HOME-LIFE OF THE THIBETANS. 113 



the Rome of the Buddhist religion of the present day, and upon the 

 miscalled " Lama " priesthood is bestowed the undeserved reputation 

 of much learning and the possession of the secrets of ancient mystical 

 and occult science. While tempted to consider the Thibetans from a 

 European stand-point as, if not effete, at all events a semi-barbarous 

 people, it only requires a moment's consideration of the striking fact 

 that, notwithstanding its thousands of miles of frontier, no European 

 can now evade their frontier-guards at any point along those thousands 

 of miles, for it to become apparent that a country with a government 

 which can organize and maintain such a marvelous and efficient system 

 can hardly in reason be called effete. Effete it certainly is not ; and 

 yet, strange to say, notwithstanding this apparent evidence of its 

 power, there is probably no country in the world of equal size which 

 contains within itself such real weakness from a political point of view, 

 and which could be so easily made a prey of by a designing neighbor. 

 To arrive at that conclusion it is necessary to thoroughly understand 

 the internal economy of that strange country, and so little is known 

 concerning its people that no apology is necessary for entering into 

 such minute details as space will admit of in this glance at its people 

 and their habits, customs, government, and religious system. 



To begin, and in order to familiarize the reader with the surround- 

 ings and conditions of life of the people under description, let us pict- 

 ure a typical Thibetan house. 



The outside walls are generally of stone, set in a very inferior kind 

 of mortar, but oftener in a bedding of puddled mud. When clay is 

 available the builders much prefer to have only the foundations of 

 stone and the walls above-ground of well-prepared clay, which latter 

 they build up between plank molds. These are removed as each layer 

 is finished, and then raised to act as molds for the next layer. 



The houses have two stories, and frequently there is a shed along 

 one side of the roof, in which the inhabitants work when the sun is 

 oppressive. A great part of their work is done on the flat roof, such 

 as thrashing grain, etc. The ground-floor is devoted to the cattle — 

 horses and pigs, etc. The fowls usually roost with the family on the 

 first floor. The construction of the floor of the upper story is suffi- 

 ciently curious. Its main supports are cross-beams ; on these smaller 

 beams are placed at right angles, on which are laid slabs of wood ; on 

 these again are laid small twigs like broom, and then a coating of mud 

 plaster is spread, on which the planks are finally placed. A hole is 

 left in this floor for their primitive ladder (a piece of wood with 

 notches cut in it), up through which hole ascend all the effluvia from 

 the animals below ! 



There is only one door for the whole house. In front of this door 

 there is generally a court-yard surrounded by walls. All the manure 

 and refuse is allowed to remain in situ under the house, and in the 

 court, all the year through, till shortly before the season for manuring 



VOL. XXTIII. — 8 



