136 ACROSS MONGOLIAN PLAINS 



ornamental pavilions painted green and red. Except 

 for these, the court was empty. 



Suddenly there was a stir among the lamas, and we 

 dashed away like frightened rabbits, dodging behind 

 the gateposts until we were safe outside. It was not 

 until some days later that we learned what a really 

 dangerous thing it was to do, for the temple is one of 

 the holiest in Urga, and in it women are never allowed. 

 Had a Mongol seen us, our camp would have been 

 stormed by a mob of frenzied lamas. 



A few days later we had an experience which dem- 

 onstrates how quickly trouble can arise where religious 

 superstitions are involved. My wife and I had put 

 the motion picture camera in one of the carts and, with 

 our Mongol driving, went to the summit of the hill 

 above the Lama City to film a panoramic view of Urga. 

 We, ourselves, were on horseback. After getting the 

 pictures, we drove down the main street of the city 

 and stopped before the largest temple, which I had 

 photographed several times before. 



As soon as the motion picture machine was in posi- 

 tion, about five hundred lamas gathered about us. It 

 was a good-natured crowd, however, and we had almost 

 finished work, when a "black Mongol" (i.e., one with 

 a queue, not a lama) pushed his way among the priests 

 and began to harangue them violently. In a few mo- 

 ments he boldly grasped me by the arm. Fearing that 

 trouble might arise, I smiled and said, in Chinese, 

 that we were going away. The Mongol began to ges- 

 ticulate wildly and attempted to pull me with him far- 



