Tibet may be likened to a fortress surrounded by mighty ramparts. To the south the ramparts are double, the Himalayas and the Trans-Himalaya, and between the two is a moat partly filled with water—the Upper Indus and the Upper Brahmaputra. And Tibet is really a fortress and a defence in the rear of China. It is easily conceivable that a country surrounded by such huge mountain ranges must be very difficult of access, and the number of Europeans who have crossed Tibet is very small.
The inaccessible position of the country has also had an influence on the people. Isolated and without communication with their neighbours, the people have taken their own course and have developed in a peculiar manner within their own boundaries. The northern third of the country is uninhabited. I once travelled for three months, and on another occasion for eighty-one days, without seeing a single human being. The middle part is thinly peopled by herdsmen, who roam about with their flocks of sheep and yaks, and live in black tents. Many of them also are skilful hunters of yaks and antelopes. Others gather salt on the dried-up beds of lakes, pack it in double-ended bags, and carry it on sheep to barter it for barley in the southern districts, which are the home of the great majority of Tibet's two or three million inhabitants. There are to be found not only nomads, but also settled people, dwelling in small villages of stone huts in the deeper river valleys, especially that of the Brahmaputra, and cultivating barley. A few towns also exist here; they are all small, the largest being Lhasa and Shigatse.
When our journey takes us to India again we shall have an opportunity of learning about the religion of Buddha, which is called Buddhism. In a different form this religious creed found its way into Tibet a thousand years ago. Before this time a sort of natural religion prevailed, which peopled the mountains, rivers, lakes, and air with demons and spirits. Much of the old superstition was absorbed into the new teaching, and the combination is known by the name of Lamaism. There are 620 millions of Christians in the world and 400 million Buddhists; and of the Buddhists all the Tibetans and Mongolians, the Buriats in eastern Siberia, the Kalmukhs on the Volga, the peoples of Ladak, northern Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan are Lamaists.
They have a great number of monks and priests, each of whom is called a Lama. The principal one is the Dalai Lama, in Lhasa, but almost on a par with him is the Tashi Lama, the head of Tashi-lunpo, the large monastery at Shigatse. The third in rank is the High Lama at Urga in northern Mongolia. These three and some others are incarnated deities. The Dalai Lama never dies; the god that dwells in him merely changes his earthly body, just as a snake when it casts its skin. When a Dalai Lama dies it means that the divinity, his soul, sets out on its wanderings and passes into the body of a boy. When the boy is found he becomes the Dalai Lama of Lhasa. Lamaists believe, then, in the transmigration of souls, and the end, the fullest perfection, is peace in Nirvana.
There are many monasteries and nunneries in the upper Brahmaputra valley. The temple halls are adorned with images of the gods in metal or gilded clay, and butter lamps burn day and night in front of them. Monks and nuns cannot marry, but among the ordinary people the singular custom prevails that a wife can have two or several husbands. Among Mohammedans the case is just the reverse: men can have several wives.
Attempt to reach Lhasa
It was from Lop-nor in the year 1901 that I penetrated into this lofty mountain land for the third time. The summer had just set in with its suffocating dust storms, and we longed to get up into the fresh, pure air. The caravan was large, for I had sixteen Mohammedan servants from Eastern Turkestan, two Russian and two Buriat Cossacks, and a Mongolian Lama from Urga. Provisions for seven months, tents, furs, beds, weapons, and boxes were carried by 39 camels, 45 horses and mules, and 60 asses; and we also had 50 sheep for food, several dogs, and a tame stag.
When all was ready we set out towards the lofty mountains and crossed one range after another. When we reached the great heights the caravan lost strength day by day. The atmosphere is so rare that a man cannot breathe without an effort, and the slightest movement produces palpitation of the heart. The grazing becomes more scanty the higher you go, and many of the caravan animals succumbed. At last we seldom travelled more than twelve miles in a day.
After forty-four days' march due southwards we came to a part of the country where footprints of men were seen in several places, and Lhasa was only 300 miles away. Up to this time all Europeans who had tried to reach the holy city had been forced by Tibetan horsemen to turn back. The Tibetans are at bottom a good-tempered, decent people, but they will not allow any European to enter their country. They have heard that India and Central Asia have been conquered by white men, and fear that the same fate may befall Tibet. Two hundred years ago, indeed, Catholic missionaries lived in Lhasa, and the town was visited in 1845 by the famous priests Huc and Gabet from France. Since then two Europeans who had made the attempt to reach the place had been murdered, and others had to turn back without success.
Now it was my turn to try my luck. My plan was to travel in disguise with only two followers. One was the Mongolian Lama, the other the Buriat Cossack, Shagdur. The Buriats are of Mongol race, speak Mongolian, and are Lamaists. They have narrow, rather oblique eyes, prominent cheek-bones, and thick lips. The dress of both peoples is the same—a skin coat with long sleeves and a waistbelt, a cap, and a pair of boots with turned-up toes. My costume was of exactly the same kind, and everything we took with us—tent, boxes, cooking utensils, and provisions—was of Mongolian style and make. The European articles I required—instruments, writing materials, and a field-glass—were carefully packed in a box. For defence we had two Russian rifles and a Swedish revolver. Of the caravan animals, five mules and four horses, as well as two dogs, Tiger and Lilliput, were to go with us. I rode a handsome white horse, Shagdur a tall yellow horse, and the Lama a small greyish-yellow mule. The baggage animals were led by my men and I rode behind. During the first two days we had a Mohammedan with us, Ördek, but he was to go back to headquarters, where all the rest of the caravan were ordered to await our return.