INDIA AND TIBET
INDIA AND TIBET
A HISTORY OF THE RELATIONS WHICH HAVE
SUBSISTED BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES
FROM THE TIME OF WARREN HASTINGS TO
1910 ; WITH A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE
MISSION TO LHASA OF 1904
BY SIR FRANCIS YOUNGHUSBAND
K C.LE. ***
WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.
1910
TO
MY WIFE,
ON WHOM FELL THE ANXIETY
AND SUSPENSE OF
DISTANTLY AWAITING THE EESDLTS OF HIGH ADVENTURE,
I DEDICATE THIS BOOK,
IN THE HOPE THAT
FROM II MAY COME SOME RECOMPENSE FOR
THE SUFFERING SHE ENDURED
PREFACE
AN apology is needed for the length of this book When
it was passing thiough the pi ess, a Parliamentary Blue-
book appeared containing much important mfoi motion as to
lecent developments, and what 1 had intended as only the
account of oui iclationswith Tibet up to the ictuin of the
Mission of 1901 1 thought with advantage might be extended
Lo include oui iclations to the piesent time The whole
foims one connected nariative of the attempt, piotracted
ovei 137 yeais, to accomplish a single purpose the estab-
lishment of ordinary neighbouily intercourse with Tibet
The diamatic ending disclosed is that, when that puipose
had at last been achieved, we forthwith abandoned the
result
Theieasons foi this abandonment have been firstly,
the jealousy boine by two great Poweis for one anothei ,
and,' secondly, the love of isolation engrained in us islanders
1 have suggested that oui aim should be to replace jealousy
by co-operation, and, instead of coiling up in fugid isolation,
we should expand oui selves to make and keep fnendships
The means I have recommended are living personalities
lather than dry tieaties, and what Waiien Hastings and
Lord Curzon wanted an agent at Lhasa is to me also
the one tiue means of achieving oui puipose
I am fully conscious of having made mistakes in that
part of the conduct of thes affans which fell to me to
discharge. The exactly tiue adjustment of diplomatic
with military requirements, and of the wishes of men in
England with the necessities of the situation in Tibet,
could only be made by a human being arrived at perfec-
tion, Not yet having ainved there, I doubtless made
many errors. I can only assume that, if 1 had never
made a mistake, I should never have made a success.
Vll
vm PREFACE
Likewise, in my recommendations for the future, I may
often be in enor in detail, but in the mam conclusion of
substituting intimacy for isolation and effecting the change
by personality, I would fain believe I shall piove right.
What I say has no official inspiration or sanction,
for I have left the employment of Government, and
am seeking to serve my country in fields of greatei
freedom though not less responsibility , but, in compiling
the narrative of our iclations with the Tibetans, I have
made the fullest use of the foui Blue-books which have
been presented to Parliament These contain information
of the highest value, though in the veiy undigested foim
chaiacteiistic of Parliamentary Papers. Beyond pcrsonnl
impressions I have added nothing to them, but merely
sought to deduce from them a connected account of events
and of the motives which impelled them. To Sir Clement
Markham's account of Bogle's Mission and Manning's
journey to Lhasa, to Captain Turner's account of his
Mission to Tibet, and to Perceval London's, Edmund
Candler's, and Colonel Waddell's accounts of the Mission
of 1904, I am also indebted, as well as to Mr. White,
Captain Bailey and Messrs. Johnston and Hoffman lor
photographs
I lastly desire to acknowledge the trouble which
Mi John Mmray has so kindly taken in correcting the
proofs
FKANCIS YOUNGHUSDAND
September 7, 1910
P.S Too late to make use of it, I have received the
just published reprint fi om the T'sung Pao of Mr. Koek-
hiU's " The Dalai Lamas of Lhasa and their Relations to
the Manchu Emperors of Cfeina " The conclusion of this
famous authority on Tibet, that the Tibetans have no desire
for total independence of China, but that their complaints
have always been directed against the manner in which
the local Chinese officials have performed their duties, is
particularly noteworthy
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
WAKllEN HASHNGS' POLICY BOGLE^S MISSION 1774
Bhutanese aggiessiou on Bengal m 1772, p 4 Warieu Hastings repels
degression, p 4 Tosh i Lama intercedes on behalf of Bhutauese, p 5 Wairen
JUshngs lephes, piopofeing treaty of amity and commerce, p 7 His policy, p 7
iroholocts Bogle foi Miwion, p 8 His instructions to Bogle, p 9 Value of
(liftcietiouaiv powois to agents, p 10 Bogle's leceptiou by Tashi Lama, p 13
The Lama acltnowledgem unjustifiabihty of Bhutauese action, p 14 Conversation
icgarfling trade, p In Hogle receives two Lhasa delegates, p 17 Tibetan fear
of the Chinese, p 10 Bogle suggests alliance with Tibetans against Gurkhas,
p 10 Ohstrui tivcuoss of Lhasa delegates, p 20 The Nepalese instigate the
Tibetans agamsL Hogle, p, 21 Conveisations with Kashmiri and Tibetan
merchants, p 22 HcHulta of the Mission, p 24
CIIAFrER II
wviiiiKN HASTINGS' POLICY (continue^)- TURNER'S MISSION 1782
Warien Hastings' further efforts, p 26 Captain Turner sent to Shigatse,
p 27. Power of the Chinese, p, 28 Admission to traders granted, p 29
Nepaleso invasion in 1792, p 30, Closing of intercourse with Tibet, p 31
CHAPTER IH
MANNING'S VISIT TO LHASA isn
Maimuig'fl previous career, p. 33 He makes fneuds with the Chinese, p 34
< Mitams permiNHion from them to visit Lhasa, p. 37 He visits the Grand Lama,
p. 37. HIH etoy in Lhasa, p. 38. Results of hie journey, p. 30, Subsequent
exploration, p 40
CHAPTER'IV
J'HK DJfiNUAL GOVliUlNMEN r r''s KFFOttTS 1873-1886
Bengal Government urge improvement of intercourbo with the Tibetans,
Ittfttj p. 42, Prus% for adaiWHiou of tea to Tibet, p 44 Delay caused by refer-
unco of local questions to central Governments, p 45 Colman Macaulay's
efforta in 18B/5, p 4G. The Tibetans cross our frontier in force, 1886, p 47
Neither Chinese nor Tibetan Government can or will withdraw them, p 48
General Graham expels them, 1888, p 40.
ix
x CONTENTS
CHAPTER V
THE CONVENTION WITH CHINA 1890
The Chinese ask that a tieaty should be made, p 50 Convention
March, 1890, p 51 Trade Regulations signed December, 1893, p 62 Tibetans
fail to observe Regulations, p 54 Bengal Government wish to protest, p 65
Government of India piefer to be patient, p 55 Tibetans occupy land msiflo
Treaty boundary, p 66 Efforts to demarcate bouudaiy, p 57 Tibetans
remove boundary pillais, p 59 Su Cliarles Elliott proposes occupation of
Chumbi, p 61 Government of India adhere to policy of foibeaiance, p 02
Reasons for Tibetans' seclusive policy, p 63 Chinese fail to anange nutters
p 64 Report ou result of five years' working of the Tieaty, p fo5
CHAPTER VI
SMITHING THE ntEAfY HlOirih 1899-1901
Attempts by Loid Curzoii to open dnect communication with Diihu Lnnm,
p 66 Dalai Lama's Mission to Russia, p 67 Ruesuu Government diKclmm its
having political nature, p 68 Tibetans expelled by us from Gwgoiitf nihide
Treaty boundary, p 71 Rumouis ot Russo-Tibetau agieement, i> 72. Reasons
why Russian activity m Tibet should cause Indian Government anxiety, p 7ft.
Indian Government piopose sending Mission to Lhasa, p 76
CHAPTER VII
NEGOTIATIONS WITH EU&SIA 1903
Russian piotests, p 79 Lord Lausdowne'q icjomdcr, p 81. Russian
aBsmances of no intention to mteifere in Tibet, p 82 Such assurances did noL
preclude possibility of Tibetans lelynig on Russian bupport, p 8.J
CHAPTER VIII
A MISSION SANC1IONLD 1903
Views of His Majesty's Government on geneial question, p Hi, Cone-
spondence with Viceioy ai to scope of Mission, p 86 Viceroy's proposal to
have agent at Gyantse, p 87 Decision to despatch a Mission to Khamba Jimtf,
p 87 Correspondence with the Chinese, p 88 InstiuctioiiH to the British
Commissioner, p 91 Justification for despatch of MibSion, p 92
CHAPTER IX
SIMLA TO KHAMBA JONti 1903
I am summoned to Simla, May, 1003, p 05 Receive Loid Curaon'h uifltruc
tions, p. 96 Mr White's ai rival, p 97 Magnificent sceneiy on way to Dar-
jdmg, p 100 Views of Kmchinjuuga, p, 101 Assistance tfiven by Bengal
Government, p 103, Tropical foiests, p 104. Character of Lepchas, p 107.
