) sealed our relationship, which
+remained friendly until I left China.</p>
+
+<p>One romantic evening in South Mongolia comes
+back to my remembrance in Europe as it were
+in a dream. I had arranged to accompany my
+old friend the Finn on a visit to a distant settlement
+in order to see whether these people there
+with whom he was totally unacquainted would
+give him a hearing at all. After a ride of some
+twenty li or so, we arrived late one Sunday afternoon
+at a group of tents sheltered from the north
+and easterly winds by a belt of low hills, and came
+to a halt a hundred yards away from the most important
+looking yourt with a shout of “Nuhuoi”.</p>
+
+<p>The people emerged from the surrounding
+tents and restrained the very savage dogs who
+were howling for our blood. Women controlled
+them, kneeling on the ground and holding them
+in by their collars. The moment the dogs see
+that strangers are given a friendly reception there
+is no more trouble with them until the time
+for departure comes, when the same performance
+has to be repeated. The owner of the yourt we
+had selected for our visit was a Mandarin of some
+standing, and his fine manners greatly impressed
+me as he offered us the snuff-bottle in the most<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span>
+courtly fashion imaginable. With him was a
+very handsome man who might from his gentle
+and learned appearance have been—what one
+likes to imagine they are—an Oxford don. This
+was the Mandarin’s secretary, and having lived
+from time to time in Peking, he had acquired
+something of the culture and refinement of the
+Chinese upper class. Through him, the Finn
+addressed most of his remarks to the Mandarin
+who was keenly entertained until the subject
+of Western religion was broached, when he completely
+changed his aspect, becoming palpably indifferent,
+if not a little sulky, remaining with us
+only because good manners compelled him to do so.</p>
+
+<p>People from neighbouring tents swarmed in,
+crowding and jostling each other at the entrance
+in order to catch a glimpse of the foreigners.
+The atmosphere became not a little thick, the
+doorway being absolutely blocked up by a solid
+little mass of humanity, little faces even peering
+in between the ankles of the older folk.
+A motley crew indeed, the sun streaming in like
+a brilliant shaft through the hole in the roof,
+the rest of the interior in deep shade, the colours
+of their clothes and the whimsical faces of the
+people making altogether a fascinating study.
+The Finn suggested that I, as a new-comer to
+Mongolia, would like to hear some of the music
+of the country, and there was a great pow-wow
+as to who should perform for my benefit. After
+a prodigious wait, two young lamas disappeared,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span>
+soon to return, the one with a long multi-stringed
+instrument of wood distantly related, perhaps,
+to the zither family; and the other bearing a
+banjo-like affair provided with four strings.</p>
+
+<p>In the dim light from the setting sun, and with
+a shyness charming to behold in these usually
+somewhat truculent youths, they twanged their
+strings in pretty little minor chords, and from
+time to time one of them would sing quietly and
+very bashfully of the prowess of his historic
+forebears. The singer of the settlement, a girl,
+was, I gathered, too shy to appear at all. It
+was all so weird and barbaric, so remote from
+life as I had known it, and so extraordinarily like
+a dream. The Mongols, as I learnt during my
+months in Peking, are totally unlike the Chinese
+in their relation to music. While I was in Peking
+the last of the Manchu empresses departed from
+the disturbed life of her country, and the lamas,
+of course, played an important part at the funeral
+ceremonials. Grouped in a little temple-like
+structure to one side of the platform upon which
+the obeisance to the memorial tablet of the dead
+empress was made, some forty or fifty priests
+in brilliant togas of Imperial yellow satin intoned
+a solemn dirge which was absolutely in harmony
+with the atmosphere of mourning. Many people
+who deny entirely the least suggestion of musical
+sense to the Chinese were, I remember, greatly
+struck with the extraordinarily deep and rich
+tones that came from the Mongol throats in their
+Gregorian-like chanting.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“The best riders have the hardest falls”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">
+—<i>Chinese proverb</i>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE people in the neighbourhood of Ta-Bol
+were quite a friendly lot, and I was frequently
+invited to go and have a chat in
+the various yourts. To persuade one inside and
+therefore to be at close enough quarters to enjoy
+a thorough inspection of the foreigner’s clothes,
+hair, “light eyes,” etc., was a source of much
+enjoyment to some of the younger women, and
+turning a blind eye, that <i>sine quâ non</i> of all good
+travellers, upon the dirt and disorder, I managed
+to see the people under more or less normal conditions,
+which one seldom succeeds in doing when
+journeying with a definite goal and object. In
+some of the yourts, each one, it seemed to me,
+dirtier than the last, were delightful babies, confiding
+little creatures who had never known harshness,
+some of whom wore really beautiful charms
+of jade and lumps of amber round their brown
+necks, which nothing could induce the mothers to
+sell, for fear of jeopardising the fortunes of their
+little ones. From what I saw of them, both in
+the north as well as in the south, I came to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span>
+conclusion that the youthful Mongolian, until he
+arrives at such an age to be dedicated to the
+vicious life of the lamasery, is a particularly happy
+little person. The boy baby dominates the yourt
+as much as he dominates the palace, but I imagine
+his little sister has a rather fairer chance in life
+than she often enjoys in the Chinese family. At
+any rate, I never saw a child being ill-used in
+Mongolia, and to hear one cry is of rare occurrence.
+Families all over Mongolia are, I am told,
+small, and in one yourt when the mother of twins
+was presented to me as a somewhat phenomenal
+person, she apologised for the fact and said, “The
+foreigner will regard me as being like a dog to
+produce two children at one birth”.</p>
+
+<p>Upon returning one evening to my camp, I found
+that the local Mandarin had sent across one of his
+camels in response to a remark of mine that I had
+never ridden one. The natives, I think, expected
+a fine entertainment, for there were several unwonted
+loafers hanging about the compound. The
+camel looked a nice gentle young thing, and we
+took to each other at first sight. At a word from
+the man who brought her, she knelt in order to
+receive me in the saddle, which was the usual sort
+of Mongol affair with very short stirrups. Having
+neither reins nor bridle is at first disconcerting,
+but I was assured that it was simple enough to
+steer with the single rope of camel’s hair which
+is attached to a wooden pin running through the
+cartilage of the animal’s nose. I was lucky in not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span>
+coming off at once, for it takes a little experience
+to remember that in rising, hind legs first, the
+camel pitches you forward against the front hump
+and then shoots you back again when the fore-quarters
+of the creature come into position. I
+had no intention, however, of making merry for
+the Mongols, and blithely declining to be led (I
+somehow trusted that camel), I started off at a
+gentle pace, wondering how on earth I would stop
+her should Madame la Chamelle take it into her
+head to run away with me.</p>
+
+<p>Days of see-saws and swings are to me a still
+cherished reminiscence. I by no means disliked
+the undulating motion which to many people recalls
+the Dover-Calais boats, and, gaining assurance,
+I dug my heels in and essayed a gentle
+amble. Madame obliged me, and we were, I
+fondly believe, mutually satisfied, when I, becoming
+rashly familiar upon so short an acquaintance,
+used a word I had learned from the Chinese when
+riding a donkey along the dusty roads near the
+Imperial summer palace at Peking. “Dôk, Dôk,”
+I gaily remarked to Madame, merely (and quite
+unnecessarily) to suggest that she should pick
+up her feet and not stumble. I forgot that her
+scholastic attainments included only her mother
+tongue and that she did not know the Chinese
+language. The effect was striking in more senses
+than one. She came to a sudden standstill and
+with a tremendous heave shot me on to her front
+hump as she plumped down upon her knees. It<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span>
+was but by the mercy of providence that my neck
+was not broken, and that with the second movement
+reversed I regained my seat. Fortunately
+we were well out of sight of onlookers, but my
+confidence was badly shaken, and it was only when
+it occurred to me that “Sŏk, Sŏk,” was the expression
+of the Mongols when they wished their
+camels to kneel to be loaded up that I felt forgiving
+and able to forget the little misunderstanding.</p>
+
+<p>The expression of a camel’s face is always one
+of supreme contempt. Camels remind me of
+certain elderly and aristocratic spinsters who,
+possessing no money and but little brain, have
+one asset, their social superiority. But I like it
+all the same, breeding in camels or spinsters
+either as far as that goes.</p>
+
+<p>During the whole time that I was at Ta-Bol
+rumours came daily to our ears of the increasingly
+disturbed condition of the country, of fighting that
+had taken place or was expected to take place at
+no very great distance. The missionaries were
+warned by the authorities that they must hold
+themselves in readiness for flight at an hour’s
+notice, and that they would be wise if they lost no
+time in sending their women and children into
+regions of safety. A trio of Chinese officials were
+located somewhere in the vicinity, and the utmost
+secrecy was observed in regard to their movements
+while the general atmosphere of unrest and
+nervousness prevailed.</p>
+
+<p>It was not difficult to see that if I wanted to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span>
+carry my whole scheme into effect, which was to
+return to Peking, make my preparations, and start
+again at once for Europe by way of the Gobi
+and Siberia, I had better lose no time. This little
+expedition was merely by way of a preliminary
+canter in order to gain experience for the more
+ambitious journey right across the desert, as well
+as to test my capacity for really rough travelling
+and primitive living. My journey back to China
+promised to be a lonely one. I should this time
+have neither Finn nor Mongols riding with me for
+company, but merely the two Chinese who were
+daily becoming more uneasy and restless at the
+news from the north, and who were pestering me
+with enquiries as to when we were to return to
+the safety of Kalgan.</p>
+
+<p>Disliking anything savouring of monotony and
+being, moreover, interested in the possibilities of
+Inner Mongolia from the European point of view,
+I decided to go back to Kalgan by a different route
+from that by which we came. I had heard in
+Peking of a large horse-farm financed by a small
+syndicate in China, at which lived a solitary German
+overseer, a long day’s journey to the south-east
+of Ta-Bol at a place called Dol-na-gashi. I
+was told that this would be interesting to visit.</p>
+
+<p>Although it was only early May, I had on the
+whole been most fortunate as regards weather
+during my trip, but at the time of my proposed
+departure a typical Gobi gale sprang up and delayed
+me for a couple of days, during which time<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span>
+it was impossible to do anything at all. The only
+satisfaction I had was that all my belongings were
+packed up and out of the dust.</p>
+
+<p>My Chinese driver demanded money before
+starting; he had apparently run up a bill with
+some Mongol, for fodder, he said, and he would not
+be allowed to go before he paid up. I had stayed
+away longer than my servants had anticipated,
+the original arrangement being that half their
+total hire should be paid down at starting, and
+the remainder handed over when they delivered
+me safe and sound in Kalgan again. I certainly
+believe that it added considerably to my safety
+to travel very light as regards money: I took
+with me but a few dollars. I was careful now
+to give my men money enough only for their
+immediate necessities, and to retain the whip
+hand by keeping the bulk of it until the end of
+the journey. I am afraid that we were a somewhat
+surly trio as we turned our backs upon
+Ta-Bol and set our faces homewards in the icy
+wind and stinging dust. The Chinese were annoyed
+at having to make this détour by—to them—an
+unknown route, while I have to admit being
+rather “under the weather” myself.</p>
+
+<p>A Mongol rode with us some distance to put
+us in the right direction for the horse-farm, and
+before nightfall we arrived at a substantially
+built and very comfortable bungalow, planked
+down in the middle of interminable prairie, upon
+the borders of an extensive shallow lake which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span>
+provided resting place for numbers of wildfowl.
+Surrounding the bungalow were yourts, and long,
+low stables, in which I learned later the magnificent
+Russian stallions who were to improve the
+breed of Mongol ponies were housed. Concealing
+his astonishment at the unexpected appearance
+of an European lady at his door, the
+German overseer, speaking excellent English,
+gave me a most cordial welcome. The interior
+of the bungalow contained all the comfort of
+a farmhouse in Saxony, and glad I was to stay
+there for a night, and thus to reduce by one the
+number of uncomfortable inns to be experienced
+on the way back to Kalgan. After the ugly,
+undersized though serviceable little Mongol ponies
+to which one had become accustomed, the magnificent
+horses—Russian crossed with German,
+if I remember aright—looked like giants. Their
+powerful build with short arched necks and small
+heads was very dignified indeed, and for the first
+time in all my wanderings I felt a suggestion of
+homesickness as I looked at them, and wondered
+how far the development of the motor-car would
+have gone to oust the horses which are seen to
+greater advantage in London during the season
+than anywhere else in the world.</p>
+
+<p>A bunch of 500 Mongol ponies scattered about
+the prairie was the material with which my host
+had to work. He had not, he told me, so far had
+particularly good luck with them owing to sickness
+amongst the mares, and he did not seem to think<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span>
+that the immediate prospects as regards financial
+success were any too rosy. One point about this
+horse-farm that interested me particularly was
+that with all their horsey proclivities, their
+vaunted horsemanship, and general prowess, the
+German overseer preferred to employ Chinese
+to Mongols as infinitely more reliable with the
+animals in all respects.</p>
+
+<p>We made an early start next day. The weather
+had cleared again. A handful of cigarettes between
+them transformed my Chinese into the
+cheeriest and most considerate companions.
+Previous to this they had been, perhaps, rather
+rubbed up the wrong way—most unintentionally,
+I am sure—by first one person and then another
+conveying instructions to them. But now
+that they were solely responsible for me and
+to me, no one could have behaved better. Once
+succeed in giving your Chinese employee a real
+sense of responsibility and you have one of the
+most trustworthy men in the world to deal with
+is not only my own experience, but that of men
+who have lived half a lifetime in China. Those,
+indeed, who live there longest like them best. I
+have long since come to the conclusion that as far
+as is practicable with virtually no knowledge of
+their language the more one manages one’s native
+servants oneself and without assistance the better
+one will hit it off with them. As soon as ever
+the third person intervenes, misunderstandings,
+ill-temper, and disagreement result.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span></p>
+
+<p>I was certainly pleased with my drivers when
+they told me that if I did not mind cutting tiffin
+and the midday rest, they thought that they could
+take me to a distant inn where I should be much
+more comfortable than at the obvious halt.
+Nothing loth, and quite content with a diet of
+walnuts and dates, since that was all that was
+accessible in my cart, we travelled for twelve
+solid hours on end. The men were in high
+spirits, shouting “Whoa, whoa,” to the animals
+(which in Chinese topsey-turveydom means of
+course “hurry up”—I was taken in by this every
+time) and cracking jokes all day, because, as the
+Yankees say, they “felt so good”. It was certainly
+a hard day, and at the end of it we met,
+what to me was a never-failing joy, one of the
+largest camel caravans I had ever seen. Slowly
+climbing up over the horizon it loomed between
+us and a gorgeous sunset, gradually dawning upon
+our vision as it came swaying along in the golden
+haze, richly dressed Mongols lolling easily upon
+the camels’ backs. There must have been over
+200 camels and sixteen or eighteen men, all fully
+armed, riding them, bright patches of colour in
+their blue, purple, or priestly red.</p>
+
+<p>So completely was I absorbed in this beautiful
+picture that I did not notice, neither apparently did
+the men, that we were approaching the compound
+of an inn on the off-side, until suddenly our leading
+pony made a tremendous dash right through
+the middle of the caravan across the track,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span>
+scattering the camels and causing something
+of a stampede. The little brute was hungry
+and had no intention of allowing a few camels
+to stand between him and his supper. The
+camels, who are only loosely roped together in
+order to save their pierced noses should any
+untoward incident, such as a stumble or cast
+load, occur, spread out in all directions, and for
+the moment the air was rendered sultry with
+Mongol execrations. No harm was, however,
+done, and every one laughed at the d’hivilment
+of the fiery little red pony. But our destination
+was not yet, and it was long after dark when we
+arrived “at the haven where we would be”. A
+long parley at the gateway of the inn filled me
+with fear that we were going to have trouble in
+securing accommodation, but after much wheedling
+on the part of my pock-marked Chinese, we
+were allowed to enter, and without a word from
+me some men were turned out of a room in
+order that I might have it to myself.</p>
+
+<p>The lad whose head I had so severely smacked
+but a few days previously behaved admirably,
+setting up my bed, fetching me hot water, and
+then staying to see me eat my supper. It was
+only by presenting him with the greater part of
+a leg of mutton (I detest old mutton!) that I got
+rid of him at all. Alone for a short spell, I settled
+down to a hearty meal composed of the various
+remains in my food box, and hurried off to bed
+with the uncomfortable recollection that the boy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span>
+had held up four fingers as indicating the hour at
+which we were to start, or at least at which I was
+to be called, on the morrow. Expecting to reach
+Kalgan within twenty-four hours, I bestowed
+certain articles of food upon the coolies who stood
+round watching me pack up next morning, and
+was amused to see that my men got a <i>quid pro quo</i>
+for anything I gave away. A copy of “Punch”
+was the means, I observed, of purchasing fodder
+for the red pony from the inn proprietor.</p>
+
+<p>Another somewhat strenuous day brought us to
+the top of the Han-o-pa Pass, and by the time
+we reached the heights the colouring was superb.
+Purple and pale blue mountains pushed through
+a misty atmosphere, the sun shone brilliantly, and
+great masses of clouds shed their deep shadows
+over the gateway to North China. It was here
+that the road from Dolo N’or joined our caravan
+route, and we had indeed the evidence of our own
+eyes that the fighting of which we had heard so
+much was no mere myth. We overtook ox-cart
+after ox-cart escorted by small detachments of
+Chinese soldiers, bringing down knapsacks, accoutrements,
+and caps belonging to the poor
+Chinese who had fallen to the splendid marksmanship
+and dash of the Mongol troops at the battle
+of Dolo N’or. The Chinese are much too thrifty
+(and poor) to allow their caps to be buried with
+the soldiers. More than once, too, we saw some
+miserably wounded officer being carried down
+that terribly rocky pass on a rough stretcher.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span>
+One man had had to pass the night at the last inn
+at which I stopped, and it was pitiful to see the
+agony he suffered in being lifted on to his
+stretcher again. He had been badly shot in the
+lower part of the body, and I am sure he must
+have wished that he had been killed outright.
+People say that the Chinese are insensitive, and
+that relatively speaking that they do not suffer.
+One thing I know about them is that some of them
+have the power of self-control very wonderfully
+developed. As to their sensitiveness to pain, I
+should not like to speak, but I am very certain
+that it is rash to generalise.</p>
+
+<p>It is strange what a haven of comfort and
+security one’s headquarters, however temporary,
+become for the time being, and my last day on
+the road was marked by the now-we-shall-soon-be-home
+feeling. By way of a final experience,
+we encountered for three hours over the
+highest part of the pass the thickest dust storm
+that it has ever been my lot to see in the East.
+So dense it was, that covering myself up completely
+with the oilcloth I cowered as far back
+as I could get in my cart, and breathed in air
+which might have been caused by a practical joker
+with a bag of flour, while for safety, as well as
+out of sheer humanity, I gave my motor goggles
+to my perspiring driver. Appearances do not
+trouble me much off the beaten track, but the
+whole of the day following was devoted by myself
+and a “boy” in trying to drive the dust out<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span>
+of the riding kit which I had worn in the storm,
+and even from the few things which were carefully
+packed away in a small box.</p>
+
+<p>The descent from the heights some fifteen miles
+north of Kalgan was one of continuous jolt,
+joggle, bang-joggle, bang, jolt. One wheel would
+mount a time-worn boulder, linger a second on the
+top, and slide off with a gulp into the soft sand.
+The other meanwhile, would execute a “pas seul”
+on a rock newly disintegrated from the mountain
+side. Packed even by an old hand well versed
+in Chinese travelling, everything breakable got
+broken on my journey down over the Kalgan Pass,
+and even the sides of my books were ground
+against each other until the cardboard showed
+through the cloth covers. As for my camera,
+my cherished old Kodak which for over fifteen
+years had served me well and in many countries,
+and which especially in Mongolia had given me
+cent per cent of good results, I did not mean to
+let it get broken if I could possibly help it, and I
+saved its life by carrying it slung round my neck
+so that it rested on my chest, thus providing a
+certain amount of resistance against the jarring.
+The reason of this somewhat excessive destruction
+was that we came down the mountain side
+at top speed, reckless as to driving, in order to
+reach Kalgan before the closing of the city gates.</p>
+
+<p>Away down on the level all our troubles were
+forgotten in the compensating peacefulness of
+shelter from the wind. The road along the Kalgan<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span>
+valley was very beautiful, very soothing, and full
+of incident. The rugged mountains round us
+were bathed in the soft warm glow of sunset, the
+shadows closing in behind us fell in rich violet
+tones. The trees, which little more than a month
+ago had been bare, were now fully clad in their
+daintiest, freshest green, and what had been a
+frozen river-bed was once again a running stream.
+Many men and boys watering their horses greeted
+my drivers, and incidentally myself, as heroes who
+had deeds of daring done, and welcomed us as
+travellers returned in safety from a distant and
+dangerous land. The Chinese are horribly afraid
+of the Mongols.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f20">
+<img src="images/fig20.jpg" alt="scene">
+<p class="caption">A PASTORAL SCENE</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“With coarse food to eat, water to drink, and the bended arm<br>
+as a pillow, happiness may still exist.”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">
+—<i>Chinese proverb</i>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">S</span>O greatly had I enjoyed my experiences of
+travel in Inner Mongolia, that it was in
+a sanguine frame of mind I returned to
+Peking to engage in the pleasant task of making
+my preparations for a more extensive expedition.
+I had not, however, been long in the capital
+before I received from an authentic quarter
+news which made my prospects of carrying
+my plans into effect look somewhat dubious.
+Confirming the rumours I had heard at Ta-Bol,
+a Reuter’s telegram was published to the effect
+that a battle in which 1200 Chinese soldiers had
+been routed had taken place immediately north
+of that place, and that the Hung-hu-tzes, once
+a robber band, now authorised Mongol soldiery,
+were plundering within a few hundred li of
+Kalgan, and killing Mongols and Chinese without
+distinction.</p>
+
+<p>The next thing that happened was that one
+afternoon at the British Legation, forty-eight
+hours only after my return from the north, I met Mr.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span>
+Edward Manico Gull, then of the Chinese Maritime
+Customs Service, who, like myself, undeterred by
+the question of risks, was keenly desirous of crossing
+the Gobi and of visiting Urga with a view of
+learning at first hand something of the political
+conditions which led up to the rebellion of Mongolia
+against Chinese rule. A few days later he
+propounded the very practical suggestion that
+it would be decidedly economical, and, what was
+of far greater importance, very much safer, if we
+joined forces in order to make the attempt. Plans
+then grew apace. Mr. Gull left for Kalgan almost
+immediately, and spent a weary fortnight in
+making strenuous efforts to secure first camels,
+and then a Mongol to accompany us as guide.
+Only people who have had this sort of experience
+can realise the constant disappointment,
+the promises, the breaking of promises, the endless
+procrastinations and delay that attend an
+endeavour to persuade the Asiatic into doing
+something concerning which he has misgivings—it
+resolves itself into a perfect see-saw of anticipation
+and disillusion.</p>
+
+<p>At extortionate rates, camels were commissioned
+over and over again; a southern Mongol
+undertook the duties of guide. When the time
+arrived for their appearance there were no camels.
+The Mongol backed out of his bargain. For my
+part, I undertook the purchase of stores—a
+somewhat unknown quantity, for under the
+unsettled conditions of the country it was wise<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span>
+to be prepared for all emergencies, such as
+dodging the fighting forces, which conceivably
+might mean making a détour taking weeks. I
+also bought a capital pony—alas! only to sell him
+back again to his owner a few days later. But
+I at Peking was less sanguine than my friend at
+Kalgan. The little experience I had already had of
+Mongolia had taught me something of the difficulties
+of the situation, and by then the frontiers
+were so tremendously guarded that there was never
+the ghost of a chance of getting out of China nor of
+our caravan going through the lines.</p>
+
+<p>To the kindness of certain friends at Peking
+at this time I owe more even than perhaps they
+realise. Plans had of necessity to be kept private
+under the circumstances, and the sympathy as
+well as the practical assistance in preparing my
+outfit that were given to me in the most generous
+manner possible by the two people who were in my
+confidence can never be forgotten. But to cut a
+long, and to me a heartrending, story short, we had,
+after straining every nerve to achieve our object,
+to abandon the notion of crossing the Gobi, and,
+travelling by train in the most prosaic manner
+possible through Manchuria and Siberia, we
+arrived at Verkne-Oudinsk on the Eastern side
+of Lake Baikal. The journey thither, had not
+the vision of all we had missed in being forced to
+cut out the Gobi from our calculations loomed
+large on our horizon, would have been very
+interesting. As it was, I broke my journey by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span>
+the South Manchurian Railway for twenty-four
+hours in order to see something of the old capital
+and metropolis of Manchuria, Moukden, while Mr.
