[9] Mr. W. W. Rockhill states that he was informed by Mr. W. B. Hemsley that this tree is the "white sandal-wood." ("Diary of a Journey through Mongolia and Tibet," p. 68.)
[10] On former occasions he had stated to Rijnhart that he would not go to Lhassa this lifetime, having been there in his last.
[11] I cannot help thinking that this is the stone mentioned by Mr. W. W. Rockhill ("Diary of a Journey through Mongolia and Tibet," p. 69) as being in the north-east corner of the Gold-Tiled Temple. He does not appear to have been inside the latter building, and we certainly saw no stone there resembling his.
[12] This act on the part of the Commander-in-Chief was greatly resented by the people of Sining, for which reason, it was supposed, he was afraid to enter the city on the 2nd and 3rd. The officials of Sining flatly refused to acquiesce in the Commander-in-Chief's acceptation of submission.
[13] "Dsun" signifying the particular division of the Tsaidam from which he came, the remainder being really his name.
[14] A photograph of this temple, as it used to be, faces page 64 of Rockhill's "Diary of a Journey through Mongolia and Tibet."
[15] Shuen-Hua-Fu is erroneously called a "Fu," for, strictly speaking, it is a Hsien. A Fu as nearly as possible corresponds to our "city" and a "Hsien" is only equal to a town, while a "Ting" is a place of the third class. A "Pu," properly speaking, means a fort, and appears to be equal to a "Ting" in importance. In some instances a city may have risen or fallen in importance since its title was originally fixed, such as, for instance, the city of Siao-Si-Fu, which is not much larger than a "Ting." In all towns of importance there is a yamen or magistrates' office, and the head civil official there is called a Fut'ai or Hsient'ai, as the case may be. In any large district there is also a higher official called a Taot'ai.
[16] Shahzad Mir, too, knew the direction of Pekin, so was not likely to wander off in a wrong direction.
[17] Huc and Gabet state that Tibetans have a practice of throwing these paper horses to the winds, and they are supposed to help travellers in distress.
[18] Huang-mi means yellow rice, just as Huang-ho means yellow river.