368 COURSE AND LEVELS 



difficult route leading to or from Chinese Tartary, it would add facilities 

 to the little trade these people have, were it repaired. We were not suffi- 

 ciently near to speak positively as to its state, 



Dabling is more decidedly Tartar than either Murang or Nissang, The 

 head-man, a Lama, came to pay his respects to us in a dress exactly similar 

 to what is represented as the Chinese costume, his stockings were of woollen 

 stuff, sewed, and ought rather from their shape, or want of shape, to have been 

 called bags ; his shoes were exactly Chinese, the soles having a spherical 

 shape. He wore also a Chinese skull cap, but the other people in the vil- 

 lage went bare-headed, and wore long tails plaited. They were all rather 

 fair, particularly the women who had a fine rosy colour. We were very 

 much pleased with the appearance of the assembled village, and could 

 hardly help thinking we had got on the high road to Fekin. The name of 

 this old man was Lama Ring Jing; he was a good humoured talkative man; 

 and, as he was a traveller, we endeavoured to get some information from him ; 

 he shewed us a letter written in the Sirma character, from the grand Lama, 

 sending him a sum of money to build temples, which he called Lahrang. He 

 also shewed us a book in the Umma or printed character, in which were a 

 great number of paintings of their deities, &c. neatly executed, but without 

 any idea of perspective or keeping. The book consisted of thick leaves 

 iiot sewed together; the ground or colour of the leaf was blue, while the letters 

 were yellow ; I was very anxious to obtain possession of it but 1 found no 

 sum of money would tempt him to part with it : he told us he had been in 

 the practice of visiting Chaprang every year for byangi, wool, &c. The 

 journey occupies nine days, or if a horseman travels, five. Under Chaprang 

 flows the Setlej, which the Kanawaris call Zangti, the Tartars Lang Jing 

 Kunpa or Kumpa, the latter word signifying river: it js not fordable even at 

 Chaprang ; indeed little falling off can be perceived from its size here. It is 

 crossed by a bridge of chains. From Chaprang, Teshu Lumbu is three 

 months journey: Mansarovar is eighteen (days journey from Shipki, a place 

 two stages a-head, and the boundary of our mountain possessions, a horse* 



