In the Forbidden Land

Project Gutenberg's In the Forbidden Land, by Arnold Henry Savage Landor This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: In the Forbidden Land Author: Arnold Henry Savage Landor Release Date: August 1, 2007 [EBook #22210] Language: English *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE FORBIDDEN LAND *** Produced by Michael Ciesielski and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net IN THE FORBIDDEN LAND SPINECOVER IN THE FORBIDDEN LAND Times: "THE ORDINARY READER WILL BE STRUCK WITH THE PORTRAITS, WHICH SHOW THAT IN A VERY FEW WEEKS HE MUST HAVE ENDURED A LIFETIME OF CONCENTRATED MISERY. OTHER TRAVELLERS, NO DOUBT, HAVE GONE FURTHER, BUT NONE WHO HAVE ESCAPED WITH THEIR LIVES HAVE FARED WORSE.... MR. LANDOR TELLS A PLAIN AND MANLY TALE, WITHOUT AFFECTATION OR BRAVADO. IT IS A BOOK, CERTAINLY, THAT WILL be read with interest and excitement." Athenæum: "THE ACCOUNT HE HAS WRITTEN OF HIS TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES IS VIVID AND OFTEN FASCINATING. HIS FREQUENT NOTICES OF CURIOUS CUSTOMS ARE FULL OF INTEREST, AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS OR SKETCHES TAKEN ON THE SPOT RENDER this one of the most attractive records of travel published recently." Guardian: "LIFE, ACCORDING TO MR. LANDOR, HAS 'BARELY A DULL MOMENT,' AND THE GLOOMIEST OF US WILL ADMIT THAT THIS IS AT LEAST true of that part of life which may be devoted to the reading of his latest book." World: "HE HAS CONTRIVED, EVEN IN CIRCUMSTANCES OF CRUEL DISADVANTAGE, TO PRESENT A WONDERFULLY MINUTE AND IMPRESSIVE SERIES OF PICTURES OF THE LIFE, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS OF THE TIBETANS. NO LESS POWERFUL AND VIVID ARE HIS DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SCENERY AND NATURAL PHENOMENA OF THE FORBIDDEN LAND, WHICH ARE REINFORCED BY AN AMPLE SERIES OF ILLUSTRATIONS THAT ATTAIN A HIGH STANDARD OF ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE. MR. LANDOR'S BITTER EXPERIENCES HAVE HAD AT LEAST THE ADVANTAGE OF PROVIDING him with material for the most absorbing travel book produced within recent times." Daily Telegraph: "MR. LANDOR'S STORY IS ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY TALES OF MODERN TIMES, YET EVEN THE MOST SCEPTICAL READER WILL ADMIRE THE VIGOUR WITH WHICH IT IS TOLD, AND THE ENDURANCE WITH WHICH THE EXPLORER AND HIS FAITHFUL SERVANTS BORE up against their savage captors." Standard: "THE BOOK FASCINATES ... THE VERBAL PICTURES IT GIVES ARE EXTREMELY VIVID, AND THE EFFECT OF THEM IS GREATLY HEIGHTENED BY THE NUMEROUS DRAWINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR. MR. LANDOR IS AN ARTIST AS WELL AS TRAVELLER AND WRITER, AND HE KNOWS HOW TO USE HIS PENCIL AND BRUSH TO EMPHASISE HIS LETTER-PRESS. WHATEVER MAY BE SAID OF THE WISDOM of his enterprises, his book is certainly a remarkable contribution to the literature of modern travel." Daily News: "THE GREAT LIBRARY OF TRAVEL IN THE EAST HAS NOT RECEIVED FOR MANY A YEAR A MORE IMPORTANT ADDITION THAN THIS bright, picturesque, and instructive volume." Daily Chronicle: "MR. LANDOR IS AN ARTIST AS WELL AS A WRITER, AND THIS HANDSOME VOLUME IS MOST LAVISHLY ILLUSTRATED WITH SKETCHES AND PHOTOGRAPHS. APART FROM ITS INTENSE INTEREST AS A STORY OF STIRRING ADVENTURE, THE BOOK IS A VALUABLE STOREHOUSE OF INFORMATION ON SOUTHERN TIBET AND ITS PEOPLE, AND ON THE LITTLE KNOWN INDIAN DISTRICT OF NORTHERN KUMAON. This