136 THE HORSES OF PREHISTORIC [CH. 



that the Earth and the Air and the False Gods shall have their 

 share of it, and the Spirits likewise that inhabit the Air and 

 the Earth. And thus those beings will protect and bless the 

 Kaan and his children, and his wives and his folk and his gear, 

 and his cattle and his horses, and his corn and all that is his. 

 After this is done the Emperor is off and away." 



Speaking of the festival held by the Great Khan and all 

 his subjects on New Year's Day (which fell in February), Polo^ 

 says that " it is the custom that on this occasion the Kaan and 

 all his subjects should be clothed entirely in white, so that 

 day everybody is in white, men and women, great and small. 

 And this is done in order that they may thrive all through 

 the year, for they deem that white clothing is lucky. Also 

 all the peoples from all the provinces and governments and 

 kingdoms and countries that own allegiance to the Kaan, bring 

 him great presents of gold and silver and pearls and gems, 

 rich textures of divers kinds. On that day, I can assure you, 

 that among the customary presents, there shall be offered to 

 the Kaan from various quarters more than 100,000 white 

 horses, beautiful animals and richly caparisoned." 



Polo^ also tells us that the Tartars, who were carrying the 

 body of a Khan to the Altai, where all the Khans were buried, 

 put to death not only every human being they met, but also 

 every horse, in order that they might serve the Khan in the 

 life beyond the grave. " When the emperor dies they kill all 

 his best horses in order that he may have the use of them in 

 the other world." This story at once recalls the Scythian 

 customs at the funerals of their kings (p. 128). 



At the present day cattle and stock-breeding is practically 

 the sole legitimate occupation of all Mongols, and the animal of 

 first importance is still the pony. " He is the commonest of all 

 possessions, the every-day means of locomotion, and the staple 

 topic of conversation. The Mongol who walks is indeed poor, 

 for he must be friendless as well as moneyless. A man who 

 does not own a pony is rarely refused the use of one from a 

 neighbour's drove. From early childhood the Mongol acquires 



1 Vol. I. p. 337 (Yule's translation). '- Vol. i. p. 241. 



