f the Koukou-Noor are divided into twenty-nine banners,
commanded by three Kiun-Wang, two Beile, two Beisse, four Koung, and
eighteen Tai-Tsi. All these princes are tributaries of the Chinese
emperor, and, every second year, repair to Peking, whither they carry, as
tribute, furs and gold-dust, which their subjects collect from the sands
of their rivers. The vast plains which adjoin the Blue Sea are of very
great fertility and of a most agreeable aspect, though entirely destitute
of trees; the grass is of prodigious height, and the numerous streams
which fertilize the soil, afford ample means to the numerous herds of the
desert for satiating their thirst. The Mongols, accordingly, are very
fond of setting up their tents in these magnificent pastures. The hordes
of brigands harass them in vain; they will not quit the country. They
content themselves with a frequent change of encampment, in order to
baffle their enemies, but when they can no longer avoid the danger they
encounter it with great bravery, and fight gallantly. The necessity
under which they permanently exist of defending their property and their
lives from the attacks of the Si-Fan, has, at length, rendered them
intrepidly courageous. At any hour of the day or night they are ready
for battle: they tend their cattle on horseback, lance in hand, fusil in
sling, and sabre in belt. What a difference between these vigorous
shepherds, with their long moustaches, and the languishing fiddle-fuddles
of Virgil, eternally occupied in piping on a flute, or in decorating with
ribands and flowers their pretty straw hats.

The brigands, who keep the Mongol tribes of the Koukou-Noor always on the
alert, are hordes of Si-Fan, or Eastern Thibetians, dwelling in the
Bayen-Kharat mountains, towards the sources of the Yellow River. In this
part of the country they are known under the generic appellation of Kolo.
Their peculiar haunt, it is said, are the deep gorges of the mountain,
whither it is impossible to penetrate without a guide, for all the
approaches are guarded by impassable torrents and frightful precipices.
The Kolos never quit these abodes except to scour the desert on a mission
of pillage and devastation. Their religion is Buddhism; but they have a
special idol of their own, whom they designate the Divinity of
Brigandism, and who, assuredly, enjoys their most intense devotion, their
most genuine worship. The chief business of their Lamas is to pray and
offer