s in motion which was thirty feet in
diameter. It was drawn by twenty-two oxen. It was so large that it
extended five feet on each side beyond the wheels. The oxen, in
drawing it, were not attached, as with us, to the centre of the
forward axle-tree, but to the ends of the axle-trees, which projected
beyond the wheels on each side. There were eleven oxen on each side
drawing upon the axle-trees. There were, of course, many drivers. The
one who was chief in command stood in the door of the tent or house
which looked forward, and there, with many loud shouts and flourishing
gesticulations, issued his orders to the oxen and to the other men.

The household goods of this traveling chieftain were packed in chests
made for the purpose, the house itself, of course, in order to be made
as light as possible, having been emptied of all its contents. These
chests were large, and were made of wicker or basket-work, covered,
like the house, with felt. The covers were made of a rounded form, so
as to throw off the rain, and the felt was painted over with a certain
composition which made it impervious to the water. These chests were
not intended to be unpacked at the end of the journey, but to remain
as they were, as permanent storehouses of utensils, clothing, and
provisions. They were placed in rows, each on its own cart, near the
tent, where they could be resorted to conveniently from time to time
by the servants and attendants, as occasion might require. The tent
placed in the centre, with these great chests on their carts near it,
formed, as it were, a house with one great room standing by itself,
and all the little rooms and closets arranged in rows by the side of
it.

Some such arrangement as this is obviously necessary in case of a
great deal of furniture or baggage belonging to a man who lives in a
tent, and who desires to be at liberty to remove his whole
establishment from place to place at short notice; for a tent, from
the very principle of its construction, is incapable of being divided
into rooms, or of accommodating extensive stores of furniture or
goods. Of course, a special contrivance is required for the
accommodation of this species of property. This was especially the
case with the Monguls, among whom there were many rich and great men
who often accumulated a large amount of movable property. There was
one rich Mongul, it was said, who had two hundred such chest-carts,
which were arranged in two rows around and