22 ACROSS MONGOLIAN PLAINS 



to take a sporting chance on anything under the sun, 

 that they won my heart at once. 



Above all things they love a race, and often one of 

 them would range up beside the car and, with a radiant 

 smile, make signs that he wished to test our speed. Then 

 off he would go like mad, flogging his horse and yelling 

 with delight. We would let him gain at first, and the 

 expression of joy and triumph on his face was worth 

 going far to see. Sometimes, if the road was heavy, it 

 would need every ounce of gas the car could take to 

 forge ahead, for the ponies are splendid animals. The 

 Mongols ride only the best and ride them hard, since 

 horses are cheap in Mongolia, and when one is a little 

 worn another is always ready. 



Not only does the Mongol inspire you with admira- 

 tion for his full-blooded, virile manhood, but also you 

 like him because he likes you. He doesn't try to disguise 

 the fact. There is a frank openness about his attitude 

 which is wonderfully appealing, and I believe that the 

 average white man can get on terms of easy familiarity, 

 and even intimacy, with Mongols more rapidly than 

 with any other Orientals. 



Ude is the second telegraph station on the road to 

 Urga. It has the honor of appearing on most maps of 

 Mongolia and yet it is even less impressive than Panj- 

 kiang. There are only two mud houses and half a dozen 

 yurts which seem to have been dropped carelessly behind 

 a ragged hill. 



After leaving Ude, we slipped rapidly up and down 

 a succession of low hills and entered upon a plain so 



