The San Francisco call., 1904-07-03

stitious Tibetans
what gave rise
To no little surprise.
Nobody seemed one penny the worse.
DIRTIEST TOWN ON EARTH.
For at Guru the British force turned
up as Mt as a fiddle. And there 1t was
that, resenting being disarmed, the IT,
betans, under the worst possible con-
ditions for themselves. being huddled
together in an inclosure, first tried
little fighting With their antiquated
weapons against magazine rifles, ma
chine guns and disciplined troops, they
Jared much as a pack OF sheep would
have done that had turned on lot OF
lions Hundreds of them were slain.
Nothing could more strikingly reveal
the lingo spirit-Imperialism is the
popular name for it-which at present
possesses the British public, than this
comment Of London journal: 1T
speaks in the highest praise OF the
discipline of our men that the whole
(T1betan) force was not exterminated-
The lesson taught the priestly fanatics
of Lhassa has been a sharp one, but il
cannot end here. This fray furnishes
a perfect illustration Of the arrogant
ignorance and overweening folly of the
Lamas." Patriotism begets a strange
form Of mental astigmatism.
One result Of the expedition has been
the discovery of the filthiest town on
earth. Phari is it's name, which in the
Tibet language means pig hill,' very
appropriate designation, save that il
necessitates some apologies to the pig.
Nothing has ever been cleaned at
Phari since it was built, and It is es-
timated that the fort IS some 400 years
old. In the best quarters of the town
where the houses are twO-stOried, the
accumulation of filth rises to the first
floor windows and trenches have to be
dug in the malodOrous mess to reach
the doors. In the middle Of the
street, between the two banks Of filth
and offal," writes a correspondent,
runs a sinking channel which thaws
daily. In it horns, bones and skulls Of
various beasts eaten by the Tibetans lie
till the dogs and ravens have picked
them clean enough to be used in the
mortared walls and thresholds. The
stencil is fearful. Half decayed corpses
Of dogs lie cuddlied up with their
NANCY but surviving brothers and sis
tiers, who do not resent the ravens. A
curdled and filthy torrent flows through
the market place and half breed yaks
shove the sore-eyed and mouth-ulcered
children aside to drink at it. The men
and women, clothes and faces alike, are
as black as the peat walls that form
a background to every scene. They
have never washed themselves. They
never intend to wash themselves. In
grained dirt to an extent that II would
be impossible to describe reduces what
would otherwise be a clear, sallow-
skinned but good complexioned race to
a collection of foul and grotesque
negroes"
Pharf IS 5000 feet above sea level
and the fearful cold, accentuated often
by an Icy, grit-laden north wind. fur
nishes some palliation for this state OF
affairs. Water Is obtainable only when
the snow melts. The only available
fuel Is dried yak-dung. The acrid.
greasy fumes OF these fires coat the
interiors Of the squat novels with lay
ers Of SCOT which are never removed
and bIacken the faces and garments
OF the inmates. The married women
OF Tibet are compelled to disfgure their
brows and cheeks with kutch, a prepa-
ration resembling dried blood. and Il
is probable they rather welcome the
dirt which conceals the signs Of matri-
monial bondage.