ACROSS THIBET—THE ROOF OF THE WORLD.
By Dr. A. T. Pierson
[Condensed from an article by Dr. A. T. Pierson, in Christian Work.] ONE of the few countries of the world into which the Christian faith has not entered is Thibet. It is not a small country either, being ten times as large as England, and half as large as China. As far as known, no Christian missionaries have ventured within its bounds. All foreigners have been persistently repelled. A few years ago an English woman (Miss Anna R. Taylor) stood on the line which separates it from China, and, after full consideration, resolved to enter the unknown land, and, if possible, reach its other border. Miss Taylor offered herself to and was accepted by the China Inland Mission. In 1884 she went out to China, and, having learned the language, worked for a time in Tau-Chau, near the Thibetan frontier. She was the first English person to reside in that city, and in 1880 visited the Great Lama monastery of Kum-bum, where the French priests, M. M. Gabet and Huc, had previously learned Thibetan. Beyond this point no English traveler had gone, though a few Russians had explored the districts. That great, unevangelized land pressed upon Miss Taylor's heart. In the story of the China Inland Mission she saw how the great interior of China had seemed hermetically closed until the foot of faith pressed forward, and then strangely and wonderfully it opened before the Lord's servants as they went in to possess; so she believed it would be on "the roof of the world," as Thibet has frequently been termed, by reason of its altitude. At length she resolved to reach if possible Lhasa, the sacred city of the Lamas, the capital of Thibet. Leaving China in 1888 Miss Taylor went to a Thibetan village near Darjeeling, to learn the language. From there she pressed forward to Sikkim. "I went," she says, "in simple faith, believing that the Lord had called me. I knew that the difficulties were great, and that enemies would be numerous, but I trusted God to take care of me, just as he protected David from the hands of Saul." She got not far from Kambajong, a Thibetan fort. Here the natives would ask her frequently what they were to do with her body if she died. She told them she was not going to die just then. They have, however, a custom of "praying people dead," and to this they resorted, taking care to help their prayers in a very effective manner. One day the chief's wife invited the stranger to eat, and prepared rice and a mixture of eggs for her. Some conversation between the women as she was eating aroused Miss Taylor's suspicion as to the eggs placed before her, and, sure enough, after she had partaken, she became ill, with all the symptoms of aconite poisoning. The Thibetan chief was greatly alarmed at her living so near the border, and came over and ordered her back to Darjeeling. She refused to go there, but settled down in a hut near a Thibetan monastery, called Podang Gumpa, living as best she could. After a year spent in Sikkim, surrounded by natives only, Miss Taylor became convinced that it was the Lord's will she should enter Thibet by way of China. Her stay at Sikkim had, however, not been in vain. First, she had learned the language as spoken at Lhasa, and, secondly, she had secured a faithful Thibetan servant. This young man, Pontso, is a native of Lhasa. Traveling on the frontier of India, he had hurt his feet, and was directed to the white stranger for treatment. He had never seen a foreigner before, and the kindness shown him won his heart, so that from that time he has been her constant companion and devoted servant, as well as a follower of Jesus. Taking him with her, Miss Taylor sailed for Shanghai, went up the great river to Tau-Chau, a city in Kansuh, on the borders of Thibet, and surrounded by Thibetan villages. She visited several large monasteries, and became familiar with many phases of Thibetan life and character. A year was thus spent on the frontier, and at last came the longed-for opportunity of penetrating the interior. It came about thus: A Chinese Mohammedan, Noga, had a wife from Lhasa, and he had promised her mother that he would return to Lhasa with his wife in three years. This he wished to do, but, having no money, he consented to conduct Miss Taylor to the capital, provided she found the necessary horses and funds. Noga's wife had already become very friendly with the young English lady, because she could speak her language, which the natives on the Chinese side could not do. Thus the way was prepared, and on September 2, 1892, Miss Taylor and her four servants, two Chinese and two Thibetans, started from Tau-Chau for the interior. The country is one mass of lofty mountains; a large part of it is above the snow