Every dog must have all the skills and abilities that horse drivers should have: knowing the right time and place, observing the weather changes, choosing roads, choosing camping sites, and knowing the languages of all ethnic groups; Know the temperament of mules and horses; You should know all kinds of caravan life skills, such as cooking, chopping wood to make a fire, loading and unloading, nailing palms, finding grass to feed, and even treating people and animals. Caravans come in different sizes. Small caravans only have 3-5 mules and horses. Occasionally, some people use cattle to carry goods, which are mostly used for short-distance transportation. Medium-sized caravans are composed of dozens of mules and horses, while large caravans have one or two hundred mules and horses, with thousands at most. Most large and medium-sized caravans are used for commercial transportation, and some also transport goods for the government. Therefore, in organizational form, caravans can also be divided into official teams and civilian teams. The size of the caravan depends on the number of animals:
1. Five animals are called one, five are a small gang, and one small pot head is responsible. The ratio of coachman to mules and horses is generally 1 coachman for four mules and horses. Most of them are employees, and some even inherit their father's business and make a living on a meager income. A few coachmen are not paid, but they can bring some goods to sell on the way as income.
2. Group -9 horses are a group, and the team leader is responsible for it. One of the nine horses is a group horse, with a red cloth and yellow flame pattern on his forehead, a 2-foot red cloth hydrangea hanging behind his ear, six bronze bells tied around his neck, and a flag with red and white teeth on his saddle.
3. Gang —— Three people are a group, and the group leader is responsible for selecting a group of horses, wearing a red flame-patterned felt velvet road sign on their foreheads, hanging a 4-foot red cloth hydrangea behind their ears, tying eight bronze bells around their necks, and putting yellow teeth on their saddles.
4. Help all mules and horses to form a gang, choose three horses that are good at walking and finding their way, and form the first mule, the second mule and the third mule to lead the team. The mule is gorgeous: a golden velvet road sign with a yellow-red flame pattern on its forehead, a round mirror marked on it, six small mirrors around it, a sterling silver halter inlaid with gems, nine bronze bells, a 6-foot-long red cloth ball embroidered on its head, a pair of red tassels of yak tails behind its ears, and a side flag and a side flag on its saddle. The flag of the gang is a triangular pennant with a yellow edge and a red edge, and the surname of the gang leader is embroidered in the middle. Zuqi is a square flag with a red background and Phnom Penh, with two golden pheasant feathers inserted in the middle, symbolizing a bright future and a road to access. The first mule is the "facade" of the caravan and is very popular with horse drivers. Its decoration is unique, just as the song in "Driving Horse Tune" says: "The mule wears a mirror, a thousand beads are draped, red tassels cover the mouth, and hydrangeas cover the forehead and heart". The ornaments of two mules and three mules are not as luxurious as those of the first mule, but they are different from other pack horses. Two mules were loaded with medicines needed by the caravan, and three mules were still old, weak and sick when riding on the cauldron. On the ancient tea-horse road, people used to call the horse driver "the foot" (called "Dula" in Tibetan). Most of the clowns were born in poverty and forced to catch horses by their livelihood, because taking the ancient tea-horse road was not only difficult but also very dangerous. At that time, horse drivers had no social status. In the eyes of some people, they are just coolies. The club must obey the command of Ma Guotou, who is their leader and the core of a caravan. He is responsible for all kinds of shopping expenses, picking up things, and even when eating in the wild, Ma Guotou will divide meals and vegetables. The coachman is just a coolie hired by the horse pot head. But the relationship between the horse pot head and the bag is not a simple relationship between the employer and the employee. Horse pot heads, especially those of some pony teams, are mostly laborers who join the horse driving team themselves and share a pot of rice with many horse drivers. The name of the pot head also comes from this. Some horse drivers, after a period of hard work, will also own one or two of their own mules and horses, and join their mules and horses in the caravan when they are on the road to earn their own freight; If you have more money, you can prepare some goods to carry, and there will be gains. If this goes on, some clues will become small pot heads or small bosses.
