Great closed land.

Front matter

5»-“,

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Preface

“ Give to Thy people open doors to preach the Gospel,

And set them to Thy praise on earth/’

OW often as I pray this petition in the Litany appointed for use in the Moravian churches on Sunday mornings do I think of a land in the heart of darkest Asia — a lofty plateau, begirt with mighty mountains, forming a natural barrier which renders easy the exclusion of all foreigners in accordance with the rigid policy of its rulers — a vast, unevangelised country, over which the shadow of death still broods. I think, too, of its people ; a nation sitting in darkness, held captive by the hoary heathenism of Buddhism, which gives all power to its priests or lamas, which teaches salvation, not from sin, but from the evil of being or existing, by vain repetitions of meaningless prayers and mechanical devices for “ making religion,” and which presents “ Nirvana,” or nothingness, as the highest hope it can hold out to its adherents. There are, to-day, no land and no people which stand in sorer need of Christian effort and intercession than Tibet and the Tibetans.

Here, then, is a timely plea on behalf of “ The Great Closed Land.”

It is because I am a member of the Moravian Church that I have been

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honoured b}’ the request to write a Preface to this book, which makes frequent and generous mention of her Missionaries. For forty years they have been laying siege, in the name of Christ, to this ancient stronghold of Buddhism. But the Moravians are now by no means alone in the attack. A cordon of missionary posts is being drawn around Tibet. Already it extends westward from Kashmir along the northern frontier of India and Burmah, and reaches up to the north of China. True, it is thin and weak as yet, and there are long gaps in the ranks. Yet, if the missionaries be “ few and far between,” each occupies his post in the name and at the bidding of an omnipotent Prince and Saviour, with whom there is no restraint to save by many or by few.

It is a far cry — more than 2000 miles — from the Moravian stations among the Tibetan Buddhists of Ladak to the places on the Chinese frontier whence agents of the China Inland Mission are seeking to touch and bless the Eastern Tibetans. A heart-stirring narrative of pioneer toils and trials will be found on pages 84 to 98, and Miss Annie Marston has scarcely given space enough to the noble work done by Mr. Cameron, and by her own sister and her brother-in-law. To Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Polhill-Turner it has been given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him (and to speak of that saving faith to the Tibetans in their own language), but also to suffer for His sake.

Between these extreme posts of the cordon, other Christian missionaries are to be found at points along the borders of Tibet. While serving among the natives of North India, the Agents of the London Missionary Society at Almora, and of the Church of Scotland at Darjiling, have endeavoured to reach the Tibetans by work among the border tribes.

This book is published at a time when three new bands have joined these

Preface.

IX heralds at the gates of Tibet. Two have gone out from America ; the third, and most numerous, is known as the Tibetan Pioneer Mission. It is under the leadership of Miss Annie Taylor, whose devoted labours for Tibet, and adventurous journey to within a few days’ journey of Lh’asa, its capital, have greatly aroused the interest of English Christians for that country. These new allies are girding on their armour, by learning the difficult language, with the help of grammar, dictionary, and Tibetan Scriptures prepared by those who have had long experience of the work.

That is the front rank, some forty men and women, sent out by half-adozen Societies. But they do not stand alone in the attack on this, humanly speaking, impregnable fortress of heathenism. The cordon around Tibet has a rear rank, and it consists of faithful men and women, on whose hearts God has laid, as a sacred burden, the sad destitution and urgent needs of a people absolutely without the Saving and Sanctifying Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

God only knows how many thus take part in the warfare, and by constant supplication uphold and strengthen the hands of their brethren and sisters in the front rank. Several missionary cycles of prayer, which form bases of agreement for numbers of God’s people, remind them of Tibet as an unevangelised region. From many stated gatherings for intercession the cry frequently ascends to God, that He will open a way for His Gospel into this Closed Land. There are Prayer Unions, in which its sore need of the Gospel is a regular subject of intercession and, at any rate, two distinctively on behalf of Tibet. One of these Tibet Prayer Unions was founded in 1890, and each member undertakes ; —

(i.) To pray definitely and at stated times for the success and extension of missions in Central Asia.

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Preface.

(2.) To read regularly what is published about this field as material for supplication and thanksgiving.

(3.) To plead for the opening of the door into Chinese Tibet, the great stronghold of Buddhism, and one of the few countries still closed to the Gospel.

