Nicholas Prejevalski

“ The sun sets, the dark canopy of night descends, the cloudless sky glitters with myriads of stars, and the caravan, after proceeding a little further, halts for the night. The camels show unmistakable satisfaction at being freed from their burdens, and lie down at once near the tents of their drivers, who busy themselves in preparing their unsavoury meal. In another hour men and beasts are asleep, and all around reigns the deathlike silence of the steppe, as though no living creature existed in it. ”

“ The barrenness and monotony of the Gobi produce on the traveller a sense of weariness and depression. For weeks together the same objects are constantly before his eyes: cheerless plains, covered in winter with the yellowish withered grass of the preceding year, from time to time broken by dark rocky ridges, or by smooth hills, on the summit of which the swift-footed antelope (Antilope gutturosa) occasionally casts a light shadow. With heavy measured tread the laden camels advance; tens, hundreds, of miles are passed, but the changeless desert remains sombre and unattractive as ever. ”

“ He is in his element on horseback, going at full speed; seldom at a foot's pace, or at a trot, but scouring like the wind across the desert. He loves and understands horses; a fast galloper or a good ambler is his greatest delight, and he will not part with such a treasure, even in his direst need. His contempt for pedestrianism is so great that he considers it beneath his dignity to walk even as far as the next yurta. ”

“ These syllables form the only prayer known to the ordinary Tibetans and Mongols; they are the first words that the child learns to stammer, and the last gasping utterance of the dying. The wanderer murmurs them on his way, the herdsman beside his cattle, the matron at her household tasks, the monk in all the stages of contemplation (i.e. of far niente) ; they form at once a cry of battle and a shout of victory! ”

“ This freedom of manners and equality may surprise the inexperienced traveller, but, if he look more deeply into it, he will find it is nothing but the wild unbridled nature of the nomad, requiring liberty for his childish habits, and perfectly indifferent to the awful despotism of social life. The very official, who to-day sits beside his inferior and smokes a pipe with him on terms of good-fellowship, may to-morrow punish his companion, confiscate his sheep, or practise any injustice he likes with impunity. ”

“ The personal insignificance of the Dalai Lama, in the absence of family ties in the country, is the best guarantee the Chinese can have of the submission of Tibet, or, at all events, of their own security from an unruly neighbour. They have indeed good cause to be watchful, for if a talented, energetic person were to appear on the throne of the Dalai Lama, he might with one word, like the voice of a god, cause a rising of the nomads from the Himalayas to Siberia. ”

“ Tea and milk constitute the chief food of the Mongols all the year round, but they are equally fond of mutton. The highest praise they can bestow on any food is to say that it is 'as good as mutton.' Sheep, like camels, are sacred; indeed all their domestic animals are emblems of some good qualities. The favourite part is the tail which is pure fat. In autumn, when the grass is of the poorest description, the sheep fatten wonderfully, and the fatter the better for Mongol taste. [7] No part of the slaughtered animal is wasted, but everything is eaten up with the utmost relish. ”

“ The appearance of the steppe is but slightly changed from what it was in winter, except that the withered grass is transformed by the spring conflagrations into a sable shroud. Spring in these regions is unaccompanied by any of those delights which herald its approach in more temperate climates. Birds of passage shun these cheerless plains, where they can find neither food, nor drink, nor shelter. ”

“ Moisture is as fatal to him as it is to the camel, so that it would seem as if his organism, like the camel's, were only adapted to a dry climate; he never drinks cold water, but always prefers brick-tea, a staple article of consumption with all the Asiatic nomads. It is procured from the Chinese, and the Mongols are so passionately fond of it that neither men nor women can do without it for many days. From morning till night the kettle is simmering on the hearth, and all members of the family constantly have recourse to it. ”

“ Her very death is of an awful nature; eye-witnesses have told us how, when her last moments are approaching, a pack of dogs gather round and wait patiently for their victim to breathe her last, when they devour her corpse, and the vacant den soon finds another such occupant. In the cold winter nights the stronger beggars drag the feeble old women out into the snow, where they are frozen to death, crawling themselves into their holes to avoid that fate. ”

“ They are to be read wherever the Lama Church hath spread, upon banners, upon rocks, upon trees, upon walls, upon monuments of stone, upon household utensils, upon strips of paper, upon human skulls and skeletons! They form, according to the idea of the believers, the utmost conception of all religion, of all wisdom, of all revelation, the path of rescue and the gate of salvation! ”

“ Although as hard as nails, he cannot walk fifteen or twenty miles without suffering great fatigue; if he pass the night on the damp ground he will catch cold as easily as any fine gentleman, and, deprived of his brick-tea, he will never cease grumbling.
The Mongol is a slave to habit. He has no energy to meet and overcome difficulties; he will try and avoid, but never conquer them. ”

“ It is impossible to leave any food outside the tent without its being instantly stolen by these audacious birds, who, if they can find nothing better, will tear the undressed hides off the boxes of tea. ”

“ If they are well supplied with food and water, the Mongol is content. His skill and patience in managing them are admirable. The stubborn camel becomes his docile carrier; the half-tamed steppe-horse his obedient and faithful steed. He loves and cherishes his animals; nothing will induce him to saddle a camel or a horse under a certain age; no money will buy his lambs or calves, which he considers it wrong to kill before they are full-grown. Cattle-breeding is the only occupation of this people ”

“ At night the fire is put out, the felt covering drawn over the chimney, and even then, although not warm, the felt yurta is far more snug than an ordinary tent. In summer the felt is a good non-conductor of heat, and proof against the heaviest rain.
The first thing which strikes the traveller in the life of the Mongol is his excessive dirtiness: he never washes his body, and very seldom his face and hands. Owing to constant dirt, his clothing swarms with parasites, which he amuses himself by killing in the most unceremonious way. ”

