■:■>.-. 
 
 
 
 
 
THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 ENDOWED BY THE 
 
 DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC 
 
 SOCIETIES 
 
 ^S785 
 
 .B73 
 1891 
 v. 2 
 
MAP SHOWING M. BONVALOT'S ROUTE. 
 
iTm mT Y ° F N ' C - AT CHAp EL HILL 
 
 0001004805 
 
 This book is due at the LOUIS R. WILSON LIBRARY on the 
 last date stamped under "Date Due." If not on hold it may be 
 renewed by bringing it to the library. 
 
 SuE E RET 
 
 DATE RFT 
 DUE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 •31 5» f\ 
 
 06 4< 94 
 
 
 
 err» c 
 
 '. 
 
 
 
 St! !• 
 
 JL <— 
 
 
 
 
 
 "j 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/acrossthibetbein02bonv 
 
Across Thibet. 
 
\ n 
 
 

 Across Thibet. 
 
 BEING A TRANSLATION OF 
 
 "DE PARIS AU TONKIN À TRAVERS LE 
 TIBET INCONNU," 
 
 BY 
 
 GABRIEL BONVALOT. 
 
 With Illustrations from Photographs taken by Prince Henry of 
 Orleans, and Map of Route. 
 
 TRANSLATED BY G R PITMAN. 
 
 Vol. II. 
 
 CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited: 
 
 LONDON, PARIS & MELBOURNE. 
 
 1891. 
 [all bights reserved.] 
 
 Oisca i .,'■■? 
 
 ' ' •; - '- \ , if i 
 
 £ ■ i '. . ■ r J it I] 
 
LIBRA W , 
 NORTH CAfcfe,? 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. II. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 AMONG THE THIBETANS. PAGE 
 
 " A Man is Coming" — Description of the First Thibetan Encountered — Thibetan Horse- 
 men — Driving a Bargain — A Savage's First Sight of a Watch — Uncomplimentary 
 Comments — On the High Road to Lhassa— -Getting Information under Difficulties — 
 English and Russians in Bad Odour — Lake Burben-cho — The Dungan shows his 
 Seals — Silos — A Thibetan Interior — A Native Woman — Imatch Done up — Prayers 
 Engraved on Stones — Taking a Prisoner — Death of Imatch — In Sight of the 
 Ningling Tangla and the Namtso ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 — 33 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 AWAITING ORDERS FROM LHASSA. 
 
 At Namtso — Encamping near Ningling Tangla Pass — An Embassage — The Thibetans 
 Undecided — The Caravan in Battle Array — A Mandarin — A Mongolian Interpreter 
 — Arrival of the Amban from Lhassa— Giving him Audience — His Suite and their 
 Costumes— A Long Interview — The Thibetans' New Year's Day — In the Amban's 
 Tent — Gibeonites — Another Mongolian Interpreter — The Apathy of Thibetans — 
 A Storm — Arrival of the Ta-Lama and the Ta- Amban — Plain Speaking — Refusal 
 to Return — The Ta-Lama and the Ta- Amban described — Abdullah and the Dungan 
 at their Devotions — Colloquy between Rachmed and Timour — Thibetans at 
 Work— Their General Characteristics — Carnivorous Horses — The Samda Kansain 
 Mountains— The Samda Tchou River— A Blade of Grass — How they do Business 
 at Lhassa 34—70 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 PRESENTS FROM LHASSA. 
 
 Breakfasting with the Ta- Amban and Ta-Lama— Diplomatic Indignation — Two Barbarian 
 Petty Chiefs — An Effectual Call to Order — A Sunset Scene — Feasting on a Sheep's 
 Head — A " Dainty Dish " — At Soubrou — Resting at Di-Ti — Water- Carrier s — An 
 Entente Cordiale — Characteristics and Habits of the Natives of the Di-Ti Country — 
 A Specimen of Primeval Man — Nigan : Another Stoppage — The Talai- Lama's 
 Presents : Sacred Objects — Return Presents — A Lama Guide — The Ta-Amban's 
 Advice — A Pet Ram — Timour, Parpa, and Iça Go Back ... ... ... 71 — 91 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SO AND ITS LAMA-HOrSE. 
 
 At Gatine — The River Ourtchou — A Hermit Lama — "Steeped in Luxury" — At 
 Djaucounnene — Meeting a Caravan — Resemblance between Thibetans and other 
 Peoples — Thumb Language — A Droll Native — The Thibetans not Fanatics — On 
 the Banks of the Omtchou — At Tandi — The Thibetan Sling — A Superb Mountain 
 Scene — A Sight of Ploughed Land — First View of the Lama-house of So — The 
 "Delicious Odour" of Wood — A Concierge in Thibet— Native Money — A Commission 
 of 150 per Cent. — Ploughing at So — Crossing the Sotchou — A Bearded Thibetan — ■ 
 Why Dishonest Chiefs are Popular ... ... ... ... ... ... .. 92 — 119 
 
 %*>•' 
 il%^ 
 
vi AC BOS S THIBET. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 NATIVE CUSTOMS -VXD CHARACTERS. PAGE 
 
 A Thibetan Vitellius — Chang — Commercial Chinamen — Native "Women — Polyandry and 
 Polygamy — Beggars — Contentment — The Chief of the District at Home — A Theo- 
 logical Question — Departure from Séi'ésumdo— Mendicant Lamas and their Music — 
 News from Lhassa — The Honeymoon in Thibet — Novel Method of Crossing a Stream 
 — Tumblers — A Chief in his Cups — A Scene of Home Life— Force Majeure — Fickle- 
 ness of the Natives : the Probable Cause — At Karimeta — Primitive Husbandry — A 
 Lamaess— Praying Windmills— Tchoungo — The Dàla and Djala Passes — A Splendid 
 Prospect — A Pagoda — Houmda — Lagoun : a Manufacturing Town ... ... 120 — 151 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 FROM LAGOUN TO CHANGKA. 
 
 Lamé — Lamda — Bad Pood — Religious Malthusianism — Crossing the Satchou — Capture of 
 a New-bom Monkey — Koushoune — Ouoshishoune — A Fat Lama — Dzérine — Hassar 
 — Thibetans and Chinese : a Contrast — Indefinite Dates — Rough and Ready Justice 
 — Dotou — A Dignified Chinese Official — A Series of Prayer Mills — Rachmed in 
 Action — The Chinese Army — Parting with the Lama Guide — Tsonké — A Secret 
 Christian — The Destruction of the Batang Mission — Burial-place of a French Mis- 
 sionary — Reception by the Mandarin of Changka — Four Swords for 150 Men... 152 — 181 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 BATANG, TATSIEN-LOU, AND TONQT7IN. 
 
 Religious Prophylactics — " Red " and " Yellow " Lamaism — The Lamas as Capitalists — ■ 
 From Changka to Koushou — The Tea Trade between China and Thibet — Leindiinne 
 — Anarchy — Chinese Inns — The Blue River (Kin-sha-Kiang) — Frenchmen in Thibet 
 — Chinese Justice — An Orgie — Chinese Soldiers : the Courage of Numbers — At 
 Batang — A Series of Questions — Tatsien-Lou — The French Missionaries There — A 
 Difficulty with the Mandarin — Apology — Chinese Administration — Sending Home 
 the Photographs — The Red River — On French Soil — Hanoï — The Future of Tonquin 
 —Conclusion 182—221 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. II. 
 
 Talking Over the First Thibetans... 
 
 Tent at Burben-cho 
 
 Thibetans at Burben-cho 
 
 Thibetan Horsemen 
 
 A Petty Chief ... 
 
 The Namtso 
 
 Pack-Horses 
 
 Religious Insignia 
 
 The Petty Amban 
 
 Tent of the Envoys from Lhassa ... 
 
 Thibetans Loading a Yak 
 
 The Caravan in Motion 
 
 The Cooking Tent 
 
 Chief of the Djashas ... 
 
 Thibetan Savages round a Fire 
 
 The Ta-Lama, the Ta-Amban, and other Chiefs 
 
 A Thibetan Saluting ... 
 
 The Lama Guide ... 
 
 An Attendant of the Amban... 
 
 Thibetan Horsemen 
 
 Monument near the Lama-house of So 
 
 Thibetan of the Redskin Tvpe 
 
 Yak Driver with Prayer-mill 
 
 A Loaded Yak 
 
 The Lama-house at So ... 
 
 A House at So 
 
 Women at Bata-Soumdo 
 
 "Woman and Child of Sérésumdo 
 
 House at Sérésumdo 
 
 Types of Natives at Sérésumdo 
 
 Mendicant Lamas 
 
 Scene near Sérésumdo... 
 
 The "Obo" at Tchoungo 
 
 Prayers Carved on a Stone 
 
 Lhassa 
 
ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 Thibetan of Tbéchotjbtg. 
 
 A Thibetan Village 
 
 Bridge at Sougomba 
 
 Crossing the Satchou . 
 
 Group of Natives 
 
 Scene in Inhabited Thibet 
 
 .Ruins in the Maktchou Valley 
 
 Lama-house at Dotou ... 
 
 Prayeii-mill at Dotou ... 
 
 A Dancer ... 
 
 Dancers at Changka 
 
 A Buddhist Chapel 
 
 The Kin-sha-Kiang (Great Blue River) 
 
 Women at Batang 
 
 Lamas at Batang 
 
 General View of Litang 
 
 Litang : View from the Roofs 
 
 Chinese Fort at Litang 
 
 Entrance to the Tatsien-Lou Valley 
 
 French Missionaries 
 
 Fishing with Cormorants 
 
 Lolos 
 
 The Bed River ... 
 
 Lao-kai 
 
 Rachmed and a Thibetan Innkeeper 
 
 PAC. E 
 
 152 
 153 
 157 
 161 
 168 
 169 
 176 
 177 
 181 
 182 
 185 
 187 
 189 
 192 
 193 
 197 
 200 
 201 
 204 
 208 
 212 
 216 
 217 
 220 
 221 
 
Across Thibet. 
 
 CHAPTEB IX. 
 
 AMONG THE THIBETANS. 
 
 A Man is Coming" — Description of the First Thibetan Encountered — Thibetan Horsemen — 
 Driving a Bargain — A Savage's First Sight of a Watch — Uncomplimentary Comments — 
 On the High Road to Lhassa — Getting Information under Difficulties — English and 
 Russians in Bad Odour — Lake Burben-cho — The Dungan shows his Seals — Silos — A 
 Thibetan Interior — A Native Woman — Imatch Done Up — Prayers Engraved on Stones — 
 Taking a Prisoner — Death of Imatch — In Sight of the Ningling Tangla and the Namtso. 
 
 January 30. — Although we get a little lower down 
 each day, the cold is still intense, the minimum of to-day 
 31° below zero at an altitude of 14,200 feet. 
 ;ill we feel much lighter and walk much more freely, 
 while as we have no longer to concern our- 
 selves in looking for the route, we are able to 
 examine the ridges of the hills more carefully, 
 and see if there is any sign of movement or 
 any spots resembling tents. 
 
 January 31. — While the beasts are being 
 
 loaded and w T e are sipping our tea in 
 
 the tent, we hear shouts, and Abdullah 
 
 comes rushing in, beaming with joy, 
 
 and says, " You can get out your 
 
 purse and pay the winner : a man is 
 
 coming." We enjoin Abdullah to 
 
 treat the stranger well, give him 
 
 some tea, take him up to the fire, 
 
 try to soften him down and coax what he can out of 
 
 On the arrival of the Thibetan, he is greeted in Mongolian, 
 
 29 
 
 THE FIRST THIBETAN ENCOUNTERED. 
 
 and 
 him. 
 
U ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 and replies in the same language, all the men crowding round 
 him and speaking at once. Eaclnned comes and tells us that lie is 
 ugly beyond description, and that the very bears are better look- 
 ing. When we think that the ice has been broken, we come out, 
 Prince Henry with his photographic apparatus in his hand, and 
 our presence produces a certain effect upon our guest, as he rises 
 when he sees us, calls us " bembo," that is to say, " chief," and, in 
 order to salute us, lifts up his thumbs and protrudes an enormous 
 tongue, while he bows profoundly. He is begged to sit down 
 agrain, and we examine him while he is engaged in conversation 
 with Abdullah, if conversation there can be when the two speakers 
 have in common ten words of Mongolian and four of Thibetan. 
 
 He is a very little man, with a clean-shaven face covered with 
 a layer of grease and smoke, and furrowed by a great number of 
 deep wrinkles. His eyes, sunken in the orbits, are little more 
 than dark spots beneath the swollen eyelids, the brown pupils are 
 scarcely distinguishable from the discoloured cornea. The face 
 looks narrower than it really is, owing to the long locks of hair 
 which fall down upon the hollow cheeks ; the nose is large and 
 the mouth toothless, with thick lips, and the square chin has no 
 sign of hair. The man is weakly, and we can see that his hand 
 is small and dirty, as he manipulates his snuff-box, cut out of 
 a piece of horn, shaking out some powdered red tobacco which 
 he sniffs up into his nose. 
 
 His dress is in keeping with his person, his head-gear con- 
 sisting of a strip of skin which is wound round the forehead and 
 fastened at the back, leaving the top of the head bare. From the 
 crown hangs down a tress of hair, coming as far as the loins and 
 passing through two or three rings made of bones of some beast. 
 The owner of this tress must rub fat over it occasionally, for 
 that portion of his attire against which it rubs is more greasy 
 and shiny than the rest. The sheep-skin pelisse which covers the 
 bare body of our visitor is unspeakably dirty. It would be 
 
THE FIRST THIBETAN ENCOUNTERED. 3 
 
 difficult to say how long lie lias worn this pelisse, which is fitted 
 to his figure aud, in order to facilitate his walking, looped up by 
 meaus of a cord, so that, about the level of the waist, it forms an 
 enormous fold, which serves as a pocket, from which he extracts 
 his snuff-box, and into which he puts the bread and piece of meat 
 we give him. He also takes out from this pocket a small spinning- 
 wheel, the handle of which is made of polished or on go horn and 
 a cross of some wood which we take to be holly. His skinny 
 legs are encased in a pair of woollen stockings, split open at the 
 calf and kept in their place by garters made of hemp, and, like 
 the espadrillos of the Spanish mountains, furnished with thick soles. 
 
 While asking us as to our journey, the Thibetan takes fre- 
 quent pinches of snuff or quietly spins the yak wool which he has 
 with him. By means of signs, we explain to him that most of 
 our horses and camels are dead, and that the five or six sheep left 
 have only been allowed to live because there is nothing to eat 
 on them ; and we ask him to sell us butter, horses, and sheep. In 
 response to this, he invites us to follow him to his tent, which is 
 beyond the rock that we can see to the westward. 
 
 We thank him for his kindness, but beg to be excused, 
 because we want to go to the south-east. Then, with the falsity 
 and impudence of the savage, he endeavours to dissuade us from 
 this by saying that Lhassa is not in that direction, but to the west, 
 asking us, incidentally, and clasping his hands in a reverential 
 manner, if we are going to offer prayers to the Talai Lama. We 
 tell him that we are, and then he again urges us to come and stay 
 a little while in his encampment, where we shall find all kinds of 
 provision and grass for our beasts. 
 
 While we are discussing this, we see several flocks descending 
 the slopes of the hills, escorted by men on horseback, who come 
 toward us. The old man gets up as if to go, but we give 
 him another cup of tea, and show him some " iambas " (bars of 
 silver), which we are ready to exchange for sheep. He calls 
 
4 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 out to a shepherd, who comes trotting up, and explains what we 
 propose, whereupon the latter drives his flock towards us. This 
 second shepherd does not seem to us to he as old as the first, 
 rather taller, and quite as thin. We are struck by the brusque- 
 ness of his movements, his irregular gait, his short, quick steps, 
 and a peculiar w T ay of throwing out the knee, giving him the 
 appearance of a being with a human body and the legs of a goat. 
 In fact, one thinks of the monsters of classic mythology as one 
 looks at his long head, his short, snub nose, salient cheek-bones, 
 large mouth from which protrude two teeth that keep the thick 
 lips constantly apart, and enormously developed lower jaw. 
 
 He leans upon a long, sharp-pointed lance, which he grasps in 
 a hand black with dirt, and having fingers of nearly equal size ; 
 round the waist he carries a sword, the sheath of which is made 
 of wood plated with iron, while the blade is somewhat notched. 
 In order that it may not interfere with his movements on the 
 march, he carries this sword horizontally, and he also has slung 
 over the back a short gun, of small calibre, with a forked rest 
 made of orongo horn. The stock is short and square, as is usual 
 with Oriental firearms, and as the gun is fired by means of a fuse, 
 the lance seems the more formidable of the two weapons. Pend- 
 ing the arrival of the flock of sheep, the two Thibetans have a 
 talk, and feel the weight of our bags and chests, and they would 
 carry their indiscretions still farther if we did not, in jest, flourish 
 a revolver at them. This weapon attracts their attention, and 
 they examine its six chambers with manifest surprise, being much 
 astonished at the size of the bullets. When they see that all our 
 men carry a leather case round their waist, they imagine that each 
 of them has his revolver. 
 
 The man with the lance asks us if we are from Bomba and 
 Calacata (Bombay and Calcutta), and when we say No, we are 
 people from the West, the Thibetans express their satisfaction, 
 explaining that they are not friends with the people of Bomba 
 
DRIVING A BARGAIN. 5 
 
 and Calacata. They indicate this unfriendliness by joining their 
 index-fingers nail to nail. 
 
 In the meanwhile the flock of sheep has come up, in charge 
 of two lads as dirty as their seniors, and in the distance is another 
 person on horseback, whom we find, on looking through the 
 glass, to be a young woman. She is very small, clad in a sheep- 
 skin pelisse coming down to the heels, and bare-headed, her 
 face being hidden in the tresses of her hair. She seems to us to 
 have her cheeks blackened with some kind of unguent. 
 
 A lad having failed to lasso one of the sheep which his 
 master picks out from the flock, the latter takes the cord from 
 him and, with surprising quickness, throws it round the horns 
 of a ram. This animal has very fine, silky wool, and a small 
 and well-shaped head, but we reject it, as the flesh would be 
 hard and stringy. The Thibetans are amused at our knowing 
 a good sheep from a bad one, and having, like all savages, 
 first tried to deceive us, show us some fat young sheep, which 
 they secure with the lasso. We pay them in silver bars weighed 
 in Chinese scales, and they examine both the silver and the 
 scales very carefully, and rub the silver with a stone, to see 
 that it contains no lead. Then they break off little bits and 
 put them in their mouths, trying to coax us into giving a few 
 grains more. They are very greedy, and when we exchange a 
 horse which is worn out with fatigue for three sheep, they bargain 
 in a way that shows they are not easily " got over." 
 
 We offer to pay them high prices for suitable animals, and they 
 promise to bring us some the next day, showing us at the same 
 time the ponies they are riding. These are such as are bred 
 in the countries of the north, with long coats, and rather short, 
 powerful heads, and when we observe their depth of chest, 
 strong necks, and well-made legs, we do not wonder at their 
 good going. Their masters ride them with a plain halter, never 
 using a bit, their gestures and whip answering every purpose. 
 
6 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 These ponies, though they will let their masters do anything with 
 thera, are frightened hy our strange attire, and will not allow us 
 to come near them and examine their saddles, which are of 
 wood, with very short stirrups not coming below their bellies, so 
 that the rider sits with his knees on the level of his stomach. 
 
 After having completed our purchases, we get ready for a 
 start, the Thibetans remaining with us and feeling the canvas of 
 the tent and the texture of our garments, while the English 
 saddles puzzle them not a little as they turn them round and 
 round. They want us to explain to them how we use our weapons, 
 and are astounded at the distance to which a bullet from the 
 Berdane rifle is propelled, though it is clear that the revolvers 
 make the deepest impression upon them. 
 
 We put a watch up against the ear of one of the lads, and he 
 is delighted to hear it tick. He looks at the hands, too ; but it 
 is the beating of the heart within that chiefly excites his wonder. 
 We take advantage of his friendly attitude to ask him in what 
 direction Lhassa lies, and he points not to the west, like his father, 
 but to the south-east. We reward him with a bit of sugar, 
 which these people appreciate highly, though even to that they 
 would have preferred the canvas of our tent, and some tea and 
 tobacco. Having found that we should not go westward, where, 
 as they say, their tents are, they make off towards the plain with 
 their flocks, whistling and swinging their lassoes. 
 
 It is curious to hear the reflections of our men as soon as the 
 Thibetans have gone. A few days ago you might have sworn 
 that they would have taken any of their fellow-men into their 
 affections, but now they make the most uncomplimentary com- 
 ments on the ugliness and dirtiness of these natives, their greed and 
 their suspiciousness. The young woman with her besmeared face 
 is described as a monster, and only the sheep and horses are 
 exempt from unfavourable criticism. Nevertheless, the spirits 
 of our men have improved, and the dovvnheartedness and 
 
ON THE HIGH ROAD TO LHASSA, 7 
 
 «it' 
 
 despair engendered by solitude have disappeared, as I can see this 
 evening when our tent is pitched in the middle of a river-bed 
 partly dry. They are anxious to guard against being taken 
 by surprise and attacked at night, and the tents are placed in a 
 triangular shape, so that a look-out may be kept in all directions, 
 while the horses and camels are hobbled and placed in the centre 
 of the camp. Arms are examined and well greased, and we shall 
 sleep with our guns out of their cases. For have we not come 
 again upon our brethren, part of the great human family ? 
 
 We are on the high road to Lhassa; of that there can be no 
 doubt, and the certainty will save us a great deal of trouble, for 
 the farther we go the better marked the route will be. The worst 
 part of the business is that our animals are nearly done up, and 
 that several of our men have great difficulty in advancing. Old 
 Imatch is the worst, his feet being frost-bitten. One of his big 
 toes is nearly dropping off, and his sores are so dreadful that it is 
 a wonder he can keep on his horse. He is constantly suffering 
 from mountain sickness, and we can do nothing to relieve it, for 
 what he needs is his native steppe on the level of the sea, which 
 he will probably never see again. 
 
 If we could only come upon a suitable spot to halt and nurse 
 him ! But the whole of this region is the same ; it is a lofty 
 steppe, inhabited by a few wretched nomads, with the west wind 
 constantly blowing. Our stages are short, for although the route 
 is as good as could be desired, we cannot go more than twelve 
 miles a day without fatiguing poor Imatch, while Abdullah 
 is a bad walker, and Parpa is so weak that he can scarcely 
 follow the camels. 
 
 If we had a few vigorous and determined men, we might, by a 
 coup de main, seize as many of the Thibetans' horses as we require, 
 load them, and march direct on Lhassa. But there are not enough 
 of us, and we must resign ourselves to dragging along and 
 awaiting more favourable circumstances. 
 
8 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 February 1. — This morning, with a west wind and a cloudy 
 sky, we came in sight of a flock of yaks and sheep making for the 
 region we had just traversed. Not one of them came our wav, 
 and perhaps some kind friend has told the herdsmen we want 
 animals of different kinds and are armed to the teeth ! 
 
 Just as we were loading and about to start, not reckoning that 
 our friends of yesterday would bring us the animals we offered to 
 buy, five horsemen appeared in sight, pulled up at a distance of 
 two or three hundred yards, put the horses in charge of one of 
 their number, and came on foot into our camp. We recognise the 
 little old man of yesterday, and he again very politely puts out 
 his tongue, and is imitated by his companions, whom we had not 
 seen before. One of them has an aquiline profile, his pigtail 
 is ornamented with agates, inferior turquoises, and copper rings, 
 and his pelisse is edged with leopard-skin. These people place 
 at our feet a small jar of milk, which emits an odour sufficient 
 to prevent any of us making a rush for it, a piece of rancid butter 
 rolled up in a piece of skin, and a small bag of zamba or roasted 
 barley-meal. 
 
 They examine us with great curiosity, but are very reserved in 
 their replies to our questions, and display remarkable rapacity. 
 The old man, whom we ask about the horses he has promised us, 
 says that there are none, for they have gone off westward. We 
 can get nothing out of these fellows, who pretend not to under- 
 stand whenever we pronounce the names of Lhassa, Namtso, 
 or Ningling Tangla. Fortunately, one of them is less suspicious, 
 or more intelligent, and while the others are having their attention 
 drawn off, we enter into negotiations with this poor wretch, 
 who is very scantily clad, and has the profile of a negro, 
 with scarcely perceptible eyes, and the forehead of a child. We 
 begin by offering him a lump of sugar, one or two dried apricots, 
 and some raisins, all of which he thinks delicious. Then we tell 
 him that we are going to offer prayer to the Talai-Lama, where- 
 
/ / 
 
 / 
 
 ,' 
 
 ïfc 
 
 / :f- 
 
 I 
 
 -\- ~ , if$ }, ii 
 
 TALKING OVER THE FIRST THIBETANS (p. 4). 
 
 30 
 
"HOW MANY DAYS TO LHASSA?" 11 
 
 upon the fervent Thibetan at once throws his cap to the ground, 
 falls on to his knees, clasps his hands, and turns instinctively in 
 the direction of Lhassa, as he mumbles his " Om mane padmé 
 houm," which we repeat after him. We explain that all the 
 contents of our chests are for the Talai-Lama, and he at once 
 approves of this, nothing being too good for that divinity ; but at 
 the same time he stretches out his hand and makes a gesture as 
 of eating. So we give him some more apricots, and crack the 
 stone of one, showing him how to get at the kernel. He 
 imitates the operation, and makes a movement of satisfaction 
 with his tongue. 
 
 Then, pointing to the direction in which he was prostrating 
 himself just now, we whisper — 
 
 " Lhassa ? " 
 
 And he, first looking to see whether his companions are 
 watching him, makes an affirmative motion with his head. We 
 then said to him, in Thibetan, " How many days to Lhassa ? " But 
 instead of answering, he put out his hand for a piece of sugar, 
 then, having hidden himself behind our tent, he traced on the 
 sand a curved line in a south-easterly direction and placed some 
 argol, at the end of the line, saying, as he put his finger on it, 
 "Lhassa." 
 
 Then we sjoeak to him about the great salt deposit of 
 Burben-cho, as it is called on the maps, and which he 
 pronounced " Boultso ; " whereupon he placed another piece 
 of dung on the curved line. When we pronounced the 
 name of Namtso (the Tengri Nor of the Mongols), he put 
 an argol upon the curved line a little farther ; and when we 
 suddenly say, " Ningling Tangla," he falls on his knees, places 
 an argol to the south of Lake Namtso, and prays fervently to the 
 holy mountain. He gets up and puts out his hand for another 
 and yet another apricot, and, by way of thanking us, opens a 
 mouth like that of a crocodile, from which he protrudes a massive 
 
12 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 tongue like that of an ox, covering the whole of his chin. Father 
 Dedeken thinks it would fill the whole of an ox-tongue tin. 
 
 He is gradually getting more familiar, and in reply to our 
 inquiries says it is three days' journey to Boultso, eight to 
 Namtso, and twelve to Lhassa. 
 
 If he is speaking the truth, as seems probable, his estimates 
 refer to the time he himself took on the journey, not to the time 
 we should take. We find it difficult to get rid of him, so greedy 
 is he for more apricots; but he goes at last, and, despite the 
 amiable invitation of the Thibetans to visit their camp to the 
 west, we follow the route leading south-east. It traverses the 
 steppe coated with snow ; and as the horizon is misty, we see 
 no high chain, only ridges divided by valleys, in which domes- 
 ticated flocks are roaming not far from wild animals. Now and 
 again we catch a glimpse of black tents, and over them " prayers " 
 fluttering from the end of a pole ; but we do not approach any of 
 these dwellings, as they are some way off the road. 
 
 February 2. — A body of horseman, well mounted, and all of 
 them armed, after watching us from a distance, draw near. 
 Greetings are exchanged, and we try to persuade them to sell lis 
 some horses. They look at the silver, but do not reply, so, being 
 anxious to know what they mean, we take possession of an 
 animal which would suit us. Its owner remains with us, but the 
 others go off; and when we name a price, the Thibetan refuses, 
 explaining that the " Bembo," or chief, would punish him if he 
 sold the horse without permission. So we let him go, after 
 having made him a present and urged him to bring us plenty 
 of zamba for our animals. He replies that he will be willing 
 enough, but that only the " Bembo " can decide. 
 
 February 3. — Two natives come to offer us some dried sheep 
 carcases, and after a good deal of preliminary fencing we obtain 
 information. According to one of these men, the route goes 
 through the plain as far as Ningling Tangla, and there is plenty of 
 
RICH AND POOR EVERYWHERE. 13 
 
 grass, ice, and snow. He seems to be unusually intelligent, as lie 
 endeavours to let Father Dedeken understand him by pronouncing 
 with great distinctness the names of the places he mentions. He 
 was rendered thus loquacious by the present of a handglass, and 
 the promise of a small chromo -lithograph if he spoke the truth 
 stimulated his desire to be of use. As he rode along by our side, 
 we passed some camel-droppings, and on our asking him what these 
 were, he replied, " Tangout," this being the name given to the 
 Kalmucks ; so that we have come again upon the traces of our 
 pilgrims at the same time that we have discovered the high road. 
 He gave us to understand that there is no more direct route than this 
 to Lhassa. One soon gets used to these barbarian physiognomies, 
 for we begin to detect intelligence in this vendor of dried meat. 
 As he accompanied us to our bivouac, and night set in, we invited 
 him to stay with our men, but he preferred going off to his /dim 
 (dwelling) after letting his horse browse on a few roots of grass. 
 The moon was up, and he pointed to it, as much as to say he 
 should be able to find his way. He thanked us effusively, with 
 uplifted thumbs and protruding tongue, for all the presents we 
 had given him ; and when we gave him back the meat we did 
 not want, and told him to keep the price of it, he prostrated 
 himself and explained that our generosity was well placed, because 
 " those you saw yesterday are the chiefs, and I am poor." So 
 there are rich and poor everywhere. 
 
 With bright moonlight and a light westerly breeze, we 
 have a minimum of 24° below zero, and no longer camp in 
 sheltered corners, but on elevated places, where we at once 
 command the plain and are sufficiently removed from the heights 
 to have time to fire several shots at horsemen who might gallop 
 down on us. 
 
 We have some excellent watch-dogs, that keep us informed of 
 all that is going on in the camp. One of them, a mastiff' with a 
 long red coat, is in the habit of sleeping at a distance of over 
 
14 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 300 feet from the camp, and of keeping on the watch all night, 
 so that it would be he who would warn the two bassets set to 
 look after the tents. These excellent animals seem to under- 
 stand the importance of their task, and will not let any Thibetan 
 come near without our permission, so we can sleep in perfect 
 peace. 
 
 February 4. — This morning their barking announced the ap- 
 proach of some twenty horsemen, who halted at a distance of about 
 a third of a mile, pitched their tent, unsaddled their horses, and 
 settled themselves. Two of them came towards us, but the 
 dogs kept them at a distance, and they sat down and made signs, 
 as if to ask for an audience. The dogs having been called in, 
 one of the visitors opened the conversation in Mongolian with 
 Abdullah, avIio had been taught what to say ; and when the 
 Thibetans asked where we came from, he replied, " From the 
 North." 
 
 " Where are you going ? " 
 
 " In search of a good place." 
 
 "What are you doing? " 
 
 " We have come on the chase, and we have been led on 
 towards the south. Our horses and camels are dying of hunger, 
 and even some of our men have died. We are very tired, and 
 should like to rest." 
 
 " Stay here." 
 
 " Here, and eat the stones ! Until we have found a good 
 place we shall not stop." 
 
 " What is your country ? " 
 
 " We are men of the West." 
 
 " You are Pa-Lan, no doubt ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Ah, if you are Pa-Lan, I shall get into trouble if I let you 
 pass. Come and talk with us in our tent." 
 
 " I must ask permission of my chiefs." 
 
ABDULLAH AND THE THIBETANS. 15 
 
 Abdullah came and told us what had occurred, and received 
 permission to go and converse with the ambassadors, though he 
 was strictly cautioned to keep a watch over his words and to appear 
 ignorant when asked any awkward question. On his return he 
 reported that the men said that on the first day of our arrival 
 they sent a letter to Lhassa asking for orders, and that the reply 
 had come — 
 
 "If they are Pa-Lan " (that is, English or Russians), "let 
 them not come farther, but let them be supplied with what they 
 require for returning. If they are not Pa-Lan, ask them for 
 their passport and send them on to Lhassa." 
 
 The Thibetan chief expressed a wish to have an interview with 
 the chief of our party, but Abdullah put him off by saying that 
 his chief was taking his rest ; adding, " When he is ready, I will 
 inform you, and then you can come and bring him some butter." 
 When the Thibetans did come, Abdullah said, " You are too 
 petty chiefs to converse with ours ; but if you will sell some horses, 
 we will buy them of you ; if not, you may be off." Whereupon 
 they went off without saying anything, and sat down about a 
 hundred yards away. 
 
 In the meanwhile we packed our things and went on our 
 way, arriving by a pass of 15,700 feet upon a plateau, at the foot 
 of which, to the east, is a rather large lake, which we supposed to 
 be the " Burben-cho," as the shores were covered with salt, and we 
 had been told the water of this lake was so salt that one could 
 not keep it in the mouth. 
 
 We closed in as we drew near this lake, for numerous detach- 
 ments of armed horsemen appeared on the ridges, some of whom 
 advanced towards us. When the stragglers came up, we encamped 
 to the west of the lake, near a frozen spring, the water of which is 
 drinkable, and which receives the downpour from the hills, where 
 most of the Thibetan horsemen are going to pass the night. 
 They will be about a third of a mile from us, and we can see 
 
16 
 
 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 them lighting their fires and wandering about the plain to pick 
 up argol. 
 
 The Boultso, or Burben-cho, runs back into the mountains, 
 where it seems to form gulfs. So, at least, we judge, for the sun- 
 shine transforms it into some resemblance to the Lake of Lucerne. 
 
 TENT AT BURBEN-CHO (p. 23). 
 
 But this view is incorrect, for it is evident that we are the victims 
 of the mirage, and that the water we fancy we can see in the 
 distance does not exist. 
 
 The Burben-cho is a vast salt-pit enveloping what remains of 
 a lake, judging by what is seen on the banks. At the foot of 
 the platform, which was perhaps the shore to which the water 
 formerly attained, we find the traces of numerous camels, and by 
 the footmarks it is clear they must have remained several days. 
 It is probable that the Torgots sojourned here and pastured 
 their animals, for the grass is cropped very close, and ours 
 
THIBE TAN \ 1S1T0BS. 
 
 17 
 
 do not find anything to eat. There is, moreover, a total lack 
 of snow. 
 
 When we unload, the Thibetans come close up, and we 
 
 THIBETANS AT BURBE\-CHO. 
 
 recognise among them the meat-vendors of the previous day, 
 but we pretend not to see them, and leave the dogs to keep them 
 at a distance. So they return to their rocks, where they will 
 pass the night. They walk along very slowly, in conversation, 
 and I have no trouble in catching them up. I am anxious to get 
 a close view of them and to make the acquaintance of the old man 
 whom our interpreter describes as their chief. He is a little, old 
 31 
 
18 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 man, dressed like his subjects and quite as dirty, but he has 
 a nose which seems as if it were formed of three enormous mul- 
 berries, one representing the tip and the two others the nostrils. 
 This magisterial appendix, flanked by two small but intelligent 
 eyes, does not detract from the good-natured expression of his face, 
 round which his long hair flows in a fashion that reminds one of 
 the wig worn by the Grand Monarque. We look at each other with 
 keen interest, and having greeted Mongolian fashion, " Sen Bene, 
 Sen Bene !" I give him my card, in the shape of a lump of sugar. 
 He eyes me, mumbling something I cannot catch, and his com- 
 panions, whenever I look at them, turn their eyes away with alarm. 
 One of them attracts my special attention, for he is thin and 
 lanky, with hair hanging down his cheeks, an elongated, neck, and 
 emaciated face — quite the type of the scholastious in the farces 
 of the Middle Ages. I can scarcely help laughing when I 
 look at him ; but he is stiff and upright, and turns his face 
 away from mine, half in terror, half in disgust, muttering 
 " Pa-Lan, Pa-Lan," as if I were some sort of unclean 
 animal. They look at me again for a moment, and then 
 make off with the short rapid steps which are peculiar to 
 them, while their looped-up pelisses flap against their thighs 
 like petticoats. 
 
 February 5. — The cold is still intense, the minimum of last 
 night being 22° below zero ; but the wind has gone down. This 
 morning the old chief with a Louis XIV. head of hair returns, 
 escorted by twenty Thibetans. He again explains to the inter- 
 preter what a delicate position he is in, and that he will be punished 
 if he lets us through. Why could we not await the orders from 
 Lhassa in a nice place where we should get grass, fresh meat, water, 
 and everything we could desire ? He would like to present his 
 respects to us in person ; but we decline to receive him until he 
 has sold us some horses. We want them, and if he is well- 
 disposed, that is the best way of showing it. To this he replies 
 
TEE DUNG AN SHOWS HIS SEALS. 19 
 
 that lie will sell or even give us sheep, but that he dares not let 
 us have horses without an order. 
 
 Father Dedeken then goes to see him, and the old man offers 
 him three lumps of fat sewn up in a skin, which he places upon 
 a light scarf (called " the scarf of happiness ") spread upon the 
 ground, putting the other end of the scarf upon Father Dedeken's 
 knee. The latter asks him if this salt-pit is really the Burben-cho, 
 and the old man taps him on the arm, as much as to say, " Don't 
 make fun of me ; you know the country as well as I do." 
 
 He is very puzzled to know what to make of us, for we have no 
 Thibetans in our troop, and have arrived by a route which he 
 does not know himself, while we have no guide, and our band is 
 composed of men of various races in strange dress. We go along 
 without asking our way, halting near the ice at places where 
 others have already encamped, as if we were going over ground 
 we had traversed before. He then goes to the Dungan, and shows 
 him documents, with Chinese seals affixed to them, which confer 
 upon him the police powers he exercises. Then, thinking to 
 touch our camel-driver in a weak point, he adds — 
 
 " You say that you are Chinese, but every respectable China- 
 man travels with his papers in order, and cannot leave the country 
 without the permission of his mandarins. There is no saying 
 what your antecedents are." 
 
 This is too much for the Dungan, who pounces upon the 
 bag in which his papers are put away, unfolds them, and puts 
 them under the nose of the old Thibetan. 
 
 " There ! Have you any such papers as these ? Now do 
 you believe that I am an honest man ? Compare your papers 
 with mine. Your papers are those of a nobody — mine are 
 very different. My seals are double the size of yours, and 
 my passports were delivered by great mandarins, but your 
 diploma does not signify anything. By what right do you 
 meddle with my affairs, or dare to speak in such a way 
 
20 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 to a man who has in his possession passports with seals of 
 this size ? " 
 
 The argument of the seals is too much for the Thibetan, who 
 goes off clumfouncled. It is evident that these people do not 
 know who we are, and that they will not come to any decision 
 until they do. It is to our advantage not to enlighten them, as 
 we can do without their assistance. 
 
 So we march on through the bare steppe and climb a range of 
 hills, near the summit of which we encamp, beside a pass and not 
 far from an abundant spring which descends, in the form of ice, 
 towards the eastern part of the valley. On the other side of the 
 ice we see a black tent ; and as it is the first we have come within 
 reach of, go to have a look at it, and are greeted by the bark- 
 ing of four black dogs, which show their teeth, and seem 
 disposed to attack us but are called off by two people who come out 
 of the tent. One of these is very old, and is led by the other, 
 who is very diminutive. The elder, bent by years, has a head 
 which, with its close-cropped grey hair, reminds me of the 
 " Diogenes " of Velasquez. He has small weak eyes, out of which 
 he can scarcely see, and he takes Father Dedeken for a Chinaman, 
 and greets him with the word " Loïé." His companion is a girl 
 of about eight, who would perhaps be pretty if she were cleaner ; 
 but it is evident that she has never been washed, her round face, 
 with its imperceptible nose, being a mixture of black and yellow. 
 Her dress is a sheepskin, with a piece of wool to tie it in at the 
 waist ; and she carries a small knife in a leather sheath at her side. 
 Bareheaded like the old man, she wears her hair loose down her 
 back, with a plait twisted over the forehead. 
 
 We re-conduct the aged lama — for such we recognise him to be 
 by his close-cropped hair — back to his dwelling, and, after we have 
 given him some dried fruits, we begin to converse. He assures 
 us that the salt-pit near which we encamped yesterday was the 
 JJurben-cho, and tells us that the chain of mountains is called 
 
•^ ray) ■*■■>. f^rfï. 
 
THE LAMA'S TENT. 23 
 
 the Burben-cho Be (the mountain of Burben-cho), and that the 
 Namtso is at four clays' march by a very easy route. This poor 
 old man is very amiable, and we ask him for some milk, as we see 
 that he has numerous yaks feeding lower down, but he says the 
 grass is so bare that they are now nearly dry. 
 
 Their tent is made of a sort of black woollen stuff, and it 
 covers a surface of about four yards square ; it is kept up at the 
 corners by pegs that are attached to other pegs by means of 
 long ropes that can either be pulled taut or loosened as 
 required. The black mass from which all these ropes are stretched 
 has the aspect of a vast spider with an eye in the back, this being 
 the opening for the smoke at the top. The door of the tent is 
 to the east, owing to the prevalence of westerly winds, protection 
 against which is afforded by a high wall of argol, which is much 
 used for constructions of various kinds. 
 
 While looking over this domain we observe what appear to 
 be round ovens, or mounds coming about up to one's waist. These 
 are silos, constructed of argol on the level of the soil, probably 
 because it would be difficult to dig into it, and they contain bits 
 of stuff, tufts of wool, and even high, broad-brimmed hats, or 
 head-dresses, while yak-skins are spread out near the tent, 
 close to small round pots of red earth. Slabs of schist, with 
 prayers engraved on them, are deposited behind the tent ; that is 
 to say, in the direction of the west wind, which is supposed to 
 utter them as it goes by. 
 
 Some distance off is the site of an abandoned tent, which 
 enables us to form an idea of what a Thibetan interior is like. 
 A number of stones are put together in a square, and form a sort 
 of substructure for the tent. In the centre is an oven made of 
 clay and flat stones, while in the corner is a box for holding argol, 
 where we in France should have one for fire-wood. The saddle 
 and mill are of the most primitive kind, and among other objects 
 are a basket made of withies and the skull of a yak converted 
 
24 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 into a vase. A few round stones have been used as pestles or 
 hammers, while the objects the owners have wished to keep and 
 use again on their return have been put away in one of the 
 silos. Another contains a great many droppings of lambs, and 
 it is doubtless in these places that the lambs are sheltered, while 
 their parents sleep in the open. 
 
 February 6. — The light being bad yesterday, it was not till 
 this morning that Prince Henry could photograph this dwelling, 
 and the operation was a more complicated one than might be 
 imagined, for it was necessary to keep clear of the dogs and, if pos- 
 sible, get a portrait of the inhabitants.* We have great difficulty 
 in beating off the angiw clogs, when a man with a long nose and a 
 very high forehead comes out and calls them off by throwing 
 them bits of dried yak ; and while we are getting the apparatus 
 ready, a woman's head peers out from behind the curtain of the 
 tent. She is quite a caricature of a human being, her profile 
 being that of a monkej^, just touched up so as to make her slightly 
 resemble a woman. By dint of giving her plenty of raisins, 
 peaches, and apricots, we get her to put out the rest of her body, 
 and, urged on by the old man whose acquaintance we made 
 yesterday, she stands at the door, holding her daughter by the 
 hand. She is very diminutive in stature, and clad of course in 
 sheepskin. Her eyes are horizontal, and the pupil is a mere 
 speck of brown merged in a very dark-stained cornea almost 
 as brown ; the cheek-bones are prominent, the chin broad and 
 protruding. She keeps her mouth open, her thick lips being 
 puckered up, so that she has a good-humoured but unintelligent 
 smile. Her hair, parted on the forehead, falls down over 
 her cheeks and back in small tresses ornamented with stones and 
 shells, and tied together at the ends with a bit of ribbon. 
 She cannot be called good-looking, but we have succeeded in 
 
 * M. Bouvalot does not say the occupants of the tent had returned during the night,. 
 but this is to be inferred. — Translator's Note. 
 
AN UNFRIENDLY RECEPTION. 
 
 25 
 
 winning lier goodwill and that of the men of her family, for 
 
 when we give her another bit of sugar, she and the man stretch 
 
 out their thumbs and clasp 
 
 their hands, this being their 
 
 way of saying a friendly 
 
 gfood-bve. 
 
 After going eastwards 
 along the chain of Bur- 
 ben -cho, we made a bend to 
 the south-east, where we 
 came upon the route which 
 we had momentarily lost 
 sight of, and encamped in a 
 valley near some tents, where 
 we met with a rather un- 
 friendly reception from both 
 men and dogs. We suc- 
 ceeded, however, in getting a 
 little argol ; but as to milk, 
 it was impossible to obtain a 
 drop, the yaks not yielding 
 any. 
 
 It is high time, neverthe- 
 less, that the Thibetans 
 should show us a little good- 
 will, for old Imatch is quite done up. He cannot stand, and 
 can only creep along on his knees. He has to be helped on 
 to his horse, and yesterday he begged us to abandon him on 
 the route, saying that he was doomed, and could be of no 
 further use to us. We do the best we can, but are powerless 
 to relieve him. Parpa has fallen down several times during the 
 day's march, and we have had to go and fetch him with a camel 
 at a hundred yards from the bivouac, which he could not reach. 
 32 
 
 .v&J 
 
 A PETTY CHIEF (p. 27). 
 
26 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 Little Abdullah is not much better ; he can only get along by 
 holding on to the girth of a camel, and is incapable of carrying 
 his gun. We absolutely must have horses, and shall seize them 
 at the first opportunity. 
 
 February S. — Last night a south-westerly wind blew with 
 great violence, and this morning our men complain of headache 
 and singing in the ears, while Imatch and the others who are 
 ill groan lamentably. So we start in poor spirits for the pass, 
 the summit of which is indicated by an obo. 
 
 Orders have no doubt been sent to the Thibetans, for 
 the flocks have been dispersed since daybreak, and we cannot 
 get within reach of the horses ; while in the tents we pass, there 
 are only old people, women, and children, the men, with their 
 arms, having made off. It is evident that a void is being made 
 around us, and though so far we have been very gentle in our 
 dealings, we must now resort to other methods. 
 
 At the foot of the pass, near a frozen stream, we saw three 
 men eatiug zamba, which they were cooking at an aryol-ûre. 
 We went up to them and asked for a horse for a sick man. 
 They feigned not to understand, and would not even look at the 
 money we offered them ; but as their horses were close by, we took 
 one for Parpa, and kept them at a distance with our revolvers. 
 
 February 9. — Luring the night the sheep purchased from 
 the first lot of Thibetans were stolen. We are determined that 
 whenever we require fresh meat we will take it. 
 
 The pass is 17,300 feet high, and the descent an easy one, 
 leading to a valley in which we see, for the first time, white tents, 
 occupied by armed men. As soon as they notice us they run off 
 to collect their horses, which are roaming about. At the foot of 
 the pass we see — also for the first time — a large number of prayers 
 engraved upon the stones, as mentioned by Father Hue, in his 
 description of the high road of the pilgrims. It is clear, there- 
 fore, that we are drawing near to the holy city. 
 
A TIPSY CHIEF. 27 
 
 I should have mentioned that on the 8th about forty armed 
 horsemen hovered about our camp, and the old man with the 
 bulbous nose who speaks Mongolian came with another chief 
 better dressed than himself, and almost clean. He begged us to 
 halt, " for our lives were at stake." We asked him to cease 
 joking at a time when two of our men were very ill. 
 
 Climbing another pass, we can see from the top, despite the 
 mist and the dust, a corner of the great lake below us ; and to 
 the south, much farther up, some white peaks, which seem to 
 emerge from a formidable chain, not impossibly the Singling 
 Tangla. We are approaching a group of mountains, the passes 
 are more numerous, and the route follows valleys a mile or two 
 wide, the country having the aspect of the Pamir. 
 
 The west wind tries us very much, but, nevertheless, it seems 
 as if winter were about to end, for we have seen a flight 
 of pigeons and another of sparrows. Wild asses and antelopes 
 abound, and we notice a number of small lakes which are 
 gradually drying up, their shores being white with salt. 
 
 February 10. — We are now in a steppe covered in many 
 places with stones, and here and there with grass. While scaling 
 yet another pass, we again come upon very distinct footmarks of 
 camels dating from last year. 
 
 February 11. — We traverse a valley which is a marsh during 
 the rainy season, and in the course of the march receive a 
 visit from a Thibetan chief who seems to us to be tipsy. He 
 wears a red cloak and boots of the same colour, and carries in his 
 hand a prayer-mill with plates of silver on it, which he turns 
 incessantly. He has come all the way to say to us in Mongolian, 
 " Tengri mo sen, ta mo sen, char mo sen;" which means, "Sky 
 not good, horse not good, town not good." Thereupon he 
 galloped off, having told us nothing new, except that some 
 Mongolian pilgrims must have made a stay in his country, for 
 he had picked up a few words of their language. 
 
28 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 February 12. — À violent west wind seals the fate of poor old 
 Imatcli. He sobs when the time comes for starting, and send- 
 ing for Parpa savs : " You remember that I am in your debt. 
 At Tcharkalik I bought some boots of you, and did not pay for 
 them. If Allah pleases to let me get better, I will pay you for 
 them. If I die, you will pay yourself with what I have left, and 
 keep the rest; for you gave me to drink during the night." 
 
 I try to cheer him up by saying that we shall soon reach a 
 town, and that we are all fond of him, and anxious to nurse him. 
 He says : " Thank you, and forgive me if I do not attend to 
 my work. But I cannot. Death is at hand, and has already 
 taken possession of my legs. Forgive me. I will not sob any 
 more. I will not give way to despair. It is all over." 
 
 We get the poor fellow mounted as best we can, and start 
 very downhearted, resuming our course to the south-east. For 
 the first time we see upon the heads of three very ugly women 
 a tall head-dress, not unlike a pope's tiara. Our stage, though 
 longer than that of yesterday, in order that we may encamp near 
 a lake, is only ten miles, so exhausted are we. 
 
 A number of sheep are feeding close by, and as, whenever we 
 try to speak to the natives, they make off, we determine to kill 
 some of the flock for our personal use. The old woman who is in 
 charge of them makes off, uttering piercing shrieks. lîachmed 
 has had the good sense to pick out some fine fat lambs. In the 
 rough ground near the lake we see some men encamped, with 
 five or six horses close at hand, and Prince Henry and myself 
 determine to try and seize them. The Thibetans make a dash 
 to be off, but not in time to prevent our securing one of their 
 horses, their leader, and one of his men. Their weapons had 
 been laid down in a heap, and they did not make any effort to 
 prevent us seizing them, but were up on their horses and off. 
 We fired a few shots from a revolver after them, which only 
 quickened their flight. 
 
THE CAPTIVE CHIEF 
 
 29 
 
 The old man whom we have made prisoner sits dazed, and 
 puts out his tongue in a most beseeching way. He has a lot of 
 small bags containing provisions, and he offers us in turn, b}^ way 
 of mollifying us, handfuls of powdered cheese, zamha, and dried 
 meat. These we refuse, and he sits there muttering prayers and 
 
 LAKE NAMTSO (p. 32). 
 
 looking at us with evident anxiety and fear. After letting him 
 be alarmed for the moment, we proceed, when the rest of our men 
 have come up, to explain that if we want horses it is because 
 several of our men cannot walk, and that we are prepared to pay 
 a good price, while be raises his thumb by way of satisfaction 
 when we call him " appa," " popeunn -' ("father," "brother"). 
 
 Our dogs alarm him very much, and he begs us to call them 
 away ; but we reassure him by saying that they do not bite those 
 whom we call " brothers." Then we give him a supply of sugar, 
 and when be has tasted it he cannot hide his satisfaction, while 
 
30 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 after he has had some raisins and apricots, he in turn calls us 
 " brothers." Then we show him silver bars, and bargain 
 with him for his horse, while, to prove that our intentions are 
 good, we set his companion at liberty and allow him to carry 
 off his pelisse. The latter jumps at the offer, and skelters off 
 without any concern for his master. 
 
 At this juncture a horseman arrives with a red pendant 
 fastened to the barrel of his gun. He says that he is the owner 
 of the sheep killed by Rachmed, and we at once offer him some 
 tea, which he drinks out of a cup done up in his pelisse, as his 
 religion forbids men of his race to let their lips touch any- 
 thing which impure lips have approached. This may appear 
 singular to Europeans, and is perhaps only a preventive against 
 certain contagious diseases, very necessary in a country where 
 the crockery is never washed. 
 
 In the meanwhile a silver bar has been taken out of a bag and 
 shown to him. He asks to be allowed to test it ; and when we 
 tell him that the stamp which he has noticed is Pekin, he seems 
 reassured, and repeats " Pétsin, Pétsin." Nevertheless, when we 
 weigh him out the price of Iris lambs, he again examines the 
 money before putting it into a small bag hanging round his neck. 
 When we give him a small handglass, he does not at first 
 understand its use ; but when the chief, our prisoner, sees 
 himself in it, he laughs almost like an idiot, and explains the 
 secret to his friend, the latter going off in high glee. The 
 prisoner himself is quite at ease, and asks to be allowed to 
 sleep where he is, only begging us to keep off the dogs and let 
 him have a mirror. This we promise, and in the meanwhile pay 
 him for his horse, which we fasten up close to our tents. 
 
 February 13. — Our dogs barked all night, and were answered 
 by others in the distance, while in the semi-darkness that precedes 
 day the wolves were howling dolefully. At this moment, as 
 I go out of the tent, Rachmed comes to say that Imatch has just 
 
THE DEATH OF IMATCH. 31 
 
 died. Yesterday, when I asked him how he was, he replied 
 " Better," and, though his breath was short and his face swollen, 
 he drank his tea with pleasure. He took an interest, too, 
 in what was going on in the tent, and I had noticed him 
 putting argots on the fire, from sheer force of habit, like the 
 true man of the steppe he was. Placing him near the entrance 
 to the tent, which was his favourite place, we had rolled him well 
 up in his pelisse and rugs, and he had stretched himself out 
 to sleep. When asked if there was anything he would like, he 
 said "No," and we did not think his end was so near. Eachmed's 
 account of his last moments was as follows : — 
 
 " When the wolves howled, Imatch called out, 'Parpa, give 
 me some water; I am thirsty.' To which Parpa replied, 'The 
 water is frozen, but I will go and light a fire and melt some ice 
 for you to drink.' Then, when the ice was ready, Imatch drank 
 it without help, but with some difficulty, and said how glad he 
 was to quench his last thirst. Then he stretched himself out and 
 began to groan a little. All at once he jumped up, went out of 
 the tent on his knees, and returned to his couch. We got the tea 
 ready, and offered him a cup as soon as it was made. But he could 
 not keep down the first mouthful, and, putting back the cup, he 
 called us all — ' Timour, Iça, Abdullah, Parpa, Eachmed ! ' We 
 all gathered round him, and, raising himself on his elbow, he 
 uttered the following words, broken by sighs : ' I shall not arrive. 
 Allah will not take me any farther. Grood-bye. I am very pleased 
 with you all. You have taken great care of me. Good-bye. I 
 am gone ! ' He fell back, and in a moment his spirit had fled." 
 
