On the sixth of March, 1925, the expedition left the hill station of Darjeeling, and with it the friendly country of Sikkim. It is always a wonderful experience to travel down the jungle-clad slopes of the eastern Himalayas. The tropical vegetation and the endless stream of hill people who wander along the cart road are full of interest to the traveler. In complete darkness, we reached Siliguri. The train was rolling over the low-lying plain of Bengal — jungle-clad and fever-infected marshy tracts, and rice fields already flooded. Through the blackness of the tropical night, one could see the strange life proceeding around the glittering lights of numerous fires scattered in the jungle and in front of small village huts, that stood here and there among palm trees. Figures in white turbans anddhoti moved about, and at the railway stations the air resounded with the high-pitched cries of peddlers selling tea, drinking water, and cigarettes. The country seemed alive with intense movement screened by the dusky veil of the night.
Early in the morning the train rolled into the large station of Sealdah. A traveler who comes from the mountain solitudes of the Himalayas is invariably struck by the semi-European, semi-oriental character of the city. The Calcutta streets, with modern motor cars, horse carriages, rickshaws, cows, and a multicolored crowd of pedestrians, seem indeed to be a stream in which East and West mingle in a striking manner. After a busy and hot day in the great city, including a visit to the headquarters of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, that distinguished institution which is a monument of noble coöperation between western and eastern scholars, we again entrained on the Punjab Mail for the long two days' and two nights' journey across the dusty plains of northern India.
The hot season was already approaching and a peculiar and intense glare hung over the horizon.
On the evening of the eighth of March we reached Rawalpindi. Several hours before the cantonment, the train traversed an arid country of sand and stone, cut into numerous canyons. After a night spent at a local hotel at Rawalpindi we again resumed our route, but this time in motor cars.
Rawalpindi has the atmosphere of alertness of a great military station. Everywhere there are khaki-clad figures; and the town bazaars throng with the colorful crowd of a border country. Fine-looking Hazaras and martial Pathans from the frontier move among the groups of Punjabis and down-country men.
The motor road to Srinagar through Murree has been so often described that I need not dwell too long on this portion of our journey. It is one of the finest motor roads in the world, and the scenery is at times magnificent. Rising gradually, at Murree the road reaches the altitude of some seven thousand feet above sea level.
We spent the night in the resthouse at Garhi, a small village on Kashmir territory at an altitude of 2,628 feet. In the evening we admired the Mohammedan festival ofBakr-Id, when the whole countryside was acclaiming the advent of the spring. Flaming circles of men brandishing torches were moving about the hillside on the opposite river bank, and above them towered the somber silhouettes of the mountains. An unforgettable picture of Indian spring!
Next morning brought us to Uri, a picturesque village and fort situated at an altitude of 4,370 feet. The mountain landscape near Uri was of outstanding beauty; patches of snow intensified the deep blue coloring of the surrounding mountains. After Uri, we passed the ruined temple of Brankutri, similar to the other temples of Kashmir dating back to the Indian Middle Ages. About noon we drove through the small town of Baramulla. The day was beautifully clear and we obtained a fine view of the Nanga Parbat, towering to a height of 26,900 feet.
For the few miles outside of the city of Srinagar, there runs one of the most beautiful drives in the world, bordered with rows of high poplars. All around lies the famous Kashmir Valley, engirded by lofty snowy mountains.
About three o'clock in the afternoon we drove into the native city of Srinagar, and were at once assailed by a motley crowd of Kashmiris, yelling and crying, abusing each other, offering goods: Kashmiri products, houseboats, shikaras, and other attractions of Kashmir. It was a sad sight.
We established our headquarters at the Nedou Hotel and at once began our preparation for the journey to Ladak and the desert lands of Chinese Turkestan, lying beyond the lofty passes of the Karakorum and Sanju. A difficult and long mountain journey necessitates protracted preparations and every detail must be thoroughly checked personally; a journey such as that from Kashmir to Chinese Turkestan over the highest mountain route in the world, requires unusual forethought and careful consideration. Srinagar is the last place where such preparations can be made and food supplies obtained. The Kashmiri artisans are famed for their work and, if supervised, turn out serviceable equipment. There are a number of native firms in the city which produce excellent winter outfits and camping furniture. Naturally, the traveler must keep a watchful eye on the execution of his order. All the expedition supplies had to be packed in yaghtans or wooden boxes covered with leather. Tin or iron boxes are of no use in mountain travel, for they easily break.
The winter outfit for the cold weather on the mountain passes and the winter in Chinese Turkestan consisted of fur coats lined with pashmina, Gilgit fur boots, fur caps, fur socks, and fur sleeping bags. We also ordered several tents of waterproof Willesden canvas with warm pattoo lining. These tents had to be specially constructed to withstand the rough traveling and the mountain gales. They consisted of two flies, the outer fly reaching the ground to prevent the strong wind of the higher uplands from penetrating beneath and lifting the tent. The tent poles were of thick bamboo with strong metal joints, and the tent pegs of galvanized iron.
We also decided to buy our own riding horses in order to be self-equipped and independent of local transport, which is not always reliable. Srinagar is a good horse market, and one can usually get good animals of the Yarkendi or Badakhshani breed. These breeds are famous throughout central Asia and are invaluable on long travels. The Zangskar ponies are good for mountains, but as a rule of uncertain temper and hard-mouthed.
With the kind help of Mr. Nedou, the proprietor of the local hotel, we soon succeeded in buying six fine horses which carried us from Kashmir to the confines of the Altai.
The departure was fixed for the beginning of August, and, meanwhile, we decided to use our free time for a little touring in the Kashmir Valley.
I shall not describe the capital or the valley of Kashmir. Concerning them there is a voluminous literature, and the antiquities of the country have been studied and commented upon by such men as Sir Aurel Stein.
Comparing the beauties of nature, and the unique gardens of Nishad and Shalimar laid out by the Great Moguls Akbar and Jehangir with the sad realities of the native city of Srinagar, one is always struck by the deep contrast. We were glad to leave the "Indian Venice" and to feel ourselves again in the open country of the beautiful valley. We hired a large house boat, The Monarch, belonging to a sympathetic Kashmiri, Sobra Wanganu, and started for a short trip to Vulur Lake.
The trip along the channels offers little of interest. The boat slowly moves past low-lying banks. The water channels are narrow and the water not always clear. The big lake of Vulur lies engirded by high mountain ranges and in fine weather wonderful shadows play on the mountain sides. We landed at Bandipur, a small village with some commissariat barracks, lying at the head of the Gilgit Road that leads across Gilgit, Hunza, and Sarikol to Kashgar and the Tarim basin. We experienced a violent windstorm on the lake, which broke all the ropes by which the boat was secured to the shore and almost carried it away into the open. The boatmen spent several anxious hours fighting the storm. The house boats are not seagoing and never venture into the open in windy weather. The dunga boat, in which our Chinese interpreter and servants were staying, had its roof carried away by the wind. Since boatmen considered our position very unsafe, we had to curtail our visit on the lake.
The next day proved to be fine and we had enough time to recross the lake into the channel. The afternoon was stormy again, but we were not affected by it.