Hard work of 32nd Pioneers, p 108 Reach Upper Sikkim, p 109. Tibetan*
protest against our passing Giagong, p 110 Lhasa delegates amve on frontier,
p 111 Mr White, with escort, reach Khamba Jong, p 112
CONTENTS xi
CH \PTER X
KHAMBA JONG 1903
I ]oui Mr White at Khamba Jong, p 110 Intel view with Mr Ho, p 117
Speech to 'Iibetan delegates, p 118 'I hey refuse to lepoit to Lhasa, p 121
Kecic.itions at Kh unb,i Jong, p 122 Deputation from lashi Lama, p 123
An iv il of Ah Wilton, p 121 Viceioy suggests to Resident he himself should
meet me, p 12 J 'I MO Sikkimese sei/ed hy hbetans, p 12> Shigatse Abbot
ui iv us, p 12/5 Sitmtion grows thieitemng, p 128 Depaitmc of Mr Ho,
p 1 51 My su^o tions to (Joveinment tor moetmg the situation,, p 132 Aid
gi\en by NepileH, p IV, Buhsh rtpiesenUtion to Chinese Goveinmeut,
p Lib 1 Recommendations ot Indian Government, p 140 feeoietaiy of State
sani turns idvuueto Gyantst, p 110 Viceroy notifies Chinese Resident, p 142
Chinese Go, eminent pi otesl, p in Russi in (ioveinment also piotest, p 144
Justification ioi .idv.uu e, ]> j 1(>
CHAPTER XI
I) \JUILINC, 10 rill'MDI 1'XH
Question ol advuunig in winter 01 waiting till sptmg, p 11 ( ) Risks in
< lossinu HnnaUjas in winter, p ISO TuuisporL piep nations, p ]/>] Depaitmc
iiom Dujiling, p l')2 Ciossmg the Jel ip U (piss), p 1/5,3 Piotestf fiom
1'ibclans, p 15,") Anne \titung, p 1/5(> Ma< don ild oc cupies Phaii, p 117
Olwtnution of Lhasa inonkK, p Ifi') Kxtieme cold, p IdO C'lossing the
'lang l,i, p !(!()
CHAPTER XII
TUN \ 1<W
Lli is i olhnals < nine h> Tun i, p 102 I visit Tibetan camp, p 10,'?
^tuition, ]> H!b Coin liNions as to Tibptiin disposition, p 1(7 Lhasi
visits me, p K!H iSeveic cold, p 1<J ( > Bhutanese Envoy <u rives, p l(j<) His
attempts to le'isrm with TibetiaiH, p 170 Our losses fiom cold, p 172 Mac
don ild ,u lives, March 2B, p 17-i AVt* athaiue to Guru, p 174 Ti oops advance
without iinng, p 17(> Tibetans reluso to allow passage, p 177 buddeu com-
meiKi'meut of rut ion, )> 17^ Chinese Resident mges delay, p, 17'J Our arrival
at <tymtse, p III!)
CHAPTER XIII
<.V \NlMv 1901
Fiicndty attitude of peo[)le, p, 1H2 But no signs ot negotiator, p 1HJJ I
H(lvo< ,ite piep.u.itions to mlvtiiu c to Lhasa, p liH Tibetan ti oops a^ un assemble,
p, 1H"), Mission atUu ked, p, IH7 liiander attacks TibetuiiH on Karo la (pass),
p 1!J') IJe tt'LuniH to <iy<tntse, p J!)l, Advuiu e to Lhas i sauetioned by Home
Uoveinment, ]. J')l, Mission escort romfoned, p l!)2 ( aptaiiiH Sheppiirdaud
Otlh-y, p, li)ii Ihander attat ks Pall a village, p 104 I am leuillod to Chumbi,
p. 3i)fl Attat ked at Kaiignm, ], lf)(! 1 advocate preparing to stop at Lhasa for
p 11)7 Uoveinmeiit discourage the idea, p IDO Renewed pledges to
p 20 1 How theMO fettered the Indian Government, p. 20 J. Meeting
with TongMft Punlojj of Hhutau, p. 21),}, Moiu aid fiom Nepal, p 201!
xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER XIV
THE STORMING OF GYANTSE JONG 1904
Macdonald, with reinforcements, leaves Chumbi, p 208 Good feeling of
country people, p. 208 Reinforcements reach Gyantse, p 209 Ta Lama
ainves to negotiate, p 211 He is informed jong must be evacuated, p 215
Operations against jong commence, p 217 Gordon killed, p 218 Grant leads
assault, p 210 Jong captured, p 220 Negotiators not to be found, p 221
Preparations for advance completed, p 221 Tongaa Penlop informs Ta Lama
of my readiness to negotiate en route to Lhasa, and Dalai Lama of our tcrmH,
p 222
CHAPTER XV
THE ADVANCE TO LHASA 1904
Dalai Lama asks Tongsa Penlop to effect a settlement, p 223 Action at
Karo-la, p 224 At Nagartse find deputation from Lhasa, p 225 They ank us
to return to Gyant&e, p 226 They fear their religion will be spoilt, p, iWO.
And that Russians might want to go to Lhasa, p 231 Importance I attached to
good peisonal relations, p 232 The beautiful Yam-dok Tso (lake), p 239.
Arrival at Brahmaputra, p 234 Letter from National Assembly, p 28/5
Question whether to negotiate here 01 go on to Lhasa, p 236 Majoi Biethtsiton
diowned, p 237 Dalai Lama's Chambeilain brings letter fiom his mastiM,
p 238 I reply that we must advance to Lhasa, p 239 We discuss goneiul
question of inteicourse with India, p 240 Further discussion with Ta Luna,
p. 243 We advance across Brahmaputra, p 247 Final deputation attempts to
dissuade us from going to Lhasa, p 249 Arrival at Lhasa, p. 260
CHAPTER XVI
THE TERMS 1904
Disadvantage of being pressed for time, p 251 Views of Indian Govern-
ment regarding terms, p 252 Their desire to have Agent at Lhasa, p 252
And to occupy the Chumbi Valley, p 256 The question of an indemnity, p, JJ57
Of an Agent at Gyantse, p 258 Of exclusive political influence in Tibet, p. 2fi),
Of facilities foi trade, p 269 His Majesty's Govoniment consider proposal
excessive, and decide against Agent at Lhasa, p. 200 And against GyantHe Agent
proceeding to Lhasa, p 2C2 Amount of indemnity to be such as can bo paid in
three years, p 262
CHAPTER XVII
THE NEGOTIATIONS
Chinese Resident visits me day of our urnval at Lhasa, p. 203 Question of
entering Lhasa city, p 264 Impressions of city, p 205 Reception by Chmo&e
Resident, p 266 Nepalese representative and Tougsa Peulop of Bhutan visit
me, p 267 Flight of Dalai Lama, p 269 Chinese Resident sayn ordinary
people anxious for intercourse, p. 270. The Ti Rimpoche (Regent) ronunuuew
negotiations, p 273 Disagrees with obstructive policy of National AfiHombly,
p 274 Two Sikkimese prisoners released, p 270 Dffficultiea in roganl tn
indemnity, p. 279 Tongua Penlop suggests that Nepal, Bhutan, aud Hbol
CONTENTS xm
should look to England,, p 280 Chinese Resident denounces the Dalai Lama,
p, 282 Tibetans incline to agiee to some of terms, p 282 But continue to
piotest against indemnity; p 284
CHAPTER XVIII
im< imAii roNciimi'D 1904
Piessmc foi time, p 281) Militaiy considerations demand very early with-
drawal, p 2')0 Necessity foi decisnc action,, p 290 Tibetans piesented with
hnil teims p 291 They piopose extension of time foi payment of indemnity,,
p 294 Reisons foi accepting pioposal, p 294 Question of Chumbi Valley,'
p 29,"5 Pei mission foi Gymtse Agent to pioceed to Lhasa, p 299 I insist on
signing lYeatv m Potala, p 300 The oeiemony of signatme, p 303
CHAPTER XIX
IMrill'SSIONS AT TTIAbA - 1904
Release of pnsoners, p 307 Visits to monasteries, p 309 Chaiacter or
Lam.iR, p 310 The effects of Lamaism on Tibetans and Mongols, p 314 Visit
to Jo Klung Temple, p 31 d The mner spnit of the people, p 317 Socia
side ot Tibetans, p 318 Tibetan view of English, p 319 Chinese attitude to
Tibetans, p 321
CHAPTER XX
niV EE1UBN 1904
Famvell visits, p 32*5 .Sensations of good-will, p 326 Good behavioui of
Indian tioopn, p 327 Exploring paities, p 328 Successful woik of Rawlmg
and Rydoi, p, 330 Return to Simla, p 332 Meeting with Lord Curzon, p. 333
Audience of His late Majesty, p 333 Mission flag placed in Windsor Castle,
p 334
CHAPTER XXI
111- SIT US OF THE MISSION
Good-will of Tibetans, p 335 Friendship of Bhutan, p 330 Scientific
icsults, p 337 Indemnity i educed by His Majesty's Government, p 338
Period of occupation of Chumbi i educed, p 338 Permission for Gyantse Agent
to proceed to Lhasa abandoned, p 330 Reasons of His Majesty's Government
for above, p 339
CHAPTER XXII
NFtJOJFAHONS WITH CHJJtfA - 1905-1910
Convention xvith China coufuming Lhasa Convention, p 342 Unfriendly
attitude of Chinese in Tibet, p 343 Thou attempts to prevent direct relations
with Tibetans, p 344. Sir Edward Grey's remonstrances, p 345 Indian Govern-
ment complains of breaches of Lhasa Convention, p 347 Chinese device to
prevent direct relations between us and the Tihetans in regard to payment of
indemnity, p 348 Question of evacuating Chumbi Valley, p 354, Chumbi
evacuated, p. 360, Trade Regulations agreed to, p 350 Chinese forward move-
ment commences, p 302 Bhutan taken undei our protection, p 365
xiv CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXIII
AITI1UDE OF IHk 1IBMANS SINCE 1904 1904-1910
I<a\omable Tibetan attitude following signatme of Tieaty, p 3d" Dis-
tuibances in Eastern Tibet, 1005, p 3GB Bating annexed by Chinese, p 37 J
Dalai Lama's movements in Mongolia, p 377 Anglo-Russian agiranent in
regard to Tibet, p 378 Dalai Lama ai lives in Peking, p 382 Loaves Peking,
p 385 Ariives near Lhasa, Novembei, 1909, and complains of Chinese en< icu< fo-
ments, p 386 Ariives m Lliasa, p 387 Chinese intention to tike aw iy his
temporal powei, p 389 Chinese troops aune in Lhasa, p 389 Dalai Lattia
flees, p 391 Ariives in Daiplmg, p 392 Visits Viceroy in Calcutta, p 'Wi
Tibetan Ministers ask foi Bntish officei with troops to be despatched to Lhasa,
and for alliance, p 395 Dahi Lama's request foi aid lefused, p 8% Hut
British Government makes pi otest to Chinese Goveinment, p 3% Chinese st tti-
they merely wish to exercise effective control, p 398 Dalai Lama deposed,
p 399 Chinese view of situation, p 400 Indian Goveinment's views, p 109
Lord Moi ley's views, p 404
CHAPTER XXIV
SOME CONCJUSJONS
Tendency to centialization of contiol, p 407 Reasons why Bntish udmims
tialois in India lack confidence 111 centiali/ation in London, p 108 Rcim-du^