 Such is the narrative to which we listen by the glimmer of our 
 lantern, for day has not yet dawned, and as soon as it is light we 
 will bury, him in a hollow spot down in the quagmire. Imatch 
 had followed us all the way from Djarkent, from the frontier of 
 Siberia. We all liked him ; for if he was rough of speech, he was 
 good-hearted, plucky, and a hard worker. He took great care of 
 
32 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 his camels, which had formerly belonged to him in part; but 
 having fallen into the clutches of a usurer, he had to sell them 
 and become the servant of his creditor, who had sold them to us 
 for at least double what he had paid Imatch for them. As we 
 paid him high wages, he reckoned upon being able to purchase 
 back his camels and " become Imatch himself again," as he put it. 
 
 But Allah had decided otherwise, and the poor Kirghis will 
 not see his native steppe again. We lay him in the earth, 
 wrapped in the felt which served him for a bed. We turn his 
 face to the south-east, and our men bring stones and earth to 
 cover his body, while prayers are recited with the accompaniment 
 of sobs and tears. 
 
 Then we prepare to start for the Namtso, which, according to 
 onr prisoner, whom we set at liberty, giving him presents, and 
 letting him have the arms we captured yesterday, is on the 
 other side of a chain of hills over which our road leads. The 
 certainty that the Tengri Nor — the Namtso, as the Thibetans 
 say — is there, gives us fresh vigour, and we only regret our horses 
 cannot follow us. Father Dedeken and Prince Henry have to 
 abandon theirs, and only two were destined to reach the holy 
 lake. 
 
 When we get to the summit of the pass, we perceive the 
 Ningling Tangla and the eastern extremity of the lake, and 
 we scale the neighbouring heights, so as to take in a wider 
 horizon. At our feet, between cliffs to the west, from which 
 descend promontories, forming gulfs and bays, the lake glitters 
 like a beautiful silver mirror, round in shape, but oval like an 
 egs*. To the south-west the lake skirts a hill, and extends much 
 farther ; but whether this hill forms part of an island or a 
 peninsula we cannot tell. The Ningling Tangla arrests our 
 attention much longer, as this chain unfolds before us its summits 
 and peaks capped with snow, quite shutting out the horizon. 
 We are struck by the nearly equal altitude of this long row of 
 
THE SINGLING TAKGLA. 
 
 33 
 
 peaks, surmounting spurs which descend towards the lake in 
 regular rows like the tents of an encamped army ; and just in 
 the centre we can see, towering over all the rest, four large icy 
 peaks which the Thibetans revere, for behind them is Lhassa, the 
 " cit} r of the spirits." 
 
 Descending the stony and sandy slope, we reached the shores 
 of the lake. Looking at the lake from the northern side, we did 
 not see any snow upon the ridge which skirts it, whereas the 
 Ningling Tangla is quite white, thus illustrating the Thibetan 
 saying, " The water of the Namtso is made of the snow of the 
 Singling Tangla." 
 
 As we go southward the lake seems to open out in a south- 
 westerly direction ; and as long as the mist prevents us from 
 seeing the end of it, we might take it to be a boundless sea. 
 The evening sun, striking the ice, makes it sparkle like jewels ; 
 and we can well appreciate the origin of its name, " the lake of 
 heaven." 
 
 PACK HOUSES. 
 
 33 
 
 
 tffm 
 
 Go* 
 
 .•>■ 
 
34 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 AWAITING ORDERS FROM LHASSA. 
 
 At Namtso — Encamping Near Ningling Tangla Pass — An Embassage — The Thibetans Un- 
 decided — The Caravan in Battle Array — A Mandarin — A Mongolian Interpreter— Arrival 
 of the Arnban from Lhassa — Giving Him Audience — His Suite and Their Costumes —A 
 Long Interview — The Thibetans' New Year's Day — In the Amban's Tent — Gibeonites 
 — Another Mongolian Interpreter— The Apathy of Thibetans — A Storm — Arrival of 
 the Ta-Lama and the Ta- Amban— Plain Speaking — Refusal to Return — The Ta-Lama 
 and the Ta-Amban Described — Abdullah and the Dungan at their Devotions — Colloquy 
 between Rachmed and Timour — Thibetans at Work — Their General Characteristics — 
 Carnivorous Horses — The Samda Kansain Mountains — The Samda Tchou River — A Blade 
 of Grass— How They do Business at Lhassa. 
 
 Our arrival at Namtso is an im- 
 portant event for us. Although 
 we are the first Europeans 
 actually to behold it, it is 
 marked ou the maps, thanks to 
 the researches of the pundit 
 Nain-Singh. At last we are 
 safe out of the unknown country 
 in which we have been since 
 leaving the pass of Amban 
 Ashkan Dawan, and we know 
 now where we are. This 
 thought would cheer us but for 
 the pitiful condition of our 
 little troop, for our camels have no strength, and all means of 
 transport will soon fail us. 
 
 We purpose staying here a day, not so much to rest our 
 beasts — for they are too far gone to enjoy a rest — as to prolong 
 their lives a little by letting them feed on the grass which sur- 
 rounds our camp pretty thickly. Up till now we have not seen 
 the envo}'s of the authorities at Lhassa, a fact which causes us 
 
 RELIGIOUS INSIGNIA. 
 
A DAY'S SHOOTING. 35 
 
 no little astonishment, for they ought to have been advised of our 
 arrival some time ago, our stages having been very short ones 
 since we first met with the men, and couriers having had plenty 
 of time to convey the information. 
 
 It is probable, however, that we shall very soon have an 
 opportunity of demanding an explanation from the natives, for 
 a movement is visible in the little plain formed by the old bed 
 of the lake. Bodies of men on horseback are passing at some 
 distance from our camp, and are going south. Their intention, 
 doubtless, is to gather at the pass by which we shall try to climb 
 the Ningling Tangla. I say advisedly " shall try," for a worn- 
 out band can attempt nothing with any assurance of success. 
 Should we encounter a difficult road, we should have to stop, 
 unless favoured by luck, which it does not do to count upon. 
 We are not reduced, however, to the last extremit}^, for we have 
 still provisions, meat, and tea enough for several months, besides 
 sugar, preserved vegetables, and ammunition, while deer, ptarmi- 
 gan, and wild asses are within shooting range, and make excellent 
 food. But strength is failing, both in man and beast. 
 
 We pass the day shooting, and besides the meat of the 
 wild asses, which we procure in this way, we enrich our collection 
 of lammergeiers and vultures. On the borders of the lake we 
 notice the steam from hot salt-springs, amidst the rocks which 
 rise at the north end. Here and there some stunted junipers 
 are growing. It is a long time since we have seen any 
 semblance of vegetation, and our men literally shout for joy. 
 Our instruments tell us that we are at an altitude of 15,321 feet, 
 this being very near to the estimate of Nam-Singh, who puts it 
 at 15,400 feet. 
 
 February 15. — To-day we do another ten miles to the south, 
 crossing at the head of the lake a river which, runs into it. This 
 river divides into several small arms which thaw during a part 
 of the day only, and that merely on the surface, so that the 
 
36 AC BOS S THIBET. 
 
 water flows on the top of the ice. Whilst crossing it some of 
 ns have an unexpected foot-bath, a thing to which we have for 
 a long time been strangers. 
 
 We proceeded to set up our tents not far from the pass which 
 crosses the Singling Tangla, on the east of which are some 
 magnificent peaks, the highest two of which we christened Hue 
 and Gabet, in memory of the courageous missionaries who pene- 
 trated to Lhassa. 
 
 On the other side of the ice we were awaited by some of the 
 horsemen whom we had seen, and amongst their number was one 
 who spoke a little Mongolian. He was in the midst of a group 
 of men whose costume, which was comparatively clean, showed 
 them to be chiefs. All round us were scattered, at a respectful 
 distance, numerous small bands, making several hundred men in 
 all, so that we closed up our ranks and grasped our rifles. The 
 first use we made of the interpreter, who approached to present 
 his superiors to us, was to ask him to inform his compatriots 
 that we should fire on any horsemen who approached us, and that 
 consequently they would do well to keep their distance until we 
 had seen the " great chiefs " with whom we wished to speak, and 
 from whom we should learn whether we were in a friendly or 
 hostile country. We added that, according to the custom of our 
 own country, it would be becoming to wait until we had pitched 
 our tents before conversing, and at the same time, with our 
 whips, we scattered several who had come too close. 
 
 When we had pitched our tents on a slight elevation to the 
 left of the road, the ambassadors came up and were received by 
 Dedeken and Abdullah at the fire of the Dungan. Their first 
 business was to hand us, as presents, some packets of rancid 
 butter and a stone bottle, of European manufacture, containing 
 a spirit made from barley, and not unpalatable. They then 
 informed us, through Akoun, that they had been sent from 
 Lhassa to ask us who we were. During the conversation we 
 
AN EMBASSAGE. 37 
 
 examined their horses, which seemed excellent. Their baggage 
 was transported by mules, which were very strong, though of 
 small build. After some time, through one of our men, they 
 asked permission to visit us, but we refused on the plea that 
 we did not speak their language, and that they were not of 
 sufficiently high rank. It is absolutely necessary to give people 
 a high opinion of yourself when you are travelling in the East 
 and meet with strangers. As they quitted the camp we saw that 
 they were well-clothed, in the Chinese fashion, that they were 
 taller and stouter than those of their fellow-countrymen whom 
 we had so far come across, and that, from their polished manners, 
 they evidently belonged to a town. 
 
 Dedeken and Abdullah reported their conversation to us. They 
 presented themselves to us as envo} 7 s of the Talai Lama and of the 
 Amban of Lhassa, the former being the highest religious authority, 
 and the latter one of the greatest civic personages, a sort of 
 Under-Secretary of State. They wished to see our papers, to 
 know who we were, for what purpose we were travelling, etc. 
 By way of answer to these questions we complained of the manner 
 in which we had been received en route ; adding that we could 
 not obtain any help, purchase provisions, or hire beasts of 
 burden ; that we failed to understand such treatment, seeing that 
 we had paid generously for what we had bought on the first day, 
 but that, notwithstanding, we had been obliged to seize things 
 by force ; and that if they continued to treat us as highwaymen, 
 we should behave as such. Thereupon a lama, clad in yellow silk 
 and decorated with the bright blue button, spoke volubly and 
 expressed his regrets that we had been so treated, begging us to 
 understand that no one looked for proper behaviour from savages, 
 from " Si fantse," assuring us at the same time that we should, 
 for the future, have no cause to complain. Finally, he urged us 
 to hand him our papers, and to remain where we were, when our 
 wants would be supplied. Dedeken replied that we had need of 
 
38 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 rest, and that we wished to stop at a more convenient spot. 
 Abdullah made ns laugh by repeating the illustrations he had 
 used when speaking to these savages, as, when he handed them 
 sugar and bade them remark its whiteness, " Such is the whiteness 
 of our intentions," or, when they drank their tea, "You like it, 
 though, before you drank it, you did not like it. So will it be 
 with us : when 3'ou have made our acquaintance you will like us 
 as much as you do the tea." 
 
 We comment on the events of the day, seated round our pot, 
 in which the rancid butter they have given us is melting and emit- 
 ting a somewhat disagreeable odour. We come to the conclusion 
 that the Thibetans do not know what to decide, and that their 
 orders with regard to us are vague. It is probable that we might 
 pursue our journey without their daring to stop us ; but, unfortu- 
 nately, we have no means of going on, for our beasts are dying. 
 We determine, however, to move on the morrow as far as pos- 
 sible, convinced that the stage will be an exceedingly short one. 
 
 Febn/ary 16. — The envoys return to the charge, and try to 
 convince us that we could not do better than stay where we are. 
 They again ask for our papers, and this time learn our nationality. 
 We send them back without any answer, merely urging them to 
 find a better interpreter of Mongolian, for we cannot understand 
 one another. 
 
 We set out on our journey in our best battle-array, with riHes 
 on our shoulders, for the plain swarms with horsemen. It seems as 
 though they had mustered all their warriors — doubtless to frighten 
 us. We enter the pass which rises gently over the ridges, at the 
 bottom of which winds a frozen river. Nothing happens as we 
 cross it, and on the other side we find waiting the envoys whom 
 we had seen the night before. They beg us to remain so as 
 to talk amicably with the Amban, who is on his way from 
 Lhassa, for they have already made preparations to receive him 
 at the bottom of the pass. On the left bank of the frozen 
 
THE AMBAN. 39 
 
 river which we are descending-, we see numerous black tents, 
 yaks with pack-saddles, and some roomy white canvas tents. 
 We refuse to halt, protesting that we do not understand what 
 they say, as none of them speaks Chinese. Thereupon one of 
 them, the lama, clad in yellow, whose features had already re- 
 vealed to us his Chinese origin, proceeds immediately to address 
 us in that language. "Stop, I beg of you," he urges; "beyond 
 the pass you will find bitter water, no grass ; it is a regular 
 desert. You may believe me ; if, however, you doubt my word, 
 I will lend } t ou my horse, and you can assure yourselves that 
 I am speaking the truth." 
 
 My first thought was to accept this offer, and ask for two 
 horses, to rejoin our camels which had gone on a little ahead 
 during these negotiations ; to order Eachmed to put up tea, sugar, 
 bread, and meat for a week, and then to make with him for Lhassa. 
 But this would have meant leaving our companions in a difficult 
 position, and I quickly abandoned the idea, for this was no time 
 for quitting the helm. At the very moment when these thoughts 
 occurred to me one of our camels fell, never to rise again, and our 
 last horse also fell, so we ordered the vanguard to draw back. 
 
 At the same time, escorted by horsemen, and very closely 
 muffled, a mandarin with the blue button comes up, dismounts, 
 and, raising the formidable glasses which shade his eyes, discloses 
 to us a smooth face, intelligent and affable. Our interpreter 
 presents him to us as the Amban himself, who wishes to greet us 
 immediately on his arrival, and asks an audience for the morrow. 
 
 He then retires, leaving us to discuss matters with the lama 
 (who speaks Chinese) and his interpreter. The latter is a Mon- 
 gol, with a fat, jovial, smiling face, with thick lips, beyond 
 which protrudes a very long tooth, giving him when he gapes — 
 and he is always gaping — a good-natured appearance. He as- 
 sures us that the Amban is a very good fellow, and that we shall 
 be well satisfied when we come to discuss our affairs the next 
 
40 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 day with him. We try to drag some information out of this in- 
 terpreter, but lie shows remarkable discretion, and our questions 
 onl} T make him leave us quicker than he would otherwise have 
 done. He is evidently restrained by the presence of the Chinese 
 lama, or perhaps he is discreet in obedience to strict orders. 
 
 February 17. — Things have not turned out badly, and we still 
 hope to reach Batang. It is a question of committing no blunder, 
 of winning over the natives, of inspiring them with confidence. 
 It is exactly three months since our departure from Tcharkalik, 
 during which time we have lived in a desert, climbed many 
 mountain chains, drunk frozen water, lit fires with dead wood, 
 and shivered under the west wind. And to-day we awake at a 
 height of 17,560 feet. A strong west wind is blowing, and we 
 are just going to drink our tea round our miserable little fire. 
 The only change in our existence is that our advance is checked 
 owing to our want of strength, and also because the object which 
 we have in view is still so very far off that we can never hope to 
 reach it with our own resources ; and, therefore, we must get all 
 the help we can from these Thibetans. 
 
 Our circumstances certainly leave much to be desired. In 
 the first place, the food is such that the least fastidious appetite 
 wearies of it. Our bill of fare is always the same : meat boiled 
 in mutton fat, tea that never really boils on account of our 
 altitude, and made with water that is sometimes brackish and 
 always dirty, which we get by melting ice that is full of im- 
 purities. The frozen meat, too, which we have to chop with an 
 axe, is always tough, and never cooked through, while when we 
 try vegetables or rice, we find it impossible to soften them, and 
 they crackle between our teeth. The dust, mud, and sand that 
 we have swallowed, and the numerous hairs from our furs and 
 beasts, which we find in our food, are things to which we have long 
 ceased to pay any attention, for here we have no longer any 
 pretensions to cleanliness, and we have come to consider even a 
 
THE ÂMBAN ANNOUNCED. 
 
 41 
 
 washing of the hands as a thing of the past. Our cheeks 
 puffed out with the cold, our swollen eyes, our chapped lips, 
 do not differ much in appearance from those of the natives ; 
 and presenting such an aspect we cannot make a very good im- 
 pression upon people who see us for the first time. We must 
 trust to our actions to rectify the erroneous impression which, at 
 first sight, we cannot fail to convey. 
 
 But here is someone to announce the Amban. We stretch 
 a clean skin in our men's tent, which is of considerable size, and 
 calmly await the coming of the plenipotentiary from Lhassa. He 
 arrives on foot, accompanied by from fifteen to twenty inferior 
 chiefs of various sizes. Having saluted us politely and with ease, 
 he presents us with the cata, the scarf which is the native 
 visiting card, and lays presents at our feet — bands of a cotton 
 stuff called poulou, red and yellow and worked with small 
 crosses ; then butter in sewn skins, and sacks of zamba, i.e. 
 fried barley-meal. We beg him to take a seat in our tent, where- 
 
 THE PETTY AMBAN. 
 
 34 
 
4-2 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 upon one of his men la} T s clown a small carpet on which the 
 Amhan takes his place. On his right is an old lama, whose head 
 reminds us of a wrinkled apple — beardless, with shaven head, fat, 
 and insignificant, with a rosary in his hand. On his left is the 
 Chinese mandarin, wearing a rich Chinese costume. He has regular 
 features, smooth chin, thick lips, white teeth, swollen eyelids, 
 dark, contracted eyes, with a sly look, and altogether a face that 
 is cunning and sarcastic. Next are drawn up, on the side of the 
 tent which is not reserved for us, various lamas, who crowd to- 
 gether near the entrance, whilst a crowd of servants stand and 
 watch the proceedings. These lamas are of an inferior rank, and 
 have the tanned faces of men who live much in the open. Their 
 features are large, and many of them have a Mongolian cast, with 
 their snub noses, prominent cheek-bones, and small e}'es ; at all 
 events, they seem to us by no means of pure Thibetan blood. 
 
 Their head-dresses are many and various, ranging from the 
 Chinese hat to the Crusader's hooded cloak, the half turban of the 
 date of Charles VIL, and monk's hood ; we can recognise them all. 
 The cut and colour of their clothes, too, vary, and they wear red, 
 green, yellow, and black. Our tent reminds us of a stage on which 
 the actors are preparing to play La Tour de Nesle, with the 
 characters clad in the garments of the Middle Ages. These 
 lamas in their variegated and picturesque costumes do not look 
 ill-disposed, and, as is becoming to " supers," do not breathe a 
 single word, but squat there on their heels, with an air of indif- 
 ference to what is going on. The leading character is evidently 
 the Amban, a man of moderate size, and quick action. His face 
 is broad and round, his eyes, which are black and of a European 
 cast, have a look of sincerity in them ; his lips are thick, his nose 
 straight and broad at the end; his forehead prominent; his hair 
 plaited, and done up in bands like that of European women. 
 Altogether he looks a man of considerable intelligence. He 
 speaks in a hoarse voice, telling his beads with long tapering 
 
THE AMBAN QUESTIONS US. 43 
 
 fingers, and keeping his head bent towards the ground. He 
 pours forth a long tirade in a single breath and a monotonous 
 voice : — " We have orders to stop you wherever we meet you, 
 and to force you to retrace your steps," he first remarks. We 
 reply with a smile that they must not think of making us draw 
 back one single step, for we are sick of these tablelands. As to 
 stopping us, that would be useless, since we have halted here 
 for a conference. But, though tired, we do not want to rest 
 too long, for we are anxious to reach a milder climate. 
 
 " Will you go back ? " 
 
 "No, no," we reply; " we would rather die. Ask any one of 
 our men whether he would not prefer to die straight off than to 
 go through that fearful journey again." 
 
 " We will supply you with all you want for the return." 
 
 "It is no good talking of that, for our mind is fully made 
 up. Please, do not reopen the question, for you will only waste 
 your time. Besides, even if we were willing, we could not do 
 so, for without camels w r e could not manage it, and you have 
 none to give us." 
 
 " Where, then, do you want to go ? " 
 
 " Merely to rest in some convenient spot, for we are sick and 
 worn out. We have no more horses, our camels are dying, two 
 of our servants are dead, and to force us to stop here would mean 
 death to us." 
 
 " After you have rested, where will you go ? " 
 
 " We will make for Batang, and, then, striking the Yang-Tse- 
 Kiang, follow it to the sea." 
 
 " What is the object of your journey ? " 
 
 " Simply to look about, to shoot, and to improve our minds." 
 
 " Have you seen the Khan of the Torgots ? " 
 
 " No, we have not." 
 
 " By what road did you come ? " 
 
 " By one that we discovered for ourselves." 
 
44 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 " Did } T ou leave your own country long ago ? " 
 
 " It was summer when we left it last year." 
 
 '•' Are 3 t ou Eussians ? " 
 
 " No, we are not." 
 
 What we say does not seem to convince them. The Amban 
 utters a few words, and someone brings in a packet enveloped 
 in a packing-cloth. From it he produces a box which he opens, 
 and draws out a paper folded like a cravat. This he reads, and 
 then asks for the details of our journey. How many there 
 were at starting, how many horses and camels we had, what 
 arms, our names, and those of our men, etc. 
 
 We reply to each question, and the Chinese mandarin writes 
 down our names in a sadly mutilated form. The three envo} T s 
 then interchange a few words, after which the Amban, taking 
 the sheet again, says, " Here is an order which I received two 
 months ago from Pekin. It is an order to stop the Eussians, 
 Pètsou * of Petsokou arriving with Lobolou and thirty men." 
 (Then followed a list of camels, guns, etc.) " You are neither 
 Pètsou nor Lobolou, for the names which, you have given us do 
 not in the least resemble these. Written information has reached 
 us that Niklaï (Nicolas Prjevalsky) is dead, and that Pètsou has 
 taken command of the men whom he had got together so as to 
 reach Lhassa. We have also been told that other Eussians, f less 
 numerous, are travelling in the district of the Koukou Nor, and 
 that they are possibly making for Lhassa by the Tsaïdam road. 
 Are you these Eussians ? " 
 
 " We are not Eussians at all." 
 
 " Then } t ou are Palan {i.e. English) ? " 
 
 "No." " 
 
 " You must know that the English are the enemies of our 
 people, many of whom they have killed with their far-carrying 
 
 * Pevtzoff, of St. Petersburg, and Roborovsky. 
 f Tlic brothers Gram Grjima'ilo. 
 
THE SECRETARY EXPLAINS. 45 
 
 guns, and our people do not want the English to penetrate into 
 Thibet at any price." 
 
 " No, we are not English, we are French." 
 
 As, however, our Mongolian interpreter renders "French" by 
 " Tarang " and then translates "Tarang" into Thibetan by 
 " Palan," the Amban believes us to acknowledge that we are 
 English — a contradiction that he cannot understand. The only 
 means by which we can explain our nationality is to use the 
 Chinese expression whilst addressing the lama who speaks this 
 language, consequently we say to him, "We are ta fa kié " i.e. 
 Frenchmen. 
 
 The lama who acts as secretary,- thereupon makes a short 
 explanation in Thibetan to his chief, who finishes by understanding 
 that we are a distinct people from the English, and excuses him- 
 self for his mistake in these words, " Never having seen any 
 Frenchmen before, we could not, of course, recognise them. How- 
 ever, allow me to withdraw now, so that I may consult with my 
 chiefs ; to-morrow you shall have an answer." 
 
 Such, in brief, was our first conversation, which had lasted 
 several hours, through the necessity of having two interpreters. 
 Besides, these men would not trust us, and laid traps for us, 
 repeating questions that w r e had already answered, and returning 
 suddenly to a point that seemed settled, so as to assure themselves 
 that our story did not vary. The conversation was interspersed 
 with cups of tea, drunk out of the most beautiful Chinese ware, 
 while the Amban's cup was of green jade. Having caught cold 
 on the journey here, they were continually coughing, and using 
 their handkerchiefs, made of a cotton stuff {pouloii) sewn in the 
 shape of the cover of a book, which they open and shut just as 
 if it were an actual book, and place in their bosoms. They re- 
 peatedly, too, took snuff, which is a white powder, sometimes 
 carried in a flat bottle with a scoop attached to the cork. In 
 other cases it is shaken out of a cylindrical metal box, which has a 
 
46 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 cover closing by means of a pin. Depositing the snuff on the 
 thumb-nail, they sniff it up with great satisfaction, and then 
 pass the box on to their neighbours. 
 
 At last, however, the list of our little troop was completed, but 
 the lama, who had ticked us off on his rosaiy, made us out 
 to be eleven instead of twelve, because Parpa had been forgotten, 
 with the result that the whole process of enumerating and reading 
 out our names had to be gone through again, while he again ticked 
 them off. All these operations were performed very leisurely and 
 steadily, as befits men of high rank who have plenty of time to 
 lose, so that this first conference lasted about five hours. 
 
 The Amban will now write and tell his superiors what account 
 we have given of ourselves, and they will then inform him what 
 line of conduct he is to pursue. Meanwhile, he will supply us with 
 provisions, for we do not want to use up the small supply we 
 have. To do that w T ould place us entirely in their hands, and 
 we are quite in the dark as to what the future has in store for 
 us. We mean, therefore, to live on the sheep and meal with 
 which they will supply us. 
 
 February 20. — We employ the time we have to spend in 
 the pass of Dam, by studying the Thibetans of high degree 
 and the lamas. We begin with a festival, for this is their New 
 Year's Day, and they keep up the feast for five days more. 
 Early in the morning the interpreter came to invite us to the 
 Amban's tent to celebrate the day with him. This fine old 
 Mongol had put on a sort of red hood for the occasion, and 
 had evidently been drinking ; for his eyes were more brilliant 
 than they generally are, and, besides, he emits an odour of 
 arrack, which at once proclaims the reason of his good-humour 
 and beaming smile. "Come," said he, "come at once. It is the 
 first day of the new year, and the Amban is impatient to see you. 
 He has prepared a feast, too, for you, so come directly." 
 
 We at once make our way down towards their camp, which lies 
 
IN THE AMBAN'S TENT. 47 
 
 below ours on the other side of the ice ; numerous black tents sur- 
 rounding the white ones which the Amban and the chiefs occupy. 
 There is a perpetual coming and going of servants, who are 
 assisted by the savage inhabitants of the tableland, whose right 
 arms, in spite of the severity of the weather, are outside their tunics, 
 while half their body appears completely bare. It is they who 
 gather the argol, search for ice, cut up the animals they kill, 
 look after the saddle-horses, mules, and yaks, and keep the fire 
 burning by means of a skin in which they very cleverly confine 
 the air, which is then forced out through an iron tube plunged 
 in the heap of argol. The tents form a pretty picture, 
 reminding one of a bedecked fleet, as the garlands of prayers, 
 running from top to top, wave in the breeze. The camp itself is 
 all alive with men, while the mountain sides swarm with yaks, 
 which have brought the provisions for the hundred or two 
 hundred souls who are honouring us with their presence. In 
 front of the Amban's tent is an open one which does duty as 
 kitchen, and near it we perceive a man who looks as though he 
 were making butter in a jar, but he is really mixing it in 
 the tea. 
 
 The Amban himself, who is awaiting us in front of his tent, 
 sends some servants to help us over the ice, which they do by 
 holding us up by the arms, for we are guests of no small conse- 
 quence. We mount the bank, along the bottom of which great 
 care is necessary in walking, and the Amban advances to meet us 
 with a smile that stretches right across his smooth round face. 
 
 At his request we precede him into his tent, which is a four- 
 sided one with a square sloping roof. As the Amban is a layman, 
 a servant with long hair, hanging in a plait, lifts the curtain as we 
 enter. The Amban invites us to take our seats on a sort of dais 
 to the right of the entrance, a second one, a little higher than 
 ours, being reserved for him at the other end. He sits on it, 
 cross-legged, on a tiger-skin, with cushions at his back, some of 
 
4S 
 
 AGBOSS THIBET. 
 
 them covered with Chinese silk, and others, if I mistake not, with 
 Indian muslin. 
 
 We wish him a happy new year and good health, not for- 
 getting to add, as is our way in Champagne, " and Paradise after- 
 wards," a formula, which, to satisfy a believer in the transmigra- 
 
 TENT OF THE ENVOYS FROM LHASSA. 
 
 tion of souls, is rendered, " We wish you a still better place after 
 death." He thanks us profusely, and expresses his pleasure that 
 we should have met for their greatest fete, adding, " This is a 
 good omen, for those who pass New Year's Day together become 
 good friends." 
 
 " We have no doubt on this point, for, as a matter of fact, we 
 have no ill-feeling towards you. We look upon you as an 
 honourable man, with whom we would gladly be good friends." 
 And so on for about twenty minutes, as is the custom in the 
 East — a custom which we may compare with the salute of two 
 swordsmen before beginning the combat. 
 
THE MEANING OF " VERY SOON." 49 
 
 Then we ask him when the reply of his superiors will come. 
 
 " Very soon," he said. 
 
 " We should take it as a great favour if you would let us 
 know what you mean by this expression ' very soon,' for in some 
 countries it means 'in an hour,' in others ' in a day' or 'in a 
 year.' What does it mean with you ? " 
 
 The Mongolian interpreter seemed more than ever under the 
 influence of arrack, so loud was his laugh, and when the words 
 were translated to him, the Amban laughed too. "It is quite 
 true," he replied, " that there ought not to be any mis- 
 understanding about the meaning of words, and I may tell you 
 that ' very soon ' means in this case ' in about six days,' for our 
 chiefs will doubtless want to consult the Chinese mandarin. He 
 is not in Lhassa, but lives at two days' journey west of that 
 town. I am very sorry for this delay, but it cannot be helped." 
 
 Meanwhile the chief of the lamas who are here enters the tent, 
 and takes his seat on the left-hand side of the Amban on the 
 same daïs. Before them stands a small table bearing their tea- 
 cups with silver lids, into which some young men are constantly 
 pouring the mixture of tea and butter from earthenware teapots. 
 One of them has evidently snatched the teapot out of the hands 
 of a comrade who wishes to prevent him from coming into the tent, 
 and is holding him back by the skirt of his robe. In order to 
 free himself, he is kicking violently backwards, whilst lifting the 
 curtain, with a beaming smile on his face. 
 
 We remained a long time with the Amban drinking his 
 tea and butter, which he was incessantly offering us, together 
 with sweetmeats, consisting of pastry and queer-looking objects, 
 which we all liked, though they were not particularly attractive to 
 the eye. I must, however, mention some nuts preserved in sugar. 
 
 The conversation flagged but little, turning all the time 
 on our situation. We complained of our forced stay here, and 
 of our not being allowed to enjoy a much- needed rest, and said we 
 35 
 
50 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 failed to understand this fashion of receiving 1 strangers. To this 
 the Amban replied that he was merely obe}ûng orders, that no one 
 wished us ill, that their customs were different from ours, and 
 that in a very few da} T s, after the fete was over, everything would 
 be arranged in accordance with our wishes. 
 
 The first thing that strikes us in examining the tent is the 
 quantity of sacred objects in every corner. Around the centre 
 pole, which supports the roof, twines, like ivy, a cluster of little 
 niches, like those in which the Orthodox place their sacred pictures. 
 To the left of the Amban an altar has been reared upon some chests, 
 on the top of which is an image of Buddha, enclosed in a gilded 
 case ; in front is a line of seven little copper cups containing 
 saffron and oil ; a light is glimmering, and perfumes are burning 
 in a box, whilst odoriferous sticks, placed in teapots, are smoulder- 
 ing awa}" ; on the two steps of the altar stand some little figures, 
 cut in butter, amongst which I can distinguish a sheep's head 
 without horns, having on the forehead protuberances of white 
 sugar, some small columns of the same material, and, in saucers, 
 pieces of confectionery offered as a sacrifice to the divinity. 
 
 After having drunk a great many cups of tea, we express 
 a wish to retire, whereupon the Amban, supported by the chief 
 lama, reiterates once more what he had already repeated a score of 
 times. " Let us try and arrange the business we have in hand," 
 he urges, " don't let us disagree," and, so sa}ang, he presses 
 together the inside of his thumbs, and, insisting on our friend- 
 ship, makes use of this comparison : " Two beautiful porcelain 
 cups placed together on a table look very well. But knock 
 them together and they break to pieces. Don't let us clash, 
 don't let us clash," he repeats, as he rises to show us the way 
 out. As we go out everyone salutes us with a smile, and it is 
 easy to see that their orders are not to give us needless offence. 
 Just as we start, a flourish of trumpets is heard above us, and, 
 lifting our eyes, we perceive huge garlands fluttering on the 
 
" GIBEONITES." 51 
 
 summit of the perpendicular granite rocks which overhang 
 the left of the camp. These garlands consist of yaks' tails 
 interspersed between pieces of coloured stuffs imprinted with 
 prayers. Near them are seated some lamas holding trumpets, 
 from which proceed excruciating sounds that rend the air and are 
 re-echoed on the mountains. When they are not blowing these 
 instruments, they are chanting prayers in a rhythmic cadence, 
 forming a chorus in which deep bass voices support shrill trebles. 
 
 Under pretext of taking a walk, we direct our steps towards 
 a black tent which has quite recently been pitched in the roadway 
 of the pass above our camp. We see squatted round a fire 
 eight long-haired men under the command of a shorn lama. They 
 are conversing quietly, and smoking a little pipe formed of an 
 earthenware bowl and a bone stem, which they hand round to each 
 other in turn. These are the poor wretches whose work it is to 
 gather the argol, and who have no part in the New Year's 
 celebrations. What we took for a tent in the distance is really 
 only half a tent, a mere shelter of black sack-cloth, open on the 
 side from which there is no wind. They sleep there on a heap of 
 straw and chips ; in a corner stand their bows and lances, and in 
 the middle three stones form a fireplace for use on windy days. 
 Their simple dress is cut out of sheep-skins, frayed at the 
 lower extremities, full of holes, and extraordinarily dirty. Their 
 faces, blackened with grease and smoke, suggest the lowest type of 
 savage that one can imagine. On looking at their narrow heads 
 we ask ourselves what brains they can possibly contain, and are 
 by no means astonished at the unusual authority which the lamas 
 exercise over beings so wanting in intelligence, so little capable of 
 any exercise of will, whose sensations cannot differ much from 
 those of their yaks and dogs. Let us hope that all the Thibetans 
 do not resemble this band of animals with human faces. 
 
 We leave them to regale ourselves on a sheep's head that has 
 been cooked under the argol on the fire, just as we roast potatoes 
 
52 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 in the ashes, and excellent it is. Travellers on the steppes 
 often cook their meat in this way, because there is no flame or 
 smoke to betray them. 
 
 So draws to its close the first day of the Thibetan year; 
 and as we wrap ourselves in our blankets the lamas recommence 
 their prayers, and are still chanting as we fall asleep. 
 
 February 21. — In continuation of the festival, the trumpets 
 resound on the top of the cliffs, there is singing in the camp, 
 and the garlands of prayers are waving in the west wind. The 
 first event of the day is a visit from another interpreter, a 
 Mongolian lama, a native of Ourga, a town lying in Chinese 
 Mongolia, not far from the frontiers of Siberia. He is of 
 moderate height, very alert, very vigorous, and a big liar, as he 
 soon proves, when he explains that he comes from Lhassa, 
 and that, having lost his way, he " chanced " to find himself at the 
 spot where we had buried Imatch. He had probably been sent to 
 make sure of Imatch's nationality, for we had returned him as a 
 Kalmuck, and, if he has examined him at close quarters, he will 
 certainly have taken him for such, for poor Imatch had the very 
 small nose and the ugliness of that race. The new inter- 
 preter examines our men, and declares them to be natives of 
 North Turkestan. Then, without losing a moment, he proceeds 
 to insinuate that he would be very thankful for the gift of a 
 revolver. 
 
 February 22. — To-day the Mongolian interpreter makes a 
 confidant of poor silly Abdullah, telling him that if he (the 
 interpreter) remains here it will only be because he has no money 
 wherewith to return home. He makes out that he arrived here 
 some time before with a caravan of pilgrims, that he then fell ill 
 and was obliged to stop here, but that he is ever thinking of his 
 home at Ourga ; throwing himself on our generosity to help him. 
 Although we do not place too much faith in his story, it seems 
 to us at least probable, for accidents of this sort must often 
 
SICKNESS IN THE CAMP. 53 
 
 happen in Thibet, just as they were formerly of not unfrequent 
 occurrence in the Holy Land. In vain do we " pump " him for 
 information with respect to ourselves ; he either knows nothing, 
 or will say nothing. 
 
 Mardi 1. — Since the 21st of February we have received visits 
 from the smaller chiefs, who sometimes brought us little presents, 
 and also accepted with pleasure gifts of sugar, and especially of 
 raisins, of which they are very fond. They have passed a good 
 deal of time in our men's tents, examining our arms, and listening 
 gladly to the rather unmelodious notes of an accordion. Every 
 now and then they would suddenly put a question to us, evi- 
 dently trying to catch us contradicting ourselves, and then, with 
 unheard-of patience, would sit waiting for an opportunity to beg, 
 in the most natural manner possible, for an explanation which we 
 had already given. All the time they observed us narrowly, 
 though they were very polite, as is their way. We might find 
 considerable amusement in watching the manner in which they 
 transact their business, were it not that many of our men are ill ; 
 some are suffering from sickness, others from diarrhoea, the latter, 
 we think, being caused by the water we drink, which is drawn 
 from under the ice, at the source of the river which flows down to 
 Lake Namtso. The cold is certainly less keen, the minimum vary- 
 ing between 4° and 9° below zero, but we suffer exceedingly 
 from the north-west winds. All our camels, too, are dying one 
 after the other, without any apparent malady ; they are simply 
 used up. Their dead bodies attract numerous lammergeiers, some 
 of which we bring down. One of them emits a strong odour of 
 musk, and Parpa hastens to remove its fat. The lama from 
 Ourga begs us to give him the bodies, so that he may cut out 
 certain portions of them, the liver amongst others, in order to 
 make medicines of them. But being a lama, he does this work 
 by night, for fear of being seen by the savages, as it is, it seems 
 unbecoming his rank for him to do such things. 
 
54 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 Laden yaks arrive almost daily, sometimes by night, from 
 the south; so we conclude that more people are coming to Dam, 
 which is the name of the spot where we are. On the 2Sth 
 ult. the interpreters assured us that the answer would soon be 
 here, and begged us not to lose patience. The same clay the 
 Am ban, accompanied by the principal lamas, went on an excur- 
 sion — scaling the heights which border the pass, so as to catch 
 a glimpse of Lake Namtso, which he had never seen. This fact 
 proves that the inhabitants of Lhassa do not often travel out of 
 their own district, or that they do not care for exercise of this 
 kind, however conducive to health it may be. At all events, the 
 Namtso is supposed to be the largest piece of water in Thibet, and 
 is regarded as sacred, under the name of " Heavenly Lake," and 
 yet here are civil and religious personages who have never taken 
 the trouble to come and see it. 
 
 March 2. — Yesterday morning early the sky was overcast, and 
 when the storm burst, the valley disappeared in the dust. All 
 night it blew a gale, and several tents belonging to the Thibetans 
 were carried away in a squall, but we were all right in ours, which 
 is a fourfold one, for the Amban had given us a beautiful double 
 tent, which we had thrown over ours, so that, besides the extra 
 thickness, there is room between them in which to store various 
 articles, and also for an entrance hall. The whole is strengthened 
 by huge stones, with the result that it defies the wind. The 
 minimum temperature last night was 10° below zero, and several 
 of us complained on waking of headache — the usual effect of 
 mountain storms, even if they occur when one is asleep. Towards 
 midday a snow-cloud passed over us, and a strong north-west 
 wind was blowing, a very different thing from the west wind 
 which comes up across the Namtso, rushing through the pass. 
 In the afternoon our long-toothed friend brought us a little milk, 
 which we had been asking for to give our invalids, and at the 
 same time he informed us that the great chiefs would soon be 
 
TEE GREAT CHIEF. 55 
 
 here. We had suspected this from the early morning, for 
 numerous yaks, with loads, had arrived during the night, and we 
 had seen men, with great difficulty, pitching a large tent, and 
 had been amused to see a strong gust of wind carrying off the 
 canvas. The perpetual coming and going of men, the general 
 commotion, and the fact of the lesser chiefs superintending the 
 work, had aroused our suspicions, which the indiscretion of the 
 interpreter had only served to confirm. So, when he had left us, 
 we took up our position at a suitable spot with our glasses, and 
 fixed our eyes on the descent of the pass. 
 
 First, pack-horses, well harnessed, having on their necks 
 tinkling bells, or tufts of red (the colour denoting authority) come 
 in sight ; then horsemen, well attired, who lose their w T ay amidst 
 the bogs, not seeming to know the path made below the ridges, 
 which is reached by a detour. Some long-haired savages shout 
 to them, others hasten to meet them, take their bridles and help 
 their beasts over the ice, while on their arrival in camp, the 
 occupants of all the tents rush out and surround them. They, 
 however, form but the van guard ; and the camp is now filled with 
 excitement, and servants set out in the direction of the pass. 
 
 It is not long before we catch sight of the great chiefs 
 mounted on quick, surefooted horses, which drag along the men who 
 are holding on to their bridles as if to lead them. We make 
 out three important personages amongst the crowd. Covered with 
 furs lined with yellow silk, they look so fat and enormous that 
 we wonder they do not crush their agile little horses. On their 
 heads the}^ wear the feathered hats of the Chinese mandarins, but 
 over a hood which covers their neck and face, of which absolutely 
 nothing is visible, for their eyes are protected by prominent 
 glasses, which again, as an additional precaution, are overhung by 
 a visor. Behind them, with a great noise of bells, trots a large 
 escort in varied costumes. Though this spectacle presents a 
 certain amount of pomp, it seems to us ridiculous. 
 
56 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 In the camp all the civil and religious chiefs stand in a row 
 awaiting the mandarins, and when the latter arrive, the chiefs make 
 a deep bow, remaining where they stood. The Amban alone 
 approaches the visitors, and congratulates two of them with whom 
 he shakes hands. Then, without dismounting, they go to their 
 appointed tents, the crowd disperses, and everybody returns to 
 his work. When we reflect that all these people are gathered 
 here because of us, we realise that they are paying us a high 
 compliment. 
 
 Meanwhile, however, a little drama is being enacted in our 
 camp. The Dungan's camel had been for two days uttering 
 plaintive groans, and now to-day, just two months before her 
 time of sixteen months has expired, she gives birth to a dead 
 calf. The poor mother licks and smells it, hanging over it and 
 crying plaintively. Timour is very sorry at its death, for, he 
 said, " The little thing had humps enough to become a perfect 
 camel." 
 
 Then the interpreters come up, and ask us to grant an audience 
 to the great men who had just arrived. We reply that we shall 
 be very happy to receive them at once. When our answer has 
 been transmitted, quite a large band makes its way to our tent, 
 preceded by two individuals who are sumptuously attired in the 
 Chinese style. These two approach arm in arm, and one of them, 
 small, short, round, and bent in the back, leans heavily on his 
 companion's arm. With a venerable air these two approach 
 slowly, stopping to take breath every fifteen steps. Perhaps this 
 mode of progression is meant to be in good form, to impress us, and 
 give us plenty of time to go politely and meet them. But we are 
 rude enough to remain in our tent, and only go out of it when 
 they have got on to our ground. We then exchange salutations 
 with the two chiefs, who are introduced to us as the Ta-Lama 
 and the Ta- Am ban, after which some porters deposit at our feet 
 five sacks — one of rice, one of zamba, one of meal, one of Chinese 
 
THIBETANS LOADING A YAK {p. 64). 
 
 36 
 
PLAIN SPEAKING. 59 
 
 peas, and one of butter. Then we invite the two ambassadors 
 to enter our tent, where skins are spread ready for them. The 
 simplicity of our furniture is evidently a surprise to them, for 
 they appear to hesitate, and make difficulties before entering. 
 When once they have entered, they ask permission to sit on their 
 own little rugs, and their servants lay down for one of them a 
 wild cat's skin, and for the other a small mattress lined with silk. 
 They apologise for these precautions on the score of their age and 
 fatigue. 
 
 The three who had been the first to enter into negotiations 
 with us take their seats near them, in front of us, and the con- 
 versation commences. At first it consists only of small civilities. 
 
 " How are you ? " said the Ta-Lama. 
 
 " Not at all well, for this is a wretched place." 
 
 This answer rather disconcerts them ; they had evidently 
 expected greater amiability from us, and our old acquaintance, the 
 Amban, hangs his head, for he had represented us as well- 
 mannered people. We ask them, in our turn, whether they have 
 had a pleasant journey. 
 
 " Yes, although the road is a bad one. We had to travel by 
 easy stages on account of our age. The festival of the New 
 Year, too, has delayed us ; otherwise you would have seen us 
 much sooner. This festival we are obliged to keep in compliance 
 with our religion." 
 
 Then come questions about ourselves, and the object of our 
 travels, to which we make the same reply as we have already 
 made at least twenty times to their subordinate, the Amban, 
 while they repeat his proposals. 
 
 "You will now retrace your steps." 
 
 "No, that is impossible." 
 
 " If you will, we will supply you with all that you w T ant. 
 This is the best course for you to pursue, and we shall part good 
 friends. Think over my suggestion, which I advise you to 
 
60 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 accept ; I venture to hope that we shall not fall out, for we have 
 come without any soldiers, though we might have brought some 
 from Lhassa. That proves our good intentions." 
 
 " It is quite useless to propose that we should return, and 
 to advise us to reflect, for we do not speak without having 
 already reflected. We have come from the West, urged on by 
 fate, by a force which has carried us across deserts by a road 
 which you yourselves do not know. Our aim is to go to Batang 
 and then to Tonquin, there to rejoin our fellow-countrymen, who 
 are living on land which we have taken from the Emperor of 
 China. You are powerless against our resolution, and you may 
 rely upon it that we will not take one single step northwards. 
 You do not frighten us in the least, for we have come from 
 the end of the world without being stopped, and we shall now 
 pursue our way onwards, and you will help us. It is for you 
 rather than for us to reflect, and you will see that Buddha him- 
 self wills it thus. We would rather die than return. That is 
 our last word." 
 
 As the sun is now setting they rise to leave us, evidently 
 put out at our having so expressed ourselves before their escort. 
 They bid us farewell, and before they have gone very far, wishing 
 to have the last word, the Ta-Lama repeats " Reflect, reflect." 
 
 To which I reply in French, very disrespectfully, " All right, 
 old fellow." (Oui, mon vieux ! ) 
 
 " What does he say ? " 
 
 " He is merely saying ' Good night ' in his own language," 
 replies Abdullah. 
 
 The two great chiefs then departed, while we remained to 
 fight the question out with the Amban and the two others with 
 whom we had previously been dealing. The Amban who, as we 
 begin to believe, has taken a fancy to us, was very vexed. 
 
 " Whatever made you speak like that to my chiefs ? Re- 
 member that they are the two first men at Lhassa, and have as 
 
THE TA-LAMA. 61 
 
 much power as the Ministers. Do be more amiable to-morrow. 
 Tell me what you want, and I will talk to them accordingly. 
 Only do not change your minds meanwhile, for if yon contradict 
 me, they will accuse me of having sold myself to you, and of 
 having espoused your interests, and even tried to get for you 
 more than you ask for." 
 
 " Our wish is to go to Batang. You will furnish us with 
 the means of transport and provisions, and we will pay for them. 
 That is what we want to-day, and what we shall not cease to 
 want until we obtain it." 
 
 "I will mention it to my chiefs, but can insist on nothing, 
 for if I did they would only distrust me, and lay an informa- 
 tion against me, with the result that I should be cruelly 
 punished." 
 
 With these words they leave, and we go to warm our- 
 selves at the fire, and confide to one another the impressions 
 which the two ambassadors have made on us. They are so 
 unlike that they seem as though they had been created to 
 present a striking antithesis. The Ta-Lama is thin and nervous, 
 with the small dark eyes of a European, very bright and very 
 straight ; his nose is pointed, and a prominent chin is made to 
 appear still longer, owing to a plaited tuft of hair that is twisted 
 in the shape of a rat's tail. His face has a wary look, and a 
 smile which might be either benevolent or ironical, but seems 
 rather Mephistophelian. When he smiles he shows his white 
 teeth, and he speaks at a rapid rate and in a monotonous 
 voice, as though he were repeating a litan} 7 . His indifferent 
 attitude shows that he attaches no importance whatever to his 
 own words ; but his eyes are for ever busy in examining us. 
 He affects utter unconcern, but ail the time betrays his pre- 
 occupation of mind by the way in which, with dry, thin hands, 
 and long nails, like a falcon's claws, he tells his beads. 
 
 The Ta-Amban, on the contrary, is a fat man, with a broad, 
 
62 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 long face, and enormous head, while the general appearance of his 
 body, which looks like a big jar, might be indicated by four ovals, 
 the smallest of which would stand for his head, the largest for 
 his body, and the two others for his legs. His arms are short, 
 and look more like fins, his hands are plump with small fingers, 
 his chin is round and double, his cheeks are pendulous, and his 
 e} r es are contracted and shapeless. You would think him good- 
 natured were it not for his susjucious look. He speaks with 
 animation in a full round voice, smiting his knee with his hand, 
 and evidently has Chinese blood in his veins. 
 
 Concerning the Ta-Lama, we all agree that he is clever, 
 cunning, and intelligent ; as to the Ta-Amban, he seems less 
 intelligent, but more stubborn. 
 
 We sit up till late, talking in the moonlight, and can hear 
 Abdullah and the Dungan reciting their prayers within the 
 hitter's tent, a sign that the outlook seems dark to them, for 
 it is only when things appear bad that they address themselves 
 to Heaven. The sleep of the rest of our band, too, has been 
 somewhat curtailed by the events of the day. Something- 
 new has happened, and that is enough to excite them and 
 keep them awake. 
 
 Iça, Rachmed, Parpa, and Timour are seated cross-legged in 
 the entrance of their tent, near their fire, which flickers like a 
 will-o'-the-wisp, and the moon is shedding her pale light on 
 the mountain, making it look smaller and flatter, and the vault 
 of heaven all the deeper. Timour is gazing quietly and 
 thoughtfully up to the sky. 
 
 "What are you looking at, Timour? Is it the moon ? " I 
 ask. 
 
 " No, the Bear." 
 
 " What are you watching it for ? " 
 
 " I am glad to see it there, for there will be plenty of grass 
 for the herds, when the Bear is low in the sky after sunset." 
 
COLLOQUY BETWEEN BACHMED AND TIMOUB. 63 
 
 Bachmed, who is out of sorts and in a bad humour, inter- 
 rupts — 
 
 " Show me the Bear." 
 
 " There it is," said Timour, stretching his hand in the 
 direction of sparkling Orion. 
 
 " That is not the Bear," says Bachmed, " that is the Balance. 
 You don't know what you are talking about. You had better 
 keep your mouth shut than talk such nonsense. How can the 
 Balance have any effect upon the grass ? If it is a rainy season, 
 or if we have had a great deal of snow in wûnter, then there is 
 plenty of grass, but the stars have nothing to do with it. You 
 talk for the pleasure of talking. You are a real latter-day 
 Mussulman, a regular donkey," etc. He then rails at Islam in 
 general, reproaching it with being stupid and irrational, and, his 
 wrath increasing with his words, exclaims, " You donkey ! you 
 donkey ! " 
 
 And poor Timour, abashed by this eloquence, can only repeat 
 plaintively and suppliantly — " Bachmed aga! Bachmed aga!" 
 (" Bachmed, my elder brother, my elder brother "). 
 
 Bachmed ceases his reproaches, but on hearing the Dungan's 
 and Abdullah's prayers his wrath bursts out again. " Listen, 
 too, to those donkeys, who have faith only when they are afraid. 
 Ah ! there are no more real Mussulmans, none." 
 
 Then the wind rises, and so draws upon itself the maledictions 
 which were going to fall once more on poor Timour, who was still 
 appealing to Bachmed as "my elder brother, my elder brother," 
 which is a Turk's most affectionate term. Timour is very fond 
 of Bachmed, who likes him in return. 
 
 Such little scenes as this are our only distraction. 
 
 March 3. — We confer with the two great chiefs, and, after 
 many quarrels and reconciliations, at last convince them that 
 we are neither English nor Bussian, but French, and to our great 
 joy extract from them permission to move on. 
 
64 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 Mardi 7. — This morning the sun is shining brightly, and the 
 snow that fell on the preceding days stands out resplendent 
 and dazzling on the mountain. It is grand weather for our 
 departure, though it is not a final move, for we are only going 
 to instal ourselves in a better place, there to wait again. 
 
 The camp is all astir : on all sides are men running after 
 their beasts, collecting them, driving them on with shrill 
 whistles, and swinging their slings. As the long plaits of hair 
 would be in the way when the Thibetans stoop, they twist them 
 round their heads. 
 
 They have great difficulty in catching their beasts, especiall} r 
 to-day, when the yaks are frightened by our camels. It is onl} r 
 after more than one fruitless attempt that they will allow them- 
 selves to be caught by the horn, to which is tied the cord that 
 is attached to the ring in the muffle. Their masters have 
 to approach them very carefully, and can only seize them by 
 surprise. Loading them is a still more difficult business ; 
 and it takes a tremendous time to fasten our chests on to their 
 backs. But the patience of these men is endless, and they 
 always finish by mastering the animal ; for as soon as they have 
 got hold of it, they hopple it and load it, in spite of heels and 
 horns, but never beat it. 
 
 These Thibetans are very quick over their work. Each time 
 they raise a heavy load they force out the air from their lungs 
 by a vigorous hiss. They handle great weights with considerable 
 ease, for their arms, though not very muscular, are tough, and set 
 in solid shoulders, which are supported by deep necks, and the 
 length of the forearm is remarkable. Lamas, stick in hand, give 
 their orders, and reprimand them ; but these savages do their work 
 cheerfully, and are very obedient and respectful to the lamas, to 
 whom they listen in the most humble posture, with backs bent 
 and hanging tongue. 
 
 We have had some small Thibetan horses given us which are 
 
m ., ' 
 
 w 
 
 37 
 
A CAB AY AN. 67 
 
 full of go, and which feed on raw flesh, as we have seen with 
 our own eyes. These carnivorous beasts have marvellous legs, 
 and are as clever as acrobats ; they balance themselves with the 
 greatest care on the ice or amid dirty bogs, and then, gaining 
 the path with a bound, carry us along at a rapid trot, to which 
 we have long been unaccustomed. Anyone would imagine that 
 they find us to be as light as feathers, and we certainly look far 
 more like lean hermits than fat monks. 
 
 We soon rejoined a caravan that started before we did. The 
 loaded yaks go along in utter disorder, their drivers letting them 
 stop at will to eat a root, to sniff pieces of argol, perhaps to 
 reflect. In three and a half hours we rode nearly fourteen miles, 
 up hill and down dale, but more often the latter, for we were 
 to encamp near a frozen river which empties its waters into 
 the Namtso. 
 
 Our old friend the Amban welcomed us to his tent, where a 
 delicious repast awaited us, consisting of a yak's tongue smoked, 
 and, hy way of vegetables, preserved salted carrots, and red and 
 green pepper; then some cakes of unleavened bread, and as much 
 tea and butter as we could drink. Our excellent host admired 
 our appetite, and kept urging us to satisfy it to the full. 
 
 Between our camp and that of the chiefs from Lhassa are 
 pitched the tents of some nomads who are driving their herds 
 this way. They are, it seems, inscribed among the subjects of 
 China, and pay taxes as such, " but in all other respects," says 
 the Amban, " they obey us ; their tribe is that of the Djashas. 
 In summer they disperse over the tableland of the north." 
 
