Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/219

 Our troubles with the Mongols were not limited to the purchase of their sheep, which happened rarely, in the first place, because we had to economise our slender resources, and in the second, that they would be refused when we stood in need; but this last usually happened with the Chinese, who wished to starve out of their country such unwelcome guests. We lived too on what we could shoot, and hares and partridges were so plentiful that we killed more than enough for our wants. Unfortunately meat would not keep at all in hot weather, and we sometimes fasted when game was not very abundant.

While we adhered to our resolution to keep aloof as much as possible from the inhabitants, we were generally obliged to pitch our tent near them in order to procure water, always preferring the neighbourhood of the Mongols. These people would come to our tent and ask who we were, whither we were going, and what we were selling. In my assumed character of merchant I was obliged to receive them whether I liked it or not, and to show them our wares, which they would examine and then begin bargaining. There was no end to their absurd questions. For instance, one would ask if we had a magnet for sale, another wanted bears' gall, a third children's toys, a fourth brass idols, and so on. Very often, after about an hour's chat our visitors would take their departure without having bought anything, declaring that it was all too dear. The Buriat Cossack, who was clever at this sort of thing, had charge of the trading; but the trade did not advance very