+Gull travelled on to spend a few days with some
+friends at Harbin.</p>
+
+<p>Moukden attracted me on several counts. I
+wanted to see with my own eyes something of
+the effect of the Japanese influence (the line
+from Peking to Ch’angch’un is Japanese) on the
+Chinese in Manchuria, as well as to visit what had
+been the scene of great slaughter during the Russo-Japanese
+war. Most of all was I anxious not to
+miss the opportunity of inspecting the small but
+fine collection of Ch’en Lung pictures which
+interested me deeply. These, together with an
+enormous collection of porcelain, are kept, thick
+with dust and but rarely seeing the light of
+day, in the old palace, the ancestral home of
+the late dynasty, perilously exposed, it seemed,
+to danger from fire, but perhaps safer as regards
+looting than they might be in China proper. One
+of these days one fears that a needy Government,
+if it continues to sail under Republican colours,
+will cast its predatory eye on this mass of treasure,
+and a long purse from the United States will
+replenish the coffers of the iconoclasts at the
+expense to the nation of some of the most precious
+heirlooms of the faded monarchy, the priceless
+possessions of Ch’en Lung the magnificent. The
+tombs of the Manchu sovereigns a few miles out
+of the city also helped to convince me that it had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span>
+been well worth while to break my journey at
+Moukden.</p>
+
+<p>From Ch’angch’un to Harbin one travels under
+Russian auspices on the Chinese Eastern Railway.
+Never in all my experience have I arrived
+at a more depressing place than Harbin, some
+eighteen hours’ journey on from Moukden. Never
+have I felt more of a stranger in a strange land.
+Chaos reigned among the cosmopolitan crowds on
+the platforms, and I was in despair at securing
+my luggage before the train went on. A friend
+in need, in the person of a hotel porter, came to
+my assistance after I had effected the whole
+business myself, and haled me off to the dreariest
+hotel it has ever been my lot to enter. Of
+mushroom growth consequent on the opening
+of the Siberian Railway, there is little that is
+attractive in Harbin, and it was depressing to
+find that Russian holidays, when all shops are
+closed, necessitated remaining there for several
+days in order to make final purchases. I could
+find no redeeming feature in Harbin, although it
+was there that an extraordinary piece of good luck
+befell us. In a dismal tea garden, Mr. Gull and
+I were using up a great deal of energy in the endeavour
+to persuade a Russian waitress to provide
+us with bread and butter, when a handsome old
+man turned round and in dulcet tones said, “Would
+you like me to interpret for you?” We did
+indeed like, and still more did we enjoy the
+conversation that ensued. We learned that our<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span>
+friend, a much-travelled man, had been in Urga,
+and was therefore able to give us most valuable
+information as to the means of getting there. In
+the kindness of his heart, he even presented us
+with introductions to a Russian who had it in his
+power to be exceedingly useful to us, but who
+unfortunately was absent from Mongolia when we
+arrived there. This kindness on the part of a
+perfect stranger was truly refreshing, not to say
+inspiring.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Peking as we had done by so entirely
+different a route from that we had projected, we had
+been unable to provide ourselves with the permits
+necessary for carrying firearms in Russia. The
+Russian customs are the bugbear of trans-Siberian
+travel. Even when all is in one’s favour, passports
+duly <i>viséd</i>, every detail <i>en règle</i>, endless
+difficulties are apt to crop up, and sad and varied
+are the stories with which passengers regale each
+other of lost luggage, missed trains, and other
+uncalled-for troubles, one and all resulting from—shall
+we say excess of zeal?—at the customs.
+The Russians still seem to think that they are
+doing one a favour in allowing one to travel in
+their unattractive and expensive country, in which
+I for one certainly encountered more sheer discomfort
+than in any other place I have stayed in.</p>
+
+<p>The settlement, it is scarcely worthy of being
+called a town, of Manchuli is separated by some
+forty-eight hours’ journey from Harbin. It is solely
+of importance as being the Russian frontier, and is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span>
+the scene therefore of all that is exasperating
+in connection with customs. It was here that we
+anticipated trouble with our guns, revolvers, and
+ammunition. But good fortune was beginning to
+shine upon us, and owing to a little kindly advice
+from another casual acquaintance, we experienced
+no difficulty at all. We had been warned that
+if the guns were too much in evidence they
+would unquestionably be confiscated and that imprisonment
+without the option of a fine would
+result without doubt. Stories of the awful dungeons
+on the Volga floated through my mind.</p>
+
+<p>My gun, therefore, was taken from its case (the
+latter being sent back by post to Peking) and the
+three sections wrapped up and packed among the
+underwear in my trunk. The ammunition, I was
+advised, should be so distributed as to give no
+clue to its presence. This was by no means an
+easy matter. Over a hundred rounds packed
+away into a tin jug and basin, with walnuts placed
+on the top, were made into an untidy brown paper
+parcel. The remainder was carried in a haversack.
+It being generally agreed that the less likely of
+the two of us to be suspected was myself, I
+undertook to do my best to perpetrate the deception.
+Underneath my Burberry I slung the
+Mauser pistol and a large Colt revolver; my
+smaller weapon I carried in my pocket. The
+ammunition for all these I had also spread about
+my person. Outside my coat was the haversack,
+the strap concealed round my neck, and in order<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span>
+to suggest the lightness of—food, shall we say?—I
+carried this jauntily on the tips of two fingers.
+The total was somewhat weighty, and I felt for
+all the world like a Gilbert and Sullivan pirate.</p>
+
+<p>The examination of my small trunk was to me
+a nerve-racking performance. To present a bland
+appearance to the officials who conducted the
+search was, under the circumstances, rather hard.
+Layer after layer was lifted out, but when on the
+verge of disclosing my disjointed gun the generalissimo
+in command stayed the hands of his
+underling and all was well. But it was touch
+and go.</p>
+
+<p>Upon our box of stores we had fully expected
+to pay duty, since everything entering Russia is
+liable, and a few days previously I had been told
+of a lady travelling home by this route with her
+baby being charged full price on sixteen tins of
+milk which she had purchased for her journey.
+But the officials were content with the turning
+out of the entire contents of the box, when finding
+that there was no one article in sets of dozens,
+they were good enough to pass the lot through
+without charging us a penny.</p>
+
+<p>The remainder of the journey to our destination,
+Verkne-Oudinsk, was pleasant enough by the
+ordinary trans-Siberian daily express, and without
+incident worth recording. There was no
+restaurant car, but the station buffets all along
+this route are excellent, and in taking advantage
+of these for meals we were able to husband the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span>
+contents of the food box for Mongolian emergencies.
+We drew up at more or less suitable
+times for meals thrice daily, and soon learned to
+accommodate ourselves to these or to go without
+altogether. At the buffets we found capital food
+at very reasonable prices, and it was usually
+cooked to the minute of the train’s arrival. At
+wayside stations too, we were able to buy wild
+raspberries in any quantity, but never were we
+able to hit these off at the same station at which
+we bought beautiful cream—the equivalent of
+about half a pint for a penny. Food on such a
+journey (there were about fifty hours between
+Manchuria and Verkne-Oudinsk) plays no unimportant
+part, and for the sake of those who
+fear lest they may go hungry should they have
+the courage to travel other than by the <i>train de
+luxe</i>, I will just mention in passing that the little
+spatch-cock chickens fried in egg and breadcrumb,
+after a liberal helping of the famous Russian
+Bortsch (which indeed is a meal in itself) make a
+dinner hard to beat. Travelling second class for
+economy’s sake—for we were in utter ignorance
+as to how our financial resources would hold out
+in Mongolia—our travelling companions were
+mainly Russian officers and their families, and
+from time to time a couple of priests of the Greek
+Church would get in. But one of all these knew
+any language other than his mother tongue. To
+find the wonderful linguists with which Russia is
+usually accredited one must go, I fancy, into the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span>
+society of Petersburg or Moscow. This particular
+linguist, a priest, had lived in America. The
+conductors on the trains, though civil enough,
+spoke Russian only. The well-equipped washrooms
+at the end of each compartment were
+dreadful traps for losing things, and an unpleasing
+coincidence occurred when we discovered the loss
+of our respective watches both on the same day.</p>
+
+<p>They were undoubtedly stolen. Mine was less
+easily explained than that of my fellow-traveller.
+For less than two minutes he had left it on the
+edge of the lavatory basin, and on becoming
+aware of this second loss it seemed that the time
+had come for complaint. Complaint in Russian,
+however, is not so easy when one does not know
+one word of the tongue, and we resorted to the
+primitive method of drawing the watch, and then
+making pantomimic enquiries of our companions—at
+that time a couple of priests and the two sons
+of one of them. It was one of these latter we
+had reason to suspect, and going sternly up to them,
+I brandished the drawing in their faces and demanded
+the watch. The father broke out to our
+astonishment in voluble English, and assured us
+(what parent would not have done?) that his were
+good little boys, and would not think of keeping
+the watch had they found it. Our surprise was
+even greater when the second priest produced his
+cigarette case, opened it, and disclosed the watch.
+He presented it to me with an unctuous bow, explaining
+that not knowing to whom it belonged he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span>
+had retained it. I am afraid that we must have
+mingled incredulity with our gratitude, or perhaps
+his uneasy conscience smote him, for he pulled
+forth a large crucifix from his voluminous garment,
+kissed it sanctimoniously, held out his hands to
+both of us, and before we had time to realise the
+situation kissed first one and then the other of us
+amid great protestations of honesty. A most revolting
+person.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“Whom Heaven has endowed as a fool at his birth it is a waste<br>
+of instruction to teach”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">
+—<i>Chinese proverb</i>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">O</span>UR real difficulties had, however, barely
+begun, and it was upon arrival at the
+Hotel Siberie at Verkne-Oudinsk that we
+felt completely at sea in the absence of one word
+of a common language. Reaching our destination
+late at night we had the greatest trouble in making
+them understand that we were hungry and wished
+to have supper before seeking our rooms. Eggs,
+we thought, would be the simplest and most easily
+obtainable fare. I therefore drew an egg. What
+they did <i>not</i> think it was meant for can hardly be
+described; that it was an egg never occurred to
+them. Certainly an egg drawn in a hurry might
+be many things. Therefore I added an egg-cup
+to my sketch; and at this they stared in blank
+astonishment. I think they had never seen such
+a thing. I then tried to draw a chicken; at which
+they laughed, but had no conception as to my
+intention. With all the resourcefulness of the
+superior sex, Mr. Gull had a brilliant notion. Out
+of all patience—he is a peppery little man—he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span>
+pointed to my picture, and, violently flapping his
+arms, he squawked “Cock-a-doodle-doo” at the
+top of his voice. Delight on the part of the staff.
+The demonstration had penetrated their thick
+skulls, and we had eggs for supper that night.</p>
+
+<p>Next day our intention was to find out all about
+the steamboat which was to carry us up the
+Selenga River to Kiachta, but how to encompass
+this was almost an insurmountable problem. The
+clerks of the telegraph office had been our solitary
+hope, but on acquaintance we found that this
+means was worse than useless. They knew not
+one word of French, German, or, of course,
+English. We wandered, somewhat disconsolate,
+along the dusty streets, wondering what we should
+be able to do, when, when coming away from a
+private house, we encountered the amiable countenance
+of a Chinaman. We seized upon him, and
+our troubles were, for the time being at least, at
+an end. What he did not know himself, he put us
+in the way of finding out, and retracing his steps
+into the house he invited the master thereof to
+come forth and to speak with us. This gentleman
+turned out to be a German-speaking Russian engaged
+in one of the more important businesses of
+the place, and of his kindness we have the most
+grateful recollection. He helped us to order
+dinner, he walked with us, and drove with us.
+He took us to the steamship company’s office,
+purchased our tickets, and finally put us and our
+luggage on board the “Rabatka,” waving us<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span>
+farewells from the wharf like the good friend that
+he was.</p>
+
+<p>Verkne-Oudinsk is not a place of many attractions.
+Once a penal settlement, now a military
+stronghold, its main feature is the huge white
+prison standing on the banks of the Selenga River
+a short distance outside the town; it seems
+out of all proportion to the population of some
+40,000 inhabitants. This prison is capable of containing
+600 men and women, and in some of the
+rooms there are as many as seventy persons
+herded together. Criminals of the worst order,
+as well as those prisoners who have escaped and
+been recaptured, are isolated, confined in dungeons,
+and wear fetters on their ankles. Of
+Verkne-Oudinsk’s 40,000 inhabitants some 10,000
+are said to be Chinese, while of the remainder an
+appreciable proportion is no doubt composed of
+Russian political exiles and ticket-of-leave men
+with their families, or their descendants.</p>
+
+<p>In relation to the size and position of the place
+the shops of Verkne-Oudinsk are fairly good.
+There are also a couple of factories, while a brisk
+trade is carried on at certain hours of the day in
+the big market square. Considerable business is
+transacted in Verkne-Oudinsk in connection with
+skins, fur, wool, and timber. The first-named are,
+however, exported in their raw condition and
+therefore not a great many people are employed
+in this trade. As in most Russian towns, the
+church forms the dominant feature, and that in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span>
+Verkne-Oudinsk, with its copper-green roof and
+white walls, is decidedly attractive to the eye,
+standing as it does, on the banks of a flowing river.</p>
+
+<p>The houses, mainly of wood, and often composed
+of rough logs with the bark remaining, are for the
+most part of one story and border the roads on
+which the dust is habitually ankle deep. The only
+possibility of comfort under such conditions is to
+wear the long soft top boots of the country. Yet
+it is only the men of the place who do so, and the
+women for the most part go about in trodden-down
+slippers and with shawls over their untidy heads.</p>
+
+<p>The weather was by this time growing hot, and
+the prospect of two days’ travelling on a river
+steamboat sounded exceedingly pleasant after the
+shadeless, dust-laden streets of Verkne-Oudinsk.
+But we had reckoned without the mosquitoes.
+The “Rabatka” can hardly be called a luxurious
+boat, and the vibration and noise from the paddle-wheels
+were at first not a little trying. The cabins,
+arranged with three hard, velvet-covered seats in
+place of berths, were very small, while the necessity
+that arose for the thick wire-gauze screens
+over the windows as soon as the sun went down,
+rendered them almost unendurably hot. There
+was a roomy upper deck upon which we had
+fondly contemplated spending all our time, but
+alas! the funnel emitted, not smoke, but a continuous
+rain of red-hot charcoal, and in view of
+the danger from fire there was, of course, no
+awning.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span></p>
+
+<p>The scenery, which was mildly pretty as we
+passed between the pine-clad hills outside Verkne-Oudinsk,
+soon became flat and uninteresting.
+Selenginsk, the only village of any size and with
+the usual large white church with green domes,
+was passed about half-way between our starting-point
+and Ost-Kiachta, and may be remembered
+as having been during the early part of last
+century the field of a group of English missionaries
+who established there an excellent work
+among the Buriats (a Russian-nationalised tribe
+of Mongols). They lived there in complete exile
+until Nicholas Imperator ordered them out of the
+country in the early forties, the reason being that
+it was English influence and not the Christianising
+of the Buriats that was feared by the authorities.</p>
+
+<p>Delightful indeed it was to reach the little port
+of Ost-Kiachta in the cool of the morning, to
+make a bad bargain with the owner of a tarantass,
+and to find ourselves driving along through country
+which was in refreshing contrast to that we
+had recently left—stretches of flowery moorland
+bordered with pines and silver birches. At one
+point across a shallow valley drifted sounds of
+melody, which, we discovered later, arose from
+the tents of an encampment of Russian soldiers.
+This part of Siberia, in fact, bristles with bayonets,
+and the ulterior motives of massing such numbers
+of soldiers in territory so obviously peaceful is
+significant enough. We must have driven for
+some ten miles or more when we dashed through
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span>the gay little town of Troitze-Casavsk, in which
+churches and barracks seemed to dominate everything
+right up to the door of the unpretentious,
+one-storied, barn-like erection which called itself
+the Hôtel Metrôpole.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f21">
+<img src="images/fig21.jpg" alt="casavsk">
+<p class="caption">TROITZE CASAVSK</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f22">
+<img src="images/fig22.jpg" alt="hostess">
+<p class="caption">OUR BURIAT HOSTESS</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f23">
+<img src="images/fig23.jpg" alt="jamschik">
+<p class="caption">THE JAMSCHIK AND HIS TARANTASS</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The place presented a depressed aspect, and
+the bedrooms, like cells, opening off a long and
+odoriferous passage, were far from cheering.
+The washing arrangements, just a trickle of water
+coming from a tin receptacle of doubtful cleanliness
+fixed above a basin, and the sheetless, blanketless
+beds were by no means inviting. The landlord,
+however, a portly Serb, was a pleasant enough
+fellow, and sent us in an appetising lunch, which,
+after our picnicing experiences on both boat and
+train was welcome. Kiachta, of which Troitze-Casavsk
+is merely a division on the northern
+side, we found to be a far more interesting place
+than Verkne-Oudinsk. A great military centre,
+with newly-erected barracks of strikingly ugly
+design and capable of accommodating over 15,000
+soldiers, mars the foreground of what would otherwise
+be a most charming view extending as far as
+the eye can reach into Mongolia.</p>
+
+<p>A ribbon of no man’s land divides Kiachta from
+Mai-mai-ch’eng (buy-sell city), a pretty little
+Chinese township which fringes the northernmost
+border of Mongolia opposite Kiachta—the
+neutral territory being defined by a couple of
+stone pillars on the strip of dusty waste. But
+Russia has long ago broken the laws of neutral<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span>
+territory by the establishment of barracks within
+five miles of the frontier, and Mai-mai-ch’eng is
+depressed. They are very depressed indeed, for
+the Russians are pressing the Chinese very hard
+here, and, while the latter doubtless squeezed the
+Mongol to the limits of his endurance, they in
+their turn are being ground down and out of
+existence by dues and taxation on both incoming
+and outgoing goods, in face of the special protection
+which is afforded to all Russian products.
+The Chinese were very ready to talk about their
+grievances, and we sat in their little shops and
+drank excellent tea, in Russian fashion, in vast
+quantities one hot afternoon while they poured
+these grievances into our sympathetic ears.
+Chinese, Mongols, and Russians live cheek by
+jowl in Kiachta, but all told, apart from the
+military, the total population numbers not many
+more than a thousand souls.</p>
+
+<p>It is here in Kiachta that one first makes the
+acquaintance of the Khalkha or Northern Mongol.
+In the streets, in the market place, in the burning
+heat where the sand refracts every atom of
+glare, they are to be encountered. Always
+mounted, they presented the most extraordinarily
+picturesque appearance, and the first impression
+fascinated me. One couple, an elderly rake and
+his pretty young wife, we followed about while
+they made their purchases. The girl, sitting
+easily and gracefully on her pony, bartered for
+things at the various stalls, while her elderly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span>
+swain doled out the roubles with a cheeriness
+which made me think that she must surely be the
+wife of “the other fellow”—it certainly was not
+marital. At a Chinese booth she drank, what
+looked like, sherbet, made an awful face over it,
+whereat Don Yuan laughed derisively. Riding
+astride, she appeared both eminently practical and
+unpractical at the same time—the curious spreading
+coiffure looking as though it would catch the
+wind to any extent when she was going fast. This
+seemed to me as though it might possibly have
+been the forerunner of the Manchu headdress
+which strikes one as being so attractive the first
+time one sees it in Peking. The typical Mongol
+swagger, of which later we were to see plenty,
+was not absent from the pair, and the maiden
+evidently enjoyed our interest, and was, moreover,
+quite coy about it.</p>
+
+<p>How to get away from Kiachta was a problem
+somewhat difficult of solution. Wild rumours
+regarding the turbulent soldiery and the Hung-hu-tzes,
+or “red-beards,” as these murderous
+robbers are called, sent up the prices alarmingly.
+By an European we had met in Verkne-Oudinsk
+we had been told that our route might be infested
+by such, and that on meeting a bunch of mounted
+men in Russian boots and slouch hats we were to
+shoot at sight and not to wait for them “to plug
+the lead in first”. Hung-hu-tzes have the reputation
+of killing first and robbing afterwards. How
+sound this advice may have been it is difficult to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span>
+determine now, for fortunately we never had
+occasion to put it into practice. Through the kind
+offices of a solitary Dane in charge of the telegraph
+system at Kiachta, to whom we were lucky
+in having an introduction, we were able to come
+to terms with the owner of a tarantass. The latter
+is a rough cradle-like, hooded structure, virtually
+springless, on four wheels, drawn by three fiery
+horses, driven by a Jamschik or Russian coachman.
+For sixty roubles (nearly £7), ten of them
+in advance (which we inadvertently forgot to
+deduct when we got to our journey’s end), our
+ruffianly looking driver undertook to convey us to
+Urga, but, he said, owing to the rivers at this
+time of year being in flood, he would not guarantee
+to do so under a week. From my point of view
+this was no drawback; lingering on the road
+enables one frequently to obtain an intimacy with
+the local conditions which hurrying through
+against time and under contract completely frustrates.</p>
+
+<p>I was glad to shake the dust of Russia from my
+feet for a while and depart from the hotel which
+at 8 o’clock on this perfect summer’s day was
+still slumbering and slothful. Evidence of the
+previous night’s debauch sufficed to make breakfast
+in the dining-room an unattractive experience,
+and it was not a place in which one cared to remain
+longer than absolutely necessary. A charge
+in our bill of something over five shillings for a
+cooked cauliflower was proof enough that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span>
+Russians love money though they do not love
+work. Rather a Mongol yourt at any time than
+an Hôtel Metrôpole in Siberia. Civilisation, so
+called, is all very well, but more often than not it
+destroys simplicity while in no sense augmenting
+comfort.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“The Great Way is very easy, but all love the by-paths”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">
+—<i>Chinese proverb</i>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE sheer discomfort of our crowded
+tarantass could not quench the glorious
+optimism with which on the last day of
+June we sallied forth on the highway to Urga.
+Our driver, though he looked a ruffian, was not
+unpromising on further acquaintance, and we
+ended up by liking him very much. On the day
+previous to our departure he had called to see
+exactly how much luggage we wanted to take
+with us, and this he was inclined to limit severely.
+Needless to say it had expanded considerably
+during the night, and we cudgelled our brains as
+to how to get it into the tarantass without exciting
+his criticism too much. The Jamschik was all
+smiles in the morning however, and took no notice
+as package after package was stowed away.
+The awful thought passed through my mind that
+perhaps he was in league with the Hung-hu-tzes
+and felt that the more the stores the better the
+booty. We were far too crowded to be comfortable.
+Experience, however, had taught us that
+in due course one shakes down to anything, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span>
+anyhow we were feeling altogether too pleased
+with life to worry much at this juncture. With
+us, surrounding us, and suspended above our
+heads from the roof of the tarantass, making hard
+corners and lumps when we tried to sit on or lean
+against them, were our food supplies for the double
+journey (which as regards time limit was exceedingly
+vague), a modicum of personal baggage, our
+bedding, and, not least, our cameras, firearms and
+cartridges. The weapons had to be so arranged
+as to be immediately available. We had but one
+desire—to get to Urga.</p>
+
+<p>The tarantass was drawn by three horses
+abreast with a fourth tied up and trotting alongside
+always—in the way, poor little chap, being crowded
+up banks when the road narrowed and coming
+in for the sharpest cuts from the long whip on
+account of his ill-luck every time. Our last stop,
+long before we had shaken down into anything
+like comfort, was at Mai-mai-ch’eng, just across
+the frontier, where we had hoped to lay in a stock
+of cigarettes, to purchase fresh bread, and to post
+final letters. But, Russian influence prevailing,
+Mai-mai-ch’eng had not waked up, the post-office
+and bakers’ shops were still shut, and our sole
+catch was cigarettes. Once out of Kiachta and
+through Mai-mai-ch’eng we were actually in
+Mongolia proper, speeding over undulating country
+on tracks rather than on roads, driving across
+flowery prairie, having said good-bye to all
+civilisation and houses for the time being. At<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span>
+midday we fetched up at the first Russian resthouse,
+a new and therefore fairly clean log-hut,
+and congratulated ourselves upon the prospect of
+simple comfort when a blue-eyed, blue-bloused
+young Russian produced the ubiquitous <i>samovar</i>
+and made for us even here tea the like of which
+you can get neither for love nor money outside
+Russia. While we ate our lunch the Jamschik
+amused himself by detaching and thoroughly
+oiling the wheels of the tarantass, a business
+which delayed us considerably and which it seemed
+to us might very well have been performed before
+we started.</p>
+
+<p>The day which had begun so well grew dull,
+and grey clouds turned into steady rain which
+made us anxious as to what the night might have
+in store for us. Through pretty country, grassy
+and well sprinkled with flowers, a small species
+of scarlet and yellow tiger-lily growing in
+abundance everywhere, we drove on for four
+or five hours before pulling up in a torrent of
+rain at dusk, at an unexpected shanty surrounded
+by three or four yourts out of which several
+Mongols promptly appeared. On further acquaintance
+we came to the conclusion that they
+were Buriats, but be their nationality what it
+may, they gave us a warm welcome; the woman
+who appeared to rule the roost there did her
+best to make us comfortable, dusting the rain
+from us and even going so far as to wipe the
+mud from Mr. Gull’s mackintosh with my sponge<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span>
+which I had unfortunately unpacked a thought
+too soon. The family appeared to be extensive,
+both numerically and in size. They all helped to
+carry in, and were eager to unpack, our belongings.
