December 3, 1891] 



NATURE 



99 



Mountains, beyond which they entered the desert of 

 Koko Beileh. Starting from the village of Shang, in 

 Ts'aidam, Mr. Rockhill explored a district which 

 Prjevalsky did not find it convenient to visit. Here he 

 followed the course of the Yohure, on the left bank of 

 which a range of mountains culminates in a peak which 

 Mr. Rockhill estimated to be between 17,000 and i8,ooo 

 feet above sea-level. This peak he called Mount C iroline. 

 The district was everywhere " literally alive with game," 

 yak and wild asses being particularly plentiful. Of the 

 Mongols of Ts'aidam, Hue and Prjevalsky have given 

 very unfavourable accounts. Mr. Rockhill found them 

 honest and hospitable ; and he says they are much more 

 devout Buddhists than the Koko-nor Tibetans. Among 

 the latter, the laity "do not bother themselves about 

 praying, thinking that they pay the lamas quite enough 

 to do all that is necessary for their good," whereas the 

 Ts'aidam Mongols "are continually mumbling prayers, 

 twirling prayer-wheels, or perhaps doing both at the same 

 time." At Shang a pole supporting two prayer-wheels 

 Avas attached "to the roof of nearly every house. The 

 wheels were put in motion by the wind, which was caught 

 by a simple arrangement of wooden cups fixed on. the 

 ends of horizontal sticks, and looking 'like our anemo- 

 meters. 



From Ts'aidam the party entered North-Eastern Tibet, 

 and here they'traversed for the most part a bleak country 

 until they were some way beyond Jy^kundo. The 

 country between the range to the south of Alang-nor and 

 the source of the Yellow River has an average altitude of 

 about 14,500 feet ; and at this height the horses and dogs 

 soon showed signs of great fatigue. "We felt no brighter 

 than the animals," says Mr. Rockhill ; " our clothes 

 seemed to weigh tons, our guns loaded us down, and 

 walking, even on the level, was such a violent effort 

 that perspiration poured down our faces." They were 

 repeatedly warned that it would be impossible for them 

 to cross the Drd Ch'u or upper Yang-tzu Kiang. The 

 passage, however, was effected without serious difficulty. 

 At the point where they first saw it, the river was of a 

 l^eautiful blue colour. It was about 120 yards wide and 

 20 feet deep, and flowed swiftly between high, bare, 

 reddish mountains. South of the Drd Ch'u they crossed 

 the Zonyik Valley (altitude, 16,300 feet), at the head of 

 which they saw twelve argali, a kind of sheep which is 

 said to be not uncommon in the wilder gorges along 

 the river. The snow was so deep, and any exertion so 

 exhausting, that Mr. Rockhill did not try to get a shot at 

 them. Beyond this valley the party came to Taglung-la, 

 (altitude, 16,650 feet), the highest pass crossed in the 

 course of the whole journey. 



Jydkundo proved to be a pretty place, nestling at the foot 

 of a high, steep hill crowned with the brightly coloured 

 walls of a lamasery. After the fatigues the party had 

 undergone, Mr. Rockhill wished very much to spend a 

 week or two at this village ; but the abbot of the 

 lamasery, who was the chief of the district, was so 

 bitterly hostile that-they had to depart in haste. During 

 the first day's journey beyond this point the country 

 remained bare and bleak ; but when, on the following day, 

 they entered the Dren-kou valley, which leads down to the 

 Drd Ch'u, the scenery " changed as if by magic." They 

 found themselves in a fertile and picturesque glen, where 

 NO. I 153. VOL. 45] 



juniper and pine trees grew on the mountains, while by the 

 roadside were plum, gooseberry, honeysuckle, and other 

 shrubs, the fragrance of their blossoms filling the air. A 

 brook flowed between banks covered with soft green grass 

 " powdered over with little white and pink flowers.'' 

 During the remainder of the journey Mr. Rockhill was 

 often troubled by the lamas, but in other respects his diffi- 

 culties were less formidable. The route passed through 

 many villages, and he often has occasion to express 

 admiration for the charm of the scenery. Advancing in a 

 south-easterly direction, he came to Ddrg^, the richest 

 agricultural and manufacturing region of Eastern Tibet, 

 and the most densely populated. It is especially famous 

 for the excellence of its metal-work. Mr. Rockhill spent 

 some days at Kanzd, the chief city of the Horba country, 

 the inhabitants of which seemed to him the best-looking 

 people he had seen in Tibet. Lu, the Chinese official 

 stationed at Kanzd, warned him that he might encounter 

 serious dangers beyond that city, and insisted on his 

 taking an escort of four Chinese soldiers. Talking of wild 

 tribes to the north of the Horba country, this official 

 assured Mr. Rockhill that men in a state of primitive 

 savagery were found in Tibet. Lu himself had seen a 

 number of wild men who had been driven out of woods 

 by a forest-fire on the flank of Mount Ka-lo, east of 

 Kanzd. " They were very hairy, their language was 

 incomprehensible to Tibetans, and they wore most 

 primitive garments made of skins. He took them to 

 belong to the same race as the Golok, of whom many 

 lived in caves in a condition of profound savagery." 

 From Jydkundo to Dawo, Mr. Rockhill followed the 

 route which had been taken by Pundit A— K — , or 

 Krishna, in 1 882 ; but from Dawo to Ta-chien-lu he chose 

 a different way, and thus had an opportunity of studying 

 a new section of country, which he carefully describes. 

 At Ta-chien-lu, his travels, so far as Tibet was con- 

 cerned, came to an end. He had still before him, how- 

 ever, a long journey in China, and of the more striking 

 part of it he gives an excellent account, presenting with 

 special vigour the incidents of a trip down the Yang-tzu 

 Kiang, which had "just enough of danger in it to give it 

 zest." 



Mr. Rockhill writes simply and clearly, and geo- 

 graphers will read with interest all he has to say of the 

 more remote regions through which he passed. His 

 remarks on the people are not less valuable. It is stated 

 by Chinese writers of authority that for every family in 

 Tibet there are three lamas, and Mr. Rockhill does not 

 believe that this is an exaggerated estimate. From 

 Jydkundo to Ta-chien-lu, a distance of about 600 miles, he 

 passed forty 1 amaseries, in the smallest of which there 

 were 100 monks, and in five of them from 2000 to 

 4000. Their landed property is in many cases enormous, 

 and their serfs and bondsmen swarm. There are four 

 lamaist sects, called by the Chinese, yellow, red, black, 

 and white lamas ; but the laity do not attribute much 

 importance to the difierences between them. In Eastern 

 Tibet there is also a creed known as " Bon." It repre- 

 sents the pre- Buddhist Shamanism of the country. The 

 " Bonbo " are held in great scorn by the lamas ; but as 

 their charge for " beating the drum " is exceptionally low, 

 they are readily invited to the houses of the common 

 people for religious services. 