Caravans going to Tibet usually look for Tibetans on the edge of Yunnan and Tibet as clues, so there are no language and customs barriers. A bag can take care of 12 mules and horses at most, which can only be done by extremely capable horse drivers. An average bag is responsible for seven or eight mules and horses. A horse driver, mules and horses under his care and their goods are called "a handful". In this way, dozens of them formed a caravan. Compared with the rabble of local warlords at that time, the caravan was more like a well-trained and well-organized army. Ma Guotou, the horse driver and the mule and horse are performing their respective duties step by step and conscientiously. Every time they go out on the road, they act orderly from morning till night every day.
The mule team has its own leader, namely the first mule and the second mule. They are the best mules in the caravan. Caravans generally only regard the female mule as the first mule and the second mule. The caravan said that the female mule is sensitive, sensible and alert, and can know where there is danger, while the male mule is too reckless to be a leader. The first mule and the second mule are not only the best mules in the caravan, but also their decorations are very special and exquisite. When they go on the road, they should wear flower halters, goggles and tassels, "red colors" made of red cloth and red silk on their eyebrows, nose tassels on their noses, bumpers on their saddles, and the coccyx is made of yak tails. The first mule has a big bell hanging around its neck, and the second mule has a smaller "second hairpin". The first mule and the second mule often want coat color. "The first mule runs, the second mule follows", pulling the whole caravan into a line and marching easily on the narrow and rugged mountain road. There is also a "caravan flag" with the dog teeth of the caravan inserted on a mule, with the name of the caravan written on it, so that people can know which caravan it is at a glance. When the first mule and the second mule are down a peg or two, the whole caravan will have momentum, the road will be wide, and even the groom will have the spirit to go by himself. At the end of the whole caravan, there must be a very effective tail mule. It is necessary to keep up with the brigade and hold the position, so that a large number of caravan teams can form a whole.
Along the way, the horse driver should check the horseshoe at any time. If it is damaged, it must be nailed up immediately. Horseshoe nails are common consumer goods in caravans. Nailing horseshoes is a very special professional skill. The same is true of saddles, cushions and parcels. Every mule has a special saddle pad. Due to the narrow and steep roads, Tibetan caravans are bound with soft bags. The so-called soft bag is to pack the goods in soft bags such as sacks or skins and tie them directly on the backs of mules and horses with ropes, which is light and flexible. Of course, different goods have different binding methods, and the single cross "ring" is the most commonly used one. First, put a "saddle pad" on the backs of mules and horses. It is made in Tibet. It is a rectangular felt with flowers embedded in its four corners. It has a red and green background with a cross pattern on it. Very good. Put a linen cushion cover on the stirrup, which is stuffed with felt wool, which is very soft and gentle. On the top floor is a piece of skin called Kampot, which is mostly fur or donkey skin. With these preparations, the goods can't be worn by mules and horses. These bedding are also mattresses for drivers to sleep at night.
Caravans going to Tibet don't have to tie mules and horses' tails with catalpa and catalpa beads. On the one hand, it increases the burden on mules and horses, on the other hand, it is easy to scratch mules and horses, and there is no way to repair them if they are broken. Therefore, the caravan in Tibet only uses hemp rope to twist into saddle rope, which is light, soft and strong. As soon as mules and horses are on the road, they should put on their own special halters, which are made of bamboo sticks and fine leather to prevent gluttony all the way. They also have their own special bags to eat. Like people, they eat three meals a day and eat grass in the mountains at night. The daily life of the caravan is almost like this. In the morning, mules and horses are taken back, horses eat food, people eat, walk, get on and off the bus, camp and cook, put the horse to sleep, cycle after cycle, month after month, year after year.