+The good lady soon had a <i>samovar</i> bubbling
+cheerily and a fire crackling in the mud stove
+which occupied quite a third of the floor space.
+She conveyed to us, entirely by pantomime and
+we afterwards verified her statement that she
+had once been in the Russian consul’s service,
+that she was a Christian—there was an icon in
+the corner of the room to which she pointed—and
+that therefore she loved us very much and
+would do anything she could for us.</p>
+
+<p>The men brought in a goodly supply of wood—it
+was cold even in the early July nights—and
+then stood and gazed at us solemnly. The entire
+family and many friends from the neighbourhood
+entered quite unceremoniously from time to time
+to have a look at us. They would walk straight
+in, stand and stare for a minute or two, finger
+anything that attracted their notice, and go on
+their way. Not so the little boys, of whom there
+were three or four, who refused to leave us and
+from whom, while they were picking up little bits
+of food, we tried to pick up a word or two of
+Mongolian. The sheep and goats too, squeezing
+together under the eaves, tried to enter each time
+the door was opened, and would have crowded
+us out had we not been firm. As it was, they
+kept up a melancholy “Baa, ba-a,” throughout<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span>
+the greater part of the night. There was here,
+of course, no Kangue, and following our Jamschik’s
+example, we spread all the available clothes and
+rugs upon the floor. I lay awake for, it seemed to
+me, many hours, the men snoring on the other side
+of the stove, listening to the rain beating down,
+and thankful to be in such relatively comfortable
+quarters. Before 7 a.m. we were up again,
+spreading our hard biscuit with blackberry jam
+(how I regretted not having insisted upon taking
+over the commissariat department and buying
+bread!) and drinking our cocoa as hot as possible
+in order to warm ourselves. The children came
+in for the dregs, in return for which they did
+their best to teach me to count up to six in their
+mother tongue. I do not think that their own
+knowledge went beyond the figure.</p>
+
+<p>It had rained all night and continued to do so all
+the next day, and the night following that again, and
+we were not sorry when our Jamschik intimated to
+us that we had better for the moment stop where
+we were. We knew that we had shortly to cross
+a river, and when he raised his arms above his
+head and said “Ura Gol,” we rightly concluded
+that the river, swollen high, was impossible to
+negotiate. Besides, next night might, for all
+we knew, mean camping in the open, and this
+under the present conditions of weather was by no
+means enticing. We had a very lazy day, writing
+a little, reading and talking, playing with any small
+Mongols who happened to put in an appearance.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span></p>
+
+<p>By the following morning the river was said
+to have gone down sufficiently for us to cross,
+and we were well under weigh by 6 a.m. in none
+too promising weather. The Ura Gol was not far
+off, and we crossed the rushing waters by means
+of a flat-bottomed barge pulled over by wire
+hawsers. We all crowded together on our tarantass,
+horses, and men, paying the Mongols who
+thus transported us about three shillings for their
+trouble. The banks were flat, and there was
+nothing to charm the eye in this part of the river
+or in the bleak and hilly landscape over which
+a watery sun was making a futile attempt to
+shine. By tiffin time we had accomplished our
+third stage and drew up at a mud hovel depressing
+to a degree. The heavy rains had partially destroyed
+the roof and the floor was in consequence
+a morass of filth. There were living here in
+melancholy exile three or four unkempt and
+murderous looking men, and a very unhappy
+woman with three little boys clinging about her
+draggled skirts—miserable and dissolute Russians
+upon whom the hand of fate had fallen too heavily
+to admit even the faintest ray of hope upon
+their horizon. There is something peculiarly
+pathetic in the sight of the reversion to this
+condition of animal existence by people who
+have obviously at some time or another belonged
+to civilisation. What they lived on here was
+more of a mystery than how they lived.</p>
+
+<p>The day had cleared to a perfect brilliance, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span>
+the world seemed a cheery place as we ascended
+from the mosquito-ridden and marshy valleys and
+wended our way among the hills to the highlands.
+Coming over a long and somewhat tedious pass,
+a tremendous view rewarded us at the top of the
+climb—an immense plain, ascending by gentle
+slopes to the mountains, a ribbon of wheel-tracks
+running across it. It was evening when our
+Jamschik suddenly turned in his seat and, pointing
+with his whip, shouted out something as unintelligible
+as it was exhilarating. In the twinkling
+of an eye we seemed to be transplanted into
+another life. There, right at our feet, was a huge
+Mongol settlement, girdled about on all sides by
+the low-lying mountains. Numbers of yourts,
+clustered in twos or threes, formed the centre of
+great activity. Colour, form, and motion were
+literally rampant. What in the distance had
+looked like ant-hills with ants swarming around
+them turned out to be the yourts surrounded by
+cattle and flocks. Brilliantly dressed Mongols
+galloped around in every direction; hundreds of
+horses were scattered about in herds over the
+foothills. The men were rounding them up for
+the night. From time to time some wayward
+little beast would break away from the rest, proposing
+to spend the night in mountain solitude.
+A gaudy stalwart would dart off after it, standing
+in his stirrups, leaning well forward in his saddle,
+reins held high in one hand, while in the other he
+trailed behind him what looked like a fishing-rod<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span>
+ending up in a loop of raw hide. With a twirl of
+his wrist he would bring this flying round at the
+right moment, and lasso the pony with great
+adroitness, hauling it, subdued at once by the
+tightening thong, back to the herd.</p>
+
+<p>Nearer the camp, the women coped with the
+gentler cattle and sheep, and by the time we
+arrived numbers of cows were tethered with their
+calves reluctantly allowing a modicum of their
+milk to be diverted from its natural destiny. The
+milking of a Mongol cow is less easy than it might
+appear. The latter has far more character than
+that cow which is confined to the proverbial three
+acres, and on no account will the Mongol bovine
+yield up her milk until her calf has had its whack.
+I have seen them myself arching up their backs
+and persistently refusing to allow one drop to be
+drawn.</p>
+
+<p>“We shall be able to get new milk here,” rejoiced
+my travelling companion, to which I replied,
+“The newer the better,” and foraged for a jug
+among the contents of our food basket. He was
+all for buying some from the pail of a laughing
+maiden who was drawing freely on the teats of a
+cow tethered near by. I, however, having been
+brought up for so many years under the direct
+jurisdiction of those who frame the public health
+laws, did not fancy the milk that had filtered
+through dirty fingers into a still more questionable
+sheepskin pail. I therefore waded in on my own
+account, and, tin jug in hand, walked up to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span>
+nearest cow, laughing and joking with the Mongols
+who crowded round me, oblivious of a murmured
+protest in connection with my “appalling cheek”
+from Mr. Gull, and proceeded to milk her. But
+no, the cow did not see the joke. She declined
+to be milked by an impertinent foreigner. I
+turned to another, a gentler creature, who was
+quite willing. The Mongols greeted my attempt,
+my successful attempt, I may proudly add, with
+the utmost hilarity, and my jug was half-full when—what
+I thought was—a furious old woman pushed
+through the ring, and gave me very plainly to
+understand that this was her cow, and that if I
+stole any more milk she would set her equally
+furious dog, which was barking loudly at her
+heels, upon me. The other Mongols urged me
+to continue, and soundly rated the old—man, I
+discovered him to be—on his lack of hospitality.
+To them it was a stupendous joke, and so popular
+did the incident for the moment make me that I
+might have milked every cow in the place after
+that had I wanted to. My companion, while
+strongly condemning my action, drank the milk
+with keen appreciation—“Adam”!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f24">
+<img src="images/fig24.jpg" alt="russian">
+<p class="caption">A RUSSIAN SAMSON SEPARATES THE COMBATANTS</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f25">
+<img src="images/fig25.jpg" alt="lama">
+<p class="caption">THE LAMA AND HIS MAIDEN</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the meantime, Mr. Gull and the Jamschik
+had fixed up our quarters for the night. A handsome
+young lama had pressed the hospitality of
+his yourt upon us, and intimated that the only
+other occupants would be himself and the maiden
+who appeared to be attached to him. There were
+from thirty to forty yourts on the plain, some clean
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span>and new, others filthy and in the last stage of
+dilapidation. Ours was reasonably clean, and the
+felt, with an effective decoration in black for
+a border, was in good condition. As I returned
+from my milking exploit, the lama beckoned me
+to enter, and as I did so, mindful of my manners,
+I laid my stick on the roof above the door. To
+my surprise, the priest picked it up and brought
+it inside—he evidently thought that such a handsome
+foreign stick would be too great a temptation
+to his enemies. A great fire sending forth
+volumes of smoke was blazing in the centre of the
+yourt, and I found my fellow-traveller suffering
+greatly in consequence as he struggled with our
+baggage and the unpacking of the food box preparatory
+to the evening meal. We had arrived at
+a satisfactory division of labour—the culinary side,
+which included “washing up,” fell to my lot, the
+unpacking, repacking and cording—which had to
+be done with great thoroughness—was carried
+out by my companion. The great tip in a smoky
+yourt is to squat on one’s heels and so keep one’s
+head out of the smoke which rises at once to the
+roof leaving the ground more or less clear.</p>
+
+<p>Half a dozen Mongols besides our host and
+hostess came and sat on the opposite side of the
+yourt as we spread our supper in front of us.
+They boiled the water for us and I made tea,
+when a happy thought struck me. I poured out
+two mugs full of tea, added plenty of sugar and
+milk, and rising, we handed them respectively to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span>
+the priest and to the girl. They were delighted,
+and the others chortled at the unexpected good
+manners of the foreigners. They rose to the
+occasion at once, poured the tea from our <i>mugs</i> to
+their <i>bowls</i> (for which I was thankful), and, turning
+to the pail of milk behind them, filled the mugs
+and gave them back to us. In phraseology journalistic,
+“an excellent impression was produced”.</p>
+
+<p>After supper, in total ignorance as to the rules
+of procedure for going to bed in a yourt, we walked
+about and watched night falling on the camp.
+The fierce guard dogs were let loose, and we were
+left alone with two or three little lama boys who
+never ceased pestering us for cigarettes. Then
+we turned in; our rugs and waterproof sheeting
+spread along the periphery of the yourt in order
+to catch all the air that was moving. They had
+evidently been waiting for us. The lama entered
+soon afterwards, and undressing to the extent of
+only divesting himself of his long coat and boots
+disposed himself quite near to my head and was
+soon sound asleep. By and by, the little girl
+crept quietly in, and pulling off her great boots
+with their embroidered tops of black and green,
+she curled herself round like a kitten at the priest’s
+feet, and with sundry little grunts settled down
+for the night. Shortly afterwards, the deep silence
+of the wilds was unbroken save for the snores
+of our trusty Jamschik, whose hefty form lay
+stretched across the entrance to the yourt.</p>
+
+<p>I lay awake for some time trying to realise the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span>
+strangeness of my environment; trying to realise
+that I had attained the desire of my heart for the
+moment—primitive life among an unmistakably
+primitive people—realising alas! too well, that the
+freshness and novelty of all things wear quickly
+away in the face of one’s amazing adaptability to
+the immediate requirements and realities of life.
+Then gradually, with that easy exaggeration that
+attends the semi-conscious condition, I dawdled
+off into the land of the wildest dreams, becoming
+merged into that essential factor which is common
+to all existence, be it primitive or civilised—sleep.</p>
+
+<p>Dawn broke amazingly soon it seemed to me,
+and by 5 o’clock we had spread our breakfast in
+the pale golden sunshine on the grass outside the
+yourt. By degrees the settlement awoke once
+more. The camp was alive again. The women
+drove the flocks hither and thither suckling, their
+babies at the same time, astonishingly picturesque
+in their wonderful headdresses of hair flattened
+out into the shape of rams’ horns, finished off with
+long plaits, at the extremities of which were suspended
+coins, as often as not of Russian origin.
+There was again a great deal of tearing about on
+ponies, and one could but admire the splendid
+horsemanship as the men sorted out their animals
+and drove them to browse upon fresh pastures.
+After breakfast, I watched our hostess of the previous
+night making little cakes of koumiss, which
+she did by squeezing the thickened mares’ milk
+through her grubby little hands. She presented<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span>
+me with a cake, and watched to see whether or
+no I would eat it. As she finished them she placed
+the cakes on a large bamboo sieve and put them
+to dry in the sun on the roof of the yourt. If one
+could dissociate the taste from the appearance of
+the fingers that had made it, the koumiss was not
+at all bad, and reminded me strongly of a certain
+cheese which, but a few years ago, promised long
+life wholesale to mankind on the dictum of a great
+name in science. I should have liked to remain
+there for weeks, and we left the settlement most
+reluctantly. That one experience alone made my
+visit to the East worth while.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER X</h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">“I would that I were as I have been,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Hunting the Hart in Forest Green,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">With bended bow and bloodhound free,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">O that’s the life for Joy and me”</div>
+    <div class="verse indent34">—<i>Scott</i></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE wisdom of an early start soon became
+apparent when we were obliged literally
+to cut our way through forest undergrowth
+for hours on end. Starting with a steep
+climb, we had to dodge the water which was
+pouring down in rivulets between the trees. The
+erstwhile track had been washed away and now
+formed the bed of a torrential river, which having
+scattered the loose material was in parts quite
+deep. The horses floundered about in great distress
+and uncertainty for some time, and finally
+we decided that there was nothing for it but to
+make a path for ourselves through the thicket—fortunately
+not of a particularly dense description.
+To make the whole concern narrower, one pony
+was unhitched, and I led him, while the men
+struggled to get the tarantass through the trees,
+branches from which had from time to time to
+be hacked off in order to let it pass. Frequently
+we had to negotiate rushing streams. One of us<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span>
+would leap over first to receive the leading rein
+of the loose pony—anything but a docile little
+beast—which would then jump across. It went
+down once, but fortunately was none the worse,
+and the Jamschik was on ahead and did not see it.
+I also went down once, in the very middle of a
+stream, the banks of which had not afforded a
+very good take-off. Amusement in that instance
+seemed to deprive my fellow-traveller of all
+sympathy.</p>
+
+<p>Our gymnastic feats, however, were not such as
+to swamp our appreciation of the scenery around
+us. It was as though one gardener had decided
+to make a rockery of ferns and foliage whilst the
+other had come along and sewn seeds of every
+variety of flowers among them. We feasted on
+the sight and scent. It was marvellously pretty
+here, and we lamented that the Jamschik saw fit
+to press on, and bring us, after some strenuous
+hours, to an open hill-side before he would allow
+us to outspan and have tiffin. Certainly it was
+dry enough there; hot beyond expression. The
+weather had undergone a sharp reaction, and we
+sat grilling in the sun until our thoughtful driver
+rigged up a sailcloth, when the effect of our hard
+morning’s work, to say nothing of lunch, induced
+us to succumb promptly to a siesta in its shade.</p>
+
+<p>As to why the Jamschik should loaf now when
+but a few hours previously he had hurried us uncomfortably,
+we could not fathom until in the late
+afternoon we arrived on the banks of the Hara<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span>
+Gol, the most important river on our route, and
+found it to be so high that it might be another
+two days before we could get over in safety.
+Other people had been hung up in the same way,
+and we fraternised with a large family of Russians
+whose destination was the gold-mining district
+to the north-east of Urga. It was here that my
+fellow-traveller and I had our first—and almost
+our only—difference of opinion. I had my own
+notions as to suitable places for camping out, and
+did not at all wish to do so upon ground that from
+time to time was covered with water, and which
+after all was only temporarily dried-up swamp. I
+was certain that we should be much harassed by
+mosquitoes. We were both rather tired, and—shall
+I admit it?—I, at least, felt a bit irritable.
+In turn we had each indulged in a considerable
+bath in the river, but I, being in no sense a strong
+swimmer, had to content myself with a muddy backwater,
+instead of plunging into the stream. On
+my return I found that the superior sex had settled
+matters and had unpacked upon a piece of ground
+about 300 yards only from the little encampment
+belonging to our Russian neighbours, instead of,
+as I had wished, driving back a mere mile to a
+delightful hill-side where we should be free from
+the pest which had been my greatest trial throughout
+my sojourn in the East. As a matter of fact,
+the Jamschik had had, I suppose, the casting
+vote; moreover, our neighbours might have felt
+hurt had we gone so far away, so, with his usual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span>
+consideration for the feelings of others, my fellow-traveller
+had given way during my absence.</p>
+
+<p>I was, again I admit it, decidedly cross, and found
+great relief in putting my gun together (for the first
+time, for it was practically a new toy), stuffing my
+pockets full of ammunition, and stalking off by myself
+to some marshy land at a considerable distance
+from the camp. My new toy was tremendously
+soothing to my feelings, and I banged away a dozen
+or so cartridges—incidentally killing a wild fowl
+which I was unable to retrieve—with great satisfaction.
+A small lame boy appeared from nowhere,
+and followed me about in delighted anticipation
+of empty cartridge cases. I tried to kill at
+too great a range. There were wild geese and
+duck in plenty, but they circled above my head,
+making derisive squawks at me; and finally with
+the lightest of light bags I got back to our camp
+happy and hungry. I managed to maintain a
+dignified reserve throughout dinner, at the end of
+which, however, rested and replete, we decided
+that formality and strained relations on the banks
+of a river a thousand miles away from civilisation
+were hardly consistent with our philosophy. A
+confidential little talk during our after-dinner stroll
+in the dusk put matters right again.</p>
+
+<p>As a matter of fact we scored decidedly in
+making friends with the Russian miners. One of
+the party spoke a little German, and we were
+thus enabled to trade tinned food and chocolate
+for the fresh meat and bread which they had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span>
+killed and baked on the river banks. Next day
+we fed royally, and I maintain that the best
+râgout I have ever tasted was the result of my own
+genius in allying well-soaked, dried apricots with
+half a leg of mutton, and stewing the lot for hours.
+The apricots made an admirable substitute for the
+vegetables we were unable to procure. The smell
+arising from our delicious stew, must, we thought,
+be making the Jamschik’s mouth water considerably,
+and at some sacrifice to ourselves—it was
+hungry work, this trekking—we decided to invite
+him to share the feast. What was my disgust,
+chagrin, when he dug his jack-knife into the
+saucepan and speared out the meat, deliberately
+pouring off all the gravy and apricots upon the
+ground. There was nothing to be done, but I
+swore there and then that this was the last time
+I would invite any foreigner to share pot luck of
+my providing.</p>
+
+<p>But if the Jamschik did not appreciate the
+râgout, the dogs did. I had been driven by the
+onslaughts of the mosquitoes to sleeping rather
+uncomfortably in the tarantass, and all through the
+night I was disturbed by these horrible animals
+prowling about underneath, sniffing round the sleeping
+forms of the men under the sailcloth. They did
+not appear to be conscious of them, but later I discovered
+that the Jamschik slept with one ear at
+least on the “qui vive,” for apparently he knew his
+own horses’ footsteps among a hundred, and got
+up in the dead of night to hobble them when they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span>
+wandered together with scores of others too near
+to the camp.</p>
+
+<p>Apart from the dogs, the persistently inquisitive
+Mongol boys, and the mosquitoes, camping on the
+banks of the Hara Gol returns to my memory as
+one of the pleasantest episodes in the journey. I
+found a perfect bathing place a little lower down
+the river, with a hard, shingly bottom, and though
+not in the current it was perfectly clear and away
+from the public gaze. From yourts far and near
+we were visited by Mongols, who usually, when
+they found that we did not speak their language
+and could convey no news to them in consequence,
+spent but a few minutes in making their inspection
+and rode off again. On one occasion we witnessed
+a very amusing sight. We had given a particularly
+ragged lama some odds and ends of food, and
+a squabble immediately arose between him and
+another. They quickly came to blows, when the
+smaller man, finding himself outmatched, stopped
+suddenly, and picking up a large boulder proceeded
+to hammer the head of his adversary. The
+Russian sense of fairplay could not stand this, and
+a huge man with the ruddy countenance of a
+David and the flaming beard combined with the
+muscularity of a Samson, walked in, and seizing
+each man by the scruff of his neck, hurled the
+twain apart, to the great glee of the onlookers.</p>
+
+<p>At a very early hour of our third day’s camp, I
+was awakened with the news that the river had
+gone down sufficiently to admit of a trial trip to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span>
+cross it. A great deal of preparation was necessary
+in order to keep things dry, and when we
+were about the middle of the river it was just
+“touch and go” lest the water would overflow the
+sides of the tarantass. A great caravan of us
+crossed together, Russians, Chinese, and a rabble
+of Mongols, who, stripped almost naked, carried
+over our loads on their saddle bows. I regretted
+afterwards that I took no photograph of the
+crossing, but I was far too much occupied in
+keeping my camera and cartridges dry to think
+of doing so.</p>
+
+<p>The next two stages offered no special attraction
+in the matter of scenery, and we broke into
+the routine of the day only by leaving our tarantass
+for the space of an hour that we might inspect at
+closer quarters what looked uncommonly like a
+foreign building about half a mile away from the
+road. It turned out to be quite a large flour mill
+called Wang Ch’ang Shan, belonging to a Chinese
+firm, and employing apparently some twenty-five
+to thirty men. Although they offered us tea and
+sold us some eggs and stodgy little dough rolls at
+high prices, they maintained that baffling reserve
+as to their business, which amounts only to the
+polite Chinese method of telling you to mind yours.
+Another couple of hours brought us to an unexpected
+little oasis in the shape of a promising
+and well-built house in Russian style, but owned
+fortunately by a young Chinaman, who welcomed
+us most warmly and who could not do enough for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span>
+us. We sat on chairs and ate a delicious tiffin of
+lightly boiled eggs, toasted dough rolls, and
+<i>samovar</i> tea, at a table in great comfort, after
+which Mr. Gull thought to crown all by indulging
+in a luxurious siesta in—what looked like—a
+nice clean little bedroom adjoining. I sat and
+read a book over a final cup of tea. I had not
+settled down for more than ten minutes when
+the peace was suddenly disturbed by execrations
+coming from the other room, and an earnest entreaty
+that I should send in the Chinese proprietor
+at once “to see”. He did so, and found the
+usually philosophical Englishman rampant and
+furious. Biting him, crawling over his clothes
+and on the cork mattress which he had taken in
+with him, were numbers of large and lively—I
+must write it—bugs. Nothing but a complete bath
+in a very small basin, followed by a change of
+all his clothes—which involved the entire unpacking
+of the tarantass—would soothe him. The incident
+had really a humorous side, for we had, in
+theory, contemplated encounter with every variety
+of carnivorous insect on our journey; and then at
+first sight to produce such a hullabaloo!</p>
+
+<p>Our Chinese host was careful to explain that
+the majority of his guests who made use of his
+rooms were less cleanly than ourselves, and that
+the Russians who were his most frequent visitors
+were “dirty pigs”. He was himself suffering
+from a highly inflamed condition of both eyes,
+and was mightily pleased when I gave him some<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span>
+“foreign medicine” with the use of which I
+predicted a speedy cure, as well as showing him
+how to open his eye in a wine-glass. I bore the
+mild contempt of my fellow-traveller with the
+patience bred of faith, and nobly refrained, when
+some weeks later we returned from Urga and
+found that the solution of boracic acid had done
+its work in effecting a complete cure, from saying,
+“I told you so”.</p>
+
+<p>The night following we were far away from all
+humanity and passed the night sheer out on the
+open hill-side down by the wheels of the tarantass.
+We had had a long and somewhat dreary drive,
+twelve hours in all, exclusive of a midday rest. To
+go to sleep with a vision of heaven beyond the
+twinkling stars is one thing—to wake up in the
+cheerless grey dawn, saturated with dew and stiff
+with cold, is another. We had little difficulty in
+starting off at four o’clock that morning, and I do
+not remember that there was a great deal of
+conversation between the three of us for the
+first couple of hours or so.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“Better good neighbours than relations far away”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">
+—<i>Chinese proverb</i>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">O</span>UR proximity to Urga became now apparent
+in the increasing traffic over the
+prairie. From the hill-side on which
+we halted at breakfast time we watched the life
+of the plains—little groups of horsemen sitting
+casually in their saddles, turning round to stare
+at us, standing in their stirrups, sped quickly past.
+A settlement was in process of striking camp;
+the trellis and felt of the yourts were folded up
+and piled on the backs of the unwilling camels.
+A splendid Mongol riding proudly at the head of
+a string of camel carts came along from the
+west, dismounted, stretched himself, and climbed
+up to see what we were doing. By unmistakable
+signs he invited us to descend to his caravan
+below. In the first cart were his wife and two
+little sons, the jolliest little creatures imaginable.
