o touch business in Mongolia at any point
without coming in contact with the Chinese.

All work not connected with animals is assumed by Chinese, for the
Mongols are almost useless for anything which cannot be done from
the back of a horse. Thus the Chinese have a practical monopoly and
they exercise all their prerogatives in the enormous prices which
they charge for the slightest service. Mongols and foreigners suffer
together in this respect, but there is no alternative--the Chinaman
can charge what he pleases, for he knows full well that no one else
will do the work.

Although there is considerable mineral wealth in northern Mongolia,
up to the present time very little prospecting has been done. For
several years a Russian company has carried on successful operations
for gold at the Yero mines, between Urga and Kiakhta on the Siberian
frontier, but they have had to import practically all their labor
from China. We often passed Chinese in the Gobi Desert walking
across Mongolia pushing a wheelbarrow which contained all their
earthly belongings. They were on their way to the Yero mines for the
summer's work; in the fall they would return on foot the way they
had come. Now that Mongolia is once more a part of the Chinese
Republic, the labor problem probably will be improved for there will
certainly be an influx of Chinese who are anxious to work.

Transportation is the greatest of all commercial factors in the
Orient and upon it largely depends the development of any country.
In Mongolia the problem can be easily solved. At the present time it
rests upon camel caravans, ox and pony carts and upon automobiles
for passengers. Camel traffic begins in September and is virtually
ended by the first of June. Then their places on the trail are taken
by ox- and pony carts. Camels make the journey from Kalgan to Urga
in from thirty to fifty days, but the carts require twice as long.
They travel slowly, at best, and the animals must be given time to
graze and rest. Of course, they cannot cross the desert when the
grass is dry, so that transportation is divided by the
season--camels in winter and carts in summer. Each camel carries
from four hundred and fifty to five hundred pounds, and the charges
for the journey from Kalgan to Urga vary with conditions at from five
to fifteen cents (silver) per _cattie_ (one and one-third pounds).
Thus, by the time goods have reached Urga, their value has increased
tremendously.

I can see