for evil, p 411 Moie intimate pei&onal lelahonship, p i!2 Mou> trtihl in
the man on the spot," p 41 5 Summary ot situation in Tibet, p H fl Moi ality
of intervention in Tibet, p 410 Co opeiabou with Ruftsm, p 121 ( laws'
pneially good neighbour, p 421 Necessity f m sc< nnng u-moval ot nnnmal
local Chinese officials, p 423 And foi pieseivinj- intimate touch with 1'ibHans
p iZ4- A foi ward poluy lecommeuded, p 42G
CHAPTER XXV
A FINAL IfFJLITJION
"A stiange force 01 the designs of buieauuatf,," p 430 No dchbcruto
SbaZt r qntt l l ^" } P ^ ImpellC<1 t0 UI ^ ' '^ o P S
Probatolity of some foice impelling us on, p 4,34 Kcahtv of an ,,,*
impulse, p 435 Its direction
APPENDIX
ion, 1904, Anglo-Chinese Conve,^,,,
vention, 1907
INDEX i (p 447)
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
TO PACE PAGE
I'HF DA FAT TAMA - Frontispiece
(Reproduced by pei mission of the "Sphere ")
MH BOGLE ---.... 8
SIKlflM SCENERY - - - - - - 105
MISSION CAMP, KHAMBA JONG - - - - - 116
THE SHIGATSE ABBOT ...... 128
THE PRIME MINISTER OF NEPAL - - - -134
COLUMN CROSSING THE TANG-LA, JANUARY, 1904 - - - 160
CHUMAUIAUI - - - - - - -162
MOUNTED INJ< VN'IRY - - - - - - 169
'HIE HjL'AIir I ROM TUNA FOR GURTT - 173
SfcPOYS " SHOULDERING " TIBETANS 1'ROM POSITION GURU, MARCH,
1904 176
TID'' TONGRA I'KNLOP (NOW MAHARAJA OF BHUTAN) - - 204)
GYANTSE JONG - - - - - - -
CAMP NhAR KARO-LA ......
UhRTHON BOATS ON BllAIIMAPUlllA - ...
1'A LAMA AND HIS SECRETARY -----
THE GATE OF LHASA ... - - - 250
THE DALAI LAMA ------ 256
(Itrprodiu.ed by permission offfte Ftoprwtma oftfa "Daily ffraphic ")
THE POTATO, LHASA _.---- 265
MISSION (iUARi'ElU>, LHASA .... - 267
THE COUNCIL - 268
THE TI RIMPOCHB ...... 273
XV
xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
THE CHUMBI VALLEY - - - - ' "
and.
SIGNING THE TREATY ------ ^" u
SEALS AFFIXED TO TREATY - ^""
'ilfl
THE SERA MONASTERY ------ tJAV
MAPS
1 THE CHINESE EMPIRE, SHOWING THE RELATIVE POSITION OT< '
TIBET TO CHINA PROPER, INDIA, AND RUSSIA
end
PAUT OF TIBET, SHOWING THE HOUTE FOLLOWFD BY Til*
MISSION TO LHASA -----
INDIA AND TIBET
INTRODUCTION
Tins book is an account of our relations with Tibet, but
many still wonder why we need have any such relations at
all. The country lies on the far side of the Himalayas, the
greatest range of snowy mountains in the world Why,
then, should we trouble ourselves about what goes on there ?
Why do we want to interfere with the Tibetans ? Why not
leave them alone ? These are very reasonable and pertinent
questions, and such as naturally spring to the mind of even
the least intelligent of Englishmen Obviously, therefore,
they must have sprung to the minds of responsible British
statesmen before they ever sanctioned intervention. The
sedate gentlemen who compose the Government of India
are not renowned for being carried away by bursts of
excitement or enthusiasm, nor are they remarkable for
impulsive, thoughtless action. They have spent their lives
in the dull routine of official grind, and by the time they
attain a seat in the Viceregal Council they are, if anything,
too free from emotional impulses. Certainly, the initiation
of anything forward and interfering was as little to be
expected from them as from the most rigorous anti-
Imperialist. The head of the Government of India at the
time of the Tibet Mission was,*it is true, a man of less
mature official experience, but he happened to be a man
who had studied Asiatic policy in nearly every part of Asia,
Besides having been Under-Seeretary for Foreign Affairs ;
and even supposing he had been the most impulsive and
irresponsible of Viceroys, he could take no action without
gaining the assent of the majority of his colleagues in India,
2 INTRODUCTION
and without convincing the Secretary of State in England.
India is not governed by the Viceroy alone, but by the
Viceioy in Council On such a question as the despatch ot
a mission to Tibet, the Viceroy would not be able to act
without the concurrence of three out of his six councillors,
and without the appioval of the Secretaiy of State, who,
111 his turn, as expenditure is incurred, would have to gam
the support of his Council of tried and experienced Indian
admimstiators and soldiers, besides the appioval of the
whole Cabinet
It is, then, a veiy fau piesumption at the outset that if
all these various authorities had satisfied themselves that
action in Tibet was necessary, there probably was some
icasonable giound for interference What was it that
influenced these sedate authorities, alike m India and
in England, to depart from the natural course of leaving
the Tibetans alone, to behave or misbehave themselves
as they liked ? What was it that peisuaded these gentle-
men that action, and not inaction, intervention, and
not laisse^-jaire, were required, and that we could no
longer leave this remote State on the far side of the mighty
Himalayas severely alone ? There must have been some
strong reason, for it was not merely a matter of permitting
an adventurous exploier to try and reach the "forbidden
city " After thirty years of correspondence what was
eventually sanctioned was the despatch of a mission with
an escort strong enough to break down all opposition
What was the reason 2
The answer to this I will eventually give But to make
that answer clear we must view the matter from a long
perspective, and trace its gradual evolution from the
original beginnings And, at the start, I shall have
to emphasize the point that there has always been
intercourse of some kinS between Tibet and India, for
Tibet is not an island in mid-ocean It is in the heart
of a continent surrounded by other countries. That it is
a mysterious, secluded country in the remote hinterland of
the Himalayas most people are vaguely aware. But that
it is contiguous for nearly a thousand miles with the
British Empire, from Kashmir to Burma, few have
INTERCOURSE WITH TIBET 8
properly realized. Still less have they appreciated that
this contact between the countries means intercourse of
some kind between the peoples inhabiting them, even
though it has to be over a snowy range The Tibetans
drew their lehgion from India From time immemorial
they have been accustomed to visit the sacred shrines of
India Tibetan traders have come down to Bengal,
Kashmni and Indian tiaders have gone to Tibet Tibetan
shepherds have brought their flocks to the pastures on the
Indian side of the range m some parts In other parts
the shepherds nom the Indian side have taken their sheep
and goats to the plateaux of Tibet Sometimes the
Tibetans or their vassals have raided to valleys and plains
of India, sometimes Indian feudatories have raided into
Tibet At other times, again, the intercourse has been of
a more pacific kind, and intermarriages between the
bordering peoples and interchanges of presents have taken
place In a multitude of ways there has evei been inter-
course between Tibet and India Tibet has never been
really isolated And, as I shall in due course show, the
Mission to Lhasa of 1904, was merely the culmination of a
long series of efforts to regulanze and humanize that inter-
course, and put the relationship which must necessarily
subsist between India and Tibet upon a business -like and
permanently satisfactory footing
CHAPTER I
BOGLE'S MISSION, 1774
IT is an interesting icflection for those to make who
think that we must necessarily have been the aggressive
party, that the far-distant primary cause of all our attempts
at intercourse with the Tibetans was an act of aggression,
not on our part, not on the part of an ambitious Pro-
consul, or some headstrong frontier officer, but of the Bhu-
tanese, neighbours, and then vassals, of the Tibetans, who
nearly a century and a half ago committed the first act
an act of aggression which brought us into relationship
with the Tibetans In the year 1772 they descended into
the plains of Bengal and overran Kuch Behar, coined oil'
the Raja as a prisoner, seized his country, and offered such
a menace to the British province of Bengal, now only
separated from them by a small stream, that when the
people of Kuch Behar asked the British Governor for help,
he granted their request, and resolved to dnve the moun-
taineers back into their fastnesses. Success attended his
efforts, though, as usual, at much sacrifice. We learn
that our troops were decimated with disease, and that the
malaria proved fatal to Captain Jones, the commander,
and many other officers " One can hardly breathe," says
Bogle, who passed through the country two years later
" frogs, watery insects, and dank air " And those who
have been over that same country since, and seen, if only
from a railway train, those deadly swamps, who have
felt that suffocating, poisonous atmosphere arising from
them, and who have experienced that ghastly, depressing
enervation which saps all manhood and all life out of one,
can well imagine what those early pioneers must have
suffered
BHUTANESE AGGRESSION 5
Fortunately there was at the head of affairs the greatest,
though the most maligned, of all the Governors- General
of India, who was able to turn to profit the advantages
accruing from the sacrifices which had been made.
