They have no objection to the good things brought from our side of the
snow, and I have seen them devour salt beef and pork with great gusto.
But what they must delight in, when they can get it, is English brandy
and tobacco. The former they will drink in great quantities, and for
men unaccustomed to liquor it is astonishing how well they resist its
intoxicating properties. I saw one man, a "Siana," the head of a
village, drink off two bottles of pure brandy without apparently
feeling any ill effects from the potation. On questioning him about
his sensations, he said that the only difference he found between the
brandy and water was, that it made his inside comfortably warm, and
his tongue very slippery, of which he gave us proof by chattering and
singing in a most uncouth way. Of all the horrible noises I ever
heard, those which a half-drunken Tartar makes are the most
discordant. The deep nasal and guttural noises he emits would beat
Welsh and Gaelic by a long chalk.
Although petty thefts are common among the Thibetans, valuable
articles may with with safety be left among them--even money they will
never touch. Many an hour have I whiled away among them watching
Buctoo and Jye Sing showing them many articles of my property, the use
or value of which they could not comprehend. Of my guns and rifles, in
particular, they stood in great awe, and for a long time none of them
cound be induced to touch one.
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