HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR OF SAKA
On April 25 we rode in a compact body to the mouth of a valley east of
Chomo-uchong, called Radak. Six Tibetans guarded me on both sides, and
our journey had some resemblance to a convict train. Now I was not
obliged to dismount before we passed a tent. On the left hand was a
large open plain where Raga-tasam is situated. A shot was heard in the
deserted country, and Rindor sent two men to see what it was. An
antelope hunter! He was arrested and beaten; for the Government, at
ecclesiastical instigation, had forbidden the extinction of life for
three years, except in the case of sheep and yaks. I was reminded of the
agreement to forbid Europeans to travel in Tibet for three years.
Now I drew my map of the route, took compass bearings, and sketched a
panorama quite at my ease. The Tibetans wondered at me and questioned
me, but did not trouble themselves much about my work. And I had plenty
of time to think of the line of policy I should adopt during the
following negotiations. I knew that they would urge me to return by the
way I had come, through Bongba, or by the road I had taken to Ladak the
year before. For my part, I had now had enough of Tibet and I longed to
get home, and wished to avoid routes that involved loss of time and that
I knew already. Now I only wished to travel to India _viâ_ Shigatse and
Gyangtse, and I would try to obtain permission to travel to these towns
by roads where no one had been before. After the excitement in which we
had lived so long came a reaction. I was worn-out, weary, and
indifferent to everything except the nearest way home. Therefore I sat
down and wrote a letter of fifteen pages to Lien Darin, referred to his
friendly letter sent to Gartok, gave an account of our last journey,
pointed out to him that no Great Power could take it amiss if I
travelled out of the country through Gyangtse, promised that in return I
would give him information about the occurrences of gold and salt I had
seen, and about the measures which should be taken for the promotion of
sheep-breeding,--all natural resources, which would contribute to the
advancement of China's newest province, Tibet. And I concluded my letter
with wishes for the happiness and prosperity of Lien Darin himself and
peace to his forefathers' graves.
I did not doubt a moment that he would give his consent to such a modest
request, and I saw in my mind's eye the dramatic scene when I should
make my first call on Major O'Connor in Tibetan dress, and have a little
fun with him before I made myself known. But I may as well say at once
that this long epistle to Lien Darin was never sent. My opponent's
tactics lured me to a contest in which he was checkmated in two moves.
My merit was as little now as formerly; I was always a marionette, and
the hands which held the strings hung over the paths where the clouds
and stars move.
In the evening I had a visit from Pemba Tsering and Kamba Tsenam. The
former was much more gentle and friendly than the year before; the
latter was a great humorist, who did not seem at all annoyed that he had
omitted to close the bag when he had us in it, and had let a valuable
booty fall into the hands of another. They had heard of my adventurous
voyages on Tso-mavang, and were astonished that I had escaped with my
life.
[Illustration: 341. INNER COURT OF SELIPUK.]
[Illustration: 342. DORCHE TSUEN AND NGAVANG ON HORSEBACK.]
Two short days' marches took us over the pass Kule-la and down to the
valley where Semoku stands on the great high-road. Here stood some
scattered tents, and the Governor and his colleagues had established
themselves in the small stone house of the station. All the more
important posts in Tibet are entrusted to two gentlemen: thus, for
example, there are always two garpuns or viceroys in Gartok, a system
adopted with the intention that one shall control the other or shall
inform of the other if he is guilty of any roguery. In Saka-dzong,
however, the one governor seemed to be of higher rank than the other; at
any rate, he conducted all the negotiations as though he possessed
greater authority.
As soon as we were ready Rindor and two other men came into my tent and
brought a message from the Governor that he awaited me in the
station-house. I answered, that if he wanted anything of me he might
come to my tent. It was not long before a party of men crossed the
hundred yards between our dwellings. I went out to meet them, invited
them to come in and sit down as far as the space allowed, took up my
position on my bed, and had before me three gentlemen, namely, Dorche
Tsuen, _pun_ or Governor of Saka-dzong (Illust. 327), Ngavang, his
colleague, and Oang Gye, his eighteen-year-old son (Illust. 331). A
crowd of servants, nomads, and soldiers massed together at the tent
door.
Pun Dorche Tsuen is an unusually tall Tibetan, forty-three years old, of
sympathetic and refined appearance, dressed in a Chinese costume of
silk, with a small silk cap on his head, a pigtail behind, and velvet
boots. He is a man of wealth, owning large flocks in the province over
which he rules and a stone house in Lhasa, his home, for he is an _upa_
or domiciled inhabitant of the province U, the capital of which is
Lhasa. There dwell three of his four sons, and one of them is a young
lama. His wife has been dead some years.