+In pukka Oriental style I admired and fingered
+the headdress of the lady, and then dandled the
+children, expressing my appreciation of their
+weight and beauty. The man quite grasped the
+photographic idea, and posed his family for my
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span>benefit. Afterwards he surprised us greatly by
+asking for money; despite the fact that one
+string of his wife’s pearls would have fetched
+far more than we were able to raise between us.
+But he did not resent our refusal, and hailed us
+with the cheery greeting of “San bainu” when
+we overtook him later in the day.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f26">
+<img src="images/fig26.jpg" alt="plains">
+<p class="caption">A MONGOL AND HIS FAMILY ON THE PLAINS NEAR URGA, POSED FOR THE AUTHOR’S BENEFIT</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Moving on from the plains which stretched
+away into the mountains and valleys on all sides,
+we soon began the steep ascent of the Urga Pass
+when the subtlety of our Jamschik showed itself
+in suggesting that in the bordering woods hereabouts
+there was any amount of game. We
+jumped out of the tarantass—which was soon out
+of sight—in a sanguine frame of mind, and guns
+over our shoulders we trudged and trudged up
+that mountain side. Tiring it was, in the fierce
+July sun, beyond expression, and we got—never
+a shot. But the scenery here was well worth
+the fag of the climb. Range upon range of
+mountains disclosed themselves as we ascended
+among a perfect wilderness of flowers. Peonies,
+roses, and delphiniums, Japanese anemones, blue
+columbines, red and yellow lilies—a background
+of dark pine forest, and away in the distance,
+blue mountains beneath a canopy of soft masses
+of rolling clouds.</p>
+
+<p>Half-way up, we were overtaken by a number
+of Russian officers who looked, as well they might,
+in astonishment at the sight of a couple of English
+people, apparently without belongings or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span>
+conveyance, calmly strolling up a mountain in
+the heart of Mongolia. We met them again at
+the summit of the Altai Berg. Their Mongols
+were having a rest, and incidentally, I dare say,
+“gaining merit” by adding a few stones to the
+great cairn, from which numbers of dirty rags
+serving as prayer flags fluttered. I think the
+officers were waiting in order to discover what on
+earth we were doing there and what was our
+object in going to Urga. They did not, however,
+make much headway with us. Their knowledge
+of German was very limited and we on our side
+did not see the force of burdening them at this
+juncture with our confidences. They, needless to
+say, had remained in their conveyances all the
+way up. The latter were being drawn Orton
+fashion by four mounted Mongols. A pole is
+fixed across the thin ends of the shafts, and is
+carried by the Mongols between the pummel of
+their saddles and their stomachs. Usually a couple
+of men ride on either side of the shafts. Six to
+eight Mongols accompany each carriage, women
+as well as men taking turn and turn about. They
+laugh and fool about all the time, tearing up hill
+and down dale, the tarantass swaying about with
+plenty of play at the other end of the shafts. They
+are absolutely reckless and care not one straw
+what happens—as we learned to our cost later on.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f27">
+<img src="images/fig27.jpg" alt="caravan">
+<p class="caption">THE AUTHOR’S PARTY INSPECTING A CARAVAN</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f28">
+<img src="images/fig28.jpg" alt="berg">
+<p class="caption">THE SUMMIT OF THE ALTAI BERG</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Our Jamschik greeted us cheerily when we met
+him again at the top of the pass, and at once
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span>“took on” the Mongol outriders for a race down
+into Urga. We did not know the Russian for
+“not so quick” or “steady,” and we flew over
+the ground holding on like grim death, our three
+horses galloping and taking the most reckless
+short cuts at breakneck speed. Down, down we
+tore, over the roughest and most impossible
+tracks to an accompaniment of terrific jolts and
+bangs. The Mongols kept up, yelling and laughing
+as they rolled about in their saddles. It was
+no less terrifying than it was painful, but personally
+I was far too tired to care much what
+happened, or to feel as alarmed as I do even
+now in retrospect. But we got in ahead of the
+Russians, which was a great crow over for us.</p>
+
+<p>Urga was at length in view. Situated on the
+north bank of the Tola River, it lies 600 miles
+north of the Chinese frontier at Kalgan, and 200
+miles south of the Russian frontier at Kiachta.
+A long straggling vista of gaudy temples and
+groups of yourts, little wooden houses enclosed
+by high palisades, numbers of brightly painted
+sheds which we found afterwards to contain the
+Tibetan prayer wheels, a few foreign bungalows
+looking like dolls’ houses and built of pitch-pine,
+as well as clusters of Chinese houses—such was
+our first impression of Mongolia’s capital. On
+the western side lies the Holy City, where, it is
+estimated, dwell some thirty thousand lamas, and
+in which no lay man or woman may remain after
+sundown. The Chinese city, Mai-mai’ch’eng<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span>
+again, is situated to the east, and between the
+twain are a number of untidy, depressing little
+shanties, as well as the pleasant Russian consulate,
+out of all harmony and character with the rest,
+belonging to the ever-increasing army of Russian
+traders. Closed in on all sides by mountains, some
+of considerable altitude and densely wooded, the
+sacred mountain of Bogdo N’or dominates the
+city. Bogdo N’or abounds in game, but nothing
+must here be killed, and no one may pitch a tent on
+that side of the Tola River which separates the
+holy ground from the plains upon which Urga is
+situated. Death is the punishment for the Mongol
+who so far forgets his traditions as to kill bird,
+beast, or fish on Bogdo N’or, and imprisonment
+for life—the far worse fate—for any foreigner who
+should be rash enough thus to transgress.</p>
+
+<p>One trusts to luck very largely in travelling
+under such circumstances, and we had no very
+definite idea as to what we were going to do
+when we reached Urga. At the time of our visit,
+exclusive of Russians there were only two Europeans
+in Urga, probably in Mongolia, and Mr.
+Gull and I were the sole representatives of Great
+Britain and Ireland. The two Europeans were a
+Norwegian and a German, both engaged in trading
+with the Mongols. The latter I had already met
+in Kalgan, and he was certainly as good as his
+word and twice as hospitable when I saw him
+again in Urga. To the former Mr. Gull had an
+introduction, and on arrival we made straight for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span>
+his compound where he received us most kindly,
+allowing us to make our headquarters with him
+during our stay in Urga, as well as letting us go
+shares in his commissariat for the time being. The
+Russian Agent, to whom we reported ourselves
+next day, treated us with the greatest hospitality
+and contributed greatly to our comfort by lending
+me some chairs and other luxuries for the tiny
+Chinese house provided for me in the Norwegian’s
+compound. Our luck held good.</p>
+
+<p>Anxious to see the Mongols as they really are
+and through the unprejudiced eyes of those unconnected
+with political considerations, we were
+fortunate indeed in having for our host a man of
+such intellectual qualities and broad sympathies
+as Mr. Mamen. Speaking their language as one
+of themselves—he had, I believe, lived in Mongolia
+for under two years—this young Norwegian of the
+appearance and stature of a Viking, was on friendly
+terms with most of the Mongol princes and officials,
+evidently being well-liked and trusted by
+them.</p>
+
+<p>One has but to forego for a short time what
+are regarded as the commonplaces of existence in
+order to appreciate them at their true value, and,
+after a week of far from restful nights, I could
+have dilated at length upon the sheer luxury of a
+very tenth-rate bed. It was a day or two after I
+reached Urga that I felt my old appetite for sightseeing
+return, and this was whetted by a curious
+little ceremony of daily recurrence, a good view of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span>
+which was obtainable without going beyond the
+limits of the compound. Less than two hundred
+yards away there appeared above the compound
+wall a small stage about four or five feet square
+supported by a rough scaffolding of perhaps
+twenty-five feet high. Each day when the sun
+was well up, two lamas, climbing laboriously up
+to their perch, would don their official yellow
+Chanticleer pull-on caps, queer ragged capes of
+many colours, and proceed to call their gods to
+the Temple. Turning to the east, north, west,
+and always ending up with the south, thus facing
+the sacred mountain, they would, first one and
+then the other, produce prolonged and continuous
+blasts by blowing upon a conch shell, the melancholy
+and hollow note of which seems to come
+back to me over time and space.</p>
+
+<p>Living as we were in the Chinese quarter of the
+place, and an intolerably gritty road of almost two
+miles in extent separating us from West Urga,
+obviously the first thing to be done was to obtain
+ponies. I was all for purchasing a couple outright,
+but other counsels prevailed and we hired
+them, thus placing ourselves at the mercy of a
+scallywag horse-dealer, a lesser mandarin by the
+way, who imposed upon us from beginning to end.
+The price, small though it sounds at home, was
+high at thirty roubles (then £3) a month for each
+nag (in a place where one can purchase a very
+nice little beast for less than double that amount),
+even though it included such feed as could be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</span>
+picked up on the plains during the night, and
+when we were not using them. I really think
+their owner must have had his tongue in his
+cheek when he sent along the first pair for us to
+try. Mine had the appearance of a worn-out van-horse—a
+tall, thin brute, with a mouth of iron and
+legs that scattered in all directions when I forced
+him into a canter—which was not very often.
+I kept him for one day only. For Mr. Gull
+a miniature pony was provided. It had a sore
+mouth which made it extremely irritable. Together
+we certainly presented a very comical
+appearance. But any mount in dusty Urga is
+preferable to none, and on sight-seeing bent it
+really did not matter much that our nags were
+“crocks”; the fact that with patient, drooping
+heads they would stand for any length of time,
+was perhaps, under the circumstances, rather convenient
+than otherwise.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“He that does not believe in others finds that they do not<br>
+believe in him”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">
+—<i>Chinese proverb</i>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">O</span>UR very first ride took us right into—what
+any Mongol other than a lama would, I
+am sure, describe as—the heart of Urga.
+At the foot of the hill upon which the holy city,
+K’urun, stands is the centre of activity in Mongolia’s
+capital—the horse and camel market. All
+day and every day the bartering goes on, and it is
+here perhaps that you may study with the greatest
+advantage the salient characteristics of the race.
+The Chinese, I believe, invariably score off the
+Mongols in business transactions, but not so in
+connection with horses. The Mongol is born,
+bred, gets drunk, and dies in the saddle, and, like
+many others with a knowledge of horse flesh, he
+would cheat his own grandmother over a deal of
+this nature—except for the fact that the old lady
+would probably be one too many for him.</p>
+
+<p>In a dusty expanse, fringed on either side with
+small Chinese shops crowned with low curved
+roofs, painted poles, and swinging signs with gold
+characters carved large on them, stand the ponies<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</span>
+in their hundreds, and the supply would seem to
+be well-nigh inexhaustible. Generally speaking,
+the animals are small and unattractive looking,
+and it would certainly require the “seeing eye”
+to make a selection from this mass of unkempt
+little beasts who, until they are mounted, show
+not the least suggestion of the spirit that is in
+them. The camels are few and far between, and
+I have never seen anything approaching a fine
+beast on sale here. One has to penetrate into
+the compounds of the camel owners in order to
+buy the best, I think, for usually it is but the
+indifferent and unwanted that find their way into
+the open market.</p>
+
+<p>Urga, the Da Huraz (the first monastery) or
+Bogda Lama en Hurae (the encampment of the
+supreme lama) as it is severally described by the
+Mongols themselves (Urga being probably a
+Russian corruption), Urga, the religious centre
+as well as the capital of Mongolia, may be split
+up into three distinct and separate divisions, the
+market-place serving as a link between two of
+them, the holy city and the Russian quarter.
+The former, in shape resembling a gigantic dust
+mound and in appearance a piece of crazy patchwork,
+is covered with a perfect rabbit warren of
+compounds, in most of which felt yourts take the
+place of buildings. By circuitous paths between
+the high palisades which cut one compound off
+from another, one reaches as one nears the top
+the so-called University buildings, “the Gando,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</span>
+from which at certain hours of the day lamas in
+their thousands may be seen pouring forth.</p>
+
+<p>Crowning the hill is the great white temple,
+newly erected and barely finished when I saw it.
+In walking round a temple, either in or outside,
+foreigners should remember that sacred objects
+should always be kept on the right hand as a
+mark of respect. Inside the temple is one of the
+largest Buddhas in the world; an immense brazen
+figure with four arms rising nearly one hundred
+feet out of the centre of the symbolic lotus flower.
+This was presented by Bogdo, the ruler, spiritual
+and temporal, of Mongolia—a thank-offering for
+restored eyesight (which I heard is now as bad
+as ever) at a cost of 1,500,000 roubles. Facing
+the idol, and in direct violation of all Buddhistic
+principles which ordain the celibacy of its priesthood,
+two thrones, equal in every respect and
+draped in royal canary-coloured silk damask, are
+placed for the lama pontiff and—his consort.
+This really beautiful temple, with its mass of
+gilding and harmonious decoration, forms a
+perpetual testimony to the inability of the
+Mongols to go far independently of Chinese
+assistance, for one does not contemplate as a
+likely event in the near future the building and
+decoration by Russian workmen of what they
+would regard as pagan edifices. This Mongolian
+building, with all its Tibetan ornamentation and
+detail, was erected entirely by Chinese hands,
+the brass for the Buddha being brought across
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span>the desert from Dolo N’or. In no sense do
+politics come within the sphere of my observations,
+but having seen a certain amount of Chinese,
+Russians, and Mongols in juxtaposition, there
+appears to me to be but little doubt as to which
+two nations form natural allies. The Mongols,
+beyond breeding ponies and cattle, making the
+felt of their yourts and engaging in a certain
+amount of transport business, do practically
+nothing, make practically nothing, for themselves.
+Their very clothes and ornaments are of Chinese
+manufacture, and certainly it is the Chinese who
+are alone responsible for anything that is beautiful
+in Urga.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f29">
+<img src="images/fig29.jpg" alt="temple">
+<p class="caption">THE GREAT WHITE TEMPLE, URGA</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f30">
+<img src="images/fig30.jpg" alt="market">
+<p class="caption">THE HORSE AND CAMEL MARKET, URGA</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>I, as other travellers in Mongolia have done,
+found it very difficult to buy any characteristically
+and exclusively Mongolian objects, and was
+therefore delighted to discover, not many days
+before my departure, that a Mongol auction was
+in progress immediately outside the great temple.
+I went boldly in amongst the crowd and made
+bids for various things belonging, so far as I could
+make out, to departed lamas. The articles on
+sale were in the main clothes, altogether too
+dirty to handle, but with a few interesting little
+objects connected with the temple services among
+the rubbish, of which two, a priest’s bell and
+a small brass drumstick, passed into my possession.
+A fine milk-jug in white metal with thick
+raised repoussé bands became mine at the price
+of five roubles. Instead of an aperture, the top<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span>
+was covered in and holes pierced through the
+metal to allow the milk to be poured into the jug.
+Thus, there was not the faintest chance of its
+ever being properly washed out, which, seeing
+the use to which it was to be put, seemed a
+drawback.</p>
+
+<p>A very decorative pail, of copper and brass,
+much worn, and certainly without great expectation
+of life before it from an utilitarian point of
+view, greatly excited my envy, and I made a bid
+for it—two roubles. A Mongol promptly offered
+a few kopecks more, and my price finally rose to
+three roubles or six shillings. No one outbidding
+me, so far as I could see, I was fully under the
+impression that the pail was now my property;
+but not so. In company with the auctioneer and
+three or four others, I went the round of the
+neighbouring yourts to find out whether or no
+anyone else wanted it and would give more. The
+man, however, whom the auctioneer thought
+might care to make a higher bid was not at
+home, and after hanging about for fully a couple
+of hours I came away without my pail, and learned
+once more that hurry is a word unknown in the
+East. There is apparently no time limit for bids
+at a Mongol auction, and a transaction frequently
+takes several days to complete.</p>
+
+<p>The Russian quarter is adjacent to the holy
+city and separated therefrom, as I have said, by
+the horse market and the Chinese shops. It
+boasts of some half a dozen general stores, at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span>
+which tinned foods, boots, and materials for
+clothes can be purchased at ridiculously inflated
+prices; there is also a restaurant of a most
+depressing description, as well as a chemist’s shop.
+It may well be imagined that, the majority of the
+Chinese traders having been driven forth during
+the rebellion in 1912 on the one hand, and the
+virtual suppression of Chinese goods by a grinding
+taxation on the other, Russian retail trade in
+Urga is in a flourishing condition.</p>
+
+<p>The Mongols are now to all intents and purposes
+forced very largely into dealing with
+Russian stores, and when one is told that 40
+to 50 per cent is regarded as a reasonable profit,
+one can only wonder how long it will be before
+the natives realise that they have exchanged the
+frying pan for a remarkably fierce fire. But
+it is to be trusted that this condition of affairs
+will right itself again in time. Russian enterprise—should
+it develop—will probably fail through
+lack of labour. Their own command of labour
+in these regions is practically <i>nil</i>, and the cost
+of imported energy would be likely to spell failure
+to anyone engaging in business. On the other
+hand, the Mongols never have worked and it is
+highly improbable that they ever will. Mongol
+requirements are simple, but such as they are
+it is clear that they need the Chinese to supply
+them.</p>
+
+<p>This Russian quarter forms the least attractive
+division of Urga. The houses are small, squalid,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span>
+and untidy; their inhabitants possess apparently
+not the faintest knowledge of sanitation. What
+must be the civilising effect, of which one hears,
+of the Russian influence upon the Mongols, it is
+not difficult to foretell. The Chinese may be
+dirty, are extremely dirty in some respects, no
+doubt, but at least they do not appear to lose
+their sense of the artistic for all their defects
+in this direction, and under normal conditions
+even in the poorest quarters of their cities, a
+certain “esprit,” a “joie de vivre,” is seldom
+absent. It is exceedingly difficult to arrive at
+anything representing even an approximate
+estimate of the number of Russians in Urga.
+Of civilians, perhaps 1000 forms a liberal estimate,
+but all enquiries as regards the military
+strength are politely but firmly repulsed. The
+people in the Russian quarter, in the shops,
+restaurant, and on the streets, are a surly looking
+lot. Their suspicious character is plainly painted
+upon their uncouth faces, and every one with
+whose business in life they are not entirely “au
+fait,” they regard as a spy of some sort.
+Throughout our stay in Urga it was significant
+that we rode nowhere but that we met the same
+Buriat soldier ostentatiously uninterested in our
+existence.</p>
+
+<p>Urga must have presented a gayer appearance
+under Chinese rule, when the great untidy stretch
+of waste land reaching almost from West Urga
+into Mai-mai’ch’eng, waste land formerly bordered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span>
+with Chinese shops and houses, would have had
+a far more cheery atmosphere than it possesses
+nowadays. Now the few Mongol yamens stand
+isolated and unsupported, and the merry “va-et-vient”
+of commercial prosperity is no more. At
+night it is said to be rash to venture across it unaccompanied,
+and indeed on more than one occasion
+we encountered a Cossack riding full pelt
+across the stony expanse, brandishing his naked
+revolver in his right hand. But latterly there
+appears to have been a somewhat arbitrary planning
+out and dividing up of the main part of Urga by
+the Russians, and an expanse which must be of
+dimensions approaching something like two miles
+long by three-quarters of a mile wide in the very
+heart of Urga, and in the centre of which the
+Russian consulate happens to stand, is to be doled
+out in concessions to Russians and to Russians
+only. To the north of this desolate scene are
+sundry temples, and outside them stand a number
+of brightly painted little sheds containing the well-known
+Tibetan prayer wheels. Sexagonal in
+form, and with the characters representing “Om
+Mani Padme Hum” painted in red letters upon
+the panels, these prayer cylinders turn on a central
+pin, and anyone giving a hefty swing to them as
+he passes says his prayers with a minimum of
+trouble for a maximum of result. The Mongols,
+both lamas and laity, use the wheels devoutly, and
+one’s ears grow accustomed to the light creaking
+sound long before one realises whence it comes.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span></p>
+
+<p>The Russian consulate, in the midst of a heterogeneous
+collection of barracks, officers’ quarters,
+and outbuildings, is a pleasant house enough,
+English in style and furnished, the Russian diplomatic
+agent told me, to resemble an English
+country house inside as far as possible. Of modest
+dimensions, it stands back from the road in an
+untidy compound, over the gates of which the
+Imperial standard looms large and menacing. The
+present agent is a man of marked ability, and
+speaks, I believe, no less than eight modern
+languages with a fluency equal to his native
+tongue. He has obviously succeeded in bringing
+the Mongol authorities to heel in a surprising
+degree as was evidenced not long ago when he
+insisted that the Hut’ukt’u, the ruler of all the
+Mongols, supported by some of the chief men of
+his country, should toe the line in person and
+make profound apology at the consulate for some
+slight that had been shown to the Russian flag.
+Whether or no this was a well-calculated action
+has yet to be proved. But that the Mongols are
+making a desperate effort not to be swallowed up
+exclusively and irrevocably by Russia is strongly
+suggested by their recently expressed desire to
+the other powers that the latter should be represented
+by consuls in Urga “in order to conclude
+treaties of commerce and friendship”. It is moreover
+rumoured that the Mongolian Government
+has recently issued an order forbidding the Chinese
+to sell any land in Mongolia to Russians. The
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span>only other house of any size or importance is the
+hideous red-brick erection which forms the headquarters
+of the Mongolore Company, which represents
+an important concession of gold-mining rights
+granted to the Russians prior to the declaration
+of independence.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f31">
+<img src="images/fig31.jpg" alt="temple">
+<p class="caption">A BEAUTIFUL TEMPLE AT MAI-MAI’CH’ENG</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f32">
+<img src="images/fig32.jpg" alt="princess">
+<p class="caption">A MONGOL PRINCESS IN HER OFFICIAL ROBES, ACCOMPANIED BY HER TWO LADIES</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>In so far as the structural picturesque is concerned,
+this is undoubtedly now centred in and
+confined to the Chinese quarter, Mai-mai’ch’eng,
+where fine gateways and a very beautiful little
+temple remain as evidence of the prosperity enjoyed
+under Chinese rule. Now the entire place,
+which is surrounded by a strong stockade of
+fourteen or fifteen feet high, which, in a country
+where stone is so rare and labour so expensive,
+takes the place of the usual encompassing wall, is
+almost entirely deserted, and one may walk from
+end to end without encountering half a dozen
+people. The courtyard and temple far surpass in
+decoration and cleanliness anything that I saw in
+China. The mural paintings illustrate Chinese
+fables and are exceptionally well carried out and
+preserved. They have evidently been most carefully
+cherished by the guild of Shansi merchants,
+the Shih Erh Chia, of whom it is the headquarters.
+The Mongols use the temple as much as the
+Chinese do, and I watched a Mongol princess in
+her official robes, accompanied by her two ladies,
+most devoutly performing her prostrations one
+day. She allowed me afterwards to take two or
+three photographs of her, but it was difficult to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span>
+persuade her into sufficient light to make a very
+satisfactory picture.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately outside the north gate of Mai-mai’ch’eng
+is the Chinese cemetery, where hundreds
+of unburied coffins are piled awaiting, I gathered,
+the far distant day when they might be carried
+back to be interred in Chinese soil. The poorer
+Chinese, for whom there was never such happy
+prospect, are buried in alien earth behind the
+Russian consulate—a series of little mounds like
+magnified molehills being all that remains to indicate
+the fact.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“Since men live not for a hundred years it is vain to scheme<br>
+for a thousand”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">
+—<i>Chinese proverb</i>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">W</span>HEREAS in Inner Mongolia I did not
+see the Chakhars in sufficient numbers
+to enable me to form even an
+impression upon which to base a generalisation
+as to typical characteristics, the Khalkha or
+Northern Mongol struck me as being of rather
+superior build. Roughly speaking, I think that
+the average height of a Khalkha man must be in
+the neighbourhood of five feet eight inches, while
+a large number of them are really tall. The
+women are strikingly smaller, and, generally considered,
+are not less than ten or twelve inches
+shorter than the men. The recollection I have
+carried away of them is that they are a fairly
+handsome race. Masses of black hair surmount
+almond-shaped, strikingly bright and responsive
+eyes; the cheek-bones are high and slightly
+flattened. Small, well-formed aquiline noses
+above shapely mouths and firm chins lend a suggestion
+of strong character. The teeth are, as
+a rule, beautiful, and a ruddy colouring showing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span>
+through the sun-scorched, wind-weathered skin,
+gives them a very healthy appearance.</p>
+
+<p>The principal difference in dress between the
+northern and southern Mongol lies in the arrangement
+of the hair of the married women. In
+Inner Mongolia the form of headdress might be
+described as a skull cap of silver filagree, from
+which long chains studded with precious stones
+are suspended. The hair is fastened up and
+hardly shows at all.</p>
+
+<p>The Khalkha matron, however, is contented
+with nothing so simple. Her sleek locks are
+strained over a wire frame which spreads out like
+wings above her ears, and are held together by
+some resinous preparation, with jewelled slides at
+intervals to keep the whole in place. Surmounting
+this is the filagree skull cap, often richly set
+with turquoises and pearls, and from it hang
+tassels of pearls ten or twelve inches in length.
