We had the good fortune to meet with a Tibetan soldier, resplendent in a Ghurka hat and a bandolier of beautifully polished ammunition which actually fitted the obsolete pattern of British rifle he so proudly sported. Some of the cartridges were innocent of powder, and the condition of many of the percussion caps was such as to guarantee misfires. A fine, handsome figure of a man, he was, like all his fellow-countrymen, courteous and friendly. War, a great war, was being waged between Tibet and China, but he was now on his way home to look after his crops. The Chinaman also had crops to tend; but in the autumn, when the harvest had been safely gathered in, he and his enemy were to meet once more and continue the warfare. An ideal arrangement!
To the average layman, the oxygen apparatus with which we were supplied was perhaps slightly complicated. Being responsible both for the apparatus and for seeing that all the climbing members of the expedition were conversant with its use, I instituted a series of oxygen drills. These drills were deservedly popular, being held, as a rule, each evening at the end of a long day’s march, when everybody was feeling particularly fit and vigorous.
On the 24th, we arrived at Shekar Dzong, the largest village we visited in Tibet. Indeed, one might almost dignify it by the name of “town,” with its four thousand inhabitants living in the clusters of white-walled houses that cling to the steep sides of a rocky pinnacle rising out of the plain. Here, owing to the necessity for changing the transport animals, we were forced to rest for several days. It is not to be supposed that such rest meant idleness. The General was particularly busy interviewing the Jongpen, that is, governor, of Shekar Dzong, regarding transport arrangements for the next stage of the journey to the Base Camp at the foot of Everest. The transport officers were kept busy taking stock of kit and stores. After attending to the minor ills and ailments of the European and Indian members of the expedition, the medical officers, headed by Dr. Longstaff, busied themselves in strengthening the bonds of friendship between Tibet and Great Britain by ministering to the needs of sick Tibetans. Apart from the daily oxygen drill which never lasted very long, my time was practically my own and was spent for the most part on photography and sight-seeing.
On the first day out from Phari Dzong.
The mountain is Chomulhari (24,400 feet).
Shekar Dzong.
Facing page 290.