 When w T e passed by their tents, they came out to salute us, 
 and we recognised their chief, a big toothless fellow, whom we had 
 come across before reaching theNamtso. He strikes us as a half- 
 bred Chinaman. To-day he wears a sort of uniform, consisting 
 of a jacket with a red collar and adorned with copper buttons 
 bearing the numbers of English regiments in India. These 
 
68 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 buttons are of no earthly use to him, for they have no 
 corresponding buttonholes, but they are the sign of wealth, 
 the proof of a high position, just because they are not 
 actually wanted. The superfluous is reserved for the powerful 
 of the earth. 
 
 The Amban begged us to remain in his tent until ours was 
 ready ; but when we told him that we should like a walk because 
 we were cold, lie led us back to our camp, saying, " Our customs 
 forbid me to leave my guests before a shelter is ready for them. 
 I will therefore accompany you." We took advantage of this 
 custom to ask him one or two questions— first, the name of the 
 splendid chain from which rise Hue and Gabet, each this evening 
 having its summit in a turban of clouds, reminding one of 
 Persia and the well-known turban of the Demavend. This 
 chain, he tells us, is called Samda Kansain ; and the river, which 
 flows close b} r , Samda Teh ou, borrowing its name from the moun- 
 tain which feeds it. 
 
 Then we talked to him about the serou (unicorn), of whose 
 existence Father Hue had been assured, and he told us that this 
 animal lives in the Ghoorkas' country, in India, and that it has 
 one horn, not on the top of the head, but on the nose, so that he 
 was evidently describing the rhinoceros. 
 
 Before sunset we perceived at an enormous height a large flock 
 of birds, which we took to be geese, making north. Very welcome 
 was the sight of them, for they seemed to be harbingers of the 
 spring. Timour, too, was persuaded that the warm weather was 
 really coming, for he had seen a fresh blade of grass ; and, to 
 prove his words, he got up, examined the bottom of the mountain, 
 and soon returned with a blade, which he held solemnly in his 
 hand, and contemplated with glad eyes — for Timour is a poet, 
 a true lover of Nature. Then to bed, to dream of home, for the 
 gentle west wind produces on this bare plain the same murmurs, 
 the same plaintive sounds, as in our native woods. 
 
HOW THEY DO BUSINESS AT LHASSA. 69 
 
 March 8. — The west wind is still blowing, and snow falls at 
 intervals. The snn appears and disappears. Then the wind 
 increases, the heavens are darkened, and the cold, after the 
 warmth of the afternoon, is simply insupportable. In spite of 
 the weather, however, the Amban pays us a visit, and again 
 exhorts us to be patient, for it will take time to get ready at Lhassa 
 all the things which we require. Before quitting Dam they had 
 drawn up, at our dictation, a long list of our requirements — clothes 
 of all sorts, shoes, hats, skin, large and small cymbals, and even 
 prayers and objects of worship. The} 7 had promised, too, to pro- 
 cure some horses, and to send them on here quickly. But the 
 Amban is afraid that we may lose patience, for he cannot help 
 noticing the hurry we are all in to start, not a single one of as 
 having the least wish to stop here. The Amban insists on the 
 purhvv of his intentions. "We look upon you as brothers, and 
 our wish is to be as agreeable as possible to you ; and if we keep 
 you here, it is only because we must await letters from our superiors 
 at Lhassa, who are satisfied of your honesty. But then our ways 
 are not like yours. We never hurry in business matters. There 
 is a council which decides all important matters, and you know 
 that the members of a numerous council do not immediately agree. 
 If it depended only on me, you should at once have all that you 
 want ; but you see that, even here, we are three great chiefs and 
 about twenty smaller ones. The one mistrusts the other, and it 
 needs great prudence not to lay oneself open to accusation." 
 This fear of an accusation — which the Amban has mentioned on 
 previous occasions — proves that Lhassa is a hotbed of intrigue, 
 power being divided and much sought after, and that those who 
 possess it guard it very jealously. 
 
 Our guest next asks for information regarding our customs 
 and manners, the position of women in our country and their 
 looks ; and then he speaks of the books of the English, and of 
 the astonishing inventions which they have brought to India, 
 
70 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 though he himself had never seen them. He expresses his 
 astonishment that we should take the trouble to travel, "for," 
 said he, " what is the good of visiting distant lands when you 
 can spend your life in reading about them without leaving home ? 
 I, at all events, have not the slightest wish ever to travel outside 
 Thibet, for my curiosity is quite satisfied by our religious books." 
 
 THE COOKING TENT. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PRESENTS FROM LHASSA. 
 
 Breakfasting with the Ta-Amban and Ta-Lama — Diplomatic Indignation — Two Barbarian 
 Petty Chiefs — An Effectual Call to Order — A Sunset Scene—Feasting on a Sheep's Head 
 —A "Dainty Dish "—At Soubrou — Resting at Di-Ti — Water-Carriers— An Entente 
 Cordiale — Characteristics and Habits of the Natives of the Di-Ti Country— A Specimen 
 of Primeval Man — Nigan : Another Stoppage — The Talai-Lama's Presents : Sacred 
 Objects— Return Presents— A Lama-Guide — The Ta-Amban's Advice — A Pet Ram — 
 Timour, Parpa, and Iça Go Back. 
 
 March 14. — We are invited to 
 meet the Ta-Araban and the Amban 
 at breakfast in the tent of the Ta- 
 Lama, who has a most sumptuous 
 repast ready for us. It lasts four 
 hours, during which time we plunge 
 our chopsticks into some thirty very 
 rich dishes that must have cost a 
 great deal, for it is by no means easy 
 in Thibet to procure young palm- 
 shoots, dates from India, peaches 
 from Leh (Lada), jujubes from 
 Batang, berries from Landjou, edible seaweed and shell-fish 
 from the coast, etc. etc. Out of all these different produc- 
 tions of the Asiatic cuisine a few are decidedly eatable, and 
 we confine ourselves to them ; but what we prefer to everything 
 else is the plentiful supply of hot milk, in which we dip our 
 dates so as to thaw them. Their idea, perhaps, was to win us 
 over by such a splendid feast, but we remain as firm as ever when, 
 after the tables have been removed and negotiations reopened, 
 they beg us to wait yet a little longer. Our indignation bursts out 
 anew, and we rise at once without listening to any more circum- 
 locution. They are astonished at our departure ; but when they 
 see us thrashing our interpreter, who has been making signs to 
 
 CHIEF OF THE DJASHAS. 
 
72 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 them behind our backs, they understand that our patience is 
 exhausted. The result of this interrupted feast is the extraction 
 of a promise that we shall make our way forward. 
 
 March 16. — "We discuss the route that we shall follow. The 
 chiefs undertake to show us the road to Batang; only the 
 stages are to be short, in order that the couriers expected from 
 Lhassa may join us the sooner. Amidst falling snow, after a 
 minimum temperature of 13° below zero, we begin our prepara- 
 tions for departure. 
 
 The place where we are to await the couriers is called Di-Ti, 
 which the Amban represents as a sort of Paradise in comparison 
 with our present location, which is rendered uninhabitable by the 
 incessant west wind. It seems that " down there " w T e shall find 
 grass, brushwood, juniper-trees, corn and moderate heat ; for we 
 shall be. on much lower ground ; here we are at an altitude 
 of 10,170 feet. We beg the Amban to be good enough to tell 
 us where Di-Ti is ; but he answers that he does not know exactly, 
 and sends for two petty barbarian chieftains, whom he questions 
 in our presence. They enter, bent double, out of deference to 
 their superior, and with tongues hanging out of their mouths, like 
 greyhounds in summer after chasing a hare. 
 
 "Do you know Di-Ti?" 
 
 "Yes, we are driving our herds there." 
 
 " Is it a nice place ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " In what direction is it ? " 
 
 " In that." (They point north-east.) 
 
 "Is it far?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 " How many lave re off is it ? " {Lavere corresponds in Thibet 
 to li in China, being about a quarter of a mile.) 
 
 Lavere, lavere, lavere, murmur the two savages, looking at 
 each other, and scratching their ears ; " we do not know their 
 
AN EFFECTUAL GALL TO ORDER. 73 
 
 country," taking it for the name of a camp — a mistake that is, 
 after all, intelligible on the part of savages, who have no need of 
 precision, though we laugh at it none the less. The Amhan 
 therefore dismisses them, and they withdraw with deep reverences, 
 thumbs raised, and tongues still hanging out. 
 
 The lamas then set about obtaining from the Djashas yaks 
 and horses enough for the whole caravan. So many are required 
 that the Djashas — or Djashougs, Tatshougs, Ttashougs, for we 
 hear the name pronounced in all these different ways— refuse to 
 supply us, and, getting angry, shout and threaten. Then the 
 Ta-Lama summons their chiefs, who immediately on receiving 
 the order appear, calm but crestfallen. The Ta-Lama bids his 
 servants throw open the front of his tent, and from his daïs — - 
 where he remains sitting cross-legged, his hands in his sleeves — 
 talks quietly to them. He has scarcely opened his mouth when 
 the savages bend, and, in the posture of a schoolboy awaiting a 
 swishing, lower their heads, scarcely daring to raise their eyes, and 
 cry humbly — 
 
 " Lalesse, lalesse ! " (We are ready.) 
 
 And when the Ta-Lama, in conclusion, says to them, still in 
 his quiet tones — 
 
 "Is it possible that 3^011 would displease the Djongoro Boutchi" 
 (the living Buddha) "and the Ta-Lama" (Great Lama)? — 
 
 " No," they reply, groaning and falling on their knees. 
 
 "Very well; then obey." 
 
 " Lalesse, lalesse ! It is all right." 
 
 A servant thereupon bids them retire, which they do back- 
 wards, in the respectful attitude of the country. The tent is 
 again closed, and the chiefs draw themselves up, and quite good- 
 humouredly return to their own tents. 
 
 Convinced that we are now really about to start, I spend a 
 few moments in admiring the scene, and am straightway lost in 
 ecstasy before a scene which Messrs. Cook can promise to their 
 3S 
 
74 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 clients when, in years to come, they have organised trips to 
 Thibet. To describe it, however, would take another pen than 
 mine. I can but gaze thoughtfully, as do the shepherds on the 
 tablelands, at the splendid chain of the Ningling Tangla, as its 
 snow-capped peaks are lost in the gold of the sunset. The light 
 vaporous atmosphere is, so to speak, saturated with this golden 
 light; while behind us the Samda-Kansain lies bathed in violet 
 tints, and above it are clustered thick snow-clouds, through 
 which, rent by the wind, are seen here and there patches of blue 
 sky. 
 
 Mardi 18. — We start in a north-easterly direction. The 
 weather is splendid, but the reflection of the sun on the snow 
 literally scorches our faces and eyes. We learn on the road that 
 between here and Tatsien-lou there are eighty more or less 
 difficult passes. It is the interpreter with the long tooth who 
 tells me that he once counted them when going to Lhassa by this 
 route ; he also informs us that there are very few spots in Thibet 
 where it is possible to grow a little wheat, though they have 
 good crops of barley. The other cereals, including rice, are 
 imported from India. At night we encamp in a valley at 
 Tashé-Roua, which means, in the language of the steppes, the 
 " Gathering of Tents at Tashé," though we had seen only three 
 or four tents on the whole stage, in the mouths of gorges, near 
 the ice. 
 
 Besides lending us some yak-drivers, our friends have also 
 provided us with two men whose business it is to collect fuel for 
 our fires. This evening they arrive with their gleanings in a 
 sack, which they empty at the entrance of our servants' tent; and, 
 after being greeted with reproaches — uttered, however, in a very 
 amiable tone of voice, and in Turkish — they venture to sit down 
 by the fire, and our men make them a present of the head of a 
 sheep, which they have just killed, in the Mussulman style, by 
 severing the carotid arteries. They accept it with effusion when 
 
THIBETAN COOKERY. 75 
 
 Timour hands it to them, though they had turned their eyes 
 away during the bloody sacrifice of a living creature. The 
 observant Timour is astonished at their conduct, and remarks, 
 " Just now, when lea took his knife, they rushed upon him, and, 
 holding his arm, begged him to let them kill the animal by 
 strangling it with a cord round its nose. How could men eat a 
 beast that has not been bled to death? When Iça killed it, 
 they set to praying, and now they will gladly eat it. What 
 strange people they are ! " 
 
 The two men, being very hungry after their walk, hastily 
 prepare their meal. They put a little water on the fire in some 
 small earthenware pots, and when it is tepid, fill a wooden cup. 
 They then take some meal out of long bags, sprinkle it with 
 water, stir it round with their thumbs, and drink it ; licking 
 up the meal which sticks to the sides of the cup with their 
 enormous tongues, which serve alike to show respect and admira- 
 tion, and as spoons. Whilst they are drinking this " soup " 
 to allay the pangs of hunger, the water begins to boil. They 
 now pour it into their cups, put in some butter, likewise taken 
 from a bag, and add a pinch of salt and a handful of meal. This 
 mixture they then make into balls, which they go on eating until 
 they have had enough ; afterwards they take a little walk. When 
 they return they proceed to occupy themselves with the sheep's 
 head. From a leathern sheath each draws a small knife with 
 pointed blade, such as even the women all wear at their waists, 
 and cut the already frozen head to pieces. Then they draw 
 near the fire and thaw it, burning off the wool in the flames. 
 The skin being removed, they cut out and eat the gums ; then, 
 in order to get at the tongue, they draw a long sabre, with 
 which they split the jaw open at the joints, removing both the 
 tongue and the gullet, which they put in their wallets. One 
 takes the lower jaw, and gets what he can off it, just like a dog 
 would, while the other cleans the skull. The first gouges out the 
 
76 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 e} r es, which he swallows with great relish ; then when they have got 
 off everything in the way of meat, and have satisfied their hunger, 
 they throw the lower part of the head to the dogs, who certainly 
 will not get much off it, and put aside for to-morrow the skull, 
 which still contains the brains. The culinary art is decidedly in 
 
 THIBETAN SAVAGES HOUND A FIltE. 
 
 its infancy in Thibet, and we shall still, for a long time, be the 
 only persons who have ever partaken of cabbage-soup there. More- 
 over, even the highest personages do not seem to have developed a 
 delicate palate; the Amban himself, when in a hurry, eating 
 balls of zamba. This afternoon, too, we happened to see at dinner 
 the two interpreters — one of whom is, it seems, a lama endowed 
 with a rich "stall." They had been served with a cup contain- 
 ing, at the bottom, a morsel of rancid butter and some meal. 
 These they kneaded together, then adding some slices of frozen 
 cheese, which was also worked in, they next minced into it a 
 si ice of frozen mutton, and then, to complete the dainty dish, they 
 moistened it with tea and butter, finally making the whole mixture 
 
HE STING AT Dl-TL 77 
 
 into balls, some of which they offered to us, as they saw that we 
 were watching their preparations with great curiosity. 
 
 This powdered mixture is, with the addition of a little salt, 
 eatable, and must be satisfying ; while the making of it is an 
 amusing pastime when one has nothing else to do, as was 
 evidently the case with our lamas. 
 
 Mardi 19. — We advance as far as Soubrou, to reach which we 
 have to make numerous detours. The weather is abominable, for 
 it is snowing, and the wind is blowing from the west with extreme 
 violence. Here we find some twenty tents in a grassy valley, 
 which is reached by a steep pass. 
 
 March 21. — After crossing a tableland we reach Di-Ti, where 
 we drop down into an amphitheatre, formed by gently undulating 
 hills. In the direction of Lhassa there are some heights white 
 with snow, but we see very little to the east and north. 
 
 Di-Ti is on the main road from Naptchou to Lhassa, that of 
 the Tsaïdam and of the Koukou Nor rising southward. We 
 remain three days at Di-Ti, which is inhabited by a considerable 
 number of nomads, who own large flocks of yaks and sheep 
 that are swarming in every direction. They seem also to occupy 
 themselves with the breeding of horses, some forty of which 
 come to drink in the spring near our tent. They are larger 
 than any we have come across so far, and have good legs and 
 feet. No one is looking after them. Some distance away 
 from our little fountain there is another, to which the people 
 of the encampment go to draw their water, which they carry 
 away in wooden jars. Attached to their loins they have a small 
 cushion, and on this they place the jar with loose straps, which 
 pass over their shoulders. The difficulty is to keep the jar 
 so well balanced that no water is spilt on the way. To do 
 this they walk with a forward stoop, the body forming nearly 
 a right angle with the legs. A Thibetan couple came in 
 quest of water while I was there. The wife filled the jar by 
 
73 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 means of a wooden cup, whilst the husband chatted with an 
 acquaintance; she then helped him to fix the jar, which done, he 
 went off, leaving his "better half" to get hers up as best she 
 could. This she did by kneeling down and then carefully rising, 
 like a beast of burden, as she really was. 
 
 March 24. — The maximum temperature in the sun reaches 
 89°. But the w r est wind still troubles us at times, though, it 
 is true, it also provides us with something to talk about, as 
 it drives before it on the plain clouds of dust, which assume 
 very singular shapes. At one time you might fancy that 
 an immense dragon with bent back was advancing, at another 
 that a scorpion w r as crawling along with head and tongue raised, 
 or again you might think you were looking at rows of trees with 
 bushy foliage and leafy arches. All this time, however, we 
 never forget the object we have in view, which is to reach 
 Batang ; and at last, after a warlike display, we extract a promise 
 that we shall be directed thither. But the stages must be short, 
 for the couriers from Lhassa have not yet arrived; and so the 
 Ta-Lama and the Ta-Amban, who have decided not to keej} us 
 waiting here any longer, send a special courier to Lhassa to 
 hasten the despatch of the various articles we require, and of the 
 other horses and presents from the authorities. Then we start. 
 Every risk of a misunderstanding has now disappeared. Thibetans 
 and Frenchmen are in thorough accord, and they, as well as 
 we, are of opinion that the authorities at Lhassa are abusing 
 our patience, and that bureaucracy has its disadvantages, though 
 it may sometimes have its advantages. 
 
 Before I proceed with the account of our journey I would say 
 a word or two about the inhabitants of this country, who are 
 well-to-do and prosperous, especially when compared with the first 
 shepherds whom we met. More favourable conditions have the 
 same effect on the men as on the yaks and horses ; all of them are 
 more vigorous here, and they are even slightly taller. The types, 
 
THE NATIVES OF DI-TI. 79 
 
 as I have said before, are very varied. Some bave a long nose 
 and a broad face, others a snub nose and a long face ; others, again, 
 a long nose and a long face. They have, however, some points in 
 common. Their chins are often prominent because they are fre- 
 quently toothless, and their lips are very thick because the cold 
 makes them swell, and because they continually use them, their 
 shortness of breath making them wheeze. Again, when they 
 stop they stand erect, very straight on their legs, which are a 
 little apart ; their gait is jerky, their glance shifting and rapid, 
 though sometimes fixed ; their gestures are abrupt ; and they walk 
 with short irregular steps, as though their thoughts were inter- 
 mittent, and their brains suggested actions by fits and starts in 
 intervals of wakefulness. In fact, all their gestures suggest a 
 lack of mental cohesion and a poverty of ideas. 
 
 They are careless and cheerful in disposition, and after a long 
 day's march they go to look for the yaks, singing and laughing, 
 some bringing in the droppings for fuel, while others carry 
 sheets of ice in the skirts of their cloaks. They tie up their 
 yaks in a half-circle, chattering all the time ; at night pre- 
 pare the cords for the morning, and, having eaten their zaniba, 
 put their wallets round the fire ; and then, loosening the 
 girdle of their cloaks, throw themselves down on the ground 
 side by side, the one who is most exposed to the wind protecting 
 himself with a coarse mantle. Lying there, huddled together 
 like sheep, they exchange a few words, and then fall asleep under 
 the stars, with the temperature below zero. 
 
 March 27. — As we advance we find the country more thickly 
 populated, and it seems as though the desert is coming to an end. 
 
 March 28. — This is a day never to be forgotten. The road 
 we are following is that of Sininfou ; it is dotted with numerous 
 trees, under which are massed together numberless prayers en- 
 graved on slabs of schist, with attempts at ornamentation — 
 roses, for example, each petal of which contains a syllable of the 
 
80 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 " Om marié padmé houm," images of Buddha, of Tsong Kaba the 
 reformer, and of the Talai-Lama, sketched in outline on plates, 
 or moulded in clay — each of these holy personages having his 
 head enveloped in a hood and surrounded with a halo. The road 
 winds across the broad plains, interspersed with valle}^ and 
 ravines, and topped towards the south-west by white ridges which 
 intercept the horizon. We are at a height of barely 16,000 feet, 
 and it is less painful to breathe. The wind has fallen, and before 
 us slowly gather large white clouds, above which, the sky is a 
 spotless blue, while below larks are singing, and small rats are 
 running about on the ground. 
 
 It is hot, really hot, and the warm breeze, as it caresses our 
 cheeks, produces quite a novel sensation, for we had lost all re- 
 collection of so pleasant a feeling. We advance in the best of 
 spirits, urged on by our horses, which keep their noses in our 
 backs. Then we mount them, and for the first time since last 
 autumn our feet are really warm in the stirrup, even " on the 
 shady side," although it does not thaw there as yet. 
 
 The Amban, followed b}^ his escort, joins us and salutes us 
 — with a very good pronunciation — in the few French words that 
 we have taught him. 
 
 " Bonjour," he says; " comment vous portez-vous? " 
 
 " Very well," we answer. 
 
 " Bien, bien," he repeats with a smile. 
 
 He raises his whip, and his horse starts off at a trot, for he 
 is anxious to arrive first, so as to prepare the encampment. 
 
 But here is a Thibetan horseman, who arrives at a gallop, 
 with his rifle slung over his shoulders, and a little red flag floating 
 from the sight. From his girdle hangs a sabre with glittering 
 incrustations; his right arm is freed from his cloak, and his 
 shoulder is bare, and he excites his horse by swinging his sling. 
 He is a good specimen of a wild horseman, and the picture is 
 heightened by his fox-skin cap, with long ear-flaps hanging 
 
39 
 
NIGAN. 83 
 
 down, from under whicli appear a few loose hairs and a long plait, 
 which continually strikes against his shoulders. 
 
 Next comes a lama, wearing a hood and closely wrapped up, 
 accompanying some yaks that are loaded with precious objects. 
 He joins our party, reciting his prayers aloud, and salutes us with 
 an amiable smile, though without interrupting a single word of 
 his litany. Then we pass three men on foot who are urging on 
 their yaks, whistling and waving their right arms about. The body 
 of one is quite bare, and displays a rounded chest ; he is stout and 
 broad-shouldered. With his muscular right arm he balances a 
 long javelin with a bamboo handle, attached to his wrist by a 
 copper bracelet. To show his skill he throws it in the air and 
 catches it again, then shifts it from one hand to the other and 
 round his body, brandishing it as though about to strike, with all 
 the grace of a skilled matador. He is }^oung, and walks with 
 a supple swing ; his jaws and square chin are prominent, and his 
 upper lip is arched with the insolent curl of an animal that knows its 
 own strength. His nose is short, with broad nostrils ; his bushy 
 Lair hangs down, like a mane, covering his small eyes and fore- 
 shortening his face, causing his head, with its thick neck, to look 
 still broader and less human. You would think you had before 
 you a specimen of early man just emerging from the Stone Age, 
 and proud in the possession of his first iron weapon. 
 
 But it is time to return to the Amban's tent to partake of 
 tea and butter, boiled mutton, smoked tongues, and even Indian 
 curry — for they quite spoil us. Everyone is most polite — so 
 much so, in fact, that we no longer dare even look at them, 
 for fear of seeing those monstrous tongues hanging out. 
 
 We have reached Nigan, at a height of 15,900 feet, and it is 
 here that we shall have to wait for the last time before setting 
 out for Batang, whence we shall be conveyed by the aid of the 
 Talai-Lama; for the oracles have been favourable to us. 
 
 We employ this last stoppage in doing up our baggage again, 
 
84, ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 looking over and arranging; the skins which we have dressed 
 on the road. We get rid of everything that is not absolutely 
 necessary, and organise the caravan of those who will leave us to 
 return to the Lob Nor. The Ta-Lama undertakes to put them in 
 charge of some pilgrims who are returning to Mongolia by the 
 Tsa'idam, and once there they will continue their journey alone 
 by the Kalmucks' road. We now feel quite close to Tonquin, for, 
 though thousands of miles lie between it and us, at Batang we 
 shall again tread known ground. Then doubt, which is the 
 defect — or perhaps it should rather be said, the good point — of 
 old travellers, reappears. The horizon darkens, and in the far 
 distance obstacles arise. However, things are turning out re- 
 markably well. 
 
 March 31. — -After a calm night and a minimum of 4 Q 
 below zero, a hurricane bursts over us, and a fearful squall carries 
 off the square tents of the Thibetans. Ours resist the force of 
 the storm, and are merely invaded by clouds of dust. 
 
 April 2, — At last the Amban comes beaming to tell us that 
 the Talai-Lama's presents have arrived, as well as all the things 
 which we asked for, and to invite us to come to his tent, where 
 the Ta-Lama and the Ta- Amban await us. We are very well 
 received by these great chiefs, and have a long talk with them. 
 Then the presents are spread out before us — costumes of women, 
 men, lamas, and other great personages ; every imaginable kind 
 of head-gear, objects of veneration, skins, prayer-mills, scented 
 wood, and even packets of prayers. They explain to us the 
 use of each object, and tell us its name, its material, and its 
 origin. On examining the costumes we are surprised to find many 
 European fashions among them — crinolines, pinafores, earrings, 
 a coiffure shaped like a diadem, and every form of bonnet, includ- 
 ing caps with flaps for the ears, hoods, and a minister's (kalouri) 
 hat, which is astonishingly like that of a cardinal, with its cords 
 and tassels. Among the sacred objects are bells, rosaries, and 
 
SACRED OBJECTS. 
 
 85 
 
 lierhts, to remind us of the Catholic ritual. Our first idea is that 
 these objects are relics of a time when the Thibetans doubtless 
 professed the same faith as we do, and though they have now 
 
 ^-^« 
 
 A THIBETAN SALUTING. 
 
 long lost it, they have retained some of its externals. But with 
 regard to these questions I must refer my readers to the admirable 
 narrative of Father Hue, and to the works of our missionaries in 
 Thibet, Biet, Desgodins, etc., who have been able to study them 
 still more closely than Father Hue, and with an ability to which I 
 
86 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 cannot pretend. During the interview they cram us with 
 dainties ; aromatics are burning all the time, and often a 
 servant enters with perfume, which he sprinkles over the hot 
 coals ; the first cloud is addressed to Buddha, the second is 
 offered to us, and passed under, and even up, our noses. They 
 treat us as though we were gods.' But the certainty that we are 
 at last really going towards Batang contributes even more than 
 these attentions to put us one and all in good -humour. The 
 Amban manifests his great pleasure at things having come to 
 so gratifying a conclusion, for, in his character of intermediary 
 between his chiefs and us, he has been exposed to rebuffs and 
 maledictions, and to the reproaches of his chiefs when he had to 
 tell them that he had failed in his mission. 
 
 The horses destined for us arrived this evening, and excellent 
 ones they are too, but not shod, and our endeavours to fix shoes on 
 them are all in vain, for their hoofs are so hard, dry, and friable 
 that the nails bend or fail to hold, or actually split them. 
 
 Ajdril 4. — We have offered our presents in return to the 
 Thibetans, regarding it as a point of honour to surpass them in 
 generosity, so that we almost emptied our packets in making them 
 happy. Revolvers, watches, mirrors, as well as knives and 
 scissors, were in great request, while gold coin and silver roubles 
 were highly appreciated. Small silver coins, too, are accepted with 
 pleasure, for they will serve as buttons in the Chinese fashion. 
 As it is, two or three lamas of high rank have buttons made 
 of quarter-rupees. 
 
 They all seemed to be very much pleased with our offerings, but 
 whether or not we actually succeeded in satisfying the wants of the 
 forty or fifty chiefs and servants with whom we had had to do, I 
 cannot say. At all events, when we parted, our farewell had 
 every appearance of cordiality, and they left nothing undone to 
 facilitate our journey as far as Batang, supplying us with 
 provisions, sucli as rice, meal, barley, beans, and small peas, and 
 
OUR LAMA GUIDE. 87 
 
 giving us advice as to what we should be able to purchase on the 
 road, and what we must save up. 
 
 They gave us a lama to act as our guide, and introduce us to 
 the chiefs of the numberless tribes we shall encounter. He is a 
 great, strong fellow of about twenty-five, looks very good-natured, 
 and later on proved himself a man with a good head, very cool, and 
 very astute. His superiors urge him to serve us faithfully, and 
 obey us promptly, and to ensure his doing so, make him 
 presents before we start, and promise him still more valuable ones 
 if he brings back proofs of our satisfaction. This young lama, 
 who has already been this journey once, will be accompanied 
 by a long-haired chief, whose business it is to maintain order 
 amongst the score of savages who are to transport our baggage 
 and supplies by means of some sixty yaks. In a fortnight 
 this chief will make way for another, to whom he will hand over 
 the Ta-Lama's orders, and so on, as long as we are on ground 
 that is subject to them, while the lamas of independent tribes 
 will help us at the request of our lama guide. 
 
 The Ta-Amban, who has been to Batang, and knows the tribes 
 that we shall meet, gave us some very fatherly advice with regard 
 to them. " You will, on the road, meet with some wild tribes, 
 whose ways are very rough, for they are totally uncivilised ; but 
 only have patience with them, and all will be well. The worst 
 you will find near Batang, and when you reach that district be 
 on your guard, for a European was once killed there, and a 
 Chinese mandarin stoned. Do not, therefore, neglect measures 
 of precaution. As for us, we shall pray for you, and we can only 
 hope that you will have a prosperous journey." 
 
 The Ta-Lama approved of this advice, and promised us his 
 pra}^ers, which he thinks will be efficacious. We then shook 
 hands with them both, and mounted our horses ; and amid the 
 farewell salutations of the whole hody, chiefs and all, a start 
 was made. 
 
ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 u 
 
 ■ ■ ■ - . 
 
 .-'■- -V -■-:■:: 
 
 THE LAMA GUIDE. 
 
 A few miles farther on we encamped for the night, and the 
 Amban caught us up to assure himself of the perfect organisation 
 
THE PET BAM. 
 
 89 
 
 of our caravan, and to watch over the safe return to their own 
 country of those of our servants who are leaving us. 
 
 Great are the rejoicings of our whole band, including the 
 three dogs who gambol around us. Even our ram bounds with 
 
 AN ATTENDANT OF THE AMHAN. 
 
 delight — for we have with us, as a companion of our travels, a big 
 ram from Kourla. He is quite tame, and we have not sacrificed 
 him to our hunger. Now he is everybody's friend, is permitted to 
 sleep in a tent, takes bread from our hands, and even scents it 
 out and abstracts it from our bags for himself. He is very 
 courageous, too, charging dogs and horses, and when we purchase 
 other sheep, butts them out of jealousy. At the beginning of our 
 travels, before we got into the Lob Nor district, he used to mix 
 with the others and lead them, but now he will neither follow his 
 40 
 
90 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 fellows nor walk with tlie baffffaee. Nothing 1 less than the 
 society of his masters will satisfy him, and he runs bleating 
 behind us as though to complain that we are going too fast. 
 Macha, for that is his name, has often cheered our drooping 
 spirits, and still more often aroused the astonishment of the 
 Thibetans by his size, and especially by his enormously fat tail. 
 
 April 5. — The return of Timour, Parpa, Iça, and the three 
 Dungans was settled yesterday, and they have received all that 
 they require, provisions, horses, money, and some presents. But 
 our three Mussulmans asked permission to spend the night with 
 their comrades, and to help them in starting for the east to-day. 
 They assist them in packing the tent, superintend the loading, and 
 exchange a few small objects which will remind them of each other. 
 
 Whilst they are loading our yaks, we go to the Amban's tent 
 to eat at his table for the last time. He gives a glass of spirits 
 to all who ask for it, not knowing that men should never 
 drink when travelling ; and when the meal is over, there is soon 
 a slight uproar which prevents the Amban and me from 
 conversing. And Abdullah, our interpreter, does not miss this 
 chance of getting intoxicated, so he cannot translate our remarks. 
 The meeting is, therefore, brought to a close, and the Amban 
 and his men accompany us on foot to our camp, where we find 
 our three servants and Eachmed. The last yak is now loaded, 
 part of our heavy baggage is already far ahead, and we must 
 part. We commend once more, and for the last time, our three 
 servants to the Amban's care, and then cordiallj r shake hands 
 with these honest fellows, whom we shall doubtless never see 
 again. When we wish them good health and a safe return home, 
 and beg them not to forget us, they burst into tears, fall on their 
 knees, and kiss our hands, sobbing bitterly. 
 
 They then press Eachmed, Abdullah, and Akoun to their 
 breasts, and those who are bound for the coast weep as well as 
 those who are returning home. All these men have been 
 
OFF AT LAST. 91 
 
 connected with us in circumstances amid which men cannot 
 conceal their real character, or be independent of their neighbours. 
 They have suffered together, have bad to help each other, and 
 have learnt to esteem and really like each other. And now their 
 hearts are very sad at parting. Their evident affection for us 
 cannot but touch us, for it is spontaneous, and proceeds from 
 men of energy, from adventurers perhaps, who are capable of 
 doing one a bad turn, but whom we have made better men. They, 
 too, are convinced that we like them, for we have taken as much 
 care of them as of ourselves, and have never exacted from 
 them an effort which was not needful, or reproached them with- 
 out cause. 
 
 Again we shake hands with the Amban and his companions, 
 who have been greatly moved by this scene, and he promises us 
 that he will pray for us. And so we set out, accompanied for 
 several yards by Parpa and his companions, who hold our horses' 
 bridles as a mark of their respect. 
 
 We must, however, separate, and they raise their hands to 
 their beards with a " Great is Allah ! " and we there leave them 
 desolate and in tears. 
 
 THIISETAX HORSEMAN. 
 
92 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SO AND ITS LAMA-HOUSE. 
 
 At Oatine — The River Ourtehou — A Hermit Lama — " Steeped in Luxury " — At Djaueoun- 
 nene — Meeting a Caravan — Resemblance Between Thibetans and Other Peoples — Thumb 
 Language — A Droll Native — The Thibetans Not Fanatics — On the Banks of the Omtchou 
 — AtTandi — The Thibetan Sling — A Superb Mountain Scene — A Sight of Ploughed Land 
 — First View of the Lama-house of So — The " Delicious Odour " of Wood — A Concierr/e in 
 Thibet — Native Money — A Commission of 150 per cent. — Ploughing at So — Crossing the 
 So-tchou — A Bearded Thibetan — Why Dishonest Chiefs are Popular. 
 
 Our first stage to Batang lies 
 through a valley that varies 
 in breadth from one to four 
 miles, with encampments in 
 the gorges, and herds on the 
 ridges. The Ourtehou, which 
 flows down it, is, it seems, 
 one of the three great tribu- 
 taries of the Naptchou, which 
 has several smaller ones as 
 well. After four hours on 
 horseback we encamp on a 
 slight elevation, at a place 
 called, as our guide tells us, 
 Gatine. 
 
 Our tent is pitched on the 
 edge of a rapid stream, from 
 which all the ice and snow have disappeared, except in its creeks. 
 We have descended some hundred yards while following first the 
 bottom of the valley, and then the. low hills that skirt it on the 
 right. On the eastern slopes, a little vegetation is visible, con- 
 sisting of brushwood half a foot high which bears in Central Asia 
 the generic name of " Camel's Tail," and this suffices to " furnish " 
 
 MONUMENT NEAR THE LAMA-HOUSE OF SO. 
 
THE DESERT. 93 
 
 the landscape a little. The path is at times very stony, and at 
 the lower end of the valley grows that stalky, strong grass, which 
 is the despair of thinly shod people. Our direction is at present 
 north-east, soon to change to east; in order to strike a road which, 
 though far from being the straighter of the two, is, we are assured, 
 the better for beasts of burden. We must needs follow our 
 guide, for the simple reason that we cannot argue with him, from 
 want of information, books having taught us nothing about this 
 district, which is blank on the map. However, we think we 
 recognise on the Russian maps the spot which we ought to reach 
 in ten days, if our yak-drivers are right. Its name is So (written 
 Sok), and we shall find there, we are told, a large lama-house. 
 Our stay at Gatine is most enjoyable ; at three p.m. the thermo- 
 meter marks 41° in the shade. TakiDg my gun, I go for a walk 
 on the tableland, and feel a real pleasure in being quite alone, 
 without any of the Thibetans with whom we have to talk and 
 argue for hours together. 
 
 The shadows gradually darken on the mountain -side, which does 
 not look steep. It seems, by insensible degrees, to form stages 
 up to the very top, so as not to put the climber out of breath. 
 Northwards the horizon is still bathed in light, while over the 
 valley float trails of bluish smoke betraying the presence of tents. 
 The quiet is delicious, broken only by the larks, lustily trilling 
 their love-songs. Presently night begins to fall. The sun is 
 lost to sight, after seeming to rest a moment on the bend of the 
 tableland to the west. No sooner, however, has he run his daily 
 course, than the moon rises in the east, like an immense ball of 
 gold, in the direction of Batang. Then, suddenly, two waives 
 appear on the top of a snow-hill, but, seeing me, stop, and after a 
 moment's reflection, turn tail. As they were out of range at first, 
 and are now far away, it is useless to think of following them, so 
 I return to the camp to warn our men that they must protect our 
 flock of sheep. They accordingly tie the older ones together, 
 
94 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 nose to nose, by tlieir horns, and the others, of their own accord, 
 creep in between them. Over sixty yaks are also attached, in a 
 ring, to a cord fixed close to the ground, so as to form, with their 
 hairy bodies, a wall round our tents and sheep, a small gap being 
 left in the circle so that we may have an open path to draw water 
 from the stream. The horses are left to wander at will around 
 the camp, as we know that they are accustomed and able to 
 protect themselves against the wolves, and in case of danger our 
 dogs will give the alarm. 
 
 Our drivers having asked us to start early the following 
 morning, so that the yaks may have time to graze during the day, 
 we soon get supper ready, consisting of boiled mutton, which we 
 attack with a good appetite. Above us shine the stars, though 
 very feebly in the dazzling moonshine ; a gentle breeze comes 
 from the south, not a single cloud is to be seen, and the heavens 
 display all tlieir grandeur, the mountains being apparently re- 
 duced, under so magnificent a vault, to the size of mere molehills. 
 
 The road is no longer dull as it was in winter : the landscape 
 is more varied, game is abundant and furnishes plenty of dis- 
 traction. Our collection becomes by degrees our chief care, for 
 the nomads we come across are as affable as possible. The} r live 
 in black tents, drinking the milk of their cows, which are very 
 small, and which they cross with yaks. They have sheep with 
 very fine wool, and also small goats about the size of our kids. 
 The goats are generally black, with long drooping hair like the 
 yaks, small horns, and legs that look short but are undoubtedly 
 strong, as is proved by their bounds and speed ; they weigh from 
 eleven to thirteen pounds. The wives of the Thibetan shepherds 
 have to do nearly all the work, but they enjoy full liberty, and are not 
 unsociable, freely approaching our camp, sitting down by the side 
 of our Thibetans, and soon getting to be on good terms with them. 
 
 April 6. — We have been lost in admiration of the dwelling 
 of a hermit lama perched on the mountain, on the left bank of the 
 
A HERMIT LAMA. 95 
 
 river Ourfcchou, between Gatine and Tsatang, for it is so long 
 since we have seen anything like a house. This looked a very 
 large one, but our lama told us that it was very small— just large 
 enough for one person. With the help of our glasses we could 
 make out a rectangle of chalk walls, a verandah, and the frames 
 of one window and one door, so that it must really be quite 
 small. But it was bathed in sunshine, and looked so white and 
 cheerful that we could not pity the monk who has retired there, 
 away from the distractions of the world. We asked our lama how 
 this recluse could live, and he pointed to the tents that are 
 pitched lower down in the valley : " They give him all he needs : 
 whenever he wants anything, he goes down to those tents and 
 prays, then they fill his wallet, and he returns home." 
 
 Considerable difficulty is experienced in getting our yaks to 
 cross the river. For the breaking-up of the frost is now near at 
 hand, and the edges are already clear of ice ; and we have to enter 
 the water, then mount on ice, repeating this performance several 
 times before gaining the opj)osite bank. The laden yaks break 
 through and fall into the water, only extricating themselves with 
 great difficulty, and after wetting our baggage, though it is pro- 
 tected by felt wrappings. 
 
 The width of the river varies from 1G0 to 350 feet, and in 
 flood may be 470 feet near Tsatang, where it widens out. Then 
 it penetrates the mountain, which contracts it, and causes it to 
 wind gently. Near Gatine it broadens out again and forms eyots 
 on which we see and kill some ruddy sheldrakes {Casarca rutila) ; 
 the same, I think, that are found in Turkestan, and called in 
 Turkish, if I remember aright, dourma. Along this same river, 
 too, we kill some geese with heads striped with black, ducks 
 exactly like those of the Lob Nor, white gulls, and a crane, such 
 as Prjevalsky first described. 
 
 All our wants are supplied at the encampments which we come 
 across : very good mutton, plenty of milk, fuel, water in skins 
 
96 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 wlien we are no longer on the banks of the river, and fodder for 
 onr beasts. We are short of nothing, so well does our lama, 
 seconded by a young chief who has a long plait of hair, look after 
 us ; in fact, they take as much care of us as if they were our 
 sons. Compared to the life we were leading only a short time 
 ago, and especially before we reached Dam, we feel ourselves 
 positively steeped in luxury. 
 
 Now and again we meet with hunters carrying matchlocks, 
 forks, and lances, with powerful dogs in leash, long-haired, like 
 our shepherds' dogs, and with broad heads shaped like that of a 
 bear. Many of these dogs are black, with reddish-brown spots, 
 this latter being generally the colour of their chests and paws, as 
 it is that of the hares to the south of the higher tablelands. 
 We collect quantities of small birds, and come across black divers, 
 black marmots, and dark brown bears. 
 
 In proportion as we advance the natives improve in face and 
 form, and we are much struck by their gaiety and light-hearted- 
 ness. The women smear their faces with butter, and, as they 
 never wash, the butter catches the smoke and dust and becomes a 
 regular mask of soot. We can only suppose that fchey do this in 
 order to protect their faces against the biting winds. 
 
 April 8. — At Djaucounnene, after turning in an easterly 
 direction on quitting a pass, we for the first time meet a caravan. 
 Bags are piled up to form a wall behind which the travellers take 
 shelter, whilst their yaks graze close by. They are transporting 
 barley and meal from So to Lhassa. As they approach we are 
 struck by the breadth of their faces, and the slant of their eyes, 
 which turn upwards at the corners ; they are dressed just like our 
 drivers, but are much taller. 
 
 At first sight, a new people presents a well-defined general 
 type ; but, on looking more closely, and examining it well, this 
 apparent uniformity is found to be qualified by considerable variety. 
 We are even astonished to find a resemblance in our Thibetans to 
 
DIFFERENT TYPES OF THIBETANS. 
 
 97 
 
 certain other nations, and even to friends and acquaintances of 
 ours. Here, for instance, is one with a perfect Greek profile, as 
 shown on the best cameos. His neighbour, on the other hand, 
 is of the redskin t} T pe, with receding brow and arched nose, like 
 
 THIBETAN OF THE REDSKIN TYPE. 
 
 an eagle's beak, while he walks with head slightly thrown back. 
 By his side is a young lad, singing as he prepares some meat for 
 sausages, cutting it on the pommel of his saddle ; with his dark 
 eyes and regular features, and hair falling over his forehead, he 
 might be an Italian. What we can affirm as a fact is that we 
 are in the presence of a white race, that has nothing in com- 
 mon with those of a yellow complexion but the absence of beard, 
 which is, however, amply compensated by the quantity of hair 
 they have on their heads ; in fact, it is not unusual to see even old 
 men with plaits as thick as a cable. 
 
 Our yak-drivers are always busy, content with little sleep, and 
 41 
 
93 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 very cheerful; all the time they are getting their beasts ready 
 they hum an air, and finish the loading very quickly. They are 
 indefatigable walkers, and some of them climb the steepest hill- 
 sides singing and without losing breath ; in fact, the} r breathe 
 with greater ease than do their yaks, though we should bear in 
 mind that these latter are loaded. Deep-chested, these men have 
 well-set necks, of average length. To-day Eachmed made them 
 a present of half a sheep, as a proof of our being well satisfied 
 with them. Using their knives with the greatest dexterity, they 
 put the best pieces aside, ate the head raw, as we had seen them 
 do before, and proceeded to cook the rest by throwing the inferior 
 pieces into hot water, the feet with the wool still on them, and the 
 intestines scarcely cleansed. 
 
 They are excellent mimics, and speak very well, with a good 
 deal of gesture and facial play. I have already explained that 
 they express disagreement by joining the thumb-nails, and agree- 
 ment by putting them just the opposite way. Putting the 
 thumb up means approval and satisfaction ; raising the little 
 finger denotes hostility, while to keep it in this position and at 
 the same time to shake the head signifies dislike. The two 
 thumbs placed perpendicularly one above the other, with the 
 tongue hanging out, denote superlative approval. 
 
 The old man who was photographed, prayer-mill in hand, 
 is very droll, and fond of jokes. Our interpreter Abdullah 
 amuses himself by saluting him in Thibetan. When the old 
 man replies, with astounding seriousness, Abdullah asks him how 
 he salutes a chief like the Amban, and the old man lolls out his 
 tongue and bows low ; and when anyone speaks to him of the 
 Ta-Amban (Great Amban), he expresses the deepest degree of 
 humility by scratching himself behind the ear. We laugh, and 
 the Thibetans themselves are amused by this little comedy. 
 
 It often happens that our lama prays aloud, as well as the 
 young chief, his companion. Then Abdullah begins to imitate 
 
THE THIBETANS NOT FANATICS. 93 
 
 their different intonations of voice, so that we cannot tell 
 which is which ; far from being angry, they all, " clerics " as 
 well as laymen, begin to laugh. This does not suggest religious 
 fanaticism; they seem, indeed, to content themselves with the 
 forms and externals of religion, as the sole manifestation of their 
 faith. Our old chief occupies his leisure moments in turning his 
 prayer-mill from right to left, even when walking, and often 
 mumbles a litany. Men who believe in the transmigration of 
 souls, and to whom intellectual exercise is a thing unknown, can 
 only occupy themselves usefully, when neither legs nor arms are 
 working, in reciting formulas under the impression that they will 
 thus secure for themselves a better existence. 
 
 April 9. — The day before yesterday we left the river Ourtchou 
 to ascend one of its tributaries, called the Botchou ; on the 8th 
 we traversed a tableland and a pass into a valley where the 
 Ourtchou flows in a south-easterly direction. We therefore had 
 to leave it again, and to-day we ascended a small river towards the 
 east, encamping at the upper end of a valley, at the foot of a pass 
 which we shall ascend to-morrow. We are, at present, at an 
 altitude of from 15,000 to 16,000 feet. In the valleys, where 
 grass is to be found, we saw some tents and flocks. Three men 
 whom we met were as much alike as three brothers could be. 
 They were all short, and had the round heads, and straight noses, 
 with narrow bridges, of Romans. All three were toothless, and, 
 with their lower lips drooping on to their round chins, they 
 recalled the busts of Nero. 
 
 We are now on the banks of the Omtchou, but shall have to 
 leave it, for it, too, flows south-east, as far as we can tell, as is 
 the case with most of the rivers in this region. 
 
 April 10. — A pass leads us to a small river, then another lime- 
 stone pass, with obos, on which our Thibetans do not fail to 
 deposit stones with a prayer; then another valley, and a river 
 to cross, and finally a steppe from three to four miles broad, 
 
100 
 
 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 which seems a vast plain. Through it flows the So-tchou, 
 which is from 100 to 200 feet broad. According to what our 
 lama and the old chief say, we have now crossed the four 
 
 YAK-mUVEK WITH PRAYER-MILL (p. 1'S). 
 
 principal tributaries of the Kitchou, which flows by Lhassa, viz., 
 
 the Ourtchou, the Poptchou, the Omdjamtchou, and the Satchou. 
 
 April 12. — We have a sharp white frost during the night, but 
 
 the morning is superb. Antelopes stare at us, great eagles are 
 
'WE ENCAMP AT TANBI. 101 
 
 describing circles in the air, and in the gorge our hunters see 
 some bears. These animals swarm about here, and, unfortunately 
 for us, have better legs than their pursuers. Wolves often howl 
 at night, but are never visible by day. We traverse a pass, at 
 a height of about 16,500 feet, and encamp, at the bottom, at 
 Tandi, on the banks of a river. 
 
 Our stages, it will be seen, are very similar to one another. 
 We do not feel them to be severe, for we are now much better and 
 stronger, but they average twelve miles each, which means a 
 good deal more in a mountainous country than elsewhere. In 
 order that our yaks may not lose strength, their loads are changed 
 every day, so that the same beast never carries our wild-yak 
 skins, which are very heavy, nor our cartridge-boxes, on two 
 successive days. As soon as one is tired, it is unloaded, and 
 another takes its place out of a reserve stock of ten, which only 
 carry their saddles. 
 
 April 13. — We begin to ascend from the moment of start- 
 ing, and for three hours follow the deviations of a path which 
 winds along the side of the ridges, now to the south-east, now to 
 the north-east. To the north are steep heights and bare rocks, 
 while to the south valleys descend towards a smaller chain, also 
 bare, beyond and overlooking which is a higher chain, white with 
 ice glittering from under the snow. The road is difficult, and we 
 admire the agility of our yaks, their surefootedness, and the 
 strength of their legs, thanks to which they can take a drop of 
 six feet and fall on their feet, and that, too, with a load on their 
 backs. And our horses are quite as clever. 
 
 A caravan meets us on its way to Lhassa, consisting, of course, 
 of no (as yaks are called in these parts), for everything here is 
 transported by these cattle with horses' tails. They are laden 
 with long boxes covered with skins, and containing sugar, as we 
 are told. At the head marches a lama with a pointed yellow cap, 
 and carrying over his shoulder his cup in a leather bag, and 
 
102 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 several sacred images in little frames of hammered copper. He 
 walks quickly, and his leanness, his hollow cheeks, and light 
 step, remind Eachmed and me of old Pir, a good mollah who was 
 our guide on the Pamir. The descent is along a river with high 
 banks, and intercepted with ravines. Then the valley contracts to 
 a mere gorge between the rocks, which we descend on ice, and the 
 gorge in turn becomes a valley. We camp at Tjéma-Loung, 
 which means "mouth of the gorge." Some tents are pitched not 
 far off, and when we pass in front of them, the dogs rush out at 
 us, but their masters call them back and drive them away with 
 stones, and then salute us. They have come here to prostrate 
 themselves before their chief {bembo), whose face is pitted with 
 small-pox. He is, however, very energetic, and accompanies us 
 as long as we are on the grounds of his tribe. His insignia 
 consist of a collar and bells, which he hangs round his horses' 
 neck. We repeatedly ask for milk, and the chief never fails to 
 demand some at the tents which we pass, though he coolly pockets 
 all the small change which we hand to those who provide us 
 with it. 
 
 Around our tents lammergeiers are fighting over the remains of 
 a sheep, which they watched us kill. Wishing to see for ourselves 
 the skill of the Thibetans with the sling, we asked a man to try his 
 aim at one about seventy-five yards off. Picking out an oval 
 stone, a young man, who passes for the best slinger amongst them, 
 places it in the sling, then swings it round once ; the end cracks, 
 and the stone falls within nine inches of the bird, which flies off at 
 once. We examine this redoubtable weapon, which is about seven 
 feet in length and very simple, consisting of strands of wool 
 plaited loosely together, so as to leave it supple. In the middle is a 
 small pocket to hold the stone. At one end is a ring in which 
 the thumb is placed, the other end, having no ring, is pressed 
 between the thumb and the linger, care being taken that the 
 stone hangs evenly in the middle. 
 
MOUNTAIN SCENERY. 103 
 
 To-night our men keep on the. alert. Some of them sleep at 
 a certain distance from the tents, watching the yaks. From 
 time to time those near the tents give forth shrill cries, and 
 the distant sentinels reply with a similar cry, which is again given 
 back like an echo by the men on the mountains. It is a sort of 
 greeting to each other, as well as a defiance to the enemy, for 
 we are told that caravans are often robbed hereabouts. 
 
 April 14. — We set out early for So, which is on the other 
 side of some difficult passes. After crossing the river and then 
 one of its affluents, we mounted to the top of the first pass, which 
 is about 13,000 feet high. Then, by a path which is stony, 
 difficult, and such that a horse cannot always get up with his 
 rider, in four hours we reached the la-La, at an altitude of about 
 16,500 feet. These excellent people here rightly thought that 
 we should be glad of a draught of milk, which is as welcome as 
 manna in this stony desert, where our only drink is snow 
 that has been sheltered from the sun at the bottom of the 
 crevasses. 
 
 After satisfying our hunger and thirst, we continue our 
 journey by a path along a ridge as far as the oho that marks 
 the spot where the desert commences. A perfect panorama 
 here stretches out before our eyes. The horizon is clear at the 
 four cardinal points, and a regular ocean of mountains is visible ; 
 quite as many to the north as to the south, only the summits are 
 whiter southwards. This is undoubtedly a magnificent mountain 
 scene, though these " grand views " are, after all, very much alike, 
 and a little stretch of plain would be most acceptable. 
 
 After such a climb, it is only right that we should have a 
 scramble down. At one time we go faster than we care for on a 
 stony path with innumerable twists, at another we slide along 
 rocks on the ice left by a torrent, falling and then getting up 
 again. We do not lose a single one of our loaded yaks, but among 
 those which are not laden, three fall over a precipice, and are 
 
104 
 
 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 killed at once. We then cross, recross, and again cross the river, 
 to find ourselves on such level ground that our horses, of their 
 
 A LOADED YAK. 
 
 own accord, break into a trot. To our left, at the lower end of 
 the plateau, is a river flowing from the north to the south, into 
 which the one we have just crossed empties itself. But what is 
 it that we see in the valley ? Cultivated fields ! Ploughed land ! 
 
FIRST VIEW OF THE LAMA-HOUSE OF SO. 105 
 
 Yes, and farther away to the north, at the junction of the rivers, 
 a sort of pyramid, looking like a sugar-loaf on a cubic base of 
 masonry. Insensibly the ground rises, and soon, straight in front 
 of us, upon an isolated cone which the river skirts to the east, 
 rise high grey walls, built on the very edge of the cliffs and 
 forming a most imposing mass. Above these walls extends a 
 rectangle, having at one end a square tower and at the other a 
 cloistered gallery. From the flat roof rise long poles looking like 
 masts, from the ends of which float coloured flags and pen- 
 nants. 
 
 The chief who is our guide, tells us that this is So Goumba, 
 the lama-house of So. As he pronounced these words, the poor 
 savage's face expressed his pride, and he repeated " So Groumba ! 
 So Groumba ! " as though he would give us to understand that it is 
 not every day that one has the luck to see so fine an edifice. 
 As for us, although we did not feel his admiration for this speci- 
 men of human work, yet the sight of a habitation was a real 
 satisfaction to us. For five months we had not seen so extensive, 
 so monumental a building ; indeed, I might say for six, for the 
 huts and cottages at Tcharkalik scarcely count. 
 
 Our curiosity was now aroused, for Ave had heard before from 
 our men that there are many houses at So, and we were therefore 
 naturally anxious to arrive there. But as we proceeded we saw 
 nothing beyond what I have described. At last I asked, " Where 
 is So?" 
 
