s of the Buddhist
religion to take the life of any animal or even to see it done,
although there are no restrictions as to eating flesh.

With a blanket the Mongol made a seat for himself on his pony's
haunches, and threw the antelope across his saddle; then we trotted
back to camp into the painted western sky, with the cool night air
bringing to us the scent of newborn grass. We would not have
exchanged our lot that night with any one on earth.

CHAPTER IX

HUNTING ON THE TURIN PLAIN

After ten days we left the "Antelope Camp" to visit the Turin plain
where we had seen much game on the way to Urga. One by one our
Mongol neighbors rode up to say "farewell," and each to present us
with a silk scarf as a token of friendship and good will. We
received an invitation to stop for tea at the _yurt_ of an old man
who had manifested an especial interest in us, but it was a very
dirty _yurt_, and the preparations for tea were so uninviting that
we managed to exit gracefully before it was finally served.

Yvette photographed the entire family including half a dozen dogs, a
calf, and two babies, much to their enjoyment. When we rode off, our
hands were heaped with cheese and slabs of mutton which were
discarded as soon as we had dropped behind a slope. Mongol
hospitality is whole-souled and generously given, but one must be
very hungry to enjoy their food.

A day and a half of traveling was uneventful, for herds of sheep and
horses indicated the presence of _yurts_ among the hills. Game will
seldom remain where there are Mongols. Although it was the first of
July, we found a heavy coating of ice on the lower sides of a deep
well. The water was about fifteen feet below the level of the plain,
and the ice would probably remain all summer. Moreover, it is said
that the wells never freeze even during the coldest winter.

[Illustration: Mongol Herdsmen Carrying Lassos]

[Illustration: A Lone Camp on the Desert]

The changes of temperature were more rapid than in any other country
in which I have ever hunted. It was hot during the day--about 85
Fahrenheit--but the instant the sun disappeared we needed coats, and
our fur sleeping bags were always acceptable at night.

We were one hundred and fifty miles from Urga and were still going
slowly south, when we had our next real hunting camp. Great bands of
antelope were working northward from the Gobi Desert to the better
grazing on the grass-covered Turin plain. We encountere