than the Chinese and infinitely better than the Sart villages. The walls are strong, of well pounded clay. The rooms are very large and free from the bulky »kang» as they call their sleeping place on a raised part of the clay floor. Next to the cauldrons there are large stands for supplies. Even in unwooded districts the rooms are lined and the floors covered with boards, so that it is possible to cope with the dust and dirt. The roof of light beams and boards is considerably higher than you find as a rule here in Asia. Even when the cattle are kept indoors, I am inclined to think it is not so unpleasant. The animals stand in stalls in a corner, partly walled off by a low partition. In the cottages I visited the manure was cleared away fairly well and these corners looked tidy.
The type of the people here reminded me of the type I saw near Hochow. They are rather below medium height and their faces and noses are broader at the base. Their mouths and ears arc normal. Their eyes are dark and often beautiful. The fine male types, both old and young, that I saw at Labrang, no longer occurred here. The inhabitants also began to look more peaceful. Swords were still visible, but rifles with their characteristic pairs of projecting feet were only seen in the houses. The women fasten pennant-shaped bits of cloth with various ornaments to their plaits, but far more modest than the striking objects you see at Labrang and in its vicinity.
The distance covered to-day was at least 28-29 miles. There are 30 —40 houses in Vankur inhabited by Tanguts. Tchinkho, the same kind of oats and peas are grown. Crop 3 —4 fold. The inhabitants breed cattle for sale. There are 1,30o head of cattle, 8—goo sheep and 30-40 horses. — Snow falls between the gth and 5th months. It remains on the ground for 3 months. There is little rain in the 2nd and 3rd months. During the same months SE storms are common.
March 3rst. The whole of the journey to-day was through cultivated country. For about 7 miles
Sin-cheng we followed the stream or river that flowed past the village of Vankur after starting from (Taochow). the Khi tha shan pass that we crossed yesterday. It winds along a valley, 1Î3 of a mile
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