SOME JOURNEYS IN BHUTAN 



445 



with sheaths of exquisite open silver and 

 gold work set with turquoise. 



Every house of any importance has 

 large workrooms attached in which weav- 

 ing is carried on, and the stuffs produced, 

 consisting of silks for the chiefs' dress, 

 woolen and cotton goods, are excellent; 

 and a good deal of embroidery is also 

 done. 



The monasteries possess an art which, 

 so far as I know, is peculiar to Bhutan. 

 They make most beautiful needlework 

 pictures of the saints on hanging banners. 

 Innumerable pieces of colored silks and 

 brocades are applied in a most artistic 

 manner with elaborate stitches of all 

 kinds. Many of them are veritable works 

 of art (see pages 406-407). 



Another industry in which the Bhu- 

 tanese excel is basket-work and fine mat- 

 ting, made from split cane. The baskets 

 are beautifully woven of very finely split 

 cane and some of the lengths are colored 

 to form a pattern. They are made in 

 two circular pieces, rounded top and bot- 

 tom, and the two pieces fit so closely and 

 well that they can be used to carry water. 

 They are from 6 to 15 inches in diameter, 

 and the Bhutanese use them principally 

 to carry cooked rice and food. They also 

 make much larger and stronger baskets, 

 very much in the shape of a mule-pan- 

 nier, and these are used in a similar way 

 for pack animals. 



The mats are also very finely woven of 

 the same material, with a certain amount 

 of the split cane dyed to form patterns. 

 They are delightfully fine and soft, so 

 flexible they can be rolled up into quite a 

 small space and very durable, and can be 

 got in almost any size up to about 16 

 feet square, and even larger if they are 

 required. 



Possibly the excellence of the work 

 produced in Bhutan owes much to the 

 feudal system which still prevails there. 

 Each penlop and jongpen has his own 

 workmen among his retainers, men who 

 are not paid by the piece and are not 

 obliged either to work up to time or to 

 work if the spirit is not in them, and con- 

 sequently they put their souls into what 

 they do, with the result that some pieces 

 of splendid individuality and excellent 

 finish are still made. No two pieces are 



ever quite alike, and each workman leaves 

 his impress on his work. 



The suspension bridges in Bhutan are 

 very interesting and merit description. 

 They consist of four or five chains of 

 wrought iron made of welded links, each 

 15 to 18 inches in length. The three 

 lower chains are tightened up to one 

 level, and on them a bamboo or plank 

 roadway is placed. The remaining chains, 

 hanging higher up and further apart, act 

 as side supports, and between them and 

 the roadway there is generally a lattice- 

 work of bamboo, or sometimes grass, in 

 order that animals crossing may not put 

 their legs over the side. The roadway is 

 never more than three or four feet wide. 



Many of the chains on these bridges 

 are extremely old — many hundreds of 

 years — and appear to be of Chinese work- 

 manship. The links are in excellent 

 order and very little pitted with rust. 

 The other and newer chain bridges have 

 been made in Bhutan. 



I should have liked to stay longer in 

 Bhutan, but I could spare no more time 

 and was obliged to turn my face home- 

 ward and take leave of my most charm- 

 ing and entertaining hosts, which I did 

 with great reluctance. 



MAGNIFICENT GORGES 



On the homeward journey we went 

 north from Tashi-cho-jong, traveling up 

 the magnificent gorges of the Tchin-chu, 

 passing the monasteries of Perugri- 

 sampti-guatsa and Tango to the higher 

 grazing grounds. 



The gorge of the Tchin-chu is bor- 

 dered by stupendous cliffs of most weird 

 shapes, among which El Capitano, of the 

 Yosemite Valley, would be dwarfed by 

 the lowest of these monsters. These cliffs 

 appeared to be formed by horizontal 

 strata of sedimentary rocks, consisting of 

 layers of limestone, sandstone, slate or 

 shale of a dark-blue color and quartzites. 

 The towering rocks were cleft in number- 

 less places from top to bottom, leaving 

 narrow slits or fissures, which I was told 

 were often more than a mile long. One 

 which I photographed extends for more 

 than two miles before it opens out in a 

 beautiful basin, and forms one of the 

 Thimbu's best grazing stations. 