Fortunately, too, in those days a Go vernoi- General still
had some power and initiative left, and was able, without
interminable delays, debates, correspondence, and inter-
national considenngs, to act decisively and strongly before
the psychological moment had passed.
Warren Hastings resisted the aggression of the Bhu-
tanese, and drove them back from the plains of Bengal into
then: own mountains , but when the Tashi Lama of Tibet
interceded on their behalf, he at once not only acceded,
but went further, and made a deliberate effort to come into
permanent relationship with both the Bhutanese and
Tibetans Nor did he think he would gain lasting results
by any fitful effort He knew well that to achieve any-
thing effort must be long, must be continuous, and must
be persistent, and that the results would be small at first,
but, accumulating in the long process of years, would
eventually amount to what was of value.
The Bhutanese, I have said, when they found them-
selves being sorely punished for their aggression, appealed
to the Tashi Lama of Tibet to intercede for them with
the Governor of Bengal , and the Tashi Lama, who was
then acting as Regent of Tibet during the infancy of the
Dalai Lama, wrote to Warren Hastings a very remark-
able letter, which is quoted both by Turner and Markham,
and which is especially noteworthy as marking that the
intercourse between us and the Tibetans was started by
the Tibetans. The Tibetans have stated on many a
subsequent occasion to the Government of India, and on
innumerable occasions to mysejf, that they aie not per-
mitted to have intercourse with us But originally, and
when they wanted a favour from us, the intercourse was
started by themselves, and in a very reasonable s dignified,
and neighbourly manner
The Tashi Lama wrote to Warren' Hastings, after
various compliments : " Neither to molest nor to perse-
cute is my aim. . . But in justice and humanity I
6 BOGLE'S MISSION, 1774
am informed you far smpass . I have been lepcatedly
informed that you have been engaged in hostilities
against the Deb Judhur, to which, it is said, the Deb's
own criminal conduct in committing ravages and other
outrages on your fiontier has given nse As he is of a
rude and ignorant race (past times are not destitute of
instances of the hke misconduct which his own avarice
tempted him to commit), it is not unlikely that he has
now renewed those instances, and the ravages and plundci
which he committed on the skirts of the Bengal and
Behar provinces have given you provocation to send your
avenging army against him However, his paity has been
defeated, many of his people have been killed, three foils
have been taken fiom him, he has met with the punish-
ment he deseived, and it is evident as the sun that your
aimy has been victorious, and that, if you had been
desirous of it, you might in the space of two days have
entirely extiipated him, for he had no powei to resist your
efforts But I now take upon me to be his mediator, and
to icpresent to you that, as the said Deb Raja is dependent
upon the Dalai Lama should you peisist in offering
further molestation to the Deb Raja's country, it will
irritate both the Lama and all his subjects against you.
Therefore, from a regard to our religion and customs, I
request you will cease all hostilities against him, and in
doing this you will confer the greatest favom and friend-
ship upon me. I have reprimanded the Deb foi his past
conduct, and I have admonished him to desist from his
evil practices in future, and to be submissive to you in all
matters I am persuaded that he will conform to the
, advice which I have given him, and it will be necessary
that you treat him with compassion and clemency. As
for my part, I am but a Fakn, and it is the custom of my
Sect, with the rosary in oui hands, to pray foi the welfare
of mankind and for the peace and happiness of the inhabi-
tants of this country ; and I do now, with my hcml
uncovered, entreat that you may cease all hostilities amunst
the Deb in future." B
On receipt of this letter, Warren Hastings laid it before
the Board at Calcutta, and informed them that, in reply, he
WARREN HASTINGS' POLICY 7
had written to the Tashi Lama, proposing a geneial treaty
of amity and commeice between Bengal and Tibet The
lettci o the Lama, he said, had invited us to friendship,
and the final arrangement of the disputes on the f'rontiei
had lendered the country accessible, without dangei either
to the persons or effects of tiavelleis He had, theiefore,
wntten for and obtained a passport foi a European to
piocecd to Tibet for the negotiation of the tieaty, and he
now puiposcd sending Mi Bogle, a seivant of the Com-
pany, well known foi Ins intelligence, assiduity, and exact-
ness in affans, as well as foi the ' coolness and moderation
of tempei which he seems to possess in an eminent degree "
Wfincn Hustings, with gicat wisdom and knowledge of
Asiatic affairs, adds that he * is fai horn being sanguine
m his hopes of success, but the present occasion appears
too favourable for the attempt to be neglected "
This latter is precisely the point which we who have
dealt with Asiatics can appicciatc so well taking the
opportunity, stnkmg while the non is hot, not letting the
chance go by, knowing om mind, knowing what we want,
and acting decisively when the exact occasion anses. It
is hard to do nowadays, with the Piovmcml Govern-
ment so subordinate to the Government of India, with the
Government of India so governed by the Secretaiy of
State, with Cabinet Ministers telling us that the House of
Commons are then masters, and membeis of the House
of Commons saying they are the mouthpieces of their con-
stituents Nevertheless, the advantages of such a method
of conducting attairs must not be forgotten. Decision and
rapidity of action arc often important factois in the
conduct of Asiatic affairs, and may save more trouble
than is saved by caution and long deliberation.
Warren Hastings' policy was, then, not to sit still
within his holders, supremely indifferent to what occurred
on the other side, and intent upon respecting not merely
the independence but also the isolation of his neighbours
It was u forward policy, and combined in a noteworthy
manner alertness and deliberation, rapidity and persist-
ency, Hssertivcncss and receptivity. He sought to secure
his bordeis by at once striking when danger threatened,
8 s BOGLE'S MISSION, 1774
but also by taking infinite pains over long periods
of time to promote ordinary neighbourly intercourse
with those on the other side. Both qualities aie
necessary Spasmodic action unaccompanied by steady,
continuous efforts at conciliation produces no less bad
results than does plodding conciliation never accompanied
by action It was because Warren Hastings possessed
this capacity for instantly seizing an opportunity, because
he could and would without hesitation or fear use seventy
where severity alone would secure enduring harmony,
but would yet persistently and with infinite tact, sagacity,
and leal good-heartedness work foi humane and neigh-
bourly relationship with adjoining peoples, that he must
be consideied the greatest of all the gieat Governors-
General of India
But to be successful a policy must be embodied in. a
fitting peisonahty And to appreciate Warren Hastings 1
Tibetan policy we must know something of the agent he
chose to cany it into effect What was the character of
the man who was to lead the first Mission ever sent to
Tibet ? We learn from Maikham that he was born m
1746, and had at first been bi ought up in a business office,
but on proceeding to India had been given a post in the
Revenue Department His letters to his fathei and sisters
show him to have been a man of the strongest home feel-
ings, and his conversations with the Tibetans indicate that
he was a man of high honour and strict rectitude. Warren
Hastings himself not only had a high opinion of his abilities
and official aptitude, but also entertained for him a warm
personal friendship
The youth of Warren Hastings' agent is the first point
to note: he was only twenty-eight. Nowadays we use
men who are much too old It is when men are young,
when they are still crammed full of energy, when their
faculties are alert, that they are most useful and effective,
I often doubt whether the experience of maturer age
possesses all the advantages which are commonly attri-
buted to it, and whether young men act more rashly
WARREN HASTINGS' INSTRUCTIONS 9
or mesponsibly than old men The former have their
whole careeis betbie them, and their imputations to make.
