The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-04-04

slavery in Tibet. He asks who he is,
and is amazed 10 learn that he is only
a schoolmaster in a little Himalayan
| village in the district of Kumaon.
! What is his reward for these year
| long tolls, sufferngs and dangers, this
daily risking his life in an attempt to
add to the worlds knowledge? A lit
! tie piece of land, possibly small PEN
sion, and, while he is able to serve
oblivion. But soon the scientific jour
nails will be full of accounts of the Won
| derful journey of the native Indian eX-
plorer, the great extent and marvellous
accuracy of his survey, his pluck and
endurance, his fertility Of resource, and,
above all, his single-hearted devotion to
the cause of science. It his services
are publicly recognized by soma great
society, with the names of world-re-
nowned explorers, we read merely, "The
Pundt employed by Captain r. G.
Montgomerie-a sold watch-for his
route survey in Great Tibet"
1t was in 1861 that the successful OPP
position of the Tibetans to the explor
alton of the trans Himalayan region, by
Europeans, as well as the fact that In
dian traders were permitted to travel
freely throughout Tibet, suggested to
an officer connected with the Great Tri-
ganometrical Survey of India the ex-
pedient Of employing native suyvey
ors.
The village schoolmaster. Main
Singh, who had been in the service of
the brothers Schlagintweit during their
explorations in Kashmir, was the first
man to- receive the necessary training
for the work. At the headquarters of
the survey he was taught the use Of
the sextant, compass. etc, to recognize
all the larger stars, to walk with PAGES
of uniform length. and to make a SIM
pie route survey. When these things
had been sufficiently acquired he was
sent to explore the Tsangpo from its
source to India, if possible. 1t was 1865
before he succeeded in establishing
himself in Tibet as a trader desiring to
buy horses and at the same time as q
pious Buddhist to do homage to the |
Lhasa Lama His instrumental equip
ment consisted of large sextant, two |
box sextants, prismatic and pocket |
compass Thermometers for observing !
temperature of air and Of boiling wa
ter, pocket chronometer and common
WalCIl, With apparatus, lle Itllef re- /
duced as much as possible"
After numerous adventures he finally
reached Lhasa, where he had an inter-
view with the Grand Lama, whom he
described as a fair and handsome boy
of about thirteen years of age, seated
on throne six feet high, attended by
two of the highest priests, each holding
a bundle of peacock feathers. In this
journey he was able to follow the
course of the river only to the neigh
borhood of Lhasa, some six hundred
miles Nor did he succeed in tracing 1t
further in a second journey made seven
years later-a journey memorable, how
ever, from the fact that he made a
route survey of 1919 miles, 1900 Of
which were through country never pre-
viously explored, and took 497 observa
tons. During all this time he was
known to the scientific world only as /,
he "Pundit," but the sufferiAgs of this
last journey having so affected his
health as to compel him to give up his
with the survey, his name
vas disclosed. He has been followed by
,thers among whom those known as ,
Ak, Ding, and X. p have accom-
olished the most In trans Himalayan
'xplorat ton, all men of like courage, en-
lurance and animated by a single
minded devotion to their duty But none
has succeeded as yet in tracing the :
Tsangpo's course through the noun :.
aims to Assam
But there are indications of change !.
# feeling of the rulers of the Tibet to-
ward the Indian government which :,
promises free intercourse between the
wo countries in the not distant future.
KS the deadly hostility of the Mishmis !.
o strangers penetrating their noun
aims Businesses has been largely due to
libetan influence, we may look in time
o a similar change among them to ;
If this should be the case
We trust that the man who lifts the veil
which shrouds this wondrous passage i
f the river through the Himhlayas y
nay be one of that noble band, ma
i've Indian surveyor,-Nationai Geo e
.raphic Magazine.