H )   J U N E , 1 9 4 3   -   J O U R N E Y   T H R O U G H   T H E   H E R D I N G   L A N D S

On his journey on reindeer-back across the herding lands to the Chakamak’s encampment, Peter passed through many small Buryat settlements. His encounters with the Buryat were often comical, and on occasion, even somewhat alarming, as the following episodes illustrate:

“I am accused of horse thieving by a greedy Lama. In front of all the court, I offer up a horseshoe of silver. The greedy Lama demands three, and threatens my life when I refuse. Immediately I fall into a trance, and the power of a shaman overtakes me; incanting in a mixture of Tibetan, Buryat, and German, I send a curse into the greedy Lama’s forehead. All stare and see the mark. Shocked by my own behaviour, I quickly run out and deliver a fat sheep as penance. The greedy Lama hastily accepts it and scuttles off to his yurt.” This story was frequently repeated to the REC expedition as they questioned the Buryat about Peter, causing Ian Brockman to laconically remark that “any man with a birthmark or scar on their foreheads is presented as being the greedy Lama in question.”

The Buryat consider dirt to be very lucky; when their sacred images are washed of their filth it is considered an efficacious medicine to drink the water used in the cleansing. Thus, Peter’s fondness for a hot bath was a source of great fascination to them: “I have built myself a rather leaky makeshift tub from yak hide lined with bitumen. When filled with water and red-hot stones, it actually yields a fairly passable bath. Needless to say, I am not left to perform this activity in peace - the villagers decide the ‘white devil’ is trying to make stew of himself, and turn out in large numbers to witness this hilarious spectacle.” However, after Peter treated a sick child with penicillin from his first-aid kit, his bath water was suddenly considered to have curative properties. After this, no matter how hard he tried he could not have a bath without hoards of sick Buryats crowding round his tub, trying to dip themselves in the water. Concerned for his health, Peter was forced to give up bathing.