Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-05-01
QUEER WAYS IN TIBET.
How the Natives Make and Serve Tea
Other Peculiar Customs.

THE people of Tibet have the fun
niest way of making tea you ever heard
Of" said Lieut. Rockhill, that far-away
Star reporter. ITO begin with the
tea they use comes from western China
in the shape of bricks, which are press
ed into such convenient shape for
carrying overland. Ali sorts of teas
are made into bricks for purposes of
transportation across Asia, it being
very well understood by connoisseurs
in the herb that a sea trip spoils it.
But the tea imported into Tibet is of
very poor quality as rule. There
is in it as much weight of twigs as of
leaves.
Having pounded a portion of the
brick tea in some sort of mortar, the
Tibetan housewife puts it in large
copper vessel and there permits it to
boil over fire made from dry manure.
The resulting solution she pours into
a queer-looking wooden churn through
a coarse willow basket that serves as a
strainer. To the liquid in the churn,
before proceeding further, she adds a
portion of butter and some salt. The
mixture is then churned up in ordinary
fashion, and, when it is thoroughly
mixed. is poured into teapot of
bronze. From the teapot it is dis
pensed into the little cup-shaped YES
sells which each Tibetan carries with
him or her.
The cup-shaped vessel | refer to is
usually of wood, sometimes lined with
silver. Tibetans employ it not only as
their sole drinking utensil, but also IS
a dish for solid food. What they con-
sumo mainly as a substantial diet is
parched barley. When a gentleman
of Tibet feels hungry he sits down, and
of barley he mixes little water with
it, and stirring it up into a dough eats
it in that shape. Thus hunger is salts
fed and he goes on his way rejoicing.
In what we call the pleasures of the
table the Tibetan takes no stock what
ever There never was a typical
Asiatic yet who cared anything about
amusement in the ordinary sense of
the word. He doesn't 90 to the thea
tre-there is no such institution in the
land of the lamas. Nor does he in
dulge in any other rational employ
ment of civilization, though he does
not scorn what might be called the
primary vices.
Tibet is a very cold country, but
its inhabitants do not warm themselves
bv the consumption of fuel. When the
weather is chilly they simply put on
more clothes in proportion as the mer-
curry might fall, if there was a Their
mometer to register the temperature
by. Their garments consist mainly
for each individual of voluminous
cloak with sleeves and high collar,
under which a shirt is sometime worn.
Boots, with soles of rawhide and up
pers of cloth and cotton, are made for
them in China. For rainy days cir
cular cape of felt is provided. The
gun used by Tibetan has long fork
attached to it, which is stuck IN the
ground for use as rest for the wea-
pom. Naturally, the deadly instru-
ment is Of primitive pattern, intended
to be set off with a printing, and the
native wears attached to his belt a
number of little brass cones. each of
them containing an exact load of gun
powder. Those people of the country
"ho iiNO Oh liio great eIOf dIOu pIdiho
or steppes dwell in black tents; but the
villagers reside usually in two-story
stone houses, the lower story being
given up TO a stable for the cattle. Not
all of Tibet, as is popularity supposed.
is actually subject to China. The
country is divided up, politically speak
ing into nany tribes. and not few OF
these tribes are governed by chiefs who
owe no allegiance to anybody
even to the Chinese Emperor