Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1922-01-18

with fat roofs. These dwellings are
not unlike the adobe houses II Mex
leo. but are decidedly more substan-
tial. being constructed by the beat
ing az mud into thick walls between
forms ~ timber.
The farmers have few animals but
utilize the yak for blowing, the an
Imals being brought down frOm the
highlands an the proper time. Wood
al plows with "A single handle are
used.
The living quarters In the house 81
the valley foll, usually consist Of a
single large room. in which all work,
including the cooking is done, and
where the members OF the family eat
and sleep.
Few Comforts In the Home.
The comforts In such homes are
very meager. In few establishments
Is there even the semblance Of bed.
In the ordinary houses going 10 bed"
means merely loosening the glrdle.
opening the sheepskin garment, and
curling up on the floor with the feet
toward the stove. which is an essen
tial feature of all habitations in this
high. cold country.
The stove is built OF mud. with n
fireplace below and hole In the top
into which pots may be set for cook
az. IL Is usually found on one side
~ the living room. and the members
~ the family. on retiring for the
night, range themselves I'm "A fan
shaped group about IL.
Families possessing domestic AMI
mails share their houses with them. In
rwo-storIed houses the lower floor Is
the stable. and through IL the living
quarters are reached. In some one
s.oried houses the front portion Is
gwen up TO the animals. while the
family lives in the rear.
The two principal foods Of the IT,
betans. "tsamba" and butter tea"
seem 10 a westerner neither appetiz-
Ing nor nourishing. but In spite Of a
cherries climate the mountaineers
manage to keep sturdy on them.
Tsamba Is made by parching barley
and then grinding IL into a sort OF
emergency ration, which on mixture
with moisture is ready TO eat When
Tibetans are on journeys or are wan
dering about with their flocks and
herds. they carry tsamba I'm small
leather bags inside their coats, thus
always having at hand the materials
for a hearty meal
IN preparing the other principal ar
tlcle 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 a churn and 10 IL are
added a 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 is a sort OF Indifferent mix
ture 81 all OF them.
Original condensers Of Milk.
The Tibetans Of this region were
probably the original users Of con-
densed milk ia the form OF dry Jumps.
FOR they have prepared this article OF
food for many centuries. Fresh milk
Is poured into a churn which Is never
washed and the liquid therefore cur
dies almost the instant IL comes into
contact with the germ-incrusted walls
OF the container. II is then churned
and the butter Is extracted. After
the butter Is extracted the milk is
boiled in a large iron pot until IL
reaches the consistency Of thick syrup.
II is then poured out in a thin sheet
and allowed 20 dry, after which IL 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 tsamha. soaking IL in their butter
tea. II thus becomes softened 20 some
extent and can be chewed.
The marriage customs OF the peo-
pie of Tibet present peculiar comhi-
nation OF monogamy. polygamy. and
polyandry-the last particularly char
acteristic Of the country. though me-
nogamy Is actually the prevailing sys
ten