send shepherds to bring
quite home to the fold these poor wandering sheep.

Among the Lamas who came to recreate for awhile at Tchogortan, we
remarked especially a number of Tartar-Mongols, who, bringing with them
small tents, set them up in the valley along the stream, or upon the
sides of the most picturesque hills. There they passed whole days
revelling in the delight of the independent life of the nomads,
forgetting for awhile, the constraint and confinement of the Lamanesque
life, in the enjoyment of the free life of the tent. You saw them
running and frolicking about the prairie like children, or wrestling and
exercising the other sports which recalled the days and the land of their
boyhood. The reaction with many of these men became so strong, that even
fixity of tent became insupportable, and they would take it down and set
it up again in some other place, three or four times a day; or they would
even abandon it altogether, and taking their kitchen utensils and their
pails of water and their provisions on their shoulders, would go, singing
and dancing as they went, to boil their tea on the summit of some
mountain, from which they would not descend till nightfall.

We observed, also, flocking to Tchogortan, another class of Lamas not
less interesting than the Mongols; they always arrived at daybreak; their
garments were tucked up to the knees, and on their backs were large osier
baskets; all day long they would traverse the valley and the adjacent
hills, collecting, not strawberries and mushrooms, but the dung which the
herds of the Si-Fan deposit in all directions. On account of this
particular occupation, we named these Lamas Lama-Argoleers, from the
Tartar word argol, which designates animal excrement, when dried and
prepared for fuel. The Lamas who carry on this class of business, are in
general idle, irregular persons, who prefer vagabondizing about on the
hills to study and retirement; they are divided into several companies,
each working under the direction of a superintendent, who arranges and is
responsible for their operations. Towards the close of the day, each man
brings the portion he has collected to the general depot, which is always
situate at the foot of some well, or in the hollow of some valley. There
the raw material is carefully elaborated; it is pounded and moulded into
cakes, which are placed to dry in the sun, and when completely
dessicated, are symmetrically piled, one on the other