1 140 
THROUGH ASIA 
They were dressed in precisely the same manner as the 
Mongols, but did not understand a single word of 
Mongolian. Loppsen however, having four times made 
the pilgrimage to Lhasa, was tolerably versed in their 
language — Tibetan, so that through him I was able to 
converse with them. Seeing that they were received 
in a friendly spirit, the Tanguts laid aside a good deal 
of their shyness ; all the same, they were not very sure 
what to make of us. However, they sold us a sheep, 
and provided us with milk for the evening. Our camping- 
ground had been deliberately chosen on a sort of island, 
overgrown with bushes, between two arms of the stream, 
and commanding a view of the whole of the valley. We 
had plenty of fuel. The brook prattled vivaciously down 
its stony channel. I sent the horses to a pasture-ground 
in the immediate vicinity in charge of two men, mounted 
and armed, with strict injunctions to keep watchful guard 
over them all night. 
