middle
part is thinly peopled by herdsmen, who roam about with their flocks of
sheep and yaks, and live in black tents. Many of them also are skilful
hunters of yaks and antelopes. Others gather salt on the dried-up beds
of lakes, pack it in double-ended bags, and carry it on sheep to barter
it for barley in the southern districts, which are the home of the great
majority of Tibet's two or three million inhabitants. There are to be
found not only nomads, but also settled people, dwelling in small
villages of stone huts in the deeper river valleys, especially that of
the Brahmaputra, and cultivating barley. A few towns also exist here;
they are all small, the largest being Lhasa and Shigatse.

When our journey takes us to India again we shall have an opportunity of
learning about the religion of Buddha, which is called Buddhism. In a
different form this religious creed found its way into Tibet a thousand
years ago. Before this time a sort of natural religion prevailed, which
peopled the mountains, rivers, lakes, and air with demons and spirits.
Much of the old superstition was absorbed into the new teaching, and the
combination is known by the name of Lamaism. There are 620 millions of
Christians in the world and 400 million Buddhists; and of the Buddhists
all the Tibetans and Mongolians, the Buriats in eastern Siberia, the
Kalmukhs on the Volga, the peoples of Ladak, northern Nepal, Sikkim, and
Bhutan are Lamaists.

They have a great number of monks and priests, each of whom is called a
Lama. The principal one is the Dalai Lama, in Lhasa, but almost on a par
with him is the Tashi Lama, the head of Tashi-lunpo, the large monastery
at Shigatse. The third in rank is the High Lama at Urga in northern
Mongolia. These three and some others are incarnated deities. The Dalai
Lama never dies; the god that dwells in him merely changes his earthly
body, just as a snake when it casts its skin. When a Dalai Lama dies it
means that the divinity, his soul, sets out on its wanderings and passes
into the body of a boy. When the boy is found he becomes the Dalai Lama
of Lhasa. Lamaists believe, then, in the transmigration of souls, and
the end, the fullest perfection, is peace in Nirvana.

There are many monasteries and nunneries in the upper Brahmaputra
valley. The temple halls are adorned with images of the gods in metal or
gilded clay, and butter lamps burn day and night in front of them. Monks
and nuns cannot marry, but among the o