They are no more likely, therefore, to act rashly than "old
men in a huny" Warren Hastings was therefore wise,
in my opinion, to choose a young man, and he was
equally wise to choose an agent of good breeding
and with great natural kindliness of disposition Asiatics
do not mind quickness or hotncss of temper, 01 seventy
of nunner, as long as they can feel that at bottom
the man they have to do with has a good, warm, generous
heait He need not wcai it on his sleeve, but they will
know nght enough whethci he possesses one or not And
that Warren Hastings' agent had such a heart his home
correspondence, his fueiidship with Hastings himself, and
his eventual dealings with the Tibetans amply testify.
Having determined his policy and selected his agent,
Warren Hastings gave him the following instructions,*
dated May KJ, 1774: "I desire you will proceed to
Lhasa, . . . The design of your mission is to open a
mutual and equal communication of trade between the
inhabitants of Bhutan [Tibet] and Bengal, and you will be
guided by your own judgment in using such means of
negotiation as may be most likely to effect this purpose.
You will take with you samples, for a trial of such articles
of commerce as may be scut from this country, . . . And
you will diligently inform yourself of the manufactures,
productions, goods, introduced by the intercourse with
other countries, which arc to be procured in Bhutan, . . .
The following will be also proper objects of your inquiry :
the nature of the roads between the borders of Bengal and
Lhasa, and of the country lying between, the communica-
tions between Lhasa and the neighbouring countries, their
government, revenue, and manners. . , . The period of
your stay must be left to your discretion. I wish you to
remain a suflicient time to fulfil the purposes of your
deputation, and obtain a complete knowledge of the
country and the points referred to your inquiry. If you
* Markham, "Mission of Bogle," p, &
10 BOGLE'S MISSION, 1774
shall judge that a residence may be usefully established at
Lhasa without putting the Company to any expense, but
such as may be repaid by the advantages which may be
hereafter derived from it, you will take the earliest oppor-
tunity to advise me of it , and if you should find it neces-
sary to come away before you icceive my orders upon it,
you may leave such persons as you shall think fit to remain
as your agents till a proper resident can be appointed
You will draw on me for youi charges, and your drafts
shall be regularly answered To these I can fix no limita-
tion, but empowei you to act according to your discretion,
knowing that I need not recommend to you a strict
frugality and economy where the good of the service on
which you are commissioned shall not require a deviation
from these rules "
Did ever an agent despatched on an important mission
receive more satisfactory instructions * The object clearly
defined, and the fullest discretion left to him as to the
manner of carrying it out Hastings, having selected the
fittest agent to carry out his purpose, leaves everything to
his judgment Whatevei would most effectively cany
out the mam purpose, that the agent was at perfect liberty
to do, and time and money were freely at his disposal ** I
want the thing done," says Warren Hastings in effect,
"and all you require to get it done you shall have."
The only equally good instructions I havepeisonally seen
issued to an agent were given by Cecil Rhbdes in Rhodesia.
I travelled up to Fort Sahsbury with Major Forbes, whom
Rhodes had summoned from a place two months' journey
distant to receive instructions, for he did not believe in
letters, but only in personal communication After dinner
Rhodes questioned Forbes most minutely as to his require-
ments, as to the condition of things, as to the difficulties
which were likely to be encountered, and as to Ins ideas on
how those difficulties should be overcome. He said he
wanted to know now what Forbes required in order to
accomplish the object in view, because he did not wish to
see him coming back later on, saying he could have earned
it out if only he had had this, that, or the other. Let him
therefore say now whatever he required to insure success
DISCRETION LEFT TO AGENT 11
All that he asked, and more than he asked, Rhodes gave
him, and then despatched him, saying, " Now, I don't want
to heai of you again till I get a telegram saying your job
is done "
These are, of couise, ideal methods of conveying
instructions to an agent, which it is not always possible for
a high official to give Lord Curzon would, I know, have
liked to give similai insti notions to me, and, as far as pro-
viding money, staff 1 , military support, etc , he did But,
with the closei interconnection of public affairs, public
business is now so complicated that it is not, I suppose,
possible to leave to an agent the same amount of discretion
that Will i en Hastings did to Bogle Still, great results
in many fields, and, what is moie, great men, have been
produced by the use oi' Wairen Hastings' method of
selecting the fittest agent, and then leaving everything m
Ins hands. I do not sec that any better icsults have
been obtained by utilizing human agents as mere
telephones It 1 the conduct of affairs has become com-
plicated, that docs not appeal to be any icason in itself
{'or abandoning the method It appeals only a reason for
principals and agents rising to the higher occasion while
still pursuing the old successful method. Ease of com-
munication has brought nations more closely together and
complicated affairs, but it has also made possible readier
personal communication between principal and agent
And therefore there is need not so much for curtailing
the discretion of the agent while he is at work as for
utili/ing the greater facility for personal intercourse now
possible. In conversation the agent will be able to
impress his principals with whatevei local and personal
clifliculties he has to contend with, and the means
required for carrying out their object, and they will be
able to impress him with the limits outside which it is
impossible to allow him to act It is a clear certainty that
the present tendency to concentrate, not merely control,
but also direction, in London, cannot go on for ever. An
Empire like ours, immense m size and immensely com-
plicated, cannot be managed in detail from headquarters.
The time must come when the House of Commons and
12 BOGLE'S MISSION, 1774
the constituencies, overburdened with the great aifans
with which they have to deal, will, by the sheer force and
weight of circumstances, see the advantages of leaving
more to the men on the spot They will probably insist
on agents being more carefully selected. They willrequne
them to keep in much closer personal contact with head-
quarters They will expect, too, that politicians who
control should already be personally acquainted, or make
themselves personally acquainted, with the countries they
control But with these conditions fulfilled they will, it
may be hoped, be able to leave more to the men on the
spot, removing them relentlessly if they act wrongly, but
while they are acting, leaving them to act in their own way.
Bogle, with these free instmctions and this ample sup-
port, set out from Calcutta in the middle of May, 1774,
that is, less than two months from the date of the despatch
of the Tashi Lama's lettei from Shigatse, so that Wairen
Hastings, if he had left ample leisuie to his agent to carry
out Ins purpose, had himself acted with the utmost
promptitude, even in so important a matter as sending a
mission to Lhasa with the possibility of establishing there
a permanent resident Rapidity of communication has
not resulted in the rapidity of the transaction of public
affairs, and the consideration of despatching a mission
to Lhasa nowadays takes as many years as weeks were
occupied m the days of Warren Hastings.
During his passage through Bhutan, Bogle found
many obstacles placed in his way ; but he eventually left
the capital in the middle of October, and on the 2rd
ol that month reached Phan, at the head of the Chumbi
Valley up which we marched to Lhasa 130 years later,
Here he was received by two Lhasa officers, and farther
on, at Gyantse, where the Mission of 1904 was attacked
and besieged for nearly two months, he was entertained
by a priest, an elderly man of polite and pleasant
manners, who sat with mm most of the afternoon, and
drank "above twenty cups of tea" Crowds of p^le
appear to have assembled to look at him, but beyond
TASHI LAMA RECEIVES BOGLE 13
the irksomeness of these attentions he suffeied no incon-
venience or opposition
On Novembei 8, 1774, he ai rived at the place near
Shigatse wheie the Tashi Lama was at the time in
residence The day following he had an interview with
the Lama, and delivered to him a letter and a necklace of
pearls from Warren Hastings. This was the first official
inteiview which had ever taken place between a British
officer and a Tibetan, and as such is particularly worthy
of note
The Tashi Lama received Bogle y "with a very
courteous and smiling countenance," seated him near him
on a high stool covered with a carpet, and spoke to him
in Hindustani, of which he had " a moderate knowledge "
Aftei inquiring about AVairen Hastings' health, and
Bogle's journey through Bhutan, he mtioduced the
subject of the war in Behar that is, the Bhutanese invasion
of the plains of Bengal. "I always," said the Lama,
" disappioved of Deb Judhur (the Bhutanese Chief) seizing
the Bchcir Haja (the Haja of Kuch Behar) and going
to war with the Fringies (the English), but the Deb
considered himself as powerful in arms, and would not
listen to my advice After he was defeated, T wrote to
the Governor, who, m ceasing hostilities against the
Bhutanese, in consequence of my application, and restoring
to them their country, has made me very happy, and has
done a very pious action, My servants who went to
Calcutta were only little men, and the kind reception they
had from the Governor I consider as another mark of
friendship,"
Bogle explained that Kuch Behar was separated
from tne British province of Bengal only by a rivulet ;
that the Bhutanese from time immemorial had confined
themselves to their mountains,* and when they visited
the low countries it was in an amicable manner, and
in order to tiadc ; that when many thousand armed men
issued at once from their forests, carried off the Raja
of Kuch Behar as prisoner, and seized his country, the
Company very justly became alarmed, and concluded
* Markham, p. 135
14 BOGLE'S MISSION, 1774
that the Bhutanese, encouraged by their successes in
Kuch Behar to-day, and undeterred by so slight a
boundary as a small stream, might invade the Biitish
provinces to-morrow Bogle continued that Warren
Hastings, on the people of Kuch Behar applying to him
for assistance, immediately despatched a battalion of sepoys
to repel the invaders, but was extremely glad, on icceipt
of the Tashi Lama's letter, to suspend hostilities and
subsequently to conclude a peace with the Bhutanese and
restore them then country In conclusion, he said th.it
Warren Hastings, being happy to cultivate the friendship
of a man whose fame was so well known, and whose
character was held in veneration by so many nations, had
sent him to the Lama's presence with the lettei and tokens
of friendship which he had laid before him
The Lama said that the Deb Judhui did not manage
his country properly, and had been turned out. Bogle
replied that the English had no concern with his expulsion ;
it was brought about by his own people: the Company
only wished the Bhutanese to continue in their own
country, and not to encroach upon Bengal, or raise
distuibances upon its frontier " The Governor," said the
Lama, " had reason for going to war, but, as I am averse
from bloodshed, and the Bhutanese are my vassals, I am
glad it is brought to a conclusion."
