Directory_and_Chronicle_1850 — Page 714

072

Travels of M. Huc.

DEC.

rin, whose legs had swollen from the fatigues of the journey, and were daily getting worse. The governor of Angti is described as being three feet in height, and carrying a sword twice as long as himself! Bomba, as this Tibet mountain-chief was called, was, however, a man of rare eloquence, great courage, and both powerful and respected. Like most Tibetan mountaineers in this part of the country, he at once detested and despised the Chinese.

Beyond Angli was another rude mountain, with its usual obo, or cairn, and local genius or spirit, which, when not a gigantic reptile, is a red horse or a white horseman, or some other fantastic goblin, only to be seen by the privileged few. Beyond this mountain was the town and district of Jaya, inhabited by bold mountaineers, who despise the yoke of the Chinese, and are perpetually rebelling against it. On their way beyond this, they overtook a caravan, the conduc- tors of which-two mandarins, father and son-had perished on the way, and according to custom, the bodies had to be conveyed to the ancestral tomb; to facilitate progress, the body of the son was cut into four parts. The district of Sha-pan-ku is so called from its slate quarries, and its woods of pine, cedar, and cypress are said to be more frequented than any part of Tibet by musk-deer. At length, at Kiang-tsa, they came into countries where the Chinese rule was better established, and the sick, yet avaricious mandarin was not mulcted of his money at every stage. The soil now, also, kept always lowering, the mountain chains were less lofty, the valleys widened, and became either more woody or cultivated. The magnificent Kin- sha Kiáng, or river of Golden Sands, occupied the central valley of all. It had here, however, to force its way through frequent narrow passes, and to roll over lofty precipces, carrying with it large masses of ice. At one station, by the banks of this great river, they had exquisite fish for supper, a room impervious to wind, and skins of musk-deer for beds—all luxuries for a long time unkwnon to our poor missiona. ries. Still more delighted were they when, crossing a range of hills, the splendid valley of Bathang. "Plain of Cows," lay before them. This great plain, which is met with, as if by enchantment, amidst the Tibetan mountains, has a beautiful climate, and is won- drously fertile; giving two harvests of rice, maize, wheat, barley, peas, cabbages, turnips, onions, &c., &c., every year. The town itself is large and populous; lamas and Chinese are numeroua, and there is also a Chinese garrison. The temporal power of the Tala-lama of H'lassa does not extend beyond this point. Beyoud, the country is