+In poorer circumstances the jewelled slides have
+their counterparts in little strips of bamboo, and
+the pearls would be substituted by chains of silver
+and strings of coral. One and all adopt this
+obviously inconvenient style of coiffure, the unmarried
+girl alone wearing her hair in long plaits
+and entirely unadorned. The Khalkha women
+must have exceedingly long tresses, for although
+nine or ten inches are thus taken up by the wings,
+the remainder is of sufficient length to form into
+long plaits which, as shown in the picture of the
+princess, are either confined in highly decorative<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span>
+silver tubes, or are allowed to fall free on each
+side of the figure to the waist.</p>
+
+<p>Hat pins being an unknown weapon in Mongolia,
+it was a matter of much conjecture to me
+as to how these ladies contrived to keep their
+smart little hats so securely perched on the summit
+of this elaborate headdress. The hats themselves
+are very trim and dainty. Made of course
+by the Chinese, who are always great hands with
+the paste pot, a shape is first created from bamboo
+paper, hard and unpliable, not unlike a jelly mould.
+Over this is stretched yellow satin, while the brim
+is turned up with black velvet in summer, or with
+a handsome piece of fur in winter. The crown of
+the hat tapers to a point embellished by a gold or
+silver ornament, which in the case of men supports
+the ball of coloured crystal denoting by its
+colour the rank of the wearer. Men’s hats are
+otherwise similar to women’s, and if the wearer
+belongs to the mandarin class a peacock’s feather
+protrudes horizontally from below the crystal ball.
+The main difference, headdress apart, between
+men’s and women’s clothes is that the former
+sport a sash bound round and round their waists
+with the ends tucked in. All wear long coats
+and trousers, the women having their shoulders
+padded up into little peaks such as were worn in
+Elizabethan days. All have very long sleeves,
+the cuffs of which are turned up with pale blue—no
+matter what the colour of the coat—and
+cover the finger-tips.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span></p>
+
+<p>The material from which the clothes of the
+more wealthy are made is such as we use for our
+Court trains. In really beautiful satin brocades
+and thick soft silks both men and women are
+attired in this remote corner of the globe, and I
+can well believe that dress forms a heavy item in
+Mongol expenditure. Extremely fond of colour,
+the Mongol taste, or rather that of the Chinese
+Worth or Paquin who dictates to them, runs to
+rich harmony rather than to garishness, while their
+constancy to the prevailing fashion, which here is
+the very reverse of fleeting since it probably has
+not modified in any way for the past hundred
+years—maybe much more—renders the finish and
+workmanship quite excellent. While possessing
+small and well-shaped hands and feet, the Mongols
+thrust these latter into clumsy boots which we
+should consider many sizes too large for them.
+They are made of inferior looking leather and the
+toes turn skywards; their loose tops, coming half-way
+to the knee, are usually ornamented with
+very pretty green and white sticking.</p>
+
+<p>Of their character one must speak of course
+almost entirely by hearsay. Their very name is
+suggestive, “Mong” meaning “brave,” while
+volumes might be filled with legends concerning
+their prowess. It would indeed be absurd to
+generalise at all upon those with whom one came
+into personal contact in the space of a few weeks,
+and in the complete absence of knowledge of the
+language. That they have a keen sense of humour<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span>
+is apparent to the most casual observer, and anything
+in the way of a practical joke played off on
+the foreigner or equally upon one of their number
+will produce hilarious merriment. In common
+with most people who preserve a simple life and
+do not allow their desires to advance beyond the
+possibility of fulfilment, the Mongols are, in the
+absence of a cause which provokes them to anger,
+very good-tempered, and most distinctly are they
+philosophical. An angry Mongol is, however, an
+ugly sight, and one, if possible, to be avoided. Of
+his capacity for endurance there can be no doubt.
+It is constantly exemplified in everyday life. I
+have indeed heard it stated that a Mongol will
+ride 600 miles in nine days, using the same horse
+throughout. An instance of their toughness was
+shown by the cheery old mafu who looked after
+our host’s ponies and occasionally rode with us
+while we were in Urga. A somewhat heavy fall
+from his horse one day resulted in a trio of broken
+ribs, and the man, whose age must have been in
+the neighbourhood of sixty, remained huddled up
+in his yourt for twenty-four hours. For bed, however,
+in our sense of the term, the Mongol has
+but little use, and if he cannot live his ordinary life
+he usually dies in preference. The mafu turned
+up the day following his accident, and upon
+enquiry as to the damage to his ribs, admitted that
+“It hurts a little when I cough”. On another
+occasion, in the depth of winter, one of the ponies
+in his charge strayed, and for thirty hours was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span>
+missing. Taking another horse, the old mafu
+went out into the neighbouring mountains to find
+him, and as the hours went on his employer grew
+anxious. Night fell, and the thermometer descended
+two or three degrees below zero. It was
+evening on the following day when he re-appeared,
+none the worse for his exposure, nor from the
+fact that he had not broken his fast throughout
+the day and a half he had been absent.</p>
+
+<p>That the Mongols are wantonly cruel, I have
+never heard any evidence. Certain cruelty arises
+from a dogma in their faith rather than from any
+direct idea of being maliciously hurtful. They
+will, for instance, leave an animal to die in anguish
+rather than put it out of its misery, for nominally
+they are not allowed to take life, and consequently
+do not trouble themselves to perform an act of
+humanity for its own sake. That they will be
+brutally cruel when it is a question of revenge
+there can be no doubt. On the other hand, that
+they are capable of real devotion to their animals
+is, I think, suggested by the following incidents,
+written down as told to me one evening by the
+Norseman, when we were sitting on a river bank
+waiting for wild duck to come up.</p>
+
+<p>“The man will never get over it,” he said.
+“He was overwhelmed by his grief. He loved
+those two fine dogs of his and he kept them only
+for his hunting. He took them with him to the
+mountains to hunt lynx in the dense forest which
+cover them over there. Three or four days at a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span>
+time, he would go out and his bag was never less
+than two or three, sometimes four or five, skins,
+worth from twenty to thirty roubles apiece.
+Then for two days he would sit in his yourt, resting,
+and cleaning his guns, feeding heavily, and
+perhaps drinking the vodka the Russians had
+given him when he sold his skins. Pig should be
+his next object, he decided, and with one companion
+and his two dogs he sallied forth to the
+mountain side. From a thicket, out rushed four
+great boars. Off flew the lynx hounds after
+them. Bang, bang, went the guns, and the quarry
+was slain. But alas! the trusty hound who had
+leapt up to it was slain too—shot through the
+heart. The hunter returned to his yourt on the
+plains near Urga, leaving the slaughtered pig
+behind him on the mountain side, but bearing with
+him only the corpse of his dog. Never before
+has a Mongol been seen to weep like this man.
+For three days he sorrowed terribly. He would
+take no food. He desired speech with no man.
+In life there was no comfort for him because of
+the thought that with his own hands he had shot
+his dog. And now he goes hunting, taking with
+him his one lynx hound only, and does not do so
+badly. The better of the two dogs is the survivor,
+but the hunter will never admit this fact.</p>
+
+<p>“It was this man’s own cousin I often went
+out with,” continued my companion, “and he was
+every bit as keen on dogs. Once when I was with
+him up beyond that ridge to the west there, a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span>
+powerful bull elk broke cover, and in the twinkling
+of an eye the dogs were upon him. A careful aim
+was taken by the Mongol and—his gun dropped.
+With a tremendous kick the elk had freed himself
+from his pursuers, and uttering a cry of acute
+agony the dog fell and lay helpless on the turf.
+The elk’s hoof had caught her full in the muzzle,
+and the space of time during which she would
+have the power to breathe through the pouring
+blood could be but short. His master ran up,
+calling to the other man to hurry. ‘Do what you
+can for her, do all you can to save her life.’ He
+knew it was hopeless, and he left to his friend’s
+care his dying dog. Revenge surged up in his
+heart. He thought of nothing but that cruel kick
+from the elk’s hoof, and nothing did he consider
+as to where he was going, nor as regards provision
+for the hunt. For two days he pursued
+his prey, foodless, drinkless—and he returned
+empty handed to the camp. ‘I have killed that
+elk,’ was all that he vouchsafed when he came
+back, and he straightway went out to look at the
+frozen body of his dog with its mangled muzzle.”</p>
+
+<p class="gtb">******</p>
+
+<p>The Mongols are astonishingly fine shots, and
+it would take a very accomplished sportsman to
+compete with them in potting the pretty little
+sable-like tarbagans, whose heads flash in and out
+of their holes on the prairie hereabouts with
+lightning-like rapidity. While some of the well-to-do
+Mongols possess fine weapons (rifles of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span>
+most modern design, which I was told were imported
+from Germany on very easy terms), the
+majority of the hunting fraternity content themselves
+with old muzzle loaders. Practically all
+Mongols rest their guns on some support when
+aiming, and the muzzle loaders frequently have a
+forked attachment which can be let down and
+fixed in an instant.</p>
+
+<p>The Mongols possess that most enviable capacity
+for putting away an immense amount of food
+at a sitting, following which they can, if necessary,
+fast for a very considerable time. The staple food
+of the Khalkha Mongol appears to be meat in
+direct relation to the length of his purse; horse,
+camel, mule, antelope, mutton, nothing seems to
+come amiss; he takes, too, preparations of milk,
+farinaceous food, such as koumiss and millet, as
+well as brick-tea made with milk. Added to these,
+the well-to-do in Urga doubtless buy such delicacies
+as the Russian shops provide when it takes their
+fancy. In a general store we met one day a
+charming old mandarin of obvious refinement and
+high breeding. He was in company with several
+ladies for whom he was buying sweets in the most
+approved Western style. There were six of them
+altogether, four ladies and two men. All were
+gorgeously dressed, the ladies with most wonderful
+ornaments and string upon string of pearls.
+The men had fine single stones, one a pearl, and
+the other a large aqua marine, set in front of their
+caps. They tasted two or three kinds of sweets,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span>
+and finally, going in for quantity rather than
+quality, the doyen of the party purchased a 7-lb.
+tin of rather unattractive looking pear-drops,
+which was wrapped in paper and tied up for him.
+A moment afterwards the string broke and the
+tin fell to the ground, burst open, and part of the
+contents scattered on the questionable boards.
+They took it most good humouredly, laughing inordinately,
+and all of them went down on their
+knees on the floor to retrieve the sweets. To us
+they were exceedingly friendly, and the older
+mandarin chatted away to us in indifferent Chinese
+irrespective as to whether we understood or not.</p>
+
+<p>Drunkenness, said to be on the increase, is,
+relatively speaking, far more common among the
+Mongols than among the Chinese, and in Urga it
+is no unusual thing to see two or three men going
+about with the cangue, a wooden collar nearly
+two feet square, padlocked round their necks as
+a punishment for the recent lapse from the paths
+of sobriety. A frequent repetition of the offence
+results in the culprit being marched off to the
+yamen and being severely beaten. The most
+usual method of becoming intoxicated is by drinking
+arac, a spirit which is produced by fermenting
+mares’ milk. I understand that one has to drink
+this in large quantities to attain to the condition,
+but bulk, if in the end the object is achieved,
+seems to offer no drawback to the inebriate, for
+I have known Breton peasants who would put
+away as many as ten litres and become gloriously<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span>
+drunk before half their day’s work was done. A
+certain amount of Chinese whisky derived from
+grain is imported, but it is very much more expensive,
+of course, and, generally speaking, even
+with its more tardy result, distilled mares’ milk is
+preferred by the Mongols. The lamas, whose
+vows in addition to those of celibacy include
+abstinence from strong drink and the flesh of
+animals, are also to be found amongst the bibulous.</p>
+
+<p>The more degenerate Chakhar is said to be
+addicted in a very slight degree only to the use
+of opium, but so far as I was able to ascertain
+the vice in Outer Mongolia is practically unknown.
+In view of this fact it was interesting to read in
+“The Times” immediately on my return from
+Mongolia that an English syndicate at Harbin
+had been reported to have made a proposal to
+the Mongol Government to pay them £100,000
+annually for the privilege of importing opium into
+their country. Upon the Russian Agent at Urga
+protesting, the Mongol Government replied to
+the effect that the danger arising from opium in
+Mongolia was in no sense commensurate with the
+advantages to be derived from the annual receipt
+of a million roubles; also, that the opium would
+not be for the consumption of the Mongols.
+Under the present conditions of their relations
+with China and the flight of the vast majority of
+Chinese from Mongolian territory, this latter contention
+carries its own confutation. The Chinese<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</span>
+in Mongolia are certainly in nothing approaching
+sufficient numbers at the time being to justify
+any syndicate in paying £100,000 per annum for
+the privilege of providing them with the pernicious
+drug. Besides, away from the influence of
+Russians, whom he now undoubtedly resents as
+having got the better of him, the Mongol when
+you meet him on his own ground is a cheery,
+friendly person enough, and under the most trying
+and arduous conditions of travel it is the
+Mongol who keeps his temper best and who remains
+complacent when every one else is inclined
+to grumbling and irritability. His utter laziness
+and hopeless lack of gumption make him useless
+in an emergency, and where, I always felt, the
+Chinese are our superiors in their wonderful resourcefulness
+and quick adaptability, the Mongol
+is stupid and shiftless in the extreme.</p>
+
+<p>Tremendously under the influence of their
+priests, the result of their religion or, perhaps it
+would be better to put it, the application of their
+religion, is not such as to compel one’s admiration.
+Humanity, for instance, is by no means
+one of their salient characteristics, and their
+behaviour to old people, whom they will turn out
+of their yourts to die on the dust heaps, is absolutely
+barbarous.</p>
+
+<p>The loose matrimonial relations prevailing
+amongst the Mongols are much condemned
+amongst the Chinese, who, although they take
+temporary wives during their sojourn in Mongolia,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</span>
+where Chinese law will not allow their own
+women-kind to accompany them, they never attach
+themselves to Mongol women in any legal sense.
+The Mongol women, on the other hand, are said
+to prefer the Chinese to their own race as husbands
+on the grounds that the former possess
+kinder and gentler dispositions. The children
+resulting from these mixed alliances, of which
+there are a great many in Urga, are called
+“orles” or half-breeds, by the Mongols. They
+are easily distinguishable from the others.</p>
+
+<p>Women have no very respected position or
+<i>locus standi</i> in Mongolia. If anything in the life
+of the country can be called drudgery at all, it
+certainly falls to the lot of the women. Their
+claim on their menkind appears to be mainly
+sexual, for while they are young and pretty they
+seem to enjoy life and “have a good time” (I am
+speaking, of course, of life in the capital). They
+are often very pretty, chic, and healthy looking,
+for, in sharp contrast with their Chinese sisters,
+they lead a life of freedom and of open air, ride
+about everywhere with the men, attend all the
+festivities that are going on, wear gorgeous apparel
+and lovely jewels, and, generally speaking,
+“go the pace”.</p>
+
+<p>What they do not know about the gentle art of
+flirtation is not worth knowing, and the young
+woman who is unable to attract two or three
+lovers to her side is, they say, generally looked
+down upon. The northern Mongols appeared to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</span>
+me to be remarkably merry and bright as compared
+with the southern. There is on occasions
+a great sense of gaiety in Urga when the people
+seem full of the joy of life, and perhaps the women
+are wise enough to accept their privileges rather
+than to worry too much about their rights. Mongols,
+however, are said to mistrust women greatly,
+never taking them into their confidence, or allowing
+them a finger in the pie of any important business
+transaction.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">“Each path with robes and various dyes bespread,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Seems from afar a moving tulip bed”</div>
+    <div class="verse indent40">—<i>Tickell</i></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">O</span>UR visit to Urga had been most fortunately
+timed, and we were delighted to hear
+within a few days of reaching the capital
+that the great semi-religious, semi-athletic festival
+of the Ts’am Haren, or sacred dance, was to take
+place during the second week in July. A more
+bewilderingly picturesque and fantastic sight than
+this presented day after day—held at intervals
+it prolonged itself over a fortnight—I never expect
+to see. Proceedings included the presentation
+of tribute to the Hut’ukt’u, followed by an
+archery competition, continued with the dance of
+the gods, a great wrestling tourney, and wound
+up with a race meeting.</p>
+
+<p>Reminiscent in some degree of their past glories,
+the Mongol princes and their banner-men came
+from distant principalities of the dominion to take
+part in these feats of strength and skill, and at the
+same time to present their gifts and to do homage
+to their spiritual and temporal chief. Bogdo, the
+Hut’ukt’u (“he who is born again”), the Living<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</span>
+God of Mongolia, is nominally the ruling spirit of
+these festivities, but although his chair of state
+was always prominently in position, this mighty
+ruler, whom his subjects believe to be the richest
+as well as the most potent monarch in the world
+(has he not 2000 white ponies and a 1000 white
+camels?), did not come to sit in it. On one
+occasion only did “He that can do no wrong”
+put in an appearance, and that was when lamas
+and princes assembled to hand over to him the
+money and presents that had been begged from,
+and squeezed out of, his subjects throughout the
+length and breadth of Mongolia. Great were the
+rejoicings when it became known that Bogdo was
+to be present in person, to receive with his own
+fair hands the offerings that had been brought to
+Urga. Bogdo, the Djibson Dampa Lama (Holy
+Reverence) Edsen Han, as he is severally styled,
+the chief of all the Hut’ukt’us, by birth a Tibetan,
+being son of a steward to the Dalai Lama, is a
+man of middle age, already decrepit, in appearance
+bloated, dissipated, uninspiring. The spiritual
+head of the Mongolian Buddhists, he now lays
+claim, since Mongolia is no longer subject to
+Chinese rule, to temporal authority as well. Indeed
+the position of this lama pontiff is of unusual
+character, and might almost be said to embrace a
+dual personality. On the one hand, the celibate
+ruler of priests, the religious leader of the faith.
+On the other, the crowned emperor of the
+Mongols; crowned with his wife, and firmly insistent
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</span>that their ten-year old son should be
+crowned as his heir, that there should be no
+room for doubt as to his intentions in regard to
+the succession to the Mongol throne.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f33">
+<img src="images/fig33.jpg" alt="bogdo">
+<p class="caption">BOGDO’S BODYGUARD</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f34">
+<img src="images/fig34.jpg" alt="tag">
+<p class="caption">LITTLE LAMA BOYS PLAY ‘TAG’ ROUND THE BARRIERS</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>That all actions of the Hut’ukt’u must of necessity
+be right is ingrained in the minds of his people,
+and taken quite literally by his adherents. That
+he, the reincarnation of the sainted historian Taranatha,
+should openly, and I use the word advisedly,
+for Mongolia is a wonderful country for winking
+at things nominally taboo, take unto himself a wife
+must, even though such action is a violation of all
+Buddhistic principles, be right, because Bogdo
+can do no wrong. There are many stories rife as
+to the iniquities of their ruler, and one that I myself
+heard on good authority made him responsible
+for the cruel murder of a well-known Mongol
+official, whom he is said to have forced into drinking
+in his presence a cup of poisoned wine.</p>
+
+<p>Into Bogdo’s house we did not penetrate. It
+would have been difficult enough under ordinary
+circumstances to have obtained an audience, but,
+as it was, the Hut’ukt’u was in a bad state of
+health, and moreover it was rumoured that an
+addition to his family was daily expected. A
+pleasant ride along the valley of the Tola River
+brought us to the confines of Bogdo’s compound,
+and we were interested in the queer mixture of
+styles the house presented. Built of wood, the
+main part of the structure might have been an
+English farm-house, but out of all character with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</span>
+this was the square green tower in the middle of
+it, and the many little Chinese turrets and pavilions
+with yellow-tiled roofs. The compound was surrounded
+by a rough fir tree fence and the place
+presented an untidy appearance. There was
+nothing to suggest the immense wealth with which
+Bogdo is credited, beyond the insignificant fact
+of a small herd of antelope inside a neighbouring
+compound. Far more picturesque, at a stone’s
+throw distant, was the residence of the Choi Gin
+Lama, Bogdo’s brother, a well-planted garden
+surrounding a number of small houses and a temple,
+all with green roofs and Tibetan in style.</p>
+
+<p>The general arrangements for the Ts’am Haren
+were carried out with great forethought and
+method; the discipline and general order as one
+event followed another would really rival the
+management of like festivities in the Western
+world. Our main difficulty was that we could
+seldom ascertain within a few hours as to when
+the performances began, and in consequence of
+this we were always up to time and had a good
+deal of waiting about. For the presentations to
+Bogdo great preparations were made; the approaches
+to the temple were well protected by
+southern soldiers who supplement the body-guard
+of the Hut’ukt’u, and the barriers around which
+the little lama boys played “tag,” or a Mongolian
+form of it, fenced off great spaces across which the
+unwary foreigners might otherwise have cantered
+their horses in disrespectful light-heartedness.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</span></p>
+
+<p>The Temple of the Gods, situated on the north
+side of the stony expanse between the Consulate
+and West Urga was the centre of a brilliant scene.
+The body-guard in royal blue silk damask coats
+with black velvet facings outlined with silver braid,
+prune coloured waistcoats and pale lemon cummerbunds,
+formed a valiant looking band enough;
+their weapons were modern in type, and their
+clothes apart from being picturesque were, what
+is far rarer in the extreme East, smart, clean, and
+in good condition. Quite satisfied with the impression
+their appearance produced upon me, they
+showed no little keenness to be photographed.</p>
+
+<p>Inside the barriers the ground was lined on one
+side with a number of marquees, under which in
+deep shadow sat the Mongol mandarins, silently
+contemplative and out of the glare, the richness
+of the blue-purple and chocolate of their silken
+garments looking all the richer in the half light.
+Opposite them, at a distance of 150 yards or so,
+the rank and file of the lama community were
+herded together, squatting on the ground and
+standing in the back rows, thousands of them,
+from whom from time to time darted forth some
+naughty boy with the object of exchanging his seat
+for a better one. A mass of dull Indian red was
+the effect they produced, unrelieved but for the
+wonderful banners that had been erected on great
+frames of wood opposite the temple entrance.
+The mob was kept within bounds by angry lamas
+who cut at the people if they pressed forward or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</span>
+got out of place with sharp little switches. The
+faces of these men were quite diabolically hideous;
+their expressions evil and cruel. There is some
+idea, no doubt, that the uglier the face the more
+alarming it is.</p>
+
+<p>A group of high lamas in gorgeous vestments
+of orange and scarlet sat enveloped in their loose
+folds out of the sun beating down upon an archway,
+their hard gilded hats, in shape reminding
+one of the tops of raised pies, glittering where
+the light filtered through the roof with a metallic
+brilliance. The crowds are moving now, lamas
+and “black men” are mingled, although it is
+an essentially lamaistic occasion and the predominating
+tones range from lemon to vermilion.</p>
+
+<p>Final preparations are now being made, yards
+upon yards of Imperial yellow cloth are stretched
+in a golden pathway from the yourts hidden
+away inside an inner compound, through the
+great p’ailou, under which the priests shelter
+from the sun, and away and beyond to the main
+entrance to the Temple of the Gods. The yourts
+behind the palisade form the robing and refreshment
+rooms for the Hut’ukt’u, and we note a
+cart drawn by a magnificent bullock pull up
+outside in order that the huge pots of mares’
+milk may be lifted from it. Bogdo is within the
+gates, and none but prelates and princes have
+access to the sacred precincts. At the portals
+high lamas sit, and two tall figures support the
+great state umbrellas of silken embroidery on
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</span>either side. The heat is intense, and a row of
+sleepy dignitaries doze uncomfortably on the long
+benches under the portico. There is a drowsiness
+about the day, and the hum of conversation is
+subdued and soothing.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f35">
+<img src="images/fig35.jpg" alt="prince">
+<p class="caption">CHURCH AND STATE: MONGOL PRINCE AND HIGH LAMA</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Suddenly there is a stir, and a thrill of expectation
+runs through all of us. A crowd of princes
+and mandarins and their sons hurries forth from
+the little tents and forms up in lines on either side
+of the golden pathway. Lama officials come
+forward and thrust lighted joss-sticks into each
+of the outstretched hands. Space is left between
+the long rows for three people to walk abreast.
+A look of intense eagerness, even of anxiety,
+spreads over the bronzed faces, for their god is
+but a sick man. A harsh trumpeting presages
+the approach of their incarnate deity; continuous
+and raucous. Two heralds, each holding what we
+suppose to be a glorified “hatag” on his upturned
+wrists but made of leopard’s skin stuffed in the
+form of an elongated sausage, made their appearance.
