..."Montana," a Mongolian gelding, was among the gifts Rumsfeld received during his eight day, around-the-world trip that included stops in Mongolia, China, Korea and Lithuania. The trip concluded Oct. 24.

Mongolian Defense Minister Tserenkhuu Sharavdorj presented Rumsfeld the brown horse with a black mane during the secretary's Oct. 22 visit to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital city. The visit was the first by a U.S. defense secretary to this former communist country, home of the legendary 13th century warrior, Genghis Khan.

On being presented the horse, Rumsfeld quickly named it Montana, telling Sharavdorj that's what came to mind as his plane descended over Mongolia's vast brown plains and the mountains that reach skyward from them. Rumsfeld's wife, Joyce, was born in Montana, he said...

...Also following Mongolian tradition, the secretary asked the horse's herder to watch over Montana until his next visit, and in return, presented a useful gift, in this case, a black-and-yellow flashlight [What, no towel?]. Rumsfeld also presented Sharavdorj a Civil War pistol...