 " There it is," answered the Thibetan, pointing with his finger 
 to what we were unwilling to take for a town. We congratulated 
 him on the beauty of his capital, and one man, taking our re- 
 marks quite seriously, expressed his acquiescence. On reaching 
 the Goumba, we discovered that it looks like a fortress only on 
 the north and west sides, and that the winds are the enemy 
 against which these solid walls have been reared as a defence 
 The south front presents to view row upon row of small lime- 
 42 
 
106 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 stone houses, exposed to the sun's rajs, which they admit by 
 doors, windows, and countless galleries. This side is as open as 
 the others are shut in. All the dwellings, clinging to the sides of 
 the slopes and the irregularities in the rock, are so completely one 
 above the other, that the roofs of one row serve as terrace or 
 courtyard to those in the row above. The one wide opening is 
 the gate, flanked by pillars in the Persian style, and by this the 
 bearers of sacks, faggots, and other necessaries destined for the 
 use of the monastery enter and depart. 
 
 The good lamas were to be seen with bare heads and shorn, 
 draped, like Roman senators, in dark, coarse woollen robes ; some 
 walking up and down the terraces, others sitting cross-legged or 
 stretched on rugs, with their legs tucked under them, and 
 watching us as they basked in the sunshine. 
 
 Wending our way to the palace we were to occupy, we came to 
 a gate with folding doors, to which are affixed two written 
 notices in Thibetan, which, with the aid of the imagination, en- 
 abled us to fancy that they were lodging us in the Town Hall of 
 the district. Through a porch we entered a square court, in the 
 north-west corner of which some small chambers are built against 
 the walls, with a gallery, constructed of wooden pillars, in front 
 of them. The other two sides of the court contain only a 
 granary, and a place where the horses are tethered. 
 
 This house is, it seems, reserved for the reception of great men 
 on their way to or from Lhassa, and belongs to the Talai-Lama, 
 that is, the oligarchy which rules Thibet. A pole — dressed at the 
 top with stuffs of every colour, yellow predominating — rising from 
 the courtyard, marks the fact that it is under the Government 
 flag. A simple glance at the interior of these so-called " rooms " 
 sufficed to make us decide to keep to our tents, so full were they 
 of filth and vermin. 
 
 While our men were erecting our tent, after levelling the 
 ground a little, we made for a heap of split wood against the wall. 
 
A THIBETAN CONCIERGE. 107 
 
 Wood ! imagine our happiness as we feel it, and sniff the delicious 
 odour of the still green juniper, which penetrates even to our 
 hearts, Frenchmen as we are, who love the forests so keenly, 
 and whose ancestors used to cry, " To the mistletoe !" on ISTew 
 Year's Day. Then we were lost in ecstasy before their walls, 
 built, as is the fashion out here, with rough stones and soil, and 
 sanctified by the insertion of prayers and carved images of 
 Buddha. Our attention was next attracted by the roof, with its 
 astonishing, unheard-of chimney-top, consisting of a huge 
 earthenware pot that had lost its bottom, probably by being 
 knocked against an iron one ; by garlands of prayers, attached 
 to staples and decorating our house; by the stairs, made of 
 earth and turf, leading up to the roof ; and by the fireside, a little 
 square altar, on which were odoriferous branches in honour of the 
 divinity. Finally, to complete the house, was a concierge, living in 
 a little lodge, with a bitch and her two puppies. He was an ugly- 
 looking individual, greasy, tall, lean, and squint-eyed, with a 
 pointed face black with filth, and made apparently longer by 
 his high narrow forehead ; he had the short hair of a lama, and 
 seemed to be a sort of lay-brother. We were scarcely settled 
 when we received a visit from the civil and the religious chiefs, 
 who were both very polite to us, bringing us rice, milk, two sheep, 
 and chopped straw for our horses. They made a note of what we 
 wanted, and gave us their word that we should be able to start in 
 two days without fail, in accordance with our wishes. We made 
 them some presents in turn. In the evening they cooked us 
 some excellent slices of mutton, thanks to a good wood fire, and 
 we had capital milk, well-made bread and well-cooked rice. We 
 could sit near the fire without being poisoned by the smell of 
 the dried dung which they burn in the desert; and, in truth, 
 we fancied ourselves in another world. We were now at a 
 height of less than 10,000 feet, and the air seemed so heavy 
 and so stifling that we had to open the door of our tent. At 
 
108 AC EOS S THIBET. 
 
 nightfall the lamas, posted on the terraces of the monastery, 
 gave us a serenade with their long trumpets, the dogs supple- 
 menting this discordant music with their barking ; but the 
 awful noise gradually diminished, and so we fell asleep, 
 
 April 15. — When we awoke this morning we complained of 
 the heat. The minimum during the night was only 23° Fahr., 
 so that winter is over for us, and not too soon. Having spent 
 the day mending various articles, we distributed presents among 
 the senior chiefs and drivers who have accompanied us, as they 
 wished to start on their way back before sunset, so that they 
 might spend the night at the foot of la-La, and commence its 
 difficult ascent to-morrow. 
 
 We paid them generously in iambas, though they prefer Indian 
 rupees to this species of money in bulk ; because the Chinese mer- 
 chants constantly cheat them by having two different scales, 
 which always tell in their own favour, and also by preparing a very 
 bad alloy ; not unnaturally, therefore, the savages prefer actual 
 coins, the weight and value of which they understand. The only 
 Thibetan coin that we have seen used is one about as thick as a 
 sixpence and as large as a halfpenny, weighing the sixth of an 
 ounce. It ought always to be of silver, but sometimes, to the 
 disgrace of the authorities of the "mint," it is of a bad alloy, 
 so that the savages do not readily accept it. On one side it is 
 stamped with inscriptions on eight medallions, forming a circle 
 round a rose in the centre ; and on the other, with curious 
 ornamentations, among which we fancy we can recognise the 
 crescent touching the sun, and the trident. 
 
 This distribution of money and presents gave rise to a little 
 incident, and revealed to us the presence of a Chinaman at So, a 
 confirmed opium-smoker, who gains a livelihood as a usurer and 
 money-changer. He is a native of Kensi, and was obliged, long 
 ago, to flee his country for good and sufficient reasons. We 
 availed ourselves of his knowledge of Thibetan to explain to 
 
THE LAMA-HOUSE AT SO. 
 
PLOUGHING WITH YAKS. Ill 
 
 the men whom we had been rewarding the amonnt of the money 
 which we had given them ; for, with the exception of the oldest 
 amongst them, they had no idea of the meaning of scales and 
 weights. And the chiefs who accompanied us, having offered to ex- 
 change these ingots for " cash," had given them only three or four 
 apiece of these Thibetan coins, thus realising a profit of one hun- 
 dred and fifty per cent. When the opium-smoker explained our 
 generosity to them, they were very much put out at the rapacity 
 of their chiefs, though the majority of them dared neither protest 
 nor ask for their ingots back. Two, however, did not conceal their 
 displeasure, and we intervened and made the chiefs hand back to 
 the poor fellows what was meant for them, whereupon they 
 manifested their joy by jumping about in most comical fashion. 
 Then, bowing down and taking our hands, they placed them on 
 their heads, and finally withdrew backwards, raising their thumbs 
 and hanging out their tongues. Their yaks were quickly as- 
 sembled and loaded with their slender baggage, and they started 
 off singing. 
 
 The news of our arrival having got abroad, with the addition, 
 no doubt, that we were open-handed, our house was positively 
 besieged by a crowd of beggars of both sexes. We offered 
 them a sheep, which we handed to the captain of this horde, 
 bidding him distribute it equally. This largess rid us of them 
 and their vermin, but not of the do^s. The number of these 
 animals is perfectly astounding ; in fact, we could not say whether 
 beggars or dogs were the more numerous at So. 
 
 From our house we can see the men ploughing in the valley 
 below. They scratch the mountain-side with a plough drawn by 
 two yaks, which are led by a man who holds the cords attached 
 to the rings in their noses. From behind the ploughman whips 
 them up, though they do not go any quicker, but merely straighten 
 their tufted tails and growl. The furrows are very small, and 
 as far as possible perpendicular to the lie of the slope, with 
 
112 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 the view, no doubt, of stopping the waters which run down from 
 the plateau. When the field has been ploughed they come to- 
 wards us, and so give us the opportunity of examining their team. 
 It consists of a pole fixed to a joke which the beasts keep up. 
 The tail is simply a large branch roughly hewn and bent a little 
 to form a handle ; the share is of wood, with two side-pieces also 
 of wood, bound by means of leathern thongs and with an iron tip 
 in front. The men seem to till the land with great care, breaking 
 the clods with a wooden mallet, and picking up the stones, which 
 they place in a heap at the corner of the field. We see several 
 others ploughing in the same way ; the driver is sometimes a 
 woman, but it is always a man with body bared who holds the 
 tail and guides the plough lightly through the soil. 
 
 Turning to the lama-house, we see much more movement 
 within- it than there was }^esterday. The dilapidations in the 
 roof and walls are being repaired. Women carry the mortar and 
 stones in baskets, while the men arrange the materials, and we 
 see several of them treading the soil down on the roof and 
 singing as they work. The lamas, richly clad, stand out boldly 
 against the sky on the highest point of the roof, as they interest 
 themselves in the work, and in various striking attitudes watch 
 the men. These hurried repairs suggest that the rainy season 
 is at hand. 
 
 April 16. — We quit So after having said our adieus to our 
 companions, the minor chiefs, who are returning home. One of 
 them is going to Lhassa, and we commission him to carry our 
 kind remembrances to our old friends who live in the holy city. 
 
 Crossing the So-tchou, which here is from 4S0 to G60 feet 
 broad, we have an involuntary bath. We then ascend a valley 
 from which one of the tributaries of the So-tchou comes down. 
 As we follow the banks of the river along an easy road with the 
 sun shining brightly, our eyes are gladdened by the juniper and 
 brushwood which cover the slopes on the higher ground ; herds 
 
STRANGE G A MU. 
 
 113 
 
 are browsing the green grass ; yaks, sheep, and horses vie with 
 each other in perching themselves on the most inaccessible spots. 
 Every now and again black ,tents are to be seen in a gorge, and 
 
 A HOUSE AT SO. 
 
 near them blocks of ice, reminding us that the winter is only now 
 
 over. In fact, we are perspiring, and have already forgotten the 
 
 awful cold of the tablelands. At the end of the valley tents are 
 
 pitched ready for us, with piles of faggots, and scarcely have 
 
 we sat down when an old fellow presents himself with pendent 
 
 tongue and a pot of creamy milk. Here we shoot some partridges 
 
 that are quite new to us, and have been for a long time puzzling 
 
 us by a cry which they uttered without showing themselves. 
 
 43 
 
 i 
 
114 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 While searching for them I catch sight of three natives at our 
 feet behind a rock, amusing themselves with the contemplation of 
 their own features in a pocket mirror, which they are evidently 
 using for the first time. They stop here for some time, chatting, 
 and laughing boisterously at their own grimaces. The mildness 
 of the temperature seems to us extraordinary ; we no longer 
 require our cloaks except after sunset. We again notice a curious 
 phenomenon, though it is less striking here than on the tablelands : 
 our woollen cloaks and clothes, whenever they are touched in the 
 dark, become luminous with electricity, and give forth a slight 
 crackle. 
 
 April 17. — Our road becomes more and more picturesque. 
 We traverse regular woods of juniper trees, above which the 
 green hills appear. Herds become more numerous, and trees more 
 sparse. The method of building is no longer the same, for other 
 materials are here available. We see huts, made of branches, 
 built against the mountain-side, and the tents are surrounded 
 with hedges, as among the Ivirghis on the mountains of Central 
 Asia, while the animals are shut in at night, because of the 
 cultivated lands. Fires are made of wood, with which dung is 
 mixed. The men are also laying by supplies of grass for the 
 winter, and everywhere we see erections that look like "-allows 
 or gibbets, formed of upright poles, on the tops of which others 
 are fixed crosswise ; on these they dry the grass, which is, at 
 the same time, out of reach of the cattle. In proportion as the 
 land is more generous, the inhabitants take more care of themselves, 
 and have stronger frames. For the first time we notice among 
 these shepherds the use of a covering other than the cloak, for some 
 are wearing cotton shirts with broad sleeves, and others sleeveless 
 waistcoats. Almost all of them smoke pipes of tin or beaten iron, 
 with tubes so long that by slightly stooping the smoker can 
 light his very bad tobacco at the fire. On the road they carry, 
 attached to their tobacco-pouch, a little wooden vessel in which 
 
A BEARDED THIBETAN. 115 
 
 they empty the residue of each pipe, and quickly filling the small 
 bowl, light the fresh tobacco from the burning remains. 
 
 At Souti, in the valley of Soudjou, we were as astonished to 
 see a man with a little black beard as we are at home to see a 
 woman with hair on her chin. This individual, adorned also with 
 a rudimentary moustache, is in other respects very like his fellows. 
 He seems to be in the service of the local chief, who attracts our 
 attention at once, for he seems an exact picture of what a bar- 
 barian chief should be. No longer young, for his hair is turning 
 grey, he is still active and vigorous ; his style of salutation is 
 dignified though simple ; he has regular features, thin lips, small 
 eyes, with a proud look in them, and in all his gestures there is a 
 certain amount of distinction combined with simplicity and ease. 
 Whether he is walking, lighting his pipe — which is as long as 
 his arm — or resting, he looks well. Ask him a question and he 
 replies seriously ; he issues brief orders that are quickly executed. 
 He commands in a natural way, like a man born to be obeyed. 
 
 Since leaving So, we have often noticed that the soil on the 
 banks of the river has been disturbed. To-day the mystery is 
 solved, for on the fire near the tent we see a pot filled with what 
 seems to be, from its taste, a kind of turnip. It is called niotima, 
 and is found in the ground, just like truffles, growing generally 
 with a long root, in which case it has a flat top like a mushroom, 
 but sometimes the root is short. 
 
 From Souti we reach Eitchimbo by a pass, and are scarcely in 
 the valley before we meet with an easterly wind, for the first time 
 these many weeks, and a storm of sleet. The juniper trees 
 have almost entirely disappeared, and here we are on a steppe 
 again. 
 
 We have to change our yaks to-day, and for the last time we 
 pay our workmen and drivers directly for their services. They 
 always hand their money at once to their chiefs, who appropriate 
 two-thirds of it, under the idea, doubtless, that we are "ruining 
 
116 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 trade." For the future, we shall simply hand a lump sum 
 to the chief of the band, taking care to be less generous. We 
 have often asked each other why savages submit so readily 
 to the extortions of their chiefs. An Oriental gave us an ex- 
 planation of this which may be worth mentioning. " We greatly 
 prefer dishonest chiefs," said he, " because they punish us less 
 severely when we deserve punishment, and we can obtain from 
 them favours which it would be useless to ask from honest chiefs, 
 who refuse bribes. The latter only do and permit what is just 
 and right." 
 
 At Eitchimbo we see, for the first time, a goitre, on the neck 
 of a small chief. 
 
 April 20. — The whole mountain is covered to a depth of 
 about four inches with fine snow, which began to fall last 
 night. After climbing a very difficult pass, called Kela, which 
 is also the name of the neighbouring chain, and reaching, 
 with great trouble and in intolerable heat, a height of 15,200 
 feet, the descent began. The snow was positively dazzling in the 
 sunshine, and our faces were scorched, for we could not protect 
 ourselves against the reflection of the sun's rays, after the manner 
 of the natives, who let their long hair hang down over their faces. 
 They, however, suffer from headache, to relieve which they put 
 handfuls of snow on their heads. It took us three hours to cross 
 the pass, and we then followed the course of a river, sometimes 
 on the ice and sometimes on the bank. On the adjacent lands 
 were houses with flat tops, and surrounded with hedges ; dogs 
 greeted us with their barking, and we fancied we could even hear 
 cats mewing, though it might, perhaps, have been little lambs 
 bleating. Juniper trees were again very scarce, but the hill -sides 
 bristled with brushwood ; and every time that we raised our eyes 
 we saw yaks where one would think only birds could perch. 
 Then, leaving the valley, \\*e climbed a ridge which forced us to go 
 out of our way, with the result that we stumbled along towards a 
 
A FEARFUL OLD RASCAL. 117 
 
 chief's house near Bata-Soumdo. This place, we are told, is on 
 Chinese territory ; it is near a training-school for lamas situated 
 on the west side of the valley, which looks from here like a cul- 
 de-sac, stretching from north to south, and shut in on the north 
 by a superb mass of bristling broken rocks, with their slim and 
 snowy points rising one above the other. The whole looks like an 
 immense assemblage of tapering Gothic spires. On this side are 
 more houses built on and round the slopes, while above and 
 below cattle are grazing. 
 
 Our approach causes considerable curiosity, and several women, 
 freshly besmeared, come out of the house. One of them is young, 
 and as she does not wear a mask of dirt, displa} T s fine features 
 and a prepossessing face set in a natural head of hair, curly be- 
 yond all description. This head of hair is evidently " inhabited," 
 but, from the calm fashion in which she disposes of those of her 
 little six-footed friends that she can catch, it does not seem to 
 enter her mind that she is at all singular in this respect. The 
 chief, who is a fearful old rascal and very ughv, makes a difficulty 
 about supplying us with yaks and horses, thougli we offer to pay 
 him for their use. He pretends that he has none at his disposal. 
 We can see plenty of them on the mountain, however, and call 
 his attention to this manifest contradiction, and, being thus 
 cornered, he avows that he can do nothing on his own authorit}^. 
 " I must," lie says, " have an order from the Chinese chief at 
 Lhassa or Tsiamdo. Have you one ? " Thereupon our lama 
 and the representative of the chief at So take him in hand, and 
 the affair is soon settled. We express our astonishment at this 
 difficulty, and our lama explains to us that the people in this 
 valley are brigands, thieves, blackguards, in short, Chinese subjects, 
 and that they are dependent on the Chinese mandarins at Tsiamdo. 
 
 Our afternoon is devoted to a reception of crowds of idlers 
 whom we allow to inspect our various utensils. Some enamelled 
 dishes call forth expressions of great admiration, while they raise 
 
118 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 their thumbs at the sight of our firearms, and greet our big-tailed 
 ram with shouts of joy. 
 
 By dint of small presents, we induce some of the yak-drivers 
 from Bitchimbo to transport our baggage during the four days 
 that we have still to pass on the territory of Tsiamdo. The most 
 ardent advocate in our behalf is a kind of idiot, about fifty 
 years old, whom his comrades obey in spite of his evident lack of 
 intelligence. We secured his allegiance by giving him a pocket 
 mirror, which he had asked for scores of times during the 
 stage. Although so simple-minded, he has wonderful legs, and is 
 never tired of using them. On the slightest excuse he would 
 come up to us, and hold the horse's bridle, under the pretence of 
 being of some assistance ; and, hanging out his tongue, would 
 pretend to look at himself in the hollow of his hand, as if he were 
 holding a looking-glass in it, and with the gestures and mimicry 
 of a Neapolitan would beg us to give him one. Since our arrival 
 at Bata-Soumdo he has never ceased hanging about Rachmed, 
 whom he knows to be the cashier, the dispenser of our goods ; and 
 when Dedeken hands him the longed-for mirror, he receives it 
 with an amusing explosion of joy that we have never seen 
 equalled. Raising his arms, he looks at himself, protrudes his 
 tongue, and gives a bound in the air, kicking up his heels. 
 He then runs to the women, and allows them to contemplate 
 their own features in his glass, but repulses them roughly when 
 they try to take it into their own hands. Some men then 
 approach, whereupon he runs away with a bound like a goat that 
 has just been let loose, pursued by some of his companions, who 
 cannot catch him up. He then stops, and allows them just a 
 glance at themselves in his glass, but that is all, and at last he con- 
 ceals this precious object, and each time that anyone asks him for 
 the loan of it, replies, in a serious tone, that they have had enough 
 amusement for the present. This strange man marks his friend- 
 ship for a certain little girl by handing her a little bit of glass off 
 
PERSUASIVE MEASURES. 
 
 119 
 
 a box of cigarettes ; and she immediately holds this glass in the 
 palms of her hands, and contemplates her reflected image, all the 
 women following her example. 
 
 April 21. — We start, though rather late, to-day, for we have 
 been obliged to adopt persuasive measures to induce a very 
 recalcitrant chief to furnish us with his quota of men and beasts. 
 Our lama and Eachmed at last bring him to understand that we 
 distribute with no sparing hand blows as well as more agreeable 
 things. 
 
 WOMEN AT BATA-SOU.UDO. 
 
120 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 NATIVE CUSTOMS AND CHAEACTEE. 
 
 Thibetan Vitellius — Tchang — Commercial Chinamen — Native Women — Polyandry and 
 Polygamy — Beggars — Contentment — The Chief of the District at Home — A Theological 
 Question — Departure from Sérésumdo — Mendicant Lamas and their Music — News from 
 Lhassa — The Honeymoon in Thibet — Novel Method of Crossing a Stream — Tumblers — 
 A Chief in His Cups — A Scene of Home Life —Force Majeure — Fickleness of the Natives : 
 The Probable Cause— At Karimeta — Primitive Husbandry — A Lamaess — Praying Wind- 
 mills — Tchoungo — The Dàla and Djala Passes — A Splendid Prospect — A Pagoda — 
 Houmda — Lagoon : a Manufacturing Town. 
 
 April 21. — We make a short 
 stage as far as Poiounclo, half-way 
 through a pass. The slopes are 
 covered with brushwood, and in a 
 thicket of rhododendrons we can see 
 musk-deer bounding about. Some 
 natives are very anxious to sell us 
 musk-bags, and, to prove their 
 generosity, offer us, at the same 
 time, some of the long teeth of 
 these animals. But these cunning 
 salesmen, who ask at least twenty- 
 five rupees apiece for the bags, are 
 regular cheats, for they have emptied 
 most of the bags and crammed them with paper. 
 
 April 22. — We traverse several short passes marked by obos, 
 from which protrude branches tied up in bundles. We mount to 
 a height of 16,500 feet, then descend, to mount again to a 
 height of 15,500 feet; then there come passes of only 13,900 feet, 
 and 14,900 feet. Now and again we see houses and tents on the 
 plateau ; around us is the fresh grass ; and our temperature at 
 night varies from 7° to 25° below zero. 
 
 April 23. — A pretty steep pass takes us up^to a height of 
 
 WOMAN AND CHILD OF KEKKSUMDO. 
 
À CONVIVIAL INVITATION. 
 
 121 
 
 15,000 feet, and then comes a descent into a narrow gorge 
 rendered very picturesque by rocks, gradually broadening into a 
 valley, while on the terraces above its perpendicular banks are 
 numerous flat-roofed habitations with grey walls varying in height. 
 
 Pill 
 
 &V, 
 
 I S 
 
 r I*. - 
 
 ^^~ < 
 
 f? : 
 
 HOUSE AT SERESt'MDO. 
 
 A large square building which frowns down upon them in the 
 distance gives these houses the appearance of forts surmounted by 
 a tower, such as are found in Tuscany. 
 
 Just as we were about to leave the valley, our old friend the 
 idiot with the looking-glass rushed forward, and explained to us, 
 with great volubility and gesticulations, that we were to halt 
 on the plateau : " A grand chief, a very good fellow, is expecting 
 you. I have told him that you are honest, kind men, and 
 that you must make each other's acquaintance, and drink a 
 glass of ichang together ; you will find it excellent." We had 
 no sooner reached the platform, which borders a river of consider- 
 able width, than we ^saw a number of natives who seemed to be 
 expecting u% Several of them came forward, and, politely 
 44 
 
122 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 taking our horses by their bridles, conducted us to this great 
 chief, who was one of the stoutest, if not the very stoutest, 
 of Thibetans that we had ever seen — quite a A^itellius. Tn 
 spite, or perhaps because of, his rotundity, he was very amiable, 
 shaking our hands most cordially, and begging us to honour him 
 by taking a seat on his rug. On each side of him was a 
 lama, one with a head like an actor, the other with that of 
 a faun. He himself carried on his bull-neck a splendid, well- 
 shaped head — the head of a savage monarch, with hair hanging 
 down his back. This specimen of a thick-set Goliath insisted 
 on our tasting the contents of three iron bottles, cased in 
 tin, of Chinese make, judging by their shape; on the liquid, lumps 
 of butter were floating, having been added to the decoction out of 
 compliment to us. From its flavour, this tcltang must be made from 
 fermented barley, and at first we did not think much of it, but 
 after a while we rather took to it, and gave it the high-sounding 
 name of hydromel. It seems very mild, but if you drink too much 
 of it you run the risk of becoming " dead drunk." Our host re- 
 quested permission to look at our firearms and glasses, and his 
 stupefaction was extreme when he saw the dust fly, a thousand 
 paces off, where a ball had struck a heap of rubbish on a rock ; his 
 companions sharing his astonishment, and expressing their ad- 
 miration in most emphatic terms. When we rose to leave, the fat 
 chief and all his followers insisted on conducting us, so they 
 brought him a splendid mule, which, in spite of his weight, he 
 mounted unaided ; and so we started. Having crossed the river, 
 our crowd of followers on foot tucking up their clothes and dis- 
 playing the sturdy though somewhat long legs of mountaineers, 
 we climbed a narrow path on the edge of the chasm, pitching our 
 tent near a clump of houses built on the mountain-side. A crowd 
 of idlers of both sexes soon surrounded us; the women being very 
 ugly, while a few of the young men had rather nice faces. 
 
 To our yak-drivers, and all these spectators who are shouting 
 
TWO CHINAMEN. 123 
 
 and moving about, two Chinamen with their solemn mien present 
 a great contrast. One of them wears a pair of spectacles with 
 rims so large that they cover part of his forehead. He is 
 smoking a cigar out of a long mouthpiece with a very 
 dignified air, one hand in his girdle. The other, whose nose is 
 not quite so insolently retroussé, has a less dignified attitude, and 
 a humorous smile. They enter at once into conversation with our 
 man Akoun, who turns out to come from Ken Si, their native 
 province. Chinamen who belong to the same district always 
 support each other, and when far from home meet compatriots 
 with the greatest pleasure, their provincialism doing duty for 
 patriotism. 
 
 These two are here to trade, and are the scouts of an army of 
 invading merchants. They buy musk chiefly, or rather take it in 
 exchange for tea, which they bring from China, a tea of a very 
 inferior quality, furnishing, indeed, an execrable drink; yet the 
 natives here prefer it to anything else, even to Indian rupees. 
 According to these Chinamen, musk is very dear, a good bag 
 costing at least twenty rupees. The natives also exchange it 
 for tobacco, but only on rare occasions, as the tobacco-leaves, which 
 they roll into cigars for themselves, come from Setchoun, and are 
 very expensive. 
 
 According to what the elder and graver of the Chinamen tells 
 us, they are both representatives of a large house, whose head- 
 quarters are at Shanghai. " My companion," he says, " was a 
 soldier, and has travelled in the direction of Yunnan. I am going 
 away from here in three hours, but he will remain, as he has 
 come to take my place. My residence here has lasted eighteen 
 months, and it will procure me, on my return home, the post of 
 manager of one of the shops belonging to our house. Oh ! you 
 might be kind enough to let me have one of your horses. I 
 noticed that one of them is lame ; let me have it, and I will soon 
 set it to rights. I should be very glad of it, for I want it badly." 
 
124 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 " What do you want it for ? " 
 
 " Because, you see, I have a little daughter whom I wish to 
 take away with me, and I could put her on your horse." 
 
 " Are you not taking the child's mother, too ? " 
 
 " No, for I am not married." 
 
 Thereupon his comjDanion, the old soldier, also unbosoms 
 himself to us. "I only arrived here three moons ago, and it 
 already seems a very long time to me. I don't like being here at 
 all, and I shall never be able to take to these savages or learn 
 their language." He calls our attention to their dirt, though 
 that does not prevent him from leering at some fearful -looking 
 women. He is evidently a " lady's man," but, as he himself 
 remarks, they are not by any means coy ; they are indeed devoid 
 of all sense of modesty or even of decency. 
 
 The poorer women adorn themselves with, copper bracelets and 
 earrings, the rich have silver ones. Many of them wear glass 
 necklaces which they buy from the Chinamen, and stones among 
 which agates predominate. They also insert these stones and 
 glass trinkets in their abundant locks, which fall like a fan down 
 their backs. Most of the women whom we see here have small 
 dark eyes, black hair, broad faces, and prominent cheekbones ; 
 they are stout and short, but very strong and muscular. We 
 are in a land where the system not only of " wives many," but 
 also of " husbands many " prevails. This is how the latter 
 mode works. A couple have a marriageable daughter ; a man is 
 anxious to enter into this family, live under the same roof, and 
 become the husband of the girl. He therefore visits her parents, 
 states the terms he is jn'epared to offer, and when this dowry — 
 or, rather, this charge for admission — is settled, becomes her 
 husband and a member of the family. Other young men, de- 
 sirous of sharing his happiness, present themselves, knock at the 
 door, and, if terms can be arranged, take their place, too, around 
 the family hearth, thus becoming members of the household and 
 I 
 
POLYANDRY. 
 
 125 
 
 co-husbands. Sometimes, but very rarely, it happens that one of 
 the husbands, through love or jealousy, or from some other motive, 
 wishes to become the sole proprietor, the sole lord of the wife. 
 
 TYPES OF NATIVES AT SERESUMDO. 
 
 In this case terms are arranged by which he becomes her 
 sole master, and his colleagues obligingly retire, when he has 
 repaid them the sum they brought on entering the association, 
 plus an indemnity, the amount of which is only settled after a 
 
126 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 long wrangle. If there are any children, they remain with the 
 wife. 
 
 It must not be imagined that this system prevails by law or 
 by any religious custom having the force of a law. In Thibet poly- 
 andry is not obligatory, as monogamy is with us. If his means 
 admit of such a luxury, a man^takes a wife to himself and does 
 not share her with others. And if a powerful, rich chief, 
 like the great man who welcomed us this morning, is not 
 content with one wife, he takes as many as he likes. Our 
 Goliath, for instance, has three, so that this country furnishes a 
 proof, as do other countries, that polyandry and polygamy are 
 determined by economic considerations. 
 
 Let me give another fact in support of this view. A married 
 man gives up his wife, and restores her to her family, when he 
 finds " double harness " too galling. He can, if he chooses, 
 enter a lama-house, a favour, however, that is granted him only 
 in return for a certain sum paid down into the prior's hands. 
 On becoming a lama, he is assured against want to the end of 
 his days, a sort of life annuity being granted to him in ex- 
 change for his capital handed over to the house. His position, 
 however, in the community is in proportion to his fortune ; and 
 should he be comparatively poor, he must not expect the happy 
 and easy lot of the richer lamas, but must work. Even with this 
 obligation to work, however, he is relatively happy, since his 
 future is secure ; he will never be without a crust to munch, and 
 many of the natives are quite content when this much is assured 
 to them. 
 
 Here, however, as elsewhere, some women are left unmarried. 
 When they cannot find a purchaser their only resource is to take 
 to begging ; they soon meet with others in the same plight, with 
 whom they join their fortunes, and they then wander about among' 
 tents and villages with wallets on their backs, and long sticks in 
 their hands to repel the dogs. Sometimes they join a body of 
 
WOMEN IN THIBET. 127 
 
 male beggars, when each sex begs for itself by day, and they 
 only meet at night. 
 
 If it be asked, " When a woman has, say, four husbands, how 
 can they possibly agree amongst themselves ?" I can only assert 
 that they do agree. They all, indeed, join hands against the 
 wife. They vie with one another in getting as much work out of 
 her as they possibly can. She it is who leads the yaks yoked to 
 the plough, or, bare to the waist, brandishes a mallet as she breaks 
 the clods ; before sunset she hastens to the fields to collect fuel 
 for the evening meal, and sometimes has to go, with her basket 
 on her back, to the summit of the mountains, along the slopes, 
 to gather it. If the stones in the walls that protect the culti- 
 vated lands fall down, she has to put them back again ; it is 
 she, too, who removes the stones turned up by the plough ; 
 she spins and sews, and attends to the heads of young and old ; 
 goes to the river for water, and, bending double on the steep path, 
 returns laboriously with her jars full ; while finally, when beasts 
 of burden run short, or these " gentlemen " think a load too 
 heavy for their little horses, they quietly put it on a woman's 
 back. The women belonging to the nomads, however, are not so 
 overdone with work as the wives of the husbandmen. 
 
 As for the men, they plough, sow, shoot, drive the yaks, and, 
 with the help of their women, load them, but their chief occupa- 
 tion consists in smoking their pipes while waiting for the harvest. 
 
 All, however, women as well as men, seem quite contented 
 with their lot, and gaiety reigns supreme. Every time they see 
 us performing our ablutions they gape with astonishment. Our 
 matches, too, fill them with amazement when they see them 
 light from friction. Several of them rush to pick up those we 
 have thrown away after using them, or because they would not 
 strike. Then they rub them, just as they have seen us doing, 
 on a stone or on their sleeves, and are crestfallen because they 
 cannot produce the desired effect. 
 
128 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 In the evening I took a walk in the direction of a large oho 
 piled up at the bottom of a terrace where the chief of the district 
 has built his palace. I found him before his door, sitting cross- 
 legged on a mat in a very dignified position, and turning his 
 prayer-mill. The suspicion of a beard and of a small black 
 moustache, and his hair, which falls down only to his shoulders, 
 make him the type of a Grallic chief as represented to us in 
 pictures. Chained up in his }'ard are two splendid black dogs 
 with red paws, enormous beasts with heads like bears, that bark 
 furiously when an} T one approaches. 
 
 The dwelling-house comprises the floor above the stables, and 
 is reached by stairs, or rather by a trunk of a tree hewn into the shape 
 of stairs. Between the first floor and the stables is a platform, on 
 the walls of which hang fox, wolf, and panther skins. Women 
 are attending to their household duties, while their lord and 
 master is enjoying the fresh air. While I am examining some 
 engraved stones, I am joined hy a young lama, whose hooked 
 nose, energetic features, and quick eye, had already struck me. 
 He presents me with several stones, saying, " I engraved the 
 prayers on them." I compliment him on his talent, and express 
 a wish to carry away with me some specimens of his skill, where- 
 upon he shows himself disposed to fall in with my request, and 
 taking my note-book, which I hand him, copies into it some of the 
 inscriptions. 
 
 We were soon surrounded by idlers, and among them were 
 some lamas who read aloud over his shoulder the formulae which 
 he was copying for me. Then one of them, to whom I remarked 
 that the words were very beautiful, put a question to me, folding 
 his hands in the attitude of prayer, affecting to turn his prayer- 
 mill to the right, and pointing to the south and to the lama's 
 house on the other side of the valley opposite to us. He next 
 pretended to turn a prayer-mill to the left, and pointed to the 
 west, namely, the direction of Lhassa. He was doubtless putting 
 
A THEOLOGICAL QUESTION. 
 
 129 
 
 to me a question in theology, or perhaps he wanted to know my 
 opinion on Buddhism. Being an old hand at this kind of thing, 
 I pointed to the west and turned my imaginary mill from right to 
 
 MENDICANT LAMAS (p. 132). 
 
 left, and, lifting my thumb, expressed my approbation of this 
 latter kind of exercise. It so happened that I was of the scribe's 
 opinion, for he congratulated me, repeating with manifest satis- 
 faction, " "Well, very well ! " 
 
 After that he made some jocose remark to my questioner, who 
 45 
 
130 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 is doubtless an innovator or schismatic of some kind. He lias, 
 however, 'a good round head, and a benevolent face, which does not 
 look as though it belonged to a revolutionist. With a firm hand 
 the artist wrote the " Om mané Paclmé houm," then " Orne ma té 
 me ie sa le deu," and then other syllables, the significance of which 
 I will not undertake to furnish. It is, however, to be supposed 
 that they have a meaning, and that they are efficacious, since 
 they are everywhere chiselled on stones, chalked on mountain- 
 sides, traced on the shingle of the river, printed on the stuffs, or 
 cut on bits of wood, and even on the animals' horns when other 
 material fails. In reward for his kindness I handed the scribe 
 the pencil he had been using. As he had picked up all the bits 
 of old paper that we had thrown away, he drew out of his pocket 
 a bit of an old cardboard box, and had a hard tussle with the 
 point of the pencil, writing in cursive characters, and drawing- 
 ornaments, a hand, a bird that looks like an indiscriminate 
 specimen of a domestic fowl, and finally my portrait, consisting 
 of a very short profile, with what was meant for a nose, an eye 
 like that of an Egyptian, narrow forehead, and a beard such as 
 you see on Assyrian bas-reliefs. 
 
 The likeness was not satisfactory, but I, in turn, executed his 
 portrait, reproducing his aquiline nose and advancing chin. It 
 really was recognisable ; at all events, he was so pleased with it 
 that, when he asked to be allowed to retain this masterpiece, I 
 consented, and he took his departure surrounded by his friends, 
 who, on comparing the drawing with its original, raised their 
 thumbs to compliment me on my talent. 
 
 April 24. — To-day we left Séresumdo, although we had been 
 very comfortable there. Before starting, the chief offered us 
 several bottles of tcliang, which we emptied, making a merry start, 
 accompanied by most of the villagers. 
 
 The valley that we now ascend is well cultivated, with 
 numerous hamlets in it, and large farms where all the members of 
 
A LIVELY SCENE. 131 
 
 a family are crowded together. The ruins of habitations sur- 
 mounted by lofty towers are not rare. We could not find out 
 whether these despoèladas were due to war, depopulation, or 
 removals. Built on elevated platforms, bathed in the sunshine, 
 and standing out against the blue sky, these towers have an im- 
 posing aspect, and give to the ruins the appearance of fortified 
 castles. The buildings correspond in style with those I have seen 
 on the Himalayas, in the Tchatral, and at Grahkoush, for instance. 
 There are resemblances, also, between the natives of these two 
 regions — the same long- hair, the same svstem of one wife to 
 several husbands, the same easy carrying of heavy loads, and, 
 finally, the same lightheartedness. 
 
 After advancing for an hour and a quarter, we halted at a 
 small village to change porters. From the moment of our arrival 
 the chief from Sérésumdo, who had accompanied us, sat apart 
 to show that he does not exercise any authority here, and that he 
 will not interfere in his neighbours' concerns. These little 
 potentates are, in fact, very jealous of their authority. The chief, 
 who is recognisable by his yellow, pointed hat, marches up and 
 down, and issues his orders, his men forthwith setting out in 
 every direction, shouting, calling, and answering one another till 
 the mountain echoes back the noise. They bring up beasts of 
 burden of every sort, size, and colour, male and female. One 
 drags a donkey by its ear, another a yak by a cord or by its horn, 
 others chase horses, an old woman hurries on her cow, and some 
 young men drive-in oxen at a gallop ; all these make up a large 
 herd, and they add their lowing, grunting, or neighing to the 
 hubbub, which was bad enough before. When it comes to 
 starting, and dividing the loads, there is a general scramble for 
 the lightest objects, men and women, old men and children, all 
 taking part in it, and all arguing. They weigh the chests and 
 the bundles, and all want to get out of taking them. One pretends 
 that his ass is so miserably small ; another, that he cannot saddle 
 
132 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 his horse because it is too spirited ; another, that his yak has 
 only just come in, tired out from ploughing ; and as for our wild- 
 yak skin, destined for the Museum, they are so frightened at 
 its weight that no one will have anything to do with it. Every- 
 body is crying out, everyone issuing orders, down to boys of 
 twelve, while, amid all the tumult, some sanctimonious old lamas, 
 quite indifferent to it, quietly turn their mills or tell their beads. 
 But this does not prevent them from examining us and stroking 
 our velveteens, which are a puzzle to them ; as they feel 
 them, they remark to each other, " It is not leather," and they 
 cannot get over their surprise. The shouting and laughing are 
 enough to deafen one. Soon the din is at its height, thanks 
 to the arrival of two mendicant lamas singing, the one in a 
 marvellously hollow voice, the other in tones first sharp and then 
 rough. They accompany their song with a double tambourine, 
 which they beat till the little leather tassels flutter at the end of 
 the thongs attached to the instrument. Besides this, they every 
 now and then blow into human thigh-bones with leather bags at 
 the end, from which most disagreeable wheezing noises proceed. 
 Both of the men are bare-headed, and clad in yellow ; the elder 
 one's face is completely smooth ; the other is bald, his nose is 
 short, his teeth are excellent, and he possesses just a large enough 
 fringe of beard to make him the image of a good-natured gorilla. 
 The scene is a picturesque one, and it would probably be going 
 on still if the chief, tired of arguing with his subjects, had not 
 suggested to them that they should decide by lot who should 
 take such and such a load. Men and women accordingly hand 
 to an old man one of the garters with which they fasten up 
 their stuff boots above the calf. These form the numbers of the 
 lottery, and the old man proceeds to draw them with the 
 utmost impartiality. He first places himself at one end of 
 the row of packages, and, following it down to the other end, 
 puts upon each of them one of the garters which he takes 
 
A MERRY DEPARTURE. 133 
 
 at haphazard out of his left hand, kept behind his back. Two 
 sturdy fellows having voluntarily seized the heaviest chests, the 
 crowd straightway lays hold of all that is left, and our baggage 
 is soon carried off. 
 
 Everyone wishes to join in this pleasure party, poor as 
 well as rich, the women more especially ; and the exodus takes 
 place in great disorder, while those who carry small loads, or 
 none at all, run about, jumping round the beasts, laughing, 
 chattering, and shoutiug ; never, in short, did a " removal " take 
 place amid greater merriment. 
 
 In our turn we followed this rabble, after having given a 
 consultation to one of the mendicant lamas, who had an eye 
 covered with a white film. On the way we noticed that our 
 yak-skin, which, at starting, had been put on a young horse, 
 had found its way to the shoulders of a woman, so important is it 
 that the back of the noblest conquest that man has ever 
 made should not be made sore. In spite of the impos- 
 sibility of overlooking our porters, we found in the evening 
 that nothing was missing. 
 
 Scarcely was our tent pitched, when our Chinaman was 
 greeted by a Thibetan with an intelligent face, who could 
 speak a few words of Chinese. He represented that he came 
 from Lhassa, and that he was there while we were at Dam, 
 for the rumour of our arrival had spread in the town. He 
 had three other companions, one of them a girl, and they 
 had been travelling for a year. Setting out from Tatsien-Lou, 
 whither they were now returning, they passed Tsiamdo, and 
 then went straight to Lhassa, to pray and receive the blessing 
 of the Talai-Lama. 
 
 "And did you receive it?" 
 
 " Oh, yes ! we were blessed, and are now happy. As soon 
 as we have reached home again, my sister is going to marry 
 the elder of these two young men." 
 
134 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 "And who is the other?" 
 
 " The brother of her future husband." 
 
 "Your brother-in-law is very young." 
 
 "Eighteen." 
 
 " And your sister ? " 
 
 "Fifteen." 
 
 " What induced you to undertake this long journey ? " 
 
 " We had long talked about it between us, and then, 
 when we had made up our minds, we set out with a little 
 money. Now, however, we have none left, and are begging 
 our way back." 
 
 " Do you expect to reach Tatsien-Lou soon ? " 
 
 " We hope so, but cannot say when." 
 
 In Europe the honeymoon trip is made after marriage ; in 
 Thibet they take it at betrothal. I will not presume to decide 
 which of the two plans is the better. 
 
 In front of our encampment, on a plateau to the south, 
 stretch the white walls of a lama's house, from which the 
 descent is made by an abrupt path cut in the high bank of 
 the river. The two banks are not connected by any bridge, 
 and those who would cross must do so at a ford, or make use 
 of a cable stretched above the water from side to side. 
 
 On going to examine this system of aerial gymnastics, we 
 were lucky enough to see it work several times The person 
 who crosses encircles his body with short leather thongs attached 
 to a strong horn hook, which is fixed over the stomach. Then 
 with the ends of these thongs he forms two rings, which are 
 passed round the thighs, hangs the hook on to the rope, with 
 the heads in the direction he is going, and holding on by 
 his wrist, is soon suspended, face uppermost and back parallel 
 to the river, when he soon twists himself over to the other 
 side. Several natives who crossed to have a look at us re- 
 turned in this manner ; each had his straps and his hook, 
 
THIBETAN TUMBLERS. 135 
 
 while those who felt their strength going nerved themselves by 
 shouting, and pressed the cord with their feet, besides pushing 
 themselves along by stretching their legs. Some of them 
 displayed great strength in this exercise, and when hanging in 
 mid-air over the river which was roaring beneath them, would 
 give vent to shouts of joy or defiance. 
 
 In the evening three Thibetans came and took a seat round 
 our fire, one of them twanging a guitar as an accompaniment to 
 a song which, though monotonous, was not disagreeable. The 
 following evening, when the beasts were being loaded, they re- 
 appeared in their smartest costume, having tucked their trousers 
 into their boots, and put on a red dress with tassels hanging 
 down from their girdles. 
 
 These men are dancers or tumblers. Winding round in a circle, 
 they mark time with small cymbals and a drum, which they hold 
 like a hand-glass and strike with a bent stick, with a leather 
 puff at the end. They make a few grimaces, bend the body, and 
 then with great agility turn clean over. As a climax, one who 
 remained on the scene last added to his disguise a horrible-looking 
 mask, ornamented with white shells, and performed a series of leaps 
 and somersaults, which he made more dangerous by holding close 
 to his eyes the points of very sharp knives. 
 
 April 25. — We mounted up as far as Tachiline, crossing to the 
 left bank of the river by a wooden bridge. The piles are square 
 towers, constructed of small beams, and the interiors filled with 
 stones. On the top of these piles long oak beams are put, fixed 
 with ropes to cross-beams, and having stones on the ends to 
 keep them in position, and, perhaps, to maintain the equi- 
 librium. 
 
 Here we had to consult the chiefs of the district about 
 obtaining yaks for the next stage, which is a long one, begin- 
 ning with a pass, and continuing through a desert, so we were 
 asked to start early. The head of the lama-house helped us, and 
 
136 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 half our band for the morrow will consist of lamas. There are 
 two hundred of them here, living in a row of huts so out of 
 repair that we can only conclude it is a poor district — and, in 
 fact, the natives cultivate very little ground, and are smaller 
 and worse off than those who live lower down. In ten hours 
 we reached Tchimbo-Tinzi, a large village with a lama community 
 numbering a thousand inhabitants. It is perched on an isolated 
 shelving road, and bordered on the south by the river, which buries 
 itself in a ravine, to the north being a valley which supports the 
 whole population. 
 
 The chief is at variance with a neighbour, who wishes to take 
 advantage of his minority to invade his territories. But though 
 the young chief, by the advice of the old men, resists, he will one 
 day succumb, for the Chinese authorities at Tsiamdo have been 
 subsidised by the ambitious chief of Tchimbo-Nara, and they will 
 interfere in his favour with a view to weakening the power of our 
 host. 
 
 April 26. — We saw the ambitious chief to-day. We had, 
 however, to wait a very long time for him in the valley, his village 
 being perched high up like an eagle's nest, and he himself being 
 quite tipsy. As soon as he had recovered the use of his legs, he 
 descended .from his eyrie. He proved to be an enormous fellow, 
 with grey eyes ; but was pleasant in his cups, giving his orders 
 with great decision, and setting everybody to work. The required 
 number of yaks were soon got together, the great chief spending 
 his leisure moments in drinking astride across a bale, looking like 
 a clumsy Silenus. Every now and then there issued from his 
 ponderous bosom shouts with which the whole valley resounded, 
 and which were the outcome of his great animal spirits. We left 
 him with mutual expressions of goodwill, after having bought 
 a sheep from him for two shillings. 
 
 Hamlets and farms abound hereabouts, built of rough stones, 
 the terraces and roofs resting on trunks of trees. We are still in 
 
Ill 
 
 
 WÊÉÊ 
 
 Wmmk 
 
 1HB 
 
 
 
 r% 
 
 JSHa 
 
 v ^ .' ; -.-'.Cir: 
 
 SCENE NEAR SERÉSUMDO. 
 
 46 
 
A SCENE OF HOME LIFE. 139 
 
 a wild district, but the natives live in houses, and there are signs 
 of the early stage of civilisation. They till their land better, 
 and manure their fields, they wear stuff clothes, and nearly all 
 their women adorn themselves with glass trinkets ; their hair is 
 shorter, and they often wear it level with the shoulder, while the 
 women cut theirs over their forehead into a fringe, and do not 
 wear it down their backs in little plaits. Armed men are much 
 rarer, as if there were greater security than in the districts situated 
 to the west. 
 
 To-day, after having, by a mistake, left the banks of the 
 river, we followed a path which led us to a farm, where we came 
 across a scene of Thibetan home life. In the yard, a man, bare 
 to the waist, is skinning a sheep on the ground ; a child of eight 
 or nine is holding it by the paws, and, as he bends down, his head 
 is completely hidden by his falling hair. The dogs are eagerly 
 awaiting the moment when the uneatable portions will be flung to 
 them. Seated on a stone and leaning against the wall, a hand- 
 some young woman, with bare neck and chest, is holding a 
 distaff and spinning, in a calm attitude ; at her feet is a little 
 girl, drawing out the wool. A man seated at her side is con- 
 versing smilingly with her ; another, with bare body, who is 
 sharpening a blade on a stone, has his arms stretched out in the 
 pose of the antique knife-grinder to be seen at Florence. A 
 plump little girl is playing with a puppy which has about as 
 much clothing as herself. Lower down, out in the sunshine, an 
 old woman, with her short white hair all in disorder, is lolling 
 over a few cinders, enjoying the short span of life that remains 
 to her. By her side sleeps a very old dog, toothless and mangy, 
 his muzzle resting on his wasted old paws ; like his mistress, 
 he awaits death with the blue sky above him. 
 
 At Gratou we found ourselves amongst very unsociable people, 
 from whom it seemed utterly impossible to purchase even a goat 
 or a sheep. We now regretted that we had no dogs ; for we left 
 
140 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 one behind ns, a second was killed, while the third, a good watch- 
 dog, has not been trained to catch and strangle sheep and goats, 
 as the one that is dead had. As we could not induce these 
 people to listen to reason — though a Mongolian lama, who joined 
 us a few days ago and acts as our interpreter, tried in vain to 
 persuade them to furnish us with meat — we attempted to seize 
 some without permission. This brought upon Dedeken and 
 Rachmed a shower of stones, and there were a few sharp-shooters 
 posted on the roofs. A few revolver shots in the air, however, 
 settled the matter. 
 
 It has often been, and doubtless often will be, our fate to have 
 difficulties with these Thibetans. They have never seen any 
 Europeans before, and do not know how to treat us ; while, fickle 
 to an extraordinary extent, a mere nothing changes their attitude. 
 They shift from the most abject submission to the most audacious 
 insolence ; one moment with their foreheads on the ground, the 
 next they are standing erect, sword in hand. It would seem as 
 though fear were at the bottom of all their emotions. One alarm 
 sets them in one direction, then another cause of fear sets them 
 off in another, and so their feeble will vacillates, shifting like a 
 needle between two poles. They prefer before everything else 
 relaxation and sleep ; and whether in order to be left quiet, 
 or because they are put out with those who disturb them, 
 they have outbursts of passion, like the man who killed the wolf 
 by day because it frightened him by night. 
 
 Their heads must be crammed with superstition, for it would 
 seem as though they regarded strangers as mysterious beings, 
 whom it is imperative to distrust, for to have come from afar 
 they must have used witchcraft. Having noticed that these 
 savages welcome the gift of a coloured image, Ave distributed some 
 among them at different times. A boy of fourteen or fifteen 
 having approached us, I offered him one, with the result that 
 he ran away. So I let it drop on the ground, whereupon he 
 
WOMEN AT FIELD WORE. 141 
 
 went up to it with great precaution, looking at it from a distance, 
 but, when the colours caught his eye, drawing nearer to examine 
 it. Then he again retreated, but his curiosity brought him 
 back again, and he beckoned to an older lad. The latter, in 
 turn, examined this curious object, bending down and picking 
 it up, and then ran after me, with a view to handing it back. 
 When I told him to keep it, he was delighted, but a lama, about 
 twenty years old, then came up and spoke to him sharply as 
 though to inspire him with disgust at his present. They con- 
 sulted together for a moment, after which they proceeded to the 
 stream, and left the image there. 
 
 By the evening the inhabitants had calmed down, and eagerly 
 implored our Mongolian lama not to fulfil his threat to go to the 
 lama-house to complain of having been struck. 
 
 April 28. — At early dawn the natives began to get ready for 
 us all that we wanted, and a mere glance sufficed to put to flight 
 the chief of those who gave us so much trouble yesterday. At 
 Karimeta we pitch our tents at the doors of an extensive lama- 
 house, and witness a curious sight. The lamas have engaged 
 the women of the neighbouring villages to come and carry manure 
 to their fields, for this red-soiled valley is carefully cultivated, and 
 most of it belongs to them. They have just finished ploughing, 
 and the soil has the pink tinge of flesh from which the outer 
 skin has been peeled off. "While the lamas, on the first floor of 
 their monastery, are chanting their prayers to an accompaniment 
 of tambourines and cymbals, more than fifty women are wending 
 their way in and out from the stables to the fields, with osier 
 baskets on their backs. These they fill with ashes and manure, 
 and then, in single file, like ants carrying their provender, 
 proceed to empty them, at the foot of a hill, in the newly 
 ploughed furrows. There is very little method and a good deal 
 of noise over the work, which is superintended by a lame lama, 
 who has frequently to hasten the steps of these ladies, for they 
 
142 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 are so interested in us that they keep edging out of their path so 
 as to get nearer to us, when they stop for a good look and 
 chatter. But though he feels the responsibility of his post, the 
 lame lama is not a whit less curious than they, and he, too, 
 even while on the move, must look at us. This strong desire of his 
 to do two things at a time affords us considerable amusement, 
 for as one of his legs is much shorter than the other, he has to 
 look at the ground each time he puts his foot down, but, in 
 his anxiety to watch us, he then turns his head in our direction. 
 As he goes through his various manoeuvres, he looks exactly 
 like a mechanical toy ; marching along, telling the beads of a 
 huge rosary, jerking forward his short leg, lowering and then 
 raising his head, twisting it to the right, leaning to the left, crying 
 " Forward ! " to his workwomen, then hurriedly throwing out his 
 arms to recover the equilibrium which he has lost by stumbling 
 against a stone, shouting out again, and, in a word, tossing him- 
 self about in the most comical manner imaginable. 
 
 Among our female coolies is one whose close-shaven head 
 indicates that she has renounced marriage and taken the vow of 
 celibacy; she is a lamaess. Neither handsome nor pretty, very 
 short and thick-set, she has a large head and brutish features ; and 
 there is not a spark of intelligence in her face. The crowd of 
 basket-carriers arrives, chattering in the pleasing tones which 
 come as such a surprise from such ugly throats ; for these 
 Thibetans are apes with the voices of nightingales. All of a 
 sudden our lamaess runs towards the file of fuel-gatherers, and 
 goes straight up to a friend of hers, another close-shaven lamaess. 
 They smile and bow to each other until their foreheads touch, in 
 the same manner that two goats butt each other, after which 
 these two schoolfellows go along side by side gossiping. 
 
 Examining the house of the lamas, which, like all of 
 its kind, is composed of cottages and small rooms in juxta- 
 position, with a large hall set apart for their idol and for 
 
TCHOUNGO. 143 
 
 worship, we observe their agricultural implements. First, there 
 is a rake, made, like our mill-rakes, of a little board, shaped like a 
 crescent, with a handle ; then there is a pickaxe, consisting of a 
 wooden cube, which is cut down to a point. The point is shod 
 with an iron cone ; and as that metal is scarce hereabouts, it is 
 used sparingly. Another kind of pickaxe resembles that which 
 we use for gardening, but the edge only is made of iron, the rest 
 being of wood ; and it has a long handle. 
 
