Tinker is a village of Shokas, at no less an elevation by hypsometrical apparatus than 12,664 feet. Our arrival necessarily caused a great deal of commotion, and everybody was up to see what was happening.
It is the custom in that part of Nepal—a habit of all Shokas generally—that no stranger must enter a village after sunset without sending a messenger ahead to warn the residents; so, according to their code of manners, we were committing a gross breach of etiquette. I well knew this, and upon arrival immediately asked for the chieftain of the village to express my sorrow that we were unable to advise him of our arrival.
Concentric Circles of Radiant Beauty formed by the Sun shining through Mist
The chief was a splendid fellow—an old friend of mine—a man with a heart of gold and the manner of a most polished gentleman. He placed his house at my disposal, and showered upon us [[115]]lavish presents of food—fresh meat, rice, ghur, and dried fruit. He would on no account accept money, so I gave him presents of various kinds, and distributed the money among his family and servants.
I have ever made it a rule never to accept presents from anybody anywhere, and, when gifts are forced upon me, to give back some gift of equivalent value. With natives particularly I ever followed this golden rule, nevertheless displaying gratitude for their thoughtful offerings.
The house in which we dwelt was a stone structure, the rooms only some 7 feet high, with little slits of windows and a somewhat disjointed door. When a huge fire was lighted in the room, with no escape for the smoke or heat, you were simply roasted and suffocated, but after our cold, fireless nights on the glaciers this felt to us the most comfortable and luxurious abode we had ever been in. Fleas there were in abundance—little fleas with marvellous jumping powers, and giant ones of astounding voracity. With their proverbial partiality for strangers, they of course directed their undivided attention to us new-comers, and particularly to me. In a moment we were covered with hundreds of bites. [[116]]
The chieftain told me how the Tibetans on the frontier close by were in a great state of excitement over my approach. They boasted of having 5000 soldiers ready to meet me, and hearing that I was now on Nepal territory they had despatched them to the Tinker Pass to capture me. The Tibetans had been for some days busy polishing up their matchlocks and grinding their swords, and they had accumulated large piles of stones to precipitate down upon me in ravines which we had to get through. The same stories I had on many occasions heard before, both on my previous journey into Tibet and on the present.
Clouds forming on the Snow-Line