Ngavang, his coadjutor, is a little, fat, kindly man in Tibetan costume,
but with a Chinese cap and pigtail. Oang Gye wears his hair in Tibetan
fashion, wears no head-covering, and, like his father, is exceedingly
sympathetic and good-natured.
"I hope that you have had a successful journey and have not suffered
much from cold," said Dorche Tsuen.
"Oh, it was cold, and we have lost our caravan, our clothes are in rags,
and our provisions are at an end, but, as you see, that is of no
consequence to us."
"At the time of your visit to Saka-dzong last year I was in Tsonka, but
I received an account of your movements. You were sent away. Why have
you come back again?"
"To visit the districts I was then prevented from seeing. I am ashamed
to have given you the trouble of coming here from Saka-dzong. I hope
that we shall soon come to an agreement about the route I am to take in
order to leave the country."
Now I should have to play my cards well. I had changed my mind during
the last few days. I had rested, the reaction after the excitement of
travelling in disguise had passed away, and I was exceedingly eager to
attempt some new discoveries before I gave up the game. I had, it is
true, succeeded in making a very valuable traverse across Bongba. I had
travelled straight across the word "Unexplored" on the latest English
map of Tibet--yea, I had passed between the _p_ and _l_, so that "unexp"
lay on the west side of my route and "lored" on the east (see Map 1,
Vol. I.). But I had left quite untouched two extensive stretches of the
large blank patch, and I dreamed of nothing else than to cross Bongba
again by two fresh routes. It would certainly take four or five months
to return to India after a northerly zigzag course, instead of a couple
of weeks if I made for British territory through Gyangtse, as I intended
at first. But if I succeeded in making the northerly detour I should
carry home material of perhaps greater value than the discoveries
already made. Dorche Tsuen answered with firm decision:
"As to your way back, I will tell you at once: not a step further east;
my head depends on it. Here you see the order I received a couple of
days ago from the Devashung. I will read it to you. Last year you
travelled without leave to Nepal, to Kubi-gangri, across the holy lake,
round Kang-rinpoche, and to Yumba-matsen. I know exactly where you went.
You cannot do the same this year. It is probably in consequence of your
journey in all sorts of forbidden directions that the Devashung has
distributed through the country instructions regarding Europeans. Two
officials have recently been sent from Lhasa to Shansa-dzong to see
that no European approaches the holy city from Naktsang. Some time ago a
Chinese officer with 200 soldiers was moved to Tingri to guard the
country from intrusion from the south. Not even a Gurkha or a Hindu can
now travel in Tibet without especial permission. The other day I
received a letter from the Chinese frontier official in Tingri which I
will read to you. As you see, he orders me to force any European who may
come to Saka from the north to return in his own footsteps. If he
refuses, I have to send off a messenger to Tingri, and shall receive
assistance in a few days from the soldiers stationed there. Times are
changed in Tibet. If you will not listen to me and travel back by the
way you came, I will send a messenger to Tingri. But, like you, I hope
that we shall come to an agreement without unpleasantness and outside
interference."
My next move was a feint, namely, to try for the Gyangtse route; I would
in the end conform to his wishes and give up the Gyangtse route under
the condition that I should not be compelled to travel along roads I
knew already. I pointed out how near we were to Gyangtse, and how easily
he would get rid of me if I went thither, but nothing made any
impression on him. He only answered, "All that is true, but the road is
closed to you."
"Well, I will give it up for your sake, but only on condition that you
forward a letter from me to the British Trade Agent in Gyangtse. You can
understand that my family are disturbed at my long absence and are
looking for news of me."
"Yes, I can understand that, but I regret to say that I cannot forward
your correspondence. All the authorities in Tibet are strictly forbidden
to assist a European in any way, as he has no right to travel in the
country."
"You will perhaps allow two of my own servants to carry a letter from me
to Gyangtse?"
"No, never!"
"Well, at least, you can inform the Devashung of my arrival, and ask the
Government to send notice of it to Gyangtse."
"I sent a messenger to the Devashung as soon as I received the letter
from Rindor. They will know in Lhasa in a few days that you are come
here again."
I had never induced any Tibetan magistrate to forward my letters. That
Dorche Tsuen refused to do me such a trifling service had the deplorable
consequence that my family did not receive any reliable report of me
till September, and therefore supposed that some misfortune had befallen
me. Instead of reaching the frontier in a couple of weeks, I was sent
back again into the silence of Tibet, and the waves washed again over
our track. But I took it for granted that news of our arrival on the
_tasam_ would penetrate to Gyangtse both officially and through reports,
and would then be made known everywhere. Such, however, was not the
case, and after we left the _tasam_ our fate was buried in the same
complete silence as before.
