CURIOSITY; POINTS OF THE COMPASS. 63 



follow the almost imperceptible tracks of a stray 

 horse or camel, and are sensible of the proximity of 

 a well ; but when you try and explain to them the 

 simplest thing which does not come within their 

 daily routine, they will Из1ец with staring- eyes and 

 repeat the same question without understanding 

 your answer. The obtuseness of the Mongol is 

 enough to exhaust one's patience ; you are no longer 

 talking to the same man you knew in his native state, 

 you have now to do with a child, full of curiosity, but 

 incapable of understanding what you tell him. Their 

 inquisitiveness is often carried to an excess. When 

 the caravan enters a populous district, the inhabi- 

 tants appear from all sides, some of them from a 

 distance, and after the usual salutation, ' iitendic,' i.e. 

 * How do you do ? ' they begin asking you ' Whi- 

 ther are you travelling?' 'What is the object of 

 your journey ? ' ' Have you nothing to sell } ' 

 ' Where did you buy your camels ? ' and ' How 

 much did you pay for them ? ' and so on. No sooner 

 is one gone than another takes his place ; sometimes 

 a troop rides up, always with the same questions. 

 At the halting-place your patience is sorely taxed. 

 Hardly are the camels unloaded before they are 

 upon you, examining and handling your property, 

 and even entering your tent. The smallest article 

 excites their curiosity ; your arms, of course, but 

 even such trifling objects as boots, scissors, padlocks, 

 are all handled in turn, and they all ask you to give 

 them first one thing, then another. There is no end 

 to it. Every new-comer begins afresh, and the pre- 



