, 1890-08-07
CUSTOMS OF THE TBIBETANs.
A Traveller Tells of Their Curious
Manners of Life.

NhHnHers ot SstIee
"The people of Thibet have the
funniest way of making tea you
ever heard Of" said Lieutenant
Rockhill, that far-away country's
most recent explorer. "To begin
with the tea they use comes from
Western China in the shape of
bricks, which are pressed into such
convenient shape for carrying over
land. All sorts of teas are mado
into bricks for purposes of transpor-
tatlon across Asia, it being very
we'll understood by connoisseurs In
the herb that sea trip spoils it,
But the tea imported into Thibet Is
of poor quality as rule. There is
in 1t as much weight of twigs as of
leaves.
"Having pounded portion of the
brick tea in some sort of mortar, the
Thibetan housewife puts it in u large
copper vessel, and there permits ii
to boil over u fire made from dry
manure. The resulting solution she
pours into II queer-looking wooden
churn through coarse willow
basket that serves us u strainer. To
the liquid in the churn before pro-
ceeding further she adds n portion of
butter and some salt. The mixture
is then churned up in the ordinary
fashion, and when 1t is thoroughly
mixed is poured into a teapot OF
bronze. From the teapot 1t Il dis
penscd into the little cup shaped
vessels which each Thibetan cariesr
with him or her.
"rhe cap-shaped vessel / refer to
is usually of wood, sometimes lined
with silver. Thibetans employ it
not only as their sole drinking uten-
sill, but also as Il dish for solid food.
What they consume mainly as u
substantial diet Is parched barley.
When u gentleman of Thibet feels
hungry he sits down, and, taking
from u leather pouch n portion of
barley, he mikes a little water with
IL, and stirring it up into "a dough,
eats it in that shape. Thus hunger
is satisfied 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 Asiatic 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 I'm the land of lanas.
Nor does he indulge in any other
rational enjoyment of civilization,
though he does not scorn what
might be called the primary vices.
"Thibet is very old country, but
its inhabitants do not warm them
selves by the consumption of fuel.
When the weather Is chilly they
simply put OH more clothes IN pro-
portion US the mercury might fall, II
there was u thermometer to register
the temperature by. Their gar
ments consist mainly, for each indi-
vidual, of u voluminOus cloak with
sleeves and a high collar, under
which q shirt is sometimes worn.
Boots, with soles of raw hide 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 u 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 instrument Is OF primitive
pattern, intended to he set off with
priming, and the native wears at
tached to his belt n number of little
brass cones, each of them containing
an exact load of gunpowder. Those
people of the country who live on
the great elevated plain or steppes
dwell in black tents; but the viii