All this bears out what is said by one of the workers in the field : “ Certainly many eyes are looking towards the great Closed Land, and many hearts are making supplication for the Tibetans.”

“ Many ; ” but how few in view of the vast and urgent needs of land and people ! We want more ; — far more workers and intercessors on behalf of a nation that has strayed far from God, and is to-day lost in the mazes of Buddhist Atheism. For the Tibetans also Christ has died. May the Holy Spirit put into the hearts of many more in Christendom a deep desire that they shall know of His atonement, and avail themselves of His Great Salvation !

Most heartily, therefore, do I bid God-speed to this book, whose purpose is to stir up effort and multiply intercessors on behalf of Tibet. Herewith I hand on to its readers, with special reference to this last “ Great Closed Land ” of earth, the petition which I quoted at the commencement of this Preface ;

“ Give to Thy people open doors to preach the Gospel,

And set them to Thy praise on earth.”

Through 160 years of missionary endeavour, these desires have been addressed by the members of the Moravian Church to “ Him that hath the keys,” and He has answered them by opening many doors to His service in lands utterly destitute of that Gospel. Surely her long experience of His

Preface.

XI unfailing faithfulness, His unerring wisdom, and His firm purpose that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth, may encourage others who share her desire, that the natives of Tibet shall, in His own due time, be a blessed people that know the joyful sound.

B. LA TROBE.

7 Furnival’s Inn, London, E.C.

AUTHOR^S NOTE.

FEEL that some explanation is due from me of the fact that a greater space has been devoted in this book to the account of the four years’ work of my sister and her husband among the Tibetans, than to the forty years’ of patient persevering toil spent among them by the noble band of Moravian Missionaries. Three reasons may be given for this apparent inconsistency — the first, that owing to the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Polhill-Turner in England, I was able to get much more detailed information of their experiences than of those who are still working in their mountain enclosure ; the second, that no account of work among the Tibetans on the Chinese border has yet been published ; and the third, that I found in reading the journals, so many illustrations of facts mentioned concerning the Tibetans in the former pages of this book, that I did not feel justified in condensing them more than I have already done, from any feelings of personal delicacy. A fuller account of the work of the Moravian Mission in Tibet will be found in the publication of the Mission, “ Working and Waiting for Tibet,” published by Morgan & Scott.

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Chapter I. Attempts To Enter The Land

PAGE

Chinese and Tibetan Exclusiveness — Explorers — Van de Putte — Warren Hastings’ Efforts— Bogle and Turner — -Manning — Prejevalski — Gill — Sarat Chandra Das — Rockhill — Bonvalot — Bower, 21

CHAPTER V. THE TIBETANS — Continued

PAGE

Occupation — Trade — Tea — Family Life — Marriage — Position of Women — Polyandry— Polygamy — Literature — Education, . 45

CHAPTER VL

PHILOSOPHICAL BUDDHISM.

Buddhism at Home and Abroad — History of Buddhism — Its Moral Teaching — Transmigration — Intermediate State — Nirvana — Boddhisattwas — Tsong-Khapa — Gedun-Tubpa, 50

Chapter VII. Popular Buddhism

The Bon Religion — Buddhism in Tibet — Religiousness of Tibetans — Obos — Mani Walls — Om Mani Pad-me Hum — Prayer Mills and Wheels — Domestic Religion — Sickness and Death — Chod-tens — Religious Games — New Year, ■ • • 55

CHAPTER YHI.

LAMAISM.

Lh’asa — The Dalai Lama — Pan-chen Rinpoche — The Tarantha Lama — Subordinate Lamas — Sects among Lamas — Power of Lamas — Lamasaries — Kumbum — The Feast of Flowers — Decline of Buddhism, ...... 65

Chapter IX. Heralds At The G.ates

The IMoravians — London Missionary Society — Scandinavian Alliance Mission — Church of Scotland Mission — International Missionary Alliance — Aliss Annie Taylor — China Inland Mission, ..........

Contents.

Chapter X. Helps And Hindrances

Chinese and Priestly Jealousy— Popular Indifference — Impossibility of Sustained Work — Loneliness of Workers — Arduous Journeys — Low Spiritual Life of First Converts— Little Popular Opposition — Veneration for Books — Equality of Sexes — Altered Attitude of People in Little Tibet,

CHAPTER XL

CONCLUSION, OR INTRODUCTION ? .

