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KAMBA BOMBO. 397
might stay there as long as we chose, and start when we
liked, but that he should not return to Nakk-chu so long
as we were at Jallokk. He would give us a special escort
as far as the Saju-sangpo, the boundary of his province,
and whatever we required by way of provisions should be
placed freely at our disposal ; and by way of proving that
he was in earnest, he gave us at once various edibles and a
couple of sheep.
On the whole, Kamba Bombo was friendly and polite,
and not the least bit annoyed at all the trouble we occa-
sioned him. He was a capital fellow to have to deal with ;
he knew exactly what he wanted. Who I was, I suppose,
he never knew exactly ; but anyway he must have thought
that I was somebody out of the common, or else he would
not have come with all that pomp and ceremony. Whilst
the cross-examination was proceeding, the other Tibetans
crowded round, making their various remarks and observa-
tions. They carried their swords in silver-mounted scab-
bards, decorated with corals and turquoises, brought from
Nepal and Badakshan ;
gavos, i.e., talisman cases of silver
filagree, handsome bracelets and rosaries, while the long
plaits of their hair were full of ornaments—precious stones,
pearls and silver jewellery, all from Lassa. In fact, every
man carried upon his person the most valuable things he
possessed, and their saddles and bridles exhibited the
artistic skill of the Mongols. The more distinguished of
Kamba Bombo’s attendants wore big white hats, with
plumes in them ; others had scarves wound round their
heads, while the soldiers were for the most part bareheaded,
their hair sticking out in rats’-tails in every direction, so
that they looked like North American Indians.
Shereb Lama was subjected to a severe examination in
Tibetan. His name was enrolled in the temple books, and
he knew perfectly well that Europeans were forbidden to
visit Lassa. Yet he had brought with him two suspicious
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