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region is divided amongst six corps and twenty-four tribes, which are again placed under forty-nine standards, commanded by hereditary princes. Outer Mongolia, a vast region of deserts, mountains, plain s and valleys, is partitioned among four khans, under whom are many officers, The Tsetsen khanate lies the most easterly, next to Tai-tsi- har; the Tuchétu khanate, the largest of the four, extends across from Russia towards Peking; southwest of it is the the region of the Sain-noin Kalkas,; and northwest of it lies the Dzassaktu khanate, the least important of the whole,
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West of these two last, between longs, 84° and 96° E, and reaching north as far as Russia, lie the divisions of Uliasútai and its dependen- cies, Cobdo, and the Tangni Mts., where twenty-five tribes of the Uliánghai, or Uriyangkit, Kalkas live. This region is little known to Europeans, and sparsely inhabited. The superintending officer lites at Uliasutai on the R. Selenga,
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The largest town in Mongolia is Kurun, situated in the Tuchetu khanate in fat. 48° 20° N., long, 1071° E., on the 'Tola river, a branch of the Selenga,
The trade with Russia is carried on at Kiakhta, a hamlet on a creek of the same name, lat. 50° 21' N., and long. 100° 29′E., close to the border, the boundary line marked by granite columns running between it and Mai-mai Chin on the Chinese side.
The province of Tsingħai, or Koko Nor, is not included in 'Mon- golia by European geographers, nor in the Chinese statistical works is it comprised within its limits. The inhabitants are however most- ly Mongols, and the government is conducted on the same plan as that over the Kalkas tribes further north. This region is known in the histories of Central Asia under the names of Tangout, Sifan, Turfan, &c. On Chinese maps it is called Tsinghai, but in their books is named Si Yù or Si Yih, i. e. Western Limits. Within its limits there are several large lakes, of which the Azure Sea is the largest. This country is occupied by the Eleuths, Tourbeths, Tour- gouths, Hoshoits, Kalkas and other tribes, and governed by a Manchi general residing at Síning fú in Kansuh. The capital Sining fú is situated in lat. 36° 39′ N. and long. 100° 48′ E! Barkoul or Chinsi fú in lat. 43° 40′ N., long. 94° 'E., is the most important place in the department. A thousand Manchus and three thousand Chinese guard the post.
Oroumtsi, or Tih-hwá chau, in lat. 43° 45′ N., long 89a E., is the westernmost department of Kansuh, and divided into three districts.