THE FEAST 303 



this present, for the kindness shown to his father (another 

 of the same party) in trouble. These little attentions 

 were very gratifying, and showed the simple villagers in a 

 very agreeable light indeed. 



The Panb(5h and his followers had their feast, and 

 drinking and singing were carried on till the sun dis- 

 appeared behind the hills. Most of the men then 

 departed happy, but steady. Chhang, in fact, is very 

 weak stuff, and an enormous quantity must be imbibed 

 before anything like intoxication supervenes. Tibetans 

 have an unfathomable capacity for it, and can generally 

 achieve drunkenness when the supply is unlimited. The 

 Panboh gave me a final warning before he started, — that 

 if I attempted to go by any other route but the one 

 agreed upon, there would be trouble. The true story of 

 the Garhwalis' adventure was told me by the Panboh. It 

 was their intention to force their way into the interior of 

 Tibet — not merely to the villages of Zarang, etc. — and deal 

 direct with the traders of that part of the country. This 

 was a very bold adventure indeed, and indicates a spirit 

 like an Englishman's. But even these men, well known 

 to the Tibetans as they were, could not manage to get 

 much beyond the frontier, and were very roughly used 

 indeed ; they were detained just as strangers would have 

 been, and, when they resisted, their property was seized 

 and they were turned adrift. This action of the Tibetans 

 seemed to prove that the regulation for the exclusion of 

 foreigners is not especially directed against us, but is a 

 part of the general policy of China. That it is not a 

 Tibetan custom I am convinced. These people have often 

 assured me that they would most willingly allow us entry 

 if it rested with them. If the history of China's connection 

 with Tibet is searched, it will be found that this exclusive- 

 ness is maintained by express orders from the Government 



