The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-15

line. Warmly clad In heavy wadded I'M
derclothes. topped by enormous sheepskins,
their heads covered with long cared fur
caps. in addition to which they put on fur
earbags, and on their legs 'Mongol socks. -
that is, soft. high boots OF sheepskin. I'M
der felt overshoes. thickly studded with
iron nails. these people look to the life the
; Tartar of the children's book OF types. Be
yonk Kalgan the plateau rises to an ele-
! Walton OF four thousand feet, and the icy
blast that sweeps across IL cuts into the
skin and pierces through the stoutest cloth
The Tartar differs considerably from the
Chinaman. or even from his kinsman, the
Manchu. In the rudy yellow OF his face
and the pleasant frankIess of his glance
He seems to favor bright colors and on the
top of his fur hood he often sticks the gold
buttoned cap Of Chinese official rank. while
his women's jackets are Of yellow and scar
let, as well as of Chinese blue
Mongolia is the great stud farm of the
Empire. and droves Of ponies are thence
brought down to Tientsin and the northern
ports. to be shipped to the settlements of
the south or sold for commercial purposes
to the Chinese merchant Just outside the
north gate OF Pekir is large market
where these ponies-griffins they are
called-are sold by auction, as they come
to hand from their Tartar breeders. In
shape and make they are not attractive
to the Western eye. and they look. as they
are. coarse and underbred. Their heads
in particular. are square and clumsy. but
they have great qualities OF sturdiness and
hard condition, and II is found in practice
that their legs will stand any amount of
rafting over the hard ground and the
stony roads. 1t is almost needless to say
that they are wonderfully sure OF foot and
clever in avoiding the holes and drops OF
n In md 10
capital twenty or thirty taels go long
way toward buying the best that ere
brought to the hammer. and their keep
does not come to more than about five
China dollars a month. All they have for
food Is chopped straw and millet, with
plenty OF hot water. making up sort of
cruel. which they eat at odd times by
night and day. Their natural pace. agree
able to the Chinese taste. is slow Jog
trot. but under European hands they soon
learn to gallop at respectable rate. I'm
luckily, the breaking is OF the toughest;
their mouths are as hard as iron, and ac-
customed to be tight held by the head.
the reins must be taken short To make
them go at all. Moreover. when owned By
Cinnamon they are ill-kempt and scraggy.
almost NANCY in their coats. Nothing is
done to improve the stamp. and, unlike
the native princes OF India, the high Off
ciaIs do nothing to help the farmers and
carriers by introducing better strains of
blood.
Labor in China varies in Its efficiency ac- |
cording to place. and. curiously unlike Eu- |
rome, seems to vary inversely with the |
TEN peratures Of the climate At Tientsin |
and the northern ports 1t takes much |
longer to load and unload cargo than at the |
ports of the Yangtse. and the husbandry |
OF the soil shows less care in the northern
provinces than it does lower down. In fact,
The northerners seem inclined to hibernate
and allow the rigor Of the winter to I'M
man them instead of squirting them to &c.
tiyity. Still. after watching gangs Of