ne or more great mastiffs, so that the whole number of these is
very large. And when the Prince goes a-hunting, one of those Barons, with
his 10,000 men and something like 5000 dogs, goes towards the right,
whilst the other goes towards the left with his party in like manner. They
move along, all abreast of one another, so that the whole line extends
over a full day's journey, and no animal can escape them. Truly it is a
glorious sight to see the working of the dogs and the huntsmen on such an
occasion! And as the Lord rides a-fowling across the plains, you will see
these big hounds coming tearing up, one pack after a bear, another pack
after a stag, or some other beast, as it may hap, and running the game
down now on this side and now on that, so that it is really a most
delightful sport and spectacle.

[The Two Brothers I have mentioned are bound by the tenure of their office
to supply the Kaan's Court from October to the end of March with 1000 head
of game daily, whether of beasts or birds, and not counting quails; and
also with fish to the best of their ability, allowing fish enough for
three persons to reckon as equal to one head of game.]

Now I have told you of the Masters of the Hounds and all about them, and
next will I tell you how the Lord goes off on an expedition for the space
of three months.

NOTE 1.--Though this particular Bayan and Mingan are not likely to be
mentioned in history, the names are both good Mongol names; _Bayan_ that
of a great soldier under Kublai, of whom we shall hear afterwards; and
_Mingan_ that of one of Chinghiz's generals.

The title of "Master of the Mastiffs" belonged to a high Court official at
Constantinople in former days, _Samsunji Bashi_, and I have no doubt Marco
has given the exact interpretation of the title of the two Barons: though
it is difficult to trace its elements. It is read variously _Cunici_ (i.e.
_Kunichi_) and _Cinuci_ (i.e. _Chinuchi_). It is evidently a word of
analogous structure to _Kushchi_, the Master of the Falcons; _Parschi_,
the Master of the Leopards. Professor Schiefner thinks it is probably
corrupted from _Noghaichi_, which appears in Kovalevski's Mongol Dict. as
"_chaesseur qui a soins des chiens courants_." This word occurs, he points
out, in Sanang Setzen, where Schmidt translates it _Aufseher ueber Hunde_.
(See _S. S._ p. 39.)

The metathesis of _Noghai_-chi into _Kuni_-chi is the only drawback to
this otherwise apt solution. We generally