About the fifteenth of April, we moved to Gulmarg, the hill station of Kashmir. Here, in the coolness of the mountains, we could conclude our preparations and study the different problems presented by our coming journey. We arrived early in the season and the hill station was still covered by snow. For a whole week we experienced tremendous thunderstorms. The thunder rolled and crashed in the mountains and the lightning swept round our house in a large circle, illumining the whole neighborhood at night. For several days we were completely cut off from the outside world and had to keep to our rooms. Nowhere else did we experience electrical storms of such terrific violence. They were usually followed by hail, and some of the hailstones were of surprising size.
At Gulmarg we spent the whole of May, June, and July.
By the end of July we had received all our outfit and, on the eighth of August, the expedition left Gulmarg for Ganderbal on its long journey to Ladak and Chinese Turkestan.
Ganderbal is conveniently reached by motor cars. It is the starting point of the Ladak Treaty Route. Our caravans consisted of eighty-two pack ponies which were to carry our loads up to Dras on the Ladak side of the Zoji Pass—an alarming number considering the difficulties of obtaining sufficient forage.
We reached Ganderbal late in the evening of the same day, and found our caravan men already camping in the courtyard of the resthouse. Great camp fires illumined the faces of the men and the long rows of caravan animals.
Next morning, August 9, we rose early but were somewhat delayed by the unloading of the supplies from the boats which had carried them from Srinagar. The men were new to caravan work and had to be directed in every detail. Our headman, Wahaba Wanganu, was a cold-blooded and remarkably efficient man who kept the rest of the expedition servants well in hand.
Late in the afternoon the whole caravan moved out of Ganderbal. We drove by motor as far as the little village of Nunner, then mounted our horses and crossed the Sindh near Wayil. The route follows the right bank of the river for about two miles, and it was a pleasant ride past flowering meadows.
Kangan is a small village with a large bungalow, where we found several other travelers. The route from Kangan to Baltal at the foot of Zoji Pass has been often described, and I shall limit myself to a few comments.
The Leh Treaty Route was made passable for peaceful caravans by the efforts of Colonel Durand's column in 1891. The Kashmir State takes a great interest in this route, and the transport and supplies are carefully organized. State granaries and spaciousserais or resthouses for trading caravans are maintained at various stages along the route.
The route passes Gund and Sonamarg, the summer camping ground of many European visitors. Fine weather accompanied us up to Sonamarg. At Gund we had a sad experience with our horses which only by a lucky chance did not prove fatal to them. All along the route from Ganderbal to Baltal is a kind of poisonous grass, locally calledgumai. The horses of the region never touch it, but strange horses often eat it and perish. Through the negligence of our syces, four of our best horses ate some of this grass and fell ill in the evening. We tried our best to help them, but their condition rapidly grew worse. All local remedies were without avail. Finally, we decided to give them a good dose of bicarbonate of soda. This worked wonders. By the next morning all four of the animals were all right and were able to proceed to Sonamarg.
On the road we met the first party of Ladakis on their way to Srinagar. They were dressed in the usual gray homespun—the universal clothing of Tibetan laity. Soon after our arrival at Sonamarg, which is situated at an altitude of some 8,600 feet, it began to rain heavily and continued to do so for the whole night. We had to stay at the dak bungalow for the entire morning, starting only about two o'clock in the afternoon, after the rain had subsided somewhat.
Sonamarg, said to be the loveliest spot in Kashmir, did not strike us as a place of exceptional natural beauty. We saw some fine meadows surrounded on all sides with pine forests, but the neighboring mountains were hidden behind an impenetrable veil of mist and clouds that hovered over the peaks.
The trail was slippery and our pack animals had a hard time on it. After three hours' march, we reached Baltal, situated amid a birch and pine forest. The bungalow was occupied by visitors from Srinagar, and we preferred to pitch our own camp on a fine meadow outside the resthouse.
The rain started again toward evening and continued for the rest of the night. In the early morning a party of Balti pony men arrived from the pass and reported a landslide there. This bad news meant that we would have to stay for the day at Baltal and send up men to clear the road of thedébris. We sent our chief shikari, Satar Khan, and ten of our pony men out to the pass with spades to repair the trail. Toward noon the rain started again with renewed force and the dismal weather continued until late into the evening. Everything was wet and we had to take the greatest precautions to keep our boxes with food supplies dry. Our men returned toward evening, and reported that the road was clear but that several other places were threatened by avalanches if the rain continued. Luckily for us it stopped toward evening, and by five o'clock in the morning the sky was beautifully clear.
The route from Ganderbal to Baltal runs through a typical Kashmir mountain country with well-watered hillsides, receiving plenty of moisture and covered with luxuriant meadows and pine forests. The great change comes only after the Zoji Pass. We started about six o'clock in the morning and slowly ascended the pass. It presents no difficulty in late summer or autumn. But in winter it is dangerous, and practicable only for men, for its avalanche-swept slopes are covered with ice and snow which may at any time give way and carry the traveler down the precipice. Traffic is closed for the whole of winter and during early spring, during which time the traveler has to pay special rates to the coolies who agree to face the peril on the summit of the pass.
The Zoji La route was already known in ancient times. The first mention of the route is made by the Chinese pilgrim Wu-k'ung who visited Kashmir between 751-790 A.D. and mentions the route to Tibet across the Zoji Pass. It has witnessed numerous conflicts in the past. In the fourteenth century came the Turks and shortly after them, the Ladaki Prince Rin-chen, who swept into the Kashmir Valley. In 1532 A.D. the famous Mirza Mohammad Haidar entered the valley of Kashmir and successfully fought near the pass.
The Zoji Pass (11,300 feet) possesses another name of Du-shi-la (dus-bshi-la). According to the Rev. Dr. A. H. Francke, the name is a contracted form of the name of the goddess Du-shi lha-mo, the wife of thesiddha Naropa. According to the popular story related by Dr. Francke, Naropa had to leave her behind because of her Kashmiri smell. The goddess, in disgust, turned her back upon Ladak, and this caused Ladak to dry up and Kashmir to become a verdant valley.
On ascending the pass, the landscape changed completely. We now entered the typical Tibetan mountain country. Barren mountain ridges rose on both sides and between them lay a broad upland plain covered by stone bowlders and scant grazing lands.
At Mitsahoi, on the ninth mile, we stopped for an hour and then resumed our march toward the broad plain on which lies the resthouse of Matayan. The day had become overcast and heavy gray clouds hung over the mountain peaks. The last six miles to Matayan we rode in a pouring rain that made the path slippery, and we were glad to reach the resthouse and camp for the night.
Next day we continued our march to Dras. Passing through the small hamlet of Prandes we saw several farmsteads, surrounded by barley fields, which looked like small strongholds. After an hour's ride from Prandes, we entered the open valley of Dras.
Dras, properly speaking, is a series of small hamlets scattered over the broad valley watered by the Dras River. The population consists of Dards and Baltis.
Near to the bungalow stands the modern Dogra Fort. Ruins of several old strongholds are scattered over the valley and the foot of the hills. The Tibetan name for Dras is Hembabs. The altitude is about 10,000 feet.
For me the chief interest in Dras lay in the Buddhist stone sculptures, found on the roadside outside the villages of Dras. They are four in all and have been described by Sir Alexander Cunningham, who took them to represent female deities, and by Dr. Francke, who correctly described them in hisAntiquities of Indian Tibet.