"No, Hedin Sahib," Dorche Tsuen cried out, "the only way open to you is
the one by which you came from the north."
"I will never travel by that road. It is no use talking about it."
"You must."
"You cannot force me to do so. To begin with, I will not let you know
which way I came, and I travelled in disguise."
"It does not matter. It is very well known that you came from the
Samye-la and the Kinchen-la. Beyond that the escort I shall send with
you will ask the way from tent to tent."
"The nomads will answer that they have seen no Ladakis, for fear of
being punished."
"I shall find means of making them confess more than you think."
"You can kill me if you like, but you shall never force me to travel
over the Samye-la. Remember that I am a European and a friend of the
Tashi Lama. You may lose your button."
Much disturbed, Dorche Tsuen conferred in whispers with Ngavang.
[Illustration: 343. THE AUTHOR IN TIBETAN DRESS.
From a photograph by the Rev. Mr. Marx, in Poo.]
"I will give way so far for your sake that I will allow you to return to
Ladak by the same road you followed last year, through Tradum,
Tuksum, Shamsang, Parka, and Gartok."
That was the very solution I most feared. If there were any road in all
Tibet that I wished to avoid at any cost it was the road to Ladak. I
answered:
"Never! Not a step on the great high-road to Ladak!"
"But why? You ought to be thankful for so great a concession."
"It is forbidden by the laws of my country for a man to return in his
own footsteps. You can cut my throat, but you will not force me to do
anything of the sort."
"You must have strange laws in your country. May I hear which way you
really wish to take?"
"I have already said through Gyangtse. You refused and I understand your
motive. You have urged me to go back to the north. Even in this respect
I will conform to your wishes, but only on the condition that I am not
obliged to retrace my steps. I will go over another pass east of the
Samye-la and northwards to the Teri-nam-tso and then westwards by the
shortest way out of Tibet."
"That is not to be thought of. But let us take the matter quietly. Will
you agree to accompany me to Kamba Tsenam's tent, four days' journey
from here? You have been there already, and before we reach it we shall
have come to some understanding."
"Yes, willingly."
Opposition spurred me on. It now became a point of honour to win a new
game of chess. My position was very strong. The _tasam_ was eliminated.
If I could only cross the Trans-Himalaya by a more easterly pass, I
should by some ruse or other gain the Teri-nam-tso, Mendong-gompa, the
lower Buptsang-tsangpo, the Tarok-tso, Selipuk, and an eighth
Trans-Himalayan pass. Yes, now I must, if ever, play my cards well. I
still felt young and strong. The political entanglement which
encompassed me on all sides in Tibet rendered it difficult for me to
make geographical discoveries, but it stimulated my ambition. Therefore
I remember with particular warmth and sympathy all those who, in virtue
of their temporary power in the world, sought to raise obstacles in my
way.
We then talked on various subjects. He wished to see our weapons, and
asked if he could buy a revolver. "No; you shall have it as a present,
cartridges and all, if you will let me go the way I have proposed."
"H'm!"
"You must procure us all the provisions we need for two months, besides
new shoes, clothing, tobacco, horses, mules, yaks."
"With pleasure; make out a list of all you want."
It was done at once. Meal, _tsamba_, tea, sugar, Japanese cigarettes,
which were said to be procurable--all was to be brought from Tsongka,
whither mounted men were sent the same day across the Tsangpo and over
the Nevu-la. Everything was to be in our tents in a week. The rest could
be obtained from Saka-dzong. In the evening I paid an equally long
return visit to my valiant friend Pun Dorche Tsuen, and at night I
consigned my letter to Lien Darin to the flames. Ah no! no Chinese
interference in Tibeto-Swedish affairs.
On the 28th we remained quiet and visited one another by the hour
together. The two governors sat on benches fastened to the wall, Rindor
and Oang Gye on mats on the floor, and all four played at dice. The two
dice were shaken in a wooden bowl, and turned out on to a round piece of
skin. The markers were small Indian snailshells. Then they played with
Chinese dominoes. Meanwhile they drank tea, smoked pipes, sang, joked,
laughed, and moved the bricks with wonderful and graceful dexterity.
Ngavang won ten _tengas_ and was greatly elated. In this way they pass
the time when the day's work is done. Rindor is the Governor's private
secretary, and on a bench and a table lay piles of documents and
letters, written on coarse Chinese paper, and folded up one on another.
The Governor's correspondence now comes to Semoku, and his daily work
must run its course. His province, Saka, is very extensive, and he
states with some pride that his power stretches to Sangsang in the east,
to the Nevu-la in the south, to the Marium-la in the west, and
northwards some days' journey beyond Kamba Tsenam's tent.
