St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-07-19
CUSTOMS OF THIBETANs.
A Traveller Tells of Their Curious
Manners of Life.

Washington Star.
1.-THE people of Thibet have the fun
NEST way of making tea you ever heard
Of" said Lieut. RocKhill. that far-away
country's most recent explorer. 'sTO
begin with, the tea they use comes from
Western China in the shape Of bricks,
which are pressed into such convenient
shapes for carrying overland. All sorts
of teas are made into bricks for pur-
poses of transportation across Asia, it
being very we'll understood by con-
nOisseurs in the herb that sea trip
spells it. But the tea imported into
Thibet is of very poor quality as rule.
There is in it as much weight of tWlgS
as of leaves.
"Having pounded portion of the
brick tea in some sort of mortar, the
Thibetan 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
coarse willow basket that serves as a
strainer. To the liquid in the churn,
before proceeding farther. she adds
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 dispensed into the
little cup-shaped vessels which each
Thibetan carries with him or her.
ssThe cup-shaped vessel | refer to is
usually of wood, sometimes lined with
silver. Thibetans employ 1t not only
as their sole drinking utensil, b ut also
as a dish for solid food. What they
consume mainly as substantial diet is
parched barley. When a gentleman OF
Thibet feels hungry he sits down. and,
taking from leather pouch portion
of barley, he mixes little water with
it, and, stirring it up into a dough, eats
fed, and he goes on his way rejoicing.
In what we call the pleasures OF the
table the Thibetan takes no stock
whatever. There never was typical
Asiatlc yet who cared anything about
amusement in the ordinary sense OF the
word He doesn't go to the theater-
there is no such institution in the land
of the lamas. Nor does he indulge in
any other rational enjoyment of civ
| ilization, though he does not Scorn what
might be called the primary vices.
"Thibet is very cold country, but its
inhabitants do not warm themselves by
the consumption of fuel. When the
weather is chilly they simply put on
more .ClOUu0S III DIOpOIGlOu do tilC ulCA :
curry might fall. if there was a thermom-
eter to register the temperature by.
Their garments consist mainly for each
Individual of voluminous cloak, with
sleeves and high collar, under which
a7shirt is sometimes worn. Boots. with
soles of raWhide and uppers OF cloth and
cotton, are made for them in China.
For rainy days circular cape of felt is
provided.
"The gun used by Thibetan has a
long fork attached to it. which is stuck
in the ground for use as a rest for the
weapon. Naturally the deadly instru-
ment is of primitive pattern, intended
to be set Off with printing. and the
native wears attached to his belt num-
Der of little brass cones, each OF them
containing an exact amount OF gun
powder. Those people of the country
who live on the great elevated plains or
| steppes dwell in black tents; but the
| villagers reside usually in tWo-story
stone houses, the lower story being
| given up as stable for the cattle. Not
| all of Thibet,as is popularity supposed.is
actually subject to China. The country
| is divided up, politically speaking, into
| many tribes, and not a few OF these
| tribes are governed by chiefs who owe
no allegiance to anybody-not even to
the Chinese emperor"