The first small stone represents a figure of a horseman, probably the portrait of a local raja who erected the two bodhisattva images as recorded in the Sharada inscription on the reverse of the stone. The stone next to the first one represents the Bodhisattva Maitreya. The Bodhisattva is represented standing and attired in the princely costume of a rajakumara or royal prince. In his raised right hand he holds a rosary and his left hand supports a vase or bum-pa. On his head he wears the diadem (mukuta). Below the principal figure one sees figures of devotees. On the right corner of the stone there is a Sharada inscription, which is unfortunately very much damaged.
I have already noticed elsewhere that the cult of Maitreya was associated with the spread of Mahayana.
The presence of images of the Bodhisattva Maitreya along the caravan route Kashmir-Ladak, and along other caravan routes of central Asia, seems to be significant.
The third stone represents the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara with two attendants. On the stone above the head of one of the attendants, Dr. Francke has discovered a much-damaged inscription.
The fourth stone represents a lotus flower. Dr. Francke dates the images approximately from the tenth century A.D. They have undoubtedly some connection with the spread of Buddhism into the kingdoms of westernmost Tibet and, as such, may belong to the ninth century A.D.
At Dras we had to change our transport. This necessitated long negotiations with the local headmen, who had to supply pack animals. Thanks to the excellent organization of the relay service on the Ladak route, travelers usually find their transport ready for them. In our case we required at least seventy pack animals—a large number for the scant population along the route. By the evening everything was settled, and pack horses and dzo (a crossbreed between a yak and a cow) began to pour into the dak bungalow's compound. In the morning we went through the usual "ceremony" of the distribution of our loads by the headmen among the pony drivers. Dark-turbaned men swarmed in the courtyard and the loading was accompanied by the usual loud cries and occasional wrangles. I must credit the Ladakis and Baltis with remarkably quick loading.
Leaving Dras, the trail skirts barley fields fenced by low stone walls, and descends toward the Dras River.
The small hamlet of Dundelthang was the scene of a recent tragedy. An American traveler, Mr. Landon, disappeared here, while on his way to Ladak. His body was subsequently found and buried in the small European cemetery at Leh.
The valley narrows and the path follows the left bank of the river that flows through a fine gorge. We reached Shimsha Kharbu late in the afternoon and camped for the night in the resthouse, pleasantly situated in a garden of willows. Above the bungalow stand the ruins of a castle said to have belonged to Khri Sultan of Sod, a place near Kargil. In Shimsha Kharbu, Ladakis are already more prominent.
In theserai close to the bungalow we found a small caravan of Yarkend traders and some pilgrims from Kashgar on their way to distant Mecca. Since the Great War most of these pilgrims travel across the high passes of the Karakorum, and then through Bombay and by sea. Many die on these journeys, but a great many return to occupy an honored place in their communities.
The next march brought us to the thriving little town of Kargil, the last big settlement in the Dard district. At Kharal there is a good suspension bridge. From here a road branches off to Skardo, and crosses the river, whereas the trail to Kargil follows up the bank of the Suru River.
In Dong-ga, which is situated between Shimsha Kharbu and Chanigund, there is a bowlder with many carvings, representing ibex, archers, and swastika figures. These stone carvings are widespread over Ladak and the neighboring mountain countries and are found as far as the Sanju Oasis on the northern side of the Sanju Pass. They belong to the primitive nature religion of Tibet, usually designated by the name of Bon. The ibex is very popular in the ancient fire cult of the Mongols, and is connected with the idea of fecundity. It seems that these stone carvings belonging to a remote common religious period of inner Asia.
Kargil is situated on a vast plateau. The alluvial slopes that gradually descend toward the river are under irrigation. The town is the capital of the Purig Province, whose population consists of Tibetan stock which has embraced Islam. The streets of the village are thronged with a motley crowd of traders and other visitors to the town market. Sturdy and fair-looking Yarkendis mingle with men from Gilgit and Hunza. Short and squarely built Ladakis, in gray homespun, urge droves of horses and donkeys along the streets. Hawk-nosed Kashmiris, with red flaming beards, bargain with black-turbaned Dards and men from Skardo.
We experienced some trouble in raising the required number of pack animals. A big trading caravan had requisitioned all that were available, and we spent several busy hours in making arrangements. Finally a small caravan of Ladakis was persuaded to hire out their animals for the next stage.
A place of interest in the town is the Dogra Castle, constructed in modern times; another is the Sod Castle, a little north of Kargil, which we had no time to visit.
The next march brought us from Dardistan to Buddhist Ladak. On leaving the town of Kargil, the road crosses a vast sandy plateau. After two hours' ride, we reached the large village of Pashkyum, the scene of a victorious raid by the Dogras. Beyond the village, the trail enters a narrow gorge of sandstone rocks. The first Buddhists are met at Shargo-lha (Shar-'go-lha). At this village the valley suddenly widens and a string ofchortens or stupas (shrines) heralds the entrance into the Buddhist kingdom of Ladak.
The village of Shar-go-lha is prominent in local history. According to tradition, one of the ministers of the Tibetan King Srong-btsan-sgam-po, the bLön-po Rig-pa-can, is said to have been born there. His house is still shown situated near the bridge of Shar-go-lha.
Close to the village there is a cave monastery of considerable interest.
According to a local tradition, the monastery was built by two local chiefs, Thog-lde-jo and Yang-lde-jo.
The last three miles of the road from Shar-go-lha to Mulbe passed through a country of unusual grandeur. In sharp, bold outlines lie the rugged and rocky mountain ridges. The small village of Mulbe clusters at the foot of a crag on which stands the small lamasery of Mulbe. We spent the night at the resthouse, situated at some distance from the village.
Mulbe and its antiquities have been already thoroughly studied and investigated by Dr. Francke, an admirable student of west Tibetan antiquities. His researches are embodied in a learned article, "The Rock Inscriptions at Mulbe."
Mulbe boasts of an old Dard castle, two monasteries, and several important inscriptions found on the rock on which one of the monasteries is situated.
The chief interest of Mulbe consists, however, in a colossal stone figure of Maitreya. The image was first noticed and described by Moorcroft in 1820. It represents the Bodhisattva standing, and is some twenty feet in height. The Bodhisattva is attired in the costume of an Indian ascetic, with the sacred brahmanical string which serves to distinguish bodhisattva images from feminine deities wearing a costume similar to that of a Bodhisattva. It is difficult to say anything definite about the date of the image. Its purely Indian character is evident, and as a work of art it occupies an outstanding place among the stone sculptures of Ladak. Local tradition attributes the image to the time of the great lotsa-wa or translator, Rin-chen-bzang-po (Ratnabhadra 964-1054 A.D.). I believe that this must not be far from the truth and that the stone image belongs to the tenth or eleventh centuries A.D. The lower half of the image is hidden by a small temple or lha-khang built by Wazir Söd-nam, the local landlord. An aged priest officiates in the chapel, and offers flower garlands and ghee to the image, before which an offering lamp burns on a low altar table. The walls of the chapel are decorated with frescoes representing the "eight great sons of Nyewa" who are said to have carved the image. The keeper belongs to an old family of astrologers and his duty is said to be hereditary in the family.
From the outside, the image is hidden by trees and the chapel, but when one enters the edifice, one suddenly sees the colossal statue rising before one's eyes. It makes a lasting and powerful impression on everyone who visits the spot.
From the chapel we went to visit the house of the local landlord who had erected the chapel of Maitreya. It is situated a little above the road and is a typical Tibetan house, with stables and servants' quarters on the ground floor and the living quarters on the upper floor. We found the widow of the landlord in her private chapel where she was offering daily prayers for the welfare of the soul of her departed husband.
