Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/140

 Mongol will open a bottle of brandy or kumiss, and will even slaughter a sheep.

On meeting an acquaintance, or even a stranger, the Mongol salutes him with a  'mendu,' 'mendu-seh-beina.'  A pinch of snuff is interchanged, and the greeting is renewed  'mal-seh-beina,' 'ta seh-beina,'  i.e. 'How are your cattle?' This is always one of the first questions, and they make no enquiry after your health until they have learned that your sheep, camels, and horses are fat and well to do. In Ordos and Ala-shan the usual greeting is  'Amur se,'  'Are you well?' but in Koko-nor it is substituted by the Tangutan  'Tehmu,'  'How do you do?' The friendly pinch of snuff is unusual in Southern Mongolia, and unknown in Koko-nor. Some amusing anecdotes are related, illustrating the custom of enquiring after cattle in the case of young travellers, journeying for the first time from Kiakhta to Peking. A young officer, bearing despatches for Peking, and happening to change horses at one of the Mongol stations, he was soon surrounded by natives, who began their respectful enquiries as to the health of his sheep, &c. Learning from the interpreter the meaning of their questions, he emphatically shook his head and denied possessing any; but they could not believe that a personage of his exalted rank could exist without sheep, cows, horses, or camels. We often had the most detailed questions asked us, such as: 'In whose care had we left our cattle before our departure on so long a journey?' 'What was the weight of the kurdiuk (fat tail) on each of our sheep?' 'Did we