Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/129

follow the almost imperceptible tracks of a stray horse or camel, and are sensible of the proximity of a well; but when you try and explain to them the simplest thing which does not come within their daily routine, they will listen with staring eyes and repeat the same question without understanding your answer. 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. Their inquisitiveness is often carried to an excess. When the caravan enters a populous district, the inhabitants appear from all sides, some of them from a distance, and after the usual salutation, 'mendu,' i.e. 'How do you do?' they begin asking you 'Whither are you travelling?' 'What is the object of your journey?' 'Have you nothing to sell?' 'Where did you buy your camels?' and 'How much did you pay for them?' and so on. No sooner is one gone than another takes his place; sometimes a troop rides up, always with the same questions. At the halting-place your patience is sorely taxed. Hardly are the camels unloaded before they are upon you, examining and handling your property, and even entering your tent. The smallest article excites their curiosity; your arms, of course, but even such trifling objects as boots, scissors, padlocks, are all handled in turn, and they all ask you to give them first one thing, then another. There is no end to it. Every new-comer begins afresh, and the pre-