 A layman is putting a thatch of barley-straw on the roofs of 
 the cottages by means of a kind of double flail consisting of two 
 switches, which are fastened together by a strap fixed to a handle. 
 These switches serve to cut the straw into short bits, for it is not 
 given to the cattle until it has undergone this preparation. 
 Let me add that the people of Thibet are more careful about 
 their cattle than about themselves. The horses, as well as the 
 yaks which carry our baggage, are well treated, and fed in a very 
 peculiar manner, with a kind of pap made with the niouma (a 
 species of turnip), this food being put down their throats by 
 means of a funnel made from a horn that has been hollowed out. 
 
 On the roof of this habitation of the lamas are windmills 
 turning prayers, and likewise tridents of metal, which have led 
 people to believe that Lamaism was derived from the worship of 
 Neptune, the ruler of the waves. The little column supporting 
 this trident is covered with stripes of black and white stuff. We 
 also see a big T, surmounted by a crescent bearing on the concave 
 side two spheres, placed one above the other. At one extremity 
 of the bar of the T hangs a little bell. 
 
 At Karimeta we arranged, without much trouble, for our 
 baggage to be carried to Tchoungo, which is situated above the 
 river Tatchou. Tchoungo is a village of some importance, owing 
 its reputation to the possession of an enormous obo, to walk round 
 which at an ordinary pace takes three minutes. It is close to the 
 house of a lama who is, so to speak, its guardian, and natives 
 
144 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 from the mountains are incessantly turning prayers around this 
 pile, which they are careful to keep on their right side. Even 
 very old people drag themselves slowly up to it, leaning on their 
 crutches, in order to accomplish their devotions. 
 
 The weather is magnificent, and we have got down to 9,000 
 feet above sea-level, and at last are enjoying a summer tempera- 
 ture. The thermometer shows a maximum of 77° in the day- 
 time, and at night it only goes as low as 20°. 
 
 After some difficulties with the authorities, whom we induced 
 by threats to help us, we departed for the great lama settlement 
 of Eoutchi. At first we ascended rising ground by following 
 a picturesque gorge ; in two hours reaching a smooth pass, 
 upwards of 13,200 feet above the sea-level. It was a lovely 
 bit of scenery; rocks, juniper trees, briars, rhododendrons, 
 brush, and groves of fir-trees. On the steep bank of the river 
 are some grottoes into which the water flows, while gigantic 
 umbelliferous plants with stalks as thick as a man's wrist are 
 numerous, and there were plenty of sparrows, curlews, and 
 snipe. 
 
 May 7. — After a good night's rest we resumed our ascent on 
 the 30th, and in two and a half hours arrived at the summit of 
 the Dâla pass, 17,500 feet above the sea-level; while towards 
 the south-west a great mountain chain with snow-covered peaks, 
 from 19,800 to 21,500 feet high, is visible. Towards the north 
 the mountains rise in terraces, undulating as far as the eye can 
 see ; they are of a greyish colour and free from snow. The 
 general appearance suggests an ocean with its waves turned into 
 stone — the long swell of a calm sea, as sailors call it. 
 
 The descent, or rather the " slide-down " on the snow, brought 
 us once more to the desert, the slopes being bare, with here and 
 there a few stunted junipers. In the valley of Dutchmé we 
 found some tents pitched, and had to wait a whole day for a fresh 
 relay of yaks, which had to be fetched from some distance. We 
 

 lilliHPS 
 
 47 
 
A PAGODA. 147 
 
 then followed the course of the rivers Détchou and Sétchou, 
 and passing along the banks of the latter, traversed forests of fir 
 trees. Piles of sjjlit wood were lying about, and we had some 
 good sport with musk-deer and crossoptilons, a kind of white or 
 slate-coloured pheasant, with which these woods swarm. 
 
 Then, when the Sétchou entered a gorge, we made for 
 another pass, viz., the Djala, which is the name also of the 
 whole mountain range. The Djala is 14,850 feet high ; a stony- 
 path leads to the oôo, near which we halted to give our cattle 
 a rest. From this point the eye ranged over the finest bit of 
 country that we had seen so far : the slopes at our feet were 
 covered with fir trees, rhododendrons, and junipers of intense 
 green ; while higher up were grassy tablelands, dotted with herds 
 of cattle, and near the crest, in the crannies, the snow was of a 
 dazzling whiteness. It was not, however, nature which especi- 
 ally attracted our attention, but a piece of man's handiwork in the 
 form of a pagoda. No better spot could have been found for 
 this pagoda, built in a large square, rising in terraces, and serving, 
 so to speak, as a pedestal for the column which towers like a 
 golden flame towards the skies. Having lived, as we had done, 
 for several months without seeing anything resembling a monu- 
 ment, we could easily imagine with what feelings the sight of 
 such an edifice must inspire the uncivilised Thibetan, and what a 
 grand notion he must form of the great lama who dwells in it. 
 Now one can comprehend how great an influence architecture 
 must exert upon the minds of men. It is evident that the 
 Pharaohs, by placing their pyramids in the desert where they 
 appear so huge, did not intend to keep the sands in their place, 
 but to inspire mankind with respect and even adoration for those 
 who had the power to raise up a mountain in the midst of grains 
 of sand. Certain it is that the Thibetans have a profound 
 veneration for this abode of the Talai-Lama. Do they see a 
 symbol in the seven double stripes, painted in white upon the 
 
148 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 black walls of the edifice? Do they think at all, as they con- 
 template this pyramid, which seems to be made of gold and to 
 terminate in a flame mingling with the skies ? Do they see in 
 that flame an allusion to the great soul that, according to 
 Buddhism, permeates nature ? Perhaps not ; yet it cannot be 
 doubted that the sight fills them with a mysterious awe. 
 
 By the side of the beautiful pagoda, which is reached by a 
 wooden bridge, may be seen a lama-house, nestling against the 
 mountain-side, with its many terraces of painted cottages. The 
 village of the laymen is lower down ; its low, box-like houses 
 with flat roofs are crowded together in the peninsula of Routchi, 
 which is washed by the river to the south, while breakwaters, 
 formed by dovetailing the trunks of trees together, protect the 
 banks from the current. In the village, yaks pass to and fro, 
 dragging the stems of fir trees ; for there is a considerable timber 
 trade, from which the wealth of the lama-house is chiefly derived. 
 
 Leaving the village, we pass cows in the green meadows, and 
 yaks wallowing in the ponds ; the trees, as they are rolled down 
 into the valley, make a noise like thunder. The path dips into 
 the deep shade of the firs, the wind is gently swaying the slender 
 twigs and sighing through the branches ; the torrent-like Sétchou 
 is beating against its steep banks. We have assuredly been 
 transported into Switzerland, if not into the Himalayas. 
 
 The country is rich, compared with what we have seen 
 before. The fields are protected by hedges made of interlaced fir 
 branches ; pieces of timber, fixed in the ground, enclose the 
 pasture-lands where browse the herds which manure the soil, and 
 where the sheep and goats are shut up on account of their de- 
 structive tendencies. Precautions are necessary, for the barley is 
 showing its green blades, and the people are therefore repairing 
 the hedges, or making new ones with green branches. These 
 green branches will get dry, and in winter, when the ground is 
 covered with snow instead of crops, will be used for firewood. 
 
CHINESE SOLDIERS. 149 
 
 The houses are nearly always built in one style, with walls made 
 of clods of earth and stones mixed, and flat roofs placed on 
 branches. They are, however, surmounted by lattice-work for 
 storing the fodder, which makes them look like buildings that 
 have been abandoned when the first storey was being begun, and 
 the scaffolding of which has been left standing. 
 
 To-day (the 7th) we reached Houmda, a village built on a 
 shelving road made out of conglomerate, skirted on the eastern side 
 by a torrent that empties itself into the Sétchou about 450 yards 
 farther on. We found stationed there, on post and police duty, 
 a company of Chinese soldiers, more or less stupefied by the use 
 of opium. They sold us eggs at as high a price as they could 
 extort from us, and were excessively polite. Most of them 
 had been there for many years, and, having married Thibetan 
 wives, had forgotten their own language. To their police duties 
 they pay but very little attention, and brigands, if there are 
 any, can carry on their operations with perfect security. In 
 their exorbitant demands these Chinamen display an obsequious- 
 ness and a persistency that contrast greatly with the churlishness 
 of many of the natives. 
 
 From Houmda the road would have taken us eastwards by 
 Tsiamdo. On reflection we determined to avoid this populous 
 town, which contains many Chinamen under the rule of a man- 
 darin, for it would be difficult to get away if this official of 
 the Celestial Empire should take it into his head to prove his 
 power. Prudence, therefore, bids us make a détour over the moun- 
 tains towards the north. 
 
 May 8. — To-day we visited Lagoun, a large industrial centre. 
 The houses lie very near each other, and, after counting a 
 score of them, we observed an unoccupied space, a sort of 
 square on which wood was piled up. Then we entered into the 
 chief's yard, where we were stared at by a number of idlers, 
 amongst them several whose faces were blackened by smoke. 
 
150 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 These were "hands" from the works, for Lagoun has a manu- 
 factory of all sorts of iron implements, hatchets, pickaxes, etc. 
 
 We visit this establishment, guided to it by the sound of 
 hammers, to which we have long been strangers. By a low door 
 we descend to an underground forge, four posts supporting the 
 sloping roof by which the light enters and the smoke escapes. 
 Someone is kneeling between two goatskin bellows which he 
 works alternately with either arm. This old man is bare to the 
 waist, and looks like a denizen of the lower regions. His body is 
 almost transparent, his skin but parchment, his ribs protruding ; 
 while his head is like that of a corpse, and one long tooth is visible 
 in his huge mouth. His scanty hairs drop like a mane, while 
 from the shoulders hang, by way of arms, two fibreless feelers. 
 Five or six young men are standing erect, silent, lean, consump- 
 tive, blackened, perhaps mummified, for they are motionless and 
 speechless. And yet their dull eyes betray the fact that they are 
 alive. The old man stops blowing, and, getting up, silently goes 
 to a bag, fills a large wooden porringer with zamba, and sits down, 
 the younger ones squatting round him, each producing his mug 
 from the sheepskin hanging at his loins. The meal having 
 been handed round, they pass a huge jug to the old man, who 
 pours some water from it into his cup, the others following suit. 
 Then, with hollowed hands, as black and as bony as claws, they 
 slowly knead their quota, quite silent, and fixing on us six pairs 
 of expressionless eyes. 
 
 We give the poor wretches a coin, which the old man takes 
 with manifest stupefaction. Who ever gave him a present before ? 
 He looks at the rupee, feels it, turns it over, and having satisfied 
 himself that it really is silver, casts two glances at his fellow- 
 workmen as if to assure them that there is no deceit about it, and 
 smiles, and they smile too. Putting down their cups, they thank us 
 by raising their thumbs, and then set-to kneading their meal again. 
 
 Their tools are decidedly poor. We see some very short one- 
 
MANUFAG TUBING IMPLEMENTS. 151 
 
 handed hammers ; some with larger handles, two-handed ones ; 
 large shears for one or for two hands ; a trough, hewn out of the 
 trunk of a tree contains the water in which they cool the iron ; 
 the forge is an earthenware trough in which burns charcoal 
 that is enkindled by the bellows. By the side of the forge, half 
 buried in the soil, is the trunk of a tree, in the stoutest part of 
 which is a large bar of iron which does duty as an anvil. They 
 also have boring machines, which consist of two bobbins with an 
 interval between them, their one spindle being between two small 
 horizontal planks, while the gimlet is beneath in an iron socket. 
 These bobbins, of wood, are hollow, being filled with sand and 
 filings, which are covered with skin ; the rotary movement is 
 produced by means of cross handles fitted to the lower part. 
 Such is this den of native industry, the Creusot of Thibet, and its 
 equipment. 
 
 •i; 
 
 
 WL 
 
 ' i "X V A. .. . . ' ' 
 
 PRAYER CARVED ON A STONE. 
 
152 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 FROM LAGOUN TO CHANGEA. 
 
 Lamé — Lamda — Bad Food— Religious Malthusianism — Crossing the Satchou — Capture of a 
 New-born Monkey — Koushoune — Ouoshishoune — A Fat Lama — Dzérine — Hassar — 
 Thibetans and Chinese : a Contrast — Indefinite Dates — Rough-and- Ready Justice— Dotou 
 — A Dignified Chinese Official — A Series of Prayer Mills — Raehmed in Action — The 
 Chinese Army — Parting with the Lama Guide — Tsonké — A Secret Christian — The De- 
 struction of the Batang Mission — Burial-place of a French Missionary — Reception by the 
 Mandarin of Changka — Four Swords for 150 Men. 
 
 May 8. — To-day we reached 
 Lamé, a small village where the 
 Chinese have a post of soldiers, 
 some of whom can scarcely speak 
 their mother-tongue. Two Thibetan 
 chiefs came in due course to see us, 
 and one of them, a fine-looking man 
 of about forty, exchanged a few 
 words with our lama, and went off 
 again at once. 
 
 May 9. — We saw the chief again 
 to-day at Lamda, on the banks of 
 the Giometchou, the waters of which 
 form, with the Satchou and the 
 Zetchou, the river of Tchamclo 
 which, much lower down, goes by 
 The Thibetan chief handed us a 
 cata on behalf of his superior at Tsiamdo or Tchamdo, 
 and told us we had only to express our wishes for them 
 to be gratified. He added that it was difficult to procure 
 provisions here, but that in two days' time we should be in 
 a better position, and should receive as much rice, mutton, and 
 Hour as we required. It is easy to see, by the rapidity with 
 
 THIIiETAN OF TIECHOfNG. 
 
 the name of the Mekong- 
 
LAMB A. 
 
 153 
 
 which his orders are executed, that his authority in this region is 
 unquestioned, and it is the first time since leaving So that we 
 have found the natives so obedient to orders. 
 
 We reached Lamda over a pass 15,500 feet high, then 
 descending through sunlit gorges, where mountain torrents 
 
 A THIBETAN VILLAGE. 
 
 bubbled and surged amid pleasant greenery. The heights are 
 covered with rhododendrons, but lower down, amid the thickets 
 formed of poplar, birch, and cherry-trees, one might fanc}^ oneself 
 in Europe. There is plenty of game, too, and we kill some 
 splendid ithagines with red tails and green plumage, pheasants, 
 etc., our collection being swollen by some new specimen 
 every day. 
 
 Jttay 13. — The weather has been magnificent, and on the night 
 of the 9th the thermometer did not descend to freezing point. 
 Batang is not far off, and the Thibetans are doing their best to 
 redeem the promise they made at Dam to help us. 
 48 
 
154 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 Nothing is wanting to make our comfort complete but a 
 better supply of food, for although we have abundance so far 
 as quantity goes, the rice is musty, the butter rank, the flesh 
 of the goats execrable, and the pheasants stringy ; only the 
 Hodgson partridge being in t\ie least toothsome. What we so long 
 for is the day when we shall taste some good meat, vegetables, 
 and fruits. Our tent is pitched at a spot which is at less than 
 half the altitude of the point from which we started in the 
 morning, and I amuse myself by watching a man and woman 
 of the Tillage whom we had employed to split some wood and 
 fetch water, as they consume the remains of our supper, given 
 them by Hachmed. They have taken off the pan in which the 
 food was cooked, and the man, plunging the spoon into the mess, 
 empties it on to his hand, and then jerks it into his mouth, 
 looking at his companion as much as to say, "First-rate!" 
 Then they take out the cups they carried in their bundles, fill 
 them with rice and meat, and lap these up almost like water. 
 They have never had such a good meal before. 
 
 At Lamda the Griometchou is about 150 feet broad, running 
 along between rocks with a good deal of noise, and we cross 
 it at the bridge of Sougomba, where there is a large dwelling- 
 place for lamas built on the hill. If we were to continue 
 our journey northwards, we should arrive at Sininfou, but after 
 crossing the bridge, we turn round and encamp in a valley running 
 down from the east to the Griometchou. Here, also, there is an 
 abundance of game, including musk-deer, partridges, pheasants, 
 and hares ; and while the eastern slope of the mountains is thickly 
 wooded, the western slope is nearly bare. From time to time we 
 see hamlets which are rendered habitable by the water from the 
 torrents being turned into the fields, through aqueducts hewn 
 out of the trunks of trees. The houses are better built, the 
 ground-floor, used for housing the stock, being made of stone 
 with w r ooden doors, while the walls of the first storey are of mud. 
 
RELIGIOUS MALTHUSIANISM. 155 
 
 Above are balustrades which are used as store-places ; while if the 
 house is built against a slope, there is often a second storey. 
 
 There are countless obos, and owing to the abundance of grass, 
 the flocks and herds are very numerous ; a fat goat or sheep costs 
 two rupees. 
 
 We have scaled pass after pass, and to-day (the 13th) traversed 
 the Ka-la, which is 15,500 feet high. We notice in this region 
 that many of the people have their heads closely shaven, the 
 tonsure indicating those who have been made to take a vow 
 of celibacy from their childhood. It is said that, in former times, 
 young children were offered to Moloch in order to appease him, 
 and that they were placed inside his statue, which was then made 
 red-hot, in order that he might consume them. Most of the 
 males are now consecrated to Buddha, and the youth thus set 
 apart do rxot marry, nor do they allow their hair to grow any 
 more, and they wear a yellow garter on their leg. Owing to this 
 system, families, as a rule, decline in number, and when the 
 slightest epidemic occurs, they disappear, much to the satisfac- 
 tion of the prolific Chinese. 
 
 This religious Malthusianism is calculated to please econo- 
 mists who think that the world is really too small for mankind, 
 and that there would soon be no place to lay one's head if people 
 multiplied in conformity with the laws of Nature. But if they 
 were to visit some of the waste places of the earth, they would 
 come to a very different conclusion. 
 
 May 14. — We cross the Satchou with our caravan of thirty- 
 three people — including sixteen women, seven men with long hair, 
 and ten lamas — upon a raft made out of trunks of trees, this 
 raft, which is paddled across by three men, being sixteen feet long 
 by ten wide. The Satchou is veiy rapid at this point, running 
 at a speed of nearly four miles an hour between high banks, 
 and being from 270 to 330 feet broad. On the banks willows 
 are growing, while in the woods are wild lilac trees, raspberry 
 
156 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 bushes, and violets. After crossing the Satchou, we do not 
 meet nearly so many people suffering from goitre as we had done 
 in the villages further west, and the population seems to be 
 altogether more vigorous and cheerful, having been put in better 
 heart than usual this year by the frequency of the rains. Some 
 ill-natured people had announced our coming, and had added that 
 we should bring a drought with us. But as we brought rain 
 instead, our partisans were triumphant, and we received a very 
 friendly greeting. 
 
 May 15. — We left the banks of the river this morning, arid 
 penetrated into the pine forests of the mountain-side, our bivouac 
 being in a glade near a torrent. The rain is falling in heavy 
 showers, but the natives whom we employ to collect wood for 
 the fires are young and cheerful, and go to work with a light 
 heart, cracking their jokes as unconcernedly as if it were quite 
 dry overhead and underfoot. 
 
 From the time of crossing the Satchou we meet with several 
 instances of an admixture of Mongolian blood, of which we 
 had seen very few cases previously. The people, who have 
 broader faces, are not rich, but their country abounds with game, 
 and we add several animal specimens to our collection. 
 
 May 17. — We have scaled a pass of nearly 15,000 feet, 
 passing bare rocks covered with snow, and assailed by a snow- 
 storm, which reminds us that winter is not yet over. Descend- 
 ing to Routéoundo we see a lot of monke}^, two of Avhich we 
 kill ; while Rachmed captures a new-born one, which he puts 
 under the care'of the little she-ape we have had with us since we 
 left Houmda, where we bought her from some Chinese soldiers.* 
 She takes so much care of her bantling that she suffocates it, and 
 it is a touching spectacle to see her licking the little body and 
 trying to recall it to life. 
 
 In this region the tribes are somewhat independent, and as 
 
 * She is now in the Jardin des Plantes, Paris — Translator. 
 
TROUBLE WITH THE NATIVES. 159 
 
 it sometimes happens that several different tribes supply a con- 
 tingent of porters and carriers, there are frequent quarrels as to 
 the distribution of loads, these quarrels not ceasing until one of 
 the chiefs draws lots. 
 
 May 19. — Traversing grassy steppes, where the bears go 
 about in large groups, descending into gorges, and scaling some 
 bare plateaus, we to-day reached Koushoune, and again saw men 
 armed with swords and carrying rifles. They are taller than any 
 we have seen before, and have regular features and a proud air, 
 looking at us with a certain amount of contempt. They made a 
 difficulty about supplying us with yaks, and when these animals 
 had been brought, the chiefs discussed angrily amongst them- 
 selves whether we should be allowed to load them. Permission 
 being given at last, we crossed the Latchou, near a village 
 where a Chinaman carries on trade. After a three hours' march 
 the drivers refused to advance further, and began unloading their 
 animals, with the intention of leaving us in the desert. We 
 had to take prompt action, and compelled them to advance by 
 nourishing a revolver over their heads, but they did so at a very 
 slow rate, and with a sneering sort of laugh, pretending that they 
 must stop again to load the yaks better. However, we made 
 them understand that this was no time for joking, and forced 
 them to step along for five hours, but had to look so closely 
 after them that there was no time to go after the bears to be 
 seen all about the steppe. Rachmed killed one yesterday. 
 
 In the evening we make friends with our yak-drivers, and 
 they promise to do a long stage the next day. It freezes at 
 night, for we are at 8,450 feet, the minimum being 25°. 
 
 May 20. — Having found some warm springs not far from 
 our camp, we descended the valley as far as Ouoshishoune, where 
 we saw black tents on the river-banks. The chief of the district 
 came to say that two Chinamen had brought him orders not to 
 sell us anything, but he did not intend to obey them, and would 
 
160 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 let us have as many yaks and horses as we might require. This 
 is a simple matter, for stock of all kinds is abundant, and a good 
 sheep is to be had for a rupee. 
 
 We are visited by several lamas, one of them being an 
 enormous man, and this strikes us all the more because we have 
 seen so many thin people since we entered Thibet. Fatness is 
 the appanage of the chiefs and of the rich in this, as in all other 
 Eastern countries ; and it is curious to note that the same 
 Thibetan word {bembo) is used to designate high rank, or the 
 good condition of a sheep or yak, just as gordo, in Spanish, is 
 alike applied to fat or to wealthy people. While upon questions 
 of philology, I may mention that the cuckoo, which has received 
 an onomatopœian name in all languages, is Jcouti in Thibetan, 
 Jcoimj'ou in Chinese, Jcakous/ia in Russian, \cikou in the Tarantshi 
 dialect, and ftakou in Uzbeg. 
 
 To return to the lamas, those at Ouoshishoune lead a very 
 easy life. Here, too, we are eye-witnesses of a procession, in 
 which a lama rides a horse led by two women, who are preceded 
 by four others burning sweet herbs, the incense of which rises up 
 to his nostrils, while six more bear presents that have been given 
 him for the prayers he has recited. The good man rides imper- 
 turbably on, grinding his prayer-mill. 
 
 May 21. — To-day we meet with another lama on horseback, 
 protected from the sun by a peaked straw hat with broad brim, 
 and followed by three women, bare-footed and bare-headed, driving 
 three yaks which were carrying his luggage. 
 
 May 22. — We reach Dzérine by way of mountains which 
 might rather be called hills, and as no more snowy peaks are to 
 be seen on the horizon, it might be imagined that we were about 
 to emerge upon the plain. But this is only due to the cramped 
 horizon, for as soon as we scale a pass we see by what a chaos 
 of peaks, ridges, and chains we are shut in ; indeed, we shall 
 see nothing more of the plain until we reach the Tonquin delta. 
 
CROSSING THE SATCHOU. 
 
 49 
 
DZÉBINE AND IIASSÀE. 163 
 
 At Dzérine we receive a visit from the second Thibetan chief 
 of the Groundjo, who tells us that the Chinese are doing all they 
 can to prevent us from going to Batang, that they have vehemently 
 urged his superior to refuse us the means of transport and pro- 
 visions, but that the latter would do as we desired. Having 
 arranged for him to accompan} r us until we have found an 
 interpreter speaking both Thibetan and Chinese, as he does, we 
 make arrangements for the transport of our baggage ; and as the 
 population of Dzérine is not large enough to supply all the 
 porters we require, the chief sends out horsemen and men on foot 
 to requisition them. The porters arrive in due course, many of 
 them being very tall, and measuring six feet two inches. They 
 have very large faces, with the skull tapering to a point, like an 
 egg, dental prognathism being the general rule. They are 
 very vigorous and good-natured, playing together like children ; 
 their houses are built like those we saw at preceding stages, 
 though here and there are attempts at windows with wooden 
 shutters. 
 
 May 24. — Leaving Dzérine with a caravan composed of 
 several petty chiefs, who are most anxious to serve us, we followed 
 the narrow valley until we reached, by an adjacent gorge, above 
 which is built a lama-house, a gentle ascent leading to a pass 
 of 13,100 feet, after having crossed a first one at an altitude 
 of 150 feet less. This stage was got through very cheerily, our 
 carriers singing and amusing themselves all the way, like packs 
 of schoolboys, and greeting us with a smile every time they 
 passed us. 
 
 By way of wooded plateaus and mountain spurs, where bears, 
 wolves, foxes, and pheasants abound, we reached a gorge leading to 
 the village of Hassar, which is perched upon a promontory at the 
 junction of the gorge with the valley where flows the river 
 Maktchou. There are a few patches of marsh and of cultivated 
 land in the delta, and we watch the ploughs, drawn by } T aks, at 
 
1U ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 work, followed hj men sowing the grain, who walk along with 
 measured tread, while the women stand about and call out to 
 frighten away the crows and pigeons, which fly off to the willow 
 trees lining the pathway. The slopes of the mountain are bare 
 of trees, and it is only very high up that one can see any pines 
 overhanging the heights where the flocks are feeding. 
 
 The houses of Hassar are all crowded together on two sides 
 of a street. It is not every day that one sees a street in Thibet, 
 but we lose no time in going off to encamp on a piece of fallow. 
 The curiosity our presence excites is good-natured, and the chiefs 
 endeavour to meet our wishes, as we have gained a reputation for 
 being generous, and it is known that we give medicine to those 
 who ask for it, but that, while paying handsomely for what is 
 done for us, we will not stand any nonsense. Our lama, Losène, 
 is very useful to us, as he has the art of being at once patient 
 and energetic, while he frightens the recalcitrants by warning 
 them that we are terrible people owing to our arms of precision. 
 Now and then we awe the natives by the distance we fire a 
 bullet, and by the number of birds we kill at one shot. Losène, 
 to whom we have repeated the thing a score of times, represents 
 us as being " very good to those who are good, and very hard upon 
 the bad." 
 
 Not far from our tent is a naked boy, three or four years of 
 age, who has an enormous head, a big stomach, and a bent spine. 
 The poor child cannot walk, his legs having no power, and one 
 can tell by his deformed knees and hands that he is in the habit 
 of dragging himself along like some creeping thing. He has a 
 bestial expression, and a dull, lifeless eye. The chief of the district 
 helps him up, to show us that he cannot stand without support, 
 and exclaims, " No father or mother." 
 
 Our lama Losène takes a piece of money out of his purse and 
 gives it to the poor boy. This kindness of heart differentiates 
 the Thibetans from the Chinese, for again and again have I seen 
 
A DEVASTATED VALLEY. 165 
 
 people dying of hunger in the Celestial Empire without anyone 
 paying the slightest heed to them ; while the ferocity and evil 
 disposition of Chinese children is something incredible. 
 
 In the valley of the Maktchou were many houses in ruins, 
 and the natives, being questioned as to who demolished them, 
 replied that this was the work of the Sokpou, who live in the 
 north, and that the latter, having heard that the lama-houses 
 to the south contained a good deal of treasure, made a raid 
 upon the district, massacring the inhabitants and burning the 
 houses and forests. 
 
 In reply to further questions on the same subject, we were 
 told that the survivors of these massacres returned and asked for 
 assistance from the neighbouring tribes. Money was found for 
 them by the lamas, and the fortresses and crenelated walls on 
 the hills were built. They had been allowed to fall into dis- 
 repair since a sense of security returned, no recent attacks having 
 been made by these Sokpou. 
 
 " But can you explain more precisely where these Sokpou 
 live ? " 
 
 " They live on the route taken by the servants whom you 
 sent back before we started on our journey. Their country is 
 further off than Natchou." 
 
 " In the Tsaïdam, then ? " 
 
 "Yes, that's it." 
 
 " And when did this invasion take place ? " 
 
 " A very long time ago." 
 
 This is one more proof of how impossible it is in the East 
 to obtain the slightest historical information. It would seem as 
 if the present alone interested them. Trustworthy documents 
 are not to be had, and the historians who are content to derive 
 their materials from Asiatic sources are not likely to understand 
 much of the past which they seek to revive. 
 
 May 27. — Leaving Hassar, we mounted the course of a river 
 
166 AC BOS S THIBET. 
 
 which winds about among lofty rocks, forming a narrow defile. A 
 very awkward pathway, a rough sort of staircase cut in the rocks, 
 leads to a cultivated valley three or four miles long, where inhabited 
 villages and numerous ruins are to be seen. Once more taking the 
 south-easterly direction which we had abandoned for a time, we 
 climbed a plateau and descended again into another valle} r , where 
 we came upon the village of Akker. Our arrival was heralded by 
 thunder and lightning, and we took refuge from the storm under 
 some fine poplars, when we had time to note that the fields were 
 well cultivated and enclosed, and that value is placed upon timber, 
 some small poplars recently planted having been surrounded by 
 thorns to prevent the cattle from getting at them. When the sun 
 came out after the rain, the valley seemed to be a sea of blood, 
 for the soil is quite reel, and glittered after being so deluged with 
 rain. 
 
 Having changed our beasts of burden at Akker, we pitched 
 our camp at Lendjoune, on a small plateau with just room for a 
 score of houses. Our tent is near a spring, under poplars which at 
 a distance we took for willows owing to the similarity of foliage. 
 
 The inhabitants, having seen that we shot the small birds, 
 try to frighten them away by throwing stones. They appear 
 the most insolent of the people we have met with so far. 
 The native chiefs exercise an administrative rather than a 
 patriarchal authority. Thus the Thibetan chief who accompanies 
 us has a copper cup out of which he is in the habit of drinking, 
 and this cup, which he has left for a moment, suddenly dis- 
 appears. No one has seen it, of course, but when he tells two of 
 his men to seize one of the onlookers and Hog him till the cup is 
 returned, it reappears as if by magic. 
 
 In the evening, when the flocks are being driven home, we 
 hear a doleful dirge like that of the Mussulman women who 
 accompany the dead to the cemetery, and very possibly a body 
 is being taken up to be laid out on the summit of the mountain. 
 
AT DOTOU. 167 
 
 At night, when we leave for Dotou, there is a fall of rain, with a 
 cloudy sky and north wind. 
 
 May 28. — We are told that two Chinese from Ba and one 
 from Tsiamdo are awaiting us at Dotou. The Chinese mandarin 
 recently sent from Pekin to Lhassa has just been through Ba and 
 Tsiamdo, and we are informed that, having been apprised of our 
 journey by the Thibetan authorities, he told them they were to 
 assist us, and that his predecessor said the same. Be this as it 
 may, the Thibetans will help us in carrying our luggage as far as 
 Tatsien-Lou, and it is the reverse of unpleasant to have these 
 promises renewed just as we are about to come into contact with 
 the Chinese authorities. 
 
 The ride to Dotou from Lendjoune is over some bare table- 
 lands, and a very easy pass of 10,800 feet, leading to a region 
 undulating like the last spurs of a mountain chain. A few 
 hamlets are to be seen in the low ground, a few ruins on the hills, 
 and the whitened walls of a few lama-houses, but there are no 
 more wooden houses, this not being a forest region. In three 
 hours' time we arrive at the lama-house of Dotou, built upon a 
 level piece of ground near the Maktchou river, and are soon 
 surrounded by a crowd of inquisitive people, who hold their noses, 
 either out of disgust or astonishment. 
 
 A few paces from where our tent is pitched is another in- 
 habited by the Chinese of whom mention was made to us at 
 Lendjoune. These latter mix for a few minutes with the crowd 
 which is having a look at us, and then return to their tent, 
 emerging from it soon after in state to pay us a visit. Their 
 chief is a petty mandarin with a whjte button, equivalent to 
 about the rank of corporal, but that does not prevent him from 
 addressing us with great dignity. Having shown his card and 
 greeted us by pressing his fists close together, he says he 
 has been sent by the chief of Djankalo (Changka) in order to 
 welcome us and accompany us further on. He is entirely at our 
 
168 
 
 AGE OS S THIBET. 
 
 disposal, and hopes we will come to his tent and take a cup of 
 tea. In fact, he had been beginning to get uneasy about us, as 
 
 GROUP OF NATIVES. 
 
 he had expected us a week sooner, and was afraid that some 
 accident had happened. However, he was very glad we had 
 arrived safely, as his provisions were beginning to run short, but 
 
CHINESE DEPORTMENT. 
 
 169 
 
 now he could send off a messenger to his superior at Changka 
 and say that we had arrived all right. After this avalanche of 
 
 
 UkM&J&L 
 
 ' '"<- "• 
 
 SCENE IX INHABITED THIBET. 
 
 compliments, he withdrew with comic gravity. I may add that 
 there are no people who possess the art of assimilation to so 
 perfect a degree as the Chinese, who can either ascend or descend 
 the social ladder with astonishing rapidity. 
 
 50 
 
170 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 The principal attraction of the Dotou lama-house is a series of 
 prayer-mills. Beneath a gallery running almost entirely round 
 the house, are enormous bobbins composed of printed prayers and 
 transfixed by a long piece of wood which is held in position by 
 two beams. These bobbins are turned by hand, and as it is said 
 that each is composed of 10,000 prayers, and as there are at least 
 100 of them, it is easy to see what an enormous quantity of 
 prayers can be said in a walk round the building. Our arrival, 
 however, distracted the worshippers from their pious occupation, 
 and when we unloaded our beasts, they came and felt the weight 
 of our packages and wanted to put their hands on our clothes, 
 their attitude being intolerably insolent. What interested them 
 most was our wild-yak skin, which they would have pulled all to 
 pieces if we had not made them keep their hands off it. 
 
 I had scarcely gone into my tent when Prince Henry called 
 me to come out, and when I went I found a free fight going on, 
 with Rachnied holding down a man all covered with blood, and 
 others flourishing their swords or throwing stones. Akoun and 
 Abdullah effected a clearance by firing a few shots from their 
 revolvers in the air, and the Chinese made off, leaving two or three 
 of their comrades prisoners, including the man on whose chest 
 Rachmed had got his knee. The cause of the disturbance, as it 
 then appeared, was that this latter, one of the chiefs, had tried to 
 handle the yak-skin, in spite of Rachmed's injunction, and so from 
 words they had come to blows. However, in response to the 
 entreaties of our lama, we set the captives at liberty again, and 
 then our Chinese friends, who had held well aloof while all this was 
 going on, appeared on the scene, and, assuming the most valiant 
 air, went out on the terrace of the lama-house, overlooking the 
 place whither our assailants had fled. The chief then came back, 
 and in the course of a conversation said these people were quite 
 beyond management. " We give them good advice," he added, 
 " but it is all to no purpose. They are such ill-conducted savages 
 
A CHINESE ESCORT. 171 
 
 that neither at Pekin nor Lhassa is it thought desirable to have 
 them for subjects. It is quite impossible to quit the high road 
 and penetrate into their mountain retreats, and we never meet 
 them without there being disputes. Last year they robbed an 
 envoy of the Emperor, and they recently refused to provide 
 beasts of burden for our mandarin who was going to Lhassa. 
 We ourselves could only get these horses by holding out threats 
 that you would fire on them when you came. Nothing is to be 
 done with them by reasoning ; and if we use force they give us 
 back blow for blow. So all we can do is to leave them alone, 
 though we have 1,300 men distributed over the posts between 
 Lhassa and Tatsien-Lou." 
 
 When we looked at the three soldiers whom the Liantaï 
 (treasurer-payer) of Batang had sent us as a protection, we could 
 not help smiling to one another. It is easy to understand that 
 the Thibetans do not feel any alarm when they see them coming. 
 
 These three men do not convey a very high idea of the 
 Chinese army, for one is a bloodless opium-smoker, devoid of all 
 vigour, shivering in the mountain air, though we are barely 
 10,000 feet high, so sensitive to cold that he covers up his ears 
 even in the daytime, as well as his head and neck. He has yellow 
 teeth and a lack-lustre eye, and it is as much as he can do to keep 
 on his horse. He admits that his pay is six rupees a month, and 
 that he spends half of it on tobacco. As to the wearer of the 
 white button, whom we have nicknamed the " Colonel," he does 
 not smoke opium, and is a most consequential little man. It is 
 amusing to see him strut about, swinging his arms, straddling his 
 legs and bending his figure, while his hands with their long 
 finger-nails are, with much assumption, thrust out of his broad 
 sleeves. 
 
 The third is not so martial or warlike, and has been sent 
 to join the two others because he speaks Thibetan. Unlike theirs, 
 his nose is not retrousse, his features being regular. 
 
172 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 At Dotou we dismissed our guide, the lama Losène, who was 
 delighted with the presents we gave him, including a few chromos 
 representing lion-shooting in Algeria, and bear-hunting in the 
 Ural. He bade us farewell with emotion, and wished us a pleasant 
 journey. Although we have a Thibetan interpreter, and, after 
 leaving Changka, shall meet Chinese military posts, the worthy 
 Losène urged us to be on our guard, for, as far as Batang, we 
 should traverse a region inhabited by very ill-disposed and 
 dangerous men, who might attack us as we went through the 
 mountains. 
 
 May 29. — Bearing this in mind, we take our cartridges and 
 keep close to our baggage, with an eye on the ridges above. 
 The route we follow reminds us of the highlands of Thibet, and 
 we see many flocks under the watchful eye of shepherds, who carry 
 long guns with forked rests at the end of them, and live in black 
 tents which are protected by their fierce dogs. All trace of vege- 
 tation has disappeared, whereas a few days ago we could have 
 fancied ourselves in the Alps, with jasmine, lilac, tulips, and 
 poppies all about us. Sleet is falling, with a bitterly cold south- 
 east wind, and we wonder if winter is «■oin"" to return. 
 
 Leaving the valley which we have followed since Dotou, we 
 traversed a pass of over 13,000 feet leading to an undulating steppe, 
 with peat-bogs and a few black tents, dotted about with flocks. 
 We halted near these tents, the occupants of which were not so 
 rudely inquisitive as the natives of Dotou, and learnt that the place 
 is called Gato by the Chinese and Hado by the Thibetans. The 
 route from Hado to Tara first lies over a pass of 13,000 feet, and 
 then through a grassy valley, beyond which are some pine-clad 
 slopes, with a few patches of cultivated land within half an hour 
 of Tara. There are no traces of irrigation, but beyond Tara, 
 which is situated upon a sort of natural terrace, vegetation 
 reappears, the pines, the poplars, the oak with leaves like those of 
 the holly-tree, the wild raspberry, and the thorn, giving the 
 
THE TSON-BON VALLEY. 173 
 
 valley a delicious odour. Where the valley opens out, a chapel 
 has been built, and above is a lama-house. Following the right 
 bank of the Tson-ron, we passed through various hamlets. As 
 wood is plentiful, there are a great many chapels and chalets built 
 of the material, so that we might again fancv ourselves on the 
 Alps. The inhabitants are a fine set of men, some of whom wear 
 hats with broad white brims, and look like the Mexican Grauchos, 
 while their wives have so far modified their dress that they wear 
 petticoats tightened at the waist, instead of tying their pelisses 
 tight over their haunches. 
 
 The whole of this valley is full of animation, and in the 
 pinewoods to the south of it, the villages are perched like nests 
 among the verdure. We halted at Tsonké, the houses of which 
 are built upon the left bank of an affluent of the Tson-ron, with 
 a white walled lama-house on an eminence above. The chiefs of 
 this village were very civil, and were ready to supply us with 
 what we wanted. Their horses, however, are not what they 
 might be, though bigger than those we had hitherto had, this 
 increase in size being due, as we w r ere told, to their having been 
 crossed with the Sininfou breed. 
 
 May 30. — The stage from Tsonké to Tchounneu is a delightful 
 one, for on leaving the valley the road rises at once to a plateau 
 covered with pines and oaks — the leaves of which are like those of 
 holly — and dotted here and there with grassy glades and with 
 gorges in which torrents babble. The path is through the wood, 
 well protected from the sud, and with squirrels darting from 
 branch to branch. By way of two small passes we got to 
 Tchounneu, and encamped in an enclosed meadow, a mild south- 
 east wind making things very agreeable. The inhabitants appear 
 to be rather violent, judging by the readiness with which one 
 of them drew his sword when one of our men told him to keep 
 his hands off our luggage. The incident, however, was not 
 repeated. 
 
174 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 The Thibetan interpreter chatted part of the evening with us, 
 and said that, as we had assumed from his regular features, his 
 father was a Mussulman, and that he was quite young when he 
 came to Batang with the missionary Lou.* He described this mis- 
 sionary as being very kind and intelligent, speaking and writing 
 both Chinese and Thibetan very correctly, as giving all he had to 
 the poor, and as knowing all about everything, even the mending 
 of a watch. 
 
 Europeans may smile at the idea of a man being regarded as 
 wonderful because he knows how to set a watch right, but the 
 Chinese only recognise our superiority to them in the art of con- 
 structing machinery, if they do even in that. To return to our 
 interpreter, wdio is a Christian, though he does not like to own 
 to it, he is the father of five children, and he has been selected to 
 come and meet us because he speaks Thibetan and Chinese. 
 Asked as to why he had left Father Lou, he said, " I did not 
 leave him. He died twenty years ago, without a priest by his 
 bedside, surrounded by his Christians, who adored him, and who 
 were heart-broken . Before death, he said where he would like to 
 be buried, indicating a spot on the mountain-side, where he had 
 planted a small knife in the ground. We did as he bade us, and 
 when we get to Changka, I will show you the place." 
 
 " Have you remained at Changka since? " 
 
 " No, I went to Batang." 
 
 " Why did you not stay there ? " 
 
 " Then you don't know that the Christians were driven out 
 from there two years ago, the lower classes having been excited 
 against them ? " 
 
 " By whom ? " 
 
 " By some ill-disposed persons who accused them of having 
 been the cause of the drying-up of a lake in the mountain, which 
 admits of the fields about Batang being irrigated. So the people 
 
 * Father Renou, as I afterwards discovered. 
 
THE BATANG OUTRAGE. 175 
 
 destroyed the houses and chapel of the Christians, and drove them 
 away, the school-teacher, who attempted to protect the holy 
 books, being killed." 
 
 " What did t he Chinese mandarin say ? " 
 
 " Nothing.' 3 
 
 " Were no damages paid for this ? " 
 
 " It appears that the missionaries will get some, for you have 
 a Minister at Pekin, who has put in a claim to the Tsong-li- 
 Yamen, and we are told that justice will be done. In the mean- 
 while, we have to dissimulate, and many Christians have died of 
 starvation." 
 
 " You acknowledge you are Christians. Why did you not say 
 so sooner ? " 
 
 " I had seen that there was a priest among you, and I even 
 thought the chief was a bishop in disguise, for we are expecting 
 fresh priests." 
 
 Thus it was that we heard about the destruction of the Batang 
 Mission, which Monsignor Biet, Bishop of Tatsien-Lou, had 
 already announced by a letter in the Missions catholiques ; and at 
 the same time we learnt that the Chinese Government readily 
 makes fine promises which it does not keep, and that foreign 
 diplomatists are easily contented with smooth words, wrongly 
 imagining that the interests of Europe can be separated from those 
 of the Catholic missionaries. If they were to travel in the heart 
 of the Celestial Empire, they would see that a European is con- 
 sidered by the people as the representative of a nation which is 
 loathed, and which, though tolerated on the coast, is maltreated 
 and killed at every available opportunity inland. To submit to 
 the pillage of the missions, is to encourage attacks upon the 
 Consulates. 
 
 June 1. — When we resume our journey, the weather is 
 delightful, the minimum for the night having been 65°, w r hile 
 the fact of its being the 1st of June, and of our being due in 
 
176 
 
 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 a month at Tatsien-Lou, where we shall get news of Europe, 
 imparts fresh vigour to our steps as we descend the valley. 
 We only hope that the meeting with the mandarins at Changka 
 and Batang may not raise fresh difficulties to delay our first 
 
 RUINS IN THE KTCHOU VALLEY (p. 165). 
 
 meeting with Europeans, a few da} T s hence. The valley is pleasant 
 enough, with its fields of scanty harley, and its stream with salt 
 deposit on the banks ; and as we get a little further on, we come 
 upon a lama-house built upon a promontory at the junction of 
 two valleys. All the lamas are out on the walls to see us pass, 
 and most of them are remarkable for their corpulence. 
 
 Prom the valley we climb to a tableland covered with pine 
 woods, and reach the pass of 18,000 feet which leads down to 
 Changka. Westward appears another valley, from which emerge 
 
A FRENCH TOMB. 177 
 
 long files of yaks carrying heavy loads, and our interpreter sa} r s 
 it is the high road to Lhassa, while, pointing to two upright 
 stones, he tells us that it is at the foot of them that Father Lou 
 and another Christian are buried. It is rather strange that a 
 French tomb should be found at the meeting-place of the ways 
 
 LAMA-HOUSE AT DOTOU (p. 170). 
 
 which other Frenchmen have been the first to trace in the unknown 
 land of Thibet, for at Changka we shall get on to the route 
 of Fathers Hue and Gabet, which, at a later period, Fathers 
 Eenou, Fage, and Desgodins followed for some distance. 
 
 A Chinaman arrives on foot, and says that the mandarin of 
 Changka wishes to receive us in state, and as a few green trees, 
 surrounded by a palisade, are visible in the small plain, we express 
 a desire to encamp beneath their shade. We are agreeably sur- 
 prised to find that this has already been done, our tastes having 
 already been made known in advance by the mandarin who had 
 51 
 
178 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 gone on in front. So we make our way towards tlie town of 
 Changka, if the name of town can be given to a small group of 
 houses ; and as we enter, we find the garrison of the place drawn 
 up in line. It consists of about twenty warriors of all ages, 
 whose sole weapon is an oilskin parasol. They have all of them 
 a most woebegone and starved appearance, and, as may be seen 
 from their glassy look and emaciated features, most of them are 
 opium-smokers. In order to conform with Chinese etiquette, we 
 alight from our horses and pass in front of these troops, who do 
 us honour by kneeling on the ground and pronouncing words 
 which we do not comprehend. Then we mount our horses again 
 and go off to the garden, which is shut in by tall and leafy 
 poplars. The crowd, composed of Thibetans, Chinese, and half- 
 breeds, surges round us with noisy and disdainful curiosity, and 
 escorts us to the tents which the mandarin has had put up for us. 
 Very soon after our arrival we receive a visit from four 
 soldiers, one of whom has accompanied us from Dotou, and from 
 two white buttons, including the corporal whose consequential 
 appearance is described above. They have come to present 
 the respects of the garrison, and to offer us a box of zamha and 
 a box of beans, in which one or two dozen eggs have been placed ; 
 but while they are making their genuflections, their attendants 
 whip off the boxes — for fear, no doubt, that we shall accept the 
 presents. This is a great disappointment to Abdullah, who dotes 
 on eggs, and so it is to Eachmed and Akoun, who load the 
 garrison with insults, and only recover their equanimity when 
 they see five other warriors arrive with a table in the form of a 
 large wicker basket, which they are carrying on their shoulders 
 with a pole, and inside which are visible several cups filled with 
 different ingredients. This, the corporal informs us, is a repast 
 sent by the mandarin of Changka, who regrets that he is not 
 well enough to pay us a visit to-day, but hopes to do so to-morrow. 
 After thanking him for his kind attention, we ask the speaker to 
 
SITTING DOWN TO TABLE. 179 
 
 supply us with some fresh eggs, chicken, and pork — for we have 
 seen several pigs about the streets. The corporal promises to go 
 and see about this, and we sit down to table, in the literal sense 
 of the word, for the first time these many months past. The 
 staple of the meal consists of slices of pork and chicken cut up 
 into small pieces. The whole is cooked in pig's lard, and 
 Eachmed makes off, like the good Mussulman he is, while 
 Abdullah, whose voracity is stronger than all the prescriptions of 
 the Koran, enjoys the rather tasteless dishes, followed by a 
 dessert of balls of pastry — inside which are bits of coloured sugar 
 — and a small bottle of ara — a horrible concoction of spirit. 
 
 This meal delights several of our men who have got tired of 
 the bad food on the road, mutton and goat flesh being so 
 repugnant to some of them that they can only eat bread, or 
 rather a paste made of barley or bean meal. While we are 
 enjoying this repast, a Thibetan chief, who is the most important 
 man in the region, arrives, and treats us with great civility. It 
 seems that orders were sent to Changka concerning us three 
 weeks ago by the Chinese chief at Lhassa, and that six weeks 
 ago it was known that twelve men with camels were advancing 
 on Lhassa; the Ta-Lama of which had sent orders about us 
 to the lamas and the Thibetan people. 
 
 When we ask to whom the garden where we are encamped 
 belongs, we are told it is the property of the garrison, and 
 when we inquire how this is, the answer was, " It used to 
 belong to Chinese bonzes, who had built a pagoda surrounded by 
 trees, but the Thibetans, having risen in rebellion, killed the 
 bonzes and destroyed the pagoda. Then the Chinese collected 
 numerous troops, again reduced the Thibetans to subjection, 
 and, in order to punish the rebels, insisted, among other things, 
 that this ground should be made over to the garrison of 
 Changka. The soldiers have put a wall round it, and feed their 
 stock there, while, as the site is a convenient one, it has been used 
 
180 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 for entertainments, promenades, religions festivals, and military 
 parades." 
 
 " Do the soldiers often drill? " 
 
 " Now and then." 
 
 " When did they drill last ? " 
 
 " Two years ago." 
 
 " Why don't they drill oftener ? " 
 
 " They have no arms. There are only four swords at 
 Changka for 150 men; the others are in the stores at Batang." 
 
 "Are there really 150 soldiers? We have not seen more 
 than thirty or so since we came." 
 
 " There ought to be, for the mandarin draws pay for that 
 number. But as he himself receives a salary of not more than 
 five or six ounces of silver a month, he increases his pay by 
 reducing the contingent. Those who die are not replaced, and 
 as most of the soldiers are married, their male children are put 
 down on the roll, so that they may receive their father's pay 
 when they are old enough to take their place. This is why you 
 have seen lads of thirteen or fourteen among the soldiers drawn 
 up in line to salute you." 
 
 " Which are the unmarried soldiers ? " 
 
 " The opium smokers, who have not enough money left to 
 keep a wife and family." 
 
 " The women are Thibetans, are they not ? " 
 
 "Thibetans or half-breeds." 
 
 When the corporal has gone, the old interpreter confides to 
 us that he will not come with us to Batang, for, he says, " Our 
 chief hates me, and I know that he is intriguing with the 
 mandarin to accompany you farther, and as the mandarin is, 
 like him, a native of Setchou, he is sure to have his way and 
 take my place." We ask the interpreter to get in a good supply 
 of eggs, for we have not much confidence in the corporal, and 
 we know how readily the Chinese promise all one asks, and how 
 
A DREAM OF BROILED CHOPS. 
 
 181 
 
 cleverly they get out of keeping their word. Still, we have 
 been told that we shall have some fresh pork to-morrow, and 
 we go to bed dreaming of broiled chops, which are sure to be 
 delicious. 
 
 PRAYER-MILL AT DOTOU (p. 170). 
 
182 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 BATANG, TATSIEN-LOTJ, AND TONQUIX. 
 
 Religious Prophylactics — "Red" and "Yellow" Lamaism — The Lamas as Capitalists — From 
 Changka to Koushou — The Tea Trade hetween China and Thihet — Leindunne — Anarchy 
 — Chinese Inns — The Blue River (Kin-sha-Kiang) — Frenchmen in Thihet — Chinese 
 Justice — An Orgie — Chinese Soldiers: the Courage of Numhers — At Batang — A Series 
 of Questions— Tatsien-Lou — -The French Missionaries there — A Difficulty with the 
 Mandarin — Apology — Chinese Administration — Sending Home the Photographs — The 
 Red River — On French Soil — Hanoï — The Future of Tonquin — Conclusion. 
 
 June 2. — Last night there was a mini- 
 mum temperature of 27°, and there has 
 been a south wind all the morning, 
 followed by rain. Three shots an- 
 nounced that this was the fifteenth day of 
 the Chinese month, when the people go 
 to the pagoda to do reverence to the 
 statues, the secretary of the mandarin 
 informing us that his master had gone 
 there, and might be too occupied all the 
 rest of the day to pay us his promised 
 visit, while he would not like to intrude 
 upon us in the evening. 
 
 Then he handed us a long letter in 
 Chinese and Thibetan, which, upon his reading it out, told 
 us that, having arrived on the fourteenth day of the moon, 
 we were to leave on the sixteenth, and that we were to 
 be provided with six saddle-horses, six pack-horses, and 
 thirty-three yaks. Two soldiers were to go ahead and collect 
 the horses, while two others were to accompany us. And in 
 five days we were to reach Batang. This piece of news was very 
 welcome, for we had had enough of arguing and contending at each 
 relay. So we thanked the representative of the authorities, and 
 
 A DANCER. 
 
RELIGIOUS PROPHYLACTICS. 183 
 
 asked him to convey our compliments to the mandarin, just 
 making an allusion to the promised fresh pork. He said that 
 some should be sent to us forthwith, but Chinese superstitions, 
 concerning which I might, if time allowed, write a long chapter, 
 prevented us from eating the flesh of one of the small black 
 pigs which run about in Changka. The lamas had ordered the 
 slaughter-house of the town to be closed, because prayers were 
 at this moment being offered up for rain, and it would not 
 do to offend the deity by an act of bloodshed. To kill a pig 
 at this moment would excite the anger of the gods, and the 
 harvest would be endangered. So it was all up with the pork 
 chops. 
 
 The whole population is given over to prayer, men, women, 
 and children pouring out to the white tents pitched in the plain, 
 where the lamas have conveyed the statues of their gods, and are 
 making supplications to them. It is not at all unlikely that 
 our presence is the cause of these religious prophylactics, for 
 fear that we may have cast a spell upon the ground we have 
 trodden. A short time ago, we saw the Thibetans pass our 
 baggage over the fire so as to purify it before they put it on their 
 shoulders, while on another occasion the men who were at work 
 in the fields we went through, snatched up a handful of earth — 
 like Marius predicting the birth of the Gracchi — and, throwing it 
 into the air, mumbled a form of prayer to disinfect the soil. 
 
 All the devout people of Changka are astir and on their way 
 to the tents, and a horse is led carrying six packets of very long- 
 prayers pressed tight between slabs of wood and fastened with 
 strips of leather. Then comes a fat lama of high rank, riding at 
 his ease upon a mule led by two lamas bareheaded, who hold the 
 reins in one hand, while with the other they turn their prayer- 
 mills. Behind them come the bearers of drums and cymbals, and 
 last of all a crowd of clerical and lay worshippers, marching cheer- 
 fully along. All the lamas of Changka and their flocks have 
 
IS 4 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 turned out to avert the misfortune which our presence is cal- 
 culated to bring upon the valley. It appears that the divinity 
 had been entreated for some little time past to send rain, and that 
 these prayers were just about being answered when we arrived. 
 As strangers could not be other than hostile, the lamas had no 
 difficulty in persuading the faithful that the clouds would dis- 
 perse without sending down any rain unless they were kept back 
 by fervent prayers. So the lamas of Changka are said to be 
 unfavourably disposed towards us, the more so as they are " reds," 
 that is to say, they have not accepted the Tsongkapa reform, the 
 partizans of which are distinguished by their yellow head-gear. 
 These " reds " were much annoyed at the receipt of the letters 
 from Lhassa, commending us to their favour, for the theocracy 
 of Lhassa is "yellow," and the lamas of the old school say 
 that we shall be the cause of terrible drought ; and they will not 
 lend any aid in the transporting of our luggage. They also 
 decline to lend us any yaks, so that the chiefs of the neighbour- 
 ing tribes have to do all the work. 
 
