Eighty black tents--Starved--Kindly natives--Presents--Ando and
his promises--A friendly Lama--A low pass--My plans.
WE reached an encampment of some eighty black tents and a mud
guard-house. We were positively in a starved condition and it was utterly
impossible to proceed farther, owing to the wretched condition of my two
men. They begged to be given ponies to ride, for their feet were so sore
that, notwithstanding their anxiety to follow me, they could not.
The natives received us very kindly, and, on my applying for them,
consented to sell me ponies, clothes and provisions. We encamped about
two miles beyond the settlement, and during the evening several persons
visited my tent, bringing gifts of flour, butter and _tsamba_,
accompanied by _Katas_, the veils of friendship. I made a point of
invariably giving the Tibetans, in return for their gifts, silver money
to an amount three or four times greater than the value of the articles
they presented us with, and they professed to be very grateful for it. A
man called Ando, who styled himself a Gourkha, but wore the garb of the
Tibetans, came to visit us in our tent, and promised to bring for sale
several ponies the next morning. He also undertook to sell me a
sufficient quantity of food to enable us to reach Lhassa, and, to show
his good faith, brought a portion of the supplies in the evening, and
said he would let us have the remainder the next morning.
We next had a visit from a Lama, who appeared both civil and intelligent,
and who presented us with some butter and _chura_ (cheese). He had
travelled in India, he told us, as far as Calcutta, and was on his way
from Gartok to Lhassa, where he expected to arrive in four or five days,
having an excellent pony. Other Lamas and men who came to see us stated
that they had come from Lhassa in that time, and I do not think that they
can have been far wrong, as the whole distance from the Lippu Pass on the
frontier (near Garbyang) to Lhassa can on horseback be covered in sixteen
days.
[Illustration: MUD GUARD-HOUSE]
The natives, as usual, showed great reticence in letting out the name of
the encampment, some calling it Toxem, others Taddju. North of us was a
low pass in the hill range, and having already seen as much as I wanted
of the Tibetans, it was my intention, if I succeeded in purchasing
provisions and ponies, to cross over this pass and proceed towards the
Sacred City, following a course on the northern side of the mountain
range. Besides, the highway to Lhassa was getting so thickly populated
that I thought it advisable to travel through less inhabited regions. I
intended proceeding, dressed as a European, until within a few miles of
Lhassa. Then I would leave my two men concealed in some secluded spot,
and assuming a disguise, I would penetrate alone during the night into
the city. This would have been easy enough, as Lhassa has no gates, and
only a ruined wall round it.
I succeeded in purchasing some clothing and boots from the Tibetans, and
the pigtail that I needed to make me pass for a Tibetan I intended to
make myself, out of the silky hair of my yaks. To avoid betraying myself
by my inability to speak Tibetan fluently, I thought of pretending to be
deaf and dumb.
A good meal brought hope and high spirits, and when I retired to sleep I
saw myself already inside the sacred walls.
[Illustration: TIBETAN BELLOWS]