CHAPTER I_An Explorer's Adventures in Tibet

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AN EXPLORER'S ADVENTURES IN TIBET

[Illustration]

[Illustration: THE AUTHOR, FEBRUARY, 1897]

[Illustration: THE AUTHOR, OCTOBER, 1897]

AN EXPLORER'S ADVENTURES IN TIBET

A. HENRY SAVAGE LANDOR

Author of

"In the Forbidden Land"

"The Gems of the East"

etc. etc.

With Illustrations by the Author

Harper & Brothers Publishers

New York and London

MCMX

Published April, 1910.

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

PREFACE vii

I. A FORBIDDEN COUNTRY 1

II. AN UNKNOWN PASS 10

III. A NARROW ESCAPE 20

IV. WATCHED BY SPIES 29

V. WARNED BACK BY SOLDIERS 37

VI. ENCOUNTER WITH A HIGH TIBETAN OFFICIAL 47

VII. AN EXCITING NIGHT JOURNEY 58

VIII. HUNGRY FUGITIVES 67

IX. AN ATTEMPT AT MUTINY 79

X. AMONG ENEMIES AND ROBBERS 90

XI. IN STRANGE COMPANY 102

XII. AMONG THE LAMAS 113

XIII. LIFE IN THE MONASTERIES 126

XIV. ANOTHER DISASTER 136

XV. FOLLOWED BY TIBETAN SOLDIERS 150

XVI. FIRST WHITE MAN IN THE SACRED PROVINCE 163

XVII. DISASTER AT THE RIVER 176

XVIII. CAPTURED 191

XIX. THREATS OF DEATH 203

XX. A TERRIBLE RIDE 210

XXI. THE EXECUTIONER 220

XXII. A CHARMED LIFE 233

XXIII. LED TO THE FRONTIER 245

XXIV. WITH FRIENDS AT LAST 257

APPENDIX 267

ILLUSTRATIONS

THE AUTHOR _Frontispiece_

INVOLUNTARY TOBOGGANING _Facing p._ 10

AT NIGHT I LED MY MEN UP THE MOUNTAIN IN A

FIERCE SNOW-STORM " 64

BEHIND OUR BULWARKS " 76

THE BANDITS LAID DOWN THEIR ARMS " 102

A NATURAL CASTLE " 136

CAMP WITH GIGANTIC INSCRIPTIONS " 142

TORRENTIAL RAIN " 150

TIBETAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN " 174

PURCHASING PONIES " 192

I WAS A PRISONER " 194

DRAGGED INTO THE SETTLEMENT " 196

CHANDEN SING BEING FLOGGED " 202

THE RIDE ON A SPIKED SADDLE " 218

WE ATTACKED OUR GUARD WITH STONES " 254

CLIFF HABITATIONS " 262

PREFACE

This book deals chiefly with the author's adventures during a journey

taken in Tibet in 1897, when that country, owing to religious

fanaticism, was closed to strangers. For the scientific results of the

expedition, for the detailed description of the customs, manners, etc.,

of the people, the larger work, entitled _In the Forbidden Land_ (Harper

& Brothers, publishers), by the same author, should be consulted.

During that journey of exploration the author made many important

geographical discoveries, among which may be mentioned:

(_a_) The discovery of the two principal sources of the Great

Brahmaputra River, one of the four largest rivers in the world.

(_b_) The ascertaining that a high range of mountains existed north of

the Himahlyas, but with no such great elevations as the highest of the

Himahlyan range.

(_c_) The settlement of the geographical controversy regarding the

supposed connection between the Sacred (Mansarowar) and the Devil's

(Rakastal) lakes.

(_d_) The discovery of the real sources of the Sutlej River.

In writing geographical names the author has given the names their true

sounds as locally pronounced, and has made no exception even for the

poetic word "Himahlya" (the abode of snow), which in English is usually

misspelt and distorted into the meaningless Himalaya.

All bearings of the compass given in this book are magnetic. Temperature

observations were registered with Fahrenheit thermometers.

A. H. S. L.

AN EXPLORER'S ADVENTURES

IN TIBET

AN EXPLORER'S

ADVENTURES IN TIBET

CHAPTER I

A FORBIDDEN COUNTRY

Tibet was a forbidden land. That is why I went there.

This strange country, cold and barren, lies on a high tableland in the

heart of Asia. The average height of this desolate tableland--some

15,000 feet above sea-level--is higher than the highest mountains of

Europe. People are right when they call it the "roof of the world."

Nothing, or next to nothing, grows on that high plateau, except poor

shrubs and grass in the lower valleys. The natives live on food imported

from neighboring countries. They obtain this by giving in exchange wool,

borax, iron, and gold.

High mountain ranges bound the Tibetan plateau on all sides. The highest

is the Himahlya range to the south, the loftiest mountain range on

earth. From the south it is only possible to enter Tibet with an

expedition in summer, when the mountain passes are not entirely blocked

by snow.

