Peking to Lhasa : vol.1 / Page 118 (Color Image)

0118	Peking to Lhasa : vol.1

84 PEKING TO LHASA

Snow fell during the night of February 6, but it

nearly all melted by noon, except at the tops of

the highest hills, and the day was sunny though

the wind was cold.

One of Pereira's muleteers slipped and fell,

but as he writhed on the ground rubbing his

ankle the only consolation he received from the

other muleteers was a roar of laughter. The

sight of pain gives the Chinese infinite amusement.

Before reaching Sung-pan, 9750 feet, on Feb-

ruary 8, he for the first time passed several

Tibetans. Sung-pan itself Pereira found to be

an interesting city with a good many wild-looking

Tibetans walking about the main streets. It is

113 miles from Mowchow and 212* miles from

Kwan-hsien. It lies on low ground on the eastern

side, but on the west a wall runs up to a height

of 600 feet. A sloping ledge about 300 feet

high holds a few houses and the Ch'eng-huang

temple —a poor building, but affording a good

view over the town. The main north and south

street contained all the shops and was always

crowded. But the few side streets were very

dead.

The magistrate sent Pereira a present of a " pai-

mu-chi ", a large bird of the bustard family, and

a hunk of beef. The bird was dried and coal

black, and after giving the runner who brought

it a dollar, Pereira handed the delicacy to his

boys. The magistrate also sent a guard, and two

sentries mounted over his door much enhanced

his dignity.

Continuing northward up the valley he left

Sung-pan on February 11. The going was good

National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books