As strong as an ox, this servant of mine had
queer antecedents. He was at one time a well-known bandit in the
neighbourhood of Lhassa. He was said to have taken many lives, and,
finding his own in danger in his country, had come to settle on our side
of the border, marrying different wives, whom he constantly beat and in
turn banished from under his roof. It was owing to his latest family
squabble that he came into my employ; his abnormal strength, valuable for
carrying loads, was to me his only recommendation. In camp he went by the
name of _Daku_, "the brigand."

[Illustration: MANSING THE LEPER SHOWING HIS HANDS]

In looking round to inspect my other followers, with whom I had hardly
yet got acquainted, I was amused and interested at the strange medley of
creatures forming my band. There were Humlis and Jumlis with their
luxuriant black hair tied into small tresses and a top-knot over the
head, like the Coreans. There were Tibetans, Shokas of Bias, Rongbas,
Nepalese, Rajiputs and Totolas, also a Brahmin, two native Christians and
a Johari. Then Dr. Wilson. What a collection! What a chaos of languages
and dialects!

An amusing feature of this odd crowd was that each particular caste
looked down upon all the others. This from the very beginning occasioned
separation during mealtime, and the camp was lively with as many burning
fires in as many sheltered spots as there were castes of men following
me. I was glad of this, as it seemed a sort of guarantee that they would
never all join together to conspire against me.

Poor Mansing, the leper, was shivering with cold. He had been unable to
purchase himself a blanket and shoes at Kuti. He had spent the money in
tobacco instead. Dr. Wilson and I took pity upon him. The long evening
was still before us, so I got out the cloth I had purchased at Kuti, and
with scissors and needle we began to cut and sew a new set of garments
for the poor wretch. The Doctor did the cutting and I the sewing. I
cannot boast that a professional tailor would not have turned out a
better fit, but for all general purposes the newly-made clothes answered
well enough. There was only one inconvenience in the single-breasted
jacket. I had no buttons, and was therefore compelled to sew the coat on
the man himself. It thus remained a fixture, and not only looked all
right, but--which was our chief object--kept him warm.

We left camp at 5.30 the following morning. High mountains rose on either
side