Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-03-29
ACOnversation With the Grand Lama

/ George Remnants contribution 70 the
March Century is description of his
visit to the Grand Lama of the Trans Bs-
/ lksl, whose portrait forms the froutIs-
/ piece of the number. The article Is pro-
| fuseiy illustrated, and from it We ouote
| the following:
| AFTER dinner l had long talk with
/ the Grand Lama about my native codu-
! try, geography, and the shape of the
earth. Ii seemed very strange TO find
| anywhere on the globe, in the nineteenth
century, an edscated man and high eccle-
| sIsStlcal dlgultary who had neser even
i heard of America, and who did not feel at
! all sure that the world Is round. The
| Grand Lama was such q man.
! You have been in many countries he
| said TO me through the interpreter, and
| have talked with the wise men of the
| west; what is your opinion with regard
| to the shape of the earth!
81 think" Ireplied, that it is shaped
| like great ball
| 81 have heard SO BEFORE said the
| Grand Lama, looking thoughtfuliy away
| into vacancy. The Russian officers
whom l have met have told me that the
world is round. Such belief is contra
| ry TO the teachings OF our old Thibetan
! books, but | have observed that the Rus
| sian wise men predict eclipses accurately;
| and If they can tell beforehand when the
| sun and moon are to be darkened, they
probably know something about the
| shape of the earth. Why do you think
| that the earth is rounGY
~ have many reasons for thinking So
l answered; but perhaps the best and
| strongest reason Is that l have been
| around 1t
This statement seemed to give the
Grand Lama a sort of mental shock.
| "'How have you been around it?' he
inquired. What DO you mean by around
| itf' How do you know that you have
| been around itY
az turned my back upon my home 1
| replied, and travelled many months III the
| course taken by the sun. l crossed wide
continents and great oceans. Every
night the sun set before my face and ev-
| cry morning it rose behind my back. The
| earth al ways seemed fiat, but / could not
| find anywhere an end nor an edge; and
| last, Wheu | had Travelled NOR than thirty
thousand versts, found myself again In
| my own country and returned to my
| home from direction exactly opposite
! to that which | had taken in leaving it.
| If the world WAS flat, DO you think | could
| have done thisi'
| "'It is very strange said the Grand
Lams, after thoughtful pause of a mo
ment. 'Where is your country? How far
is it beyond St. PetersburgY
"'My country is farther from ST. Pc
teIsburg than st. Petersburg is from
! here replied. 1T lies almost exactly
under our feet; and if We could go direct
| ly through the earth, that would be the
! shortest way to reach it.
care your country walking around
their heads downwaTds under our feet?'
asked the Grand Lama with evident in
| terest and surprise, but without any per
ceptible change in his habitualIy impas.
sive face.
"'Yes,' re piled, 'snd to them we seem
to be sitting with heads downward here
"The Grand Lama then asked ma to
describe infinitely the route that we had
| followed III coming from America to ST
| IBERIA, and to name the countries through
which we had passed. He knew that Ger
many adjoined Russia on the west, he had
| heard of British India and of England
! probably through Thibet-and he had
vague idea of the extent and situation of
the Pacific Ocean; but of the Atlantic and
of the continent that lies between the two
great oceans he knew nothing.
"After q long talk, in the conrse of
which we discussed the spherioity of the
earth from every possible point of view,
the Grand Lama seemed to be partly or
wholly convinced of the truth of that doc
trine, and said, with a sigh, 1t Is not in
accordance with the teachings of our
books; but the Russians must be right
SIT is a somewhat remarkable fact that
DR.. Erman, the only foreigner who had
seen the lamasery of Goose Lake previous
t" our visit, had an almost precisely sim
liar conversation concerning the shape of
the earth with the man who was then Tin
| 1929 Grand Lama. Almost sixty years
elapsed between DIR. Ernan's visit and
ours, but the doctriue of the sphericity
of the earth continued throughout that
period to trouble ecclesiastical minds in
this remote East Siberian Iamasery; and
it is net improbable that sixty years
! hence some traveller from the western
world may be asked by some future
| Grand Lama to give his reasons for be-
lieving the world to be a sphere"