72 HOSPITALITY 



Mongol will Open a bottle of brandy or kumiss, and 

 will even slaughter a sheep. 



On meeting an acquaintance, or even a stranger, 

 the Mono-ol salutes him with a ' mcndu ' * viendic-seh- 

 beina! A pinch of snuff is interchanged, and the 

 greeting is renewed * mal-seh-bcinal ' ta seh-beina^ i.e. 

 * How are your cattle } ' This is always one of the 

 first questions, and they make no enquiry after your 

 health until they have learned that your sheep, 

 camels, and horses are fat and well to do. In Ordos 

 and Ala-shan the usual greeting is ' Avmr se' ' Are 

 you well ? ' but in Koko-nor it is substituted by the 

 Tangutan ' Tehimi' ' How do you do ? ' The friendly 

 pinch of snuff is unusual in Southern Mongolia, and 

 unknown in Koko-nor. Some amusing anecdotes 

 are related, illustrating the custom of enquiring after 

 cattle in the case of young travellers, journeying for 

 the first time from Kiakhta to Peking. A young 

 officer, bearing despatches for Peking, and happen- 

 ing to change horses at one of the Mongol stations, 

 he was soon surrounded by natives, who began their 

 respectful enquiries as to the health of his sheep, &c. 

 Learning from the interpreter the meaning of their 

 questions, he emphatically shook his head and denied 

 possessing any ; but they could not believe that a 

 personage of his exalted rank could exist without 

 sheep, cows, horses, or camels. We often had the 

 most detailed questions asked us, such as : 'In whose 

 care had we left our cattle before our departure on 

 so long a journey ? ' ' What was the weight of the 

 kurdink (fat tail) on each of our sheep ? ' * Did we 



