Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 214 (Color Image)

0214	Among the Celestials : vol.1

176 AMONG THE CELESTIALS. [CHAP. VII.

very appetising, but they are much consumed

by the Kirghiz. All the bowls for collecting

the milk are of wood, and by no means so

cleanly kept as one would like to see ; I doubt,

in fact, if they are ever thoroughly cleaned.

The milk of one day is poured out, and that

of the next poured in, and so on for month

after month. Still, the milk always seems fresh

and good, and it is one of the luxuries which

form the reward for travelling among the

Kirghiz.

The proprietresses of the tent I was in had

their dinner of curds and milk and a little

bread, and then, as it grew dark, they said it

was time to go to bed. They first said their

prayers, then took down one of the piles of

bedding (bedsteads were, of course, unknown),

and insisted on making up a bed of quilts and

felts for me ; and then, having made up their

own also, and pulled a felt over the hole in

the roof in case it might rain during the night,

took themselves to their beds, and we all slept

comfortably till morning.

On the following day we continued up the

valley, and every few miles passed a small

encampment of Kirghiz. We were, in fact,

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