line. The roads are merely mountain tracks, while the people seem to live almost wholly by brigandage, preying incessantly on the caravans which traverse the country. Hence the account of the long and arduous journey is simply a narrative of sore hardship, amid snow and ice, perils from lawless robbers, and yet graver perils from her faithless and false guide, for Noga proved to be a great rascal, whose only object in taking Miss Taylor into Thibet appeared to be to rob and then murder her. In the first he succeeded pretty thoroughly, but in the second he failed, inasmuch as she had "a shield of defense" of which he dreamed not, and she was kept with a sure hand. Noga began, now that he was fairly in the heart of the mountains, to show his hand, and not only tried to strike and abuse Miss Taylor, but attempted again and again to murder her. At length she had to leave Noga and his wife, and, with her servant, Pontso, and another Thibetan, named Petegn, she pressed on, penniless and comfortless, for the capital. They had many tokens of the presence of God. At one time they lost their way for three days in the mountains, finding afterward that this had been God's method of sheltering them from a deliberate attempt at murder planned by Noga. Foiled by these purposes, he spread the report that Miss Taylor had gold and precious stones round her body, this being done to tempt the cupidity of the natives to kill her for the booty. Then he went on to Lhasa, and told the authorities of her coming. These sent out stringent orders that she must be stopped, but not injured. Thus, when three days' journey from Lhasa, she was arrested by soldiers, and brought before an official, who told her that if she resolutely went on he could not stop her, but he would be executed for letting her pass. She would have no man's blood spilt for her, and so, though on the verge of fulfilling her long-cherished idea, she turned back on a terrible return journey to China. The chiefs from Lhasa gave her two horses, an old tent, and some food, as her tents were gone, she having been robbed by Noga of two horses, a tent, and nearly all the food. Sometimes traveling was so dangerous on account of brigands that the escort dared not stop, and traveling went on day and night. On the return journey a strong man, a Thibetan, died from the effects of a cold, and Miss Taylor herself at great altitudes had repeated attacks of palpitation. Cooking, when there was anything to cook, was most difficult, as the water boiled with so little heat. Frequently pieces of ice put in to replenish the pan, floated in boiling water some time before melting. Once she was twenty nights in the open air, sleeping on the ground, snow falling all the time, as neither tent nor house was to be found. The horses were almost starved, the snow covering everything. The poor animals ate even woolen clothing when they got the chance. A small ration of cheese mixed with tea and butter was often all that could be spared for them. Having lost her money, Miss Taylor could not buy a goat. Raw goat's flesh is an emergency food for horses in Thibet, and they like it. In fact, owing to the absence of grass, Thibetan horses will eat almost anything. Crossing fords was a very tiresome task. At first they crossed on rafts made of inflated skins with a few branches tied across. Later on, swimming on horseback was the only course, and this meant being up to the waist in water, the horse's head alone visible, and running the risk of tumbling into the torrent and then on the slippery ice. A most remarkable experience was the meeting with the tribe known as the Golocks, governed by a woman chief, named Wachu Bumo. This is a most ungovernable tribe, amenable neither to Chinese nor to Thibetan authority, and living entirely by plunder. They go out in irresistible parties of five hundred or two thousand, and are so certain of victory that the women and children go out to see the fun. Plunder seems to be profitable, for they are the wealthiest tribe in Thibet. Wachu Bumo took quite a fancy to Miss Taylor, and gave her a royal safeguard. Finally, after many adventures, Miss Taylor reached Ta Chien-fu, in Chinese territory, on April 12, having left the Lhasa district on January 22, the first English lady, and certainly the first messenger of the gospel, to penetrate to the heart of Thibet. She told the story of what she had seen; many were moved by it, and in one of the closing days of February she sailed again from England at the head of a party of thirteen, bound for Thibet, with the gospel of Christ in their hands. Christian people everywhere will watch with intense interest this earnest band of Christian disciples who have followed Miss Anna Taylor to Thibet.—Christian Work.