is surely a record of devotion to geographical science such as no previous explorer has been able to show."A. HENRY SAVAGE LANDOR AND HIS TWO FAITHFUL SERVANTS A. HENRY SAVAGE LANDOR AND HIS TWO FAITHFUL SERVANTSIN THE FORBIDDEN LAND AN ACCOUNT OF A JOURNEY IN TIBET CAPTURE BY THE TIBETAN AUTHORITIES IMPRISONMENT, TORTURE, AND ULTIMATE RELEASE BYA. HENRY SAVAGE LANDOR AUTHOR OF "COREA, OR THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM," "ALONE WITH THE HAIRY AINU," ETC. also various official documents, including the enquiry and report by j. larkin, esq., appointed by the government of india With Two Hundred and Fifty-one Illustrations And a Map LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN 1899 First Edition (2 Vols. 8vo), October 1898 New Impression (2 Vols. 8vo), November 1898 New Edition (1 Vol. 8vo), May 1899 This Edition enjoys copyright in all Countries signatory to the Berne Treaty, and is not to be imported into the United States of America. I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO MY FATHER & MOTHERPREFACE IN THIS BOOK I HAVE SET DOWN THE RECORD OF A JOURNEY IN TIBET UNDERTAKEN BY ME DURING THE SPRING, SUMMER AND AUTUMN OF 1897. IT IS ILLUSTRATED PARTLY FROM MY PHOTOGRAPHS AND PARTLY FROM SKETCHES MADE BY ME ON THE SPOT. ONLY AS REGARDS THE TORTURE SCENES HAVE I HAD TO DRAW FROM MEMORY, BUT IT WILL BE EASILY CONCEDED THAT THEIR IMPRESSION MUST BE VIVID ENOUGH with me. THE MAP IS MADE ENTIRELY FROM MY SURVEYS OF AN AREA OF TWELVE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED SQUARE MILES IN TIBET PROPER. IN CHAPTER VI. THE ALTITUDES OF SUCH HIGH PEAKS IN INDIA AS NANDA DEVI AND OTHERS ARE TAKEN FROM THE TRIGONOMETRICAL SURVEY, AND SO ARE THE POSITIONS FIXED BY ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS OF THE STARTING AND TERMINATING POINTS OF MY SURVEYS at the places where I entered and left Tibet. IN THE ORTHOGRAPHY OF GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES I HAVE ADOPTED THE COURSE ADVISED BY THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY—VIZ., TO GIVE THE NAMES THEIR TRUE SOUND AS THEY ARE LOCALLY PRONOUNCED, AND I HAVE MADE NO EXCEPTION EVEN FOR THE GRAND AND poetic "Himahlya" which is in English usually distorted into the unmusical and unromantic word "Himalayas." I submit with all deference the following geographical results of my expedition: The solution of the uncertainty regarding the division of the Mansarowar and Rakstal Lakes. The ascent to so great an altitude as 22,000 feet, and the pictures of some of the great Himahlyan glaciers. THE VISIT TO AND THE FIXING OF THE POSITION OF THE TWO PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF THE BRAHMAPUTRA, NEVER BEFORE REACHED BY A European. The fact that with only two men I was able to travel for so long in the most populated part of Tibet. IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE, I AM GLAD TO STATE THAT OWING TO THE PUBLICITY WHICH I GAVE ON MY RETURN TO THE OUTRAGEOUS TIBETAN ABUSES TAKING PLACE ON BRITISH SOIL, THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA AT LAST, IN THE SUMMER OF 1898, NOTIFIED THE TIBETAN AUTHORITIES THAT THEY WILL NO LONGER BE PERMITTED TO COLLECT LAND REVENUE FROM BRITISH SUBJECTS THERE. THIS FACT GIVES ME SPECIAL SATISFACTION, BECAUSE OF THE EXCEPTIONAL COURTESY AND KINDNESS BESTOWED ON ME BY OUR MOUNTAIN TRIBESMEN, THE Shokas. THE GOVERNMENT REPORT OF THE OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION OF MY CASE, AS WELL AS OTHER DOCUMENTS SUBSTANTIATING THE DETAILS OF my narrative, are printed in an appendix. A. H. S. L. May 1899CONTENTS Chapter Page PREFACE ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xxii I FROM LONDON TO NAINI TAL 1-3 Loads—A set of useful pack-saddle cases—Provisions and scientific outfit—Clothes and shoes— II 4-10 Medicines—Under way—The first march—Servants—How I came to employ faithful Chanden Sing III Pithoragarh—Fakir women—A well-ventilated abode—Askote—The Rajiwar and his people 11-16 The Raots—A slippery journey—Superstitious notions—Anger and jealousy—Friends—To the IV 17-26 homes of the savages—Photography—Habitations A pilgrim from Mansarowar Lake—The spirits of the mountains—A safeguard against them—Tibetan V 27-34 encampments—The Rajiwar—A waterfall—Watermills Highways and trade routes—The Darma route—The Dholi River—A rough track connecting two VI valleys—Glaciers—Three ranges and their peaks—Altitudes—Darma, Johar, and the Painkhanda 35-40 Parganas—The highest peak in the British Empire—Natural boundaries The word Bhot and its meaning—Tibetan influence—Tibetan abuses—The ever-helpful Chanden VII Sing—The first Shoka village—Chanden Sing in disgrace—Weaving-loom—Fabrics—All's well that 41-45 ends well Prayers by wind-power—Photography under difficulties—A night of misery—Drying up—Two lady VIII 46-52 missionaries—Their valuable work—An interesting dinner party—An "eccentric" man's tea party Discouraging reports—A steep ascent—How I came to deserve the name of "monkey"—Hard at IX 53-56 work—Promoted in rank—Collapse in a gale of wind—Time and labour lost The Nerpani, or "waterless track"—Exaggerated accounts—A long shot—The rescue of two coolies X 57-62 —Picturesque Nature—An involuntary shower-bath—The Chai Pass A series of misfortunes—Tibetan atrocities on British subjects—Tibetan exactions—Revolting cruelty XI 63-68 to one of her Majesty's subjects—Assault on a British officer—A smart British Envoy XII Tibetan threats—My birthday—Ravenous dogs—A big dinner—Shoka hospitality 69-73 XIII Shoka hospitality—How I obtained much information—On a reconnoitring trip—A terrible slide 74-80 A palaver—To see is to believe—Dangers and perils on the snow and ice—Thar and Ghural— XIV 81-85 Stalking—A tiring climb to 16,000 feet—The collapse of a snow bridge An earthquake—Curious notions of the natives—A Shoka tailor and his ways—The arrival of silver XV 86-91 cash—Two rocks in the Kali—Arrogance of a Tibetan spy The Rambang—Shoka music—Love-songs—Doleful singing—Abrupt ending—Solos—Smoking— XVI 92-97 When marriage is contemplated—The Delang—Adultery—Punishment FUNERAL RITES: Departure of the Soul—Cremation—Amusement of the dead man's soul—The lay figure—Feasting—Doleful dance—Transmigration of the soul—Expensive ceremonies—Offerings XVII before the lay figure—Dancing and contortions—Martial dances—Solo dances—The animal to be 98-110 sacrificed and the lay figure—Chasing the animal from the village—Tearing out its heart—The yak driven over a precipice—Head shaving—A sacred cave Touching Shoka farewell—Feelings curiously expressed—Sobs and tears—The start—A funereal XVIII procession—Distressed father and mother—Kachi and Dola the worse for drink—Anxious moments 111-115 —The bridge destroyed A dangerous track—Perilous passage—A curious bridge over a precipice—Pathetic Shoka custom XIX 116-119 —Small misadventures—A grand reception—Tea for