+Following them are the trumpeters, first
+one and then the other producing a long unbroken
+wail from his copper and brass instrument which
+resembles that which I bought as a war trophy
+months past in Peking.</p>
+
+<p>A posse of lamas in robes and the mitred headdress
+of high ceremony, looking for all the world
+like a perambulating bed of nasturtiums in full
+bloom, precede their pontiff, who, fat, pallid, and
+ponderous, his diseased eyes protected by round<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</span>
+black glasses, supported (held up, it seemed to
+us) by a priest on either side, walks labouringly
+along the yellow cloth. The bearers of the
+embroidered umbrellas are close upon his heels,
+and the crowd of privileged persons, priests, and
+laity, jostling each other for priority, follow in
+his train to the Temple of the Gods. Humbler
+lamas from remote corners of Mongolia stand
+about in little groups. They are there to watch
+the passing of their god. The feeling is tense.
+Fervid adoration shines from their straining eyes.
+Clasped hands stretch forth in expression of profound
+emotion as the procession winds its way
+into the temple, up to the tribute throne. There
+is silence, save for the sound of the heavy footsteps
+of the central figure as he stumps over the yellow
+tissue covering the boarded pathway. In an
+ecstasy of worship the monks prostrate themselves
+near the threshold of the sanctuary. They
+have beheld him whom they would fain see: him
+whom they have travelled footsore and hungry
+so many miles, for so many weeks, to honour.
+They are happy. Their faces are sublime. They
+have reached the haven of their desire.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f36">
+<img src="images/fig36.jpg" alt="umbrella">
+<p class="caption">THE GREAT STATE UMBRELLA OF SILKEN EMBROIDERY</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f37">
+<img src="images/fig37.jpg" alt="monks">
+<p class="caption">IN AN ECSTASY OF WORSHIP THE MONKS PROSTRATE THEMSELVES NEAR<br> THE THRESHOLD
+OF THE SANCTUARY</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Lined up along a wall not far from the great
+gateway to the temple, waiting with radiantly
+expectant countenances, and bearing their gifts
+in their hands, are some hundreds of ragged
+pilgrims. Fifty men of Bogdo’s guard are in
+attendance here, ready when the time comes to
+marshal them into the Presence. They have
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</span>been waiting since dawn, but in a state of
+supreme exaltation. They have drawn the lucky
+number amongst their fellows, and carry their
+offerings on trays and platters—little ornaments
+for the temple altars, sometimes even food have
+they brought to lay at the feet of their spiritual
+sovereign. But their turn is not yet. Precedence
+has been given to the princes and rich men in fine
+raiment, and these, holding aloft in both hands
+costly tribute hidden from sight in silken coverings
+of daffodil yellow, make a wonderful procession
+as the crowd opens out for them, and they pass
+from a blaze of sunshine into the dimly mellow
+light of the great temple interior. A low droning
+chant rises and falls from the throats of Urga’s
+priests as the doors open and close on the bearers
+of treasure, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They
+are so numerous that they can only be admitted
+in sections of a hundred or so at a time.</p>
+
+<p>Less stirring perhaps, but every whit as
+picturesque, was the meeting of the archers held
+on the great grassy expanse between the sacred
+mountain and the city. I rode out to it to find a
+scene which suggested a herbaceous flower-bed
+in bright autumn sunshine. A background of
+wooded hills rose up in the distance across the
+Tola River to some 1500 or 1600 feet. The
+garments of the crowds—the laity were in preponderating
+forces to-day—were indeed a study
+in contrasts and harmonies. Pointsettia scarlet
+vied with pure turquoise and lapis-lazuli blue;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</span>
+lavender and rich violet, sober mouse colour,
+pale lemon chrome ranging to vivid orange—the
+brilliance of a field of parrot tulips such as brought
+back to my memory the bulb farms in full bloom
+which surround Haarlem. Cup day at Ascot
+would seem pale and anæmic as compared with
+this Mongolian toxophilite display.</p>
+
+<p>At one end of the ground were half a dozen
+little marquees, light or dark blue linen <i>appliqué</i>
+with yellow and white devices. Under them,
+upon comfortable square cushions, sat the princes
+and princesses, the mandarins and their wives,
+with sundry other officials. Surrounding them
+were the crowds, and again, like a wall beyond,
+hundreds and hundreds of ponies were tethered,
+for no one ever dreams of walking in Mongolia.
+In front of the tents at the south end of the
+ground were half a dozen stances for the archers.
+They shot in pairs, princes and peasants alike,
+and undistinguished save for the badge of office
+in the form of the peacock’s feather which
+protrudes horizontal from the crown of the round
+pork-pie hat with red streamers, and by the richer
+material of the garments. They had four shots
+apiece, and their range was about seventy to
+seventy-five yards distance.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f38">
+<img src="images/fig38.jpg" alt="archers">
+<p class="caption">THE MEETING OF THE ARCHERS<br>
+‘RANGED THEMSELVES IN COUPLES AT THE STANCES’</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f39">
+<img src="images/fig39.jpg" alt="butts">
+<p class="caption">SCORING THE HITS AT THE BUTTS</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The competitors were in great force, and
+coming out eight or ten at a time they ranged
+themselves in couples at the stances, bowed low
+to the magnates in the marquees, saluted the
+butts likewise, and let fly their heavy, ivory-tipped
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</span>arrows—not at targets, but at birch-bark rings
+piled loosely as a child might build a “castle”
+with his bricks one on top of the other, and
+making little low walls of perhaps ten or twelve
+feet in length by eighteen inches high. At the
+butts were a number of men scoring the hits, and
+as the arrows flew they flapped their long arms
+above their heads and chanted a sort of dirge-like
+incantation, not dissimilar to that with which our
+sailors accompany the hauling in of anchor cables.</p>
+
+<p>The song rose and fell, crescendo and diminuendo,
+in harmony with the success or failure of
+the competitors. A gentle swaying movement
+of the crowds as their eyes followed the arrows
+was like a corn-field shivering in waves as the
+breeze stirs it. The umpires stood right in the
+line of the hurtling missiles, and little lamas in
+embryo, bare-footed and bare-limbed, gathered
+the arrows as they fell, tripping back with them
+to the archers like sun-kissed amorini with their
+quivers full. The utmost order prevailed, and
+this event, as were also the others, was organised
+to perfection.</p>
+
+<p>The Dance of the Gods which took place in
+the spacious outer courtyard of the temple was
+similar in effect to the Devil Dances I had
+watched with such interest at the lama temple
+in Peking in the previous spring. The ground
+was marked out in sections and all operations
+were directed towards a canopy of yellow silk
+ornamented with conventional devices in blue,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</span>
+beneath which the throne of the Hut’ukt’u was
+placed. That he would be present in <i>persona
+proprîa</i> nobody expected, but in his absence all
+honour was paid to the space which should have
+been occupied by him.</p>
+
+<p>The status of Russia was officially recognised
+by the erection of a special marquee not far
+from that of the Bogdo, and under this the
+Russian Consul sat cross-legged and perspiring,
+supported by a number of officials, an interpreter,
+and his handsome Persian valet at his elbow.
+A large number of Russians also stood and looked
+on at the weird gyrations of the masked dancers
+which continued untiringly hour after hour beneath
+a fierce sun beating mercilessly down upon the
+thousands of spectators fringing this gritty and
+treeless expanse. Picturesque and novel though
+the dancing was, it became monotonous after
+a while as troop after troop of actors, concealed
+beneath the most grotesque masks which covered
+their heads and shoulders, issued forth in turn,
+and went through what appeared to us to be the
+same evolutions one after the other. It is very
+difficult to arrive at any exact interpretation of
+such religious dances, but the most likely explanation
+is that the scenes gone through are
+a representation in pantomime of incidents in
+the early history of Buddhism. The dancers are
+masked to represent the gods, mythological
+animals, and hideous devils, and they prance
+about the chalked-in area to the strains of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</span>Tibetan trumpets and other weird sounds. The
+gods, whose amiable and pallid countenances
+very naturally bear strong resemblance to the
+sublime expression of contemplation admired
+by the Chinese, overcome the devils in due
+course, but to our disappointment by the means
+of peaceful exorcism and not by muscular conflict.
+This sort of thing continued for the best part of
+a day, and it was easy to see that the spectators
+grew bored, for the majority were as ignorant,
+we were told, as we ourselves as to what it was
+all about.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f40">
+<img src="images/fig40.jpg" alt="mask">
+<p class="caption">A MASK AT THE DANCE OF THE GODS</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f41">
+<img src="images/fig41.jpg" alt="gold">
+<p class="caption">A MONGOL PRINCESS WEARING A HEAD-DRESS OF GOLD</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Attendance at the sacred dance may to some
+extent have been a matter of obligation on the
+part of a considerable proportion of the audience,
+but for the subsequent event, the annual wrestling
+competition, it was a very different story, and the
+approaches to the ground were thronged by men,
+women, and children, about whose keenness there
+was little room for doubt. As far as the arrangement
+of the ground was concerned, proceedings
+followed to a large extent those of the previous
+occasions. The main difference, as far as I was
+able to observe, seemed to be that all the
+princesses in Urga (if they were all princesses)
+were present in order to lend encouragement
+to their swains. Seated demurely enough in
+rows, these charming little ladies displayed their
+wonderful jewels and clothes to vast advantage.
+Beneath their hats was to be discerned the gold
+headdress that is worn only on very special<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</span>
+occasions. In shape similar to an inverted finger-bowl
+and of open-work design, many of them
+were made of gold and must have been uncomfortably
+heavy on this hot day. Suspended from the
+frame were strings of pearls, and a modest
+estimate of these suggested that some of these
+grand ladies wore from 300 to 400 pearls, many
+of them as large as peas and quite perfect in
+colour. In this great mixed assembly they
+doubtless felt that their dignity behoved them
+to present a formal appearance, but the brown
+eyes and rosy lips looked merry enough, and one
+caught mocking and seductive glances shooting
+backwards and forwards in spite of all their
+primness.</p>
+
+<p>The loose long coats worn habitually by the
+Mongol men conceal successfully their proportions
+and claims to physical development, and
+it was with some interest that we watched the
+wrestlers prepare for the ring. Their faces,
+burned alternately by the strong sun and rasped
+by icy winds, are usually weathered to the colour
+of old copper, and one is astonished to see when
+they are stripped that their bodies are as fair as
+those of the average Englishman. Strong rather
+than agile in appearance, these braves, lamas and
+laymen alike, practice from the time they are
+little boys and train seriously when the opportunity
+offers; they are as hard as nails when the
+time comes for their prowess to be put to the
+test.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</span></p>
+
+<p>The signal is given, and four pairs of competitors
+enter the gladiatorial ring, each being
+arranged at a given point and closely watched
+by a couple of umpires, who, acting as backers
+into the bargain, never cease pouring advice
+and encouragement upon them, occasionally even
+punctuating their sentiments by administering
+resounding smacks on the softer portions of their
+anatomy. Before getting to work, however,
+convention has prescribed, doubtless from time
+immemorial, that salutations shall be offered to
+the gods, or to the presiding deity, be he who
+he may. Alas for the influence of Western ways!
+The feet of the deity who should have presided
+have developed perhaps just a shade too big even
+for his Mongol boots, and salutations must be
+made instead to that empty symbol of sovereignty,
+the unoccupied throne of the absent Hut’ukt’u.</p>
+
+<p>Moving in single file towards the northern end
+of the ground, exclaiming as they go, the gladiators
+advance one by one to the empty chair literally by
+leaps and bounds. Their prancing action brings
+the knees up to the stomach with every step, and
+they present the most ludicrous sight imaginable.
+Arrived at the dais, the braves leap in the air, fall on
+their knees, and touching the ground three times
+with their foreheads, perform profound obeisance.</p>
+
+<p>The bout began, and to the eyes of the uninitiated
+it appeared in some instances a trial of brains
+rather than of muscles. A smart trick would send
+one man down with lightning celerity, and at once<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</span>
+the victor would prance off again to tell that
+vacant throne that he had won. In other cases a
+pair would remain in close embrace for several
+minutes, motionless, and apparently thoughtful.
+Here one could only suppose that endurance was
+playing its part, since for no apparent reason one
+of the men would suddenly collapse, and the other
+would fly off to tell the story. Notwithstanding
+my lack of technical knowledge, I found this an
+absorbingly interesting form of entertainment, and
+rejoiced to hear from the Norwegian, German,
+Russian, and Englishman that these well-made
+specimens of humanity were sportsmen in every
+sense of the word, that they played the game
+as well as any Westerner. Indeed they may be
+said in one respect to set an example to the
+Western world in the total disparity of the reward
+to the merit that had attained it. A handful of
+little cakes, the greater part of which were distributed
+among his friends by the victor, formed
+the entire “purse” for which he fought. The
+honour of the thing is good enough for these uncivilised
+Mongols.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f42">
+<img src="images/fig42.jpg" alt="mongol">
+<p class="caption">A MONGOL GLADIATOR</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The closing event of the festival of Ts’am was
+most enjoyable of all, and I feel that I cannot
+improve upon the description given by Mr. Gull
+in the paper which he read before the Central
+Asian Society on his return to England. “The
+race meeting was held in a beautiful green valley
+a little east of Urga. We rode out to it in a merry
+party of Mongols and their wives, who, though in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</span>gala array, rode astride. There were thirty entries
+for a race over flat open country for five miles.
+The jockeys were little boys and girls, the youngest
+eight, the oldest not more than fourteen. The
+ponies, their riders up and singing in chorus,
+paraded in a circle between tents coloured light
+and dark blue. Presently a lama in flowing robes
+of yellow with a pennon at the end of a lance
+placed himself at the head of the line, and the
+slow parade broke into a trot. Four or five times
+the circle was completed till the trot momentarily
+quickening became a fast canter. Then the excitement
+of the ponies worked up to a pitch, the
+lama gave the signal. With a sweep of his lance
+he shot off at a gallop the circle behind him uncoiling
+like a lasso. It spread out towards the
+plain racing towards a bend in the hills, the actual
+starting-point. We followed for a little and then
+dismounting we waited until in straggling file,
+flanked by those who had gone all the way, the
+competitors reappeared. The first home was a
+girl with a sash of orange bound round her jet
+black hair. A mounted lama caught her bridle
+and led her up to each of the tents in turn. Before
+each he intoned a prayer, and at the last the girl
+was handed a bowl of milk, and milk was poured
+over her pony’s head. Each of the competitors
+was then taken up to the tents in turn, and each
+pony anointed in the same way. At the end of
+the afternoon the owners and others stripped off
+their clothes and wrestled until the sun, crowned<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</span>
+with a floating splendour of flame sank behind the
+hills.”</p>
+
+<p class="gtb">******</p>
+
+<p>The friendliness of the Mongols towards Europeans
+was on this occasion decidedly marked, and
+in company with half a dozen Russian officers who
+had brought over a number of their men to see the
+sport, we were entertained “at tea” in one of the
+pale blue tents near the winning-post. We all
+sat on the ground in a row, cross-legged, and the
+lamas handed round queer little Chinese cakes and
+bowls of mares’ milk. The latter looked dirty but
+was really not at all bad to taste.</p>
+
+<p>Our meeting under these strange but pleasant
+circumstances with the Russian officers led to the
+establishment of cordial relations between us, in
+spite of the fact, which surprised us not a little,
+that one only of their number knew any language
+other than their own. This great burly fellow, a
+Captain in a Siberian rifle corps, was hail-fellow-well-met
+directly he saw us, and, coming from the
+Baltic provinces, spoke German fluently. We
+took advantage a few days later of his invitation
+to ride over to his quarters that we might see
+something of the extensive new barracks which
+are being built by the Russians. The soldiers are
+at present mainly housed in barracks which were
+begun by the Chinese, who in 1910 proposed to
+keep a small force there. Anyone more hospitable
+than these gallant Russians I have seldom met,
+but their notions of entertainment did not run on
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</span>lines exactly parallel with our own, and it was
+impossible to persuade them that I really did not
+like my tea half-and-half with neat brandy, and
+that in view of a very solitary ride home across
+dangerous country there were limits to my capacity
+for drinking vodka.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f43">
+<img src="images/fig43.jpg" alt="bout">
+<p class="caption">A WRESTLING BOUT</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f44">
+<img src="images/fig44.jpg" alt="lamas">
+<p class="caption">YOUNG LAMAS.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>I fancy that some of these officers, though
+nominally this Mongolian exile is very distasteful
+to them, manage to amuse themselves and to take
+advantage of the great possibilities of sport that
+this region offers; they extended to us a variety
+of inducements such as expeditions after bear, lynx,
+and wolves, to say nothing of wild-fowl shooting,
+if we would remain in Urga long enough. There
+is plenty of bird and animal life both in South and
+North Mongolia, harrier eagles, vultures, sheldrakes,
+bustards, geese, ducks, magpies, crows
+and larks abounding, while in North Mongolia
+beautiful herons, always seen in couples, were so
+tame that they allowed one to get within very
+short range before spreading their wings and sailing
+away.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="c15">CHAPTER XV</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“It is only kindness and not severity that can impress at the<br>
+distance of a thousand miles”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">
+—<i>Chinese proverb</i>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">A</span>MONG all the brightness and sparkle of
+life in Urga, there is alas! a very dark
+and sinister side. Day after day, we
+rode past a certain little inconspicuous enclosure
+surrounded by a rough pine stockade, little recking
+of the appalling amount of misery it encompassed.
+How far circumstances and how far
+sheer native cruelty are responsible for the terrible
+condition under which the Mongols drag out a
+ghastly existence in punishment for crimes either
+great or small, and even prior to condemnation,
+it would be difficult to establish. Deprivation of
+liberty and rigorous confinement is the accepted
+form of punishment held by the Mongols in common
+with all nations of modern civilisation, and
+the present form probably originated before there
+was any other way of imprisoning malefactors
+than the felt yourt of the nomad, from which, of
+course, any prisoner could escape in ten minutes.</p>
+
+<p>Few, if any, Europeans other than Russians
+have seen the inside of this Mongol prison; and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</span>
+truly the dungeons at Urga beggar description.
+Through the kind offices of one of our Russian
+friends we obtained a pass from the Mongol
+Government to enable us to visit the prisoners.
+The authorities were not a little suspicious as to
+our object in wishing to do so, and since a reason
+had perforce to be furnished, they were informed
+that we were merely humane travellers who desired
+to distribute largesse among the suffering
+inmates. Accompanied by a couple of Mongol
+officials, three Russians, and Mr. Gull, I was taken
+over the entire place, and I believe that none of
+its horrors escaped me.</p>
+
+<p>It would indeed be a hard heart that did not
+open to the hopeless misery of the prisoners.
+Within a small compound fenced in by high spiked
+palisades are five or six dungeons. The dungeons
+are thrice enclosed by a stockade of rough pinewood
+some eighteen feet high, and to gain access
+to them many heavily bolted doors have to be
+unbarred. All the doors were double, and two
+great padlocks ensured the security of each. As
+we entered, the gaolers, who struck us as being a
+most unholy looking couple who literally gloated
+over the misery of the prisoners in their power,
+met us, and called our attention, quite unnecessarily,
+to a trio of pale-faced Mongols sitting on
+the ground just inside the gates. Their hands
+and feet were heavily chained together, and they
+fell on their knees when they saw us. We had
+each contributed three roubles before entering the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</span>
+prison, and, having reduced it to small change,
+one of the party doled it out, making the sum go
+as far as possible among the miserable suppliants.</p>
+
+<p>Passing on to the interior, we came upon a
+heavy wooden chest, some 4 to 4½ feet long by 2½
+feet deep, iron-bound and secured by two strong
+padlocks. To our horror we discovered that it
+contained a man—one might have imagined that
+a wild beast to be sent by train was temporarily
+imprisoned therein! But a man! The hole in the
+side was of sufficient size to enable the prisoner
+to thrust out his manacled hands. This also
+provided the sole means of ventilation. But
+this unfortunate creature was well off compared
+with the others we saw subsequently. At least
+he was breathing in the open air. The dungeons,
+we were told, were so full that this prisoner had
+to remain outside. While we were discussing his
+pitiable lot, clank, clank, went the great bars and
+bolts, and the gaoler had opened the double doors
+leading into the first dungeon. There must have
+been from twenty to thirty coffins in this, some
+piled on the tops of the others, and the atmosphere
+was absolutely putrid. The two Mongol officials,
+whose general tone I cannot say impressed us
+very favourably, now very ostentatiously held
+their long sleeves over their noses, accustomed to
+smells though they were. One imagines that
+there may have been some means of cleaning out
+the coffins from underneath as is the case in
+cages in a menagerie, for it was most strongly
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</span>impressed upon us that never under any circumstances
+whatsoever are the prisoners allowed to
+come out except for execution or—rarely—to
+be set free. The majority are in for life sentences.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f45">
+<img src="images/fig45.jpg" alt="prisoners">
+<p class="caption">PRISONERS AT URGA, SHUT UP FOR THE REMAINDER OF THEIR LIVES IN HEAVY IRON-BOUND COFFINS</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>One’s eyes growing accustomed to the darkness—the
+only light that penetrates it is from the
+doors when they are opened—one became gradually
+aware of wild shaggy heads poking through
+the round holes in the coffin’s sides. I was standing,
+quite unconsciously, close to a coffin, when,
+glancing down, I saw a terrible face, nothing
+more, almost touching the skirt of my riding coat.
+Beside one coffin was a pool of blood which told
+its own tale. Within it there was a poor devil
+coughing his lungs up. The Russian officer,
+knowing Mongolian well, spoke a few words to
+one or two of them, but they seemed too dazed to
+understand. Their minds, like their limbs, quickly
+atrophy in this close confinement. After a breath
+of fresh air in the tiny space that separates the
+dungeons, which, by the way, are four or five feet
+below ground level, another double door was unbarred
+for us, and we entered the second dungeon
+where there were a similar number of Chinese, in
+the coffins. It struck us as infinitely sad to find
+these gentle, highly civilised Chinese here, Shansi
+merchants most of them, friends and neighbours
+no doubt of the men with whom we had drunk tea
+in their charming guild rooms adjoining the little
+temple in Mai-mai-ch’eng. There they were, shut<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</span>
+up for the remainder of their lives in heavy iron-bound
+coffins, out of which they could never under
+any conditions or for any purpose move. They
+could not lie down flat, they could not sit upright,
+they were not only manacled but chained to the
+coffins. They saw daylight but for a few minutes,
+when their food was thrust into their coffins
+through a hole four or five inches in diameter,
+twice daily. In one way only did they score over
+their Mongolian fellow-sufferers. Their narrower
+Chinese skulls enabled them, painfully and with
+difficulty, to protrude their heads through the
+hole in the coffin side. The Mongol cranium is
+too wide to do so at all.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gull talked to the Chinese as long as the
+brutal-looking gaolers would let him, and I admired
+the pluck which enabled him to remain so long in
+that fearsome atmosphere. The men told him
+that all they knew was that they were suspected
+of supporting the Chinese Republic at the time of
+the Mongol declaration of independence. They
+had apparently had no trial, and they saw not the
+slightest chance of escape from this appalling
+situation. They seemed thankful to have a few
+words with anyone in their own tongue.</p>
+
+<p>There were five dungeons and we went into
+all of them. It was impossible in the dim light to
+estimate how many prisoners they contained, and
+one got very varying figures, but I imagine that
+the total must be in the neighbourhood of 150.
+One of the Russians wished to take a photograph<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</span>
+of the three prisoners outside, and the brutes of
+gaolers held their hands when they tried to cover
+their faces. I felt that one ought not insult their
+misery by doing such a thing. Indeed, no matter
+what their crimes, one had nothing but the deepest
+pity for the prisoners. We were profoundly
+moved by all the experiences of the afternoon
+and rode back much saddened in the twilight to
+Mai-mai-ch’eng. Nothing I can ever see in the
+future will wipe out the memory of that terrible
+prison.</p>
+
+<p>What I had learned of the prison system in
+Urga helped me the better to understand what I
+saw later on. I was present, not indeed from any
+morbid curiosity, but in order to witness the much-vaunted
+Mongol courage in the face of death, at
+the execution of three Mongol soldiers, who six
+months before had murdered their general, Gen
+Dung Geng, and since that time had been dragging
+out their lives in those awful coffins.</p>
+
+<p>A perfect July morning. The ride over the
+short turf for miles along the wide valley to the
+north-east of Urga made us forgetful for the time
+being of the gruesome object of our expedition.
+Three of the soldiers who had murdered their
+general—the prince, who had led them 400 strong
+against 4000 Chinese within the walled city of
+Kobdo, and whose title was the reward of his conquest—were
+to be executed. Discipline among
+his ranks had been terribly severe; his soldiers
+hated him, and the glory with which they were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</span>
+covered as a consequence of their victory did not
+outweigh the rancour in their hearts. A chosen
+few were supported without exception by their
+fellows. They were unanimous to a man.</p>
+
+<p>The prince must die. They rose against him
+on the morning of an ice-bound day in January,
+and twenty Mauser rifles emptied their lead into
+his body. Miraculous seemed the strength possessed
+by the General. A bullet shattered his
+thigh, but he continued to run. The soldiers
+hesitated when they saw that he did not fall.
