The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 3, 1904, Page 17

5 l | Pages 171020 | - CALL = Pages 17t020 * SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, JULY 3, 1904. INUASION OF TIBET A GREAT MILITARY FEAT, BUT FRAUGHT IWOE UNKNOWAN TO MODERN WARFARE the English Troops. Hazardous Game Not Worth an EJfort. LONDON, July 2—As & feat in mill- T port Hannibal's famed pass- e Alps Is dwarfed to insignifi- comparison with what has hed by the little British hich, under the guise of a be ical and commercial mission, has he forbidden land of Tibet in Darjeeling, very little expedition has alayas by the most t staircase in the pite obstacles that would ve taxed the ingenuity of an experi- T n goat, forcing its way region of the eternal threading its way gh passes above the clouds and ping ne place sixteen thousand e level, higher up than Blanc, the tallest ope. Mules falled cumbed, yaks perished d, but these indomitable d by Baltie coolies, pushed g with them the guns s where no four-footed 1ld carry them and treading ral passage of this British force led 1 Younghusband into the inaccessible land of dark ery and fateful fascination consti- t nost brilliant and thrilling of military mountaineer- tory records. But for what ? To compel a barbar- , urged by some instinct ser , have passed an sion against all Europeans al and trade rela- ire—to bring them § f British influence. WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE. s to be let alone. And land under the sun re seems to have safeguard- 13 Tibet. Fenced st impenetrable moun- he loftiest on the globe, in extent about eight ain, is by ranging absolutely de- g that clvil- For the most wilderness of e forbidding as It is not trade could inhabitants covet. eeless obligations to that over Tibet of a treaty by of Tibet—Tibet egs—agreed with y Tibet snould be re- w front} market tans paid little heed ey 61C open a new rke the tep of an in- hill—and laughed over their general they continued alone game in the things jogged along The fndian Govern- that the matter was bout. Then it was e=sian agent, Dor- ered that z ff, who being a Mongolian Buddhist subject to the operations of pean exclusion set, had estab- Lk a Lama burg RUSSIAN BEAR AT WORK. t t th. brought that black the Russian bear, into and China were They replied to the mission to St. Peters- TE rely intended to convey t . e assurance of the Daila nguished consideration; s abs tely devoid of politi- and so on. Russian tly construed by the ent as incriminating at that huge jelly not count. Lord India, saw idious and dan- on the Indian at sa. Worse than the sacred Yellow dispatched a mission to issia encroachments quite content,” he said, bet) s remain in the as, but if un- ep up and lodge we are compelled to use danger would there- gre d menace o curity. e to push on anywhere, fler any mputation an unfaithful sentinel the future peace of the coun- compromised by encroach- m cutside which would only mea whole th thing away. disregarding treaty obligations imposed upon it by another power, but for hobnobbing with Russia, Tibet has WITH PERIL AND Terrible Trials of - "TYPICAL ZIPETAN ZAMAS - - > N\, COr. Sougnssminrs vk ol @ NSSIQ QY THE MICCH - o — THE YOUNG ENGLISH OFFICER WHO IS LEADING HIS SOLDIERS INTO TIBET. e RS D I N B O A oo oo - | oo been invaded. At all costs the Grand Lama is to be taught that he cannot say “howdy” to the Czar and keep British emissaries cooling their heels in the snows at the gateways of his territory. Especially when the Russian bear has a big fight on his hands and cannot use his teeth and claws in other directions. It has already cost the lives of several hundred wretched Tibetans. What the end of it will be no one can foresee. tinued exercise of the persuasive pow- ers of guns and bayonets can the Tibe- tans be got to yield obedience to any treaty which disregards their tradi- tional policy of the exclusion of the white race. If a British resident were stationed at Lbhassa to look out for British interests and counteract Rus- slan intrigues he would very soon be Only by the con- —t murdered unless a strong British force were kept there to protect him. So excellent an authority as Sir Henry Cotton, formerly Chief Secretary to the Government of Bengal, declares that a Russian invasion of India through Tibet is a physical impossibility. Sven Hedin, who came near losing his life in an attempt to reach Lhassa, has told of the impenetrable barriers that in- terpose between it and the Russian boundary, which is thrice the distance of the Indian frontier from it. Looked at from a commensense’ standpoint the Tibetan expedition is a big blunder. In view of the slaughter of the natives it has entailed it might be termed some- thing far worse. British newspapers that are now vigorously applauding ‘the expedition would not hesitate to so stigmatize it if Russia had “played the game” in a similar fashion. MATRIMONIALLY ECONOMICAL. Accounts received from the expedl- tion confirm the previous reports of ad- venturous explorers that the Tibetans are a most undesirable people with whom t Itivate close relations. A Japanege Wraveler who recently suc- ceeded in ‘reaching Lhassa and pub- lished his Impressions declares that the serious faults of the Tibetans are only four in number:, (1) They are very lewd; ((2) they 'are Incredibly dirty; (3) they lle without limit; (4) their taste in art runs chiefly to brass devils with protruding tongues. As to their virtues the Jap says he made dili- gent search for them but “failed to find anything which could be so described.” The Tibetans are matrimonially a very economical people because their country does not contain subsistence for an increase of population. Hence the rule of one wife to several hus- bands. Their climate does not encour- age ablutions. Accumulations of dirt O e ———— e T e g et A S T M T e Y S T S oty they regard as a blessed and natural means of protection from the cold. By long training and the influence of her- edity they have rendered their olfac- tory organs indifferent to odors that a European would find absolutely unen- durable. For lying, they have a nat- ural talent