Wealthy Tibetan families very often spend considerable sums in memory of their departed members. Large donations are presented to monasteries, which must pray for the salvation and speedy reincarnation of the departed. The widow of the late landlord of Mulbe employed a lama who spent his days murmuring prayers and rhythmically striking his drum.
The chapel contained some clay and brass images of Sakyamuni, the Teacher Padmasambhava, and Tara, the Saviouress, besides several photographs representing the abbot or sku-shok of the Hemis Monastery, the Tashi Lama of Tsang, and the Dalai Lama of Lhasa.
The housemaids were busy grinding barley and pressing oil on the flat roof of the house.
From the landlord's house we proceeded up the steep crag to the monastery situated on its summit. It is a tiny temple of the usual Tibetan architecture, situated inside a small compound. The lha-khang is in charge of an aged priest. Inside the temple stands an altar with a gilded clay image of Padmasambhava. A small library containing the sixteen volumes of the Prajñaparamita or 'Bum is placed along the walls of the temple. This monastery belongs to the Dug-pa sect of the unreformed Nying-ma-pa School of Tibetan Buddhism.
Returning from the monastery, we examined the inscriptions carved on the rock surface. Among them there is an edict promulgated by the King 'Bum-lde and a wedding congratulation to King Jamyang ('Jam-dbyangs) and his queen.
We made an early start next day in order to reach the next stage, Bod-Kharbu.
The road leads across the Namike Pass, at an altitude of 13,000 feet; the ascent is very gradual and after crossing the pass, the trail leads into the valley of Kharbu, interesting for its many ruined castles that crown the barren summits of mountain spurs. The place was the scene of considerable warfare in the reign of King Del-den (bDe-ldan rnam-rgyal, 1620-40 A.D.).
The valley bottom is watered by a small rivulet, the Tanjichu, and is covered by verdant barley fields carefully fenced with stone inclosures. We camped in the resthouse of Bod-Kharbu, a small Ladaki village situated at an elevation of some 11,000 feet. On the opposite side of the river stand, high on a steep rock, the important ruins of the castle of sTag-rtse. A little down the valley to the north lies the old castle of Chigtan. The village of Chigtan has also a small lamasery which might be assigned to the eleventh century A.D.
The old town of Kharbu, probably destroyed during the war waged by King Del-den rnam-rgyal against the Khri Sultan of Kartse (about 1620-30 A.D.) lies on the sandstone plateau above the village of Bod-Kharbu. Above the ruined town stands the old castle of Kharbu, also in ruins.
Outside the village in a narrow gorge is situated a small Buddhist temple orlha-khang. We found in it an old lama, worshiping several clay images, the one in the middle of the altar representing Spyan-ras-gzigs Thugs-rje-chen-po, Avalokitesvara, the Merciful Lord. The temple possessed no library of its own, except for some prayer manuals.
The next stage brought us to Lamayuru, the famous monastery on the Kashmir-Ladak route. A view of unique grandeur opens before the traveler from the summit of the Pho-tho La Pass, 14,000 feet above sea level—a vast amphitheater of rugged mountains, sharp rocks, and distant snowy peaks.
An hour's ride down the gradually descending slope, and the firststupas, standing at the entrance into the narrow gorge, emerge from behind a low sandy spur. On entering the narrow the local monastic tradition, it was founded by the famous mahasiddha Naropa who lived in the ninth century A.D. and with whose name are associated many events in the church history of Ladak. The name of the monastery is said to be a corruption of gYung-drung or Svastika, the synonym of Bön, i.e., the primitive nature religion of Tibet. Dr. Francke relates the following legend about the name of the monastery:
When Naropa ... arrived at the site the whole valley was filled with a lake which he caused to dry up. The monastery received its name from a plantation of sacrificial grain which miraculously grew into the shape of the Svastika (gYung-drung). It is interesting that there are traces of deposits of a former lake all around the mountains of Lamayuru, and it is strange that Drew in his book does not make any mention of them. But the Ladakis must really have a geological instinct, to be able to invent stories of this kind. They have also tales of the existence of former lakes at Leh and at Trilokanath in Lahul. The name gYung-drung was of course not given by Naropa, but must date back to a time long before he arrived in the country, as it was then the foremost place of the Bön religion which is called gYung-drung Bön.
We visited the du-khang or assembly hall in which some twenty monks were reciting prayers—the library of the monastery containing a Kanjür and Tanjür of the Narthang print—and the small courtyard in which the religious dances take place.
The Incarnate Lama of Lamayuru was away, and we were allowed to visit his living rooms, which were, as usual, neat and orderly.
According to the lamas of the monastery, the oldest part of the convent is the temple called Seng-ge sgang, situated at the southern end of the cliff of Lamayuru. The principal image is that of Mañjushri or Jam-pe yang. According to a local tradition the Seng-ge sgang temple dates back to the bKa-gdams period, that is the eleventh century A.D. Dr. A. H. Francke, who visited this temple, thinks that the tradition is quite in agreement with the general appearance of the temple.
We also paid a visit to a ruined Bön sanctuary, referred to by Dr. Francke. Unfortunately the frescos that once adorned the walls of the edifice were in a very dilapidated condition and one could hardly identify the images represented on them.
On the twenty-third of August we broke camp and started on our further journey, hoping to reach the hamlet of Nurla in one day's march.
The trail is rather bad. In several places one has to cross avalanche-swept slopes and sand and gravel continuously drift down into the stream. Several times we had to cross large accumulations ofdébris—traces of a recent avalanche. After three hours' march we reached the open valley of the Indus and crossed the great river by a suspension bridge to the important village of Khalatse.
Khalatse, the old Dard center, is known for its antiquities. It was formerly a Dard colony, and there still exists here a ruined Dard castle. The Ladak king Lha-chen Nag-lug (1150-75 A.D.) built the important castle of Brag-nag, whose ruins still tower over the village. Dr. Francke has discovered a number of old Kharoshthi, Brahmi and Gupta inscriptions, which present many difficulties to the decipherer.
The modern village of Khalatse is pleasantly situated among apricot groves. After a brief halt at the village, we continued our march toward Nurla (sNyur-la). The trail leads over a stony level ground. The heat in midday was intense. We reached sNyur-la in the afternoon and took up quarters for the night in the small resthouse of the place.
The march from sNyur-la to Saspola leads across a barren country almost entirely devoid of vegetation. Saspola itself is a large village with numerous tree groves. Across the Indus, some two miles distant, lies the interesting monastery of Alchi, one of the oldest convents of Ladak. This monastery dates back to the time of Rin-chen bzang-po (eleventh century) and has preserved much of its old Indian wood-carvings which recall the finely executed carvings of medieval Kashmir. In the village of Saspola itself there exist two ruined stupas attributed to Rin-chen bzang-po. On the ruined foundation of the largest one has been erected a small monastery, named Cham-pa gom-pa (Byams-pa dgon-pa). It contains a large image of gilded clay of the Bodhisattva Maitreya and several other large images of standing bodhisattvas. According to local tradition, the standing statue of Maitreya was erected by Rin-chen bzang-po himself. Most probably the present statue dates from a comparatively recent time and possibly replaced an older one, which might have dated from the time of the great translator.
