Tachienlu, Nov. 21.
STERDAY, Dr. and Mrs. James of the American Mission at the north gate, with their two children and Mrs. Eyton, left the Tibetan border for the plains below. Dr. James left his home in Los Angeles at the end of 1932 and arrived on the frontier in the autumn of 1933. After a short term of study of the Chinese lan-, guage he officially opened the American hospital sometime during 1934.
Brilliant in manipulative surgery this clever young surgeon very soon built up a wide practice along the Tibetan border. Chinese, Tibetan and other tribes soon made the discovery that there Was a young doctor who could handle broken, diseased and dislocated bones in a way quite unknown to the local lamas and drabas, Superstition, fear, ignorance and stupidity had to be met day by day in the common round in the daily tasks o! this border hospital. Many are the wild and woolly nomads who returned to their encampments on the grasslands cured and healed of divers diseases.
The Tibetan patient stands in a class all by himself. To begin with he has never slept in a bed and never been a foreign doctor. He is a firm believer in magic and believes that the bigger the magician the quicker the cure. Moreover his life is one of movement and to suggest his lying all day in bed is something of which he heartily disapproves. That something should be drunk out of a bottle three times every day and six days in the week is quite beyond his simple comprehension. On the Tibetan frontier. Dr. James was breaking new ground, meeting a strange and interesting people, and introducing new and up-to-date methods in the treatment of disease.
Another difficulty concerns him—a nomad seldom if ever travelled alone so when he came to town to see the doctor he brought his lady loves and his travelling companions; and when they saw the hospital they rushed at it in mass formation. There was no use shouting "patients only" as they were all prepared to register and to sit in the waiting room for the space of one minute. The nomad regarded the cure of the boil on the back of his neck pretty much as he regarded the purchase of five yards of Chinese cloth: both were taken on the run Dr. James was quite prepared to tackle every known and unknown nomadic disease; but he had considerable difficulty in inviting the nomad to stay in bed.
Many shall miss this young fellow along the border, specially as we are now without a foreign-trained physician in Tachienlu. Of late years the doctor established a wide reputation in obstetrics and many are the mothers in Tachienlu today who are thankful for his kindly help.
Nomad's Importance That the woolly nomad should be carefully asked his name. the place of his birth and his age gave him an importance he had failed to realize before, but rather tickled him as to the relation of these things and the nasty boil harassing his movements in the nomadic tent. The nomad and formula are two antagonistic and opposing forces. Why should he register, and why should be sit in a waiting room, and why should he proceed in a given direction when the bell rings? One has to appreciate the nomad to realize some of the difficulties daily confronting this young American surgeon.
In a frontier city like Tachienlu with its seven lamaseries and close on 500 lamas and drabas and a Chinese population following largely {he system known as Lamaism. the work of a foreign doctor could not be very easy. Lamaism attributes disease. in all its forms and mani-testations to wicked and unclean Spirits and demons, and therefore to cure disease the demons must be dealt with and the draba stoutly maintains that he is the one and only person capable of dealing with evil spirits.
The medical work maintained by Dr. James was inclined to lower the lama revenue and therefore the lama advised the people, Chinese and Tibetan, to keep away from the American hospital. Nothing however disturbed this young doctor. He quietly pursued his work as a surgeon and slowly wore the lama down. In spite of what Lamaism had to say against Western medicine and methods this young American doctor slowly established himself as the man who could work wonders throughout the province of Sikang. About two years ago the hospital was enlarged, another story being added to the present building.
With the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Johnson and their boy Curtis, Dr. and Mrs. James were free to leave the city and seek the rest and Change they so much need in southern California. Both their parents are alive and are looking forward to seeing them sometime next year in the States.
Chinese-Tibetan Clash on Border Tachienlu, Oct. 30.
Some days ago a rather serious fracas took place at Kanze between the Chinese and Tibetans. A Tibetan connected with the Panchen's outfit was buying a bit of beef when a Chinese approached the stall As the Tibetan had not yet laid down his money for the beef the Chinese felt he had some claim to what looked like a nice bit of meat, An aiter-cation took place during which the Tibetan drew his long knife and seriously wounded the Chinese. Other Chinese laid on the Tibetan and the following day both men ceased to have any further interest in the affair, But a feud had started between the two parties which at times looktc like assuming disturbing dimensions. For some days the Chinese garrison and the Tibeten encampment stood ready to k each other; and one day a clash took place in which one Chinese and a Tibetan lost their is now reported settled that is, outwardly, but there is still considerable feeling between the two camps. The Panchen's following is not only disgusted with itself but with everybody and everything. Why the Panchen should have taken the trouble to die and at such a juncture in his history and at such an impossible place as Jyekundo, still embarrasses and distresses his now disgruntled following.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.