 A certain antagonism always reigns between the lay and the 
 religious chiefs. But the latter are the richer and more influential. 
 
 The lama-house of Changka owns a good part of the valley, 
 and in course of time it will be in possession of the whole, the 
 lamas being the only people who have any capital in hand, so that 
 they lend money to the poor, and enrich themselves by usury. A 
 time arrives when the debtors are unable to pay, and then they 
 surrender their land and become in reality serfs attached to 
 the glebe. From that time they become themselves the property 
 of the lama-house, which furnishes them with implements, seed, 
 and manure to cultivate the soil, and they make over the harvest 
 to their new masters, being paid in flour — enough to keep them 
 from starvation during the winter. 
 
 These red lamas are not all given up to celibacy or to a 
 life devoid of worldly pleasures, for, when tired of the cloister, 
 
LAMA-LANDHOLDERS. 
 
 185 
 
 they are at liberty to resume a lay life, on condition of 
 abandoning to the community the endowment they paid foi- 
 admission. In the same way, if, once more tired of ordinary life, 
 they knock a second time at the door of the monastery, they are 
 re-admitted if prepared to make a second payment. Whenever 
 
 DANCERS AT CHANGKA. 
 
 a property is for sale, these lamas buy it. When, therefore, they 
 pray for rain, they are really praying for themselves. In this in- 
 stance it is to be supposed that their prayers are answered, or else 
 that we are not such very dreadful people, for there is a fall of snow 
 and rain during the night. This ought to put the lamas and their 
 serfs in a good humour, but the former are most splenetic, and 
 continue to look at us askance. One of them distinguishes him- 
 self by the persistency with which he drives off the inquisitive 
 people who come to look at us. He is a long, thin sort of fellow, 
 emaciated, no doubt, by constant privations ; with his long 
 52 
 
186 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 eagle-like nose, his hollow cheeks, and his sharp chin with its tuft 
 of hair, he has anything but a taking appearance. Prom time to time 
 he makes a dash into our enclosure, scolds the inquisitive people 
 who have collected, and drives them off to the door, raising his 
 arms as a shepherd does when driving a flock of sheep. He, at 
 all events, seems to be a thorough-paced bachelor, judging by the 
 unceremonious way in which he treats the women, 
 
 June 16. — The rain comes clown in torrents, but that does 
 not damp the ardour with which these lamas turn their prayer- 
 mills as they march behind us, as if the}^ wished to purify the soil 
 we have been treading. The people, however, escort us a little way, 
 and the Changka garrison, thanking us for our presents, wishes us 
 a pleasant journey. As we descend the valley, which gradually 
 narrows, we meet numerous caravans of yaks conveying tea, and 
 at Poula we obtain a relay after a march of sixty lis, or a little 
 over eleven miles, which would show that the measure of the li is 
 not definitely settled, or that the Chinese have, for some reason, 
 exaggerated the length of the stage. Thinking eleven miles a 
 very short journey for people in so much of a hurry, we do not 
 allow ourselves to be tempted by the meal of pork, fish, and 
 pesJilcé (a kind of cabbage) which is served us in a white tent, 
 and insist upon pushing on to Koushou, as had been arranged 
 before the start. But it seems as if there was no intention of 
 keeping faith with us, and, after some discussion, the chief of the 
 lamas and the civil chief of the district arrive. They tell us that 
 we cannot start till to-morrow, and that we must await the return 
 of the yaks, which have gone on to Changka with bales of tea. 
 
 We ask if these persons have received orders, and the mandarin's 
 men declare that either last night or early this morning they were 
 advised of our arrival and told to keep yaks for our use. As we 
 are in possession of an enormous sealed document, authorising us 
 to requisition beasts of burden in the name of the Emperor of 
 China, we protest, and request the white-buttoned mandarin, who 
 
AT ROUS HOU. 
 
 187 
 
 lias escorted us from Dotou to Changka, to speak on our behalf, 
 telling him that he was a powerful chief and that the Thibetans 
 would obey him at once. But he says they are not under his 
 jurisdiction, and goes on smoking his pipe in an unconcerned sort 
 of way. So we take the 
 matter into our own hands, 
 and by dint of parleying, 
 discussing, threatening, and 
 promising, get what we want, 
 and go to pass the night at 
 Koushou, a military post in 
 the hollow of a small valley. 
 The road to it is through 
 woods and over a pass 12,400 
 feet high, whence we can 
 distinguish to the west a 
 white chain which the na- 
 tives call Dameloune, so far 
 as we can understand them. 
 While eating a good-sized 
 omelette with bacon, about 
 
 10 p.m., we learn from the commander of this fort that in two 
 days' time we shall be on the territory of Batang, and that our 
 arrival has been looked forward to very eagerly. 
 
 June 17. — The road we follow is that of the pilgrims, and it 
 is marked by numerous obos with large quantities of engraved 
 prayers. We also notice on the obos, and on the top of the 
 chapels, small columns of wood, surmounted by balls, by crescents, 
 or other roughly-carved ornaments, but all done in exactly the 
 same way. Each of these columns has twelve hollow rings, and 
 this figure twelve, which is constantly recurring, must tally with 
 some religious or superstitious fancy. We asked explanations as 
 to this from competent persons, but were unable to get airy. I 
 
 A BUDDHIST CHAPEL. 
 
188 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 can only guess, therefore, that it has something to do with the 
 Thibetan cycle of twelve } r ears. 
 
 Certain authors have stated that Lhassa is the resort of countless 
 pilgrims. I do not know upon what they base their statements, 
 but we met very few, and there must be some mistake, unless, 
 indeed, the population in the south of Thibet and to the north of 
 the Himalayas is very dense, and so devout that it supplies the 
 great bulk of the pilgrims. 
 
 The tea trade between China and Thibet is very important, 
 the transport being effected chiefly by the road from Tatsien-Lou 
 to Lhassa, by w T ay of Tsiamdo. The relays of yaks are settled by 
 custom, each village contributing its share to the conveyance of 
 the tea, and receiving a fixed contribution, generally in kind. 
 
 Three hours after leaving Koushou we get a relay at Lein- 
 dunne, where we arrive by way of cultiYated valle} r s and plantations 
 of oak and pine, the people appearing to be better off in every 
 way than those in the districts we have been passing through. 
 Some of them are even fat, and the women are of a more 
 civilised type — both as regards appearance and dress — than the 
 Thibetans. Their clothes are of coarse cloth, sometimes red, 
 sometimes striped in the Thibetan colours of green, red, and 
 yellow. In the sunlight this blending of colours produces a 
 very striking effect, reminding one of Andalusia. 
 
 Beyond .Leindunne the route branches off to Batang in one 
 direction and to Atentze in another, the journey to the latter place 
 occupying, according to the Chinese soldiers, four days ; while from 
 Atentze to Yunnan-Fou it would take a month. But the road is 
 so bad that it can only be done on foot. The best account of 
 this region is to be found in the work of the French missionaries 
 Lesgodins and Biet. 
 
 Although the valleys are well cultivated, the crops are 
 not sufficient to feed the military post at Leindunne, which is 
 obliged to get its supplies from Atentze ; and although the post 
 

 
 THE KIN-SHA-KIANG (GREAT BLUE RIVER) (p. 195). 
 
A WATER-MILL. 191 
 
 is within a two days' march of Batang, nothing is bought there, 
 prices being too high. While we are gossiping we see some 
 splendid mules, richly caparisoned, and carrying bales of tea, 
 being driven by ; they belong, we are told, to the Talai-Lama 
 in person, who sends them round with tea every year to the 
 different lama-houses. The houses in this village present 
 some attempt at decoration, in the shape of corbels and 
 patterns on the window-shutters ; while, to judge by the large 
 quantity of manis (engraved prayers) freshly painted in bright 
 colours, this must be a land of holiness. We cannot, however, 
 ascertain whether the peasants, in picking up a handful of soil 
 and throwing it into the air as we pass, are actuated by a 
 religious motive or by the fear that we may bring, them ill-luck. 
 
 June IS. — During the night there was snow and rain; and as 
 the rain is still falling at dawn, our Chinese soldiers give us 
 another proof of their reluctance to travel in the wet. These men 
 are quite useless, their authority over the Thibetans being nil ; 
 and all they can do is to smoke their pipes and say " Io, Io." 
 The whole country appears to be in a state of anarch}', and the 
 native chiefs are not obe}^ed by their subjects. 
 
 It is eleven o'clock before we descend the valley with our 
 baggage, and after an hour's march the animals are unloaded, and 
 fresh disputes begin between men of different tribes. 
 
 While the natives are quarrelling over our baggage, we go to 
 look at one of the water-mills at the edge of a stream. It is like 
 all the mills in Asia, the water being supplied through the hollow 
 trunk of a tree, with an undershot wheel setting the millstone 
 in motion. In the centre of the upper stone is a hole, through 
 which the grains drop into a bag made of goat-skin, held in 
 its place by a rope tied to the wall. 
 
 After an hour and a half's talk the population consent to 
 carry our baggage to the next relay, only two miles off; and 
 from there, after fresh disputes, we arrive at Kountsetinne. 
 
192 
 
 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 Having been driven out of the inn of the place — where we 
 had intended passing the night — by its nlthiness, we pitch our 
 tent in the courtyard, bad as the weather is. 
 
 WOMEN AT BATANG. 
 
 I need not repeat my description of these filthy Chinese inns, 
 which are so disgusting that those of Thibet seem palaces in com- 
 parison. It appears that this particular one is intended for the 
 accommodation of the mandarins and soldiers on the march, and 
 the keeper of it is very much disappointed at our leaving it, as he 
 
 
THE BEAR- GUARD ATTACKED. 
 
 193 
 
 has been told that we pay liberally when we are well satisfied. 
 However, we prefer to remain where we are, and while the 
 Thibetan and Chinese chiefs are sitting qnietly smoking their 
 pipes and drinking their tea under cover from the rain, the two 
 principal ones hurriedly mount their horses and gallop off with 
 
 LAMAS AT BATANG. 
 
 guns and swords. It appears that, a few hundred yards from the 
 village, at the foot of the gorge, some brigands who had come 
 down from the mountain have taken by surprise the Thibetans 
 who were conveying our baggage, and seized six horses. In 
 order to do this more easily, the brigands allowed the bulk 
 of the escort to pass, and only attacked the rear-guard. Our 
 " white button " says that it will be useless to pursue them, as 
 they have got well away to the mountain ; and when I ask him 
 53 
 
104 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 if this is a frequent occurrence, he says that it is, the mountain 
 being peopled b}^ incorrigible savages. 
 
 June 19. — There were heavy showers all night; and when we 
 start this morning, the descent from the inn — which is at an 
 altitude of about 8,000 feet — begins almost at once, and we are 
 soon among clematis, syringas, jasmine, and eglantines, with 
 cultivated fields, and nuts nearly ripe. Still descending, we find 
 ripe barley at 5,400 feet; while about 1,000 feet below the 
 people are gathering in the harvest. At 4,000 feet the harvest 
 has already been got in, aud we are able to give our horses fresh 
 straw. The rjeople inhabiting this slope of the mountain are 
 rather fierce, and do not obey their chiefs better than those on 
 the other side ; but the dress' is gradually being modified under the 
 influence of Chinese fashions, and the native chiefs have the hair 
 cropped close upon the front of the head, like the mandarins of 
 the conquering nation. The people, too, do not wear the same 
 sort of shoes as the Thibetans, the children having their feet 
 in sandals, which are kept on by strips of leather passed between 
 the toes and fastened round the heel. 
 
 As we follow a rather awkward path in the pouring rain, we 
 suddenly come on a large river, in a valley nearly half a mile 
 wide. This is the Kin-sha-Kiang, the great Blue River; but 
 we cannot keep pace with its rapid current, for this river — the 
 Yan-tse-kiang of the East — rolls its turbid flood at a tremendous 
 j>ace over rocks and boulders, as if eager to bury its waters in the 
 depths of the ocean. Leaving the river-bank again, we get upon 
 a more easy route, and, galloping along past eglantine-trees, reach 
 a delta formed by the Shisougoune as it emerges from the 
 mountain. We cross it by a bridge which does not seem any 
 too safe; and as we do so, we hear shots being fired from the high 
 rocks on the other side. This is a salute from men who have 
 been posted up there to keep a look-out for the brigands who in- 
 fest the country, and they have received orders from the Chinese 
 
MARTYRS OF CIVILISATION. 195 
 
 mandarin at Batang to look after us. A little farther on we 
 pass a chapel built in the form of a triumphal arch, and thence 
 descend to the banks of the Kin-sha-Kiang, the bed of which 
 is so broad at this spot that it can be crossed in a large 
 flat-bottomed boat 50 feet long by nearly 9 feet in beam. 
 This boat, which is of deal secured with iron clamps, is rowed 
 by two women and two men, all of mixed blood, with a 
 long-tailed Chinaman steering. The river is about a furlong 
 broad at the point where we cross it ; and as we are being 
 rowed across, we cannot but think of the Frenchmen who have 
 done so before us, and who have scarcely had justice done 
 them. Our countrymen are about the only people who have 
 had the good fortune to visit Thibet since it has been closed 
 against Europeans. First of all, there came Fathers Hue and 
 Gabet, whose daring voyage will not have been forgotten, and who 
 have been rather harshly criticised. They have been blamed 
 for not having mentioned chains of mountains which the state of 
 the atmosphere doubtless prevented them from seeing, and 
 they have been laughed at for describing as a broad river what 
 those who saw it thirty years afterwards found to be only a 
 small one. But their critics seem to forget under what disadvan- 
 tages they — the first Europeans to come into the country — 
 laboured, and for my part I consider that they effected the 
 most daring and interesting of journeys with little in the way of 
 resources except their own will and energy. 
 
 Since leaving Changka we have been upon what may be de- 
 scribed as French soil, for Father Renou penetrated into Thibet, 
 and got together the materials for a dictionary which maybe com- 
 pared to that of Csoma, the learned Hungarian, whose labours he 
 completed, thus opening the country to his successors by enabling 
 them to study the language. Then came Fathers Fage, Desgodins, 
 and Thomine, who penetrated as far as Tsiamdo, and many 
 others whose names should be familiar to all Europeans. These 
 
196 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 martyrs of civilisation opened np the way for explorers, and the 
 illustrious Prjevalslry, when travelling in Thibet, did no more than 
 follow a portion of Father Hue's route ; while the Englishmen, Gill 
 and Mesny, marched in the track of our missionaries, and Count 
 Bela Szechinyi, accompanied by Loczi and Kreitner, endeavoured 
 to reach Lhassa, He had every possible document and letter 
 of introduction ; he was escorted by Chinese mandarins, and 
 possessed a considerable fortune ; but he could not get beyond 
 Batang, and returned through the Yunnan. Cooper, having 
 attempted to diverge from the beaten track of the missionaries, 
 was murdered ; while Baber merely followed the route they had 
 mapped out, a good part of the information which his books con- 
 tain being derived from members of the Thibet Mission. Not a 
 single European coming from the East has been able to get as far 
 as the tomb of Father Renou, but from the village where we 
 disembark the route has been fully described as far as Tatsien- 
 Lou by Father Desgodins, who is still hale and hearty. We 
 shall be passing several spots where French blood has flowed 
 with a disinterestedness not sufficiently admired, and as we shall 
 be within a few miles of the spot where Father Brieux met 
 with a cruel death, we regret not being numerous or well-armed 
 enough to strike terror into the men who murdered him. 
 
 The great chief whom the Liang-tay, the paymaster-general 
 at Batang, has sent to meet us is a Dungan, named Lishkiinfan; 
 and this Mussulman, who has regular features, is much more 
 martial in appearance than his compatriots. Like most of his 
 co-religionists, he thinks that his chief duty is to invoke Allah 
 and abstain from eating pork in a country where it is difficult to 
 get any other sort of meat, there being no mutton or yak-flesh 
 except in places like Tatsien-Lou, where there are enough 
 Mussulmans to have their own slaughter-house. He, however, is 
 very regular in his ablutions, and his son, who has come with 
 him, is also very natty in appearance. The father, who has the 
 
GENERAL VIEW OF LITANG. 
 
POETIC JUSTICE. 199 
 
 post of inspector of the troops, with a salary of about five pounds 
 a month, has come to look through the accounts and satisfy 
 himself that the garrison is in good trim. 
 
 After having drunk several cups of the fermented barley 
 called tchang, and got " well on," he had the fifteen soldiers — 
 ruffians with a cunning and degraded cast of countenance — 
 drawn up in line, and proceeded to hold a court of justice in the 
 open air. A bench was brought out and placed at the door of the 
 barracks, covered with red cloth. When he had taken his seat, 
 the captain of the archers sat on a stool beside him, while the 
 soldiers were in a line to the left. The culprits were then brought 
 forward, the first offender being a man who had been slander- 
 ing others, including the wife of the captain. His calumnies 
 had led to domestic unhappiness. The inspector in a A^oice 
 of thunder shouts, " On your knees, sir !" and down the wretch 
 goes. Then the other soldiers are bidden to kneel and, after 
 a few seconds, to get up again. The inspector eventually orders 
 the culprit to receive six blows on the right cheek, and after a 
 moment's hesitation three men come out from the ranks, two 
 of them seizing him by the arms, while the other catches him 
 by the pigtail and hits him six times on the cheek with a 
 half-closed fist. As the punishment is being administered, the 
 inspector gets more and more excited, positively howling at 
 last, " Hit him six times on the mouth ; that is where he gave 
 offence." The punishment having been administered, the judge 
 bids the soldiers be off ; and they, having made a military' salute 
 to their chief, withdraw, the culprit coming up in turn and, with 
 forehead touching the ground, thanking him sincerely for his 
 goodness. The crowd disperses, the public appearing to be but 
 little impressed by this scene, while the soldiers are scarcely able 
 to restrain a smile, and the sufferer indulges in a grin. 
 
 In order to dissipate the painful impression which this affair 
 has created, the inspector got up an entertainment for the 
 
200 
 
 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 evening, the whole of the women in the garrison being collected 
 in the largest room of the place. Tchang was distributed freely, 
 and the ladies sang and danced. As we had got down to a level of 
 3,300 feet the heat was rather trying, and the inspector, as drunk 
 
 
 2D 
 
 LITAXG : A'lEW FKOM THE 1100 L-S. 
 
 as Silenus, presided over the fête half-naked, seated on a platform 
 in the posture of an idol. The dancing women as well as the 
 singers were invited to partake of the drink, and the orgie lasted 
 the best part of the night. 
 
 Such is a glimpse of the military customs of the Chinese in 
 Thibet. I do not know how the army conducts itself at Pekin, 
 but I may safely say that from Kuldja to the Red River we 
 saw nothing bearing the faintest resemblance to discipline, 
 or having any semblance of a sense of duty, while on many 
 occasions we had proofs of cowardice. These men are only 
 plucky when they are many against a few, and all they can do is 
 to assassinate unarmed missionaries and isolated travellers. 
 
CHINESE COURAGE. 
 
 201 
 
 A few miles beyond Tchoupalongue, on the route to Batang, 
 we noticed a house at the entrance to a gorge, and learned that 
 it was here Father Brieux was massacred, at the instigation 
 
 CHINESE FORT AT LITANG. 
 
 of the lamas and the Chinese. It seemed as if the Liang-tay 
 was anxious to persuade us of the insecurity of this region, for 
 we were greeted by salvos of musketry fired from the tops of the 
 rocks, and a little farther on were accosted by a troop of ill- 
 looking rascals, who seized our horses' reius and put out their hands 
 54 
 
202 AC EOS S THIBET. 
 
 for something in return for their saintes. Needless to say that 
 we showed them our whips and did not give them a farthing. 
 
 No doubt these military demonstrations are intended to show 
 that we are being well looked after. The authorities must be 
 aware that we have heard of the murder of our compatriot Father 
 Brieux, and think that we may have been sent to make an inquiry 
 into that affair. Then, again, the dispersal of the Christian com- 
 munity of Batang, the devastation of their chapel, and the pillage 
 of their houses, are still more recent, dating only from 1887. It is 
 known that the Thibet Mission addressed a claim to the Tsong-li- 
 Yamen through the French Minister — a claim which the Chinese 
 Government promised to satisfy of course, but equally of course 
 did not do so. The Liang-tay is aware how reprehensible the pro- 
 ceedings of the Chinese authorities are, and how much the}^ deserve 
 punishment, and public rumour has it that the object of our 
 journey is to exact the reparation which is due, and to re-establish 
 the Christians in possession of their lands. 
 
 When we reach Batang, situated in a pretty valley rich with 
 harvest, we are treated as persons of distinction ; honour is 
 paid to us, and we are lodged in the newly-built Kouen-Khan, 
 which is reserved for mandarins of high rank. The lamas, how- 
 ever, avoid us in the streets by running back, or taking refuge 
 inside the houses ; and when we make our way towards the lama- 
 house, with its high walls, surmounted by a brilliant dome, the 
 priests hasten to close the massive door, as if they were afraid of 
 our penetrating into this so-called temple of wisdom, which is but 
 a refuge for a set of good-for-nothings. 
 
 We paid several visits to the sites of the houses which were 
 the legal property of the missionaries, and found the whole of them 
 in ruins, like the chapel, between the walls of which the barley 
 was sprouting. For the third season the Thibetans were about 
 to reap the harvest in the fields of the mission without the Chinese 
 authorities intervening, and one could not but ask what sort of a 
 
QUESTIONS. 203 
 
 Government this is to which European Powers appeal for redress, 
 and with which they sign treaties only observed on one side. 
 It is difficult to understand why we regard seriously the Emperor 
 of China, who is not obeyed — either because he does not wish 
 to be, or because he lacks the power to enforce his will. A 
 power which is incapable of protecting anyone, or of applying 
 the most insignificant rules of police, does not deserve the name of 
 a Government, and I cannot understand the course taken by the 
 nations of Europe. 
 
 Up to the present, murderers and fire-raisers have been going 
 about here at Batang with perfect impunity ; and yet the 
 presence of a handful of well-armed men like ourselves suffices 
 to make them feel uneasy. 
 
 Is it true that on the occasion of the Emperor's marriage all 
 the diplomatists, with the exception of the Russian — though they 
 do not, as a rule, agree among one another — asked to be allowed to 
 offer their congratulations to the Emperor, and were refused? 
 Is it true that when they attempted to make him presents, 
 these presents were unceremoniously refused ? Is it true that, 
 after these rebuffs, they accepted the dinner which was con- 
 temptuously offered them ? Is it true that they came in full dress, 
 and were received by the chief of the Tsong-li-Yamen in undress, 
 and in the room where all the tributary chiefs were massed 
 together ? Is it true that this latter proceeding is in the East — 
 and in China more particularly — regarded as a peculiar display 
 of disdain, and that it was not challenged as it should have been ? 
 
 Perhaps I may have been misinformed, and for my own part 
 I believe that our diplomatists are men of energy and prudence, 
 careful of their country's interests, and of the strict observance of 
 the Tientsin Treaty ; and that if there are a great many matters 
 still in suspense, it is simply because they cannot do everything 
 at once. 
 
 It was to save them the trouble of reading a long report, and 
 
204 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 in order not to acid to the number of cases still liung up, that we 
 did not send them a formal complaint against the mandarin of 
 Tatsien-Lou, who behaved to us like a good Chinaman, and who, 
 owing to this, obtained as a permanency the post which he 
 occupied temporarily. 
 
 At first we had some little differences at Batang with the Liang- 
 tay, who insisted upon our showing him the papers we had asked 
 for from Pekin, and which, as it appears, were sent to us through 
 the Russian consul at Kashgar. But when we explained to him 
 that, having been sent by this roundabout route, they must have 
 gone astray, he appeared to be convinced that we had none, 
 and let us go on without them. 
 
 On the 24th of June we reached Tatsien-Lou, having halted 
 for a while at Litang. At Tatsien-Lou we were very cordially 
 welcomed by Monsignor Biet, Fathers Dejean, Giraudot, etc., 
 and by an English naturalist, Mr. Pratt, who will be able to 
 confirm the statement that the missionaries rendered him every 
 possible service without asking him what his religious creed 
 was, any more than they asked as to ours. Mr. Pratt will be 
 able also to say that the mandarin of Tatsien-Lou endeavoured 
 to foment an attack upon us, under the grotesque pretence thai 
 we wanted to steal the treasures of the town. 
 
 I must relate the facts of this case in some detail. Let 
 me premise by stating that the Tatsien-Lou missionaries had 
 for the past two years been promised passports authorising them 
 to return to Batang ; but nothing had ever been done. So 
 Monsignor Biet thought it as well to take advantage of our 
 presence to open fresh negotiations with the mandarins of 
 Fou Tchao Kong, and with the Liang-tay of Batang, Ouang Kia, 
 Yong, the latter being just now at Tatsien-Lou, on his way to 
 his post. A council, at which we were all present, was held, 
 and the mandarins promised the missionaries their passports, 
 while the new treasurer undertook to let them go with him on 
 
ENTRANCE TO THE TATSIEN-LOU VALLEY. 
 
EUROPE INSULTED. 207 
 
 the seventeenth day of the moon. He even asked us for a re- 
 volver, in order that he might be able to intimidate the Thibetans; 
 and he was promised one. The engagements entered into by the 
 mandarins were not, of course, meant to be kept, and on the 
 morning of the fifteenth day of the moon we were officially in- 
 formed that Ouang Kia Yong would start the next day — that 
 is to say, twenty-four hours sooner than had been agreed, and 
 that there was no sign of any passport. 
 
 In the afternoon we sent Dedeken, in European dress, with 
 the revolver that had been promised, and told him to get what 
 information he could. He went to the door of the tribunal and 
 handed in our cards, according to usage, and was told that the 
 authorities were at table ; so he was shown into an ante-room and 
 kept waiting five hours, during which time, as the room was only 
 divided from that in which the meal was being served by a thin 
 partition, he could hear the Chinese insulting France and the 
 other European countries, the voice of the mandarin Ouang Kia 
 Yong being the loudest, so anxious was he that his insults should 
 reach Father Dedeken's ears. 
 
 The festival lasted till nightfall, and then Tchao Kong, the 
 mandarin of Tatsien-Lou, had the drum beaten through the town, 
 and the crier was told to call out a man from each house, as the 
 tribunal was in danger from the Europeans. So the people came 
 rushing out— some armed with swords, others with bludgeons, 
 and all with lanterns and umbrellas, for it was raining, fortunately, 
 and this somewhat damped their ardour. We were unaware of all 
 this, but, being uneasy as to the situation of our companion, sent 
 two armed men to ask him to return. Father Dedeken was much 
 surprised when he got outside to find the approaches to the 
 Yamen blocked up by a large crowd. Followed by five or six 
 hundred people, it suddenly occurred to him, on reaching the 
 bridge across the stream, how likely they would be to throw 
 him in, so he stopped, and in a loud tone, enjoined them not 
 
208 
 
 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 to follow him any farther. After a moment's hesitation the 
 crowd turned back, and he was able to rejoin us in safety. 
 
 FHENCH MISSIONARIES. 
 
 These are the usual tactics of the mandarins for bringing 
 about a massacre of Europeans, but they failed in this case for 
 several reasons — one being that the population of Tatsien-Lou 
 
ANOTHER SPECIMEN OF CHINESE ADMINISTRATION. 209 
 
 is chiefly composed of merchants, and is therefore of a peaceable 
 disposition, while another was that the military chief, who is a 
 Mussulman, and is on good terms with the missionaries, refused 
 the 200 soldiers asked for. In the third place the Thibetan 
 king would not move, out of antipathy to the Chinese. 
 
 The next day the Liang-tay, Ouang Kia Yong, started for 
 Batang by a roundabout route ; while the people of the Kuin- 
 liangfou went about the bazaar insulting us, and saying that we 
 were to be chained up and driven out like dogs, the missionaries 
 sharing the same fate. The second man of the Kuinliangfou, 
 one Lioupin, said that the Europeans must be killed, that he 
 himself had massacred some at Tchong King, and that it was not 
 a difficult matter. This, of course, was meant to frighten us. 
 
 The mandarin, finding that he had not attained, his object, 
 after waiting three or four days, sent a confidential adviser to us 
 with apologies at the bishop's house. The messenger, who was 
 attired in full dress, had his master's card in his hand, and said that 
 the latter acknowledged himself to be solely responsible, but that 
 action had been taken, by mistake, without his knowledge. Our 
 reply was that we could only accept these apologies when the 
 passports had been issued to the missionaries as a proof of his 
 repentance being sincere. The mandarin, however, had not done 
 with us }^et, for, having arranged that some things should be 
 stolen from us a few days after, he then pretended to take action 
 against the culprits, when, in the presence of a large audience and 
 by means of false witnesses and impudent fabrications, he sought 
 to discredit us. Failing violence, he resorted to calumny. We 
 lodged a complaint against him with his superior at Tcheng-tou- 
 fou ; but only for the form of the thing. And our complaint bore 
 the usual fruit ; that is to say, he was promoted after we had 
 gone. 
 
 This is a good sample of the Chinese administration to which 
 European Governments appeal for justice, and to which they look 
 55 
 
210 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 for loyal conduct. To do so is sheer waste of time, for these 
 people are cowards, and are moved solely by fear. As I write 
 these lines the war vessels of European Powers are collected in 
 Chinese waters, and are awaiting the result of the negotiations of 
 their diplomatists with the Chinese, and it is easy to predict what 
 the outcome of all this will be. The mandarins will apologise 
 and pay an indemnity, they will make certain custom-house con- 
 cessions, and a few ruffians who ought to have been executed long 
 ago will have their heads cut off. And so the comedy will end, 
 while the mandarins are congratulated by their superiors and 
 promoted, the people being told that the Europeans are always 
 ready to sell their lives for money, and that they make threats 
 which they never cany out. 
 
 We stayed more than a month at Tatsien-Lou to recruit our 
 strength before going on to Tonquin. That we were able to carry 
 out this last part of our programme is due to the kindness of 
 our compatriots. 
 
 During our journey we had formed several collections intended 
 for French museums, and at Tatsien-Lou they had been consider- 
 ably augmented by purchases which our fellow-countrymen had 
 put us in the way of making. Had it been necessary to 
 convey all this through Tonquin, it is doubtful whether we 
 should ever have got through; but, fortunately for us, Mr. 
 Pratt offered to take charge of our baggage until he reached 
 the first French consulate, which, as we calculated, would 
 be at Hankau, while we sent our photographs through the 
 English consul at Tchung-King, whose name I regret not 
 having by me, so that I might publicly thank him. Photo- 
 graphs and collections alike reached Europe in good condition, 
 and have since been exhibited in the Paris Museum of Natural 
 History, where they will at present remain. Mr. Pratt was 
 obliged to have our packages carried for a month overland, and 
 then to purchase junks and go down the Yan-tse-Kiang as far as 
 
THE LAST OF THIBET. 211 
 
 Shanghai, for our consul at Hankau being absent, Mr. Pratt 
 was kind enough to go on with them. At Shanghai he went to 
 M. Wagner, the French consul, who declined to have anything 
 to do with the matter, and he then applied to the procurator of 
 the foreign missions, who saw them on board the steamer for 
 Marseilles. Thanks to Mr. Pratt, we knew that the fruits of our 
 long journey were as safe as the perils of navigation on the 
 Yan-tse-Kiang admitted, and so we felt that we could make for 
 Tonquin without any encumbrances. We should have left 
 Tatsien-Lou sooner, but we heard on the loth of JuVy that some 
 Europeans, who had started from Sining-fou, were coming. How- 
 ever, after vainly waiting a week for them, we left by the route 
 which Baber, the English traveller, had followed. It was the 
 28th of July when we bade good-bye to the members of the 
 Thibet Mission, whom we cannot thank too much for their 
 cordial hospitality, and from whom travellers who may be brought 
 into this region by the passion for exploration are sure of receiving 
 disinterested assistance, valuable information, and advice dictated 
 by consummate prudence and experience. Mr. Pratt, I am quite 
 sure, is of the same opinion, as well as Mr. Rokkill (?), the 
 American diplomatist, who made such a daring journey from the 
 Koukou-Nor to the Tatsien-Lou, by way of Jyékounda. 
 
 It is with a heavy heart that we say good-bj^e to our fellow- 
 countrymen, wishing them all success in their arduous enterprise. 
 We determine to note carefully the residences of the other 
 missionaries which we shall pass on the way, as being so many 
 oases in the vast desolation of China. When we leave Tatsien- 
 Lou we leave Thibet, and from the very first stage the eye 
 wanders over moist valleys inhabited by a very dense population 
 which utilises every handful of vegetable soil, and even manages 
 to grow a few heads of corn in the corners of rocks, and upon the 
 stony sides of the mountains. Village succeeds village with 
 painful sameness. The pagodas are half to pieces, and as you 
 
•212 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 enter the village you see figures of gods painted in bright colours 
 but crumbling to pieces, and then comes a sort of triumphal arch 
 on which are inscribed moral phrases like those of schoolchildren' s 
 copy-books. The streets are infested by yelping curs and dirty 
 pigs wallowing in the mud ; by children as dirty as the animals ; 
 by women with legs the size of a chair rail, and feet like snuff- 
 boxes, and by porters or mules carrying heavy loads. The inns 
 are horrible dens impregnated with the most varied odours, that 
 of opium not being the least unpleasant. These inns have the 
 most pompous names, such as the " Polar Star," the Chinese having 
 a great weakness for the four cardinal points. The staple articles 
 of food are rice and pork, and eggs and chickens are to be had in 
 villages, omelettes being made with the former, and soup with the 
 latter ; and fish is also eaten, caught with the aid of cormorants, 
 which, flung into the water from a boat, catch the fish and bring 
 them to the fisher after the manner of a retriever. 
 
 We cannot but be struck by the economy of the people, 
 their parsimony, their avarice, their art in turning literally 
 everything to account. Thus they make lamp wicks out of 
 the heart of a certain kind of rush, and they also use this for 
 cupping. They have a way of supplying what is wanting in the 
 products of industry with a skill of hand and a patience beyond 
 all belief, and if they did not smoke they would not indulge in a 
 single superfluity. It might even be argued that the opium-smoker 
 does not indulge in a superfluity, since he eats and drinks less than 
 the non-smoker. In this land of hunger, where the struggle for 
 existence renders people so ferocious and pitiless, the essential 
 thing is to keep body and soul together, and I have seen men 
 dropping from inanition on the roadway and the Chinese 
 stepping over them without offering to give them assistance. 
 The famishing wretch might die, and his body would lie there 
 without anyone taking notice of it. 
 
 In the regions we traversed before reaching Yunnan, we 
 
CHINESE PORTEES. 215 
 
 saw no display of the sentiment which certain people call 
 altruism. In these populous regions of the Setchouen no one 
 has time to think of others, the difficulty of getting a bare sub- 
 sistence being so great that it seems to have hardened men's 
 hearts towards their fellows. 
 
 Our carriers are poor wretches who have been recruited 
 specially for the work, and have scarcely a rag upon their 
 bodies. They feed on dried biscuits, Indian corn cooked in oil, 
 and what rice is to be had at inns on the roadside. But they 
 all have their opium-pipe, and when the imperious need for the 
 drug begins to make itself felt, they quicken their steps so as to 
 reach the inn where the contractor is awaiting them with the 
 opium which constitutes the bulk of their pay. These inns, in 
 which we try to sleep, are, however, so infested with vermin that 
 we cannot, as a rule, close our eyes ; so we even look back with 
 regret upon those of Thibet, which at the time seemed so 
 revolting. We are much struck by the enormous loads of tea 
 carried by men over very steep paths. It appears that these men 
 belong to families in which the occupation is hereditary, and that 
 they form a corporation. 
 
 At Fou-lin we quit the high road, which goes on east, and make 
 our way towards the Yunnan over the highlands of the Tien Shan. 
 On the road we come upon Chinese towns and villages formed 
 chiefly of emigrants from the Setchouen, the mountain being 
 inhabited by the Lolos, a tall race of men with long feet, very 
 energetic and warlike, and inspiring great terror among the 
 Chinese, whom they rob whenever they get the chance. 
 
 The Chinese whom we encounter in this district appear to be 
 a most wretched set of beings, very small, eaten up with fever, 
 and disfigured by enormous goitres. They are, as a rule, 
 inoffensive, but we meet with occasional difficulties in the 
 populous places, the inhabitants sometimes insulting us, and 
 throwing stones at the doors of the inn where we are lodging, 
 
216 
 
 ACS OS S THIBET. 
 
 although, on these occasions, the mandarins tell us that we are 
 quite safe within the precincts of their tribunal. We inform 
 the crowd that, if one of them dares to lay hands on us, we shall 
 
 shoot him, while the mandarins are told that we shall hold them 
 responsible for any blood shed. This has the desired effect; and it 
 is the same with the future bachelors of letters whom we meet 
 on the road, this being the period for examinations, for although 
 
THE RED RIVER. 
 
 56 
 
ON THE RED RIVER. 219 
 
 tliey are often more numerous than we are, and apply very in- 
 sulting expressions to us, we never hesitate to use our sticks, and 
 keep them in their place. We would rather die than let ourselves 
 insulted ; and it was by acting upon this feeling at all risks that 
 we were able to go along the banks of the Red River, after a 
 halt at Yunnan-Eou and another at Mong-tse, where our consul, 
 M. Leduc, and the Europeans employed in the custom-house 
 received us very cordially. 
 
 We embarked upon the Red River, which well deserves 
 its name, on the 22nd of September, having, since we left 
 the frontier of Siberia, travelled nearly 3,750 miles either on 
 foot or on horseback, so it will be readily understood how 
 delighted we were to stretch ourselves on the junk which M. 
 Jansen, the Danish telegraph engineer, had engaged for us. 
 On the evening of that da}' we were at the post of Bac-Sat, on 
 French soil, and on the 25th at Lao-kai, where M. Laroze gave 
 us a very friendly reception, and where we changed our junk. 
 This was but the prelude to many more such receptions during 
 our progress through the colon} r , while at Hanoï itself M. Raoul 
 Bonnal and General Bichot were most cordial, as indeed was the 
 whole population of Tonquin, to whom we here tender our sincere 
 thanks. If we were struck by the beauty of the Red River, not 
 less so were we by the comfort and liveliness of Hanoï ; while 
 from what we saw of the delta — of the wealth of vegetation, and 
 the extreme fertility of an inexhaustible soil — we could only 
 conclude that this is a colony out of which a great deal may be 
 made. All that is needed is that an agreement should be arrived 
 at concerning this child, whose advent, being rather unexpected, 
 upset certain calculations and plans. But he, I believe, has a 
 future, and will make his way in the world if projDer care is 
 taken of him. 
 
 Every one is aw r are that it is easier and quicker to get back 
 from Tonquin by sea than to traverse the ancient continent of 
 
220 
 
 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 Asia in order to get to it. For the return voyage we embarked 
 at Haiphong, and so by Hong-Kong to Marseilles. At Hong- 
 Kong we sent our Chinaman back to his native land ; he was to 
 
 return in company with some Belgian missionaries. That vain 
 little fellow Abdullah, who has some good qualities all the same, 
 left us at Port Said, while Eachmed was to accompany us to Paris 
 before returning to Russian Turkestan, and Father Dedeken is 
 
LAST WORDS. 
 
 221 
 
 going to spend a little time in Belgium. Before laying clown the 
 pen, I would add that we are all very well satisfied with the 
 results of our journey, and must thank my companions for the 
 confidence they reposed in me, and for having worked with all 
 their might to carry out a somewhat daring scheme. We have 
 all done the best we could : we hope we may be excused for not 
 having done more. 
 
 11ACHMED AND A THIBETAN INNKEEPER. 
 
 THE END. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abdallah, Villages of, I. 79, 82, 88, 89, 102, 
 104, 105, 106, 116. 
 
 Abdullah, interpreter, I. 6, 23, 43, 57, 64, 75, 
 79, 82 ; makes an exchange with Kunshi 
 Khan Beg, 89; 96,112, 142, 144, 156,166; 
 lost in a storm, 199 ; and the sources of 
 Brahma - Pootra, 217; interview with 
 Thibetan chiefs, II. 15; and the ambassa- 
 dors from Lhassa, 38 ; drinks the Amban's 
 spirits, 90 ; 220. 
 
 Agricultural implements of Thibetans, II. 
 143. 
 
 Aïriligane, I., 68. 
 
 Akker, Village of, II. 166. 
 
 Aktarma, I. 62, 63 ; characteristics of the 
 people of, 64 ; migration, and primitive 
 implements of the inhabitants of, 65. 
 
 Almonds, I. 46. 
 
 Altars to Buddha, I. 36. 
 
 Altitude of mountains, Enormous. I. 207. 
 
 Altyn Tagh, The, I. 103, 113, 128 ; appear- 
 ance of, 132, 173. 
 
 Amban Ashkan Dawan, Pass of, I. 156, 159, 
 163; ascent of the, 167. 
 
 Amban of Lhassa, The, II. 37, 39, 41-45; 
 tent of, 50 ; salutes the travellers in 
 French, 80 ; hospitality of, 83. 
 
 Andidjan, I. 58. 
 
 Antelopes, I. 67 ; II. 27, 100. 
 
 Apple-trees, I. 20, 42. 
 
 Apricot-trees, I. 20, 42. 
 
 Aqueducts for irrigating fields, II. 154. 
 
 Ara, II. 179. 
 
 Archan Buluk spring, I. 35. 
 
 Arkan, Characteristics and wretched condition 
 of the people of, I. 69. 
 
 Arkars, I. 30, 164, 204. 
 
 Arrack, II. 46. 
 
 Aryk River, I. 117. 
 
 Ata, Ismail, I. 98. 
 
 Atentze, II. 188. 
 
 Attagout Agha, I. 97. 
 
 Ba, II. 167. 
 
 Baber, missionary in Thibet, II. 196, 211. 
 Bac-Sat, II. 219." 
 Bagh Tokai encampment, I. 156. 
 Balgoun Louk, Encampment at, I. 163. 
 Barachdin, I. 76, 103. 
 Barantashis (horse stealers), I. 20. 
 Barberries, I. 12. 
 
 JBarkhans, I. 183; demolished by a tempest, 
 196. 
 
 Barley, purchased at Kourla, I. 43 ; grown at 
 
 Aktarma, 65. 
 Bata-Soumdo, II. 117, 118. 
 Batang, I. 6, 111, 158; II. 153; destruction 
 
 of the mission at, 175, 202; treatment of 
 
 the travellers at, 202-204. 
 Bazaars at Kourla, I. 42, 43. 
 Beard, Signs made with the, I. 127, 
 
 172. 
 Bears, II. 96, 101, 159, 163. 
 Beggars at So, II. 111. 
 Bela-Szechny, Count, I. 6; II. 196. 
 Bichat, General, II. 219. 
 Biet, Monsignor, and the Batang mission, II. 
 
 85, 175; his reception of the travellers at 
 
 Tatsien-Lou, 204. 
 Birch-trees, I. 58 ; II. 153. 
 Birds in the desert, I. 72, 78. 
 Black-tree, The, I. 39. 
 Blue River, I. 205; II. 194. 
 Boars, I. 25, 69, 102. 
 Bokalik, I. 117, 136; gold mines in the 
 
 neighbourhood of, 164. 
 Bokhara, I. 52. 
 Bones, A valley of, I. 206. 
 Bonnal, M. Raoul, II. 219. 
 Bonvalot, M., reference to bv Prince Henry 
 
 of Orleans, I. 75, 76, 108, 'l09. 
 Borokusté River, The, I. 31. 
 Botchou River, II. 99. 
 Bougou Bashi, I. 72. 
 Boulak Bashi, I. 140. 
 Bouran, The, I. 193. 
 Bread at Kourla, I. 43. 
 Briars, II. 144. 
 
 Brieux, Father, Murder of, II. 196, 201. 
 Bridge of Sougomba, II. 154. 
 Brigands, Chinese treatment of, I, 11 ; seizing 
 
 the travellers' horses, II. 193. 
 Broom, Prickly, I. 63. 
 Brushwood, II. 112, 116, 120. 
 Buddha : Images of, used for healing purposes, 
 
 1.16; statue of, in a Lama monastery, 18 ; 
 
 altars to, 36 ; images placed with engraved 
 
 prayers under trees, II. 80 ; consecration 
 
 of males to, 155. 
 Buddhism, I. 10 ; and the transmigration of 
 
 the soul, 14 ; inscriptions on mountains, 
 
 31. 
 Burben-cho Ré Mountains, II. 20, 25. 
 Burben-cho, Salt deposit at, II. 11, 15, 19, 
 
 20. 
 Burial customs, I. 101. 
 
224 
 
 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 Camels, I. 26 ; indications of approaching 
 death in, 29 ; feeding on yantag, 36 ; 
 crossing a river on a raft, 60 ; terrify 
 natives, 69 ; wild, 82, 87 ; mounting the 
 Kouni Dawan, 140 ; crossing the ice, 172 ; 
 Minded by sand, 196 ; death from ex- 
 haustion, II. 53. 
 
 Camp de la Miséricorde, I. 180. 
 
 Canon, Picturesque, near the Koum Dawan, 
 I. 134. 
 
 Caravan, Organisation of a, I. 4. 
 
 Carbuncles caused by the cold, I. 166. 
 
 Carey the traveller, I. 1, 62, 111, 112, 126, 
 131, 146, 159. 
 
 Cata, The Thibetan, II. 41, 152. 
 
 Catholic ritual, Relics of, at Lhassa, II. 
 85. 
 
 Caverdak, I. 78. 
 
 Celibacy, Yow of, II. 155. 
 
 Cemetery at Abdallah, I. 102, 103. 
 
 Chamois of the Himalaya, The, I. 205. 
 
 Changka, II. 174, 176; reception of the 
 travellers at, 178 ; the lamas of, 184. 
 
 Chartres, Duc de, I. 2. 
 
 Cherry-trees, II. 153. 
 
 Children, Mortality of, I. 100; offered to 
 Moloch, II. 155; sandals of, 194. 
 
 China, Yalleys of, I. 2 ; emigration in, 8 ; 
 filthiness of inns in, II. 192, 212, 
 215. 
 
 Chinese, Perfidy of, towards Europeans, I. 
 49; taxes levied by, 67, 89, 164; thieving 
 propensities of the, 97 ; their obstinacy 
 and pride, 167 ; their heartlessness, 188, 
 212; at Bata-Sumdo, II. 117; clannish- 
 ness of, 123 ; soldiers at Houmda, 149 ; 
 their unfeeling disposition contrasted with 
 the kindness of heart of the Thibetans, 
 164, 165; ferocity of the children, 165; 
 mode of salutation, 167 ; adepts in compli- 
 ments, 169; specimens of soldiers, 171; 
 their futile promises, 175, 180; soldiers 
 useless in Thibet, 191 ; punishments, 199 ; 
 lack of discipline in the army, 201 ; power- 
 lessness of the emperor, 203 ; contemptuous 
 treatment of foreign diplomatists, 203 ; 
 insults to foreign countries, 207 ; their 
 cowardice, 210; their parsimony and 
 avarice, 212; hatred of foreigners, 215. 
 
 Chinese governor, Hospitality of, I. 7. 
 
 Chinese servants, I. 6. 
 
 Clematis, II. 194. 
 
 Coins, Thibetan, II. 108. 
 
 Cold, intense, I. 202, 210, II. 1, and passim. 
 
 Columbus Mountains, I. 173, 175, 179. 
 
 Cones, Lake of, I. 203. 
 
 Cones of ice, I. 211. 
 
 Cooper, missionary in Thibet, II. 196. 
 
 Copper mine near the Kunges, I. 19. 
 
 Coin, Grinding, I. 91. 
 
 ( 'ou/.netzoff, I. 76, 102. 
 
 Cranes, II. 95. 
 
 Crossoptilons, II. 147. 
 
 Crows with "metallic croak," I. 215, 217. 
 
 Csoma the Hungarian, and his Thibetan 
 
 dictionary, II. 195. 
 Curlews, II. 144. 
 
 Dala Pass, II. 144. 
 
 Dâlgleish the traveller, I. 159. 
 
 Dam, Pass of, II. 46, 96. 
 
 Dameloune Mountains, II. 187. 
 
 Dancers, Thibetan, II. 135. 
 
 Dandelion, I. 217. 
 
 Détehou River, II. 147. 
 
 Dedeken, Father, Belgian missionary, I. 5, 6, 
 75, 76, 83, 97, 120, 150, 158 ; amusing- 
 interview with a Dungan, 161, 172, 175; 
 at the burial of Niaz, 193; 200; II. 13; and 
 the Thibetan chief, 19 ; taken for a China- 
 man, 20 ; 140 ; and the mandarins of 
 Tatsien-Lou, 207 ; 220. 
 
 Deer, I. 25; II. 120, 147, 154. 
 
 Dejean, Father, II. 204. 
 
 Desert, Fascination of life in the, I. 24 ; birds 
 in the, 72; solitude of the, 77 ; reed grass, 
 and blue pools of the, 78 ; journey through 
 the, 163. 
 
 Desert-sickness, I. 131. 
 
 Desgodins, Father, II. 85, 177, 188, 195, 196. 
 
 Deutchmé, I. 98 ; II. 144. 
 
 Di-Ti, II. 72, 77. 
 
 Diogenes of Velasquez, The, II. 20. 
 
 Divers, Black, II. 96. 
 
 Djashas, The, II. 67, 73. 
 
 Djahan Saï River, I. 132 ; granite in the 
 valley of the, 133, 143. 
 
 Djala Mountains, II. 147. 
 
 Djankalo (Changka), II. 167. 
 
 Djarkent, I. 3 ; recruiting men at, 4 ; start 
 from, 4 ; 9 ; II. 32. 
 
 Djaucounnene, II. 96. 
 
 Djiddas, I. 63. 
 
 Dogs, the travellers' watchmen, II. 13, 30 ; of 
 Thibetans, 96; at So, 111 ; 128. 
 
 Dotou, II. 167 ; the lama-house, and prayer- 
 mills at, 170. 
 
 Duck, Red, I. 88, note. 
 
 Ducks, Flesh of, I. 96, II. 95. 
 
 Dungans, The, I. 42, 44, 70, 169. 
 
 Dupleix Mountains, I. 206, 207. 
 
 Dust, Clouds of, assuming singular shapes, II. 
 78. 
 
 Dzcrine, II. 160, 163. 
 
 Eagles, Black, I. 199 ; II. 100. 
 Edelweiss, I. 28, 212. 
 Eglantines, II. 194. 
 Electrical phenomenon, II. 114. 
 Elephants, I. 61. 
 Elms, I. 38. 
 
 Emigration in China, I. 8. 
 Eutin, I. 95. 
 
 Extortions of Thibetan chiefs, II. 116. 
 Eyes, Inflammation of the, through a hurri- 
 cane, 195. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 225 
 
 Fage, Father, IL 177, 195. 
 
 Falcons, I. 199. 
 
 Fat mixed with hread, I. 43 ; for frost-bitten 
 
 foot, 196. 
 Feet, Frost-bitten, I. 196. 
 Ferghana, The, I. 40, 44, 58. 
 Ferrier Mountain, I. 188. 
 Fieldfares, I. 67. 
 Figs, I. 42. 
 
 Fir-trees, II. 144 ; forests of, 147. 
 Flour purchased at Kourla, I. 43. 
 Fording a river, Novel mode of, II. 134. 
 Forests on mountains, I. 23. 
 Fossils at 19,000 feet, I. 209. 
 Fou-lin, II. 215. 
 Foxes, I. 135, 188; II. 163. 
 Frost-bitten feet, I. 196. 
 Frozen geysers, I. 211, 215. 
 Frozen meat, I. 211. 
 
 Gabet, missionary, I. Ill, 203; II. 36, 177, 
 
 195. 
 Garments made from the tchiga plant, I. 68; 
 
 from wild hemp, 91. 
 Gashar, I. 97. 
 Gatine, II. 92, 93. 
 Gazelles, I. 23, 69, 79, 133, 135. 
 Geese, Wild, I. 78, 88 (note) ; II. 95. 
 Géodes, I. 76. 
 
 Geographical Society of England, I. 111. 
 Geysers, Frozen, I. 211, 215. 
 Ghadik River, I. 38. 
 
 Gill, English explorer in Thibet, II. 195. 
 Giometchou Eiver, II. 152 ; breadth at Lamda, 
 
 154 
 Giraudot, Father, II. 204. 
 Goats of nomads, II. 94. 
 Gobi Desert, Mongolia, The, I. 62, 128. 
 Goitres, II. 116, 156. 215. 
 Gold said to be found at Kizii Sou Eiver, I. 
 
 136. 
 Gold mines in the neighbourhood of Bokalik, 
 
 I. 164. 
 Goumbas, I. 62. 
 Granite in the valley of the Djahan-Saï, I. 
 
 133. 
 Grapes, I. 42. 
 Grass of the highlands, Peculiar character of 
 
 the, I. 212; drying, II. 114. 
 Gratou, unsociability of inhabitants, II. 139. 
 Greediness of Thibetans, II. 5. 
 Grottoes, II. 144. 
 Gulls, White, II. 95. 
 
 Haiphong, II. 219. 
 
 Hami, Oasis of, I. 44. 
 
 Handglasses given to natives, II. 30. 
 
 Hannibal crossing the Rhône, I. 61. 
 
 Hanoi, II. 219. 
 
 Hares, I. 67, 108, 109, 163, 165, 168, 203, 
 
 210. 
 Haschisch, Smoking, I. 114, 149. 
 Hassar, Village of, II. 163 ; a street in, 164. 
 Hastings, Lord, I. 41. 
 
 57 
 
 Headache relieved by snow, II. 116. 
 Hemp, I. 20. 
 
 Henry, Prince, of Orleans, I. 2, 6 ; kills a 
 stag, 28 ; photographs a lama, 30 ; photo- 
 graphs some Torgots, 38 ; 46 ; threatened 
 with arrest at Kourla, 49 ; 116 ; 120 ; peril- 
 ous position of, 135 ; 147; 158; 172; 174; 
 175; 178; finds the track of Kalmuck 
 pilgrims, 194 ; leads the camels, 195, 196; 
 197; kills two orongos, 200; kills a yak, 
 205; 212; photographs the first Thibetan 
 native encountered by the travellers, II. 
 2 ; photographs a Thibetan dwelling, 24 ; 
 220. 
 Hermit, Dwelling of a, II. 95. 
 Honeymoon before marriage, II. 134. 
 Hong-Kong, II. 219. 
 Hop-vines, I. 20. 
 
 Horse-stealing by the Kirghis, I. 27. 
 Horses, Fastening up, in the desert, I. 77 ; 
 instinct of, 84, 108 ; lost on the moun- 
 tains, 181 ; effect of frost on the eyes of, 
 195 ; death of, from over-drinking, 206 ; 
 loss of strength from cold, 212 ; feeding 
 on raw flesh, II. 67 ; cleverness of, 101 ; 
 of Tsonron, 173. 
 Hot springs, I, 205, 211, 217; II. 35, 159. 
 Houmda, II. 149. 
 Hounds, I. 125. 
 Houses, Material used in the construction of, 
 
 II. 149, 154; decorations on, 191. 
 Hue, Father, his narratives of travel, I. 2, 
 111; 203; II. 26, 36; and the relics of 
 Catholic ritual in Thibet, 85 ; 177, 195. 
 Huns, The, and their horses, I. 61. 
 Huts of Thibetans, II. 114. 
 Hydromel, II. 122. 
 
 la-La Mountain, II. 103, 108. 
 