The next march from Saspola to sNye-mo was interesting for several old monasteries. On leaving the village of Saspola, the trail crosses a vast sandy plateau. Not far from the route lies the important monastery of kLu-dkyil, popularly pronounced Likir. It was founded by King Lha-chen rgyal-po (ca. 1050-80 A.D.). The trail descends into the deeper valley and reaches the romantically situated hamlet of Basgo, famous for one of the oldest monasteries of Ladak and for the ancient palace of its kings.
An old temple, founded by King Thse-dbang rnam-rgyal, contains a huge statue of Maitreya, Avalokitesvara, and curious wall frescoes. The ancient palace of Ladak kings has a small monastery of Seljang. It contains a big statue of Bodhisattva Maitreya, said to have been erected by King Seng-ge rnam-rgyal about 1610 A.D. It also contains the ancient royal library of Ladak. So far as I know, its contents were never thoroughly investigated nor the volumes catalogued. Basgo was the scene of considerable fighting when the advancing Mongol troops besieged the Ladak king, bDe-legs rnam-rgyal, who reigned between 1640 and 1680 A.D.
Basgo, with its half-ruined temples and castles built on precipitous cliffs, and the quaint huts of the modern village that cluster between the sanctuaries and the sandstone rocks, makes a deep impression on the visitor; and I still cherish in my memory the picture of this ancient corner of westernmost Tibet. The town is justly said to contain the oldest convents of Ladak.
From Basgo, the trail leads over level stony ground to the collection of farmsteads called sNye-mo. The bungalow proved to be occupied by a party of Europeans traveling from Leh, and we preferred to pitch our tents in the shady grove outside the bungalow.
Near to sNye-mo lie the ruins of an old fort called Chung-khar, of which only walls remain.
On the twenty-sixth of August we started at an early hour on the last seventeen miles to Leh.
The track leaves the Indus at sNye-mo and crosses a wide plateau surrounded by barren mountains. After three hours' march, we reached the village of Phyi-dbang, famous for a monastery built by King Bkra-shis rnam-rgyal (1500-1532). The monastery belongs to the 'Bri-khung-pa sect and possesses a finelha-khang or temple.
About two o'clock in the afternoon we reached the important Yellow Hat Monastery of Spi-thug (dPe-thub) built by King 'Bum-lde (fifteenth century) on a steep rock. This monastery was one of the first Yellow Hat monasteries of Ladak. It possesses a branch, the Zang-skar Monastery, just outside of Leh; and the well-known monastery of Ri-dzong (Ri-rdzong) is also connected with it.
The monastery of Spi-thug enjoys a wide reputation throughout Tibet for the austerity of its monks and the learning of its abbot. It was erected in honor of the great reformer rJe-rin-po-che Tsong-kha-pa (1357-1419 A.D.) and a large-sized image of the Saint is found in its du-khang or assembly hall. We decided to visit the monastery on our way and therefore rode up the steep crag on which it stands. We had no difficulty in gaining admission and were very cordially invited in by the abbot and his assistant or umdze. We first were shown round the du-khang where some thirty monks were attending divine service. The walls were covered with frescoes, but the extreme darkness inside the hall prevented us from seeing much of them. Before the altar glittered several rows of offering lamps, whose twinkling light illumined from time to time the serene faces of the images.
We were entertained with tea and sweets in the private apartments of the sku-shok or Incarnate Lama of the monastery. The sku-shok himself was absent at Ri-dzong, where he was undergoing a course of instruction in Buddhist metaphysics. In his absence the monastery was administered by Lama Lobzang, a pleasant old gentleman of quiet manners, who made a very good impression on all of us. He was one of those erudite lamas who carry in themselves centuries of religious culture.
The private rooms were neat and well furnished in Tibetan style, with painted glass cases containing clay and brass images and a small library of religious texts destined for the private use of the sku-shok. His mantle was thrown on his low throne standing at the northern wall of the room. After a pleasant hour spent in the company of the abbot and his assistant, we climbed to the roof of the monastery and enjoyed the magnificent view over the vast and open Indus Valley, north of which lies the capital of Ladak.
The last five miles to Leh led over a stony plain dotted here and there with small groves of trees. Leh, with its bazaar engirded by high walls, its city gates, the towering mass of the palace, and the picturesque crowd that throngs the bazaar and streets, makes a lasting impression. It is one of those towns of higher Asia, which has still preserved its character of an Asiatic caravan center to which stream numerous caravans carrying the products of India, China, Tibet, and Turkestan.
A careful archaeological study of Ladak requires prolonged residence in the country. Whatever we know of the past of the country and its monuments of antiquity, we owe to the labors of Dr. A. H. Francke and his predecessors in the Moravian Mission.
Our expedition remained in the capital of Ladak from August 26 to September 19, 1925, except for several days spent on a journey to the famous Hemis Monastery and other places of interest round the town. Much of the time during this stay was occupied by preparations for the next difficult portion of the journey across the great mountain route to Chinese Turkestan. We had to dismiss all our Kashmiri servants, who were quite unsuitable for a hard mountain journey, and engaged new, experienced men. The problem of transport also gave much anxiety, for it was imperative to get reliable caravan men and good animals. Most of the caravans which reached Leh had very poor animals requiring several weeks of recuperation.
After some search and lengthy consultations with the British aqsa-qal of Leh, we signed an agreement with Nazar Bai, a Karghalik caravan man, who possessed thirty-six pack horses in good condition. He had come in July and his drove of horses had been grazing for two months in a garden outside Leh. We needed in all seventy-six pack animals to carry the expedition's baggage, and there still remained thirty horses to be found in addition to those we already had.
Every day we went round the serais or resthouses for Yarkend traders, inquiring for new arrivals or starting caravans. Finally we succeeded in finding the required thirty pack horses, belonging to an Afghan trader, Omar Khan, a resident of Yarkend. His horses had come only recently from the passes and were in poor condition, but the owner promised to feed them well the remaining three weeks and to have them fit by the date of departure. We had to agree, for this was the only solution of our transport problem. On such a difficult and deserted route as the Karakorum trade route, it is always advisable to make use of hired transport and not to risk a caravan of purchased animals. The difficulties of this mountain route, its rarefied atmospheres and absolute barrenness, and the great percentage of caravan animals that perish yearly, make traveling very expensive. The prices for one pack horse range from sixty rupees to eighty rupees from Leh to Yarkend or Khotan. We fixed the price of one horse at seventy-six rupees, with the obligation of carrying the expedition's baggage in twenty-four days from Leh to Khotan.
The caravan men were sturdy Turkis from Karghalik and Khotan, in large chapans or coats, soft leather boots or charuq, and large oval fur caps protecting the wearer from the bitter winds and gales of the highlands. It was strange to hear the strongly guttural sounds of the eastern Turki, so different from the soft Urdu of India and the fluent speech of Lhasa Tibetans. Some of the men knew a little Chinese, and our Chinese interpreter was able to make some sort of conversation with them.
Once the transport problem had been settled, we had more time to inspect the interesting locality of Leh and its vicinity.
The modern city of Leh is situated at the junction of several important central Asian caravan routes, hence its importance for the history of the Indian border country. At least three long and difficult routes connect Leh with Lhasa, the capital of Tibet proper. The first of them crosses the Tibetan uplands and passes north of the great lakes; Ngan-tse tsho, Chyaring tsho (Kya-ring tsho), and Nam tsho, the Tengri-nor of our maps. It joins the great Mongolia-Lhasa route in the important frontier center of Nag-chu dzong (a Tibetan dzong is the administrative center of a district and not a fortress, as is often recorded).
