Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1892-04-12
YARNS ABOUT THlBEr.
STORIES ABOUT LIFE NJ An Al.
MOST UNkNoWN COUNTY,.

Il
| = section Of Middle Asia That Hs, A.
| n~cted Many Able Chinese story Tell
ers = some Remarkable Account. or
Strange D"i.gs In Chinese writings.
a curious collection OF facts respect
ing Imbet, as represented by vari-
Gus chinese authors and travellers. has
Deen made by Mr.. Woodville Rockhill.
VINO has himself explored that nysteri-
Gus country of middle Asia
on New Years day at the capital city,
Lhasa, there begins a season OF festivity.
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: then
they fasten grooved blocks Of wood To
their chests and sail down the line like
SO many swallows On top of this same
mountain dwells the pope Of the Budd-
INST religion, who is called the tale lama.
he Is also the incarnation Of the god
which chiefly protects mankind.
| On the Both of the month there "a an
other great sport when the king of the
devils Is driven away. A priest is chosen
toplay the part Of the tale lama. and a
layman, selected for his wit and activity.
takes the role Of the demon. The latter
sinears 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 in the gamble, for his die
is blank ON every side, while the lalna's
has the highest number on each of its
faces. In Thibet, us in Christian coun-
tries, it is always laudabIe to defraud
the devil.
Being beaten. the king of the devils is
! frightened and runs away, with all the
| people after him, firing guns and cannon,
SO that he is obliged to hide at length in
a hole in the mountain. where provisions
have previously been placed to feed him
for few days while he remains in con-
cealment. There are nearly as many
| demons in Thibet as there are human
Inhabitants, and the priests or .'iamas''
are kept very busy exercising them. be-
cause otherwise they would swarm every
where and do no end of mischief.
POWER 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 brighten them off For this
pnrpose the lama reads aloud from the
sacred writings, blows horn made
from human thigh bone, beats a drum
manufactured out of two human skulls,
rings bell and tells over rosary OF
disk shaped beads cut out of human
skulls.
The lanas also do large business in
fortune telling. Sometimes they ascer-
tain the fates with barleycorns; al
others they burn sheep bones for the
same purpose or gaze into bowls Of
water.
According to one author there is a
very astonishing curiosity in Thibet in
the shape of a plant that flies. 1t re-
sembles a dog in shape. is the color of a
tortoise shell and is very tame. If lions
or elephants see it they are frightened
"hence it is the king of beasts" There
is "a kind of black donkey which Car
cope in fight with the tiger. On the icy
peaks of the Himalayas, says this imagi
native writer. there is "snow maggot,
resembling the silkworm in appearance
and weighing nearly 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 convent OF
top of hill. and a great hole full o.
white clay that is good to eat. AS fas
as the clay is eaten more takes its place
Behind the convent is a large lake, ant
into it. The Thibetans used to Gas
Buddhas in copper. and the smaller the,
we're the more they We're worth.
PoLITENEss IN THIBET.
Chinese philosophers say that manner
differ every hundred Ii of distance, ant
J customs are nc longer the same ever,
) thousand Ii. Thus the ways of tn
) Thibetans vary, but in most parts it i
usual for woman going to see "a prizes
to smear her face with molasses.
this is not done it is said that she is try
ing to captivate the lama by her comeli
ness-an objectionable crime. A sigl
of politeneSs on meeting a person is t
hold up the elasped hands and stick on
the tongue. When man dies one-hal
of his property goes to charity and tn
other half to the lamas. His famil,
gets nothing,
One of the writers quoted observe
that in case of death the corpse is tiet
up with the head between the knees
and suspended in rawhide bag frou
!, the rafters. A few days later it is takel
to the corpse cutters place, where 1t /
tied to post. The flesh is then cut OF
and given to dogs and the bones crushed
in stone mortar and made up will
grain into balls. which are also thrown
to dogs and vultures. Both these meth
DDS of burial are considered highly de
sirable.
For small inisdemeanors men AM
women are stripped and beaten in til
market place. Great criminals ar
bound with ropes and whipped with raw
hide lashes. Ii this does not persuade
them to avow their guilt boiling butte
is poured on their chests. Supposin
, that they still protest their innocence
. they are suffocated with water or splint
ers are driven under their nails.-Wa
, ington Star
Machinery Has Affected the shoemake
A man called shoemaker thirty veal
ago made shoes. today. except in rar