The point, then, that it was an act of aggression on the
part of a vassal of the Tibetans which was the initial
cause of our relationship with the Tibetans , that that act
was considered unjustifiable by the then ruler of Tibet, and
that our own action was approved of and appreciated
by him, is established by this conversation. Except for
the unjustifiable aggression of the Bhutanese upon our
neighbours, we would never have been brought into
conflict with these vassals of Tibet, and but for the
intervention of the Tibetan Regent on their behalf, we
should not then have thought of any relationship with the
Tibetans. The initiation of our intercourse did* not rest
with us. We were not the inteiferers. It was the
THE TASHI LAMA 15
Tibetans themselves who made the fiist move This
much is cleai from the Tashi Lama's conversation.
We may well pause for a moment to consider the man
who had thus first communicated with us It so happens
that he was the most remarkable man Tibet has produced
in the last centuiy and a half, and one cannot help thinking
that if he had lived longer, and Warren Hastings had
remained longer in India, these two able and eminently
sensible and conciliatory men would have come to some
amicable and neighbouily agreement by which the inter-
iclations of their respective countries might have been
peacefully conducted from that time till now.
Bogle says of him that he was about forty years of age,
that his disposition was open, candid, and generous, and
that the expression of his countenance was smiling and
good-humoured. He was extremely merry and entertain-
ing in conversation, and told a pleasant story with a great
deal of humour and action. " I endeavoured," says Bogle,
"to find out, in his character, those defects which are
inseparable from humanity, but he is so universally
beloved that I had no success, and not a man could
find it in his heart to speak ill of him."
The Lama treated Bogle in the most intimate manner.
He would walk the room with the strange Englishman,
explain to him the pictures, and make remarks upon the
colour of his eyes. " For, although," says Bogle, '* vene-
rated as God's vicegerent through all the eastern countries
of Asia, endowed with a portion of omniscience, and with
many other Divine attributes, he throws aside, m con-
versation, all the awful part of his character, accommodates
himself to the weakness of mortals, endeavours to make
himself loved rather than feared, and behaves with the
greatest affability to everybody, particularly to strangers,"
Continuing his conversation on the subject of Behar,
the Lama, m subsequent interviews, said that many people
had advised him against receiving an Englishman. " I
16 BOGLE'S MISSION, 1774
had heard also,"* he said, "much of the power of the
Fnngies : that the Company was like a great King, and
fond of war and conquest, and as my business and
that of my people is to pray to God, I was afraid to admit
any Fnngies into the country. But I have since learned
that the Frmgies aie a fan and a just people." To this
Bogle icplied that the Governor was, above all things,
desirous of obtaining his friendship and favour, as the
character of the English and their good or bad name
depended greatly upon his judgment In return the
Lama assured Bogle that his heart was open and well
disposed towards the English, and that he wished to have
a place on the banks of the Ganges to which he might
send his people to pray, and that he intended to write
to Wairen Hastings about it This he did, after Bogle's
return, and a piece of land was given him on the banks of
the Hooghly branch of the Ganges, opposite Calcutta, and
a house and temple were constructed on it by Bogle
for the Lama.
The conversation now turned to the question of tiade.
The Tashi Lama said that, owing to the lecent wais in
Nepal and Bhutan, trade between Bengal and Tibet was
not flourishing, but that, as for himself, he gave encourage-
ment to merchants, and in Tibet they were free and secure.
He enumerated the different articles which went from
Tibet to Bengal " gold, musk, cow-tails (yak-tails), and
coarse woollen clothes " but he said the Tibetans were
afraid to go to Bengal on account of the heat In the
previous year he had sent four people to worship at
Benaies, but three had died In former times great
numbers used to resort to Hindustan The Lamas had
temples in Benares, Gaya, and several other places ; their
priests used to travel thither to study the sacred books and
the religion of the Hindus, and after remaining there ten,
twenty, or thirty years, return to Tibet and communicate
their knowledge to then* countrymen , but since the Mo-
hammedan conquest of India the inhabitants of Tibet
had had httle connection with Bengal or the southern
countnes
* Markham, p 137
OBSTRUCTION FROM LHASA 17
Bogle assured him that times were now altered, that
under the Company in Bengal and it must be remembered
that when he was speaking our rule did not extend beyond
Bengal on that side of India every person's property was
secure, and everyone was at liberty to follow his own
religion.
The Lama said he was informed that under the
Fringies the country was very quiet, and that he would
be ashamed if Bogle were to icturn with a fruitless errand.
He would therefore consult his officers and some men
from Lhasa, as well as some of the chief merchants, and
after informing them of the Governor's desire to encourage
trade, and of the encouragement and protection which the
Company afforded to traders in Bengal, " discuss the most
proper method of carrying it on and extending it."
The following day the Lama told Bogle that he " had
written to Lhasa on the subject of opening a free com-
mercial communication between his country and Bengal."
" But," says Bogle, c * although he spoke with all the zeal
in the world, I confess I did not much like the thoughts
of referring my business to Lhasa, where I was not present,
where I was unacquainted, and where I had reason to
think the Ministers had entertained no favourable idea of
me and my commission,"
Later on, at the request of the Tashi Lama, two
deputies from Lhasa came to visit Bogle They said the
English had shown great favour to the Lama and to them
by making peace with the Bhutanese and restoring their
country* Bogle replied that the English were far from
being of that quarrelsome nature which some evil-minded
persons represented them to be, and wished not for extent
of territories. They were entrusted with the management
of Bengal, and only wished it should remain in tran-
quillity. The war with the Bhutanese was of their own
seeking. The deputies might judge whether the Company
had not cause for alarm when eight or ten thousand Bhu-
tanese, who had formerly confined themselves to their
mountains, poured into the low country, seized the Raja
2
18 BOGLE'S MISSION, 1774
of Kuch Behar, took possession of his territories, and
earned then* arms to the borders of Bengal The deputies
could judge for themselves whether the Company weie
not in the right in opposing them In the course of the
war some of the Bhutan territory was taken fiom them,
but was immediately restored at the request of the Tashi
Lama, and so far from desiring conquest, the boundaries
of Bengal lemamed the same as formerly
The Lhasa deputies said the Lama had written to
Lhasa about trading, but that the Tibetans were afraid of
the heat, and proceeded, therefore, only as far as Phan,
where the Bhutanese brought the commodities of Bengal
and exchanged them for those of Tibet This was the
ancient custom, and would certainly be observed
Bogle stated that besides this there was formerly a
very extensive tiade carried on between Tibet and Bengal ,
Warren Hastings was desirous of removing existing
obstacles, and had sent him to Tibet to repiesent the
matter to the Tashi Lama, and he tiusted that the Lhasa
authorities would agree to so icasonable a proposal They
answered that Gesub Rimpoche (the Regent at Lhasa)
would do everything in his power, but that he and all the
country were subject to the Emperoi of China.
" This," says Bogle, " is a stumbling-block which crosses
me in all my paths " And in the paths of how many
negotiators since has it not stood as a stumbling-block 1
The Tibetans are ready to do anything, but they can do
nothing without the permission of the Chinese The
Chinese would freely open the whole of Tibet, but the
Tibetans themselves are so terribly seclusive. So the
same old story goes on ^ear after year, till centuries are
beginning to roll by, and the story is still unfinished When
in the Audience Hall of the Dalai Lama's Palace at Lhasa
itself I had obtained the seals of the Dalai Lama, of the
Council, of the National Assembly, and of the three great
monasteries, to an agi cement, and had done all this in the
presence of the Chinese Resident, I thought we had at
last laid that fiction low for evei But it seems to be
FEAR OF THE CHINESE 19
springing up again in all its old exuberance, and showing
still perennial vitality
Bogle, at the request of the Tashi Lama, related to him
the substance of his conversation with the Lhasa deputies
The Lama assured him again of the reasonableness of his
proposals in legard to trade, but said that, in reply to the
letter he had written on the subject, he had icceived a
letter from the Lhasa Regent mentioning his apprehension
of giving umbrage to the Chinese Theie were, too,
disturbances in Nepal and Sikkim which rendered this an
improper time to settle anything, but in a year or two he
hoped to bring it about As to the English, the Lhasa
Regent had received such accounts as made him suspicious,
" and," added the Tashi Lama, " his heait is confined, and
he does not see things in the same view as I do."