+For one English mile he fled from his pursuers,
+limping but swift. To the city he fled, and people
+ran out from their dwellings to ask the reason for
+such doings. They were out of earshot when the
+answer came flinging back to them. But as he
+ran he called to those that would have come up
+with him, “Stand away from me, or you also will
+surely be killed,” and in his agony he pushed into
+a place of safety some little children who were
+in his path. His heart was tender in spite of the
+severity of his discipline.</p>
+
+<p>He ran; and coming to a gateway where he
+might hope to find sanctuary, he threw himself
+with all his force against the door. He was a
+strong man, and the door fell in, and he with it.
+He lay as he fell. His own soldiers came quickly
+up with him, and to the first he cried, “Kill me,
+then, that I may enter the new life without further
+delay”. And straightway the man shot him
+through the head.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</span></p>
+
+<p>... And we sat on the hill-side and waited,
+while our ponies found fodder more luscious than
+that to which they were accustomed on the nearer
+plains. We waited for over two hours. The
+Mongols are not a punctual people.</p>
+
+<p>Presently, riding in twos and threes, they came
+straggling over the hill; the hill that shall obscure
+from view the bloody deed which must be carried
+out without the knowledge of the gods, which on
+no account may take place within sight of the
+sacred mountain of Bogdo-N’or upon whose face
+all Urga gazes.</p>
+
+<p>The horsemen rode slowly across the mountain,
+for they knew that more slowly still would the
+ox-carts with their mounted escort of soldiers from
+the south wend their way around its foot. Besides,
+there was no hurry. The prince’s soldiers,
+three only of the many who were eating their
+hearts out in those awful dungeons, were to die
+to-day for his murder.</p>
+
+<p>Some sixty or seventy Chinese herded together
+near us, a cheery, chattering crowd, make a jarring
+note in this sombre atmosphere. They
+rejoice to witness death, more especially when
+a Mongol is to die. They sit apart from all
+others. There is no natural affinity between
+these warring races; and the chances just now
+are that in the near future Mongolia’s relations
+with her celestial neighbours may be fundamentally
+altered.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly round the bend of the valley appears<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</span>
+a multi-coloured little group of riders, the predominant
+tint being the blue uniforms of the
+southern soldiers making general harmony with
+the grey-green of the grass on the slopes. They
+are quickly within range, and by the peacock
+plumes in their velvet hats one sees that many
+officials accompany the criminals. There, in the
+midst of the soldiers, are the primitive little ox-carts,
+two of them, and in them sit, arms tightly
+bound to their backs, the shock-headed criminals.
+Shock-headed and bearded they have become
+during their sojourn in the coffins in which they
+have been closely confined in Urga’s dungeons.
+Death is indisputably preferable to imprisonment
+in Mongolia. One of the trio, in spite of the
+terrible six months through which he has passed,
+is full of life and vigour, and he shouts up in a truculent
+manner to the officials who have gathered
+together in a little tent overlooking the stakes to
+which later on the prisoners are to be bound,
+“Hi, you there,” he calls, “don’t go and hide yourselves
+inside the tent. You have to watch our
+execution. Come out and see us die.” And
+when the simple meal, with which they are served
+immediately before the execution takes place, is
+served to them—unable to feed themselves, the
+bowls are held to their lips by the gaolers—this
+same man demands his rights, and asks for meat
+and tea instead of the water and tsamba which
+are given to him.</p>
+
+<p>And then—having satisfied their hunger, they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</span>
+are quickly and securely bound in kneeling posture
+to the stakes. For the last time the sturdy
+ruffian expostulates at not being allowed to face
+the fire. “Why do you not let us face the guns?”
+he argued. “Why will you not allow us to die
+like soldiers?” This position is ignominious.
+It is unworthy of their traditions. But no notice
+is taken of him, and perhaps his earlier discipline
+impels him to submit without further demur.
+A lama, carrying in his hands a framed picture of
+the Great Prophet, walks in front of the captives.
+What he says to them we cannot hear, but one
+replies, “I only want to be a soldier when I am
+born again”. The three gaze reverently enough
+at the Buddha, and perhaps pray to him that their
+lot in the speedy re-incarnation, which they confidently
+anticipate, may be cast in pleasanter
+places. The lama retires, and with a startling
+rapidity, three blue-clad soldiers have placed
+themselves at close range, five yards at most from
+the murderers, and then—thud, thud, and the dust
+on the hill beyond puffs up in three little clouds.
+The heads of two of the men fall backwards with
+a jerk on their necks. The bullets have done their
+work. But custom demands that a second and
+even a third round shall be fired. Then we see
+that one of the men, the central figure of the
+group, is still alive, and the awful thing is that no
+one but ourselves appears to give heed to the fact,
+until the Norwegian runs down the hill to the unfortunate
+victim and calls the attention of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</span>
+Mongols to his condition. Five minutes—they
+seem like hours—pass before one of the troop
+of soldiers, already mounted and galloping up the
+hill towards Urga, is called back. He dismounts,
+kneels, and takes aim and fires. There is no mistake
+about the despatch this time. The poor
+wretch has died hard indeed.</p>
+
+<p>We are a very quiet little party as we ride
+slowly homewards through the valleys. Away
+behind us the kites circle round the spot we have
+just left; waiting until the last of the crowd has
+taken himself off. A human vulture has paid a
+few kopecks for the privilege of stripping those
+three poor bodies of the filthy clothes in which
+they so bravely expiated their crime, and he too
+waits until we are all out of sight before he commences
+his gruesome task. And the dogs, the
+ghoulish dogs that infest Urga, will compete with
+the vultures.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="c16">CHAPTER XVI</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“Those who know do not speak; those speak who do not know”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">
+—<i>Chinese proverb</i>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE Mongol belief in an immediate re-incarnation
+leads them to be entirely careless
+of their dead, and the only description
+of tomb I saw in Urga were a couple of dagobas
+erected over priests’ graves. “What does it
+matter?” they say. “The body is only a case for
+the spirit, and the spirit is at once born again
+into a new case.” I think that herein lies the
+reason they never seem to trouble to wash their
+“cases”. Corpses are carried out on to the
+hill-side on the tail of an ox-cart, a lama accompanying
+the man in charge of it. The lama
+selects an auspicious spot; the man whips up his
+pony, jerks the corpse to the ground, and they
+drive quickly off without looking back. The rest
+is left to luck. If the body is rapidly devoured
+by wild beasts and birds of prey, the virtue of the
+deceased is established in the face of any evidence
+to the contrary. If, however, the process of dissolution
+is protracted, a bad name will cling to
+the reputation of the departed and also reflect<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</span>
+inconveniently on his surviving family as long as
+spiteful memory permits.</p>
+
+<p>A lasting impression of Urga is that of a city
+strewn with bones, and horrible, ghoulish, and
+terribly savage dogs prowling among them. You
+may count these dogs sometimes in hundreds
+about the refuse heaps that surround Urga.
+Often they may be seen silently gnawing, gnawing
+away at something which makes you shudder
+as you ride quickly past. One never ventures
+outside one’s door unarmed, for in winter the
+dogs are very fierce with hunger, and in summer
+there is always danger of meeting a mad brute.
+Only a few months before we stayed there a
+young lama from the temple just outside our
+compound was torn to pieces by these pariah
+dogs. He was a fine strong young man, but had
+gone forth alone one winter’s day and was without
+a weapon. A number of dogs attacked him
+and before anyone could respond to his cries they
+had dragged him away to a neighbouring refuse
+heap and there torn him limb from limb. The
+dogs belong to nobody, and as well as being a
+constant source of danger, they are most repulsive
+looking creatures, always unsightly from
+some horrible disease that seems to beset them.
+The Mongol view is that these dogs act as
+scavengers and so save them the trouble of disposing
+of their refuse.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f46">
+<img src="images/fig46.jpg" alt="dagobas">
+<p class="caption">A TOMB IN URGA<br>
+DAGOBAS ERECTED OVER PRIESTS’ GRAVES</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f47">
+<img src="images/fig47.jpg" alt="soldiers">
+<p class="caption">SOUTHERN SOLDIERS</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Cut off completely from the world, as it seemed,
+I received neither letters nor news of outside
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</span>affairs, nor did I observe during this gala time at
+Urga much evidence as to the unsettled state of
+Chinese and Mongolian political matters. An occasional
+telegram was received by my host from
+his colleague at Kalgan telling him something of
+the movements of the two opposing forces, but it
+was little that we learned as to what was happening,
+and if one had remained much longer there
+one would certainly have come to regard Urga
+as the centre of the universe, and to attach paramount
+importance to Mongolia as a political unit.</p>
+
+<p>The news, therefore, that Mr. Grant, a young
+Scotsman engaged in the Chinese telegraph service,
+had been murdered by Mongol soldiery at
+Ta-Bol was a great shock. We had met the companion
+who set out with him, the preparations
+for whose expedition I had watched with such
+interest three months before from the mission
+compound at Kalgan, when we passed through
+Verkne-Oudinsk, and were told by him that Mr.
+Grant would probably reach Urga before we left
+it. The story as it came to us through Mongol
+sources was that Hung-hu-tzes had descended
+upon this poor young fellow for food at an isolated
+telegraph station, and that when they had exhausted
+his supplies, he, though resenting their
+importunities, had despatched urgent messages
+to the Chinese Government for relief. It is said
+that a telegram was sent to Yuan Shih K’ai himself;
+but the Chinese Government were apathetic,
+or they did not see the force of feeding this robber<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</span>
+band whose object was to destroy their men, when
+it was all they could do to supply their own soldiers
+with the barest necessities. In any case, no relief
+came, and Grant in desperation, no Chinese or
+Mongol being willing to undertake the journey,
+finally set off to Kalgan that he might obtain the
+stores necessary in order to continue his tour of
+inspection north. Why the authorities allowed
+him to return under the conditions prevailing in
+Inner Mongolia at that time it is difficult to understand.
+Be that as it may, upon reaching Ta-Bol
+again in company with three Chinese he was apparently
+captured by Mongol soldiers, who met
+him with the demand that he should hand over
+his supplies and his Chinese as well to them. He
+should go free, they said, if he complied, but if he
+refused they would kill him.</p>
+
+<p>To his eternal honour be it recorded that Grant
+stood by his Chinese companions. The Mongols,
+although they murdered him in cold blood, have
+at least been forced to admit that the white man
+was their equal in their boasted bravery; that he
+knew something of which they know nothing—the
+supreme virtue of self-sacrifice. He did not die
+with the satisfaction of knowing that he was
+saving the life of others in so doing—one hopes
+that many of us would be capable of paying that
+price for such a reward. He died because he
+would not save his own life at the price of blood
+even though that blood was inevitably to be shed.
+From Mongol lips the account of the final scene<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</span>
+comes to us. Announcing their intention of
+putting him to death, soldiers crowded round him
+to take him captive. He jeered that so large a
+number should be necessary to bind a single man.
+“We will soon stop your laughing,” they said, and
+lining up twenty men they shot him down.</p>
+
+<p>Grant met his death in such a manner as to
+make his nation proud of him. His action, combined
+with his last brave words, was of a gallantry
+that places him high in the company of heroes.
+“You may kill me, but you can never frighten
+me,” he said. A month or more later his body
+was found with a bullet through the head, as were
+the bodies of the three Chinese with whom he
+died rather than leave to their fate. Though the
+murderers had fled, the camp near which the bodies
+were found still remained, and it was on that
+account that they were found undisturbed; that
+the wolves and vultures had left them untouched.
+It would almost seem as though the Mongols,
+having done their worst, had guarded the remains;
+as though they realised that a hero’s death must
+surely be avenged.</p>
+
+<p>Although, as I have said, there was little enough
+on the surface in the capital to suggest that a
+few hundred miles away fighting was in progress
+and unrest was prevalent, one could not describe
+Urga as being either a peaceful or a soothing
+place in which to settle. The fact that one must
+always keep a loaded rifle at hand does not make
+for that. A somewhat “nervy” little experience<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</span>
+of my own one night was when I heard rifle and
+revolver shots too near to be exactly a lullaby.
+Creeping out into the compound, my revolver at
+full cock, and taking cover under shadow of the
+low Chinese buildings that bordered it, I discovered
+that a Mongol was sitting upon my roof taking
+pot shots at his enemy over the wall. This is
+the one and only time that I think I can claim
+literally to have been “under fire”.</p>
+
+<p>Another uncomfortable moment was one night
+in riding home in the dark after dining with our
+Russian friends, when we inadvertently disturbed
+a horde of pariah dogs very busily engaged in
+gnawing at—heaven knows what! Several of
+them leapt up angrily at us, and there was
+temporary uncertainty as to whether we might
+not be in for an extremely ugly time of it. At
+night, too, our ponies were fearfully nervous, and
+after a violent “shy” because my fellow-traveller
+struck a match to light a cigarette, my little brute
+chucked me over his head most unexpectedly
+when, on reaching the compound gates, I essayed
+to rouse the inmates by banging on the doors
+with my riding-crop. We learned before leaving
+Urga that to be out after dark was looked upon
+as exceedingly rash and unwise, and before we
+left that city an order was issued by the Mongol
+Government to the effect that no one was to go
+outside his house after 8 p.m.; that in one house
+in every twelve a man was to sit up all night
+in order to give warning should Hung-hu-tzes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</span>
+threaten; and that in every house or yourt a
+light was to be kept burning all night.</p>
+
+<p>These were not exactly reassuring auspices
+under which to make our way back along the
+lonely tracks to civilisation. It decided us, in
+fact, to give up the idea of taking a different route
+back in order to visit the gold mines in the Iro
+district, for it was especially in that neighbourhood
+that there was most likelihood of meeting
+desperate and evil characters. Anxious therefore
+to prolong our stay in Urga to the limit of the
+time we had at our disposal, we decided to cut
+the journey back to Siberia as short as possible
+and travel “orton” in as rapid stages as might
+be. The Russian Consul was very good in
+helping us to make our arrangements. In fact,
+the uncomfortable feeling lingered unexpressed at
+the backs of our minds that friendly though he
+had been, he would not be sorry to see us turn
+our faces from Urga. It is obvious that the
+Russians would not like a couple of inquisitive
+foreigners poking their noses into all sorts of
+corners, especially in a country where Russian
+jurisdiction is in the balance and control by no
+means complete.</p>
+
+<p>An antediluvian tarantass was procured, and
+we were told that the owner lived in Kiachta
+and that we might deposit it there for him. The
+small sum of ten roubles seemed to ensure
+sufficient repair being carried out on it to see us
+through the two hundred miles that lay between<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</span>
+Urga and our destination. The first day of
+August was spent in packing up and making
+preparations for our journey, which we hoped to
+compass in four instead of the seven days we had
+taken in coming. The friends we had made
+during our stay came to speed us on our way and
+regaled us during tea-time with stories of adventures
+that travellers had met with on previous
+occasions over the same road. The Consul,
+very genial and cheery himself, brought us our
+“huchaos” as well as the passes which would
+enable us to carry our weapons out of Mongolia
+and through Russian territory. Our last evening,
+as we fondly thought, we spent on the banks
+of the Tola River, and with the whitened skull of
+a camel for a target we tried to improve our
+marksmanship with the Mauser in the twilight,
+using up all the ammunition we dared spare from
+the possible requirements on the journey home.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“To spoil what is good by unreasonableness is like letting off<br>
+fireworks in the rain”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">
+—<i>Chinese proverb</i>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">A</span>GAIN we had reckoned without our—Mongols.
+Rising betimes and being
+from an early hour in a state of preparedness,
+we sat down and waited for the
+appearance of our tarantass, our horses, and our
+men. We waited all day, and in the evening gave
+them up as a bad job and went off for a final
+ride over the short springy turf among the foothills
+surrounding the holy city. Next day, five
+weeks exactly since we had left Kiachta, the
+Mongols arrived before 8 a.m., but such are their
+feckless and procrastinating ways, that it was
+noon before they were ready to start. Our first
+halt came all too soon, for we were not more
+than 300 yards from the compound gates when
+we had smash number one. This, by the way,
+was the first and last time that I have ever seen
+a Mongol unseated, and to do him justice, the
+man came off his pony, not from having lost his
+grip, but in preference to being crushed against
+the palings of the temple we were passing.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</span></p>
+
+<p>We had started off three men short, and one
+of the ponies, never having been used to draw
+anything before, and being, moreover, extremely
+fresh, took advantage of the situation to jib, throw
+its rider, and bolt off across the valley. Without
+a moment’s delay, the other Mongol freed his
+steed from the tarantass and sped off after the
+runaway. We were left sitting in the tarantass.
+The pony, after a wild chase, was caught again,
+and then in order to knock the stuffing out of him
+a little, his owner, belabouring him freely, took
+him for a sharp gallop. Meanwhile, and just as
+we were ready to depart once more, the rascally
+horse-dealer, who, by the way, had been our
+next-door neighbour as well, rode up, obviously
+in a state of indignant excitement. Mr. Mamen,
+our Norwegian friend, who, hearing of our smash,
+had come along to help if he could, explained that
+the man was very angry and was under the impression
+that we had insulted him.</p>
+
+<p>The story of the skull, the <i>casus belli</i> with the
+horse-dealer, brings back to me considerable
+regret. Ten days or so prior to our departure
+I had found on a hill-side some distance from
+Urga a fine, and apparently, clean, specimen of
+Mongol skull, and tyro in the subject that I was,
+thought that to possess and take it home with
+me would be interesting from an anthropological
+point of view. Threading a bit of string through
+the eye socket, therefore, I tied the skull to my
+saddle and rode back with it. My friends very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</span>
+kindly, instead of crushing my aspirations, suggested
+that to let it steep for a few days in a pail
+of disinfectant might be a wise and sanitary
+precaution. When, however, I wanted to pack it
+up, I found on pouring off the disinfectant, that
+the dogs and vultures had not performed their
+functions with the thoroughness that I had anticipated,
+and that the cranium was still half full
+of decomposed cerebral matter. My Chinese boy,
+of course, would not look at it, and I could persuade
+neither of my European companions to
+clean out the thing for me. The easiest way
+out of the difficulty seemed to be to leave the
+skull behind. As soon, however, as we had
+taken our departure, the boy in clearing up took
+the pail and its contents to a neighbouring dust-heap
+and deposited the latter thereon.</p>
+
+<p>Our Mongol horse-dealer had unfortunately
+been cognisant of the proceedings, and, on the
+look out, no doubt, for a grievance, had jumped
+on his horse that he might overtake us and
+complain of our action in leaving the skull so
+near to the confines of his compound. We apologised,
+of course, and tried to impress upon him
+the fact that we had intended no insult. Noticing
+that he still appeared irate, my noble fellow-traveller,
+with the object, I believe, of leaving
+nothing but pleasant impressions behind, offered
+to go back and to remove the skull from the
+vicinity. A further delay, and he re-appeared,
+bringing with him a bulky parcel tied up in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</span>
+a newspaper. My penitence was not assumed,
+and coals of fire were heaped on my head when
+not one solitary word of reproach was uttered
+as we packed my very gruesome possession away
+in the bottom of the tarantass. Even now it was
+in no pleasant condition for transporting by
+civilised routes through Europe, and I willingly
+agreed that it would be as well to rid ourselves
+of the encumbrance at the first opportunity. To
+remind me of that incident, even ever so gently,
+during the rest of the journey was to render me
+immediately docile and amenable to any scheme,
+no matter how distasteful it might be.</p>
+
+<p>We picked up our remaining Mongols in Urga,
+and bade adieu to the Russian officer, Captain
+Gabriek, who came to see us off, give us some
+parting words of advice, and take a photograph
+of us as a souvenir. We were nearing the top
+of the first hill out of the capital when smash
+number two occurred. The new pole which had
+been fixed across the shafts of the tarantass
+and was being carried in the usual way athwart
+the saddles of four Mongols, suddenly broke in
+two, and, without a moment’s warning, the
+tarantass began to trundle backwards down the
+incline. We sat tight, expecting to turn over
+every minute, the Mongols, who are useless in
+a crisis, looking on aghast at what had happened.
+We fetched up against a heap of stones in a
+manner truly providential, when, keeping the
+right side uppermost, we disembarked, and set<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</span>
+the Mongols to work on mending the broken pole.
+The opportunity having arrived, I took advantage
+of all their attention being concentrated elsewhere
+to walk off with the newspaper parcel containing
+the skull, and sauntering away to some distant
+bushes, I concealed my burden amongst them.
+Years hence some Sherlock Holmes will doubtless
+discover it, and making four out of two plus three,
+will with his customary acumen come to the conclusion
+that a dastardly crime has been committed
+here; that some brutal Englishman has murdered
+a Mongol and disposing of the body (heaven
+knows how!) has attempted to conceal the head
+by wrapping it in a copy of the “North China
+Herald,” and leaving it by the wayside. You
+never can tell.</p>
+
+<p>We were forced into the position of making
+the best of a very bad job as far as the repair
+to our broken pole was concerned, and came to
+the conclusion that it would not bear the severe
+strain of descending the long road which led
+down to the farther side of the Urga Pass, up
+which we had trudged so cheerily little more than
+a month before. So, with a couple of ropes to
+haul the tarantass back in order to avoid weight
+on the pole, we allowed the now somewhat subdued
+Mongols to take it down, while we ourselves
+led their ponies. Our accident delayed us for
+over an hour, and this, combined with our tardy
+start, made us very late in arriving at the end
+of the first stage. Here a relay of men and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</span>
+horses was forthcoming, and we did our best
+to instil into them caution as regards the fragile
+condition of our conveyance. The way diverged
+considerably from the route our Jamschik had
+taken in bringing us, and before reaching our
+night quarters we had a somewhat disconcerting
+stream to negotiate. Under ordinary conditions
+the Mongols would have raced over and torn
+up the steep bank on the farther side with wild
+“Hoop-la’s”. Our broken pole necessitated a
+very different procedure, and there was nothing
+for it but “all hands to the wheels” and to
+push the heavy tarantass across. They gave me
+one of the ponies to ride, but what with the water
+being deep and the pony splashing about I think
+I got as wet as they did. Mongols detest getting
+even their feet wet and made a prodigious fuss
+before they could be induced to wade.</p>
+
+<p>Our men on this stage were not a particularly
+ingratiating set, and, though the subject did not
+come up for discussion, neither of us felt any too
+safe in their hands. Their character was disclosed
+when we arrived at our destination for the
+night, and they tried to force us into paying eight
+roubles instead of the usual three, or the actual
+five, which we offered them. The Mongols bluffed
+all they knew, and swore (one of them spoke
+enough Chinese to act as interpreter) that the
+sum of eight roubles was entered in black and
+white upon our “huchao,” or posting permit. My
+less pugnacious companion was for paying and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</span>
+thus saving discussion, but I felt that to give in
+at so early a stage would mean being bullied at
+every subsequent one, and I therefore gave them
+to understand that I would go back to Urga with
+them in the morning to settle matters rather
+than be imposed upon in such a manner. They
+made as though they would depart without the
+money, but finally caved in before our firm stand,
+and after a pow-wow which had lasted over an
+hour, they settled down to tea and cigarettes
+before taking their departure, by which time it
+was nearly ten o’clock.</p>
+
+<p>Tired out with our long parley, thankful to see
+the last of them, but pleased that we had managed
+to keep our tempers and that we had finally scored
+off these Mongols, we fed hastily and settled down
+in the traveller’s yourt for the night with as little
+preparation as might be, feeling none too secure
+in this obviously hostile camp. In the wee sma’
+hours a sound of soft footsteps wakened me, and
+I sat up to listen. I could hear from the deep
+regular breathing of the other occupants of the
+yourt that nervousness was not troubling them
+unduly. But the slight sounds developed, and a
+sudden creaking outside woke Mr. Gull up too. An
+unexpected rush of horses’ hoofs and more creaking
+presented in a flash to me what was happening
+outside. “They are stealing our tarantass,” I
+whispered, and grasped my revolvers, one in each
+hand. We sat still and waited in silence for a
+while, when lights and voices reached us through<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</span>
+the chinks and crevices of the yourt. “Those
+brutes have come back to rob us,” muttered Mr.
+Gull, and crawling quietly to the door I could see
+through the crack above it a crowd of faces.</p>
+
+<p>“What the devil do you want?” shouted one of
+us, and rejoicing to find my hand steady as a rock,
+I prepared to fire at the first indication of attack.
+Indeed I was veritably within an ace of pulling the
+trigger, when suddenly I became conscious of
+a fair moustachioed, blue-eyed face, topped by a
+forage cap, gazing at me in gentle amazement.
