150 ACROSS MONGOLIAN PLAINS 



pression upon the ordinary Mongols. They produce 

 well-nigh everything they need for they dress in sheep- 

 skins during the winter and eat little else than mutton. 

 When they want cloth, tea, or ammunition, they simply 

 sell a sheep or a pony or barter with the Chinese mer- 

 chants. 



We found that the personal equation enters very 

 largely into any dealings with a Mongol. If he likes 

 you, remuneration is an incident. If he is not inter- 

 ested, money does not tempt him. His independence 

 is a product of the wild, free life upon the plains. He 

 relies entirely upon himself for he has learned that in 

 the struggle for existence, it is he himself that counts. 

 Of the Chinaman, the opposite is true. His life is one 

 of the community and he depends upon his family and 

 his village. He is gregarious above all else and he 

 hates to live alone. In this dependence upon his fellow 

 men he knows that money counts — and there is very 

 little that a Chinaman will not do for money. 



On one of his trips across Mongolia, Mr. Coltman's 

 car became badly mired within a stone's throw of a 

 Mongol yurt. Two or three oxen were grazing in 

 front of the house and Coltman asked the native to 

 pull his car out of the mud. The Mongol, who was 

 comfortably smoking his pipe in the sun, was not at 

 all interested in the matter, but finally remarked cas- 

 ually that he would do it for eight dollars. There was 

 no argument. Eight dollars was what he said, and 

 eight dollars it would have to be or he would not move. 

 The entire operation of dragging the car to firm 