The second of the three routes crosses the Tibetan upland to the holy Kailasa Range and strikes south of the Great Lakes: Dangra yum-tsho, Ngan-tse, and Tengri-nor. Travelers by this route travel direct to Lhasa across the high pass of Go-ring La in the Nyen-chen Thang La Range.
The third route follows the course of the Brahmaputra and passes through Saga dzong, north of the river. From here it strikes either along the bank of the Brahmaputra to Lhartse dzong, or crosses the river and passes through Tingri on the Nepal border. In both cases the route runs through Shigatse to Lhasa. This last route is used by most of the Ladaki traders traveling to Lhasa and by the Embassy from the Maharaja of Kashmir to the Court of Lhasa.
The Karakorum route, aptly called the highest trade route in the world, connects Leh with distant China and the oases of Chinese Turkestan. Traders from Yarkend, Kashgar, and Khotan, the principal oases of southwestern Chinese Turkestan, follow it on their way to India. From Leh the central Asian caravans travel to Kashmir across the Zoji La, or through Zangskar, Lahul, the valley of Kulu and the native states of Mandi to Hoshiarpur and Amritsar, the two great emporiums of Punjab. This Turkestan trade route has increased greatly in importance during the last ten years, and the Government of India has facilitated by several measures the passage of trading caravans over Indian territory. With the closing of the Russian frontier and the recent unrest and civil war in western China, the Turkestan trade turned southward to India, and we found the route alive with caravan parties which were braving the icy winds and frequent avalanches on the mountain crests.
Such a favorable situation makes Leh an exceedingly interesting place for archaeological and ethnographical research. The two principal bazaars of the town are thronged by a multicolored crowd, among which the neatly attired Turkestan Turks are prominent. Huge bales of merchandise, containing Turkestan felts or nimdah, which come from Khotan, Guma, and Yarkend and command good prices on Indian markets, stand in front of the open shops. Some of these felts are very decorative in design and, as products, are much superior to similar felts made by the Mongols or even the Chinese. In camp they are indispensable, for they serve as floor covering for tents and as bedding for the personnel of the caravans. Quite recently the export of these felts from Turkestan to India greatly increased, and this reacted favorably on the ancient industry.
The Tibetan nomads of the north bring the soft Tibetan wool out of which Kashmiri artisans make their beautiful pashmina shawls.
The caravans from Turkestan arrive usually in July and August and start on their return journey in October or even November, before the snow has closed the passes for the winter. The merchandise brought to Leh and Kashmir consists chiefly of Turkestan felts, Chinese and Khotanese silks, furs, wool, and leather products such as the Turkestan top boots and charuqs, valued so highly by the Ladaki caravan men. A considerable trade is done in horses, and Yarkend caravans usually bring with them a good number of riding horses which they drive unloaded across the passes. The hardy and swift Turkestan horse is greatly appreciated in Kashmir and the plains of India, which have never produced a country horse of its own.
The returning caravans carry loads of European-made goods: products of Manchester looms and Bradford woolen mills, British and German dyestuffs, various articles of haberdashery, and Indian products and spices, such as saffron, which is exported in great quantities from Kashmir to Turkestan and Tibet.
All this motley crowd of visitors moves, shouts, and gesticulates in the narrow streets and bazaars of Leh. Sitting on the verandah of the dak bungalow one constantly hears the pleasant bells of passing caravans and the songs of the Ladaki women and men carrying grass from the fields. At times this continuous flow of men and beasts will suddenly be interrupted by the trampling of a drove of horses driven by mounted herdsmen.
In some corners of the bazaars, or in the vicinity of Lamaist temples, one meets red-clad lamas who have traveled hundreds of miles from inner Tibet, selling holy relics and talismans. Curiously enough I have seen Buddhist talismans or srung-wa on Turki caravan men from Karghalik who seemed to be quite convinced of their potency. The black and blue turbaned Baltis are very prominent in the streets of Leh and usually find employment as coolies or caravan men, carrying heavy loads. Occasionally one meets the quaint figures of the Mons, preservers of the ancient Ladaki lore and probably an ethnic remnant of a primitive population, which has been submerged by subsequent waves of foreign migrations.
During our stay in Leh, we made the acquaintance of the son of the Ladaki aqsaqal of Lhasa, a young fellow of considerable acumen, who was on a summer visit to Leh. The goods that he brought consisted of brick tea, Tibetan cloth puru, lama boots manufactured at Dre-pung, and other objects of the Lamaist cult. He even had several Tibetan xylographs for sale, prominent among which was the life story or nam-thar of Je-tsün Milarepa, Tibet's great ascetic and poet of the eleventh century A.D.
Wandering through the streets of Leh, one feels the beating pulse of the great Asia that lies hidden behind the veil of a superficial modernization.
The native Ladaki population is chiefly agricultural, and numerous farmsteads and villages lie along the Indus Valley and the vast sandy plain on which Leh is situated. In this mountainous country agriculture is possible only in the river valleys and is seldom carried on above an altitude of 12,000 feet. The scarcity of arable land, mostly represented by fluvial fans and river terraces, has limited the agricultural population to a few river valleys.
Leh, which is sometimes spelled sLel or sLes, became the permanent residence of the kings of Ladak from the time of the reign of King 'Bum-lde (fifteenth century A.D.). The antiquities of Leh consist of palaces, stupas, and temples, stone carved images, and ancient graves.
When one approaches the town of Leh, one perceives from afar the towering white mass of its great palace, erected about 1620 A.D. by King Seng-ge rnam-rgyal, one of the greatest builders of Ladak; he was assisted in his work by the Lama sTag-tshang ras-chen, whom he invited to his court. The palace dominates the city, and the houses that cluster round it seem like stone steps leading toward an imposing edifice or altar. The Leh Palace is said to have been built on the model of the great Potala Palace of Lhasa, and indeed there is a slight resemblance between these two monuments of the Tibetan past. We had the good fortune of passing several days at the Palace of Leh through the courtesy of the present Raja of Ladak.
A broad road, on either side of which rise low walls of unhewn stones, leads to the famous Lion Gate of the King's Palace. Painted wooden columns support the roof of the entrance. A large stone stairway leads to the upper rooms of the Palace. It is in a very dilapidated condition and some of the stones forming the steps have rolled down. One has to advance carefully, testing the firmness of the stones. Our servants called it "Sasseri," comparing the stairway to the difficult mountain trail leading toward the Sasser Pass on the Karakorum route. To the right and left of the stairway gape dark holes in the walls—former doors leading to the storerooms or servant quarters. After one has climbed to the upper floor, a flash of bright light suddenly pierces the darkness of the corridor—it is a side window without a wooden frame or glass, just a square hole in the wall; climbing the stairway in complete darkness at night one has to be very careful not to fall out of this window. A little farther on, one enters a vast hall with an earthen floor. Round the walls stretches a kind of portico supported by wooden columns, painted in bright colors and carved. The walls are adorned with numerous images of the green Tara. From here a few stone steps lead to the next floor, where the living quarters are situated. These are typical Tibetan rooms with wooden frames in the large square windows and carved columns that support the ceiling. The doors are massive, with huge iron keys and iron plaques that serve as ornaments. From one of the rooms a passage leads to the roof of the Palace, from which opens a unique view of the city lying at the foot of the Palace, the snowy peaks of the mountain range on the southern side of the Indus Valley, and the wind-swept ridge of the Khardong La over which hover light clouds, the messengers of approaching storm.
