FROM MONGTSE TO SSUMAO 



mafous and slightly increasing Francois' pay, tided over the 

 difficulty. The treaty of peace was cemented by the slaughter of 

 a fat pig, and we were " Tajen ho ! " (" the great and good ") once 

 more. 



The villages where we usually passed the nights in more or 

 less discomfort were collections of thatched huts from twenty to 

 sixty in number, in the best of which we spread our rugs on 

 wooden bedsteads, and, to my surprise, were not devoured by 

 fleas. Beyond a few Chinese traders and innkeepers, the popula- 

 tion was for the most part Poula or Hou-Xi. The approach to 

 a Hou-Xi village was generally marked by posts to which small 

 bamboo pegs were suspended, — in one c^ise a quartered cock 

 transfixed by an arrow, in another a bow ; all of which were 

 supposed to avert evil spirits. The Hou-Nis of this district 

 seemed of pure breed and pronounced type ; the men muscular 

 and dark, with straight noses, small chins, and an expression of 

 much energy. They wore a loose dark blue jacket with silver 

 buttons, and nearly all had on the left arm a copper bracelet of 

 Chinese make. Their hair was plaited in a tail, and often 

 covered by a horsehair cap. We had heard good reports ot 

 them as hardy but independent mountaineers, not very amenable 

 to Chinese supremacy. The costume of the women was a black 

 turban with folds falling behind or gathered in front into two 

 horns, with a band across the forehead adorned with silver studs, 

 sometimes with a cross in the centre, while others bore a disc 

 of the same metal on the breast. A few had an over-garment 

 with two lappets a la Robespierre. I had seen Yao women 

 above Laichau similarly dressed. We constantly met them on 

 the road, with their baskets on their shoulders fastened to a 

 sort of yoke on the neck to avoid chafing, and a forehead strap 



43 



