UNCL EA N LIN ESS. 5 1 



in diameter, and about 10 feet high in the centre. The 

 roof is formed of Hght poles attached to the sides and 

 doorway by loops, the other ends being stuck into a 

 hoop, \vhich is raised over the centre, leaving an 

 aperture 3 to 4 feet in diameter, which answers the 

 double purpose of chimney and window. 



When all is made fast, sheets of felt, of double 

 thickness in winter, are drawn over the sides and 

 door and round the chimney, and the habitation is 

 ready. The hearth stands in the centre of the inte- 

 rior ; facing the entrance are ranged the burkhans 

 (gods), and on either side are the various domestic 

 utensils. Round the hearth, where a fire is kept 

 burning all day, felt is laid down ; and in the yurtas 

 of the wealthier classes even carpets for sitting and 

 sleeping on. In these, too, the walls are lined with 

 cotton or silk, and the floors are of wood. 



This habitation is indispensable to the лvild life 

 of the nomad ; it is quickly taken to pieces and re- 

 moved from place to place, whilst it is an effectual pro- 

 tection against cold and bad weather. In the severest 

 frost the temperature round the hearth is comfortable. 

 At night the fire is ptit out, the felt covering drawn 

 over the chimney, and even then, although not warm, 

 the felt yurta is far more snug than an ordinary tent. 

 In summer the felt is a good non-conductor of heat, 

 and proof against the heaviest rain. 



The first thing which strikes the traveller in the 

 life of the Mongol is his excessive dirtiness : he 

 never washes his body, and very seldom his face 

 and hands. Owing to constant dirt, his clothinq- 



