In the forbidden land, an account of a journey into Tibet . m ten tosixteen rupees. After some three or four hours bargaining, duringwhich time the bandits descended gradually from twohundred rupees to forty and I rose from twenty to thatfigure, we at last agreed, amid the greatest excitementon both sides, that their two best yaks should becomemy property. I then, becoming quite friendly, purchasedpack-saddles from them, and sundry other gave me tea, even, and tsamba. The fiery womanonly had still a peculiar way of keeping one eye fixed onmy baggage, and her envy of my propert
In the forbidden land, an account of a journey into Tibet . m ten tosixteen rupees. After some three or four hours bargaining, duringwhich time the bandits descended gradually from twohundred rupees to forty and I rose from twenty to thatfigure, we at last agreed, amid the greatest excitementon both sides, that their two best yaks should becomemy property. I then, becoming quite friendly, purchasedpack-saddles from them, and sundry other gave me tea, even, and tsamba. The fiery womanonly had still a peculiar way of keeping one eye fixed onmy baggage, and her envy of my property seemed to in-crease when she saw me paying for the yaks. If she keptone eye on my goods, I kept both there; and I took goodcare that my rifle was never out of my hand, and that noone ever came too near me from behind. We counted the money down, some fifty rupees, includ-ing all purchases. Each coin was passed round and 249 IN THE FORBIDDEN LAND sounded by each of our sellers, and when the entire sumwas handed over the coins were passed back and recount-. PACK-SADDLES FOR YAKS ed so that there should be no mistake. Time in Tibet isnot money, and my readers must not be surprised whenI tell them that counting, recounting, and sounding the 250 MANAGING YAKS small amount took two more hours. The two yaks wereeventually handed over to us. One, a huge, long-haired,black animal, restless and powerful; the other equallyblack, strong, and hairy, but somewhat gentler. To catch them, separate them from the herd, pass ropesthrough their respective nostrils, and tie pack-saddleson their backs were all operations we as novices had tomaster. It was hard work indeed, but we struggled tillwe succeeded. When we parted we were good friends, the bandits be-having admirably, and I made up my mind that I wouldat any time rather trust a bandit in Tibet than an official. 251 CHAPTER XLT TIBETAN COATS, HATS, AND BOOTS ^ WHY A TIBETAN PREFERS TOLEAVE HALF THE CHEST AND ONE ARM BARE—ORNAMENTATIONS-MAN
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