Bogle then hinted at the advisability of the Tibetans
coming into some fonn of alliance with the English so that
the influence of the latter might be used to restrain the
Guikhas of Nepal nom attacking Tibet and its feudatories
This argument evidently much struck the Lama, who
asked if he might wnte it to the Lhasa Regent. Bogle
told him he might, and that he had no doubt that Warren
Hastings would be ready to employ his mediation to make
the Gurkha Raja desist from his attempts on the temtones.
subject to Lhasa, and that he had reason to thmk that
from the Gurkha Raja's dread of the English it would be
effectual. The Lama said that the Regent's apprehensions
of the English arose not only from himself, but also from
his fear of giving offence to the Chinese, to whom Tibet
was subject. The Regent wished, therefore, to receive an
answer from the Court at Peking
Bogle contended that Warren Hastings, in his proposals
to facilitate trade, was promoting the advantage of Tibet
as well as of Bengal , that in former times merchants
used to come freely into Tibet , that the Gurkha Raja's
wars and oppressions had prevented their coming for some
years past, and he only prayed the Lama to remove the
obstacles which these had occasioned. To this the Lama
20 BOGLE'S MISSION, 1774
replied that he had no doubt of cairjnng the point, but
that it might require a year or two to do it effectually
So we see the well-intentioned Tashi Lama held back
by the obstructive Lhasa authorities , and this was still
more evident at Bogle's next interview, which was with
the Lhasa deputies. They came to pay him a farewell
visit, and in the innocence of his heart he made the very
simple request that they would convey a letter from him
to the Lhasa Regent Nothing could be more natural
than such a request, but, till iccently, one might just
as well have asked a Tibetan to touch a red-hot poker as
to carry a letter from an Englishman. The deputies said
that if it contained anything to do with business they
could not carry it. " I confess," says Bogle, " I was much
struck with this answer " Poor man, he might well be 1
And I was equally stiuck, 130 years latei, when I was
formally deputed on a mission to Tibet, with the full
consent of the Chinese suzerain, when Tibetans still i e fused
to take a letter from an Englishman. It was only when
we were in full march to Lhasa, and but a few miles distant,
that they at last consented to so simple a proceeding as
receiving a lettei, though now they have changed so
completely round, that this year the Dalai Lama himself,
at Calcutta, appealed to the Viceroy of India " to secure the
observance of the i ight which the Tibetans had of dealing
direct with the British."
Bogle told the Lhasa deputies that he wished to know
the giounds of the Regent's suspicions, but they replied
" that much conversation was not the custom of their
country," and wished him a good journey back to Bengal.
Bogle endeavoured to get them to listen to him, as he
wished to introduce the subject of trade, but it was to no
purpose.
" This conversation gave me more concern," he re
" than any I had in Tibet." He immediately asked to see
he records,
j jsked to see
the Tashi Lama, and told him with some warmth," as he
NEPALESE INTRUSION 21
was " a good deal affected," that he could not help being
concerned that the Regent should suspect him of coming
into his country to raise disturbances , that God was his
witness that he wished the Regent well, and wished the
Lama well, and the country well, and that a suspicion of
treachery and falsehood he could not hear The Tashi
Lami tried to calm him, and eventually dictated a letter
in Tibetan in Bogle's name to the Lhasa Regent This
lettei contained only one sentence of pme business It
simply said : " I request, in the name of the Governor, my
master, that you will allow merchants to trade between
this country and Bengal " Not a very aggressive request
to make or a very great favour to ask, especially as the
Tibetans had begun their intercourse by asking a favour
from us. But it was not for a century and a quarter, and
not till we had can led our arms to Lhasa itself, that that
simple request was answered, although all the 'time the
people and traders of Tibet were only too willing to
trade with us.
Why Bogle did not himself go to Lhasa, as he was
empowered to do by his instructions, seems strange The
Tashi Lama said that he himself would have been quite
willing, but that the Lhasa Regent was very averse, and
he dissuaded Bogle, saying that the Regent's heart was
small and suspicious, and he could not promise that he
would be able to procure the Regent's consent.
And now the feeling of suspicion was to be increased
by an unfortunate occurrence The Gurkha Raja of
Nepal wrote to both the Tashi Lama and the Lhasa
Regent, announcing that he had subdued certain districts
He said he did not wish to quanfel with Tibet, but if they
had a mind for war he let them know he was well prepared,
and he would desue them to remember he was a Rajput,
Fie wished to establish factories at places upon the
Tibetan border, where the merchants of Tibet might pur-
chase the commodities of his country and of Bengal, and
he desired the concurrence of the Tibetans, He also
further desned the Tibetans "to have no connection with
22 BOGLE'S MISSION, 1774
Frmgies or Moghuls, and not to allow them into the
country, but to follow the ancient custom, which he was
resolved likewise to do " A Fimgy had come to him
upon some business, and was now in his country, but he
intended to send him back as soon as possible, and desired
the Tibetans to do the same with Bogle
Thus were Bogle's difficulties still further mci eased
A.nd in one respect, at least, we have advanced since his
day ; for the Mission to Lhasa in 1904, instead of being
hampered, was warmly supported by the Nepalese. The
Dewan of Nepal wrote strongly to the Lhasa authorities,
urging them to reason, and his agent at Lhasa was of the
greatest assistance to me in my negotiations with the
Tibetans.
Besides China and Nepal thus entering into this
Tibetan question, there was also some mention of Russia
even so far back as that The Tashi Lama had already
questioned Bogle about the Empress of Russia He now
told Bogle that there was a quarrel between the Russians
and the Chinese over some Tartar tribe. The Russians
had not yet begun hostilities, but he imagined they would
soon go to war about it. Bogle told him that as the
Russians were engaged in a very heavy war with the Turks
how far back that other stoiy reaches I he supposed
they would hardly think of entering into another with
the Chinese He said the Russians were a very hardy
and warlike people, capable of great efforts, and he
doubted whether the Chinese would be able to cope with
then: troops.
r
Bogle then had conversations with the Kashmiri
traders, who had been sent to him by the Tashi Lama,
and who wanted to be allowed to trade with Bengal
through Bhutan. They stated the difficulties which the
Bhutanese placed in their way, and said that the Chief of
Bhutan would soon remove these if the Company would
threaten him with war, as after the last war he was in
TIBETAN MERCHANTS 23
great dread of the English It is a point which should
be specially noted by those who believe that Warren
Hastings' policy was aggiessive, that Bogle, in leply to this
hint, told the mei chants * that he had no powei to use
such language to the Bhutanese, and that whatever he did
with the Raja witst be by peaceable and friendly mean's
The Company had enteied into a tieaty of peace with
them, "which, accoidmg to the maxim of the English
Government, would lemam foi evei inviolate "
Tibetan mei chants also came, at the Tashi Lama's
request, to see Bogle They dealt chiefly in tea, some of
them to the extent of two 01 three lakhs of lupees a year
of the then value of 20,000 to 30,000 They said the
Lama had advised them to send agents to Bengal, but they
weie afiaid to go into the heat of the plains They had a
tradition that about eight hundied yeais ago people of
Tibet used to go to Bengal, but that eight out of ten
died befoie then letuin Bogle told them that if they
weie afiaid of sending then seivants thithei, the Ka&hmiii
would supply them with what they wanted They said
that formeily wool, broadcloth, etc , used to come through
Nepal, but since the wars in Nepal the trade had diminished
They added that people imagined nom gold being produced
in Tibet that it was extremely rich, but that this was not
the case, and if extraoidmaiy quantities of gold weie sent
to Bengal, the Empeioi of China, who was Soveieign oi
the country, would be displeased
At his faiewell interview Bogle said that Wan en
Hastings would send letteis to the Lama by his own
servants, upon which the Lama said '* I wish the Goveinoi
will not at present send an Englishman You know what
difficulties I had about youi coming into the country, and
how I had to struggle with the jealousy of the Gesub
Rimpoche (the Regent) and the people at Lhasa Even
now they are uneasy at my having kept you so long I
could wish, therefore, that the Governor would rather send
a Hindu 1 am in hopes my letter to the Regent will
have a good effect in lemovmg his jealousy, and I expect
in a yeai or two that the government of this country will
* Maikham, p 162
24 BOGLE'S MISSION, 1774
be in the Dalai Lama's hands, when I will inform the
Governor, and he may then send an Englishman to me and
to the Dalai Lama."