APPENDIX, .

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PAGE

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2.1

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

MAP OF TIBET, ........ Frontispiece.

TIBET.A.N OF SUNG-PAN, . . . . . . . .21

PRINTED PRAYER SHEET (WHITE CHARACTER), . . . . .26

TIBETANS LOADING A YAK, ....... 29

PORTION OF WRITTEN PRAYER SHEET, WITH FIGURE OF BUDDH.-\, . . 32

A TIBETAN HOUSE, . . . . . . . -37

TIBETAN TENTS IN CAMP, ....... 43

TIBETAN WOMAN AND CHILD, ....... 45

INTERIOR OF A TIBETAN TENT, ...... 48

YELLOW HAT WORN BY LAMAS IN CHURCH CEREMONIES, . . . 50

MAGIC FORMULA CARVED ON STONE, . . . . . -55

COPPER AND SILVER PRAYER-WHEELS, ...... 58

CHOD-TEN, OR TOMB OF A SAINT, . . . . .61

HOLY WATER VASE, ........ 65

MON.ASTERY AT SO, . . . . . . . .69

PORTION OF WRITTEN PRAYER-SHEET, . . . . . . 7I

ROPE BRIDGE ON THE ROAD TO SUNG-PAN, ..... 74

GEKOR AND BLACK LAMAS IN THE KUMBUM FAIR, . . .86

TIBETAN WITH PRAYER-WHEEL, . . .89

VIEW OF SUNG-P.VN, ....... 95

CHOD-TEN, OR TOMB OF A SAINT, . . . . . lOO

CROSSING A RIVER BY A ROPE BRIDGE, ..... 102

NOOSE AND BAMBOOS FOR ROPE BRIDGE, . . . . .102

SILVER CHARM-BOX, . . . . . . . . I07

INTERIOR OF TIBET.AN PR.AYER-WHEEL, . . . . . .Ill

A TIBETAN OF SUNG-PAN.

Chapter I. Attempts To Enter The Land

“A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.”

“ He shutteth and no man openeth.”

OT only on account of its mighty natural ramparts of mountains, but also in view of the difficulties raised by man to prevent strangers from effecting an entrance, has Tibet vindicated its right to be known as “The Closed Land.” Very few Europeans have ever succeeded in penetrating it. Occasionally an adventurous huntsman or explorer has been able to travel for a short time within its border, and still more rarely has the Christian missionary gained access to its unevangelised villages and wandering tribes. But neither the huntsman, nor the explorer, nor the missionary has been allowed to stay, however many may have been the obstacles surmounted by him in seeking to obtain an entrance ; nor has he even been allowed to travel by the route he would have chosen for himself. Against all alike the policy of exclusion has been promptly and rigidly enforced.

The instigators of this line of action have been the civil authorities of China on the one hand, and the ecclesiastical authorities of Tibet itself on the other, the former from political, the latter from religious motives, both from the fear of losing their own power over the country and its people. The Tibetans lay the blame on the Chinese ; the Chinese, in their turn refer it back to the Tibetans. Though there is the same feeling against the admission of all Europeans, it is specially strong in the case of the English. There is a saying among the Tibetans, how far inspired by the Chinese it is impossible to say, “ Wherever Englishmen come, they soon possess the country ; if once we let Englishmen into ours, we shall lose it.” The southern frontier is strongly fortified, and communication is forbidden with the states between India and Tibet.* The same strictness is observed on the Chinese side. Apart from their objection to foreigners, it may well be that their knowledge of the mineral wealth of the country is one reason of their dread lest the people of another nationality should discover it and covet it for themselves.

Formerly, this exclusiveness was manifested only by the Chinese, the Tibetans themselves appearing rather pleased than otherwise to entertain strangers in their countrj’ ; but the jealousy of the lamas has been aroused by the various attempts of Christian missionaries to carry the light of the Gospel of Christ into the dense darkness of Tibetan Buddhism. It is known now in Tibet that there are missionaries on both the Indian and Chinese border, waiting for an opportunity of entering Tibet ; they are the only foreigners known to many of the Tibetans, and their presence causes the Lamas to fear for the supremacy in the future of their creed and of their office. Therefore it is no wonder that, with these apprehensions taken advantage of and wrought upon by the Chinese, they should do all in their power to keep the door fast closed against Christian teachers, and to send back at the earliest opportunity those who appear within their domain.