 Iabshcm plant, The, I. 174, 211. 
 
 Iça, servant to the travellers, I. 114, 149 ; II. 
 
 90. 
 Ice, Cones of, I. 211. 
 
 Hi, Province of, I. 7 ; fertility of, 7 ; its trans- 
 ference to China, 8 ; emigration from, 9 ; 
 
 and the Torg-ots, 35, 46 ; sheep of, 71. 
 Images of Buddha used for healing purposes, 
 
 I. 16; deposited on obos, 31; given to 
 
 Thibetans, II. 140. 
 Imatch, camel-driver, I. 26 ; his reflections 
 
 about camels and sheep, 71 ; 112, 141, 196; 
 
 his feet frost-bitten, II. 7 ; illness of, 25 ; 
 
 his death, 31. 
 Inns, Chinese, Filthiness of, II. 192, 212, 215. 
 Instinct of a horse, I. 84. 
 Intchigué-Darya River, The, I. 62. 
 "Invisible horsemen," I. 216. 
 Iron manufactory at Lagoun, II. 150. 
 Ithaginis, II. 153. 
 
 Jasmine, II. 194. 
 
 Jujube-trees, I. 38, 68. 
 
 Junipers, II. 35, 107, 112, 115, 116, 144, 147. 
 
226 
 
 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 Kabchigué-gol, Defile of, I. 31 ; meaning of 
 
 word, 32. 
 Kala Mountain, II. 155. 
 
 Kalmucks, The : their characteristics and 
 harsh treatment by the Kirghis, I. 10; and 
 the Torgots, 35 ; and the inhabitants of 
 Aktarma, 64; 103, 148, 176, 194; II. 
 13. 
 Kama, The, I 3. 
 Kampir plant, The, I. 174. 
 Kara Koum, The, I. 62. 
 Karakoutchoun, I. 97. 98. 
 Kara Bourane River, I. 107, 109. 
 Karakoyuk, I. 98. 
 Karashar, Lake of, I. 38; Governor of, and 
 
 the travellers, 47, 51; 103. 
 Kara Shote, I. 146. 
 Kargalik (Tcharkalik), I. 97, 98. 
 Karimeta, II. 143. 
 Kash, The, I. 8, 11. 
 Kashgar, Emigrants from, I. S ; 9 ; governed 
 
 by Yakoob-Beg, 40. 
 Kela Mountains, II. 116. 
 Kemezetiantché Lake, I. 107. 
 Ken-Si, II. 108, 123. 
 Kérémata, Abdu, I. 80. 
 Khan of the Torgots, The, II. 43. 
 Khiva, I. 52. 
 Khotan, I. 98. 
 
 Kin-sha-Kiang Biver, II. 194. 
 Kirghis, Siberian, I. 9 ; their depredations on 
 Kalmucks, 10; wearing tablets as pass- 
 ports, 11; formation of their skulls, 14; 
 source of livelihood, and cheerfulness, 20 ; 
 addicted to horse-stealing, 27 ; feuds with 
 the Mongols, 28 ; their broad faces, 58 ; 66. 
 Kissing amongst natives, I. 127. 
 Kitchou River, II. 100. 
 Kizil Sou River, I. Ill, 116, 121; gold said to 
 
 be found at, 136. 
 Kontché-Darya, The, I. 40, 42, 57, 58 ; raft for 
 
 crossing the, 60. 
 Koushou, II. 186, 187. 
 Koukou Nor, I. 203. 
 Koukou Nor River, I. Ill ; II. 77. 
 Koukouiamanes, I. 143. 
 Koul toukmit Koul, Blain of, I. 63. 
 Koiilmis. I. 133, 147, 165, 174, 177, 20"5 ; II. 
 
 27. 
 Koum Davvan Mountain, I. 134, 140. 
 Kountsetinnc, II. 191. 
 
 Kourla, I. 40, 41 ; general appearance, and the 
 people of, 42 ; the travellers threatened 
 with arrest at, 47 ; start of the caravan 
 from, 52 ; chiefs of, and the travellers, 55- 
 57; 98; 111. 
 Koushoune, II. 159. 
 Kreitner, explorer in Thibet, II. 196. 
 Kuldja, I. 4; Russian consul at, 6; 39, 58, 
 
 112, 120. 
 Kumshap Khan, I. 92. 
 Kunges, Vallev of the, I. 12, 19. 
 Kunshi Khan Beg, I. 82, 84, 89. 
 Kuntchi Khan, a Lob chief, I, 132. 
 
 Lagoun, II. 149; iron manufactory at, 150. 
 Lake of Cones, I. 203. 
 Lake Montcalm, I. 205, 206. 
 Lama, Grand, Description of a, and his recep- 
 tion of travellers, I. 15, 16. 
 Lamaism, Supposed derivation of, II. 143. 
 Lamas, Tents of the, I. 13, 18, 83; appear- 
 ance of the, II. 42 ; chanting prayers and 
 blowing trumpets, 51, 52; makers of medi- 
 cine, 53; travelling, 101, 102; of the 
 monastery of So, 106 ; training-school for, 
 117 ; initiation of, 126 ; mendicant, 132; of 
 Karimeta, 141 ; female, 142; house of, at 
 Djala Pass, 148 ; of Ouoshishoune, 160 ; 
 house at Dzérine, 163; house at Dotou, 
 167; of Changka, 183. 
 Lamda, II. 152, 153 ; the Giomtchou River at, 
 
 154. 
 Lamé, II. 152. 
 
 Lammergeiers, II. 35, 53, 102. 
 Landscape, A typical Pomeranian, I. 65. 
 Lao-kai, II. 219. 
 
 Larks, I. 67, 178, 182, 199, 211 ; II. 80, 93. 
 Laroze, M., II. 219. 
 Latchou River, II. 159. 
 Leduc, M., French consul at Mong-tse, II. 
 
 219. 
 Leindiinne, II. 188. 
 Lendjoune, II. 166. 
 Lepsinsk, I. 20. 
 
 Lhassa, Supplications brought from, I. 15 
 statue of Grand Lama of, 16; 19, 103; 
 route to, by the Kizil Sou, 111 ; pilgrims 
 from, 155 ; 218 ; II. 6, 7, 8, 18 ; the " city 
 of spirits," 33 ; ambassadors from, 36, 37 ; 
 the Amban of, 37-45 ; visit to the travel- 
 lers at Dam of chiefs from, 55 ; a hotbed 
 of intrigue, 69 ; presents for the travellers 
 from, 84 ; reputed resort of countless pil- 
 grims, 18S. 
 Lilac-trees, II. 155. 
 Liquorice-plants, I. 12, 20, 38. 
 Litang, II. 204. 
 
 Lob Nor, The, I. 4, 49, 51, 52, 62, 63,73; 
 
 journey to, 76; characteristics of the 
 
 people in, 80 ; the great " lake " of, 90, 
 
 109; work of the sand at, 99, 110, 206. 
 
 Lobi chiefs refuse aid to the travellers, I. 
 
 122. 
 Lobis, The, I. 144, 145, 169, 170. 
 Loczi, explorer in Thibet, II. 196. 
 Lolos, The, II. 215. 
 Lorin, Henri, I. 2. 
 Lottery, A singular, near Sérésumdo, II. 132. 
 
 Macaroni, Chinese, I. 84. 
 
 Madman at Bata-Soumdo, The, and the mir- 
 ror, II. 118. 
 
 Mahomet, Festival of, at Tcharkalik, I. 115. 
 
 Maktchou River, II. 167. 
 
 Malthusianism, Religious, II, 155. 
 
 Mandalik, I. 146. 
 
 Mandarins, The, and passports for foreigners, 
 I. 6 ; enticing Russian peasants to settle in 
 
INDEX. 
 
 227 
 
 Chinese territory, 9 ; of Kourla, 44 ; 
 
 threatening travellers, 57 ; from Lhassa, 
 
 56; of Changka, II. 178. 
 Mardjan Agha, I. 97. 
 Marriage customs, I. 100, 105 ; II. 122-127, 
 
 134. 
 Marseilles, II. 219. 
 
 Massacre of Thibetans by the Sopkou, II. 165. 
 Mazar, I. 8, 9, 11. 
 Meat, Frozen, I. 211. 
 Mekong River, II. 152. 
 Melons, I. 39, 42, 46, 64. 
 Mendicant lamas, II. 132. 
 Mesny, explorer in Thibet, II. 196. 
 Mienshari, I. 97. 
 Mill, Thibetan, II. 23. 
 
 Mirages, due to salt, 1. 76, 108, 1 26, 168 ; II. 16. 
 Mission, Destruction of the Batang, II. 175, 
 
 202. 
 Monastery, Lama, I. 15, 16, 18; at So, 11.93, 
 
 105, 112. 
 Money-lender at So, A, II. 108, 111. 
 Mong-tse, II. 219. 
 Mongols, Physiognomy of, I. 10 ; method of 
 
 threshing wheat, 12; tea-drinking of, 16 ; 
 
 poverty and uncleanliness, and the ugliness 
 
 of the women, 19 ; their feuds with the 
 
 Kirghis, 28 ; physical traits, 35, 97 ; II. 
 
 156. 
 Monkeys, I. 210; IT, 96, 156. 
 Montcalm Lake, I. 205, 206. 
 Moscow, I. 3. 
 Moula Kourghan, I. 163. 
 Mountain sickness, I. 141, 142, 166; remedy 
 
 for, 166, 183. 
 Mountains covered with forests, I. 23 ; with 
 
 surface of salt, 30 ; Buddhist inscription 
 
 on, 31; a wilderness of, 198-218; like 
 
 waves, 204 ; Dupleix, 206, 207 ; enormous 
 
 altitude of, 207. 
 Music and dancing at Tchinagi, I. 59. 
 Musk-deer, II. 120, 147, 154. 
 Mutton, Salted, at Kourla, I. 43. 
 
 Nain-Singh, the pundit, II. 34. 
 
 Namtso, 1. 158, 218 ; II. 8, 11, 23 ; description 
 of, 38 ; arrival of travellers at, 34 ; the 
 " Heavenly Lake," 54. 
 
 Naptchou, The, II. 77, 92. 
 
 Natural History Museum, Paris, and the col- 
 lection of M. Bonvalot, I. 206 (note). 
 
 Nia, I. 164. 
 
 Niaz, Death and burial of, I. 191-193. 
 
 Nigan, II. 83. 
 
 Nijm-Novgorod, I. 3. 
 
 Nilka, The, I. 12. 
 
 Ningling Tangla, II. 8, 11, 12, 27, 32; 
 striking appearance of, 33, 74. 
 
 Niouma, or turnip, II. 115; cattle fed with, 
 143. 
 
 Nouniaz Agha, I. 97. 
 
 Oak-trees, II. 172. 
 Obo Pass, I. 143. 
 
 Obos, I. 31, 32, 168, 210; II. 99, 128, 103; 
 
 enormous specimen at Tchoungo, 143 ; 187. 
 Oil, Sesamum, I. 43. 
 
 Ointment on the faces of Thibetans, II. 5. 
 Omdjamtchou River, II. 100. 
 Omsk, I. 3. 
 
 Omtchou River, II. 99. 
 Opium-smoking, II. 108, 212. 
 Orongos, I. 178, 188, 194, 201. 
 Orosses (Russians), I. 35. 
 Ouloug Koul, I. 66 ; reception of travellers 
 
 by the chief of, 67. 
 Ouoshishoune, II. 159 ; lamas of, 160. 
 Ourga, II. 52. 
 Ouroumitchi, I. 47, 159. 
 Ourtchou River, II. 92, 99, 100. 
 Ouzoun Tchor River, I. 146, 149. 
 
 Pa-Lan (i.e., English or Russians), II. 14, 15. 
 
 Pashalik, I. 146. 
 
 Pagoda of a Lama monastery, Description of a, 
 
 I. 18; at Djala Pass, II. 147. 
 Palao-meat, I. 28, 144, 163, 211. 
 Pamir, The, I. 2, 41; II. 27, 102. 
 Pansies, I. 28. 
 
 Parasols of Chinese soldiers, II. 178. 
 Paris, Route to Tonquin from, I. 2; exhibi- 
 tion of, 2, 3. 
 Parpa, servant of the travellers, I. 43, 44 ; 
 beats natives of Arkan, 70; 112; 117; 156; 
 170; II. 25, 90. 
 Partridges, I. 35, 142, 165, 168, 210; II. 113, 
 
 154. 
 Passports, I. 6; amongst the Kirghis, 11; 
 demanded at Kourla, 46 ; shown to a 
 Thibetan chief, II. 19; for missionaries at 
 Tatsien-Lou, 204. 
 Peat pits, I. 30. 
 Pekin, I. 112. 
 
 Pelisse of Thibetan, II. 2, 18. 
 Pepper-trees, I. 20. 
 Petchili, Gulf of, I. 41. 
 Petzoff, Russian traveller, I. 73. 
 Pheasants, in the valley of the Kunges, I. 12 ; 
 
 67, 153; II. 163. 
 Phenomenon, Electric, II. 114. 
 Photographing a lama, I. 30 ; some Torgots, 
 
 38. 
 Pickpockets at Kourla, I. 51. 
 Pigeons, II. 27. 
 Pigtails of Thibetans, II. 8. 
 Pilgrims, I. 150, 155 ; camp of, 195, 196 ; II. 
 
 133. 
 Pine forests, II. 156, 173. 
 Pipes for smoking, Thibetan, II. 114. 
 Pirojki, I. 84. 
 
 Ploughing, Methods of, II. 112, 164. 
 Poioundo, II. 120. 
 Poisoned rivers, I. 68. 
 Polyandry, II. 124. 
 Polygamy, II. 124, 126. 
 Pomeranian landscape, A typical, I. 65. 
 Ponies of Thibetans, II. 5. 
 Poplars in the valley of the Kunges, I. 12; 
 
228 
 
 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 20 ; forest of, 59 ; 62, 63 ; at Talkitchin, 
 
 71; 108; II. 153, 166. 
 Poptchou River, II. 100. 
 Porphyry. I. 168. 
 Portrait drawn by a lama, II. 130. 
 Poula, II. 186. 
 Pratt. Mr., English collector at Tatsien-Lou, 
 
 II. 204, 210, 211. 
 
 Prayer-mills, II. 27, 99, 128 ; at Dotou, 170 ; 
 183. 
 
 Prayers of Buddhists, I. 18, 37 ; written on 
 canvas and on slabs, and left at obos, 31 ; 
 at burials, 101 ; on tents, II. 12 ; engraved 
 on schist, 23, 79; written on stones, 26, 
 128; chanted by lamas, 51, 141; turned 
 by windmills, 143; for rain, 184, 185. 
 
 Prjevalsky, the traveller, I. 1, 2, 6, 19, 40, 41, 
 46, 62, 79, 82, 88 (note), 89; and the 
 Lake of Lob Nor, 90; 97 (note) ; 99, 107, 
 
 III, 126, 168; and the Columbus Moun- 
 tains, 173; and the Koukou route, 203; 
 II. 95, 195. 
 
 Pumpkins, I. 91. 
 
 Rachmed, I. 3, 4, 6, 28 ; opinion of the 
 Chinese, 46; 52, 108, 115, 119; beats a 
 Lobi chief, 122; 125, 142, 144, 149, 155, 
 167, 171 ; lost on the mountains, 184 ; his 
 sage advice to the travellers, 207 ; stoned 
 by Thibetans, II. 140 ; 220. 
 
 Rachmed, Ata, I. 57, 58. 
 
 Raft for crossing the Kontché- Darya, I. 61. 
 
 Raisins purchased at Kourla, I. 43. 
 
 Raspberries, I. 12; II. 155, 173. 
 
 Rats of the mountains, I. 199 ; II. 80. 
 
 Reclus Volcano, The, I. 188. 
 
 Red River, The, II. 219 ; beauty of, 219. 
 
 Red soil near Akker, II. 166. 
 
 Reed grass, I. 78. 
 
 Reeds in the Tarim, I. 92. 
 
 Renou, Father, II. 174, 177, 195, 196. 
 
 Rheumatism cured at Archan Buluk spring, 
 I. 35 ; attacking women, 100 ; marmot fat 
 as a cure for, 1 17. 
 
 Rhododendrons, II. 120, 144, 147, 153. 
 
 Rhubarb plant, The, I. 212, 217. 
 
 Richthofen, the traveller, I. 6. 
 
 Ritchimbo, II. 115. 
 
 River, Novel mode of fording a, II. 134. 
 
 Rivers poisoned by vegetable matter, I. 68. 
 
 Rokkill (?), Mr., American diplomatist, II. 
 211. 
 
 Routéoundo, II. 156. 
 
 Routchi, II. 144. 
 
 Ruins of dwellings near Sérésumdo, II. 131 ; 
 in the valley of the Mahtchou, 165. 
 
 Ruysbruk Volcano, named after the Flemish 
 traveller, I. 194, 198. 
 
 Saia, Meaning of, I. 119. 
 SaJtlis, or tents for the winter, I. 38. 
 Sahsaoul, I. 131, 133. 
 
 Salt on mountains, I. 30; mixed with bread, 
 43 ; on the roads, 65 on the banks of the 
 
 Tarim. 69; at Talkitchin, 71 : on the road 
 
 to Lob, 76 ; ponds, 92 ; on the Ouzoun 
 
 Tchor, 146; in the desert, 174; of 
 
 Burben-cho, II. 11. 
 Saltpetre, I. 97, 109. 
 Salutation, Thibetan modes of, II. 2, 8, 18, 
 
 48, 98. 
 Samarkand, I. 4, 7. 
 Samda Kansain Mountains, II. 68, 74. 
 Samda-Tchou River, II. 68. 
 Sand, "Waves of, I. 1 74 ; fantastic scene from, 
 
 196. 
 Sandhills, I. 62, 63, 67, 72, 175, 196. 
 Sarthians of Turkestan, I. 58, 66. 
 Sasan, a chief of the Kirghis, I. 20. 
 Satchou, II. 155. 
 
 Schist, Prayers engraved on, II. 23, 79. 
 Sétchou River ; II. 147, 148. 
 Setchouen, I. 151 ; II. 212. 
 Semipalatinsk, I. 3, 58. 
 Sérésumdo, II. 130. 
 Shanghai, I. 5. 
 Shaven heads, II. 155. 
 Sheep, Buying, I. 55 ; of Hi, 71. 
 Shepherds, Thibetan, II. 4, 94. 
 Shèr Agha, I. 97. 
 Shisougoune River, II. 194. 
 Siberia, I. 39. 
 Sibos, I. 9. 
 
 Sickness, Desert, I. 131. 
 Sickness, Mountain, I. 141, 142, 143, 166, 
 
 183. 
 Silos, II. 23. 
 
 Sinin-Fou, I. 159; II. 79, 154, 211. 
 Sling, Skill of Thibetans with the, II. 102. 
 Smallpox in the region of the Tchershène, I. 
 
 74, 100. 
 Snipe, II. 144. 
 Snow on the mountains, I. 12, 23 ; on Ning- 
 
 ling Tangla, II. 33 ; relieving headache, 
 
 116. 
 Snuff-box of a Thibetan, II. 2. 
 Snuff-taking, by natives of Arkan, I. 70 ; by 
 
 ambassadors from Lhassa, II. 45. 
 So, II. 93, 103; lama-house at, 105; singular 
 
 construction of the houses at, 106; palace 
 
 at, 106. 
 Soap, Sap of tougrak trees used as, I. 67. 
 Sokpou, The, their massacre of Thibetans, II. 
 
 165. 
 Solitude of the desert, I. 24. 
 Solons, I. 9. 
 
 Songs, Native, I. 97, 118, 132; II. 135. 
 So-tchou River, II. 100, 112. 
 Soubrou, II. 77. 
 Soudjou, Valley of, II. 115. 
 Sougomba, Bridge of, II. 154. 
 Sounds, Peculiar, in high altitudes, I. 202. 
 Souti, II. 115. 
 Sparrows, II. 27, 111. 
 Spinning-wheel of a Thibetan, II. 3. 
 Spring of Archan Buluk, I. 35. 
 Springs, Hot, I. 205, 211, 217; II. 35, 159. 
 St. Denys, Marquis d'Hervey de, I. 48. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 229 
 
 Stags, I. 212. 
 
 Stags at Bougou Bashi, I. 72. 
 
 Storm in the defile of Kabchigué-gol, I. 32. 
 
 Sugar, its effect on the Thibetans, II. 11, 18. 
 
 Swallows, I. 88, 117. 
 
 Swans, Wild, I. 88, 107. 
 
 Syringas, II. 194. 
 
 Ta-Amban, The, II. 56-62, 71-73, 84-87. 
 Ta-Lama, The, II. 56-62, 71-73, 84-87. 
 Talai-Lama, The, II. 3, 8, 11, 37, 80, 147. 
 Talkitchin, I. 71 ; salt at, 71. 
 Tamarisks, I. 12, 38, 62, 68, 71, 108, 131. 
 Tambourine accompaniment to prayers, I. 19; 
 
 II. 132. 
 Tandi, II. 101. 
 Tarantshis, The, I. 7, 8 ; their abandonment 
 
 of wives, 9 ; at Kourla, 42. 
 Tarim River, The, I. 62, 63, 65; overflow of, 
 
 65 ; action of the wind upon the sands of, 
 
 67 ; tchiga plants in the valley of, 68 ; 
 salt on the banks of, 69 ; breadth of, 79, 
 90 ; and the " Lake " of Lob Nor, 90, 
 109 ; the travellers' descent of, 92 ; ice in, 
 106. 
 
 Taro, II. 172. 
 
 Tartars, The, and their horses, I. 61. 
 
 Tash-Daw T an Mountain, I. 134, 140 ; crossing 
 
 the, 141 ; 217. 
 Tashé-Boua, II. 74. 
 Tashiline, II. 135. 
 Tashkend, I. 7. 
 Tatchou River, II. 143. 
 Tatsien-Lou, II. 74, 133, 134, 167, 196, 204; 
 
 treatment of the travellers at, 209 ; 210. 
 Taxes levied by Chinese, I. 67, 89, 164. 
 Tchaï, I. 107. 
 Tchamdo, see Tsiamdo. 
 Tehang (fermented barley), II. 199. 
 Tcharkal, see Tcharkalik. 
 Tcharkalik, I. 74, 99, 111; "French party" 
 
 created at, 115. 
 Tchershène Darya River, I. 72. 
 Tcherchène, I. 164. 
 Tchiga plants, I. 68 ; woven into garments, 
 
 68 ; 71. 
 
 Tchigali, Tchiga plants at, I. 68. 
 
 Tchimbo-Nara, II. 136. 
 
 Tchimbo-Tinzi, II. 136. 
 
 Tchimène Tagh, The, I. 113, 149. 
 
 Tchimcne, Flateau of, I. 150. 
 
 Tchinagi, I. 57 ; origin of inhabitants, and 
 
 their customs, 58, 59. 
 Tchoukour Saï, I. 133. 
 Tchoungo, II. 143. 
 Tchounneu, II. 173. 
 Tchoupalongue. II. 201. 
 Tchouzma, A dish of, I. 197. 
 Tea, the favourite drink of the Mongols and 
 
 the Thibetans, I. 16 ; trade between China 
 
 and Thibet in, II. 188. 
 Tengri Nor (the Namtso), II. 32. 
 Tent of the Amban of Lhassa, II. 50. 
 Tents of Thibetans, II. 23, 113, 172. 
 
 Terai, Tint of sky at, I. 76. 
 
 Terek- Dawan, The, I. 41. 
 
 Thibet Higher table-lands of, I. 2 ; difficul- 
 ties of travelling in, 7 ; tea-drinking in, 
 16 ; intermixture of the people with the 
 Lobis, 133; pasture-ground of, 217; the 
 first native encountered by the travellers, 
 II. 2; ruins of dwellings in, 131 ; electric 
 phenomenon from woollen garments in, 
 114 ; general appearance of the mountains, 
 144 ; fine scenery near Djala Mountains, 
 147; iron manufactory at Lagoun, 150; 
 no trustworthy history, 165 ; tea trade 
 with China, 188 ; weakness of Chinese 
 authority in, 191. 
 
 Thibetans : the fh - st native met by the travel- 
 lers, II. 2 ; their snuff-taking, 2 ; native 
 deception, 3 ; a shepherd and a shepherdess, 
 4, 5 ; their greediness, 5 ; their ponies, 
 5; their wonder at English revolvers, 
 6; their pigtails, 8; large tongues, 11, 
 12; meat-vendors, 17; tents, 23; mills 
 and saddles, 23 ; of Lhassa, 37-40 ; load- 
 ing yaks, 64 ; cooking, 76 ; their charac- 
 teristics near Lhassa, 78, 79 ; armed 
 horsemen, 80 ; yak-drivers, 83, 98 ; ex- 
 change of presents with the chiefs from 
 Lhassa, 84, 86; shepherds, 94, 114; their 
 dogs, 96; variety of types, 96, 97, 99, 115, 
 163; signs with the thumbs, 98, 111, 118, 
 150 ; modes of salutation, 2, 8, 18, 48, 98 ; 
 forms of religion, 99 ; their skill with the 
 sling, 102; houses and people of So, 105- 
 112; coins, 108; huts, 114; tobacco- 
 smoking, 114; extortions of chiefs, 116; 
 goitres, 116; fine specimen of a chief, 122; 
 flat houses, 121 ; polyandry and poly- 
 gamy, 124-127; tasks laid upon women, 
 127; a drunken chief, 136; a domestic 
 scene, 139 ; vacillation, 140; superstition, 
 140 ; agricultural implements, 143 ; care 
 for cattle, 143 ; veneration for the pagoda 
 at Djala Pass, 147 ; their kindness of 
 heart contrasted with the unfeeling nature 
 of the Chinese, 164, 165 ; their insolence 
 at Lendjoune, 166 ; a fight about a yak- 
 skin, 170; superstitions, 183, 191. 
 
 Thomine, Father, II. 195. 
 
 Thrushes, I. 35. 
 
 Thumb. Signing a treaty with the, I. 124. 
 
 Thumbs, Signs with the. II. 98. Ill, 118, 150. 
 
 Tien Shan, The, I. 7, 10, 19 ; Buddhist in- 
 scriptions on the slopes of, 31. 
 
 Tientsin Treaty, The, II. 203. 
 
 Tigers, I. 67, 82. 
 
 Timour, shepherd and servant to the travel- 
 lers, I. 113, 123, 149, 156; searches for 
 lost horses, 181 ; at the burial of Niaz, 193 ; 
 II. 90. 
 
 Timurlik, I. 19, 152. 
 
 Tiskène, Plains of, I. 174. 
 
 Tiumen, I. 3, 121. 
 
 Tjéma-Loung, II. 102. 
 
 Tobolsk, I. 58. 
 
230 
 
 ACROSS THIBET. 
 
 Tokta, a village singer, I. 118, 119; playing 
 
 the allah-rabob, 132, 145; 170. 
 Tomtits, I. 35. 
 Tonquin, Route from Paris to, I. 2 ; 7, 1 1 1 ; 
 
 reception of the travellers at, II. 219. 
 Tools used in an iron manufactory, II. 151. 
 Torgots, The, I. 27, 30, 32 ; their descent, 
 
 35 ; 36 ; photographed by Prince Henry, 
 
 38; 39, 151. 
 Toiu/rak, Woods of, I. 62 ; sap of, used as 
 
 soap, 67. 
 Tonia Kuiruk, I. 38. 
 
 Tsaidam, The, I. 6, 111, 116, 155; II. 77. 
 Transmigration f the soul, I. 14, 30 ; II, 99. 
 Tsakma, Valley of the, I. 19, 23. 
 Tsatang, II. 95. 
 
 Tsiamdo, II. 105, 118, 149, 167, 195. 
 Tsong Kaba, I. 31 ; II. 80. 
 Tsong li Yamen, The, at Pekin, I. 6. 
 Tsonké, II. 173. 
 Tson-ron River, II. 173. 
 Tumblers, Thibetan, II. 135. 
 Turfau, I. 89. 
 Turkestan, Chinese, I. 2. 
 Turkestan, Russian, I. 4, 52. 
 Turks, Fine specimens of, I. 3. 
 Turnip, or nioitma, II. 115, 143. 
 
 Ugliness of Thibetans, II. 2, 6. 
 
 Ulcers, I. 100. 
 
 Urumtsi, Highway of, I. 120. 
 
 Unicorn, Reputed existence of the, II. 68. 
 
 Ural Mountains, I. 3. 
 
 Uzbegs, The, I. 3, 40. 
 
 Valley of bones, A, I. 206. 
 
 Valleys of China, I. 2. 
 
 Vase made from a yak's skull, II. 23. 
 
 Violets, II. 155. 
 
 Volcanoes, The Reclus, I. 187, 188; the Ruys- 
 
 bruk, or Rubruquis, 194, 198; cones of 
 
 several, 198. 
 Volga, The, I. 3, 35. 
 Vultures, II. 35. 
 
 Wagner, M., French Consul at Shanghai, II. 
 
 211. 
 Wagtails, I. 35. 
 
 Water-carriers, II. 77, 78. 
 
 Water-mill, A Thibetan, II. 191. 
 
 Water-fowl, I. 68, 83, 88. 
 
 "Waves of mountains," I. 204. 
 
 Wells from the Aryk, I. 118. 
 
 Wheat at Aktarma, I. 65. 
 
 Wild Camels, I. 82, 87. 
 
 Wilderness of mountains, A, I. 198-218. 
 
 Willows, I. 12, 20, 38; II. 155. 
 
 Windmills, Praying, II. 143. 
 
 Wives, Abandonment of, by Mussulmans, I. 9. 
 
 Wolves, I. 25, 67, 135, 188, 199, 210 ; II. 31, 
 
 93, 101, 163. 
 Women ; their ugliness amongst the Mongols, 
 
 I. 19 ; II. 24, 28 ; at Kourla, I. 52 ; of 
 Abdallah, 84, 105 ; amongst shepherd 
 tribes, II. 94 ; smearing their faces 
 with butter, 96, 117 ; assisting in 
 building, 112; filthiness of, 117; orna- 
 ments of, 124, 139 ; as beggars, 126 ; 
 laborious life of, 127, 133; as field 
 labourers, 141, 164; as yak-drivers, 160; 
 near Taro, 173; dancina' near Batang, 
 199,200. 
 
 Yakoob-Beg, the "blessed one," 1. 40,; poisoned 
 at Kourla, 41; 57, 58, 61; fortress con- 
 structed by, 72. 
 
 Yaks, I. 149, 166, 175, 194; enormous speci- 
 mens of, 200; 205 ; an ancient specimen, 
 206; 212, 215; II. 8, 47, 94; breaking 
 through the ice, 95; 101; falling over a 
 precipice, 103; in inaccessible places, 116. 
 
 Yandachkak, I. 131. 
 
 Yang-tse-Kiang, Probable sources of, I. 208 ; 
 
 II. 194, 195. 
 
 Y'angi Koul, I. 65 ; characteristics of the in- 
 habitants of, 66. 
 
 Yantag, I. 36, 38. 
 
 " Y r ourt," Remains of a Thibetan, I. 210. 
 
 Youtchap Khan, Characteristics of the inhabit- 
 ants of, 1.91. 
 
 Yulduz, The, I. 20, 28, 30. 
 
 Yunnan, II. 123, 196, 212. 
 
 Zakiste-gol, The, I. 30. 
 Zamba, II. 26,41. 
 Zetchou River, II. 152. 
 
 Printed by Caskell & Company, Limited, La Belle Sauvage, Ludciatk IIii.l, London, B.C. 
 
^L^teà 
 
 A SELECTED LIST 
 
 OF 
 
 Cassell & Company's 
 
 Publications. 
 
 KW 
 
 9 G — 10.91. 
 
Selections from Cassell f Company's Publications. 
 
 Illustrate, Jfitu ^.rt, anîr otljcr Ifohmua. 
 
 Abbeys and Churches of England and Wales, The : Descriptive, Historical, 
 
 Pictorial. Series I. and II. 21s. each. 
 Adventure, The World of. Fully Illustrated; Complete in Three Vols. 9s. each. 
 Anglomaniacs, The : a Story of New York Life of To-day. By Mrs. Burton 
 
 Harrison. 3s. 6d. 
 Animal Painting in Water Colours. With Eighteen Coloured Plates by 
 
 Frederick Tayler. 5s. 
 Arabian Nights Entertainments (Cassell's). With about 400 Illustrations. 10s. 6d. 
 Architectural Drawing. By R. Phené Spiers. Illustrated. 10s. 6d. 
 Art, The Magazine of. Yearly Volume. With several hundred Engravings, and 
 
 Twelve Etchings, Photogravures, &c. 16s. 
 Artistic Anatomy. By Prof. M. Duval. Translated by F. E. Fenton. 5s. 
 Bashkirtseff, Marie, The Journal of. Translated from the French by Mathilde 
 
 Blind. With Portraits and an Autograph Letter. Cheap Edition, 7s. 6d. 
 
 Bashkirtseff, Marie, The Letters of. Translated by Mary J. Serrano. 7s. 6d. 
 Birds' Nests, Eggs, and Egg-Collecting. By R. Kearton. Illustrated with 
 
 16 Coloured Plates of Eggs. 5s. 
 
 Black America. A Story of the ex-Slave and his late Master. By W. Laird 
 Clowes. Cloth, 6s. 
 
 Black Arrow, The. A Tale of the Two Roses. By R. L. Stevenson. Illus- 
 trated, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Blue Pavilions, The. By Q, Author of "Dead Man's Rock," &c. 5s. 
 
 British Ballads. 275 Original Illustrations. Two Vols. Cloth, 15s. 
 
 British Battles on Land and Sea. By James Grant. With about 600 
 
 Illustrations. Three Vols., 4to, £r 7s. ; Library Edition, £1 10s. 
 British Battles, Recent. Illustrated. 4to, 9s. Library Edition, 10s. 
 Brdwning, An Introduction to the Study of. By Arthur Symons. 23. 6d. 
 Butterflies and Moths, European. By W. F. Kirby. With 61 Coloured 
 
 Plates. Demy 4to, 35s. 
 
 Canaries and Cage-Birds, The Illustrated Book of. By W. A. Blakston, 
 
 W. Swaysland, and A. F. Wiener. With 56 Fac-simile Coloured Plates, 35s. 
 Cassell's Family Magazine. Yearly Volume. Illustrated. 9s. 
 Cathedrals, Abbeys, and Churches of England and Wales. Descriptive, 
 
 Historical, Pictorial. Edited by Prof. T. G. Bonney, D.Sc, LL.D., F.R.S. With 
 
 nearly 500 Original Illustrations. Popular Edition. Two Vols. 25s. 
 Celebrities of the Century. Being a Dictionary of the Men and Women of the 
 
 Nineteenth Century. Cheap Edition, 10s. 6d. 
 Chess Problem, The. With Illustrations by C. Planck and others. 7s. 6d. 
 China Painting. By Florence Lewis. With Sixteen Coloured Plates, and a 
 
 selection of Wood Engravings. , With lull Instructions. 5s. 
 
 Choice Dishes at Small Cost. By A. G. Payne. Cheap Edition, is. 
 
 Christianity and Socialism, Xectures on By Bishop Barry. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Cities of the World. Four Vols. Illustrated. 7s. 6d. each. 
 
 Civil Service, Guide to Employment in the. New and Enlarged Edition, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Civil Service —Guide to Female Employment in Government Oflices. Cloth, is. 
 
 Climate and Health Resorts. By Dr. Burney Yeo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Clinical Manuals for Practitioners and Students of Medicine. {A List 0/ 
 
 Volumes fonvarded post free on application to the Publishers.) 
 Clothing, The Influence of, on Health. By Frederick Treves, F.R.C.S. 2s. 
 Cobden Club, Works published for the. [A Complete List on application.) 
 Colonist's Medical Handbook, The. By E.Alfred Barton, M.R.C.S. 2s. 6d. 
 Colour. By Prof. A. H. Church. New and Enlarged Edition. 3s. 6d. 
 Commerce, The Year-Book of. Edited by Kenric B. Murray. 5s. 
 Commercial Botany of the Nineteenth Century. By J. R. Jackson, A.L.S. 
 Cloth gilt, 3s. 6d. 
 
Selections from Cassell & Company's Publications. 
 
 Conning Tower, In a. By H. O. Arnold-Forster, Author of "The Citizen 
 Reader," &c. With Original Illustrations by W. H. Overend. is. 
 
 Conquests of the Cross. Edited by Edwin Hodder. With numerous Original 
 Illustrations. Complete in Three Vols. 9s. each. 
 
 Cookery, A Year's. By Phyllis Browve. New and Enlarged Edition. Cloth 
 gilt, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Cookery, Cassell's Dictionary of. Containing about Nine Thousand Recipes. 
 
 7s. 6d. ; roxburgh, 10s. 6d. 
 
 Cookery, Cassell's Shilling. %oth Thousand, is. 
 
 Cookery, Cassell's Popular. With Four Coloured Plates. Cloth gilt, 2s. 
 
 Cookery, Vegetarian. A Manual of Cheap and Wholesome Diet. By A. G. 
 Payne. >s. 6d. 
 
 Cooking by Gas, The Art of. By Marie J. Sugg. Illustrated. Cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Copyright, The Law of Musical and Dramatic. By Edward Cutler, 
 Thomas Eustace Smith, and Frederic E. Weatherly. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Countries of the World, The. By Robert Brown, M.A., Ph.D., &c. Com- 
 plete in Six Vols., with about 750 Illustrations. 4to, 7s. 6d. each. 
 
 Cremation and Urn-Burial ; or, The Cemeteries of the Future. By W. 
 Robinson. With Plates and Illustrations, is. 
 
 Cromwell, Oliver: The Man and His Mission. By J. Allanson Picton, M.P. 
 
 Cheap Edition. With Steel Portrait. 5s. 
 
 Culmshire Folk. By the Author of "John Orlebar," &c. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Cyclopaedia, Cassell's Concise. Brought down to the latest date. With about 
 
 600 Illustrations. New and Cheap Edition, 7s. 6d. 
 Cyclopaedia, Cassell's Miniature. Containing 30,000 Subjects. Cloth, 3s. 6d.; 
 
 half roxburgh, 4s. 6d. 
 
 Dairy Farming. By Prof. J. P. Sheldon. With 25 Fac-simile Coloured Plates, 
 and numerous Wood Engravings. Demy 4to. 21s. 
 
 David Todd : The Romance of his Life and Loving. By David Maclure. 5s. 
 Dickens, Character Sketches from. First, Second, and Third Series. 
 
 With Six Original Drawings in each, by Frederick Barnard. In Portfolio. 21s. each. 
 Dictionaries. (For description see alphabetical letter. ) Religion, Bible, 
 Celebrities, Encyclopaedic, Mechanical, Phrase and Fable, English, English History, 
 English Literature, Domestic, Cookery. (French, German, and Latin, see with 
 Eaucational Works.) 
 
 Disraeli, Benjamin, Personal Reminiscences of. By Henry Lake. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Disraeli in Outline. By F. Carroll Brewster, LL.D. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Dog, Illustrated Book of the. By Vero Shaw, B.A With 28 Coloured 
 
 Plates. Cloth bevelled, 35s. ; half-morocco, 45s. 
 Dog, The. By Idstone. Illustrated. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Domestic Dictionary, The. An Encyclopaedia for the Household. Cloth, 7s. 6<L 
 Doré Gallery, The. With 250 Illustrations by Gustave Doré. 4to, 42s. 
 Dorés Dante's Inferno. Illustrated by Gustave Doré. Popular Edition, 21s. 
 Doré's Milton's Paradise Lost. Illustrated by Gustave Doré. 4to, 21s. 
 Dr. Dumâny's Wife. A Novel. By Maurus Jôkai. Translated from the 
 
 Hungarian by F. Steinitz. 7s. 6d. net. 
 Earth, Our, and its Story. Edited by Dr. Robert Brown, F.L.S. With 
 
 36 Coloured Plates and 740 Wood Engravings. Complete in Three Vols. 9s. each. 
 Edinburgh, Old and New, Cassell's. With 600 Illustrations. Three Vols. 
 
 9s. each ; library binding, £1 10s. the set. 
 
 Egypt : Descriptive, Historical, and Picturesque. By Prof. G. Ebers. 
 
 Translated by Clara Bell, with Notes by Samuel Birch, LL.D., &c. Two Vols. 42s. 
 "89." A Novel. By Edgar Henry. Cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 Electricity, Age of, from Amber Soul to Telephone. By Park Benjamin, 
 
 Ph.D. 7 s. 6d. 
 Electricity, Practical. By Prof. W. E. Ayrton. Illustrated. 7s. 6d. 
 Electricity in the Service of Man. A Popular and Practical Treatise. With 
 
 nearly 850 Illustrations. Cheap Edition, gs. 
 
 Employment for Boys on Leaving School, Guide to. By W. S. Beard, 
 
 F.R.G.S. is. 6d. 
 Encyclopaedic Dictionary, The. Complete in Fourteen Divisional Vols., 10s. 6d. 
 
 each; or Seven Vols., half-morocco, 21s. each ; half-russia, 25s. each. 
 England, Cassell's Illustrated History of. With 2,000 Illustrations. Ten. 
 
 Vols., 4to, 9s. each. New and Revised Edition. Vols. I., II., III., and IV., 9s. each. 
 
Selections from Cassell <£• Company's Publications. 
 
 English Dictionary, Cassell's. Containing Definitions of upwards of 100,000 
 
 Words and Phrases. Demy 8vo, 1,100 pages, cloth gilt, 7s. 6d. 
 English History, The Dictionary of. Cheap Edition, 10s. 6d.; roxburgh, 15s. 
 English Literature, Library ot By Prof. Henry Morley. Complete in Five 
 
 Vols. 7s. 6d. each. 
 
 Vol. I. — Shorter English Poems. 
 Vol. II. — Illustrations of English 
 
 Religion. 
 Vol. III. — English Plays. 
 
 Vol. IV. — Shorter Works in English 
 Prose. 
 
 Vol. V. — Sketches of Longer Works in- 
 English Verse and Prose. 
 
 English Literature, Morley' s First Sketch of. Revised Edition, 7s. 6d. 
 English Literature, The Dictionary of. By W. Davenport Adams. Cheap 
 
 Edition, 7s. 6d. ; roxburgh, 10s. 6d. 
 
 English Literature, The Story of. By Anna Buckland. 3s. 6d. 
 English Writers. By Henry Morley. Vols. I. to VIII. 5s. each. 
 iEsop's Fables. Illustrated by Ernest Griset. Cheap Edition. Cloth, 3s. 6d. ; 
 bevelled boards, gilt edges, 5s. 
 
 Etiquette of Good Society, is. ; cloth, is. 6d. 
 
 Eye, Ear, and Throat, The Management of the. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Faith Doctor, The. A Novel. By Edward Eggleston. 7s. 6d. net. 
 
 Family Physician. By Eminent Physicians and Surgeons. New and 
 
 Revised Edition. Cloth, 21s. ; roxburgh, 25s. 
 
 Father Mathew: His Life and Times. By Frank J. Mathew. 2s. 6d. 
 Father Stafford. By Anthony Hope, Author of " A Man of Mark." 6s. 
 Fenn, G. Manville, Works by. Boards, 2s. each ; or cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Dutch the Diver; or, a Man's Mistake. In I The Parson o' Dumford. In boards only. 
 
 boards only. Poverty Corner. 
 
 My Patients. | The Vicar's People. In Cloth only. 
 
 Field Naturalist's Handbook, The. By Rev. J. G. Wood & Theodore Wood. 5s. 
 
 Figuier's Popular Scientific Works. With Several Hundred Illustrations in 
 
 each. 3s. 6d. each. 
 
 The Human Race. | Mammalia. | Ocean World 
 
 The World before the Deluge. Revised Edition. 
 
 Figure Painting in Water Colours. With 16 Coloured Plates by Blanche 
 MacArthur and Jennie Moore. With full Instructions. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Flora's Feast. A Masque of Flowers. Penned and Pictured- by Walter 
 Crane. With 40 pages in Colours. 5s. 
 
 Flower de Hundred. The Story of a Virginia Plantation. By Mrs. Burton 
 Harrison, Author of " The Anglornaniacs," &c. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Flower Painting, Elementary. With Eight Coloured Plates. 3s. 
 
 Flower Painting in Water Colours. With Coloured Plates. First and Second 
 
 Series. 5s. each. 
 
 Flower Painting in Water Colours. With Coloured Plates. First and Second 
 
 Series. 53. each. 
 Flowers, and How to Paint Them. Bv Maud N aftel. With Coloured Plates. 5s. 
 Fossil Reptiles, A History of British. By Sir Richard Owen, K.C.B., F.R.S., 
 
 &c. With 268 Plates. In Four Vols. £12 12s. 
 
 Four Years in Parliament with Hard Labour. By C. W. Radcliffe 
 
 Cooke, M.P. Third Edition, is. 
 France as It Is. By André Lebon and Paul Pelet. With Maps. 7s. 6d. 
 Garden Flowers, Familiar. By Shirley Hibberd. With Coloured Plates by 
 
 F. E. Hulme, F.L.S. Complete in Five Series. Cloth gilt, 12s. 6d. each. 
 Gardening, Cassell's Popular. Illustrated. Complete in Four Vols. 5s. each. 
 Geometrical Drawing for Army Candidates. By H. T. Lilley, M.A. New 
 
 and Enlarged Edition. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Geometry, First Elements of Experimental. By Paul Bert. is. 6d. 
 Geometry, Practical Solid. By Major Ross. 2s. 
 
 Gilbert, Elizabeth, and her Work for the Blind. By Frances Martin. 2s. 6d. 
 Gleanings from Popular Authors. Two Vols. With Original Illustrations. 
 4to, os. each. Two Vols, in One, 15s. 
 
 Great Eastern Railway, The Official Illustrated Guide to the. is. ; cloth, 2s. 
 Great Northern Railway, The Official Illustrated Guide to the. is. ; cloth, 2s. 
 Great Western Railway, The Official Illustrated Guide to the. New and 
 
 Revised Edition, rs. ; cloth, 2s. 
 
 Gulliver's Travels. With 88 Engravings. Cloth, 3s. 6d. ; cloth gilt, 5s. 
 
Selections from Cassell & Company's Publications. 
 
 Gun and its Development, The. By W. W. Greener. Illustrated, ios. 6d. 
 
 Guns, Modern Shot. By W. W. Greener. Illustrated. 5s. 
 
 Health at School. By Clement Dukes, M.D., B.S. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Health, The Book of. By Eminent Physicians and Surgeons. Cloth, 21s. 
 
 Health, The Influence of Clothing on. By F. Treves, F.R.C.S. 2s. 
 
 Heavens, The Story of the. By Sir Robert Stawell Ball, LL.D., F.R.S. 
 
 With Coloured Plates and Wood Engravings. Popular Edition, 12s. 6d. 
 Heroes of Britain in Peace and War. With 300 Original Illustrations. Cheap 
 Edition. Vol. I. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Holiday Studies of Wordsworth. By F. A. Malleson, M.A. 5s. 
 Horse, The Book of the. By Samuel Sidney. With 28 Fac-simile Coloured 
 Plates. Demy 4to, 35s. ; half-morocco, £2. 5s. 
 
 Houghton, Lord : The Life, Letters, and Friendships of Richard Monckton 
 Milnes, First Lord Houghton. By T. Wemyss Reid. Two Vols., with 
 
 Portraits, 32s. 
 
 Household, Cassell's Book of the. Illustrated. Complete in Four Vols. 5s. each. 
 How Women may Earn a Living. By Mercy Grogan. Cheap Edition, 6d. 
 Hygiene and Public Health By B. Arthur Whitelegge, M.D. 7s. 6d. 
 India, Cassell's History of. By James Grant. With 400 Illustrations. 15s. 
 In-door Amusements, Card Games, and Fireside Fun, Cassell's Book of. 
 
 With numerous Illustrations. Cheap Edition. Cloth, 2s. 
 Irish Leagues, The Work of the. The Speech of the Right Hon. Sir Henry 
 James, Q.C., M.P., Replying in the Parnell Commission Inquiry. 6s. 
 
 Irish Parliament, A Miniature History of the. By J. C. Haslam. 3d. 
 Irish Union, The : Before and After. By A. K. Connell, M.A. 2s. 6d. 
 Italy from the Fall of Napoleon I. in 1815 to 1890. By J. W. Probyn. New 
 
 and Cheaper Edition. 3s. 6d. 
 
 "Japanese" Library, Cassell's. Consisting of 12 Popular Works bound in 
 
 Japanese style. Covers in water-colour pictures, is. 3d. each, net. 
 Handy Andy. Oliver Twist. Ivanhoe. Ingoldsby Legends. The Last of the 
 Mohicans. The Last Days of Pompeii. The Yellowplush Papers. The Last Days of 
 Palmyra. Jack Hinton the Guardsman. Selections from the "Works of Thomas 
 Hood. American Humour. Tower of London. 
 
 John Orlebar, Clk. By the Author of " Culmshire Folk." 2s. 
 John Parmelee's Curse. By Julian Hawthorne. 2s. 6d. 
 Karmel the Scout. A Novel. By Sylvanus Cobb, Junr. Cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 Kennel Guide, Practical By Dr. Gordon Stables. Illustrated. Cheap Edition, is. 
 Khiva, A Ride to. By Col. Fred Burnaby. is. 6d. 
 Kidnapped. By R. L. Stevenson. Illustrated. 3s. 6d. 
 King Solomon's Mines. By H. Rider Haggard. Illustrated. 3s. 6d. 
 Ladies' Physician, The. By a London Physician. 6s. 
 
 Lake Dwellings of Europe. By Robert Munro, M.D., M.A. Cloth, 31s. 6d. 
 Law, How to Avoid. By A. J. Williams, M.P. Cheap Edition, is. 
 Legends for Lionel. With Coloured Plates by Walter Crane. 5s. 
 Letts's Diaries and other Time-saving Publications are now published exclu- 
 sively by Cassell & Company. (AList sent post free on application.') 
 Little Minister, The. By J. M. Barrie. Three Vols. 31s. 6d. 
 Loans Manual. By Charles P. Cotton. 5s. 
 Local Option in Norway. By Thomas M. Wilson, CE. is. 
 Locomotive Engine, The Biography of a. By Henry Frith. 5s. 
 London and North Western Railway, Official Illustrated Guide, is. 
 London and South Western Railway, Official Illustrated Guide, is. 
 London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, Official Illustrated Guide, is. 
 
 London, Greater. By Edward Walford. Two Vols. With about 400 
 Illustrations, gs. each. Library Edition. Two Vols. £1 the set. 
 
 London, Old and New. By Walter Thornbury and Edward Walford. 
 
 Six Vols., with about 1,200 Illustrations. Cloth, gs. eaah. Library Edition, ^3. 
 
 London Street Arabs. By Mrs. H. M. Stanley (Dorothy Tennant). 
 
 With Pictures printed on a Tint. 5s. 
 
 Master of Ballantrae, The. By Robert Louis Stevenson. Illustrated. 3s. 6d. 
 Mechanics, The Practical Dictionary of. Containing 15,000 Drawings. Four 
 
 Vols. 2 is. each. 
 
Selections from Cassell Jb Company's Publications. 
 Medical Handbook of Life Assurance. By James Edward Pollock, M.D., 
 
 F.R.C.P., and James Chisholm, Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, London. 7s. 6d. 
 Medicine, Manuals for Students of. (A List forwarded post free on application.) 
 Metropolitan Year-Book, The, for 1892. Paper, is. ; cloth, 2s. 
 Metzerott, Shoemaker. A Socialistic Novel. 5s. 
 Midland Railway, The Official Illustrated Guide to the. Cloth, 2s. 
 Modern Europe, A History of. By C. A. Fyffe, M.A. Three Vols. 12s. each. 
 Music, Illustrated History of. By Emil Naumann. Edited by the Rev, 
 
 Sir F. A. Gore Ouseley, Bart. Illustrated. Two Vols. 31s. 6d. 
 National Library, Cassell's. In Volumes. Paper Covers, 3d. ; cloth, 6d. 
 
 (A Complete List of the Volumes post free on application?) 
 
 Natural History, Cassell's Concise. By E. Pkrceval Wright, M.A., M.D., 
 
 F.L.S. With several Hundred Illustrations. 7s. 6d. ; roxburgh, 10s. 6d. 
 
 Natural History, CasseU's New. Edited by Prof. P. Martin Duncan, M. B., 
 F.R.S., F.G.S. Complete in Six Vols. With about 2,000 Illustrations. Cloth, qs. each. 
 Nature's Wonder Workers. By Kate R. Lovell. Illustrated. 5s. 
 Naval War, The Last Great. By A. Nelson Seaforth. With Maps. 2s. 
 Navy, Royal, All About the. By W. Laird Clowes. Illustrated, is. 
 Nelson, The Life of. By Robert Southey. Illustrated with Eight Plates. 3s. 6d. 
 Nursing for the Home and for the Hospital, A Handbook of. By Cathe. 
 
 rine J. Wood. Cheap Edition, is. 6d. ; cloth, 2s. 
 
 Nursing of Sick Children, A Handbook for the. By Catherine J.Wood. 2s. 6d. 
 Orations and After-Dinner Spesches. By the Hon. C. M. Depew. 7s. 6d. 
 Our Own Country. Six Vols. With 1,200 Illustrations. Cloth, 7s. 6d. each. 
 Pactolus Prime. A Novel. By Albion W. Tourgee. 5s. 
 Painting, The English School of. By Ernest Chesneau. Translated by 
 
 L. N. Etherington. With an Introduction by Professor Ruskin. 5s. 
 Paxton's Flower Garden. With 100 Coloured Plates. (Price on application.) 
 People I've Smiled With. Recollections of a Merry Little Life. By Marshall 
 
 P. Wilder. 2s. 
 Peoples of the World, The. By Dr. Robert Brown. Complete in Six Volumes. 
 
 With Illustrations. 7s. 6d. each. 
 
 Phantom City, The. By W. Westall. 5s. 
 
 PhiHips, Watts. Artist and Playwright. By Miss E. Watts Phillips. With 
 
 32 Plates. 10s, 6d. 
 Photography for Amateurs. By T. C. Hepworth. Illustrated, is. ; or cloth, is. 6d. 
 Phrase and Fable, Dictionary of. By the Rev. Dr. Brewer. Cheap Edition, 
 
 Enlarged, cloth, 3s. 6d. ; or with leather back, 4s. 6d. 
 
 Picturesque America. Complete in Four Vols. , with 48 Exquisite Steel Plates, 
 and about 800 Original Wood Engravings. £2 2s. each. 
 
 Picturesque Australasia, Cassell's. With upwards of 1,000 Illustrations. Com- 
 plete in F"ur Vo's. 7s. 6d. each. 
 
 Picturesque Canada. With about 600 Original Illustrations. Two Vols. 
 
 £3 3 s - each- 
 Picturesque Europe. Complete in Five Vols. Each containing 13 Exquisite Steel 
 Plates, from Original Drawings, and nearly 200 Original Illustrations. £21 ; half- 
 morocco, ^31 ios. ; morocco gilt, £52 10s. Popular Edition. In Five Vols. 18s. each. 
 
 Picturesque Mediterranean, The. With a Series of Magnificent Illustrations 
 from Original Designs by leading Artists of the day. Two Vols. Cloth, £2 2s each. 
 