At sunset, the whole of the sandy plain and the sand rock mountains that rise on either side of it light up with an intense glow. The town below plunges into a deep violet mist and the rows of white stupas on the plain sparkle like necklaces of precious stones. During this hour the Ladaki men and women tell their evening prayers, and incense smoke rises slowly above every house on the plain. It is during this hour of peace and prayer that the visitor to the capital of the little kingdom begins to understand the intrinsic beauty of the country and the irresistible force of attraction it exercises on its sons.
From the roof of the Palace one descends by another stairway to the small royal chapel of the Palace. An officiating priest guards the sacred images and lights the offering lamps of the altar. The principal figure is that of Dug-kar, the Saviouress. The figure is the work of a Ladak artist, who has acquitted himself of his task with considerable success. The thousand-armed goddess holds numerous symbols that reveal to the devotee the omnipotent nature of the deity. Round the walls of the small chapel hang numerous banners, some of which seem to be old and are extremely interesting on account of their style. As Ladak is situated at the junction of several highways of Asia, its art and culture bear an imprint of cosmopolitanism. Some of the painted banners evince a decisive Indo-Persian style, and many of the details seem to be taken from a Mogul miniature. Others again strongly remind one of the great pictorial compositions of Chinese Turkestan. We spent considerable time studying the many painted banners under the flickering light of a candle, for it seemed a profanation to disturb the somber chapel with the bright and sharp light of a flashlight.
Unfortunately the Palace was not the ideal quarter for an expedition with hundreds of cases and bales, which need packing and distribution into pony loads. After several days spent in the fantastic surroundings of the ancient abode of Ladaki kings, we were obliged to return to our former headquarters at the dak bungalow, where we had plenty of space to arrange the pony loads and keep our saddle horses.
The oldest palace of Leh is situated on the steep rock rNam-rgyal rtse-mo behind the town, and is said to have been erected by King bKra-shis rnam-rgyal (ca. 1520 A.D.). Now only ruins remain of this ancient structure, and some of its walls have been used for the construction of the present monastery on the hill.
Below the hill lies the small hamlet of Chubi, which was founded by the same bKra-shis rnam-rgyal.
The present Raja of Ladak dwells in his summer residence at sTog. He receives a small annual pension and leads a retired life. He seldom visits the town and resides in his great town palace only during the New Year festivities. His aged father has embraced monkhood and devotes his life to religious work. He is a serene and dignified gentleman, learned in the sacred lore of his country. When he paces down the streets of Leh on his rare visits to the town, many of the people throw themselves down before him and thus greet the scion of the ancient house of Kesar.
The temples and monasteries of Leh are prominent features of the town itself and its neighborhood. The oldest temple is situated on the rNam-rgyal rtse-mo Hill and is dedicated to Maitreya. According to tradition it was built by King 'Bum-lde. On the same hill is found the interesting temple called mGon-khang and dedicated to the Lords or Dharmapalas of the Four Quarters. It was erected by King bKra-shis rnam-rgyal, the builder of the Palace on the same hill, and of the hamlet Chubi. The temple contains frescoes whose importance is enhanced by the fact that their dates may be given. In the history of Tibetan pictorial art we are sadly lacking in definite dates to fix the different periods of the artistic evolution of the country. We speak of the different foreign influences which affected the art of Tibet, but are unable to place them in time. Therefore it is always gratifying to find frescoes or paintings which can be definitely dated. I hope to devote a separate work to the wall paintings found in Tibetan monasteries; like everything in Ladak, they evince a strong composite nature, and the artist or artists who executed them were inspired not only by the canonical art of Tibet but were also strongly influenced by the secular art of neighboring countries. Very striking is the fresco representing the family of Ladak kings. The men are attired in Mogul fashion, but the queens are depicted wearing the national Ladak dress. The fresco shows the duality that still exists in the culture of present-day Ladak.
Below the royal palace of Seng-ge rnam-rgyal stand two temples—one consecrated to the future Buddha Maitreya, the other to Avalokitesvara, the Divine Patron of Tibet. The temple or lha-khang of Maitreya, besides containing a huge image of the Future Buddha, has old and interesting frescoes. One of them represents the Meditative or Dhyani-Buddhas wearing the princely attire of bodhisattvas. Close to these temples lie the ruins of the house of a former minister of Ladak (bKa-blon). Old clay images and manuscript books are still to be found in the ruins.
North of Leh is situated the small monastery of Zangskar, a branch of the Spi-thug Monastery. It is of comparatively recent date but contains some well-executed images and frescoes. A square courtyard paved with large slabs of stone leads to the chief temple, standing in front of the entrance gate. The first room of the temple contains a clay image of Avalokitesvara, the Merciful Lord. The walls of the temple are covered with modern frescoes of fine execution, painted by a well-known Ladak artist, now an old man residing at the Trikshe Monastery. Behind the first hall is situated a small chapel consecrated to the worship of Dug-kar. Besides the goddess' image we found a large image of Mañjushri or Jam-pe yang, the Prince of Knowledge. The rest of the monastery buildings in the courtyard are occupied by cells and storerooms.
A place well-worth visiting is the town residence of the Hemis sku-shok or abbot of the well-known Hemis Monastery. It is in charge of a nyer-wa or housekeeper. The sku-shok only seldom resides in it and most of the year the house stands empty. It is a typical Tibetan mansion, and the upper rooms command a fine view of the Indus Valley and the snowy mountains beyond it. As usual the ground floor is reserved for stables, servants' quarters, and storerooms. On the second floor is situated the kitchen, a cleanly kept place with huge shining brass cauldrons and other kitchen utensils. The living quarters are on the upper floor. These are airy rooms with large square windows. Only one room had glass in the windows, the other had beautifully carved window frames but neither glass nor paper.
Some of the private houses of Leh contain interesting frescoes in the living rooms. In one such house I remember having seen frescoes illustrating the life of Je-tsün Milarepa, his encounter with the Bön magician Naropa on the holy Kailasa Mountain, and other equally famous episodes of the Saint's life. The same room had another very curious fresco representing the Emperor of China and the arrival of a Ladaki embassy to the Imperial Court of China. Unfortunately there was no inscription to explain or date the painting. The owner of the house called the fresco rGya-nag-gi kong-ma chen-po, i.e., "The Emperor of China." It is the second historical fresco which I found in Ladak. No doubt there exist others. The art of fresco painting is still cultivated in Ladak and the Ladaki artists produce sometimes works of art which
compare favorably to those of the central Tibetan school, with its rigidity of composition and design.
In the village of Changspa, situated in the vicinity of Leh, Dr. Francke has discovered interesting frescoes illustrating one of the important episodes of the Kesar Saga. The wall paintings are found in the summer residence of a family of bKa-blon or ministers. They represent the war of Jang or lJang-dmag, a country in the east of Tibet against which King Kesar waged war. Kesar frescoes are extremely rare throughout Tibet, and it is gratifying to know that Dr. Francke had those of Changspa copied.