The attempts of Missionaries to reach Tibet will be dwelt upon in a later

* Since these pages were written, the following telegram, dated Calcutta, 5th Februarj’, 1894, has been published in the daily papers : — “ Sikkim-Tibet Convention has fixed the trade mart, where the Indian and Tibetan traders can meet, at Vatong, on the Tibetan side of the frontier. From 1st May British subjects will be free to reside at this place.”

Attempts to Enter the Lmid.

chapter. We will only notice now some of the journeys made for purposes of exploration by different travellers of various nationalities.

In the 1 8th century, Van de Putte, entering from India, travelled through Tibet to China, visiting Lh’asa on the way. He is the only European who has succeeded in accomplishing this feat — of traversing the country from India to China — though many have attempted it. Unfortunately, he desired in his will that all his papers should be burnt, as they were in an imperfect condition, and he feared that erroneous accounts of the country might be circulated in his name after his death.

During the period of Warren Hastings’ rule in India, he had always a great desire to open up regular commercial relations between India and Tibet, and in this he was to a great extent successful. His first envoy, sent in 1774, was George Bogle,* who came to be on very intimate terms with the Pan-chen Rinpoche of Trashilunpo,-f- though he never got near Lh’asa, and in 1783 Captain Turner was sent on a second mission. Two years later, Warren Hastings was recalled from India, by which time there was a diplomatic agent of the British Indian Government resident at the Tibetan court.j After the departure of Warren Hastings from India, matters were allowed to drift back to their former condition, and the Chinese Government closed all the passes into Tibet from India.

In spite of this, however. Manning, in 1811, succeeded in making his way, by India, not only into Tibet, but even to Lh’asa itself, and that not as a politician, but merely as an adventurer. He even contrived to secure an interview with the Dalai Lama, then “ a merry boy of seven years old,” who was greatly delighted with some bright new dollars which Manning gave him ; his gifts also included some tea, a silk scarf, and some lavender water, which last, however, never reached its final destination, as the servants broke the bottle before the presentation was made. Manning obtained a good deal of renown

* “ Narratives of the Mission of George Bogle to Tibet, and of Thomas Manning to Lh’asa,” by C. N. Markham. Triibner.

J The state of feeling in England with regard to missionary effort at this time may be gathered from the words of Bogle to the Pan-chen Rinpoche, when questioned upon the subject : — “ I have heard of the priests who have been at Lh’asa ; they were not of my country ; they spoke another language ; their religion differed from nriine. The clergy of the Church of England remain at home, and do not travel into other countries. We allow every one to worship God in his own way, and esteem a good and pious man of whatever religion he is. ”

The Great Closed Land.

among the Tibetans by acting as an amateur doctor, but before very long he heard reports that he was suspected of being a spy, and would certainly lose his life. He therefore judged it prudent to make his way out of the country as quickly as possible. He is the only Etiglishman who has ever visited Lh’asa, or seen the Dalai Lama.

In 1871 Prejevalski, a Russian traveller, entered Tibet from Kan-su, but was sent back when within 500 miles of Lh’asa; he tried again in 1879, got to within 170 miles of the sacred city, but was again expelled.* * * §

In 1877-78, Captain Gill travelled from Chentu, via Ta-chien-lu, Litang, Batang, and Ta-li-fu, to Bhamo. The lamas at Batang, fearing he might attempt an entrance into Tibet, succeeded in getting a large body of men despatched to guard the frontier, and prevented his further progress.-f-

A few years later, a Bengali official of the Indian Government, Sarat Chandra Das, was sent to Tibet for the purpose of making explorations and investigations with regard to the condition of the country. He started from Darjiling, disguised as a Tibetan lama, lived for three months in the monastery of Trashilunpo, from which he went to the Sanding monastery, which is one of the wonders of Tibet, being a convent of males governed by a woman, who is said to be an incarnation of the goddess Dorge Pagmo, and is the only woman in Tibet who is allowed to ride in a sedan chair. From this monastery Chandra Das went to Lh’asa, where he was received without suspicion. He visited the cathedral where all deities and deified heroes of Tibetan Buddhism, over four hundred in number, are represented. There he saw thousands of people performing circuits round the effigies. He was invited to visit the Dalai Lama, a child of eight, who gave him his blessing, accepting in return a small ingot of pure gold. Chandra Das returned successfully from his journey of exploration, bringing with him much valuable information as to the country and its inhabitants.*