 Pigeon Keeper, The Practical. By Lewis Wright. Illustrated. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Pigeons, The Book of. By Robert Fulton. Edited by Lewis Wright. With 
 50 Coloured Plates and numerous Wood Engravings. 31s. 6d. ; half-morocco, £2 2s. 
 
 Poems, Aubrey de Vere's. A Selection. Edited by John Dennis. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Poets, Cassell's Miniature Library of the : — 
 
 Burns. Two Vols. Cloth, is. each ; or cloth, 
 
 gilt edges, 2S. 6d. the set. 
 Byron. Two Vols. Cloth, is. each; or cloth, 
 
 gilt edges, 2S. 6d. the set. 
 Hood. Two Vols. Cloth, is. each ; or cloth, 
 
 gilt edges, 2s. 6d. the set. 
 Longfellow. Two Vols. Cloth, is. each ; or 
 
 cloth, gilt edges, 2s. 6d. the set. 
 
 Milton. Two Vols. Cloth, is. each ; or cloth, 
 
 gilt edges, 2s. 6d. the set. 
 Scott. Two Vols. Cloth, is. each; or cloth, 
 
 gilt edges, 2s. 6d. the set. 
 Sheridan and Goldsmith. 2 Vols. Cloth, is. 
 
 each ; or cloth, gilt edges, 2s. 6d, the set. 
 Wordsworth. Two Vols. Cloth, is. each ; 
 
 or cloth, gilt edges, 2s. 6d. the set. 
 
 Shakespeare. Twelve Vols., half cloth, in box, 12s. 
 
 Political Questions of the Day, A Manual of. By Sydney Buxton, M.P. 
 
 New and Entarged Edition. Paper Covers, is.; or cloth, is. 6d. 
 
Selections from Cassell & Company's Publications. 
 
 Polytechnic Series, The. Practical Illustrated Manuals specially prepared for 
 Students of the Polytechnic Institute, and suitable for the Use of all Students. 
 Forty Lessons in Carpentry 'Workshop Practice, is. 
 Practical Plane and Solid Geometry, including Graphic Arithmetic. Vol. I. 
 
 Elementary Stage. 3s. 
 Forty Lessons in Engineering Workshop Practice, is. 6d. 
 
 Technical Scales. Set of Ten in cloth case, is. Also on celluloid (in case), 10s. 6d. the set 
 Elementary Chemistry for Science Schools and Classes, is. 6d. 
 Building Construction Plates. A Series of 40 Drawings, Royal Folio size, ijd. each. 
 
 Portrait Gallery, The Cabinet. First and Second Series, each containing 36 
 Cabinet Photographs of Eminent Men and Women of the day. With Biographical 
 Sketches. 15s. each. 
 
 Poultry Keeper, The Practical. By Lewis Wright. Illustrated. 3s. 6d. 
 Poultry, The Book of. By Lewis Wright. Popular Edition. Illustrated. 10s. 6d. 
 Poultry, The Illustrated Book of. By Lewis Wright. With Fifty Exquisite 
 
 Coloured Plates, and numerous Wood Engravings. Revised Edition. Cloth, 31s. 6d. 
 Public Libraries, Free. New and Enlarged Edition. By Thomas Green- 
 wood, Author of " Museums and Art Galleries." Illustrated. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Queen Summer ; or, The Tourney of the Lily and the Rose. Penned and 
 
 Portrayed by Walter Crane. With 40 pages in Colours. 6s. Large Paper 
 Edition, 21s., net. 
 
 Queen Victoria, The Life and Times of. By Robert Wilson. Complete in 
 
 2 Vols. With numerous Illustrations, gs. each. 
 
 Rabbit-Keeper, The Practical. By Cuniculus. Illustrated. 3s. 6d. 
 Railway Library, Cassell's. Crown 8vo, boards, 2s. each. 
 
 Jack Gordon, Knight Errant. By W. C 
 Hudson (Barclay North). 
 
 The Diamond Button : Whose Was ItP 
 By W. C. Hudson (Barclay North). 
 
 Another's Crime. By Julian Hawthorne. 
 
 The Yoke of the Thorah. By Sidney 
 
 ^^ Luska. 
 
 Who is John Woman ? By C. Henry Beckett 
 
 The Tragedy of Brinkwater. By Martha 
 L. Moodey. 
 
 An American Penman. By Julian Haw- 
 thorne. 
 
 Section 558; or, The Fatal Letter. By 
 Julian Hawthorne. 
 
 The Brown Stone Boy. By W. H. Bishop. 
 
 A Tragic Mystery. By Julian Hawthorne. 
 
 The Great Bank Bobbery. By Julian 
 Hawthorne. 
 
 The Astonishing History of Troy Town. 
 By Q. 
 
 The Admirable Lady Biddy Fane. By 
 Frank Barrett. 
 
 Commodore Junk. By G. Manville Fenn. 
 
 St. Cuthbert's Tower. By Florence War- 
 den. 
 
 The Man with a Thumb. By w. C. Hud- 
 son (Barclay North). 
 
 By Right Not Law. By R. Sherard. 
 
 Within Sound of the Weir. By Thomas 
 St. E. Hake. 
 
 TJnder a Strange Mask. By Frank Barrett. 
 
 The CoombsberrowMyste'ry. ByJ.Colwall. 
 
 Dead Man's Bock. By Q. 
 
 A Queer Race. By W. Westall. 
 
 Captain Trafalgar. By Westall and Laurie. 
 
 The Phantom City. By W. Westall. 
 
 Redgrave, Richard, C.B., K.A. Memoir. By F. M. Redgrave, ios. 6d. 
 Richard, Henry, M. P. A Biography. By Charles Miall. With Portrait. 7s. 6d. 
 Rivers Of Great Britain : Descriptive, Historical, Pictorial. RIVERS OF 
 
 THE EAST COAST. Roval 4 to. 42s. 
 Rivers of Great Britain: THE ROYAL RIVER; THE THAMES, FROM 
 
 SOURCE TO SEA. With Descriptive Text and a Series of beautiful Engravings. 
 
 Original Edition, £2 2s. Popular Edition, 16s. 
 Robinson Crusoe. Cassell's New Fine- Art Edition. With upwards of 100 
 
 Original Illustrations. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, as Designer and Writer. Notes by William 
 
 Michael Rossetti. 7s. 6d. 
 Russia, Through, on a Mustang. By Thomas Stevens. 7s. 6d. 
 Russo-Turkish War, Cassell's History of. With about 500 Illustrations. Two 
 
 Vols., gs. each ; library binding, One Vol., 15s. 
 Sanitary Institutions, English. By Sir John Simon, K. C.B., F.R.S. 18s. 
 Saturday Journal, Cassell's. Illustrated throughout. Yearly Volume, 7s. 6d. 
 Science for All. Edited by Dr. Robert Brown, M.A., F.L.S., &c. Revised 
 
 Edition. With 1,500 Illustrations. Five Vols. 9s. each. 
 
 Sea, The: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, and Heroism. By 
 
 F. Whymper. With 400 Illustrations. Four Vols. 7s. 6d. each. 
 Secret of the Lamas, The. A Tale of Thibet. Crown 8vo, 5s. 
 Sent Back by the Angels ; and other Ballads of Home and Homely Life. By 
 
 Frederick Langbridge, M. A. Popular Edition, is. 
 
 Shaftesbury, The Seventh Earl of, K.G., The Life and Work of. By Edwin 
 
 Hodder. With Portraits. Three Vols., 36s. Popular Edition, in One Vol., 7s. 6d. 
 
 Shakespeare, Cassell's Quarto Edition. Edited by Charles and Mary Covvden 
 
 Clarke, and containing about 600 Illustrations by H. C. Selous. Complete in 
 Three Vols., cloth gilt, £■$ 3s. — Also published in Three separate Volumes, in cloth, 
 viz. : — The Comedies, 21s. ; The Historical Plays, 18s. 6d. ; The Tragedies, 25s. 
 
Selections from Cassell & Company 1 s Publications. 
 
 Shakespeare, Miniature. Illustrated. In Twelve Vols., in box, 12s. ; or in 
 Red Paste Grain (box to match), with spring catch, lettered in gold, 21s. 
 
 Shakespeare, The Plays of. Edited by Prof. Henry Morley. Complete in 
 Thirteen Vols. Cloth, in box, 21s. ; half-morocco, cloth sides, 42s. 
 
 Shakespeare, The England of. By E. Goadby. Illustrated. New Edition. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Shakspere, The International. Édition de luxe. 
 
 " Othello." Illustrated by Frank Dicksee, R.A. .£3 10s. 
 
 "King Henry IV." Illustrated by Herr Eduard Grutzner. £3 10s. 
 
 "As You Like It." Illustrated by Mons. Emile Bayard. ,£3 10s. 
 
 "Romeo and Juliet." Illustrated by Frank Dicksee, R.A. Is now out of print. 
 Shakspere, The Leopold. With 400 Illustrations, and an Introduction by F. J. 
 
 Furnivall. Cheap Edition, 3s. 6d. Cloth gilt, gilt edges, 5s. ; roxburgh, 7s. 6d. 
 Shakspere, The RoyaL With Exquisite Steel Plates and Wood Engravings. 
 
 Three Vols. 15s. each. 
 
 Skin and Hair, The Management of the. By Malcolm Morris, F.R.C.S. 2s. 
 Social Welfare, Subjects of. By the Rt. Hon. Sir Lyon Playfair, M.P. 7s. 6d. 
 South Eastern Railway, The Official Illustrated Guide to the. is. ; cloth, 2s. 
 Spectacles, How to Select. By Charles Bell Taylor, F.R.C.S. is. 
 Splendid Spur, The. By Q, Author of "Dead Man's Rock," &c. Illustrated. 3s.6d. 
 Sports and Pastimes, Cassell's Complete Book of. With more than 900 
 
 Illustrations. Cheap Edition. 3s. 6d. 
 Standard Library, Cassell's. Stiff covers, is. each ; cloth, 2s. each. 
 
 The Prince of the House of David, 
 
 Sheridan's Plays. 
 
 Uncle Tom's Cabin. 
 
 Deerslayer. 
 
 Eugene Aram. 
 
 Jack Hinton, the Guardsman. 
 
 Conirjgsby. 
 
 Mary Barton. 
 
 The Antiquary. 
 
 Nicholas Nickleby. Two Vols. 
 
 Jane Eyre. 
 
 Wuthering Heights. 
 
 The Prairie. 
 Dombey and Son. Two Vols. 
 Night and Morning. 
 Kenilworth. 
 
 The Ingoldsby Legends. 
 Tower of London. 
 The Pioneers. 
 Charles O'Malley. 
 Barnaby Budge. 
 Cakes and Ale. 
 The King's Own. 
 People I have Met. 
 The Pathfinder. 
 Evelina. 
 Scott's Poems. 
 Last of the Barons. 
 Adventures of Mr. Ledbury. 
 Ivanhoe. 
 Oliver Twist. 
 
 Selections from Hood's Works. 
 Longfellow's Prose 'Works. 
 Sense and Sensibility. 
 Lytton's Plays. 
 
 Tales, Poems, and Sketches (Bret 
 Harte). 
 
 Borne and the Early Christians. 
 The Trials of Margaret Lyndsay. 
 Edgar Allan Poe. Prose and Poetry, Selec- 
 tions from. 
 Old Mortality. 
 The Hour and the Man. 
 ■Washington Irving's Sketch-Book. 
 Last Days of Palmyra. 
 Tales of the Borders. 
 Pride and Prejudice. 
 Last of the Mohicans. 
 Heart of Midlothian. 
 Last Days of Pompeii. 
 Yellowplush Papers. 
 Handy Andy. 
 Selected Plays. 
 American Humour. 
 Sketches by Boz. 
 
 Maeaulay's Lays and Selected Essays. 
 Harry Lorrequer. 
 Old Curiosity Shop. 
 Bienzi. 
 
 The TaliBman. 
 Pickwick. Two Vols. 
 Scarlet Letter. 
 
 Martin Chuzzlewit. Two Vols. 
 
 Stanley in East Africa, Scouting for. Being a Record of the Adventures of 
 Thomas Stevens in search of H. M. Stanley. With 14 Illustrations. Cloth, 7s. 6d. 
 
 Star-Land. By Sir Robert Sta well Ball, LL.D., &c. Illustrated. 6s. 
 
 Storehouse of General Information, Cassell's. Fully Illustrated with High- 
 Class Wood Engravings, and with Maps and Coloured Plates. In Vols. 5s. each. 
 
 Story of Francis Cludde, The. A Novel. By Stanley J. Weyman. 7s. 6d. net 
 
 Strange Doings in Strange Places. Complete Sensational Stories by Popular 
 Authors. 5s. 
 
 Teaching in Three Continents. Personal Notes on the Educational Systems of 
 the World. By W. C. Grasby. 6s. 
 
 Thackeray, Character Sketches from. Six New and Original Drawings by 
 Frederick Barnard, reproduced in Photogravure. 21s. 
 
 The Short Story Library. 
 
 Noughts and Crosses. By Q. 5s. 
 
 Otto the Knight, &c. By Octave Thanet. 5s. 
 
 Fourteen to One, &c. By Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. 6s. 
 
 Eleven Possible Cases. By various Authors. 5s. 
 
 A Singer'B Wife. By Miss FANNY MURFREE. 5s. 
 
 The Poet's Audience, and Delilah. By Clara savile Clarke. 5s. 
 
Selections from Cassell & Company's Publications. 
 
 Tot Book for all Public Examinations. By W. S. Thomson, M.A. is. 
 Treasure Island. By R. L. Stevenson. Illustrated. 3s. 6d. 
 Treatment, The Year-Book o£ A Critical Review for Practitioners of Medicine 
 and Surgery. Greatly Enlarged. 500 pages. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Tree Painting in Water Colours. By W. H. J. Boot. With Eighteen 
 
 Coloured Plates, and valuable instructions by the Artist. 5s. 
 Trees, Familiar. By Prof. G. S. Boulger, F.L.S., F.G.S. Two Series. With 
 Forty full-page Coloured Plates by W. H. J. Boot. 12s. 6d. each. 
 
 "Unicode": The Universal Telegraphic Phrase Book. Pocket and Desk 
 
 Editions. 2s. 6d. each. 
 United States, Cassell's History of the. By the late Edmund Ollier. With 600 
 
 Illustrations. Three Vols. gs. each. 
 
 Universal History, Cassell's Illustrated. With nearly One Thousand 
 
 Illustrations. Vol. I. Early and Greek History. — Vol. II. The Roman Period. — 
 Vol. III. The Middle Ages. — Vol. IV. Modern History, gs. each. 
 
 Vaccination Vindicated. By John C. McVail, M.D., D.P.H. Camb. 5s. 
 
 Verdict, The. A Tract on the Political Significance of the Report of the Parnell 
 Commission. By A. V. Dicey, Q.C. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Verses Grave and Gay. By Miss E. T. Fowler. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Vicar of Wakefield and other Works, by Oliver Goldsmith. Illustrated. 
 
 3s. 6d. ; cloth, gilt edges, 5s. 
 
 Vision of Saints, A. By Lewis Morris. Edition de luxe. With 20 Full- 
 Page Illustrations. 21s. 
 
 Water-Colour Painting, A Course of. With Twenty-four Coloured Plates by 
 R. P. Leitch, and full Instructions to the Pupil. 5s. 
 
 Waterloo Letters. Edited by Major-General H. T. Siborne, Late Colonel 
 R.E. With Numerous Plans of the Battlefield. 21s. 
 
 Web of Gold, A. By Katharine Pearson Woods. 6s. 
 
 What Girls Can Do. By Phyllis Browne. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Wild Birds, Familiar. By W. Swaysland. Four Series. With 40 Coloured 
 Plates in each. 12s. 6d. each. 
 
 Wild Flowers, Familiar. By F. E. Hulme, F.L.S., F.S.A. Five Series. With 
 
 40 Coloured Plates in each. 12s. 6d. each. 
 
 Wood, The Life of the Rev. J. G. By his Son, the Rev. Theodore Wood. 
 
 With Portrait. Extra crown 8vo, cloth. Cheap Edition. 5s. 
 
 Work. An Illustrated Magazine of Practice and Theory for all Workmen, Pro- 
 fessional and Amateur. Yearly Volume, cloth, 7s. 6d. 
 
 World of Wit and Humour, The. With 400 Illustrations. Cloth, 7s. 6d. 
 
 World of Wonders, The. With 400 Illustrations. Two Vols. 7s. 6d. each. 
 
 World's Lumber Room, The. By Selina Gaye. Illustrated. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Yule Tide. Cassell's Christmas Annual, is. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINES. 
 Tlie QlliveV, for Sunday and General Readiiuj. Monthly, 6d. 
 
 CasseWs Family Magazine. Monthly, 7d. 
 " Little Folks " Magazine. Monthly, 6d. 
 The Magazine of Art. Monthly, is. 
 Cassell's Saturday Journal. Weekly, id. ; Monthly, 6d. 
 Work. An Illustrated Magazine of Practice and Theory for all Work- 
 men, Professional and Amateur. Weekly, id. ; Monthly, 6d. 
 
 V Full particulars of CASSELL & COMPANY'S Monthly Serial Publications 
 
 will be found in Cassell & Company's COMPLETE CATALOGUE. 
 
 Catalogues of Cassell & Company's Publications, which may be had at all 
 Booksellers', or will be sent post free on application to the Publishers : — ■ 
 Cassell's Complete Catalogue, containing particulars of upwards of One 
 
 Thousand Volumes. 
 Cassell's Classified Catalogue, in which their Works are arranged according 
 
 to price, from Threepence to Fifty Guineas. 
 Cassell's Educational Catalogue, containing particulars of Cassell & 
 Company's Educational Works and Students' Manuals. 
 
 CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited, Ludgate Hill, London. 
 
Selections from Casseil <fc Company's Publications. 
 
 !B tilles attîr Exigions IHEorks. 
 
 Bible, Cassell's Illustrated Family. With 900 Illustrations. Leather, gilt 
 
 edges, £2 10s. ; full morocco, £3 10s. 
 Bible Dictionary, Cassell's. With nearly 600 Illustrations. 7s. 6d. ; roxburgh, 
 
 1 os. 6d. 
 Bible Educator, The. Edited by E. H. Plumptre, D.D. With Illustrations, 
 
 Maps, &c. Four Vols., cloth, 6s. each. 
 Bible Student in the British Museum, The. By the Rev. J. G. Kitchin, 
 
 M.A. is. 
 Biblewomen and Nurses. Yearly Volume, 3s. 
 Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and the Holy War, Cassell's Illustrated 
 
 Edition Of. With 200 Original Illustrations. Demy 4to, cloth, 16s. 
 
 Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (Cassell's Illustrated). 4to. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Buayan's Pilgrim's Progress. With Illustrations. Cheap Edition, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Child's Bible, The. With 200 Illustrations. Demy 4to, 830 pp. 150^ Thousand. 
 Clieap Edition, 7s. 6d. Superior Edition, with 6 Coloured Plates, gilt edges, 10s. 6d. 
 
 Child's Life of Christ, The. Complete in One Handsome Volume, with about 
 200 Original Illustrations. Cheap Edition, cloth, 7s. 6d. ; or with 6 Coloured Plates, 
 cloth, gilt edges, 10s. 6d. Demy 4to, gilt edges, 21s. 
 
 "Come, ye Children." By the Rev. Benjamin Waugh. Illustrated. 5s. 
 
 Commentary, The New Testament, for English Readers. Edited by the 
 
 Rt. Rev. C. J. Ellicott, D.D., Lord Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. In Three 
 Volumes. 21s. each. 
 
 Vol. 1.— The Pour Gospels. 
 
 Vol. II. — The Acts, Romans, Corinthians, Galatians. 
 
 Vol. III. — The remaining Books of the New Testament. 
 
 Commentary, The Old Testament, for English Readers. Edited by the Rt. 
 
 Rev. C. J. Ellicott, D.D., Lord Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. Complete in 
 
 5 Vols. 21s. each. 
 Vol. I.— Genesis to Numbers. I Vol. III.— Kings I. to Esther. 
 
 Vol. II.— Deuteronomy to Samuel II. i Vol. IV.— Job to Isaiah. 
 
 Vol. V.— Jeremiah to Malachi. 
 
 Commentary, The New Testament. Edited by Bishop Ellicott. Handy 
 Volume Edition. Suitable for School and general use. 
 
 St. Matthew. 3s- 6d. 
 St. Mark. 3s. 
 St. Luke. 3s. 6d. 
 St. John. 3s. 6d. 
 The Acts of the Apostles. 
 3s. 6d. 
 
 Romans. 2s. 6d. 
 Corinthians I. and II. 3s. 
 
 Galatians, Ephesians, and 
 
 Philippians. 3s. 
 Colossians, Thessalonians, 
 
 and Timothy. 3s. 
 
 Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, 
 
 and James. 3s. 
 Peter, Jude, and John. 3s. 
 The Revelation. 3s. 
 An Introduction to the New 
 
 Testament. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Commentary, The Old Testament. Edited by Bishop Ellicott. Handy Volume 
 Edition. Suitable for School and general use. 
 Genesis. 3s. 6d. | Leviticus. 3s. 1 Deuteronomy. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Exodus. 3s. Numbers. 2s. 6d. ! 
 
 Dictionary of Religion, The. An Encyclopaedia of Christian and other 
 Religious Doctrines, Denominations, Sects, Heresies, Ecclesiastical Terms, History, 
 Biography, &c. &c. By the Rev. William Benham, B.D, Cheap Edition. 10s. 6d. 
 
 Doré Bible. With 230 Illustrations by Gustave Doré. Original Edition. 
 
 Two Vols., best morocco, gilt edges, .£15. 
 Early Days of Christianity, The. By the Ven. Archdeacon Farr ar, D. D. , F. R. S. 
 
 Library Edition. Two Vols., 24s. ; morocco, £2 2s. 
 
 Popular Edition. Complete in One Volume, cloth, 6s. ; cloth, gilt edges, 
 7s. 6d. ; Persian morocco, 10s. 6d. ; tree-calf, 15s. 
 
 Family Prayer-Book, The. Edited by the Rev. Canon Garbett, M.A, and 
 the Rev. S. Martin. Extra crown 4to, cloth, 5s. ; morocco, 18s. 
 
 Gleanings after Harvest. Studies and Sketches. By the Rev. John R. Vernon, 
 
 M.A. Illustrated. 6s. 
 OOBpel of Grace, The. By a Lindesie. Cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 "Graven in the Rock." By the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kinns, F.R.A.S., &c. Ac 
 
 Illustrated. 12s. 6d. 
 
Selections from Cassell & Company's Publications. 
 
 " Heart Chords." A Series of Works by Eminent Divines. Bound in cloth, red 
 edges, is. each. 
 
 TWy Father. By the Right Rev. Ashton Oxenden, 
 late Bishop of Montreal. 
 
 My Bible. By the Rt. Rev. W. Boyd Carpenter, 
 Bishop of Ripon. 
 
 My Work for God. By the Right Rev. Bishop 
 Cotterill. 
 
 My Object in Life. By the Ven. Archdeacon 
 Farrar, D.D. 
 
 My Aspirations. By the Rev. G. Matheson, D.D. 
 
 My Emotional Life. By the Rev. Preb. Chad- 
 wick, D.D. 
 
 My Body. By the Rev. Prof. W. G. Blaikie, D.D. 
 
 My Soul. By the Rev. P. B. Power, M.A. 
 
 My Growth, in Divine Life. By the Rev. 
 
 Prebendary Reynolds, M.A. 
 My Hereafter. By the Very Rev. Dean Bicker- 
 
 steth. 
 My Walk with G-od. By the Very Rev. Dean 
 
 Montgomery. 
 My Aids to the Divine Life. By the Very 
 
 Rev. Dean Boyle. 
 My Sources of Strength. By the Rev. E. E. 
 
 Jenkins, M.A., Secretary of the Wesleyan 
 
 Missionary Society. 
 
 Helps to Belief. A Series of Helpful Manuals on the Religious Difficulties of the 
 Day. Edited by the Rev. Teignmouth Shore, M.A., Canon of Worcester, and 
 Chaplain-in-Ordinary to the Queen. Cloth, is. each. 
 
 The Morality of the Old Testament. By 
 the B,ev. Newman Smyth, D.D. 
 
 Creation. By the Lord Bishop of Carlisle. 
 Miracles. By the Bev. Brownlow Mait- 
 
 land, M.A. 
 Prayer. By the Rev. T. Teignmouth Shore, 
 
 M.A. 
 
 The divinity of Our Lord. By the Lord 
 Bishop of Derry. 
 
 The Atonement. By William Connor Magee, D.D., Late Archbishop of York. 
 Hid Treasure. By Richard Harris Hill. is. 
 
 Holy Land and the Bible, The. A Book of Scripture Illustrations gathered 
 in Palestine. By the Rev. Cunningham Geikie, D.D. With Map. Two Vols. 24s. 
 Illustrated Edition. One Vol. 21s. 
 Life Of Christ, The. By the Ven. Archdeacon Farrar, D.D., F.R.S., Chaplain- 
 in-Ordinary to the Queen. 
 
 Illustrated Edition, with about 300 Original Illustrations. Extra crown 4to, 
 morocco antique, 42s. Cheap Illustrated Edition. Large 4to, cloth, 7s 6d. 
 Cloth, full gilt, gilt edges, 10s. 6d. 
 Library Edition. Two Vols. Cloth, 24s. ; morocco, 42s. 
 
 Popular Edition, in One Vol. 8vo, cloth, 6s.; cloth, gilt edges, 7s. 6d. ; Persian 
 morocco, gilt edges, 10s. 6d. ; tree-calf, 15s. 
 
 Marriage Ring, The. By William Landels, D.D. Bound in white 
 leatherette. New and Cheaper Edition, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Moses and Geology; or, the Harmony of the Bible with Science. By 
 
 the Rev. Samuel Kinns, Ph.D., F.R.A.S. Illustrated. Cheap Edition, 6s. 
 My Comfort in Sorrow. By Hugh Macmillan, D.D., LL.D., &c, Author of 
 
 " Bible Teachings in Nature," &c. Cloth, is. 
 Protestantism, The History of. By the Rev. J. A. Wylie, LL.D. Containing 
 
 upwards of 600 Original Illustrations. Three Vols., 27s. ; Library Edition, 30s. 
 
 "Quiver" Yearly Volume, The. With about 600 Original Illustrations and 
 
 Coloured Frontispiece. 7s. 6d. Also Monthly, 6d. 
 St. George for England ; and other Sermons preached to Children. Fifth 
 
 Edition. By the Rev. T. Teignmouth Shore, M.A., Canon of Worcester, 5s. 
 St. Paul, The Life and Work of. By the Ven. Archdeacon Farrar, D.D., 
 F.R.S., Chaplain-in-Ordinary to the Queen, 
 Library Edition. Two Vols., cloth. 24s. ; calf, 42s. 
 Illustrated Edition, complete in One Volume, with about 300 Illustrations, 
 
 £1 is. ; morocco, £2 2s. 
 Popular Edition. One Volume, 8vo, cloth, 6s. ; cloth, gilt edges, 7s. 6d. ; 
 Persian morocco, 10s. 6d. ; tree-calf, 15s. 
 
 Shall We Know One Another in Heaven ? By the Rt. Rev. J. C. Ryle, D.D., 
 
 Bishop of Liverpool. New and Enlarged Edition. Paper Covers, 6d. 
 Shonened Church Services and Hymns, suitable for use at Children's Services. 
 
 Compiled by the Rev. T. Teignmouth Shore, M.A., Canon of Worcester. 
 
 Enlarged Edition, is. 
 Signa Christi : Evidences of Christianity set forth in the Person and Work of 
 
 Christ. By the Rev. James Aitchison. 5s. 
 
 "Sunday:" Its Origin, History, and Present Obligation. By the Ven. Arch- 
 deacon Hessey, D.C.L. Fifth Edition, 7s. 6d. 
 
 Twilight oi Life, The: Words of Counsel and Comfort for the Aged. By 
 
 John Ellerton, M.A. is. 6d. 
 
Selections from Cassell <t Company 1 s Publications. 
 
 (Btaratiaital Works attîr ^tafonts' JKamtals. 
 
 Agriculture Series, Cassell's. Edited by John Wrightson, Prof, of Agriculture. 
 
 Soils and Manures. By J. M. H. Munro, D.Sc. (London), F.I.C., F.C.S. 2s. 6d. 
 Crops. By Professor Wrijjhtson. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Alphabet, Cassell's Pictorial Size, 35 inches by 42J inches. Mounted on 
 
 Linen, with rollers. 3s. 6d. 
 Arithmetic : — Howard's Anglo-American Art of Reckoning. The Standard 
 
 Teacher and Referee of Shorthand Business Arithmetic. By C. F. Howard. 
 
 Paper, is. ; cloth, 2s. New Enlarged Edition, 5s. 
 Arithmetics, The Modern School. By George Ricks, B.Sc Lond. With Test 
 
 Cards. (List on application.) 
 
 Atlas, Cassell's Popular. Containing 24 Coloured Maps, 3s. 6d. 
 Book-Keeping. By Theodore Jones. For Schools, 2s. ; or cloth, 3s. For 
 
 the Million, 2s. ; or cloth, 3s. Books for Jones's System, Ruled Sets of, 2s. 
 Chemistry, The Public School. By J. H. Anderson, M.A. 2s. 6d. 
 Classical Texts for Schools, Cassell's. (A list sent post free on application.) 
 Cookery for Schools. By Lizzie Heritage. 6d. 
 Copy-Books, Cassell's Graduated. Complete in 18 Books. 2d. each. 
 Copy-Books, The Modern School. Complete in 12 Books. 2d. each. 
 Drawing Copies, Cassell's "New Standard." Complete in 14 Books. 2d., 3d., 
 
 and 4d. each. 
 
 Drawing Copies, Cassell's Modern School Freehand. First Grade, is. Second 
 
 Grade, 2s. 
 Electricity, Practical. By Prof. W. E. Ayrton. 7s. 6d. 
 Energy and Motion : A Text-Book of Elementary Mechanics. By William 
 
 Paice, M.A. Illustrated, is. 6d. 
 English Literature, A First Sketch of, from the Earliest Period to the Present 
 
 Time. By Prof. Henry Morley. 7s. 6d. 
 Euclid, Cassell's. Edited by Prof. Wallace, M.A. - is. 
 Euclid, The First Four Books of. New Edition. In paper, 6d. ; cloth, gd. 
 French, Cassell's Lessons in. New and Revised Edition. Parts I. and II., each 
 
 2s. 6d. ; complete, 4s. 6d. Key, is. 6d. 
 French-English and English-French Dictionary. Entirely New and Enlarged 
 
 Edition. 1,150 pages, 3vo, cloth. 3s. 6d. 
 
 French Reader, Cassell's Public School. By Guillaume S. Conrad. 2s. 6d. 
 Galbraith and Haughton's Scientific Manuals. 
 
 Plane Trigonometry. 2s. 6d. Euclid. Books I., II., III. 2s. 6d. Books IV., V., VI. 2s. 6d. 
 Mathematical Tables. 3s. 6d. Mechanics. 3s. 6d. Natural Philosophy. 3s. 6d. Optics. 
 2S. 6d. Hydrostatics. 3s. 6d. Astronomy. 5s. Steam Engine, ss. 6d. Algebra. Part I., 
 cloth, 25. 6d. Complete, 7s. 6d. Tides and Tidal Currents, with Tidal Cards, 3s. 
 
 Oaudeamus. Songs for Colleges and Schools. Edited by John Farmer. 5s. 
 
 Words only, paper, 6d. ; cloth, gd. 
 
 Geometry, First Elements of Experimental. By Paul Bert. Illustrated, is. 6d. 
 
 Geometry, Practical Solid. By Major Ross, R.E. 2s. 
 
 German Dictionary, Cassell's New. German-English, English- German. Cheap 
 
 Edition, cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 German of To-Day. By Dr. Heinemann. is. 6d. 
 German Reading, First Lessons in. By A. JAgst. Illustrated, is. 
 Hand-and Eye Training. By G. Ricks, B.Sc. Two Vols., with 16 Coloured 
 
 Plates in each Vol. Crown 4to, 6s. each. 
 " Hand-and-Eye Training" Cards for Class Work. Five sets in case. is. each. 
 Handbook of New Code of Regulations. By John F. Moss. New and Revised 
 
 Edition, is. ; cloth, 2s. 
 Historical Cartoons, Cassell's Coloured. Size 45 in. x 35 in. 2s. each. Mounted 
 
 on canvas and varnished, with rollers, 5s. each. (Descriptive pamphlet, 16 pp., id.) 
 
 Historical Course for Schools, Cassell's. Illustrated throughout! I.— Stories 
 
 from English History, is. II. — The Simple Outline of English History, is. 3d. 
 
 III. — The Class History of England, 2s. 6d. 
 Latin-English Dictionary, CasseU's. Thoroughly revised and corrected, and in 
 
 part re-written by J. R. V. Marchant, M.A. 3s. 6d. 
 Latin Primer, The New. By Prof. J. P. Postgate. 2s. 6d. 
 Latin Primer, The First. By Prof. Postgate. is. 
 Latin Prose for Lower Forms. By M. A. Bayfield, M.A. 2s. 6d. 
 Laundry Work (How to Teach It). By Mrs. E. Lord. 6d. 
 
Selections from Casse// & Company's Pub/ications. 
 
 Laws of Every-Day Life. For the Use of Schools. By H. O. Arnold-Fokster. 
 
 is. 6d. 
 Little Folks' History of England. By Isa Craig-Knox. Illustrated, is. 6& 
 Making of the Home, The. By Mrs. Samuel A. Barnett. is. 6d. 
 Slap-Building Series, Cassell's. Outline Maps prepared by H. O. Arnold- 
 
 Forster. Per set of 12, is. 
 Marlborough Books: — Arithmetic Examples. 3s. Arithmetic Rules, is. 6d. Frenoh 
 
 Exercises. 3s. 6d. French Grammar. 2s. 6d. German Grammar. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Mechanics For Young Beginners, A First Book of. By the Rev. J. G. Easton, 
 
 M.A. 4s. 6d. 
 Mechanics and Machine Design, Numerical Examples in Practical. By 
 
 R. G. Blaine, M.E. With Diagrams. Cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 "Model Joint" Wall Sheets, for Instruction in Manual Training. By S. 
 
 Barter. Eight Sheets, 2s. 6d. each. 
 Natural History Coloured Wall Sheets, Cassell's New. Consisting of 18 
 
 subjects. Size, 39 by 31 in. Mounted on rollers and varnished. 3s. each. 
 Object Lessons from Nature. By Prof. L. C. Miall, F.L.S., F.G.S. Fully 
 Illustrated. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Physiology for Schools. By Alfred T. Schofield, M.D., M.R.C.S., &c. 
 
 With Wood Engravings and Coloured Plates, is. od. Three Parts, paper covers, 
 
 Sd. each ; or cloth limp, 6d. each. 
 Poetry Readers, Cassell's New. Illustrated. 12 Books, id. each. Cloth, is. 6d. 
 Popular Educator, Cassell's New. With Revised Text, New Maps, New Coloured 
 
 Plates, New Type, &c. To be completed in Eight Vols. 5s. each. 
 
 Reader, The Citizen. By H. O. Arnold-Forster. is. 6d. 
 Reader, The Empire. By G. R. Parkin, is. 6d. 
 Reader, The Temperance. By Rev. J. Dennis Hird. Crown 8vo, is. 6d. 
 Readers, Cassell's "Higher Class. " (List on application.) 
 Readers, Cassell's Historical. Illustrated. {List on application.) 
 Readers, Cassell's Readable. Illustrated. {List on application. ) 
 Readers for Infant Schools, Coloured. Three Books. +d. each. 
 Readers, The Modern Geographical. Illustrated throughout. {Liston application.) 
 Readers, The Modern School. Illustrated. (List on application.) 
 Reading and Spelling Book, Cassell's Illustrated, is. 
 Round World, The. By H. O. Arnold-Forster. 3s. 6d. 
 School Bank Manual, A. By Agnes Lambert. 6d. 
 
 School Certificates, Cassell's. Three Colours, 6ix4f in., id. ; Five Colours, 
 nf x oi in., 3d. ; Seven Colours and Gold, of x 6% in., 3d. 
 
 Science Applied to Work. By J. A. Bower. Illustrated, is. 
 Science of Every-Day Life. By J. A. Bower. Illustrated, is. 
 Sculpture, A Primer of. By E. Roscoe Mullins. Illustrated. 2s. 6d. 
 Shade from Models, Common Objects, and Casts of Ornament, How to. By 
 
 W. E. Sparkes. With 25 Plates by the Author. 3s. 
 
 Shakspere Reading Book, The. By H. Courthope Bowen, M.A. Illustrated. 
 
 3s. 6d. Also issued in Three Books, is. each. 
 
 Shakspere's Plays for School Use. Illustrated. 5 Books. 6d. each. 
 
 Spelling, A Complete Manual of. By J. D. Morell, LL.D. is. 
 
 Technical Educator, Cassell's. Illustrated throughout. New and Revised 
 
 Edition. Four Vols. 5s. each. 
 Technical Manuals, Cassell's. Illustrated throughout. 16 Vols., from 2s. to 4s. 6d. 
 
 (List free on application.) 
 Technology, Manuals of. Edited by Prof. Ayrton, F.R.S., and Richard 
 
 Wormell, D.Sc, M.A. Illustrated throughout. 
 
 The Dyeing of Textile Fabrics. By Prof. 
 
 Hummel. 5s. 
 Watch and Clock Making. By D. Glasgow, 
 
 Vice-President of the British Horological 
 
 Institute. 4s. 6d. 
 
 Steel and Iron. By Pref. W. H. Greenwood, 
 F.C.S., M.I.C.E.. &c. 5s. 
 
 Teat Cards, Cassell's Combination. In sets, is. each, 
 Teat Cards, Cassell's Modern School. In sets, is. each 
 
 Design in Textile Fabrics. By T. R. Asheu- 
 hurst. 4s. 6d 
 
 Spinning 'Woollen and Worsted. By w. 
 S. McLare», M.P. 4s. 6d. 
 
 Practical Mechanics. By Prof. Perry, M.K. 
 3s. 6d. 
 
 Cutting Tools Worked by Hand and Ma- 
 chine. By Prof. Smith. 3s. ôd. 
 
Selections from Cassett & Company's Publications. 
 
 Itooks for ^rmitg ^opk. 
 
 " Little Folks " Half- Yearly Volume. Containing 432 pages of Letterpress, with 
 Pictures on nearly every page, together with Two Full-page Plates printed in Colours 
 and Four Tinted Plates. Coloured boards, 3s. 6d. ; or cloth gilt, gilt edges, 5s. 
 
 Bo-Peep. A Book for the Little Ones. With Original Stories and Verses. 
 Illustrated with beautiful Pictures on nearly every page, and Coloured Frontispiece. 
 Yearly Volume. Elegant picture boards, 2s. 6d. ; cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Story Poems for Young and Old. By Miss E. Davenport Adams. 6s. 
 
 Pleasant Work for Busy Fingers. By Maggie Browne. Illustrated. 5s. 
 
 The Marvellous Budget: being 65,536 Stories of Jack and Jill. By the 
 
 Rev. F. Bennett. Illustrated. Cloth gilt, 2s. 6d. 
 Magic at Home. By Prof. Hoffman. Fully Illustrated. A Series of easy 
 and startling Conjuring Tricks for Beginners. Cloth gilt, 5s. 
 
 Schoolroom and Home Theatricals. By Arthur Waugh. With Illustra- 
 tions by H. A. J. Miles. Cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Little Mother Bunch. By Mrs. Molesworth. Illustrated. Cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Heroes of Every-Day Life. By Laura Lane. With about 20 Full-page 
 Illustrations. 256 pages, crown 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Ships, Sailors, and the Sea. By R. J. Cornewall-Jones. Illustrated 
 throughout, and containing a Coloured Plate of Naval Flags. Cheap Edition, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Famous Sailors of Former Times, History of the Sea Fathers. By Clements 
 
 Markham. Illustrated. 2s. 6d. 
 
 The Tales of the Sixty Mandarins. By P. V. Ramaswami Raju. 5s. 
 Gift Books for Young People. By Popular Authors. With Four Original 
 Illustrations in each. Cloth gilt, is. 6d. each. 
 The Boy Hunters of Kentucky. By Jack Marston's Anchor. 
 
 Edward S. Ellis. 
 Bed Feather: a Tale of the American 
 
 Frontier. By Edward S. Ellis. 
 Fritters ; or, " It's a Long Lane that has 
 
 no Turning." 
 Trixy; or, "Those who Live in G-lass 
 
 Houses shouldn't throw Stones." 
 The Two Hardcastles. 
 Seeking a City. 
 Bhoda's Beward. 
 
 Frank's Life-Battle. 
 
 Major Monk's Motto; or, "Look Before 
 
 you Leap." 
 Tim Thomson's Trial; or, " All is not Gold 
 
 that Glitters." 
 Ursula's Stumbling-Block. 
 Buth's Life-Work ; or,"No Pains, no GainB." 
 Rags and Bainbows. 
 Uncle William's Charge. 
 Pretty Pink's Purpose. 
 
 'Golden Mottoes" Series, The. Each Book containing 208 pages, with Four 
 
 full-page Original Illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 2s. each. 
 "Nil Desperandum." By the Rev. F. Lang- | "Honour is my Guide." By Jeanie Hering 
 
 bridge, M. A. (Mrs. Adams-Acton). 
 
 «■Roar nnri -PnT-hpar " Rv Sarah Pitt " Aim at a Sure End." By Emily Searchfield. 
 
 Bear and i orbear. By baran ntt. ., He Conquerg who Ëndures ." By the Author 
 
 "Foremost if I Can." By Helen Atteridge. I of " May Cunningham's Trial," &c. 
 
 'Cross and Crown" Series, The. With Four Illustrations in each Book. Crown 
 8vo, 256 pages, 2s. 6d. each. 
 
 Heroes of the Indian Empire ; or, Stories of 
 Valour and Victory. By Ernest Foster. 
 
 Through Trial to Triumph; or, "The 
 Royal Way." By Madeline Bonavia Hunt. 
 
 In Letters of Flame ; A Story of the 
 Waldenses. By C. L. Mateaux. 
 
 Strong to Suffer; A Story of the Jews. By 
 
 By Fire and Sword ; a Story of the Hugue- 
 nots. By Thomas Archer. 
 
 Adam Hepburn's Vow ; A Tale of Kirk and 
 Covenant. By Annie S. Swan. 
 
 No. XIII.; or t the Story of the Lost Vestal. 
 A Tale of Early Christian Days. By Emma 
 Marshall. 
 
 Freeiom's Sword; A Story of the D.iys of 
 
 E. Wynne. Wallace and Bruce. By Annie S. Swan 
 
 Five Shilling Books for Young People. With Original Illustrations. Cloth 
 gilt, 5s. each. 
 Under Bayard's Banner. By Henry Frith. I Bound by a Spell; or, the Hunted Witch 
 The Champion of Odin : or, Viking Life I of the Forest. By the Hon. Mrs. Greene. 
 
 in the Days of Old. By J. Fred. Hodgetts. ' The Romance of Invention. Byjas. Burnley. 
 
 Albums for Children. Price 3s. 6d. each. 
 
 The Chit-Chat Album. Illustrated I My Own Album of Animals. Illustrated. 
 
 The Album for Home, Schooi, and Play. _. . ... *„,,-_. ,,, , 
 
 Set in bold type, and illustrated throughout: | Picture Album of All Sorts. Illustrated. 
 
 "Wanted— a King" Series. Illustrated. 3s. 6d. each. 
 
 Robin's Ride. By Miss E. Davenport Adams. , Wantnd— a King; or, How Merle set the 
 Grear-Gvandm mma and Elsie. By Ceor- NurKery Rhymes to iiights. By Maggie 
 
 pina M. Synge. I Bruwne. 
 
Selections from Casse// & Company's Ptib/ications. 
 
 Crown 8vo Library. Cheap Editions. 
 
 Rambles Bound London. By C. I„ 
 Matéaux. Illustrated. 
 
 Around and About Old England. By C. 
 L. Matéaux. Illustrated. 
 
 Paws and ClaWB. By one of the Authors of 
 •' Poems Written for a Child." Illustrated. 
 
 Decisive Events in History. By Thomas 
 Archer. With Original Illustrations. 
 
 The True Robinson Crusoes. Cloth gilt. 
 
 Peeps Abroad for Folks at Home. Illus- 
 trated throughout 
 
 2S. 6d. each. 
 
 Wild Adventures in Wild Places. By Dr. 
 
 Gordon Stables, R.N. Illustrated. 
 Modern Explorers. By Thomas Frost. 
 
 trated. New and cheaper Edition. 
 Early Explorers. By Thomas Frost 
 Home Chat with our Toung Polks. 
 
 trated throughout 
 Jungle, Peak, and Plain. Illustrated 
 
 throughout. 
 The England of Shakespeare. By E. 
 
 Goadby. With Full-page Illustrations. 
 
 Illus- 
 
 Illus- 
 
 Three and Sixpenny Books for Young 
 
 Cloth gilt, 3s. 6d. each. 
 The King's Command. A Story for Girls, j 
 
 By Maggie Symington. 
 A Sweet Girl Graduate. By L. T. Meade. I 
 The White House at Inch Gow. By Mrs. I 
 
 Pitt 
 Lost in Samoa. A Tale of Adventure in the 
 
 Navigator Islands. By E. S, Ellis. 
 Tad ; or, " Getting Even " with Him. By ! 
 
 E. S. Ellis. I 
 
 People. With Original Illustrations. 
 
 Polly. By L. T. Meade. 
 
 The Palace Beautiful. By L. T. Meade. 
 
 " Follow my Leader." 
 
 For Fortune and Glory. 
 
 The Cost of a Mistake. By Sarah Pitt. 
 
 On Board the "Esmeralda." 
 
 Lost among White Africans. 
 
 In Quest of Gold. 
 
 A World of Girls. By L. T. Meade. 
 
 Books by Edward S. Ellis. Illustrated. Cloth, 2s. 6d. each. 
 
 The Hunters of the Ozark. 
 
 The Camp in the Moun- 
 tains. 
 
 Ned in the Woods. A Tale 
 of Early Days in the West. 
 
 Down the Mississippi. 
 
 Sixpenny Story Books. 
 
 The Smuggler's Cave. 
 Little Lizzie. 
 The Boat Club. 
 Luke Barnieott. 
 
 The Last War Trail. 
 Ned on the River. A Tale 
 
 of Indian River Warfare. 
 Footprints in the Forest. 
 Up the Tapajos. 
 
 Ned in the Block House. 
 
 A Story of Pioneer Life in 
 
 Kentucky. 
 The Lost Trail. 
 Camp-Fire and Wigwam. 
 Lost in the Wilds. 
 
 By well-known Writers. All Illustrated. 
 
 I Little Bird. I My First Cruise. 
 
 Th^EUihe^er CoUege The Little Peacemaker. 
 
 Boys. I The Delft Jug. 
 
 Cassell's Picture Story Books. Each containing 60 pages. 6d. each, 
 
 Auntie's Stories. 
 Birdie's Story Book. 
 Little Chimes. 
 A Sheaf of Tales. 
 Dewdrop Stories. 
 
 Daisy's Story Book. 
 Dot's Story Book. 
 A Nest of Stories. 
 Good Night Stories. 
 Chats for Small Chatterers. 
 
 Little Talks. 
 Bright Stars. 
 Nursery Joys. 
 Pet's Posy. 
 Tiny Tales. 
 
 Illustrated Books for the Little Ones. 
 
 Illustrated, is. each ; or cloth gilt, is. 6d. 
 
 Scrambles and Scrapes. Those Golden Sands 
 
 Tittle Tattle Tales. Little Mothers and their 
 Wandering Ways. Children. 
 
 Dumb Friends. Our Prettjr Pets^ 
 Indoors and Out. 
 Some Farm Friends. 
 
 Our Schoolday Hours. 
 Creatures Tame. 
 
 Containing interesting Stories. All 
 
 Creatures Wild. 
 Up and Down the Garden. 
 All Sorts of Adventures. 
 Our Sunday Stories. 
 Our Holiday Hours. 
 
 Shilling Story Books. All Illustrated, and containing Interesting Stories. 
 
 Aunt Lucia's Locket. 
 The Magic Mirror. 
 The Cost of Revenge, 
 
 Seventeen Cats. 
 Bunty and the Boys. 
 The Heir of Elmdale. 
 The Mystery at Shoncliff 
 
 School. 
 Claimed at Last, and Boy's 
 
 Beward. 
 Thorns and Tangles. 
 
 The Cuckoo in the Bobin's 
 John's Mistake. [Nest. 
 
 Diamonds in the Sand. 
 Surly Bob. 
 The Bastory of Five Little 
 
 Pitchers. 
 The Giant's Cradle. 
 Shag and Doll. 
 
 Clever Frank. 
 Among the Redskins. 
 The Ferryman of Brill. 
 Harry Maxwell. 
 A Banished Monarch 
 
 «Little Folks" Painting Books. 
 
 Water-Colour Painting, is. each. 
 Fruits and Blossoms for " Little Folks " 
 to Paint. 
 
 The " Little Folks 
 
 With Text, and Outline Illustrations for 
 Proverb Painting 
 
 I The "Little Folks" 
 Book. Cloth only, as. 
 Illuminating Book 
 
 Eighteenpenny Story Books. 
 
 Baggies, Baggies, and the 
 
 Emperor. 
 Boses from Thorns. 
 Faith's Father. 
 
 Wee Willie Winkie. 
 Ups and Downs of a Don- 
 key's Life. 
 Three Wee Ulster Lassies. 
 Up the Ladder. 
 Dick's Hero ; & other Stories. 
 The Chip Boy. 
 
 All Illustrated throughout. 
 
 Tom Morris's Error. 
 Worth more than Gold. 
 
 By Land and Sea. 
 
 The Young Berringtons. 
 
 Jeff and Leff. 
 
 ' Through Flood— Through 
 
 Fire." 
 The Girl with the Golden 
 
 Locks. 
 Stories of the Olden Time. 
 
Selections front Cassell & Company's Publications . 
 
 The " World in Pictures " Series. Illustrated throughout 2s. 6d. each, 
 
 A Ramble Round France. 
 
 AU the Russias. 
 
 Chats about Germany. 
 
 The Land of the Pyramids (Egypt). 
 
 Peeps into China. 
 
 The Eastern 'Wonderland (Japan). 
 Glimpses of South America- 
 Round Africa. 
 
 The Land of Temples (India). 
 The Isles of the Pacific. 
 
 Cheap Editions of Popular Volumes for Young People. Illustrated. 2s. 6d. 
 
 each. 
 Esther WeBt. | Three Homes. I For Queen and King. | Working to Win. 
 Perils Afloat and Brigands Ashore. 
 
 Two-Shilling Story Books. All Illustrated. 
 
 Stories of the Tower. 
 Mr. Burke's Nieces. 
 May Cunningham's TriaL 
 The Top of the Ladder: 
 
 How to Reach it. 
 Little FlotBam. 
 Madge and her Friends. 
 
 Half-Crown Story Books. 
 
 The Children of the Court. 
 A Moonbeam Tangle. 
 Maid Marjory. 
 The Four Cats of the Tip- 
 
 pertons. 
 Marion's Two Homes. 
 Little Folks' Sunday Book. 
 School Girls. 
 
 Two Fourpenny Bits. 
 
 Poor Nelly. 
 
 Tom Heriot. 
 
 Aunt Tabitha's Waifs. 
 
 In Mischief Again. 
 
 Through Peril to Fortune. 
 
 ^eggy, and other Tales. 
 
 Little Hinges. 
 
 Margaret's Enemy. 
 
 Pen's Perplexities. 
 
 Notable Shipwrecks. 
 
 Golden Days. 
 
 Wonders of Common Things. 
 
 At the South Pole. 
 
 By 
 
 Truth will Out. 
 
 Pictures of School Life and Boyhood, 
 
 The Young Man in the Battle of Life 
 
 the Rev. Dr. Landels. 
 The True Glory of Woman. By the Rev. 
 
 Dr. Landels. 
 Soldier and Patriot (George Washington). 
 
 Three-and-Sixpenny Library, illustrated. Cloth gilt, gilt edges. 
 
 I Peggy Oglivie's Inheritance. 
 
 I Krilof and his Fables. 
 
 Fairy Tales. By Prof. Henry Morley. 
 
 Cassell's Pictorial Scrap Book. 
 
 cloth back, 3s. 6d. per Vol. 
 Our Scrap Book. 
 The Seaside Scrap Book. 
 The Little Folks' Scrap Book. 
 
 In Six Sectional Volumes. Paper boards, 
 
 I The Magpie Scrap Book. 
 
 The Lion Scrap Book. 
 I Ihe Elephant Scrap Book. 
 
 Library of Wonders. Illustrated Gift-books for Boys. Paper, is. ; cloth, is. 6d. 
 
 Wonderful Adventures. 
 Wonders of Animal Instinct. 
 
 ! Wonderful Balloon Ascents. 
 
 ! Wonders of Bodily Strength and Skill. 
 
 Wonderful Escapes. 
 
 Books for the Little Ones. Fully Illustrated. 
 
 Rhymes for the Young Folk. By William 
 Allingham. Beautifully Illustrated. 3s. 6d. 
 
 The Sunday Scrap Book. With One Thou- 
 sand Pictures. Boards, 5s. ; cloth, 7s. 6d. 
 
 The History Scrap Book. With nearly 
 i.ooo Engravings. 5s. ; cloth, 7s. 6d. 
 
 Cassell's Robinson Crusoe. With 100 
 Illustrations. Cloth, 3s. 6d. ; gilt edges, 5s. 
 
 The Old Fairy Tales. With Original Illus- 
 trations. Boards, is. ; cloth, is. 6d. 
 
 My Diary. With Twelve Coloured Plates and 
 366 Woodcuts, is. 
 
 The Pilgrim's Progress. With Coloured 
 Illustrations. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Cassell's Swiss Family Robinson. Illus- 
 trated. Cloth, 3s. 6d. ; gilt edges, 5s. 
 
 The World's Workers. A Series of 
 
 Authors. With Portraits printed on a 
 Dr. Arnold of Rugby. By Rose E. Selfe. 
 The Earl of Shaftesbury. 
 Sarah Robinson, Agnes Weston, and Mrs. 
 
 Meredith. 
 Thomas A. Edison and Samuel F. B. 
 
 Morse. 
 Mrs. Somerville and Mary Carpenter. 
 General Gordon. 
 Charles Dickens. 
 
 Sir-Titus Salt and George Moore. 
 Florence Nightingale, Catherine Marsh, 
 
 Frances Ridley Havergal, Mrs. Ran- 
 
 yard ("L. N. R."). 
 
 New and Original Volumes by Popular 
 tint as Frontispiece, is each. 
 
 Dr. Guthrie, Father Mathew, Elihu Bur- 
 
 ritt, Joseph Livesey. 
 Sir Henry HavelocK and Colin Campbell 
 
 Lord Clyde. 
 Abraham Lincoln. 
 David Livingstone. 
 George Muller and Andrew Reed. 
 Richard Cobden. 
 Benjamin Franklin. 
 Handel. 
 
 Turner the Artist. 
 George and Robert Stephenson. 
 
 1 The above Works (excluding Richard Cobden) can also be had IhrceinOne Vol., cloth, gtU edçes.v. 
 
 CASSELL <L- COMPANY, Limited, Ludgate Hill, London; 
 Paris it Melbourne. 
 
 *> 
 
 Ï