+I could have fallen upon the neck to which it was
+attached in the reaction from what we believed to
+be a desperate situation. The Mongols were not
+there to attack us, but merely to usher in to the
+traveller’s yourt a Russian officer and his servant
+who were posting through to Kiachta in like
+manner to ourselves. We quickly helped them to
+settle in, plied them with food and brandy (which
+seemed to please them enormously), and the lot
+of us were soon sleeping soundly and securely, I
+with the comfortable feeling that together we
+would be able to account for a good many Mongols
+were the ruffians to come back and raid us.</p>
+
+<p>We had rather hoped that we might be able to
+continue our journey in this pleasant, if speechless,
+company, but the Russians were travelling
+very light, and were up and off by daybreak, while
+we had to wait for a new pole; a young Scotch
+fir being cut down, smoothed a bit, and sold to us
+for fifty kopecks for the purpose. I was interested<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</span>
+in watching the toilet of the officer, whose servant
+stood at attention opposite him holding a small
+saucepan full of water in which he washed and
+gargled with great thoroughness.</p>
+
+<p>The appearance of the group of Mongols who
+were to take us on our next stage did not impress
+us favourably, and we felt that our men of yesterday
+had probably done their best to make things
+difficult for us. The other people in the camp too,
+seemed truculent and surly, begging for food from
+us in no too pleasant a manner. One of our new
+men was indeed a formidable looking ruffian, six
+feet tall, and with a scowl that never left his face.
+The others consisted of a “black man,” two girls,
+and a lama of twenty or so. The younger girl
+was very pretty. She obviously mistook me for
+a man, and all the time she was off duty she rode
+alongside the tarantass making overtures to me for
+sweets (we had laid in a good supply on finding a
+particularly pleasing brand in a Russian shop in
+Urga), pins, flowers, or any other trifle she espied
+and as promptly coveted. She was so coy and
+merry that I felt quite sorry for my companion
+that all her attentions should thus be squandered
+upon myself. It annoyed some one else too. The
+young lama whose beloved, I gathered, she was,
+seemed distinctly uneasy, and his head was much
+more frequently turned in our direction than to
+his business of guiding the tarantass. At one halt
+he appeared to be telling her plainly what he
+thought of her frivolous behaviour, but although<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</span>
+she pouted very prettily it was all to no avail, and
+her swain tied up again, figuratively speaking, between
+the shafts of the tarantass, the minx relapsed
+once more into her engaging little ways.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of the stage there was the fuss we
+had anticipated, and our scowling outrider looked
+by no means a pleasant customer when he began
+bullying argument for a double fare. We were,
+however, at this time of day in no mood to be
+trifled with, and throwing the money on the ground,
+waved our “huchao” in the face of the head man
+of the settlement and demanded fresh horses
+without delay. Two can play at a game of bluff,
+and we were the winning side this time. With a
+lively crew of no less than eight youngish men—dare-devil
+scallywags they looked—we were soon
+under way again.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</span></p>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="c less">“When the mind is enlarged the body is at ease”</p>
+
+<p class="r2 gap less">
+—<i>Chinese proverb</i>
+</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE antiquity of our tarantass was a
+source of constant anxiety to us, and
+minor mishaps, ropes wearing out, shafts
+slipping, and nuts becoming loose, were of frequent
+occurrence. Two of our riders were mere boys—one
+a lama, of fifteen or sixteen—who when they
+were drawing us insisted on riding at a reckless
+pace over some very rough country. I protested
+several times and finally, after they had repeatedly
+disregarded my injunctions, succeeded in bringing
+them to a halt. Things were soon again as bad
+as ever however, and we were travelling at a
+tremendous rate when snap, scurrrr, scuff! our
+front axle-tree had broken clean in two, and a
+wheel rolled clear away on the near side. We
+were now in a sorry plight, and what we were
+going to do we had not the slightest idea. The
+Mongols looked on helplessly, and were quite
+subdued when I told the two young ruffians, who
+had been so entirely responsible for the damage,
+in fluent English exactly my sentiments regarding
+themselves at that moment. By the sheer intervention
+of Providence we were saved from an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</span>
+uncommonly awkward situation. In the dim
+distance, the forms of a couple of Russians riding
+along were descried by one of our Mongols, and
+leaping into his saddle he had galloped away to
+solicit their aid before we had diagnosed what was
+passing in his mind.</p>
+
+<p>Of the resourcefulness, the kindness, and
+general <i>bon camaraderie</i> of those Russians I can
+hardly say enough. Our troubles were at an end.
+Of the pair, we diagnosed one as being perhaps
+a cattle-dealer in low-water—his shaggy and
+disreputable appearance maybe belied him: the
+other man was a raw young soldier carrying
+despatches to Kiachta. The first was a man of
+brains. He took in the situation at a glance and
+immediately set the Mongols to work; one to cut
+down a sapling, others to clear out some of the
+wreckage. Meanwhile he gave them such a
+dressing down as did my heart good to hear. By
+transforming the sapling into a sort of sleigh
+runner, he achieved what had seemed next to
+impossible, a means of conveying the tarantass,
+which now had a tremendous list to starboard,
+with our belongings inside to the next stage of
+the journey.</p>
+
+<p>Thankful to have got even so far, we were
+preparing to pay off and dismiss the Mongols who
+had been responsible for so much trouble, but the
+Russian stopped us and gave us to understand
+that in consequence of the smash it would be
+better to give them nothing, and we therefore<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</span>
+got rid of them by writing a letter on the spot
+to the Yamen at Urga, setting forth our complaint
+and explaining that we had been obliged to
+abandon the tarantass at the fourth stage of our
+journey. The headman appeared to support the
+Russian’s judgment, and moreover cautioned the
+new set of men who were to take us along in
+gingerly fashion in our three-wheeled and almost
+disabled tarantass to our resting-place for the
+night. Fortunately this turned out to be a very
+short stage, and we walked almost all the way.</p>
+
+<p>Having travelled by a different, although, I
+presume, more or less parallel road from Urga,
+we were agreeably surprised to find ourselves
+when night fell at the little wooden shanty occupied
+by the young Chinese whose eyes I had treated
+on the downward journey, but with whose house
+my fellow-traveller had less pleasant associations.
+His quarters, however, were taken up by Chinese
+travellers, and we therefore put up with a family
+of Russians who occupied the adjoining rooms.
+As regards cleanliness this was certainly no improvement
+on the apartment next door, and I think
+Mr. Gull, who decided to sleep in the tarantass,
+had the better part. I had quite anticipated
+sharing the room with the Russian family who
+at supper time ate their meal in one corner while
+we, with the soldier and our friend in need as
+guests, had ours in the other. But they all
+dwindled away after their repast and I felt somewhat
+nonplussed when, after I had retired to my<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</span>
+plank bed, they trooped in one by one to say
+their prayers in front of the icon which decorated
+the corner of my abode. The men, of whom there
+seemed to be a nondescript half-dozen, appeared
+to find sleeping accommodation in odd carts and
+corners in the yard, and I heard next morning
+that the compound had not been such a quiet
+place of repose after all; that the cows lowed,
+the pigs grunted, that cocks crowed long before
+dawn, and finally that snores were to be heard
+coming from every direction.</p>
+
+<p>From this time forward the two Russians,
+civilian and soldier, were as our brothers. For the
+sake of their company and from sheer gratitude
+for their helpfulness and resource we welcomed
+them gladly, and willingly shared with them all
+that we had in the way of provisions. We had
+every reason to believe that our “huchao” carried
+the cattle-dealer through the remaining stages
+free of expense, and not once but many times I
+gathered from an intelligible word here and there
+that he described us to the Mongols as near
+relations of the Hut’ukt’u, and therefore that
+there must be no further nonsense about overcharging
+us. This must have been the explanation
+of the fact that at one stage the Mongols refused
+payment altogether, and I am afraid it must ever
+remain on our consciences that we were benefiting
+from what was in effect an offering to the living
+God.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f48">
+<img src="images/fig48.jpg" alt="orton">
+<p class="caption">A MONGOL ORTON</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter1" id="f49">
+<img src="images/fig49.jpg" alt="ponies">
+<p class="caption">CONTINUING THE JOURNEY ON OX-CARTS DRAWN BY PONIES</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The damage to our vehicle was examined by
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</span>every man, woman, and child within reach, and a
+general concensus of opinion was arrived at to
+the effect that repair was impossible, and that the
+alternatives available were either to continue our
+journey by ox-carts drawn by ponies and to
+abandon our tarantass, or to remain where we
+were for a very precarious fortnight while a new
+axle was made and sent down to us from Kiachta.
+The latter course was out of the question, and we
+gaily embarked upon a journey of some 120 miles
+on ox-carts, little recking of the possibilities of
+discomfort that this means of transit involved.
+On one cart, which we did our utmost to keep in
+sight and in front of us, we packed the baggage,
+on the other we somewhat perilously perched ourselves.
+There was no protection either at the
+back or sides of the rough conveyance, and it
+was some time before we could learn to balance
+ourselves with any degree of comfort or feeling of
+security.</p>
+
+<p>Arriving at the next stage about midday we
+were so tired with the jolting and the strain of
+keeping our seats that we were literally too exhausted
+to unpack our food, and merely stretched
+our cramped limbs on the grass and dozed while
+the ponies were caught and put between the
+shafts and a new relay of Mongols carried out
+their customary pow-wow with the last lot. The
+stages were now of shorter duration, and as the
+carts were the property of the Mongols at various
+points, their capacity for comfort presented a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</span>
+pleasing variety. None of them, however, would
+in our luxurious and extravagant country, I am
+sure, be considered worthy of carrying manure
+from the farmyard to the field. The description
+of ox-carts which cross the Gobi and which I
+constantly met in Inner Mongolia applies equally
+to those of this region.</p>
+
+<p>A further stage was rendered lively and really
+interesting by the discovery of the most remarkable
+one-year-old boy it has ever been my lot to
+meet. To say that the child could walk and talk
+like a four-year-old is to mention the least striking
+of his accomplishments. Mr. Gull, at the appearance
+of the baby in his mother’s arms, was
+smoking a cigarette, and by unmistakable signs,
+to say nothing of sounds which were apparently
+intelligible to the surrounding Mongols, he expressed
+his desire for one too. He was forthwith
+presented with a cigarette, and we quite
+expected him to do what all normal children of
+his age would have done, pull it to pieces. But
+not so this child. He put it in his mouth most
+carefully, and looking round gravely to watch the
+effect he had produced, he allowed it to be
+lighted, when he puffed it for a moment or two
+before struggling to his feet and toddling off to
+the yourt to show his trophy to a doting grandfather.
+It was quite evident that that baby, as
+certain other babies of my acquaintance, ruled
+not only the yourt of his parents, but his various
+kith and kin in the camp to boot.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="f50">
+<img src="images/fig50.jpg" alt="remarkable">
+<p class="caption">A REMARKABLE ONE-YEAR-OLD BOY</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</span></p>
+
+<p>The settlement thus dominated appeared to us
+to be of a somewhat more wealthy character than
+others at which we had rested—at least, it produced
+a slightly superior cart, larger, and with a
+plank upon which to sit, while the harness had
+the high Russian arc-like arrangement attached
+to the shafts. Between this and the next stage
+we again crossed the Hara-Gol (at a point higher
+up the river than last time) and found it almost
+unrecognisable, so greatly had its volume decreased.
+That the Mongols do not devote the
+pick of their herds to supplying the traveller with
+horse-flesh for the journey between Urga and
+Kiachta goes without saying. As a rule, however,
+the ponies that were available were more or less
+docile, and on two stages only did we seem in
+peril of never reaching our destination at all;
+once on account of too great a pace, on another
+on account of no pace at all.</p>
+
+<p>Starting at 5 o’clock on the morning after we
+had re-crossed the Hara-Gol, and with a very
+good-looking and pleasant young priest as outrider—it
+should be mentioned that to each cart
+was attached one pony only and that this was led
+by a mounted Mongol—we seemed likely to take a
+short cut across the Great Divide. The wheeler
+was hopeless, beginning with a tremendous tussle
+on being put between the shafts; and it was more
+than probable that this was his first experience
+of such encumbrances as cart and harness. The
+Mongol, whose own steed was in none too good<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</span>
+a temper, held him up short against his bridle,
+and from time to time seemed likely to be pulled
+from his saddle by the jerks and tugs with which
+the little brute tried to free himself.</p>
+
+<p>Our Russian friend and the soldier had ridden
+ahead, and there seemed every likelihood that we
+were in for a lively time. After a while, however,
+the pony appeared to have come to terms and to
+settle down to the fact that he had met his master.
+The strain, however, had been too much for the
+harness, and a piece of the raw hide that formed
+it, parting company from the rest, gave the animal
+his chance. Without an instant’s warning he was
+off, helter-skelter, over the prairie. Our lama,
+taken off his guard by the fracture, was left
+behind for a moment, but, recovering himself,
+darted away at a little distance, and instead of
+trying to catch us up did his best to head the
+pony up the hill, instead of allowing us to be
+dragged to certain destruction along a narrow
+road which wound up with a steep incline down
+to the dried-up bed of a river. There was nothing
+for it but to sit tight and hope for the best,
+and holding on to one another like grim death,
+we danced about like parched peas on a drum
+head. Sitting tight seemed to suggest relative
+security for a moment or two, but in front of us
+was a bank, and heaven knows what beyond it.
+“The bank will stop him,” I cried; but no such
+luck. Up he went, and to our breathless amazement
+we found we had leapt, cart, pony, ourselves,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</span>
+and all, not only the bank but the gully
+that was on the other side as well. It said much
+for the stability of our cart no less than for our
+nerves. But there were limits to the little beast’s
+powers, and the sharply ascending ground to which
+he turned to avoid his master was too much for
+him, and, completely played out, he allowed himself
+to be caught. By this time our Russian
+friend, not understanding our delayed appearance,
+had very thoughtfully ridden back, and, practical
+man that he was, mended the harness, swearing
+volubly at the lama meantime. That we were
+alive to tell the tale seemed to us a miracle
+indeed.</p>
+
+<p>Our next experience was a great contrast, for
+on the north bank of the Iro-Gol where we again
+changed horses, we picked up the slowest brute
+I met during the whole time I was in the East.
+So slow it was that the Russian lent me his whip
+in order that I might urge it on a bit from the
+cart. This and the fact that on one occasion I
+touched it gently on the back with the toe of my
+boot rather annoyed the Mongol who led it, and
+turning round he informed us in Chinese that his
+horse was “li h’ai” (terrible). Once and once
+only did it suggest the least justification of the
+statement, and that was when nearing camp it
+appeared suddenly to call its traditions, and made
+a very respectable entry, dashing up to the travellers’
+yourt in fine style.</p>
+
+<p>This proved to be a very friendly settlement,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</span>
+and the people crowded round the yourt to bid us
+welcome. I dare say friendliness was mingled
+with curiosity. Seeing me pour a drop or two
+of eau-de-Cologne on a handkerchief and pass it
+over my face, they were keenly desirous of paying
+me the compliment of imitation, and held out
+their hands for the bottle. Mongols are not backward
+in asking for what they want, and are quite
+of the belief that to him who asks shall be given.
+“Ai-iaa” they ejaculated delightedly. Most of
+them liked the scent, but one woman who sniffed
+it up too hard from the palm of her hand was
+greatly annoyed when it stung her nose, shaking
+her head like a dog, and walking off in high dudgeon
+when the others roared with laughter at
+her. They all copied my method of using it, and
+were smearing their faces over with their dirty
+hands, when our Russian took a rise out of a new-comer
+who had not been present at the first
+operation. Seeing every one rubbing their cheeks
+he wished of course to take part in the game, and
+the Russian pouring the questionable dregs of
+a water bottle into his outstretched palms, the
+trusting lama applied it to his face. The rest
+keenly appreciated the joke and the man himself
+took it in good part when he found that they were
+fooling him. As consolation I administered a
+lump of sugar dipped in tea, and this was much
+relished. They were a cheery lot of people here
+who played with us and each other like so many
+children.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</span></p>
+
+<p>We woke up next morning to make the acquaintance
+of a learned professor from the University
+of Tomsk, who had arrived during the
+night, coming in so quietly that he had disturbed
+no one. We learnt that he was on a surveying
+expedition to Ulliasutai and Kobdo. We left him
+planting his theodolite on the top of a hillock near
+the camp, the Mongols regarding his movements
+with the greatest suspicion and dislike. Another
+couple of stages brought us near the end of our
+journey, and as we jogged along within sight of
+Kiachta we reviewed our experiences during the
+weeks in wild Mongolia, with, to quote my fellow-traveller,
+“at all events this result—that at the
+end of the journey we both wished we were back
+again at the beginning”.</p>
+
+<p>Kiachta looked picturesque enough as we approached
+its quasi-civilisation once more. Still,
+we had no desire to remain there an hour longer
+than was necessary, and now that Mongolia
+was for the time being a thing of the past—a
+veritable castle in Spain which this time at any
+rate had materialised—I looked forward with pleasure
+to the—to me—unknown capital of Russia.
+The journey down the Selenga River contrasted
+pleasantly as regards duration with the up-river
+trip, and arriving once more at dusty Werkne-Udinsk,
+we lost no time in embarking upon the
+express train to Chelyabinsk, passing through
+Transbaikalia in rainy gloom. At Chelyabinsk
+we changed and boarded a very inferior train for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</span>
+St. Petersburg, the first-class carriages of which
+were small and less comfortable than the average
+second class in any other country. Petersburg
+in late summer was quiet enough to be restful
+after our wanderings, while the cleanliness and
+comfort that attends sightseeing in the orthodox
+manner were, I am bound to admit, distinctly
+refreshing. But the essence of life lies in its contrasts,
+and after returning to London by means of
+the luxurious boats which ply from point to point
+among the beautiful islands of the Baltic, it was
+not many weeks before one looked back with longing
+to the simple life, the simple customs of
+a primitive people—veritably a call to the wild.
+Mongolia fascinated me in anticipation; in
+materialisation; in retrospect; and most of all
+in the prospect of going back again—some day.</p>
+<hr class="full x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</span></p>
+
+<p class="ph2">INDEX</p>
+</div>
+
+<ul class="index">
+
+<li class="ifrst">Altai Berg, summit of, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Archers, meeting of, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Architecture at Mai-mai-ch’eng, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Baltic Provinces, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bogdo, compound, structure of his, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>;</li>
+<li class="isub1">Mongolia, ruler of, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bogdo N’or, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>;</li>
+<li class="isub1">sacred mountain of, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bohea, Fukien hills of, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">British Legation at Peking, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- perturbation at Mrs. Gull’s intentions, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Buriats, Mongols, Russian nationalised tribe of, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Burmah frontier, Chinese and, <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Cemetery, Chinese, at Mai-mai-ch’eng, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Chang Chia K’ou, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ch’angch’un, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Chelyabinsk, author’s departure for, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ch’en Lung, pictures, collection of, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Chihli, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">China, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- economic possibilities of, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- foreign policy of, <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- form of salutation in, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Mongolian petition to, <a href="#Page_xiii">xiii</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- North, inns of, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Revolution in, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- unsettled political state of, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- war between, and Mongolia, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Chinese at Urga, <a href="#Page_vii">vii.</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- banquet in honour of baby, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Foreign Office, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Inner Mongolia, gradual invasion of, by, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Choi Gin Lama, the residence of, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Consortium, banking, for China, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Dance of the Gods, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dassak Da Lama, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dol-na-Gashi, horse-farm at, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dolo N’or, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Empress of China, death of, in Peking, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Foochow, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Fukien, Bohea hills of, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Gen Dung Geng, General, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gobi, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gold-mining, Mongolore Co. at Urga, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Grant, Mr., murder of, at Ta-Bol, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Great Divide, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Wall, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Haarlem, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hankarawa, Inner Mongolia, largest temple of, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hankow, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Han-o-pa Pass, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- village of, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hara-Gol, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Haraossu, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Harbin, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Holy City of Mongolia, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Horse-breeding at Dol-na-Gashi, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hsu Shu-cheng, General, <a href="#Page_xiii">xiii</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hut’ukt’u, the ruler of the Mongols, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Inner Mongolia, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- Chinese gradual invasion to, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- fuel of, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- headdress of, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- Northern Mongols of, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Iro-gol, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Japan and Mongolia, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- future of, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- troops of, in Siberia, <a href="#Page_xii">xii</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Japanese-Russo War, effect of, <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Kalgan, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- consignment of wool and hides to, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- departure for, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- descent from heights north of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- inhabitants, number of, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>,000, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- journey continued to, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Pass, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- plunder of, by band of Hung-hu-tzes, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Valley, road along, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kiachta, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- convention of, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- cosmopolitan inhabitants, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>;</li>
+<li class="isub1">problem of departure from, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Selenga River to, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>;</li>
+<li class="isub1">Troitze-Casavsk, division of, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kobdo, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kolchak, Admiral, <a href="#Page_xii">xii</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Llassa, occupation of, by Chinese, <a href="#Page_x">x</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Mai-mai-ch’eng, architecture of, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Chinese township of, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- halt at, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- situation of, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Manchu dynasty, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Manchuli, settlement of, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Manchuria, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Mission compound, life in, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Mongol family, visit to, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- State, suggested creation of, <a href="#Page_xii">xii</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Mongolia, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Chinese policy in, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- departure for, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Independence of, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Mongolia, Inner, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- fuel of, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- gradual invasion of Chinese to, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- headdress of, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- Northern Mongols of, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Japan and, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- North, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- bird and animal life in, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Northern, headdress of, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- proper, arrival in, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- re-incarnation, believed in, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Russia and, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- unsettled state of, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Urga, capital of, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- religious centre of, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- war, rumours of, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- wolf hunt in, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- women’s position in, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Mongolian frontier, war, rumours of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Government, order issued to Chinese by, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Mongolians and Chinese, movements of, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- character of, <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- dress of the, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Europeans, friendliness to, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- food of, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Mongolore Gold-mining Co., headquarters of, at Urga, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Moscow, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Moukden, tombs of the Manchu Sovereigns, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Nank’ou Pass, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">North China, inns of, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>; 95.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Ost-Kiachta, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Outer Mongolia, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Pa-yen-chi-erh-ko-la, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Peking, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- British Legation at, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Chinese in, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- death of Manchu Empress in, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- departure from, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- first Parliament, inauguration of, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- to Kalgan, journey from, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- preparations for return to, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- return to, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Peking-Suiyuan Railway, <a href="#Page_xv">xv</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Punishment, barbarous methods of, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Re-incarnation, belief of, Mongolians in, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Republican cause, Shang Chodba, supporter of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Russia, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- alarm of, at Chinese policy, <a href="#Page_x">x</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- and Mongolia, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- establishment of barracks on neutral front, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- treaties with, recognised by China, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Russian Consulate in Urga, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- post, between Kalgan and Urga, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- retail trade of Urga, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Russo-Japanese War, effects of, <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">St. Petersburg, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Selenga River, journey down, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Selenginsk, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Semenov, General, <a href="#Page_xii">xii</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Shang, Chia Hut’ukt’u, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Shang Chodba, supporter of Republican cause, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Shin Chi Men, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- -- Station, departure for, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Shih Erh Chia, Shansi merchants, headquarters of, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Siberia, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Japanese troops in, <a href="#Page_xii">xii</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Siberian Railway, viii, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">South Manchurian Railway, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Ta-Bol, departure from, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- journey towards, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- meaning of, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- rumours of war, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Mr. Grant, murder of, at, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- visiting at, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Tartar City, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Temple of the Gods, position of, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- -- -- main entrance to, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- -- -- procession to, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Thibet, Chinese invasion of, <a href="#Page_x">x</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Independence of, suggested, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">To-la River, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Transbaikalia, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Trans-Siberian Railway, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Troitze-Casavsk, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ts’am Haren, arrangements for, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- race meeting at, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Ulliasutai, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ura Gol, crossing the, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Urga, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- capital of Mongolia, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Chinese rule in, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- troops in, <a href="#Page_xiii">xiii</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- departure for, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- from, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- division of main part of, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- headquarters of Mongolore Gold-mining Co., at, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- mixed alliances in, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Pass, ascent of, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- prison at, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- proximity to, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- punishments in, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- religious centre of Mongolia, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Russian Consulate in, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- quarter of, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- -- retail trade of, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Russians at, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- Ts’am Haren, sacred dance at, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- University buildings of, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- visit to heart of, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- West, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- wool from, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Verkne-Oudinsk, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- main features of, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- remainder of journey to, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">-- scenery of, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Volga, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Wang Ch’ang Shan, flour mill of, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Werkne-Udinsk, arrival at, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">West Urga, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wolf hunt in Mongolia, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Women’s position in Mongolia, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li class="ifrst">Yang River, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</span></p>
+
+
+<p class="c more p2">PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, ABERDEEN
+</p>
+
+<hr class="full">
+
+<div class="transnote">
+
+<p class="c">Transcriber’s Notes:</p>
+
+<p>Variations in spelling and hyphenation are retained.</p>
+
+<p>Perceived typographical errors have been changed.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76610 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
+
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diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
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+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for eBook #76610
+(https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76610)