[Illustration: 344, 345. SOLDIERS OF THE GARRISON OF SAKA-DZONG,
BELONGING TO OUR ESCORT.]
[Illustration: 346. ARMED TIBETAN FROM THE COUNTRY BETWEEN THE
TERI-NAM-TSO AND THE DANGRA-YUM-TSO.]
[Illustration: 347. BOY WITH SMALL GUN ON THE SOUTHERN SHORE OF THE
TERI-NAM-TSO.]
The illustrious gentlemen were much amused with my costume. "You are
a Sahib," they said; "you were for six weeks the guest of the Tashi
Lama; you employ one caravan after another, and leave a quantity of
money behind you, and yet are dressed more shabbily than any of your
servants."
At night their horses and mules were driven to the station-house by
soldiers, and we ought to have taken the same precaution, for our horses
were attacked by wolves. The brown horse we had bought two weeks before
for 100 rupees had his two right feet tied together lest he should run
away, and the wolves directed their attack on him, as he could not
escape, ate him up, and took the head off with them. At any rate it was
missing in the morning from the skeleton, which was pretty closely
stripped.
On April 29 we rode together on the road down the Semoku valley, which
runs to the upper Brahmaputra (Illust. 335). This we left on the left
hand, as well as the _tasam_, and ascended a valley where the little
village of Ushy with its stone huts and barley fields is situated. The
150 inhabitants are at home only at seedtime and harvest; the rest of
the year they are away, tending their sheep. Thence we proceeded the
following day to the pass Ushy-la. The way is marked by a succession of
_mani_ heaps and _chhortens_, and the pass by rods so thin as to be
invisible at a distance, and the streamers they carry look like a flock
of tied birds. A little farther to the north-west we crossed the pass
Gye-la, where Chomo-uchong makes a fine display, and soon after we were
on the main pass of the same name (16,135 feet). From a hill near, the
eye can sweep over all the horizon, the peaks and glaciers of the
Himalayas, Chomo-uchong, and close at hand to the south-south-east the
Brahmaputra valley with the river meandering in several arms. We
encamped on the bank of the Sachu-tsangpo, which flows into the
Chaktak-tsangpo west of Saka-dzong. Here also lies a votive block of a
hard green rock, covered with offerings, bits of butter, and streamers.
The 1st of May was celebrated by a march over the Lamlung-la, a
difficult pass, on the saddle of which, 16,791 feet high, the traveller
is again rewarded by a magnificent view over this complicated sea of
mountains. From here Chomo-uchong's seven summits appear in a compact
group; the central one is of a regular conical shape and is pure white
all over; the others consist chiefly of black cliffs and projections,
from among which issue small blue-tinged glaciers. The length of the
massive corresponds to that of Lunpo-gangri, of which it is a
continuation.
In the Namchen valley our united camp formed quite a little village, for
all the chiefs of the country were convened to a consultation. And here
it was that Rindor and Pemba Tsering joined us with all the goods we had
ordered from Saka-dzong. We stayed here two days. The weather was raw
and chilly, and the temperature constantly fell to 8.2°. There was no
spring as yet. But the wild-geese were on their migration, and when
Tubges once shot a gander at a neighbouring brook, Oang Gye came to
complain to me. He was quite overcome at this brutal murder, and could
not conceive how my servant could be so heartless and cruel.
"You are right," I answered; "I am myself sorry for the wild-geese. But
you must remember that we are travellers, and dependent for our
livelihood on what the country yields. Often the chase and fishing are
our only resources."
"In this district you have plenty of sheep."
"Is it not just as wrong to kill sheep and eat their flesh?"
"No!" he exclaimed, with passionate decision; "that is quite another
matter. You surely will not compare sheep to wild-geese. There is as
much difference between them as between sheep and human beings. For,
like human beings, the wild-geese marry and have families. And if you
sever such a union by a thoughtless shot, you cause sorrow and misery.
The goose which has just been bereaved of her mate will seek him
fruitlessly by day and night, and will never leave the place where he
has been murdered. Her life will be empty and forlorn, and she will
never enter upon a new union, but will remain a widow, and will soon
die of grief. A woman cannot mourn more deeply than she will, and the
man who has caused such sorrow draws down a punishment on himself."
The excellent Oang Gye was quite inconsolable. We might shoot antelopes,
wild sheep, and partridges as much as ever, if only we left the
wild-geese in peace. I had heard in the Lob country similar tales of the
sorrow of the swans when their union was dissolved by death. It was
moving to witness Oang Gye's tenderness and great sympathy for the
wild-geese, and I felt the deepest respect for him. Many a noble and
sensitive heart beats in the cold and desolate valleys of Tibet.