Chapter I: Preface

The recent expedition to Lhasa was full of interest, not only on account of the political issues involved and the physical difficulties overcome, but owing to the many dramatic incidents which attended the Mission's progress. It was my good fortune to witness nearly all these stirring events, and I have written the following narrative of what I saw in the hope that a continuous story of the affair may interest readers who have hitherto been able to form an idea of it only from the telegrams in the daily Press. The greater part of the book was written on the spot, while the impressions of events and scenery were still fresh. Owing to wounds I was not present at the bombardment and relief of Gyantse, but this phase of the operations is dealt with by Mr. Henry Newman, _Reuter's_ correspondent, who was an eye-witness. I am especially indebted to him for his account, which was written in Lhasa, and occupied many mornings that might have been devoted to well-earned rest.

My thanks are also due to the Proprietors of the _Daily Mail_ for permission to use material of which they hold the copyright; and I am indebted to the Editors of the _Graphic_ and _Black and White_ for allowing me to reproduce certain photographs by Lieutenant Bailey.

The illustrations are from sketches by Lieutenant Rybot, and photographs by Lieutenants Bailey, Bethell, and Lewis, to whom I owe my cordial thanks.

EDMUND CANDLER.

LONDON,
_January, 1905._

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

THE CAUSES OF THE EXPEDITION

PAGES

A retrospect--Early visitors to Lhasa--The Jesuits--The
Capuchins--Van der Putte--Thomas Manning--The Lazarist
fathers--Policy of exclusion due to Chinese
influence--The Nepalese invasion--Bogle and Turner--The
Macaulay Mission--Tibetans invade Indian territory--The
expedition of 1888--The convention with China--British
blundering--Our treatment of the Shata Shapé--The
Yatung trade mart--Tibetans repudiate the
convention--Fiction of the Chinese suzerainty--A policy
of drift--Tibetan Mission to the Czar--Dorjieff and his
intrigues--The Dalai Lama and Russian designs--Our
great countermove--Boycotted at Khamba Jong--The
advance sanctioned--Winter quarters at Tuna 1-21

CHAPTER II

OVER THE FRONTIER

From the base to Gnatong--A race to Chumbi--A perilous
night ride--Forest scenery--Gnatong three years ago and
now--Gnatong in action--A mountain lake--The Jelap la
and beyond--Undefended barriers--Yatung and its Customs
House--Chumbi--The first Press message from
Tibet--Arctic clothing--Scenes in camp--A very
uncomfortable 'picnic' 22-34

CHAPTER III

THE CHUMBI VALLEY

The Tomos--A hardy race--Their habits and
diversions--Chinamen in exile--A prosperous valley--But
a cheerless clime--Kasi and his statistics--Trade
figures--Tibetan cruelties--Kasi as general
provider--Mountain scenery--The spirit of the
Himalayas--A glorious flora--The Himalayas and the
Alps--The wall of Gob-sorg--Chinamen and Tomos--A
future hill-station--Lingmathang--A cosy cave--The
Mounted Infantry Corps--Two famous regiments--Sport at
Lingmathang--The Sikkim stag--Gamebirds and
wildfowl--Gautsa camp 35-61

CHAPTER IV

PHARI JONG

Gautsa to Phari Jong--A wonderful old fortress--Tibetan
dirt--A medical armoury--The Lamas' library--Roadmaking
and sport--The Tibetan gazelle and other
animals--Evening diversions--Cold, grime, and
misery--Manning's journal--Bogle's account of
Phari--History of the fortress--The town and its
occupants--The mystery of Tibet--The significance of
the frescoes--Departure from Phari--The monastery of
the Red Lamas--Chumulari--The Tibetan New Year--Bogle's
narrative--The Tang la and the road to Lhasa 62-82

CHAPTER V

THE ROAD AND TRANSPORT

A transport 'show'--Difficulties of the way--Vicissitudes
of climate--Frozen heights and sweltering
valleys--Disease amongst transport animals--A tale of
disaster--The stricken Yak Corps--Troubles of the
transport officer--Mules to the rescue--The coolie
transport corps--Carrying power of the transport
items--The problem and its solution--The ekka and the
yak--A providentially ascetic beast--Splendid work of
the transport service--Courage and endurance of
officers and men--The 12th Mule Corps benighted in a
blizzard--Rifle-bolts and Maxims
frost-jammed--Difficulties of a Russian advance on
Lhasa--The new Ammo Chu cart-road 83-98

CHAPTER VI

THE ACTION AT THE HOT SPRINGS

The deadlock at Tuna--Discomforts of the garrison--The
Lamas' curse--The attitude of Bhutan--A diplomatic
triumph--Tedious delays--A welcome move forward--The
Tibetan camp at Hot Springs--The Lhasa Depon meets
Colonel Younghusband--Futile conferences--The Tibetan
position surrounded--Coolness of the Sikhs and
Gurkhas--The disarming--A sudden outbreak--A desperate
struggle--The action of the Lhasa General--The rabble
disillusioned in their gods--A beaten and bewildered
enemy--Reflections after the event--Tibetans in
hospital--Three months afterwards 99-114

