A P P E N D I X H 383
cook properly. Arhar, Moong or Chenna dal was alike
useless. Wounds or scratches took an abnormal time to heal,
owing to the oxygenless state of the air. Colonel Waddell did
indeed try to obtain cylinders of oxygen for certain medical
purposes, but they were found to be impossible of transport.
Incidentally it may be remarked that for the same reason
“ instras ”—of which the force took up a large number—failed
to keep alight, to our great disappointment.
13* Heaven, to the Tibetan, is a vast structure composed
of precious stones laid vertically, not horizontally, as in the
Revelation. The north is gold, the east, white crystal, the south,
Indranila, the west, Pemaraga or ruby. The colours therefore
differ somewhat from the recognised Hindú distribution of
colours to the quarters, of which the P. and O. houseflag is the
best illustration.
14- The medical profession in Tibet is based exclusively upon
Chinese practice. This is one of the puzzles of the east. It is
naturally a matter of superstition and tradition alone, neither
research nor the first requirements of cleanliness are used by
the profession. The medicines they employ are in many cases
grotesque, powdered lizards, dragon’s blood, dry yellow dust,
professing to be the remains of the Guru Rinpoche or some
other distinguished teacher, the tiny powdered scrapings from
a cup mark, scraps of Daphne paper with charms printed upon
them; all these are taken internally. Captain Walton, the
surgeon of the Mission, tells me that the Tibetans responded
willingly and gratefully to his invitations, and as he expressed
it himself, if the expedition has done nothing else it has certainly
improved the looks of no small number of the good people of
Tibet, six or seven hundred cases in all of harelip or cataract
must have been treated by him- alone.* The Amchi, or doctor,
is a man greatly respected in Tibet. It was in this disguise
that Manning was able to enter Lhasa, and the records of
the Capuchins betray the fact that their services were in
* I remember his grimly speculating one day, during our bombardment in Gyantse, as
to what his late patients must be doing who ran away from under his charge before the
stitches had been taken out.