The Long, Long Trail from' Ta" chien lu to Batang:, Romance of Business on the Roof of the World From Our Own Correspondent. or fully explain how, why; or where, a bargain is struck and the Chineze merchant moves off with precarious agreement that the nomad and his yak will see him as. the, Ohe-do4a. (14000 feet high) and over the Gushi-la (15.000 feet) and down into the valley of the Yalung.
Pachienlu, Sze, Jams 4.
ACROSS 'THE BORDER, In spite of every obstacle and This part of the journey to the face of every danger, a few Batang presents very little diffi "Chinese Merchants on the Tibetan culty as there is a strong Chinese border carry on business aa usual, arrison at Hohow. Across the Moving a case of sardines from Shanghai to Chungking is child's along Chinese prestige ends and the Chines merchant's troubles play compared to transporting, begin. From here on to Litang x of hams from Tachienlu to Batang, Along the coast you can (14900 18) he ie under the protection and at the mercy of native have a box moved anywhere with-chiefs, lawless Origands, and out ever seeing it: on the Ohinscheming lamas. His obstacles frontier there is every possi now. are not simply physical, but bility of never seeing the cage if tual and temporal. From it over leaves your sight. From Pain on his woolly nomed purely commercial standpoint will give no guarantee that the the rod between Tachienlu and merchant and his goods will gob Batang is one of the most romantanywhere, The caravan with its. jo journeys in central Asia. Dur-yak loads of silk and wine and ing any season of the year you oil now enters the territory ruled yun every possible chance of be-by the native Prince of Chang-hsi. bed, stranded, fesced. What ing frozen, drowned, killed, rob-'The unfortunate thing about travel in this part of Eastern would drive a Shanghai merchant Tibet is that these native chiefs Grazy apparently only amuses will seo you courteously, politely, thes Chinese merchants, If and safely, just over the edge band of brigands were the only their own territory and villa thing toe encountered the Chinously, rob you one mile in the ese merchant would not consider next. By a system of asiatic this an obstacle at all, manuring the merchant and his "In the first. place this tremend-precious wares safely reach Lit: ous business adventure begins ang. the merchant getting his money safely transported from Butang
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.