With the New Year things may Improve and one healthy sign is the reappearance of copper cash on the streets, Local paper notes and Central Bank smaller notes have been current for more than one year, The coal paper notes are being replaced by copper cash which are much more convenient in buying a 100 or 200- bunch of carrots. 'The smallest denomination paper notes were $00 and 11000 cash' Uckels and one had to buy that amount of produce as no coppers were returned. It simply meant that the lowest price for anything was 500 cash, even a cup of Chinese tea.
a border town like Tachienlu with thousands of Tibetans on the and Sir William Rattigan—having in 1872 established their Punjab Paper with success, were eventually seized, with the idea of purchasing, The Pioneer" which Sir George Allen had founded in 1865. They] did so with the intention of making, their new acquisition an All-India paper, but they soon found that they could not do so without Allen.
He was persuaded to come' back, given a small share in the concern and thus the remarkable combination of G. M. Chesney at Allal bad with Howard Hensman (1879 to 1917) at Calcutta (Delhi) and Simla was confirmed. So, actually, the Lahore paper owned its, Allahabad sister and the relationship justified the escape from complications which arose in 1927 directly from the death in the previous year of Sir James Walker, whose sage guidance in the back-round, unrecognized by Kipling, had been the guarantee of "The Pioneer's" stability, With the paper notes, not too alccly of clearly printed, it was dificult to ascertain their denomination, even ""-:|seom-the colour. The Tibetans stuck out for the rupee and when they sold butter or barley they demanded rupees or barter. Their yak butter jon to dirty, - rumpled, paper was an adventure they were not quite prepared to risk, Even a good, clean, Central Bank of China note was something they shied from. As a rule the Tibetan in his commercial relations with the Chi= nese holds very largely to barter, He has a pouch of musk or te pouches, the value of which he hi fairly' good idea, and this he sells for so much Chinese cloth, Yachow fea or Chengtu silk. Paper to the Mibelan is a commodity his country hhas_ not yet learned {0 produce and even though It is uleely printed and adorned in many colours still it 1s Paper and has not the ring of a good silver rupee.
The streets were unusually crowded on New Year's day, the Tibetans
date, "They like the Chinese fire-toling kindly to this old calendar crackers and though it may not be quila decorous for a tama to run, still they ike. the noise and whenever some loud banging takes place, JInma_and nomad may be seen tearing down the street, They may not understand why all this" crheking takes place, whether it is to thank the gods, of destroy the devils, but they seem to enjoy It, and will run the length of a street 10 see fro-
This year colour was introduced Into the squibs and when fired into the alr as a rocket they exploded in different colours, Needless 10 say, the woolly nomad is prepared to stand fand watch this performance by the hour; and when the amply rocket descends he makes a mad rush to secure it and examine its inside, On uch occasions he gets mixed up with a crowd of street Arubs and groutly enjoys the fun. But when the T20 Sang from Shensi get banging their gongs and symbols, and the Lao San knows how to do-it, the nomad begins to feet that fe Is worth fiving und Tachienlu at the New Year time 4 rendezvous that should not be missed. Unfortunately he leaves ornad wife and. family back. son where in Minya but when he returns home he has some story to tell them, Nomad Values Lao San's Word The past year to the Lso San merchant was @ year of unrest and uncertainty. Dealing almostly entirely he does with the Tibetans, the communist imasion into. Sikang paralyzed trade relations and brought Commerce to a standstill for. more than one year. Trade on the Tibetan frontier jg almost entirely in. the hands of Shensi merchants who come from the owns round " Changon (Sian). They are hardy, industrious jclevor and frugal; and ihe Tibetans admire and appreciate them for their honesty and straightforwardness. The nomad knows the value of @ Lao San's word and when given knows "he can depend on ity The nomad from the distant interior, perhaps one month's " journey from Tachienlu, will bring "his valuable musk, deposit it with the Shens! merchant, and trouble no more about Fortunately money does not ome into. the transaction—the woolly Fomad wants tea, brick tea, for him= elf and his lama brother, and the Lao San supplies him with tea to the value of the musk, horns or wormegrass. To. take sliver money back into the far Intetlor is worse than taking coal to, Neweastle, "Ir he gels silver at all "he usually turns At into trinkets for his nomad wife oF -sweetheart and thereby ensures warm welcome home. Or he may buy a torch or thermos flask and smash them on the way back, The point is, however, -his trust In and appreciation of the Chinese merchant from Sian.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.