In 1888, Rockhill, the Secretary of the U.S. Legation at Pekin, entered Tibet from Sining, and travelled westward through Koko-Nor and southward to Jyekundo, where he was compelled by the chief to hasten his return to China, which he accomplished by way of Range, Ta-chien-lu, and Ch’ung-king.§

* “Mongolia,” by Lieut. -Colonel N. Prejevalsky. Sampson Low.

t “ The River of Golden Sand,” by Capt. William Gill, R.E. John Murray.

“ Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society.”

§ “ The Land of the Lamas,” by William Woodville Rockhill. Longmans, Green & Co.

Attempts to Enter the Land.

In 1892 Rockhill took a second journey into Tibet, passing through Koko-Nor and Tsaidam, over the Chumar River and the Koko-shili and Dungbure Mountains, southward as far as Namru, where again he turned to the east and went to Ta-chien-lu by way of Nagghuka, Chiamdo, Batang, and Litang. During this second journey, Rockhill was told by some Mongols whom he met returning from Lh’asa, that they had been searched and cross-questioned by officials and soldiers as to whether they had any foreign goods with them, as not only foreigners, but everything from their land, was now excluded from Tibet.

In 1889, a French traveller, Bonvalot, accompanied by Prince Henry of Orleans, worked his way through to Tibet by following the track of a caravan which had returned from Lh’asa to Mongolia ; he got as far as Dam, beyond Namtso, which was nearer to Lh’asa than any European, approaching it from the north, had been able to get. But he was in a sorry condition. Two of his servants had died, his horses were dead, his camels dying, his party worn out ; and at Dam they were stopped by a deputation from Lh’asa, who refused to let them go farther in that direction, but gave them a guide to escort them to Batang, and provision for their journey there After much altercation and hesitation, Bonvalot was compelled at last to yield to them, and return disappointed to China.*

In 1891 Captain Bower attempted to enter Tibet from Leh, armed with a Chinese passport, but he was not allowed to go to Lh’asa ; officials from that city met him on the way, who had orders to take no notice of his passport, but to send him back.-|-

To these and other travellers, and to the different missionaries who have worked, or sought to work, among the Tibetans, we are indebted for all we know of the country and people. The information given in this book is derived entirely from the accounts given by them of their journeyings and sojournings in and around Tibet.

* “ Across Tibet,” by Gabriel Bonvalot. Cassell & Co. t The Geographical Journal, May, 1893.

C

A PRINTED PRAYER-SHEET (WHITE CHARACTER).

Chapter II. The Land

sendeth forth His ice like morsels ; who can stand before His cold?”

“ I will make all My mountains a way.”

GLANCE at the map is sufficient to show us how truly, from a geographical point of view, Tibet is a “ Closed Land.” On every side we see it bounded by long ranges of snowy mountains ; on the south by the Himalayas and the transverse ranges of Upper Yunnan ; on the east by the Yun-ling mountains of China and the western mountainous borderland of the Chinese provinces of Yunnan, Szch’uan, and Kansu ; on the north by the Kuen-lun mountains; and in the west, where it narrows to a breadth of only 150 miles, by the junction of the Karakorum mountains with the Himalayas. The space thus enclosed is the largest mass of rock in the world ; three times the size of France, having an area of nearly 700,000 square miles, almost as cold as Siberia, though Lh’asa is in the same latitude as Cairo, and the greater part of it higher than Mount Blanc, the altitude of its tablelands ranging from 10,000 to 17,600 feet, and that of its mountains from 20,000 to 28,250 feet above the level of the sea. The length, from east to west, is over 1600 miles ; the breadth, from north to south, varying from a maximum of 700 miles in the east to a minimum of 150 in the west. On this plateau and its continuations the great rivers of Hindustan, including the Ganges, the Indus, and the Brahmaputra, and even those of further India, take their rise, as well as the Yellow river and the Yang-tse-Kiang of China.

The Land.

The name Tibet is unknown in the country itself, having been given to it by the Turks and Persians; its true name is Bod or Bodyul — i.e., Bodland, the original name of the inhabitants being Bodpa.

