Viewing page 88 of 155

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

Page 35.

[[underlined]] a tent [[/underlined]] and take it in turn [[underlined]] in pairs to shoot. [[/underlined]]  At the other end of the field there is a [[underlined]] row of small leather rings [[/underlined]] built up as a little wall.  The archers must shoot high up into the air over a wooden structure, then the arrow must come down and knock over the leather rings of the wall.  There are some Mongols at the wall to build it up again, when rings are hit, they have a sort of sing-song to notify the archers, whether they have hit or missed.  As soon as the Mongol shoots off his arrow, the judges start a singsong, which gets louder, the nearer the arrow gets.  If it's a miss, the song gets lower, if it was a good hit, they yell louder.  It is a weird sort of a song, I suppose it is the same sort of yelling that the Mongols made, when they overran Europe under Ghenghis Khan.

A curious kind of present is made to the monasteries during the summer months and is ornaments [[underlined]] made of butter [[/underlined]] in all sorts of flowery designs, these are painted blue,yellow, green, red, and many other colours and are put on the altar of the monasteries.  I suppose at the end of summer the priests eat them up, but they must be pretty rancid by this time, although it does not get very warm in the temples even in summer.

The life of an ordinary Mongol is not very complicated, he is [[strikethrough]] liing [[/strikethrough]] living simply and contented, [[underlined]] in his Jurta. [[/underlined]]  The same is made of a sort of a fence of wooden sticks, skillfully tied together and covered with a thick layer of felt, in winter a double layer is put on, which keeps out even the severest frost and strongest winds.  When the Mongol is travelling about, he puts up a [[underlined]] cloth tent, [[/underlined]] called Maichan, it is wonderfully quick to put up, just two upright tentpoles and one cross pole connecting the two, the slanting cloth cover keeps these poles from falling down, the same is tacked to the ground with iron hooks.  No matter how strong the wind is, and it does blow in Mongolia, a tent is never blown down, the wind simply shoots up the slanting sides.  But it takes a Mongol to put it up, so that it keeps the rain and snow from getting into the tent.