labodu_" (You have nice clothes). I began the
conversation, attempting flattery, to put the chieftain at his ease.

"_Lasso, leh_" (Yes, sir), answered the Tibetan, apparently astonished,
and looking at his own attire with an air of comical pride.

His answer was sufficient to show me that the man considered me his
superior. Had he thought me an equal or inferior he would have said
_lasso_ without the _leh_.

"_Kiula tuku taka zando?_" (How many children have you?) I rejoined.

"_Ni_" (Two).

"_Chuwen bogpe, tsamba, chon won i?_" (Will you sell me flour or
_tsamba_?)

"_Middu_" (Have not got any) he replied, making several quick
semicircular movements with the upturned palm of his right hand.

This is a most characteristic gesture of the Tibetan, and nearly
invariably accompanies the word "No," instead of a movement of the head,
as with us.

"_Keran ga naddoung?_" (Where are you going?) he asked me, eagerly.

"_Nhgarang ne koroun!_" (I am a pilgrim!) "_Lungba quorghen neh
jelghen_" (I go looking at sacred places).

"_Gopria zaldo. Chakzal wortze. Tsamba middu. Bogpe middu, guram middu,
die middu, kassur middu_" (I am very poor. Please hear me. I have no
_tsamba_, no flour, no sweet paste, no rice, no dried fruit).

This, of course, I knew to be untrue. I calmly said that I would remain
seated where I was until food was sold to me. At the same time I
produced one or two silver coins, the display of which in Tibet was
always the means of hastening the transaction of business. In small
handfuls, after each of which the Tibetans swore that they had not
another particle to sell, I managed, with somewhat of a trial to my
patience, to purchase some twenty pounds of food. The moment the money
was handed over they had a quarrel among themselves about its division,
and they almost came to blows. Greed and avarice are the most marked
characteristics of the Tibetans. Tibetans of any rank are not ashamed to
beg in the most abject manner for the smallest silver coin.

The men of the party were picturesque. They had flat, broad noses, high
cheek-bones, and small, slanting (mere slits), piercing eyes. Their hair
was plaited in long pig-tails ornamented with pieces of red cloth, discs
of ivory, and silver coins. Nearly all wore the typical dark-red coat,
with ample sleeves hanging over the hands, and pulled up at the waist to
receive eating-bowls, snuff-box, and other articles of daily use. All
were armed with jewelled sw