HUNTING IN CHINESE TARTARY. 169 



or sheep of existence, either by accident or old age, Tartar 

 economy forbids their wasting the carcass, and it is eagerly 

 devoured by them. Some of the ancient rams I saw would 

 require a deal of mastication and powerful digestive organs 

 when summoned to their forefathers and committed to a 

 Tartar's jaws. 



I cannot say that the hill people thrive on the diet, for in 

 appearance they are a miserable-looking, stunted race, very 

 filthy in their habits, seldom changing their coarse woollen 

 clothing, and entertaining a religious horror of cold water. 

 They have no objection to the good things brought from the 

 other side of the snow, and I have seen them devour salt beef 

 and pork with great gusto. But what they most delight in, 

 when they can get it, is English brandy and tobacco. The 

 former they will drink in great quantities, and for men un- 

 accustomed to liquor it is astonishing how well they resist 

 its intoxicating properties. I saw one man a " Siana," the 

 head of a village, drink off two bottles of pure brandy, with- 

 out apparently feeling any ill effects from the potation. On 

 questioning him about his sensations, he said that the only 

 difference he found between the brandy and the water was, 

 that it made his inside comfortably warm, and his tongue very 

 slippery, of which he gave us proof by chattering and singing 

 in a most uncouth way. Of all the horrible noises I ever 

 heard, those which a half-drunken Tartar makes are the most 

 discordant. The deep nasal and guttural noises he emits 

 would beat Welsh and Gaelic by a long chalk. 



Although petty thefts are common among the Thibetans, 

 valuable articles may with safety be left among them even 

 money they will not touch. Many an hour have I whiled 

 away among them watching Jye Sing and Buctoo showing 

 them many articles of my property, the use or value of which 

 they could not comprehend. Of my guns and rifles in par- 

 ticular, they stood in great awe, and for a long time none of 

 them could be induced to touch one. Our telescopes also 



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