106 ACROSS MONGOLIAN PLAINS 



told in Urga that soap was especially appreciated by the 

 Mongols, I had brought a supply of red, blue, and green 

 cakes which had a scent even more wonderful than the 

 color. I can't imagine why they like it, for it is care- 

 fully put away and never used. 



Strangely enough, the Mongols have no word for 

 "thank you" other than "s^ai" (good), but when they 

 wish to express approbation, and usually when saying 

 "good-by," they put up the thumb with the fingers 

 closed. In Yiin-nan and eastern Tibet we noted the 

 same custom among the aboriginal tribesmen. I won- 

 der if it is merely a coincidence that in the gladiatorial 

 contests of ancient Rome "thumbs up" meant mercy or 

 approval ! 



The Mongols told us that in the rolling ground to the 

 east of camp we could surely find antelope. The first 

 morning my wife and I went out alone. We trotted 

 steadily for an hour, making for the summit of a rise 

 seven or eight miles from camp. Yvette held the ponies, 

 while I sat down to sweep the country with my glasses. 

 Directly in front of us two small valleys converged into 

 a larger one, and almost immediately I discovered half 

 a dozen orange-yellow forms in its very bottom about 

 two miles away. They were antelope quietly feeding. 

 In a few moments I made out two more close together, 

 and then four off at the right. After my wife had found 

 them with her glasses we sat down to plan the stalk. 



It was obvious that we should try to cross the two 

 small depressions which debouched into the main valley 

 and approach from behind the hill crest nearest to the 



