Il8 NOMAD lIABirS; INDUSTRY. 



We saw some Tangutans near Chobsen, living 

 with Chinese, engaged in agriculture ; but a settled 

 life does not harmonise with their restless natures. 

 They pine after the careless pastoral existence best 

 suited to their indolent character. 



Their encampments always consist of a few 

 yurtas standing together, very rarely of single tents as 

 is the case so frequently with the Mongols. Indeed, 

 the habits and manners of the two races are quite 

 distinct. The one loves his dry, barren desert, and 

 fears damp more than any hardship ; the other, in- 

 habiting a country lying so near, but at the same 

 time physically so different, is quite another stamp 

 of man. He prefers the moist climate and rich soil 

 of his native valleys ; he hates and fears the desert. 

 The same remarks apply to their respective ani- 

 mals. The camel of the Mongol is a four-footed 

 counterpart of its master, while the yak typifies the 

 chief peculiarities of the Tangutan. 



In the wooded parts of Kan-su, a few Tangutans 

 turn with the lathe different utensils, such as wooden 

 bowls for eating out of, or for keeping butter in ; the 

 latter purpose being in general served by yaks or 

 sheep's bladders. 



The most common, indeed the only, industry of the 

 Tangutans is preparing yak (or more rarely sheep's) 

 wool for cloth, out of which all their clothes are 

 made. They spin the wool on a long stick with a 

 crook at the end for holding the spindle. The yarn 

 is wf)ven into cloth, not by themselves, but by the 

 Chinese. We may mention that the only measure 



