Evening star., 1925-08-16

ma. YIN LITERALLY no-men, a Kind of
being, according to Tibetans} Uho play
tricks at night with fire and music TO
delay us on the road. Now they have
taken that shape"
| l smiled at his imag agination, but he
was quite in earnest. His grandfather
had been a magician-lama, and l be-
lieve the blood of that ancestor was
now alive in him. He recited "zung'
| (magic formula), with the ritualistic
enough, the birds few away, shrieking
| loudly.
You see" triumphed the young
lama. Il knew it. 1t is not good for
us to delay here"
/ smiled again. But as to the neces-
sity to proceed quickly / could not
contradict We meant to cross that
evening the border of the forbidden
land.
THE Dokar Pass stands now before
| us. most impressive against a gray
evening sky. 1t is a depression in a
gigantic barren range. and the CYCLIC
pean, rigid sharp wall is sagging as
! do the cables outstretched across the
F., rivers instead of bridges. To know
/ that it marks the threshold of the
| guarded region adds to the sternness
| of it's aspect
! The ground around the pass is most
sacred to the gods, and the Tibetan
! pilgrims who circulate along the track
have built there countless tiny affairs
! There are three standing stones and a
| fourth one as roof. under which offer
! ings are made to spirits.
! On the pass itself and following the
! neighboring ridges the mystic flags
/ that can be seen on all the heights of
! Tibet are planted in larger numbers
a hs.vn sIe- ,l.z.,,g
| ligerent, threatening in the falling
light, like so many soldiers scaling the
SUBMITS. ready TO fight the presump-
! tuous traveller who would venture on
the road of the holy city
AS we reach the cairn at the top
| gust of wind welcomes uS-the vio-
/ lent and icy kiss of the austere coun-
try whose severe charm has kept me
/ bewitched for so long to which | have
| come again. Turning our faces sue
cessively in the four directions, the
zenith and the nadir, we utter the
| Buddhist wish, May all beings be
happy and we begin to climb down
A blizzard descends on the SUBMITS
| Black clouds roll to and fro, turn to
a half-melted snowfall. We make
haste, endeavoring to reach before
night the base of the barren. inhospi
table. steep slope.
| But darkness comes early We miss
| the path winding between land slips
and hnd ourselves slipping helplessly
! with crumbling stones under our feet
1t becomes dangerous to proceed in
| that way, with speed that we cannot
| control. So. having succeeded in
! stopping, we fixed our mountain sticks
| before us in the ground so as to get a
point of support. Clinging to each
other for safety, our loads still on our
| backs, we remained Squatting there
! under the snow, which fell from
o'clock in the evening till O'Clock the
next morning. Then a melancholy
last quarter of moon rose between the
clouds and we proceeded down to the
wooded zone.
1t was still night when we halted
near a stream to refresh ourselves
| with a cup of hot tea
was somewhat reluctant to stay
there, for we had distinctly seen when
! descending to the river two elongated
forms of beasts with phosphorescent
| eyes that crossed the tracks. Pan
theirs or leopards they seemed to be.
But we were exhausted, and there
was no certainty of finding water
again soon. So, trusting the animals
would let us alone, we ate a meal and
warmed ourselves.
| During that time we heard noises
under the trees, and we had no doubt
that some beasts were roaming about
IN the vicinity However, fatigue
sometimes overpowers prudence, and
! Yongden fell asleep. decided TO
watch, but my eyes were heavy and
closed in spite of my efforts.
X X X
IT WAS doing when the sound of a
low sniff awakened me. AT a few
! steps from the place where we were
, living the MI ,xyith
| ing eyes we had seen on our way
down was looking at us, and now /
! could see its spotted coat
| l did not awake Yongden. I have
| more than once met with wild beasts,
and know that they seldom attack
men unless provoked or wounded
| That nocturnal meeting reminded me
| of another one which / had in broad
! daylight several years ago with a su-
perb tiger.
Little thing" / murmured, looking
| at the graceful animal, II have seen
at close range much bigger prince of
! the jungle than you. Go to sleep and
| be happy"
I doubt that the little thing" un.
derstood me. Anyhow, after a few
minutes, it's curiosity satisfied. 1t went
! leisurely away.
| We could not allow ourselves a
longer rest. The day had broken and
1t was time to find a hiding place
away from the trail to spend the day.
| awakened Yongden and we went.
/ We had just started a few minutes
when, with his stick, the young man
pointed out something under the trees.
There they are he said.
The pair of spotted fellows were
truly there. They turned their heads
toward us, looked at us for a little
while, then went their way along the
| stream when we climbed the path
AS we were going up the aspect of
the forest changed. 1t was much less
dense. The sun that had risen lighted
the underground, and through open
ings in the foliage we could see the
| opposite bank of the river We no.
| ticed with astonishment that it seemed
to be cultivated, but cultivated in a
| fanciful way, more according to the
| fashion of gardens and parks than to
| that of common fields.
1t was a glorious morning, and we
enjoyed our walk so much that we
continued long after the hour when
we used to take shelter far out of the
way Of travellers who might pass. The