The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1892-01-04
YARNS ABOUT THIBET,
STORIES ABOUT LIFE IN AN AL
MOST UNKNOWN COUNTRY.

a Section of Middle Asia That Has At
tracted Many Able Chinese Story Tell
srs- - Some Remarkable Accounts of
Strange Beings in Chinese Writings.
A curious collection Of facts respect-
ing Thibet, as represented by vari-
Gus Chinese authors and travellers. has
been made by Mr.. Woodville Rockhill,
who has himself explored that mysteri-
Gus country Of middle Asia.
On New Years day at the capital city,
Lh'asa, there begins a season Of festivitv.
one OF the entertainments is called the
spectacle Of the Flying Spirits" The
performers stretch an enormously large
rope made Of hide all the way from the
top to the bottom Of Mount Potala; her
they fasten grOOved blocks Of wood to
their chests and sail down the line like
SO many swallows. On top of this s.tme
mountain dwells the pope of the Budd-
hist religion, who is called the tale lama.
He is also the incarnation of the god
which chiefly protects mankind.
On the 30th of the month there is an
other great sport when the king Of the
devils IS driven away. d priest is chosen
to play the part Of the tale lama, and a
layman, selected for his wit and activity,
takes the role Of the demon. The latter
smears his face with black and white
paint, and goes. before the pretended tale
lama for the purpose Of knocking him.
The two have an argument on religion,
the issue of which is finally referred by
mutual agreement to a cast of dice.
These dice are very big ones, about
the size of apples, but the poor fiend has
no show at all III the gamble, for his die
is blank on every side, while the lama's
has the highest number on each Of its
faces. In Thibet, as in Christian coun-
tries, it is always laudable to defraud
the devil.
Being beaten, the king of the devils is
frightened and urs away, with al the
people after him, firing guns and cannon,
so that hc is obliged to hide at length in
a hole in the mountain, where provisions
have previously been placed to feed him
for a few days while he remains in con-
Cealment. There are nearly rs many
demons in Thibet Us there are human
inhabitants, and the priests or ''lamas'
are kept very busy exercising them, be
cause otherwise they would swarm every
where and do no end Of mischief.
" OF THE PRIESTS.
If any one is sick or annoyed in any
way the devils are responsible, and the
only sensible thing is to go and hire a
priest to frighten them off. For this
purpose the lama reads aloud from the
sacred writings, blows a horn made
from a human thigh bone, beats Il drum
manufactured out Of two human skulls,
rings 4 bell and tells over Il rosary Of
disk shaped beads cut out Of human
skulls.
The lama5 also DO Il large business il
fortune telling. Sometimes they asccr-
tain the fatcs with b~arleycorns: at
others they burn sheep bones for the
same purpose or gaze into bowls CT
water.
According to one author there is Il
very astonishing curiosity in Thibet iii
the shape Of IL plant that flies. It re-
Semblcs Il dog III shape, is the color Of Il
tortoise shell and is very tame! If lions
or elephants see it they are frightened,
thence it is the king of beasts" There
is Il kind Of black donkey which can
cope III ISllL with the Tiger. IN the ICY
peaks of the Himalayas, says this imagi-
| native writer, there is ''snOw magyOt,"
resembling the silkwOrm i'll appearance
and weighing nearly a pound. 1t is ex-
cellent to eat, but too much of it Will
make one bleed at the nose.
Seventy Ii from Lh'asa is n convent on
top of IL hill, and a great mole full of
white clay that is good to eat. AS fast
us the clay is eaten more takes its place.
Behind the convent is a large lake, and
evildoers who go near always tumble
into it. The ThiOetans used to cast
Buddhas III copper, and the smaller they
were the more they were worth.
P~OLITENESS IN Tibet.
Chinese philosophers say that manner