The capital of Ladak abounds in stupas, mani-walls or men-dongs, and stone-cut images. On the large plain outside Leh stands the longest mani-wall of the country, with large stupas on its extremities. It was built by King Del-dan rnam-rgyal (1620-40 A.D.). The Ladak stupas are characterized by painted stucco figures on their foundations. Sometimes these represent winged horses, lions, peacocks, or swans. Rock-cut images abound in Leh and along the trails that lead to the town. At the village of Changspa are found two important stone images, one representing the Buddha Sakyamuni and the other the Future Buddha. Sakyamuni is depicted standing with both hands making the sign of instruction (dharmacakra-mudra). The Buddha is assisted by Maitreya and Padmapani, represented on either side of the chief figure. The second figure represents Maitreya holding the rosary and the vase or bum-pa. It is interesting to note that the Ladak images of Maitreya all hold the rosary in the right hand, instead of the stalk of the lotus flower, as is the case on central Tibetan bronzes. The rosary seems to belong to an older tradition. On the route to Khardong Pass stands a stone image of Maitreya holding the rosary in his right hand and the vase in his left.
A separate and curious group of monuments is formed by the Maltese crosses with inscriptions found in the vicinity of Drang-tse, a village on the Pangkong Lake. The inscriptions accompanying the cross figures were recognized to be Soghdian. It remains to be determined during what period these crosses were erected and the reason that they are found in such a remote place as Drang-tse on the Pangkong-tsho. It seems very probable that there existed a floating Nestorian Christian population in Ladak during the eighth to tenth centuries A.D. when Nestorian colonies were numerous along the trade routes of Turkestan, and other regions of central Asia. Whether the Nestorian visitors to Ladak were merchants or pilgrims, it is impossible to determine at present. In the country round Ladak and Kashmir are found curious legends of a Christian character, which are at present current among the Mohammedan population of the two provinces. They may be remnants of a Nestorian past. The Nestorian Christians were known all over central Asia under the name of ärkägün-arghun, and it is interesting to note that the half-caste population of Ladak, born of a Turki father and a Ladaki mother, is designated by the same word pronounced arghun. The Nestorians were known in the Mongol Empire under the name of Tarsa and Ärkägün. The origin of ärkägün is difficult to establish.
Islam is served in Leh by the large mosque at the upper end of the bazaar. It was probably erected after Nawab Fatehkhan's march to Ladak.
Several of the so-called ancient Dard graves at Teu-gser-po, a place about two miles above the British Joint-Commissioner's bungalow, have been excavated by the missionaries, and were found to contain low masonry walls of unhewn stones, somewhat like a subterranean chamber, handmade pottery with linear ornaments, and small bronze objects, beads, etc. Some of the pots were filled with human bones. This fact seems to indicate that the people who built these graves were in the habit of cutting up the body and depositing the bones and flesh in jars.
It is as yet impossible to determine what people constructed the Leh graves. Dr. Francke believes them to have been Dards. All the skulls so far discovered were distinctly dolichocephalic, whereas modern Tibetans of Ladak are brachycephalic. The Tibetans are a composite race, and I have collected during my stay among the nomads of Tibet a number of facts which show that there once existed an ancient stratum of dolichocephalic population in Tibet. The nomad tribes of the Tibetan border country still show dolichocephalic and brachycephalic indexes. The results of my investigations can be summarized thus: the Hor-pas of the Thang La region—mostly dolichocephalic; the Panags, Goloks, and Nya-rong-was—numerous dolichocephalic skulls, the same being true of the Northern Kham Province; the Chang-pas of the lake region—mostly brachycephalic indexes, some showing a transitional type; the agricultural population of the Brahmaputra Valley and southeastern Tibet—mostly brachycephalic indexes. It is clear from the above that the dolichocephalic population had been preserved along the Tibetan border, whereas the center of the country had been conquered at some early date by a brachycephalic race. I am inclined to think that the graves at Teu-gser-po were left by the ancient stratum of dolichocephalic tribes of Tibet. It is interesting to note that the Leh graves are popularly called "nomad graves," and it is precisely among the nomad population that we find the dolichocephalic type with fine features and straight hair. Unfortunately the missionaries were obliged to stop their excavations and a great many of these graves are still unexplored. It will be very instructive to compare the Ladak graves to the analogous graves found in the lake region north of the Trans-Himalayas.
The famous Hemis Monastery has often been described in books about the country, and the religious dances that take place at the monastery about the end of June have been attended by many Europeans. Although of comparatively recent date, the monastery contains some old bronzes. The frescoes in the temples are modern, and as such have only an iconographical value.
The road along the Indus Valley is extremely picturesque. The vivid green of its fields appears in sharp contrast to the ruggedness of its mountains. The village of Shel on the right bank of the river was once the capital of the Ladak Kingdom and is notable for ancient rock inscriptions and stone-cut images. The Yellow Hat Monastery of Tik-tse (Khrig-rtse), situated on a steep crag, is interesting for its romantic situation, but it looks forlorn. It is populated by a crowd of dirty and insolent monks, who impudently clamor for bakshish and lack the discipline and monastic dignity found in their colleagues of Spi-thug and Ri-dzong. The Incarnate Lama was obliged to quit the monastery some years ago, for monastic life possessed no attractions for him. A new incarnation did not appear, and the whole establishment was left to itself. We succeeded in finding some old bronzes and several old painted banners. Some of the temple doors had interesting wood carvings. The colossal figure of the Future Buddha, lit by numerous offering lamps, made a powerful impression; but the heaps of rubbish in the corners of the edifice and the thick layer of dust on objects of worship only enhanced the first sense of the forlorn state of the monastery. No doubt many interesting objects could be found, but the state of utter disorganization prevents the student from making a careful inspection of the monastery buildings.
The autumn was rapidly setting in. Yellow leaves in the gardens and the frequent breaths of cold wind from the mountain summits made us realize that it was advisable to hurry our departure. For several days the town had been filled with reports that snowstorms were beginning on the high passes and our caravan-bashis pressed us to start before the early snow would block the passes. Professor Roerich had completed his series of paintings on Ladak and its sanctuaries, and we could begin our final preparations for the difficult journey ahead of us. We were short of men, and it seemed very difficult to engage suitable ones for the long journey to Khotan. We sent a notice to the bazaars that men were needed, and daily crowds of them came to the dak bungalow. Out of this motley collection of Baltis, Ladakis, Kashmiris, Arghuns, and Turkis, Mrs. Roerich chose several promising men, who proved very helpful on our track to Chinese Turkestan. Two of them had the distinction of serving under Dr. Sven Hedin during his expedition of 1907-8, and several others had been previously employed as caravan men on the Karakorum route. They all knew the way well and were fully prepared to face the difficulties and dangers of the mountain journey. Most of them had been several times in Yarkend or Khotan and spoke fluently the eastern Turki. We engaged them as far as Khotan and promised to pay their journey home. Besides his pay each of the men received a warm fur coat, a winter fur cap, and a pair of soft charuq boots with felt socks. Two tents were provided to shelter the personnel of the expedition during the night, but for the whole of the journey many of the men preferred to sleep in the open or under the flies of our own tents.
The son of a local Ladak headman was accompanying us as head servant and proved a devoted and efficient man. Ladakis are wonderful in caravans, always cheerful amid hardships and storms, contented with little, and always ready to perform their work. They march on foot long distances over hard, stony ground that renders animals lame, and yet never complain of fatigue. In our subsequent wanderings, we often remembered our Ladaki caravan men and their devoted service.