Evening star., 1925-08-09


Il Suzerain, China, and is forbidden
land to travellers, and l had
taken oath to revenge my previous
defeats by entering Lhasa at the next
New Year time.
Being prevented for the present
from going TO Central Tibet, l had
planned to spend the Summer in the
immense solituies that the Chinese
call the land of herbs" whose only
inhabitants are a few Tibetan and
Monaghan tribes of cowmen living far
apart from each other, in black tents
In that region spring the large rivers
that flow later on in China and in
lndo-China; the Yellow River. the
Aangtze, the Mekong, the SalWeen
and others. 1t is. as legends tell, the
birthland of King Guesar of Link, the
Denied hero whose high deeds are sung
by Tibetan bards and whose new
coming as a warrior messiah, the
King of righteousness. Is expected by
MILLIONS of men in Asia
That wild country. with its wide,
serene landscapes clad in snow and
bathed in sunshine during a long clear
Winter. is wonderful land and land
of wonders. Each of its mountains
claims TO be the abode of god each
of its lakes boasts of a miracle. From
the depth of this one ariseS a solemn
concert like those that accompany
NAlV ltilSlollS itIlldlSl OlltCeS, on lndl
other, at the first ray of dawn, appear
fairies, and fortunate is the lucky one
VINO, at that very minute, drinks a
draught or dips his hand in the streak
left on the blue waters by the nimble
feet of the celestial ladies', for his
wish, whatever it may be, will be
fulfilled. There also rocky caves are
shown in mysterious corridors. Some
OF them, say the dokpas (cowmen),
lead To hasa in 1aVS fha |
journey by ordinary ways takes about !
three monthS) the traveller who, by |
his pure deeds, has acquired the |
power to make his body thin enough |
to slip through their narrow entrance. |
And others reach, in tho depth of the |
earth, the kingdom of the Nagas, |
lords over fabulous treasures. And
there, again, smiling at these tales. |
their minds soaring above the world of
men and that of Gods. silent. lone |
anonymous, live a few hermits to-
ward whom. from far. the dwellers of
the black tents raise their hands re-
spectfully clasped and bow down each |
day when the sun appears above the |
mountain range and when it sets
behind them.
For later on. my scheme admitted
or Winter stay in the Cobb, the now
dead land where. buried in the sands |
the frescoes of gigantic underground |
temples speak of a race, long since |
gone, which has been acquainted with |
the SubtleSt mysticism of the late |
Buddhism. Far, far from there | was |
also TO climb the Sacred Mountain of |
the Perfectly Good One" Kun tu |
HanSpo) where, if fortunate enough, !
pilgrims may see the Buddha's shadow |
appearing surrounded by halo of the |
rainbow colors. Many were the lands |
[ would cross before again finding |
L,A
region, and | was thinking about this |
coming journey as I gathered plants in |
the silent Tibetan steppes.
Y
nNE day | had fingered far behind
my men TO collect plants that I
meant to send to the Botanical So
cfety of France. 1t was the rainy
season. The grassy desert had be-
come sea of mud. Under the gray
sky thiE low clouds rolled to and
fro hidiNG the submits, roaming in
the valleys and wrapping the whole
steppes in a grayish, melancholic
luminous solitudes, witness of so
many of my joyful rides some years
ago, and | would easily have been
overpowered by the depressing in
f1uence of that region of dampness,
rain and fog, across which we had
wandered shivering and feverish for
weeks, had | not had many reasons
to prevent me from giving way to
laSsitude and discourag cement.
My present party numbered seven
including myself. The six were
Yongden. a young Tibetan literati
belonging to the order of the lamas,
three servants and a Chinese Mus
sulman soldier, who was going back
to his country with his wife and
their little boy. whom l do not
reckon in the number.
Yongden and the woman had re-
manned with me helping me to coll
lect the plants, and the other men
were far ahead of us. Now the
weather had cleared. One could see,
between the clouds, the sun near
setting. 1t was time to proceed to
the camp. So we started riding
slowly, enjoying the peaceful eve
ming.
We had left the plain and, turn
ing the spur of a range. entered a
narrow valley when ] saw. at my
left side. three men carrying guns
slung over their shoulders. who
silently disappeared IN a recess of
the mountain. Who they were was
clear enough. Tibetan travellers. in
that country. never fail to salute
each other with the customary
greeting: "Oshiaf Oghiai," mean
ing: You have undergone hard
ship to which it is answered: "Laa
ma kaa; Kie Ia oghiai," CT have
suffered no hardship. but you have
had hard time) Then they habit
ually exchange questions about the
country whence they come and that
where they go The silence of these
men looked very suspicious. not to
mention the fact that they were in
hiding, instead of walking along the
trail
l went my way, pretending to pay
no attention to them. but feeling |
under my dress to see if my revolver
was at hand. And 1 whispered to
the woman who rode near me: Have
you seen them?" Yes" she an
swered, they are robbers; maybe
they are scouts for a band of rob-
bers,"
| looked at flower that grew on
rock as if deeply interested in it
and, pointing out to Yongden.
called him near me. To show any
sign of agitation that the Nbrigands
who perhaps watched us could in
terpret as fear might endanger our
lives. The members of the special
order of lamas, of which | wore the
garb, are believed to be fearless and
to possess occult powers. and this
was our best safeguard
Have YOU seen the men in the
ravine?' l asked my younger com
panion.
NO"
Three men carrying guns-thieves.
20 doubt. The woman has seen
them. Have your revolver at hand.
as soon as we reach the turning of
the trali, and be out of sight. We