The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-04-05
INHABIT A LAND THAT
IS GUT OFF FROM REST OF WORLD
INcE the British have begun hos
tilities for the second time in the
domain of the Grand Lama

(N11 Titles Tor the second time in the
- domain of the Grand Lama
attention has again been attracted to
Thibet, or Tibet, perhaps the least
known country in the world. For
ages the strange people who inhabit these
cold and bleak table lands, securely hid
den within the Himalayas, shut in on
the north by high mountain ranges, and
bordered on the south by the northern
part of British India have combatted
stubbornly against the entrance of for
eigners. So well have they guarded their
country from intrusion that few white
men have yet succeeded In reaching
LHassa. the capital city, where dwells
the Grand Lama and the dignitaries sent
out by the emperor of China to repre-
sent the power of the celestial ruler in
that obscure land.
The area of Thibet is about Col 500
square miles and there are about 100000
inhabitants. Vast portions of the country
are yet unexplored, so that the maps
we now possess are based largely on the
route surveys of about twenty European
travellers and trained Indian observers.
The mean level of Thibet is 5000 to H.
OvJ feet above the sea level, an altitude
which renders the climate severely cold
and only the most hardy cereals can
flourish there. In the southwest portion
of the western plateau spring three great
rivers, the Sutlej, the Indus and the
Sanpur, which flow to the Arabian sea
and the Bay of Bengal. There are sew
eral other rivers that traverse the coun-
try in various directions, but there are
wide areas so bleak and unproductive
that they barely support life and are in
habited by wandering bands of Turks or
Mongol tribes.
Wool Sta pie Product.
The staple product of the country is
wool, which is conveyed through the
numerous mountain passes by llamas and
sheep, which are used as beasts of bur-
den. The mineral products are gold, sill
yer, salt and borax. although none of these
is systematically worked. on account Of
the jealousy of the lamas against foreign
intrusion. Sheep, horses, yaks and mas
tiffs have been domesticated, while bears,
antelopes, musk deer and wild asses con-
stitute the wild fauna. In certain parts
of Thibet there is excellent grazing for
these animals. On the extreme table lands
at the north camels are also occasionally
found.
The inhabitants of Thibet, who. are
just now breasting the advance of the
British soldiers, are part of the great
Monaghan family They have high cheek
bones. small, black, contracted eyes, thin
boards, thin lips. and wide mouths. They
are rather small In statue, combining
quickness and agility with great strength
The majority are about the middle size.
The skin of the upper classes Is said
to be as white as that of Europeans al
though the lower classes are tawney in
color. The Thibetans are brave in war,
a fact that they are just now demonstrat-
ing to the British for the second time
Their first clash with Great Britain was
during the Sikkim war, in which they
were placed at an enormous disadvan-
tage. These We're the last hostilties in
which the Thibetans were engaged. 1t
is needless to say-that they were de-
feated, although the invaders never got
within striking distance of the capital
city.
Literature is Vast.
The literature of Thibet is vast. 1t in
cludes all the Buddhist canon of scrip
ture, translated from the Sanskrit, the
Tripitaka, or three baskets of precepts.
and other works. For many centuries
the art of printing by wooden blocks has
been known to the Thibetans. Buddhism
seems to be the principal religious belief,
although traces of the old religion, called
Bon. still lnger in the eastern provinces
of Kan. Bon, or Pom, as 1t is some
times called. appears to be a worship of
the powers of nature, a system of religi-
Gus belief that is characteristic of many
people in their early stages of develop