The Raymer enterprise., 1922-01-12

y 40 1an0e.
with Nat roofs. These dwellings are
not unlike the adobe houses Of Mex.
leo. but are decidedly more suhstaA,
tiRl. being constructed by the beat,
Ing Of mud Into thick walls betweep
forms Of timber,
The farmers have few animals but
utilize the yak for pl0wlng. the an.
lmals being brought down from the
highlands at the proper time. Wood
en- plows with single handle are
used.
The living quarters In the house Of
the valley folk usually consist Of q
single large room, In which all work.
including the cooking. Is done, and
where the members Of the family cat
and sleep.
Few Comforts In The Home.
The comforts In such homes are
very meager. In few establishments
ID there even the semblance Of q bed.
In the ordinary houses 'going to bed"
means merely loosening the girdls,
opening the sheepskin garment, and
curling up on the floor with the feet
toward the stove, which Is an essen
tlal feature Of oil habitations In this
high, cold country.
The stove ID built Of mud. with d
fireplace below and hole 10 the top
Into which pots may be ret for cook,
ing. 1t ID usually found on one side
Of the living room, and the members
Of the family, on retiring for the
night, range themselves In fan,
shaped group about It.
Families possessing domestic anil.
mails share their houses with them. In
two-storied houses the lower floor Is
the stable. and through It the living
quarters are reached. In some one
storied houses the front portion is
given up to the animals, while the
family lives In the rear.
The two principal foods Of the tt.
betans, stsamba" and "butter tea"
seem to a westerner neither appetlz-
Ing nor nourishing, but In spite Of a
cherries climate the mountaineers
manage to keep sturdy on them.
Tsamba Is made BY parchisg barley
and then grinding It into sort Of
emergency ration, which on mixture
with moisture 10 ready to eat. When
Tibetans are on journeys or are wan
dering about with their hocks and
herds, they carry tsamba In small
leather bags inside their coats, thus
always having at hand the materials
! for hearty meal.
In preparing the other principal ar
ticle Of their diet the Tibetans first
make a strong liquid by boiling the
coarse Chinese tea which they prize
most highly. The concoction is
strained into q churn and to II are
added lump Of butter, more or less
stale, and a handful Of salt The
queer mixture is then churned into
an emulsion. The resulting liquid is
neither tea, soup nor gravy but to an
occidental ID sort Of Indifferent mix.
ture Of all Of them.
Original cendsnssrs sf Milk.
The Tibetans Of this region were
probably the original users Of con.
densed milk in the form Of dry Jumps,
for they have prepared this article Of
food for many centuries. Fresh milk
is poured into q churn which Is never
washed and the liquid therefore cur
dies almost tho instant It comes into
contact with the germ-incrusted walls
Of the c0ntainer It Ii then churned
and the butter ID extracted. After
the butter ID extracted the milk is
boiled In q large iron pot until 1t
reaches the consistency Of thick syrup.
It ID then poured out IN thin sheet
and allowed to dry. after which It Is
broken into small pieces and stored.
The Jumps often become as hard as
stone, and to eat them dry Is out Of
| the question. The nomads solve the
problem by substituting the dry milk
for tsamba, soaking It In their butter
tea. 1t thus becomes softened to some
extent and can be chewed.
The marriage customs Of. the peo'
pie Of Tibet present . peculiar combi.
nation Of monogamy. polygamy, and
polyandry-the last particularly char
acteristic Of the country, though mo
nogamy IL actually the prevailing ~
TEN.