ATTACK ON EVEREST

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 101, 2 May 1933, Page 7

ATTACK ON EVEREST

MOTIVE OE CLIMB

TO SEEK "GOLDEN COCK"

STRANGE BELIEF

It will doubtless surprise the; British public to ilearn'that the "real motive" of the Everest climbing expedition, led by Mr. Hugh Buttledge, is to capture a golden cock which has its nest on th,e summit of the mountain, writes Sir Percival Phillips in the "Daily Mail." This is the belief current in the highest ecclesiastical circles of Southern Tibet, and. it was conveyed to hie by the learned Abbot Tempe-tse-King, of the Tang-tra Monastery, situated ■twelve miles!fr6m Gyangtse, which is on the trade route, between Darjeelirig and Lhasa. . ' ._ \ The abbot has been in voluntary exile in, this fringe of India since .. Ta'shai Lama, (formerly one of the two spiritual rulers of Tibet), whose adherent he is, left. Tibet and went- to China in consequence of a dispute with Dalai Lama, whom, the , Tibetans regard as the incarnation of Buddha, He decided recently that the time was propitious for a return to the monastery, and so paid a farewell call on his.old friend, Mr. David Mac Donald, a distinguished authority on Tibet, who lived for 20 years in that country. : TWO WHITE LIONS. It was at Mr. MaeDonald's house that I met him. > , His tall, spare figure, was clad in ' a monk's habit of rongh red woollen stuff and ho wore great shoes with red and blue cloth tops turned up at the toes. He was ready to set out at dawn, just as he stood, with no other possessions than a string of wooden beads. He had not even a hat, for he had lost his own. _■. '■ ■■,■■' ■ . ■'■'"■■ The conversation turned on the Everest expedition, and it was then that he disclosed his incredible theory. "I, have no personal knowledge of the matter," he said carefully, through his friend. "It is what I hear from' Gyarigise and what is believed there. It would be ■ strange if these people who are going to climb Everest had no other motive than merely to get to the top. We in Tibet can hardly accept that. •' '".■..- , ~ ;•■■■■••■ ■; ' ■ "It is commonly reported that' the Set-ki-Chapo, the golden cock, has its home on the summit. My people are saying that when this knowledge camo to the ears»of the English they sent a pirty two years ago to catch it. It is well-known that the English catqh birds as well as shoot them. "The party failed to reach the top, and it is said two lost their lives. The others buried their stores, and now are going back "to try again.," The abbot paused, to note the effect' of this revelation. "I am only told so," he declared hastily. , "But I do know there are two white lions living somewhere near the mountain. They roam, about and ere very dangerous. They have never been seen,-but their; roaring is htird at times and it sounds like the beating of a great gong. ; "It is also reported, although here again I am unable to confirm the story, that a race of wild men covered with hair live in the pine forests in that part of Tibet. 1 "Many men are hairy, but these are identified as wild by their feet, which are turned backwards." ' I asked the abbot what they thought at Gyangtse of the chances of the expedition reaching the summit. EVIL SPIRITS. "They say at Gyangtse," he replied gravely, "that they will die in the snow. Evil spirits will be encountered, but these can be made harmless by performing the necessary ceremonies. "How much better," continued the abbot, raising his voice almost to a shout, "if, instead of attempting this fbolish thing, they would go on a pilgrimage to, the monasteries of Tihfit, study the law, and: pay homage to Dalai Lama and offer him gifts which would please him and make him think well of the. English." The abbot had rolled round his left arm a piece of discoloured yeUow cloth which, on examination, proved to 'be ■ a longitudinal section of an old trench coat which he uses as a pillow. He was pleased at our interest in this and rel marked that it was given to him arid he liked it because it was the sacred colour of Dalai. Lama. "Yes, it is very dirty," he said, "but I will not clean it. Dirt is lucky." If he is rig Tit he is the luckiest man alive.