TIBETAN DOGS 148 
He was much put out before leaving because some of 
his men had not come in, though he had been nearly 
three weeks, I think, waiting for them. Among the 
things that they were bringing were two Tibetan dogs, 
one of which he made a present to me, if they should ever 
arrive. Seven days after he left the men came in with 
along tale of misfortunes to relate. The lamas, they 
said, had treated them very badly. They refused to 
supply them with fodder for their horses, and conse- 
quently they had lost some from starvation. They 
were then bound hand and foot for ten days, while the 
lamas sent to Cheng-tu for orders about them. When 
their messenger returned he brought directions for 
their liberation. All this trouble was caused by their 
travelling without passports. They brought the dogs 
safely, however, and I much regret that I was unable 
to bring either home, the female dying at Hankow and 
the male in the Mediterranean. The latter was an 
enormous beast, the largest dog I have ever seen, with 
a black shaggy coat and tan-coloured legs. He had a 
broad muzzle, and was very powerful and fierce. This 
breed is peculiar to a province or district called Deggi, 
and even the local king at Ta-tsien-lu has to send there 
for them if he wants them pure. The female was 
smaller, with a smooth coat, but of the same colour, 
black and tan. She was a Sifan dog, and not so savage 
