Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-13
BEYOND HIM ALA Y AS
MYSTERIOUS REGION CONCEALED
BY LOFTY MOUNTAIN RANGES.
Nepal, the Land of the Thanksgiving
Gurkhas-Col. Younghusband's
Bold Attempt.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

LnaSSd, the apltdl u lHipoe iA"'~ AAO
doubt attracted considerable attention IN
the United States, as it has in Europe, anu
is worth a little explanation from this d.
rection. Thibet is the unknown mysterious
country of the world-a land of desert and
mountains inhabited by primitive anu
bigoted people, who have for many years
been under the protection of China and
paid tribute to the emperor until the late
war with Japan. in 1895. After the result
of that conflict became known they seemed
to lose their respect for and confidence in
their protectors, and have sent no ENJOYS
or money to Picking since.
We know very little about Thibet. For
eigners are prohibited from entering the
country, and only few venturesome ex-
plorers like our w. W. Rockhill of WASH
ington and Henry Savage Lander OF Lon
don have endured the hardships and faced
the dangers of a visit to that forplooen
land. Indeed it Is so perilous an unoertak-
ing that a skeptical public frequently taxes
the liberty to doubt the statements OF the
men who have gone there There mas re-
Gently been vicious attack upon Mr. Ian
dor by jealous writer's, who assert thaI ne
did not even pass the boundaries, Dut Cd
tanned his information secondhand from
people along the border: but Mr.. JamsetJe
n. Tata, one of the prominent merchants
of Bombay took Mr.. Lander to his nome
him back to life from very desperate III
ness caused by exposure, hunger and "a
tigue. Mr.. Tata says ne has not the slight
est doubt of the truth of every statement
Mr.. Lander has made. But all agree that
Thbet is the hermit of nations, that IT'S
people are under the control of cruel ana
ignorant priests, who endeavor to prevent
them from acquiring any modern customs
or ideas.
The Himalayas.
Between India and Thibet lie the Hima-
laya MOUNTAINS the most perfect natural
boundary in the world. The word "Hima
laya'' Is a Sanskrit compound which means
the abode of snow, but this line of perpet-
ual snow is nearly 5000 feet above tide
water or nearly twice as high as that In
the Alps or in the Rocky mountains. They
the most extensive and the highest of
all mountain ranges, eliminating in Mount
Ever st. the loftiest measured peak in the
world, the captain of battalion of TitanS
whose line extends nearly 1900 miles. The
average distance from the southern to the
northern foothills exceeds 500 miles. Thus
they are perfect natural barrier, and
have in all ages given protection to north
ern India. There are at least 30 peaks that
exceed 25,0OO feet in height, and geogra-
piers believe that several surpass Ever
est in elevation.
For a continuous distance of 200 miles
there is a series of peaks rising one after
another like the teeth of a saw, the lowest
of which is 22O00 feet. Through this bar
rier are several passes, gatewayS, be-
tween Thibet and India, the lowest how
ever, exceeding 1000 feet in altitude and
the average $4,000 feet. The altitude of
Thibet varies from 1900 to 5000 feet
and hence it is known as the Roof of the
World" No invading force could possibly
enter India from the north if these passes
were defended, because the inhospitable
climate of Thibet would not sustain an
army, and the enormous distance and
g1r tII1a 10, I,
supplies for any considerable force prac-
tically impossible. Lhassa, the capital of
Thibet, and its principal city, is fifteen
days march, or about 300 miles from the
frontier.
The Home of the Gurkhas.
Lying between Thibet and India is the
Independent state of Nepal the home of
the Gurkhas, one of the finest fighting races
in the world, and there are eighteen full
regiments of them in the Indian army
The Gurkhas are a mountain people, indus
trious, temperate. hardy, brave, loyal hon
est and without sense of fear. They are
the main dependence of the Indian govern
ment among the native troops
Nepal has its own government and the
people are proud of their independence.
While they are entirely friendly to Great
Britain and have treaties with India I'M
der which the latter extends protectorate
over the provinces and enters into an Of
fensve and defensive alliance, the Malaria
jdh permits no British adviser to take part
in his government and receives a repre-
sentative of the Viceroy only in the capac
ity OF envoy or minister plenipotentiary.
The latter dare not interfere with the add
mtnistrdtton of the government and never
presumes to tender his advice to the ma
tive rulers unless it is asked. His duties
are chiefly to keep the vfceroy at Calcutta
informed to what is going on in the
Nepal province and to cultivate the good
will of the officials and the people.
The people of Nepal profess the Hindu
faith and have close relations with the
Brahmins at BenareS. which is the Rome,
or the Mecca, of Bra hminsm They have
sometimes in the past been bold enough
to defy British authority, and, for exam
pie protected Mana Sahib, the leader of
the mutiny of 1857, and gave him an asy
lum when he fed from British vengeance.
However amicable the relations between
Nepal and the British government, the lat
ter is scrupulously careful not To furnish
any excuse for complaint or controversy,
because a collision with this powerful peo-
pie would not only result in the loss of the
finest corps IN the Indian army, but would
make it extremely unpleasant for the peo-
pie of Assam, Bengal, Oudh and the Pun
lab, which provinces lie next on the south.
Invasion of Thibet.
One hundred years ago an army from
Nepal invaded Thibet and sacked an i'm
portant town. The Thibetans appealed to
China. which had not yet lost its military
vieor and sent an army to invade Nepal.
1t came within eighteen miles of Gurkha.
he capital when the Nepals proposed "a
parley, paid a heavy indemnity and en-
tered into a treaty of permanent peace,
promising never to invade Thibet again.
That was the last heroic act of the Chi
nese government, and then, in compliance
with the terms of the treaty, all passes
through the Himalaya mountains between
the two countries were permanently closed
by common consent. and in many cases
were walled up with masonry, adding an
artificial barrier to the natural wall. 1t
was also agreed that there should be
commur ication across the border, and that
the inhabitants of both provinces would
remain upon their own side This prohi-
bition has been enforced until today and
has not been violated except by Buddhist
priests and monks and few venturesome
explorers. No Englishman may even now
enter Nepal or pass from Nepal into
Thibet without permission from the author
tiles of both governments.
Mindful of the aggressive policy of Rus
sia, which controls Turkestan, the country
north of Thibet, the British government
some years ago sent an envoy named Nc
Cauley to Lhassa, with the permission of
the Chinese government, to open CONNER
cial relations with Thibet and find another
market for the tea of Assam and the man.