At the time of my visit the law of Tibet was that no stranger should be

allowed to enter the country. The Tibetan frontier was closely guarded

by soldiers.

A few expeditions had travelled in the northern part of Tibet, as the

country was there practically uninhabited. They had met with no one to

oppose their march save, perhaps, a few miserable nomads. No one, since

Tibet became a forbidden country to strangers, had been able to

penetrate in the Province of Lhassa--the only province of Tibet with a

comparatively thick population. It was this province, the most forbidden

of all that forbidden land, that I intended to explore and survey. I

succeeded in my object, although I came very near paying with my life

for my wish to be of use to science and my fellow-creatures.

With the best equipment that money could buy for scientific work, I

started for the Tibetan frontier in 1897. From Bombay, in India, I

travelled north to the end of the railway, at Kathgodam, and then by

carts and horses to Naini Tal. At this little hill-station on the lower

Himahlyas, in the north-west Province of India, I prepared my

expedition, resolved to force my way in the Unknown Land.

Naini Tal is 6407 feet above the level of the sea. From this point all

my loads had to be carried on the backs of coolies or porters.

Therefore, each load must not exceed fifty pounds in weight. I packed

instruments, negatives, and articles liable to get damaged in cases of

my own manufacture, specially designed for rough usage. A set of four

such cases of well-seasoned deal wood, carefully joined and fitted,

zinc-lined and soaked in a special preparation by which they were

rendered water and air tight, could be made useful in many ways. Taken

separately, they could be used as seats. Four placed in a row, answered

the purpose of a bedstead. Three could be used as seat and table. The

combination of four, used in a certain manner, made a punt, or boat, of

quick, solid, and easy construction, with which an unfordable river

could be crossed, or for taking soundings in the still waters of

unexplored lakes. The cases could be used as tanks for photographic

work. In case of emergency they might serve even as water-casks for

carrying water in regions where it was not to be found. Each of these

boxes, packed, was exactly a coolie load, or else in sets of two they

could be slung over a pack-saddle by means of straps with rings.

My provisions had been specially prepared for me, and were suited to the

severe climate and the high elevations I should find myself in. The

preserved meats contained a vast amount of fat and carbonaceous, or

heat-making food, as well as elements easily digestible and calculated

to maintain one's strength in moments of unusual stress. I carried a

.256 Mannlicher rifle, a Martini-Henry, and 1000 cartridges duly packed

in a water-tight case. I also had a revolver with 500 cartridges, a

number of hunting-knives, skinning implements, wire traps of several

sizes for capturing small mammals, butterfly-nets, bottles for

preserving reptiles in alcohol, insect-killing bottles (cyanide of

potassium), a quantity of arsenical soap, bone nippers, scalpels, and

all other accessories necessary for the collection of natural-history

specimens. There were in my outfit three sets of photographic cameras,

and a dozen dry plates, as well as all adjuncts for the developing,

fixing, printing, etc., of the negatives. I had two complete sets of

instruments for astronomical observations and for use in surveying. One

set had been given to me by the Royal Geographical Society of London.

The other was my own. Each set consisted of the following instruments. A

six-inch sextant. The hypsometrical apparatus, a device used for

measuring heights by means of boiling-point thermometers, which had been

specially constructed for work at great elevations. It is well known

that the higher one goes, the lower is the temperature at which water

boils. By measuring the temperature of boiling water and at the same

time the temperature of the atmosphere at any high point on a mountain,

and working out a computation in relation to the boiling-point

temperature of a given place on the sea-level, one can obtain with

accuracy the difference in height between the two points.

Two aneroid barometers were also carried, which were specially made for

me--one registering heights to 20,000 feet, the other to 25,000 feet.

Although I used these aneroids principally for differential heights

along my route, as aneroids cannot always be relied upon for great

accuracy, I found on checking these particular instruments with the

boiling-point thermometers that they were always extremely accurate.

This was, however, exceptional, and it would not do for any one to rely

on aneroids alone for the exact measurement of mountain heights. There

were in my outfit three artificial horizons--one with mercury, the

others constructed with a plate glass. The latter had a special

arrangement by which they could be levelled to a nicety. I found that

for taking observations for latitude and longitude by the sun the

mercury horizon was satisfactory, but when occultations had to be taken

at night the plate-glass horizons were easier to work, and gave a more

clearly defined reflection of stars and planets in such a bitterly cold

climate as Tibet, where astronomical observations were always taken

under great difficulty. The most useful instrument I carried on that

expedition was a powerful telescope with astronomical eyepiece.