“ They roam almost at liberty over the pasture lands of Northern Khalka and the country of the Chakhars. The larger herds are usually broken up into smaller troops of ten to thirty mares, led by a stallion who guards them with the greatest jealousy, and never lets them out of his sight. The leaders often have pitched battles with one another in spring.
Mongols are passionately fond of horses, and will tell you their good points at a glance; their favourite amusement is horse-racing, and every summer they meet at some of the principal temples to indulge in this sport. ”

“ First wean the Mongol from his dirt; convince him that idleness and sloth are vices and not among life's pleasures; impress upon him that God requires of every man good works, and not merely a certain number of set prayers; and then, if you will, explain to him the forms of the Christian religion. The new doctrines must not only open his mind to a new spiritual and moral life, but must effect a radical change in his domestic and social state. Then only will Christianity bear fruit and throw out new shoots sowing good seed among the rude untutored inhabitants of Mongolia. ”

“ One fine clear morning the impatient flocks essay a flight over the high lands, but if met by cold or bad weather they again return to the warm plains, where day by day their numbers increase, till at length the expected hour arrives; the deserts of Mongolia are slightly warmed, the ice-bound soil of Siberia has begun to thaw, and flock after flock hasten to leave their confined quarters in a foreign land and wing their way towards their haunts in the distant north. ”

“ On leaving Kalgan, and turning his back on the border range, a wide, thickly-populated, and highly cultivated plain lies before the traveller. The cleanly appearance of the villages affords a striking contrast to the towns. The road is very animated; — strings of asses laden with coal, mule-carts, litter-bearers, and scavengers pass along. In all the villages and towns full-grown men may be seen all day long on the roads, with a basket in one hand and a spade in the other, collecting animal dung, which is used for manuring the fields and for fuel. ”

“ Bribery and corruption are as prevalent here as in China; a bribe will work miracles, and nothing can be done without it. The worst crime may go unpunished if the perpetrator gives a good purse to the proper authorities; on the other hand, a good act has no merit without a certain offering, and this system pervades the whole administration, from the lowest to the highest.
Turning to their religion, we see how deeply Lamaism has struck root in their midst, more so perhaps than in any other Buddhist country. ”

“ It is a common sight to see a Mongol, even an official or lama of high rank, in the midst of a large circle of his acquaintances, open his sheepskin or kaftan to catch an offending insect and execute him on the spot between his front teeth. The uncleanliness and dirt amidst which they live is partly attributable to their dislike, almost amounting to dread, of water or damp. Nothing will induce a Mongol to cross the smallest marsh where he might possibly wet his feet, and he carefully avoids pitching his yurta anywhere near damp ground or in the vicinity of a spring, stream, or marsh. ”

“ The Chinese themselves show no repugnance to any kind of nastiness, and will even eat dogs' flesh. On our second visit to Kalgan we saw some Chinese butchers buy a camel suffering from the mange so badly that its whole body was one mass of sores, and then and there cut it up and sell the meat. Any animal that has died is eaten, as a matter of course, and the asses sold in the meat shops have never come by their death in a violent manner, for such is the meanness of this people that they will never willingly kill a beast of burden for the sake of its meat, if it has any work left in it. ”

“ It is only when you get near the border of the plateau, and after you have passed some small streams, that the first signs of cultivation and settled life appear. The Chinese villages and cultivated fields plainly tell the traveller that he has at last left the wild desert behind him, and has entered a country more congenial to man.
At length, far away on the horizon, can be discerned the dim outlines of that range which forms so distinct a definition between the high chilly plateau of Mongolia and the warm plains of China Proper. ”

“ After passing thirteen days on the shores of the lake, we retraced our road to Dolon-nor, in order to proceed thence to Kalgan. The hills of Guchin-gurbu appeared as uninteresting as ever, but their stillness was occasionally enlivened by the beautiful notes of the flesh-coloured stonechat (Saxicola Isabellina) , met with throughout the whole of Central Asia; it not only utters its own notes, but borrows those of other birds, imitating them very sweetly. ”

“ Although servility and despotism are so strongly developed among them that the will of the superior generally replaces every law, a strange anomaly is observable In the freedom of intercourse between rulers and the ruled. At the sight of an official the Mongol bends the knee and does reverence, but after this obsequious token of submission he takes his seat beside him, chats and smokes with him. Accustomed from childhood to perfect liberty, he cannot endure restraint for any length of time, but soon gives free rein to his habits. ”

“ The obtuseness of the Mongol is enough to exhaust one's patience; you are no longer talking to the same man you knew in his native state, you have now to do with a child, full of curiosity, but incapable of understanding what you tell him. ”

“ Adultery is not even concealed, and is not regarded as a vice. In the household the rights of the wife are nearly equal to those of the husband, but in all out-door arrangements, as in moving camp, paying debts, buying and selling, the authority of the men is supreme, and no reference even is made to the women; but, as there is no rule without an exception, so we have seen Mongol ladies who not only managed their household, but interfered in other affairs as well — in fact, completely henpecked their husbands. ”

“ The fear inspired by our guns and revolvers was a protection against thieves; our skill in shooting birds on the wing, or bringing down antelope with the rifle at long distances, instilled into them a wholesome dread, and every robber knew that he would pay the penalty of his life if caught in the act of stealing. ”

“ We cannot deny that, besides cunning, dissimulation and deceit, — qualities especially prevalent among the natives of the border-land of China, — the Mongols exhibit great sagacity. Among those of pure blood immorality is chiefly confined to the lamas; the common people, or, as they are called, the Kara-Kung, i.e. black folk, when uncontaminated by Chinese or lama teaching, are kind and simple-minded. ”