which they assiduously cul- tivate. In their hodge podge of a re- ligion, which has very little of genuine Buddhism left in it, devils play a more important part than deities. This ac- counts for their partiality for them. Sticking out the tongue with them, instead of being an insulting gesture, is a form of salutation which takes the place of the hand shake. : In proportion to the population la- massaries, as their monasteries are termed, are about as numerous as sa- loons in the centers of Anglo-Saxon eivilization. They are the most priest- ridden people on earth. ©One monk to a family is about the average. Most of their praying is done mechanically by means of praying wheels. It is in cursing they exert most energy and have the strongest abiding faith. They 3 N regard it as a means of national de- fense. Again and again they allowed the British expedition to thread its ant- like way through passes where a few resolute men mls‘t have held a whole army at bay, while from a safe distance they hurled maledictions upon it. And when they would have been wiser to have stuck to their imprecations they fought and were slaughtered. . They secured a postponement of the advance of the mission from Tuna while the Lamas held a commination service at Guru, and for the space of three days solemnly ar. devoutly cursed, denounced, execrated, anathem- atized and consigned to everlasting per- dition the British invaders. It reminds one of the story told in the Ingoldsby Legends when the Cardinal fell upon the Jackdaw of Rheims, and * * * cursed him in eating, in. drinking, He cursed him in coughing, In sneezing, in winking; He cursed him in sitting, in standing, in lying: He cursed him in walking, in riding, in flying: He cursed him in living, he cursed him In he cursed him dying. “Never was beard such s tarrible cumsel A P Sl Land Forb.idding and Forbidden to Aliens. People Worship Devils, Not Deities. —_— And after this vast expenditure of plous maledictions very true it must have been that among the poor, super- stitious Tibetans what gave rise To mo littls surprise, Nobody seemed one penny the worse. DIRTIEST TOWN ON EARTH. For at Guru the Bri force turned up as fit as a fiddle. And there it was that, resenting being disarmed, the Ti- betans, under the worst possible con- ditions for themselves, being huddled together in an inclosure, first tried a With their antiquated magazine rifles, little fighting weapons against chire guns and disciplined troops fared much as a pack of sheep ma- have done that had turned on a | the Jingo s popular nam possesses the British p comment of a London journal speaks in the highest praise of discipline of our men that (Tibetan) force was not ext The lesson taught the priestly of Lhassa has been a sharp one, t cannot end here. This fray fu a perfect illustration of ignorance and overweening folly " Lamas.” Patriotism begets a strange ferm of mental astigmatism. the whole One result of the expedition has been the discovery of the filthiest town on earth. Phari 1s its name, which in the Tibet language means “pig hill,” a v appropriate designation, save that it necessitates some apologies to the | Nothing has ever Phari since it was timated that th old. In the best where the houses accumulation of filth floor windows and tre dug in the malodorous mess to the doors. “In the m street, between the two banks and offal,” writes a correspondent, “runs a stinking channel which thaws daily. In it hor various beasts eat till the dogs and them clean enough to be and ravens used in the mortared walls and thresholds. The stench is fearful. Half decayed corpses of dogs e cuddlied up with their mangy but surviving brothers and sis- ters, who do not resent the ravems. A curdled and filthy torrent flows through the market place and half-breed yaks shove the sore-eyed and mouth-ulcered children aside to drink at it. The men and women, clothes and faces allke, are as black as the peat walls that form a background to every scene. They have never washed themselves. They never intend to wash themselves. In- grained dirt to an extent that it would be impossible to describe reduces what would otherwise be a clear, sallow- skinned but good complexioned race to a collection of foul and grotesque negroes.” Phart is 15,000 feet above sea level and the fearful cold, accentuated often by an lcy, grit-laden north wind, fur- nishes some palliation for this state of affairs. Water is obtainable only when the snow melts. The only avallable fuel i{s drifed yak-dung. The aecrid, greasy fumes, of these fires coat the Interiors of the squat hovels with lay- ers of soot which are never removed and blacken the faces and garments of the inmates. The married women of Tibet are compelled to disfigure their brows and cheeks with kutch, a prepa- ration resembling dried blood, and {t is probable they rather welcome the dirt which conceals the signs of matri- monial bondage. ———— MRS. JOHN JACOB ASTOR THE RAGE IN LONDON American Woman Is Said to Create a Stir Whenever She Goes Out. LONDON, July 2.—Mrs. John Jacob Astor's good looks are causing quite a stir. An English society neywspaper says: “The dance given by Lord and Lady Farquhar was and will be the smartest of past and future private events of the year. Not only were the King and Queen there, but also the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and her daughter, Prin cess Beatrice, who wore an all white dress of the simplest deseription. “Really the sensation of the night was Mrs. John Jacob Astor, who a was at the royal ball at Devonshir House and who creates quite a stir wherever she goes. At Lady Farquhat's there was a little crowd around her all the evening to lock at her.” - - Prisoners Starve to Feed Boy: WARSAW, Polana, July he prison of Paurak is erowded with po- litical offenders. Recently of 14 named Czarmobrody, a 50 cotle: a boy student, was arrested charged with diticus conduct. The hardships t prison life proved too much for hi and the indignation or nis "W oners knew no bounds e hun of them refused to eat until t was set at liberty. For three da: authorities stood out and finding the Brisoners firm released the bo¥, \