El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-03-09

more in each monastery. forcing the
others to marry and go 10 work
In this connection it is interesting to
note two things that are contained in
the books of prophecy in Lhasa-. One
statement was to the effect that IN the
year OF the Wood Dragon, 1904 in our
calendar. the foreigner should overrun
the sacred city. The British did this.
Another statement was that there
should be Is grand lanlas and then no
more. The present unhappy living
Buddha'' is the 18th. Was it prophecy
or coincidence?
Place of Barbarity.
When the English reached Lhasa
they found that instead Of being mag
nihcent city of enchantmenJ, 1t was
place of weird barbarity. infested with
savage dogs, filthy pigs. night providers
and unholy institutions
Only one highway led to it. On this
road is the field OF death. When
person dies in LhaSa his body is clothed
in a sack shroud. placed in big jar.
and then carried outside the city. Here
there is a marble slab upon which the
body is laid and dismembered. Pieces
Of the flesh are thrown to NANCY dogs
and tame but forbidding vultures.
Sometimes the relatives gnaw bone
of the body in order that the spirit
Of the deceased may live with them
The cutting up of the bodies is done
by despised ragyabas, who are con-
demned criminals. ostracized and for
hidden to live in houses.
Understandable Filth.
The houses of the city are fairly sub
stantial. but inside they are filled with
indescribable filth. The children run
naked When quite small. in order to
encourage their growth, they are
smeared with butter and laid in the
sun.
Race suicide exists to a remarkable
degree, because of the marriage Gus
toms. Polyandry exists. nearly every
woman having several husbands. Mar
rage is a family affair. When a man
marries the eldest daughter of a family
ali her sisters become his wives, and
when a woman marries a man all OF
his brothers are also welded TO her.
Children are awarded TO their father
in a peculiar way The first child is
assigned to the first husband, the sec
Ond child to the second hus-
band and SO on down the line.
The women of Lhasa are said TO be the
ugliest in the world. They make them
selves hideous by painting their faces
with a kind of grease. Everybody is
prematurely old Men and women are
wrinkled and decrepit at 80.
Fees for Priests.
Everything in Lhasa is conferred on
two problems-hand to mouth existence
and the support OF the religious or
ders. Those who are not in the ranks
of the priesthood live in indescribable
squalor. The palace. with its dome of
cent buildings in the world Here and
in the temples one finds lavish adorn-
ment
In the crown of the living Buddha
is the largest tuEquois in the world.
Oracles, rivaling those Of ancient Rome
and Greece, may be consulted on any
subject, great or small, for five ru-
PEGS. A staff of 20 priests presides
and DEGREES are often repeated as many
as 10000 times, the priests receiving s
fee for each reading.
Interesting Ceremonies.
The ceremonies OF the people are full
Of interest. They have a modern edi-
ton of the Israelitish scapegoat In
their bearer OF one years i'll luck"
He is Logon He goes about the city
painted half white and half black,
shaking a yak tail over every person
he meets. He is treated well and well
coined everywhere. When he is through
he throws dice with Jalos a good
spirit. to see which shall be banished.
The dice are loaded and he loses every
time He is given a white horse,
white dog and q white bird. After he
is banished he is licensed TO commit
murder or any other crime in the cate
cory, and. in turn, he may be shot on
sight by any one.
Formerly the grand lama was chosen
by lot. The names of all babies who
were born at the time OF his prede-
cessor's death were placed in bowl
and one drawn out. But the present
grand lama was chosen differently.
monk famous for his virtue and hon.
esty was sent to consult an oracle. He
was directed TO a lake where he beheld
an image in it's crystal surface. On
his return ne found the babe whose
image he had seen, and that babe is
the grand lama who fled TO India
Heretofore, grand lama never lived
beyond IS. A life regency was estab-
lished. and so long as the grand lama
was under IS the regent ruled. When
the present grand lama was approach
ing the fatal 18th birthday, his friends
had the regent thrown into prison. con-
sequently one chapter of secret muir
der remained unwritten. He is now SO.
Tomorrow-The Third Degree.
Globe Mills Graham Flour. also Whole
Wheat Flour Fresh from the rolls.