IL
Tu our final start from Tachienlu we had the honour of exciting " zood deal of attention and inspiring some croakers who predicted ill of our venture, Tt was x motley group that clattered up arrow street, icketty worn let spanning the foaming river and out under the Southgate, past the lamasery and into the open country beyond.
The journey begins with a climb and as it begins so it continues, climbing ever, either up or down, the latter worse than the former.
The Bishop had invested in a new cap with fur 1 while it gave a look of dist ind adornment, was utterly out of p the brilliant sunshine that seemed doubly bright, to one coming from the mists and clouds of central Szechuan.
The whole aspect of the country changes on leaving Tachientu, The road wi a lamasery prettily framed in trees above a boiling river, madly raging over its boulder-strewn bed. "A cot ple of tree-trimmed meadows lie below the road between it and the river, while tiny patches of arable land fringed with grass snd jungle break the monotony of unsubdued nature, Queer-looking flat-rowed houses with stone walls are xown the floor of the valley at wide into with" guardian looks, ure the mounts Who rency the wind blew the clouds fa enough apart, there was di snow range on our left, the this time was ud turned up the course of 3 which we followed to the head of the pass, a day's journey farther alos The first day's journey ended at the ize of Chelido, un irregular collection of ried dwellings strung along the side of an execrable road, but set in surroundings, fo striking that one could but revel in the ever-changing succession of beauties, since the brunt of the toil over the eripplin stones fell upon the pony.
The inn was a compound of Chinese and Tibetan architecture, ami the family was netructed on the same Man Chinese, wom neither and both, The Chinese all throws the district traversed by us were characterised by this easy ads Circumstances inthe matter foreigner's standpoint a bargain as this is man, The poor, si Chinese won generally capable, robust, Laughir of Tibet, and yet with a strange perverse of speech, every Chinaman speaks of his Tibetan wife as his slive, yo tow but she is no slave of his in the practical affairs of life.
The little village lay high up on the slope and overlooked x pretty valley where the Tibetans were out tending their cattle.
About a mile away round the of the mountain are some hot. pri much used by the Tibetans who have constructed an aly with the springs of hot water bubbling u and an ice-cold str aeon i aura ment in much favour the people.
We made our way to it, after the fashion of most travellers, but found ourselves fore~ stalled by a bevy of Tibetan belles irom the houses near by.
Remaining at a prudent distance we yelled for them to hurry up, but as posses-Sion here was all the law, there was no ive but to wait their plessure—and made us do some waiting and went off tthe joke. after supper we were aa loud demand lo at the door, ani soon our peace was invaded by a party of travellers up from Tachienlu with a caravan taking goods back to their first shoulder rabbi with the Tibetans in their own surround ngs stands out with vi netness, side the door, a couple torches illuminated the night, the loads were uned ina comer of the inn. and dried srass was thrown to them, being reserved for next day when wid he turned loose to graze upon ain side work over, there was soon a roaring fire under the cooking pan and ter male realy by boiling for several minutes, liquid was then strained into a small cylinders churn, one of which is carried by all cara butter and salt were added and the wh. er] up together.
The churn was then set in the middle of the floor and the ten men, women, and boys squatted round it. Each one produced a wooden bow! from the folds of his capacious alle full of tea was poured out for ach, and the joy on those dirt-begrimed aces was unmistakable, After the tea had been imbibed with long sibilant sounds, a bag of parched set down beside the churn handful which was put mixed with tea into a dry paste, little bits of it were then broken off and moulded by deft fingers into sizable shape and dexterously pitched to the month.
The greatest goodfellowship isted and when T motioned my desire to try a piece, it was received with incredulous grunts and gestures by the men, with a ringing happy he women, but apiece was given and thus I made my first ice with the Tibetan sta of life, teanba.
After tea was over the caravan turned in by w des which held up their long w which then bene hed and bedding as their owner stretched themselves out upon the ungarnished floor. There may have been some order in the manner of their disposal, but to an outsider such as I, it seemed that they went to rest in as promiscuous a fiction as they live generally, and no ceremony wasted in either tle order or manner of going.
For simplicity of wants and capacity to endure, the Tibetans, man or woman, can't be excelled on their tative soil.
A long woollen gown for clothes and shirley meal, butter, tea, and salt long and The be their stable and pasture and they will go wonderfully Jong stages on very little to ent.
The nest day's travel may serve as model for all the others.
Up at daylight, a brief breakfast and all hands turn to prt the goods, by which time the mules are ready, everything quickly strapped on and before seven (days were short) the whole are in marching order. Keep together and keep going till a "big half" of th done and then halt an hour to feed all round. Ifa house is con-Yenient the things are put into it and such as are needed are opened out to get at butter, salt, tea and so on and a quick lunch is made, When nothing else offers, and very little did offer—then parched barley meal, butter, tea, and a piece of bread, well sauced with a good appetite, and soon get off again. If there is no house, put down the goods on the splendid grassy slope, gather dried cow-dung, add a few stick ind your pot of water is soon boiling ready to receive the ten, At some of these impromptu tiffins it was necessary to hoist an umbrella for shade. The sun is wonderfully strong at these high altitudes owing to the rarity of the atmosphere and the iner augmented heat of the reflected ra, greater contrast could be imagined in atmospheric conditions than the piercing biting cold of the mornings, or cloudy days, and the uncomfortable heat of the sun. From the village of Chehdo to the foot of the pass on the further side one passes through a wild lonely country, with a villainous road up the pass, most splendid views of every kind of mountain peak summit, and down a gentle grassy slope, where partridges scurry through the brush, and nature holds her own against all comers—down to a tiny hamlet of two houses beside 1 clear-coursing river i narrow valley, The river is followed till it joins a
valley ten miles down. Here there are urger stream flowing through a "broader scattered houses and more cultivation, but many ruins and fields that once were tilled let now run to waste. These are evidences that the people uow are fewer than formerly lived here. They are perhaps moving out to more secluded spots and 0 avoiding the constant requisition of themselves and horses for government. purposes.
At Niangniangba we reach the end of the stage, stop a night, and have to change pack animals, This last is a nuisance, Sometimes as many as four changes occur in one day, going a twentyanile stage, but generally the same animals will go two days and then a fresh lot has to be secured. This always means delay and a good deal of tall: and row. Nobody wants to go and specially is it so for a foreigner. Ifa price has to be settled there is more bickering and bard talk than among the Chinese, and a Tibetan's word is not his bond, by any means, At this place they tried to foist yak upon us but this we steadily and consistently declined tallow. The lumbering unwieldy val are so slow, and so much less tractable than ponies, that you are certain to do no more than ball a stage a day and to get your boxes pounded to pieces in the con-Stunt collisions on the way.
The road continues down the valley for about twelve miles—excellent going—and then turns sharp off to the right into a similar valley that ends at Dung Golok, which is also the end of the stage.
At one part of the road we came upon a broad clear-water river which was crossed by a curious Tibetan bridge in the shadow of which there were shoals of fish. The Tibetans have a religious prejudice against fish, and so never take them, but not so the Chinese, who fairly revel in the romunerative sport whenever there is a chance to pick up a rod and vary the day's journey by a little angling.
(Zo be continued.)
[Aut Ricurs Resenveo.]
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.