Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-10-04

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tlal account on the joint authority of
the regent and the Chinese governor
OF Lh'asa. Mr.. Rockhil is silent
about Moorcroft, which suggests that
he does rot believe the story, which is
TO be regretted, the story being a very
good one. 1t should be true whether
1t is or not. 1t goes to show that
Moorcroft, an Englishman, speaking.
dressing and living like a Mohamme-
dan of Cashmere, arrived in Lh'asa in
1926, with his servant Nissan of Cash
mere; that he bought herds and visit
ed them in the neighborhood as
cover for his explorations: that he
continued this for twelve years-even
Nissan taking him for Cashmerian all
the time; that, not knowing the Til
betan tongue, he avoided direct inter-
course with the natives to keep up his
incognieto; that he made numerous
maps and drawings of the town and
district; that he left Lh'asa for Ladak
about 1888, getting murdered on the
way, and that the Thibetan govern
ment pursued and arrested" the MUIR
ders, thus getting possession of the
maps and drawings, which finally
Idenuhed him as an Englishman. Such
is the summary of HUGS narrative. II
is not mUcn like a story of local man.
/ ufacture; it is much more like what
! might have really happened Though
Mr.. Rockhill does not include it in his
category of adventures in connection
with Lh'asa, Hue gives numerous and
| sound reasons for his full faith in it.
1t is instructive to note that the
| causes for refusal to admit foreigners
/ to Lh'asa are political rather than re-
! igious. Though Buddhism was es-
! tablished as the official creed in China
nearly 1000 years ago, it was after
ward discarded, and there was no
such connection to prejudice the posi-
ton of Hue in 1916. On the other
hand, Hue was Frenchman and the
/ representative of a politically power
| fui church; France was a great ma
ton, strong enough to follow political
ly where Hue had led theologically.
! These facts would be plainly enough
| to the son of heaven" and his adj
! yisers, however Indifferent these
! might be as regards the rival attrac-
lions of Buddhism and Catholicism
in Thibet. When Hue left his escort
was of Chinese soldiers, under the
! immediate orders of Ki-Chau, the
Chinese governor at Lh'asa. No seri-
Gus constitutional changes are known
to have taken place since then in the
relations between Thibet and China;
! therefore it is clear that the real
motive for isolating Lh'asa starts
! from PeIlin. Even assuming cooking
and eating his goldfish and washing
| them down with his solitary jar of
wine. Whereat the debtor went forth
and hanged himself and the brother
! being held responsible, was sentenced
! to strangulation. The wife escaped
with fine, but the friends paid 200
! blows apiece for the imprOmptu meal.
A thief who hid under a lady's
couch to avoid pursuit so frightened
the occupant that she promptly killed
| herself, for which the thief was trans
ported for three years. The lady, as
a reward for her nobility of mind,
received a posthumous tablet If a
wife assists her husband to cut his
throat the law will send her after
him without delay, and the unwary
scion who is even hoodwinked into
! helping the dread mother-in-law to
end her days will incur the extreme
penalty of slicing to pieces. "a life
for a life is the stern principle in
| Chinese law. and if a father murders
a whole family his innocent children
may have to suffer. In grave cases
of treason male relations are either
decapitated or mutilated to prevent
continuance of the family.