Caravans on the road spend most of their time camping. Usually get up at dawn to retrieve mules and horses from the mountains, feed them, and then pack up and go on the road. Open a "tip" at noon. "Opening the tip" means having lunch, making a buttered tea and rubbing it a little. As soon as it gets dark, the caravan will try its best to get to the "nest" that must be reached, where it can "light up". Turning on the light is camping. They should bury gongs and pots, cook meals, unload their luggage and set up tents before dark. Every day, as soon as the land is cleared, everyone will work together. Those who look for firewood will find firewood, cook and cook, and those who set up tents will set up tents and wash dishes, taking turns to avoid unfairness. The scenery of the racing gang. It was a heroic era, and the horse was driven by an indomitable man in women's minds. They not only brought indispensable items in life, but also brought them feminine products such as rouge, powder cake and red thread. The horse driver is well informed. They have traveled as far as India, Nepal and Sikkim, and have recently been to Ali, Lhasa, Kunming and Chengdu. They are full of real men's blood, with unparalleled courage and strong will. Hundreds of horses and caravans made up of hundreds of people walked through the deep mountains and valleys, and the sound of hooves and jingles was endless. When encountering a dangerous area, hundreds of people shouted together, and their voices were very sonorous, drifting back and forth in the mountains. If the groom meets a passing woman on the trip, there will be a folk song contest soon. There was a "oh-ho-ho" here, and someone immediately responded over there. Sing "throw a stone to measure the depth, sing a song to measure the girl's heart." There sings: "Pick the first flower, the leaves are green and fresh …" and so on until you have a good time.
On the ancient tea-horse road, girls known as "Three Red Streets" came to look for horse drivers. Why is it called "Sandaohong"? It is said that because they have three red lines on their braids, the horse drivers call them that.
"Sandaohong" is the symbol of unmarried women in western Yunnan. "Sandaohong" is a pastime of horse drivers on the ancient tea-horse road: during the boring journey, the horse pot head walks among them with a cigarette in its mouth, joking, flirting, swearing and sometimes touching, and Sandaohong people giggle. In a small place outside the village, three red people get together, find a partner, wash vegetables and rice after the right person, cook the rice in a short time, and then invite the horse to eat.
When staying in a hotel at night, Sandaohong spread foot washing water for Ma Guotou and washed his feet himself. Add firewood to the fireplace. Then put the head of the horse pot in the middle, play the three strings and sing love songs. If Ma Guotou is happy, buy some wine and candy to share with you. In order to please Ma Guotou, Sandaohong people will fill a glass of wine, hold it to Ma Guotou's mouth with a smile and say, "If you respect me, drink this cup." Ma Guotou was elated with laughter and drunk. In the early days of caravan formation, families only used their horses as means of transportation. With the development of foreign trade, more and more goods need to be transported long distance. In addition, the complicated road conditions make it difficult to travel alone and unable to undertake all the transportation business. So several people agreed to transport a batch of goods in partnership, thus forming the original caravan. This kind of caravan is only organized temporarily during the slack season, or dispersed after gathering to transport a certain batch of goods, so it can be called a temporary caravan. Later, due to the further expansion of the scale of commodity circulation, the transportation distance is getting farther and farther, and it takes months or even a year to go back and forth. Temporary caravans obviously could not meet the demand, so professional caravans appeared. This caravan has basically separated from agriculture or animal husbandry, and was originally organized by commercial gangs. During the period from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, some big commercial gangs appeared in various parts of Yunnan, most of which had their own caravans. With the passage of time, some grooms have accumulated a certain amount of capital, owned a considerable number of horses and have the ability to hire their own grooms. They don't do business, but only deliver goods for merchants or firms, so they broke away from the business gang and became a simple caravan.
The professional division of labor, dependence and cooperation between firms and caravans in production, sales and transportation is extremely beneficial for both sides to expand reproduction, and it is also a great progress in caravan transportation.
Because of the need to switch to trade, firms generally have their own caravans and form their own transport forces, ranging from twenty to thirty horses to two to three hundred horses. Trade relies on mules and horses to transport goods from the place of origin to the place of demand.
Generally speaking, Yunnan caravan has three organizational forms. One is family style, where the whole family is engaged in caravan business, and all the mules and horses are owned by themselves and named after their own surnames. The second is teasing and helping. Generally, people in the same village or similar villages take a few mules and horses with them when they go out, and take care of their own mules and horses. Choose a respected and experienced person as the head of the horse pot, who will contact the business and get about 20% more income when settling dividends. Third, let's call it a gang for the time being. There is no fixed organization, but they have come together because they take the same road, accept the same business, or worry about bandits. These organizational forms are sometimes mixed together to form a complex and interesting caravan landscape. Caravans going to Tibet are generally caravans of big family businesses.
It is estimated that during the period of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, there were more than 1500 merchants doing business on the ancient tea-horse road in Yunnan. At that time, there were about 30 thousand caravans going back and forth between Yunnan, Tibet and India every year!