ve nostrils, and tie pack-saddles on their backs, were all
operations we as novices had to master. It was hard work indeed, but we
struggled till we succeeded.

When we parted we were good friends, the bandits behaving admirably, and
I made up my mind that I would at any time rather trust a bandit in Tibet
than an official.

CHAPTER XLI

Tibetan coats, hats, and boots--Why a Tibetan prefers to leave
half the chest and one arm bare--Ornamentations--Manner and
speech--Ignorance and superstition--Way of eating--Jogpa women
and children--Head-dress.

IN a way, I was sorry when my interview with the Jogpas came to an end,
for, although they were undoubtedly brigands, they were certainly
interesting. Their original and curious dress and manner of conversation,
their unusual but eminently suitable mode of eating, and their jovial
freedom of demeanour, were really quite refreshing. Their dress was quite
representative of Tibet, for the men wore a great variety of coats and
hats, probably owing to the facility with which they obtained them, and
no two individuals were dressed alike, though certain leading
characteristics of dress were conserved in each case. One man wore a
gaudy coat trimmed with leopard skin, another had a long grey woollen
robe like a dressing-gown, taken up at the waist by a kamarband, and a
third was garbed in a loose raiment of sheepskin, with the wool inside.
Yet a fourth was arrayed in a deep red tunic fastened by a belt of
leather with silver ornamentations inlaid in wrought-iron to hold a
needle-case, tinder-pouch and steel, with a bead hanging from the leather
thong, and a pretty dagger with sheath of ebony, steel, and filigree
silver, besides other articles, such as a bullet-pouch and bag. In their
kamarbands or belts, the Jogpas, in common with the majority of Tibetan
men, wear a sword in front, and whether the coat is long or short, it is
invariably loose and made to bulge at the waist in order that it may
contain a store of eating and drinking bowls, the "_pu-kus_," snuff-box,
and sundry bags of money, and _tsamba_ and bricks of tea! It is owing to
this custom that most Tibetan men, when seen at first, impress one as
being very stout, whereas, as a matter of fact, they are somewhat slight
in figure. Tibetans leave one arm and part of the chest bare, letting the
sleeve hang loose. The reason for this practice, which seems to have
puzzled many people, is that in Tibet