Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-26
Open DOOR TO Tibet
Object of CD. Younghusband's
Fbeaition.
TO MAKA TREATY
rs BACKED BE $500 BRITISH SOL
DIERs.
Indicates the Permanent Occupation of
Lassa-Russia's Hands
iiSs. Tied.


BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.
special Correspondence Of The Evening Star and
chicago Record Herald.
~ CALCUTTA, March %, 1904
There are many contradictory rumors
concerning the progress and the experience
OF the expedition sent out in December to
escort Col. eYounghusband to Lassa, the
capital of Thibet. AS told you in letter
from Bombay several weeks ago, Col.
Younghusband is an envoy extraordinary,
very extraordinary. for, with $500 British
soldiers, he has been sent to make a treaty
or commerce and good will with the Grand
Lama of Thibet, and his orders are to stay
| at Lassa until the treaty is negotiated and
as much longer as is necessary to compel
the Thibetans to respect it's terms and
carry out its stipulations. That means the
permanent occupation of Lassa by Brit
ish army and the opening Of an unknown
and mysterious region to trade.
Col Younghusband is moving very slowly.
Although the distance from the railway
terminus of India to Lassa is but 300
miles, he has advanced little more than half
way In three months. His slow progress is
due to the lack of roads and heavy SHOWS
that block the trails. 1t has been necessary
for him to build his own roads most of the
distance, and the job has been done thor
Secondly, he has found great difficulty In
securing native transportation. 1t is a part
Of the shrewd policy of the Indian govern
ment to employ natives In every possible
capacity and pay good wages. 1t is a bust
nesslike proceeding. 1t softens their hearts
and neutralizes opposition. In all MS UNDER
takings thus far Col. Younghusband has
employed native Thibetans whenever they
could serve him, both in transportation,
road building and in securing supplies.
And, finally, it is considered good policy
to move very slowly in order that the ma
tiveS may become accustomed to the pres
ence of the British troops in their territory
before the crisis of the enterprise is
reached.
Hence although he has made only about
fifty miles a month, Col. Younghusband
has wasted no time, and Is now construct
ing military post or cantonment upon the
Sampo river, where garrison Will remain
to protect a base of supplies and keep open
lines of communication with India.
He has received several messages from
the government of Thibet. The priests nave
notified him to leave the country, ana nave
warned him that he proceeds at ms own
peril They have threatened him with an
inhalation, with the ecclesiastical curse, with
the vengeance of their gods, and various
degrees of punishment. but he has PAID no
attention to them" They have no army and
are not a fighting race. The few soldiers
that make up the opposing force are armed
with ancient blunderbusses, Jingals, BOWS
arrows and spears; they have stink pots to
wear in order to terrify him. They are
about in the condition that the army OF
China was thirty years ago, and the we'll
trained English regulars would walk
through them without an effort.
The Jeylup Pass. a
The officials of Thibet continue to ignore
all messages and communications from
Lord Curzon, and even return them unopen-
ed In order to understand the situation
we must go back a little way. In 1886 a
band of Thibetans invaded the protected
state of Sikkim and advanced to within
sixty miles of Darjeeling. Skkim is one
of the smallest of the native states, hay
ing only about 2,000 square miles of area
and 5000 population. but it Is very i'm
portant to the British, because within it's
limits is the Jeylup Pass, one Of the only
two gateways through the Himalayas that
great hedge 1900 miles long, 500 miles wide
and from $1,000 to 5000 feet high, that
protects the northern boundary of the In
dian empire. The only other gateway
through this natural protection is the KY
Der Pass, of which I wrote you several
weeks ago There are other passes through
the gorges that lie between the mountain
peaks but none of them could be used
by army with artillery and supply
wagons Hence If an enemy ever enters
India from the north 1t must find It's way
through either the Kyber or the Jeylup
Pass
The latter is II 600 feet above the sea. a
narrow defile through the grandest cluster
of mountain peaks the globe, about six
teen miles long and varying from 600 yards
to seven miles in width. Nobody is allowed
to go through this pass. Thibetan SOL
diers are always on guard to enforce the
law rule prohibiting foreigners from enter
ing the country, and while several intrepid
adventurous travellers have penetrated to
the interior of the country and have re-
lated their experience, all of them have
crossed the desert from Turkestan with
caravans have oh
China. The latest attempt was made by
o. F. Crosby of Washington, D. c. who
has recently returned to civilization to ad-
nit his failure and relate his marvellous adj
ventures and the difficulties which he found
1t impossible to overcome. His guides and
attendants deserted him, he lost his camels
was attacked many times by native ban
dts, and 1t was almost miracle that he
manageable get out alive. Nobody has ever
succeeded in entering the forbidden country
through the Jeylup Pass.
Col. Younghusband's Object.
One of the objects of Colonel Younghus-
bands expedition is to change this situa-
ton and persuade the ignorant and bigot-
ed ecclesiastics who govern Thibet to
open their gates and admit foreign mer-
chants and foreign merchandise into that
benighted country. There is considerable
commerce, however. Parties of Thibetan
traders are continually coming across the
Irontler INTO DarJeellng with all sorts of
native products, and may be seen in the
market that is held every Sunday morn
ing and during the-week days in the ba-
zaars of the city. After selling their goods
they buy cottons, drugs groceries. hard
ware and other European goods and take
them back into their own country; but
foreigners are not allowed to pass the
line. and practically all of the trade of
Thibet is monopoiized by the Chinese.
who sell the natives large Quantities of
cotton fabrics andr other imported mer-
chandise, well5 as; tea, silk and other
Chinese goods. sH{oH
This trade is supposed to be worth many
millions of dollars, and the ability of IN
dia to furnish the tea and of England to
furnish the manufactured goods that the
inhabitants of Thibst may need is con-
sidered ample reason for sending the
Younghusband expedition into that coun-
try. But there are other reasons quite as
important H-I
Alleged Russian Intrigue.
While England was suffering the worst
of the disasters of the recent war in South
Africa the Russian government sent a Sc
cret embassy to Lassa, carrying rich pres
ents and large sums of money to the grand