Tibet is rich in minerals. Gold is found in the river beds, and the rocks indicate its presence in great abundance below the surface. There are also great quantities of turquoi.se. Mining, however, is not allowed, owing to a superstition, carefully fostered by the lamas, that if nuggets of gold were removed from the earth, no more gold dust would be found in the gravel of the river beds, the nuggets being the roots or plants, and the gold dust the fruit or flowers.

The greater part of the area of Tibet is taken up by bleak stretches of tableland, bare, stony, and unsheltered in winter, destitute of verdure, but in some districts covered in the summer months with grass or barley, the only growths of which the land is capable. In the northern and central parts there is hardly a tree, or even a shrub, to be seen, except occasionally in the neighbourhood of villages ; but in some of the southern districts there are extensive forests, especially of apricot trees, the small dried fruit of which forms the staple winter food of the inhabitants, and also a profitable article of commerce. Strangers are allowed to help themselves freely, on condition that they return the stones to the proprietor. The most valuable product of the tree is its oil, which is clear, white and fragrant, and highly illuminating. It is used for cooking as well as lighting, and children are rubbed with it daily as a substitute for washing ; when weaned, at the age of four or five, they are fed for some time with barley meal made into a paste with the oil.

In the mountain regions both hills and valleys are frequently formed of bare gravel, in which case the only land capable of cultivation is an occasional fertile patch in the recesses of the mountains.

The most fertile valleys produce wheat, barley, and peas ; the peas are only used for cattle. The main product of the country is Nas, or black barley, of which tsamba is made.*

In the north much of the soil is of clay mixed with gravel, devoid of vegetation, except in the neighbourhood of lakes, rivers, or springs. In the elevated regions, with the approach of winter the grass becomes as hard as

See p. 39.

The Great Closed Land.

wire, and so parched with the bleak winds that it crackles like straw and falls to powder.

The villages are usually built on rocky ledges, high above streams, where they will not encroach on any of the rare ground which is available for cultivation. In Ladak the villages sometimes extend continuously for several miles ; the summer crops in that district are very luxuriant.

The country is divided into Great Tibet, Tibet Proper, and Little Tibet. Great Tibet is the eastern part, bordering on China, comprising the Province of Amdo, which is within the Kansu border but inhabited by Tibetans, and Kam. Tibet Proper occupies the centre, and consists of the two Provinces, U or Anterior Tibet and Tsang or Ulterior Tibet, Lh’asa being the capital of U, and Shigatze of Tsang. “ The Kingdom of Lh’asa ” consists of the city and the surrounding district. Little Tibet, to the west of Tibet proper, consists of Lahoul and Spiti, which belong to England, Zanskar, Ladak, and Rupchu, which are under the dominion of Kashmir.

Tibet has also been divided into three longitudinal zones — a South Zone, containing the centres of the settled and agricultural population ; a Middle Zone, comprising the pasture lands of the nomads ; a North Zone, for the most part abandoned to wild animals, but also partly occupied by nomads.

The eastern part of Tibet is subdivided into eighteen states, of which the most important are Derge, the Horba States, Litang, Batang, Chala, and Min Nya. Derge is the richest agricultural and manufacturing district in Eastern Tibet.

The climate necessarily differs greatly in different parts, and in different seasons ; generally speaking, it may be said to be more or less Arctic, owing to the great height of the table-lands. Erost may be said to be permanent almost everywhere from October to April. In the mountains there are wonderful variations in the course of a few hours ; the temperature being sometimes between 120° and 130° in the day-time, and at night falling below freezing-point. In the Province of Koko-Nor, north-east of Tibet, snow falls almost throughout the year, and its lake of salt water, 230 miles in circumference, and 10,500 feet above the sea-level, is frozen through the winter. Down to 8000 feet all lakes and rivers freeze in winter ; at 1 5,000 the thermometer falls below freezing-point every night ; at 20,000 there is perpetual frost in the shade. The height of Leh, the capital of Ladak, and a station of the Moravian Mission, is 11,540 feet. In the Northern Zone the

The La7id.

winter is bitterly cold ; in spring and summer there are heavy hail-storms. Only in the autumn, when it is clear and still and comparatively warm, is the desolation relieved by any sign of human life and activity ; then the caravans