Necessarily, I carried a great many compasses, which included prismatic,

luminous, floating, and pocket compasses. Maximum and minimum

thermometers were taken along to keep a record of the daily temperature,

and I also took with me a box of drawing and painting materials, as well

as all kinds of instruments for map-making, such as protractors,

parallel rules, tape rules, section paper, note-books, etc. I had

water-tight half-chronometer watches keeping Greenwich mean time, and

three other watches. In order to work out on the spot my observations

for latitude and longitude, I had with me such books as _Raper's

Navigation_ and the _Nautical Almanac_ for the years 1897 and 1898, in

which all the necessary tables for the computations were to be found.

I was provided with a light mountain tent, usually called a _tente

d'abri_; it was seven feet long, four feet wide, and three feet high; it

weighed four pounds. All I needed in the way of bedding was one

camel's-hair blanket. My clothing was reduced to a minimum. My head-gear

was a mere straw hat, which was unfortunately destroyed at the beginning

of my journey, so that I went most of the time with my head uncovered or

else wore a small cap. I wore medium thick shoes without nails, and

never carried a stick. It was largely due to the simplicity of my

personal equipment that I was able to travel with great speed often

under trying circumstances. Although the preparations for my expedition

cost me several thousand dollars, I spent little money on medicines for

myself and my men; in fact, all they cost me was sixty-two cents (two

shillings and sixpence). I am firm in the belief that any healthy man

living naturally under natural conditions, and giving himself plenty of

exercise, can be helped very little by drugs.

I started from Naini Tal and rode to Almora (5510 feet above sea-level),

the last hill-station toward the Tibetan frontier where I expected to

find European residents. At this place I endeavored to obtain plucky,

honest, wiry, healthy servants who would be ready, for the sake of a

good salary and a handsome reward, to brave the many discomforts,

hardships, and perils my expedition into Tibet was likely to involve.

Scores of servants presented themselves. Each one produced a certificate

with praises unbounded of all possible virtues that a servant could

possess. Each certificate was duly ornamented with the signature of some

Anglo-Indian officer--either a governor, a general, a captain, or a

deputy commissioner. What struck me mostly was that bearers of these

testimonials seemed sadly neglected by those who had been so

enthusiastically pleased with their services. They all began by begging,

or else asked, for a loan of rupees in order to buy food, clothes, and

support the dear ones they would be leaving behind.

I was sitting one day in the post resting-house when an odd creature

came to offer his services. "Where are your certificates?" I asked.

"_Sahib, hum 'certificates' ne hai_" (Sir, I have no certificates).

I employed him at once. His facial lines showed much more character than

I had noticed in the features of other local natives. That was quite

sufficient for me. I am a great believer in physiognomy and first

impressions, which are to me more than any certificate in the world. I

have so far never been mistaken.

My new servant's dress was peculiar. His head was wrapped in a white

turban. From under a short waistcoat there appeared a gaudy yellow and

black flannel shirt, which hung outside his trousers instead of being

tucked in them. He had no shoes, and carried in his right hand an old

cricket-stump, with which he "presented arms" every time I came in or

went out of the room. His name was Chanden Sing. He was not a skilful

valet. For instance, one day I found him polishing my shoes with my best

hair-brushes. When opening soda-water bottles he generally managed to

give you a spray bath, and invariably hit you in the face with the

flying cork. It was owing to one of these accidents that Chanden Sing,

having hurt my eye badly, was one day flung bodily out of the door.

Later--as I had no more soda water left--I forgave him, and allowed him

to return. It was this man who turned out to be the one plucky man among

all my followers. It was he who stood by me through thick and thin

during our trials in Tibet.

From Almora up to what is usually called Bhot (the country upon the

Himahlya slopes on the British side of the frontier) our journey was

through fairly well-known districts; therefore, I shall not dwell on the

first portion of our route. I had some thirty carriers with me. We

proceeded up and down, through thick forests of pine and fir trees, on

the sides of successive mountain ranges.

We went through the ancient Gourkha town of Pithoragarh, with its old

fort. Several days later I visited the old Rajah of Askote, one of the

finest princes Northern India then possessed. I went to see the Raots, a

strange race of savages living, secluded from everybody, in the forest.

In a work called _In the Forbidden Land_ a detailed description will be

found of my experiences with those strange people, and also of our long

marches through that beautiful region of the lower Himahlyas.

We reached at last a troublesome part of the journey--a place called the

Nerpani, which, translated, means "the waterless trail." Few travellers

had been as far as this point. I shall not speak of the ups and down at

precipitous angles which we found upon the trail, which had been cut

along the almost vertical cliff. Here and there were many sections of

the trail which were built on crowbars thrust horizontally into the

rock. A narrow path had been made by laying over these crowbars large

slabs of stone not particularly firm when you trod over them. As you

went along this shaky path on the side of the precipice the drop down to

the river at the bottom of the cliff was often from 1800 to 2000 feet,

and the path in many places not wider than six inches. In other places

the Nerpani trail consisted of badly put together flights of hundreds of

steps along the face of the cliff.