EXCELLENT HORSEMANSHIP. 59 



poor homeless vagrants. Milking the cows, churning 

 butter, preparing the meals, and other domestic 

 work, falls to the lot of the women. The men, as a 

 rule, do nothing but gallop about all day long from 

 yurta to yurta, drinking tea or kumiss, and gossiping 

 with their neighbours. They are ardent lovers of 

 the chase, which is some break to the tedious mono- 

 tony of their lives, but they are, with few exceptions, 

 bad shots, and their arms are most inferior, some 

 having flint-and-steel muskets, while others have 

 nothlnof but the bow and arrows. An occasional 

 pilgrimage to some temple, and horse-racing, are 

 their favourite diversions. 



With the approach of autumn the Mongols throw 

 off some of their laziness. The camels, which have 

 been at pasture all the summer, are now collected 

 together and driven to Kalgan or Kuku-Khoto^ to 

 prepare for the transport of tea and merchandise 

 to and from Klakhta, and to carry supplies from 

 Kuku-Khoto to the Chinese forces stationed between 

 Ullassutai and Kobdo. Some few are employed in 

 carrying salt from the salt lakes of Mongolia to the 

 nearest towns of China Proper. In this way, during 

 the autumn and winter, all the camels of Northern 

 and Eastern Mongolia are earning large profits for 

 their owners. With the return of April, the trans- 

 port ceases, the wearied animals are turned loose on 

 the steppe, and their masters repose in complete Idle- 

 ness for five or six months. 



The Mongol is so Indolent that he will never 



' Kwci-hwa-chcne. 



