They Likewise Make Quadrangular
Structures Of Small Split Wicker, Like Large Chests, And Frame For Them An
Arched Lid Or
Cover of similar twigs, having a small door at the front end;
and they cover this chest or small house
With black felt, smeared over with
suet or sheeps' milk[1], to prevent the rain from penetrating; and these
are likewise decorated with paintings or feathers. In these they put all
their household goods and treasure; and they bind these upon higher carts,
drawn by camels, that they may be able to cross rivers without injuring
their contents. These chests are never taken down from the carts to which
they belong. When their dwelling-houses are unloaded from the waggons,
their doors are always turned to the south; and the carts, with the chests
which belong to each house, are drawn up in two rows, one on each side of
the dwelling, at about the distance of a stone's throw.
The married women get most beautiful carts made for themselves, which I am
unable to describe without the aid of painting, and which I would have
drawn for your majesty, if I had possessed sufficient talents. One rich
Moal, or Tartar, will have from a hundred to two hundred such carts with
chests. Baatu has sixteen wives, each of whom has one large house, besides
several small ones, serving as chambers for her female attendants, and
which are placed behind the large house; and to the large house of each
wife there belong two hundred chest-carts.
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