The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1922-10-04

I. One Of Bhutan's "Casties
prepared by the National Geographic
Society, Washington, d. CD
! Though the feudalism Of the Middle
Ages has disappeared from the west
ern world, h is In full flower In Blu
tan, just Ovei the northeastern border
of India on tae southern slope Of the
-Himalayas. The main road to Lhasa
the capital of Tibet, and the route fol.
lowed In recent attempts to scale Mt.
Everest runs just along the western
edge of this almost unknown country.
/ Ridge after ridge Of the worlds
highest mountains run southwark from
the Hlmalayas, and over these gigan-
tic ranges and valleys is spread Blu
tan, an area about equal to that of
West Virginia Some of the Bhutunese
peaks attain attitudes up to $4,000 and
$4,000 feet. From this roof of the
world flow great turbulent rivers
which would prove Joy to non-tech'
meal lovers of nature, but almost a
sorrow to engineers for in them mil
lions of potential horse power are run
ming to waste. The nearest approach
to power utilization Is in the few
Buddhist prayer-wheels set up beside
some Of these streams that prayers may
be reeled Off mechanically. -
In contrast to the sky-piercing peaks,
clad In eternal snow, are the deep
valleys, and to the southwark the low
plains Of Bhutan, where in the damp,
over-pOwering heat grow dense jun.
giles Of palms. ferns and bamboOs. Be.
tween the two extremes are magni-
ficent grazing grounds in the higher
plateaus. high pine forests, rhododen-
drOns, magnolias, chestnuts and oaks.
In eastern Bhutan the hills are
densely clothed with. forests, but have
practically no population, as the re-
glon Is too fever-stricken to allow OF
any one living there. These hills are,
however, the haunt Of almost every
kind Of wild animal-elephant, rhino,
tiger, leopard. bison, mythun. sambur,
cheetah. hog-deer, barking deer, etc.
The river beds are full of runs leading
to the various salt-llcks which occur
In the hills.
1t Is an ideal place for shooting, but
not easy to follow game. owing to the
extreme steepness of the sandstone
cliffs. The elephant in It's wild state
can 60 over or dowe nearly anything,
and one tusker In escaping hunting
party of Europeans was found to have
gone up precipice 80 feet high at
an angle very little short of perpendlc-
ular.
Mules Are Fed Raw Eggs.
All transportation In Bhutan is on
the backs Of animals, and a queer
array Of two and four-footed creatures
1t is. ranging from coolies at one end
Of the scale to pack-sheep at the other
and including elephants, mules. DON
keys, ponies, yaks and oxen. Mules
are the standby for use on the noun
tain trails, and the Bhutanese manage
to keep them In good condition despite
their strenuous employment. Whether
their odd custom Of feeding the mules
concentrated emergency ration of
raw eggs has anything to do with the
good condition of the pack animals is
not clear; certainly there are few
sights queerer than that of Bhutanese
mule tenders. just before strenuous
climb, breaking eggs like an American
soda-water yender, dumping them into
a horn. and pouring them down the
throats of the animals.
One of the most distinctive things
about Bhutan Is its architecture. Re
ligion and war have been the chief
factors in molding 1t. Most of the
villages or towns are citadels or forts
and monasteries combined. And they
are truly castles in the air"-huge
piles usually perched on some dom
mating ridge or cliff brink or against
the side of seemingly unattainable
precipice. One striking architectural
feature is that all the walls have a
distinct slope inward as they rise.
Tie observer wonders where this form
of architecture came from; whether
IL SoiiS liohi thio iShhtC anu iitiS'
cessable region in the Himalayas
through the Akkadians, Babylonians
Assyrians and Persians from Egypt OF
whether the center from which the art
spread was founded by race which
had its habitat somewhere in Asia.
Not many years ago Bhutan was the
scene of seemingly unending wars ant
raids between factions of its turbulen
hillmen. 1t was ruled jointly by ,
religious and lay ruler. Since 1907 l
has become kingdom and peace seem
to have settled upon it. Many jungl
hillside has given way to rice field
and tea gardens.
Dbutan's feudal system I very clos