80 BEASTS AND MEN 
at 50° below zero it was impossible to keep warm even with 
blankets and furs. Often he had to go without a fire, owing 
to the difficulty of collecting fuel. The fuel generally used 
in the country is dried cattle- or horse-dung, which, when 
rubbed into powder in the hands, can easily be ignited with 
steel and tinder. The wind soon fans the spark into a flame ; 
or, if there is no wind, the Mongolian will sit on his haunches 
and blow patiently away until there is a good fire. But the 
amount of dung available was often insufficient to meet the 
demands of the travellers. 
Of food, on the other hand, they had no lack, though little 
variety could be obtained. For four months mutton was almost 
the only food ; and with this they drank ‘“‘ Tsamba,” a mixture 
of tea, butter and salt, which is universally esteemed through- 
out Mongolia and Tibet. Tsamba is made as follows: Tea 
is powdered in a wooden mortar, and is then poured with salt 
and butter into boiling water. The butter is obtained from 
the milk of sheep or goats. This is well mixed, boiled milk 
and salt are added; and the whole is then boiled once more. 
The beverage thus prepared is not so nasty but that one may 
soon become accustomed to it. Not so easy is it, however, to. 
become accustomed to the Mongolian method of cleaning the 
drinking bow] before the liquid is poured into it. All he 
does is to spit into it, and then rub the bowl carefully round 
with a greasy corner of his coat. Another native drink is 
called Arka, and is prepared from the residue of milk that has. 
been évaporated. 
The Mongolians, as may well be surmised, are not fastidious 
in their choice of food. Indeed, they are prepared to eat any- 
thing whatever that comes in their way, except what is for- 
bidden by their religion.. They consider it wasteful to 
slaughter healthy cattle, when there are any weak or diseased 
to be had; and they have no qualms about eating an animal 
which has died a natural death. The intestines, even, after . 
being drawn through the fingers to eject the contents, are 
thrown into the cooking-pot with the rest. 
