The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-08-07
INVADING THE LAND WHERE
CAUCASlANS ARE UJNWELC ONE
Col. Y ounghusband's Mission to-
Open Negotiations With the
|; Dalai Lama at Lhasa.
is AN INTER sTlhG LAND
Quaint Home Of the 'ribetans
Not Visited BY Caucasian for
sI.a Over a Half Century VI

Since 1915 no deflllng foot OF Caucas-.
Ian has trod the sacred precinct Of Lhasa.
Now Colonel YounghusbAnd has been
4 sent on a mission by he Vlceroy OF lndia
/ 10 open negotiations With the Dalai Lama
at Lhasa, as IL III were as simple a propo-
& sition as ID present a letter to the Presl-f
dent Of the United States. LII fact. 1t is
the most difficult mission ina inable to-g
\ day. ~ s. St .gjE
4 secrecy and mystery with which she sur,
rounds her presence. is practically as,
easy of access to a private citizen com.t
pared to the Grand Lama OF Tibet, and
II yet 1t Is the intention OF tho Indian Cow
eminent TO either hold ali audience with
8 the Grand Lama or be prevented by In
\ stirrnountable force from doing So The
difficulties that lie in the path OF this
undertaking arc many and great, the mos T.
striking being 1.-THE extraordinary inacces-i
4 sibility OF tho sacred city, which Is only
surpassed by that of it's chief ruler and
tnhabitant. S5. fs.
10 the Northeast OF India lies the
great tableland OF the world, I Tibet. which
has China to tho East. the desert or
Il Cobb tho North and Turkestan to the
s West. Its extreme length from East to-
West Is about 4 600 miles, and its breadth
/ from North to South, though only loo
miles In tho West, stretches to 100 miles
I along the Chinese frontier. The country
consists Of a, vay high plateau broken5ups
into an infinite number Of peaks and va II
1 leys. The tableland itself Is from 700
4 to ii, 600 feet above the sea level. d lis
enormous elevation Is better understood
~ hen We consider tia t Mount Washing
ton IS only 1000 feet high and Mount
blanc the highest peak in Il l5urop Z 81
d only 15 ISL feet high. Indeed, many Of the
passes leading to Lhasa 20 through gaps
\ In / he mountains hundreds OF feet above
tho to1, OF Mont Blanc. Such cera ton
prccludes the possibility OF all vegetation
& EXCEPT grass with which the Uplands are
beautifully covered from NJ 10 October
Hardships Of the Travellers.
:85 The narrowr,ess OF the passes through
4 The mountains and the great altitude to
which a traveller has to besconducted adds
additional hardship to those who like
the English expedition come from sea
d level. A large part OF the Eng fish troops
!. however, are the 6 oorkhas. g no q re
themselves the 8fardiest Of mountai neers:
4 The Goorkhas irha bit Nepal, q small
mountain state lying between Tibet and !
India. and have been for centurte the
Hereditary enemies OF the Tibetans.
When last heard OF Colonel Younghus-
ta nd Il expedit ion wa S within 60 miles Of
a 1.ha sa, wing overcome all opposition Of
Y fercd to him BY the Tibetan troops. ms (
H was very atural. for 1t was ardly to
be supposed that Ignorant mount aineeTst /
e armed with mat pcks ~ you'd have any,
y chance a gainst the NOD ern "a Pld-i1r
Il mca pons s5of trained soldiers. But the
Y trouble for the British by no lnca ms con z
stst pnIy,inE overcoming sth eSuntrainc ed RAD;
y BILE q $,ribetan soldiers Indeed, 1T would
seem that heir difficulties would be only
lust. beginning when I.hasas is rea cfed.
and despite the hearty supper ~hicll3 the
Motley OF sending this commission to Tibet
4 has received In some q rters. i is gen
orally believed ithatit was Eab ssrious d p-
lot.atIcs error to send this armed body
10 force an unwilling government to hold
z = pa ley with n commission Of Ems and,
From the eleventh, century 3. c., Tibet
4 has been known to, China butt has only
been a n actual subject of China for about
Two hundred years. AS early as 1916 I
Il Kubiaikhan conquered Tibet and con flrnled
Its king In the exercise of his royal pow 1
$ers..g and therea fter Tibet was at peates for
d 600 years until the trouble between the
Mon gols and the nanchus. which arose
4tn% China In the sixteenth century, when
the Grand Lama OF Tibet havins applied
TO the AIongol king for help was freed
from Manchui interference and given the
4 title Of Dalai Lama, which title has been
kept ever since Later on the Dalai Lama
applied 5to@the Manchusg for protection
against the Nongols. and since $172o Tibet
4 has, been really q d ependency Of China