The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-06
FORBIDDEN CITY AND
THE LAND OF THE LAMA
Some Account of the Country Which England Is
Preparing to Invade

Now that English military forces are
cooperating with English explorers in
a determined movement to invade an
Gent Tibet the veil that has hidden
the msteries wonders and obscurity
of the various tribes of Tibetans and
their practically unsurveyed country is
likely 10 be torn away. says the New
York Mail and Express. For ages this
eection of Asia has bahied the curiosity
and efforts of the adventurous. Many
explorations have had the penetration
of its central territory for their OBJ
dect, but less is known about Tibet than
the polar regions. Sufficient is known,
however, to warrant the belief that a
visit of white men to the country west
of Lhassa win yield startling infor-
nation.
England has authorized the state
ment that the present invasion of Tibet,
especially of the holy" city of Lhassa,
is a commercial one. The trade of
India with Tibet Is said to be constant
ly interferred with through the adj
vice of the Dalai Lama, who rules the
people. In diplomatic circles the real
object of the expedition is supposed
to be the ultimate acquisition by Eng
land of the rich undeveloped mineral
treasures of Western Tibet. and the
blocking of Russian ambitions Many
Russians are believed to be with the
1ibetans, directing their warike attl-
tude against England and even distrib-
uting modern arms which have been
manufactured in Russia.
China would as soon give up Tibet
as she would abandon her rights in
the deaendencies of Manchuria and
Mongolia. Yet Tibet is the least sat
isfactory of these dependencies, so far
as the strength of the bond of attach
ment is concerned. Tibetans would
help China in time of war, but China
cannot control Tiberans in time of
peace.
What Some Explorers Saw.
Just how many English-speakin
travellers have attempted to journey
through Tibet is a question that has
never been solved, but the number is
comparatively small. On one occasion,
when DR.. Sven Hedin made an eXpedi-
ton to map Northern Tibet and es-
pecially the mountains to the south
of Kumkull, one of the Tibetans gave
him a lady's garter that bore the inn
print of a Strand jeweler on its silver
buckle. The Tibetan was unable TO
tell anything about how he came into
possession of the feminine finery, but
as he had never been outside of Tibet,
and no white woman was ever inside
the dark territory, the inference is
that-Well, DR.. Sven Hedin never cared
to discuss the delicate matter.
w. Woodville Rockhil, who has
made several trips in Tibet, including
an unsuccessful attempt to pass from
China through Tibet into India, once
saw a number of bottles that had con-
tanned Munich beer in a chieftain's
tent to the north Of Lhassa. The origi-
nal labels were on the bottles. which,
it seems needless to say, were empty.
The cheftain shook his head in
I-decline-tO-anSwer sort of way when
asked to explain the presence of the
TeutOnic product He smacked his lips
in a satisfied way as he said that he
did not wish to explain. but it was
clear that the remembrance of what
the bottles had contained was very
sweet to him. Some German way
farer had clearly lost his beer, if not
his life. The liquid from Munich could
not have belonged to Adolf Schlagint-
welt, for he was murdered by Vale
Khan, the insurgent chieftain at Kash-
gar Turkestan, hundreds of miles
away, many years before.
Wild Animals, wilder Men.
About the only breathing thing in
Tibet that may be absolutely depend
ed upon is the wild animal that wan
ders through the mountainous coun-
try. Wild sheep bigger than ponies,
husky bears cattle wilder than lions,
with great bushy tails like horses and
long hair on their TANKS: giant an
telopes, gazelles and wild horses, the
flesh of which is a staple article of
diet among the Tibetans; wolves that
fear only Tibetans, and punches of
black-haired yaks, may frequently be
seen wandering up the narrow wind
ing gorgeS that have tremendous YER
teal cliffs on either hand. The wild
animals of the country are tanner
than the majority of the men that
capture them with their horsehair
laSsos.
1t is only the people of Lhassa and
fits surroundings, who call themselves
civilized. who bar the way to the
European and American explorer.
Those who are not civilized and who
live in Northern Thibet have always
been unusually kind and faithful to
passing strangers. Tibet is really near
the roof of the world 1t is the