CHAPTER VII

A HUMAN MISCELLANY

In a doolie to the base--Tibetan bearers--A retrospect--A
reverie and a reminiscence--Snow-bound at Phari--The
Bhutia as bearer--The Lepchas and their
humours--Mongolian odours--The road at last--Platitudes
in epigram--Lucknow doolie-wallahs--Their hymn of the
obvious--Meetings on the road--A motley of
races--Through a tropical forest--The Tista and
civilization 115-126

CHAPTER VIII

THE ADVANCE OF THE MISSION OPPOSED

The Tibetans responsible for hostilities--Their version of
the Hot Springs affair--Treacherous attack at
Samando--Wall-building--The Red Idol Gorge action--A
stiff climb--The enemy outflanked--Impressed
peasants--First phase of the opposition--Bad
generalship--Lack of enterprise--Erratic shooting--All
quiet at Gyantse--Enemy occupy Karo la--A booby
trap--Colonel Brander's sortie--Frontal attack
repulsed--Captain Bethune killed--Failure of flanking
movement--A critical moment--Sikhs turn the
position--Flight and pursuit--Second phase of the
opposition--Advanced tactics--Danger of being cut
off--The attack on Kangma--Desperate gallantry of the
enemy--Patriots or fanatics? 127-151

CHAPTER IX

GYANTSE (BY HENRY NEWMAN)

A happy valley--Devastated by war--Why the Jong was
evacuated--The lull before the storm--Tibetans
massing--The attack on the mission--A hot ten
minutes--Pyjamaed warriors--Wounded to the rescue--The
Gurkhas' rally--The camp bombarded--The labour of
defence work--Hadow's Maxim--Life during the
siege--Tibetans reinforced--They enfilade our
position--The taking of the 'Gurkha Post'--Terrible
carnage 152-169

CHAPTER X

GYANTSE--_continued_

Attack on the postal riders--Brilliant exploit of the
Mounted Infantry--Communications threatened--Clearing
the villages--A narrow shave--Arrival of
reinforcements--The storming of
Palla--House-fighting--Capture of the post--A fantastic
display--Night attacks--Seven miles of front--Advance
of the relief column--The Tibetans cornered--Naini
monastery taken--Capture of Tsaden--Our losses--The
armistice--Tibetans refuse to surrender the Jong--A
bristling fortress--The attack at dawn--The
breach--Gallantry of Lieutenant Grant and his
Gurkhas--Capture of the Jong 170-194

CHAPTER XI

GOSSIP ON THE ROAD TO THE FRONT

A garden in the forest--A jeremiad on transport--The
servant question--Jung Bir--British
Bhutan--Kalimpong--'The Bhutia tat'--Father
Desgodins--An adventurous career--A lost
opportunity--Chinese duplicity--Phuntshog--New arms and
new friends for Tibet--A mysterious Lama--Dorjieff
again--The inscrutable Tibetan 195-206

CHAPTER XII

TO THE GREAT RIVER

Failure of peace negociations--Opposition expected--Details
of force--March to the Karo la--Villages deserted--The
second Karo la action--The Gurkhas' climb--The Tibetan
rout--The Kham prisoners--Hopelessness of the Tibetans'
struggle--Their troops disheartened--Arrival at
Nagartse--Tedious delegates--The victory of a
personality--Brush with Tibetan cavalry--The last
shot--The Shapés despoiled--Modern rifles--Exaggerated
reports of Russian assistance--The Yamdok Tso--Dorje
Phagmo--Legends of the lake--The incubus of an
army--Why men travel--Wildfowl--Pehte--View from the
Khamba Pass--From the desert to Arcadia--The Tibetan of
the tablelands--The Tuna plateau--Homely scenes--A mood
of indolence--The course of the Tsangpo--The
Brahmaputra Irawaddy controversy--The projected Tsangpo
trip--Legendary geography--Lost opportunities 207-238

CHAPTER XIII

LHASA AND ITS VANISHED DEITY

The passage of the river--Major Bretherton drowned--The Kyi
Chu valley--Tropical heat--Atisa's tomb--Foraging in
holy places--First sight of the Potala--Hidden
Lhasa--Symbols of remonstrance--Prophecies of
invasion--And decay of Buddhism--Medieval
Tibet--Spiritual terrorism--Lamas' fears of
enlightenment--The last mystery unveiled--Arrival at
Lhasa--View from the Chagpo Ri--Entry into the
city--Apathy of the people--The Potala--Magnificence
and squalor--The secret of romance--A vanished
deity--'Thou shalt not kill'--Secret assassinations--A
marvellous disappearance--The Dalai Lama joins
Dorjieff--His personality and character--The verdict of
the Nepalese Resident--The voice without a soul--The
wisdom of his flight--A romantic picture--The place of
the dead 239-264

CHAPTER XIV

THE CITY AND ITS TEMPLES

Sullen monks--A Lama runs amok--The environs of Lhasa--The
Lingkhor--The Ragyabas--The cathedral--Service before
the Great Buddhas--The Lamas' chant--Vessels of
gold--'Hell'--White mice--The many-handed
Buddha--Silence and abstraction--The bazaar--Hats--The
Mongolians--Curio-hunting--The Ramo-ché--Sorcery--The
adventures of a soul--Lamaism and Roman
Catholicism--The decay of Buddhism--The three great
monasteries--Their political influence--Depung--An
ecclesiastical University--The 'impossible' Tibetan--An
ultimatum--Consternation at Depung--Temporizing and
evasion--An ugly mob--A political deadlock 265-285