The Tashi Lama repeated his concern at Bogle's
departure and the satisfaction he had received in being
informed of the customs of Europe He spoke all this,
m and with a look very different from the studied compli-
ments of Hindustan " I never could reconcile myself,"
continues Bogle, " to taking a last leave of anybody ; and
what from the Lama's pleasant and amiable character, what
from the many favours and civilities he had shown me, I
could not help being particularly affected He observed
it, and m order to cheer me mentioned his hopes of seeing
me again "
Of Bogle's own warm-heaited and affectionate feelings
to the people of Tibet there can be no question On the
eve of his departure he wrote in a letter to his sister
" Farewell, ye honest and simple people ! May ye long
enjoy the happiness which is denied to more polished
nations ; and while they are engaged in the endless
pursuits of avarice and ambition, defended by your barren
mountains, may ye continue to live in peace and content-
ment, and know no wants but those of nature,"
At the close of Bogle's Mission we may review its
results. He was sent by Warren Hastings to establish
relationship and intercourse of trade with the Tibetans.
How far did he succeed in carrying out that object *
It is sufficiently clear that, as regards personal relation-
ship, he was eminently successful, and that was about as
much as he could have expected to establish at the start,
As we have already seen, Warren Hastings never expected
any very striking result from the first communication; He
wished to lay the foundation for neighbourly intercourse
and in this much he succeeded He had had experience
enough of Asiatics in other quarters to be aware that they
are very naturally suspicious of a European Power, then by
some apparently irresistible process gradually expanding
over smaller Asiatic peoples As the instance of the Gurkha
RESULTS OF MISSION 25
Raja's letter showed, there are few Asiatic rulers who, if
they have the power to subdue a weakei neighbour, will not
as a perfectly natural course proceed to bring that neighbour
undei subjection This is looked upon by most Asiatics
as a quite normal and inevitable proceeding Naturally,
therefore, the Tibetans would assume that it would only
be a matter of time before the English Governor of Bengal
would attack Tibet He had the power to subdue the
country; he would therefore subdue it In the first
instance he would, of course, send up an agent to spy out
the land, to see what it was worth, and to find out the best
way into it ; and such an agent doubtless Bogle was, in their
opinion. It was inevitable, therefore, that Bogle should
be viewed with suspicion, and that the Tibetans should not,
at the first jump off, throw their country freely open to
trade. How much wiser, in their opinion, would be the
views of some shrewd old counsellor who said : " Keep the
English at a distance; don't let one into our country, stay
behind our mountain barrier and have nothing whatever
to do with anyone beyond it This is the ' ancient custom. '
Do not let us depart from it. Let us be civil to this Bogle
now he is here, lest we offend his powerful master, but
for God's sake let us get rid of him as soon as we can, and
put every polite difficulty we know of in the way of any
other Englishman coming amongst us."
We can imagine how sound such an opinion would
seem to the generality of the old greybeard s hearers, and
how difficult it would be for anyone even the Tashi
Larna to contend against it And with such a feeling in
existence Bogle could not do more than produce a
favourable personal impression, and put in an argument or
two, whenever he had the opportunity, to show that there
were also some advantages in "having relationship with
the English, in the hopes that these arguments might
gradually sink into the Tibetan mind, and when the
opportunity should arise, bring forth fruit. And this much
he did most effectively in carrying out the Governor's
policy.
CHAPTER II
TURNER'S MISSION, 1782
WARREN HASTINGS was not content with a single effort
to reopen the commercial and friendly intercourse which
in formei times had subsisted between Tibet and India
As he had expected little from the first move, so he had
always intended to work continuously with the same end
in view, hoping to eventually gam that end by repeated
efforts over long periods
Bogle returned to Calcutta in June, 1775, and in
November of the same year Hastings deputed Dr. Hamil-
ton, who had accompanied him to Tibet, on a second
mission to Bhutan. Hamilton spent some months in
Bhutan, inquiring into and settling certain causes of dis-
pute , and in July, 1777, he was sent on a third mission
to Bhutan to congratulate a new Deb Raja on his succes-
sion. Thus, as Markham points out, Warren Hastings,
by keeping up a regular intercourse with the Bhutan
rulers, by maintaining a correspondence with the Tashi
Lama, and by means of an annual fair at Rangpur,
prevented the opening made by Bogle from again being
closed
Warren Hastings also intended to send another mis-
sion to Tibet itself, and in 1779 Bogle was appointed
Envoy for a second time. But in the meanwhile the
Tashi Lama had decided to undertake a journey to
Peking to visit the Chinese Emperor. Bogle, therefore,
was to have been sent to Peking to meet the Lama there,
but, most disastrously for all friendly intercourse between
Tibet and India, the Lama died in Peking m November
1780, and Bogle himself died at Calcutta in April, 17BL
The success of Asiatic affairs depends so much on the
26
PERSISTENCE OF WARREN HASTINGS 27
influence of personalities that the death of these two men,
who had conceived such a real respect and affection
foi one another, was an almost fatal blow to Warren
Hastings' plans foi the improvement of the lelationship
between Tibet and India Nevertheless, he kept steadily
on with his dehbeiate policy, and watched for some other
opportunity of cariymg it to fruition Peisistency of aim
and watchfulness foi opportunities, making the most of
the occasion offered, and decisiveness of action these were
always Hastings' guiding pnnciples So when, in Feb-
luary, 1782, news leached Calcutta that the Tashi Lama,
in accordance with the Tibetan ideas of reincarnation,
had leappeared in the peison of an infant, he resolved
to send another mission to Tibet to congratulate the
Regent
Foi this duty he selected Captain Samuel Turner, an
officer who had distinguished himself at the Siege of
Sermgapatam and on a mission to Tippoo Sultan, and
who was then thirty-thiee years of age
Turner himself was very favouiably icceived at
Shigatse, and at his first interview informed the Regent
that Warien Hastings had an earnest solicitude to
pieserve and cultivate the amicable intercourse that had
so happily commenced between them ; that this corie-
spondence, in its eaihest stages, had been dictated by the
purest motives of humanity, and had hitherto pointed with
unexampled sincerity and steadiness towaids one great
object, which constituted the grand business of the Tashi
Lama's life peace and universal good , that the Governor-
General, whose attention was always directed towards the
same pursuits, was overwhelmed with anxiety lest the
friendship which had been established between himself
and the Regent might undergo a change, and he had
therefore sent a trusted agent to convey his congiatulations
on the joyful reappearance in the woild of the late Tashi
Lama, and to express the hope that everything that was
expected would at length be effectually accomplished
To this the Regent replied that the present and the
28 TURNER'S MISSION, 1782
late Tashi Lama were one and the same, and that there
was no manner of difference between them, only that, as
he was yet merely an infant, and his spirit had but just
returned into the world, he was at present incapable of
action The Regent assured Turner of the firm, un-
shaken attachment which the Tashi Lama had entertained
foi Mr Hastings to his latest breath, and he was also loud
in liis encomiums on the occasion that gave birth' to their
present friendship, which originated entirely in his granting
peace to the Bhutanese in compliance with the intercession
of the Tashi Lama
In other interviews the Regent assured Turner that
during the interview of the late Tashi Lama with the
Emperor of China, the Lama had taken several opportuni-
ties to represent in the strongest terms the particular
amity which subsisted between the Governor-General and
himself. The Regent said that the Lama's conveisation
, had even influenced the Emperor to resolve upon com-
mencing a correspondence with his fnend Turner was
also assured that the Tashi Lama particularly sought from
the Emperor liberty to grant admission to Tibet to what-
ever person he chose, without control. And to this the
Emperor is said to have consented , but, owing to the
death of the Tashi Lama and the jealousy of the Chinese
officials, nothing resulted.
The power and influence of these Chinese officials
in Tibet was evidently very great, for in his intercourse
with the Tibetan officials Turner could plainly trace,
though they were averse to own any immediate de-
pendence upon the Chinese, the greatest awe of the
Emperor of China, andof his officers stationed at the
Court of Lhasa, who had usurped even from the hands of
the Dalai Lama the greatest portion of his temporal power.
When Turner offered to attend a certain ceremony, the
Regent excused himself from accepting the offer of his
company on account of the Chinese, whose jealousy
of strangers was well known, and to whom he was par-
ticularly anxious to give no occasion for offence. On a
TRADERS ADMITTED 29
subsequent occasion the Regent told Turner that many
letters had passed between himself and the Dalai Lama,
who was always favourably inclined towards the English ,
but he attributed the discouragement and obstruction
Turner had received to the Chinese officials at Lhasa
"The influence of the Chinese," adds Turner, "oveiawes
the Tibetans in all their proceedings, and produces a
timidity and caution in then conduct more suited to the
chaiactei of subjects than allies " At the same time, they
weie very jealous of interference by the Chinese, and
uneasy of their yoke, though it sat so lightly upon them
And while they respected the Chinese Emperoi, and had
this f'eai of Chinese officials, they "looked upon the
Chinese as a gross and impure lace of men "
And now again, as m Bogle's time, we see tiaces of
Russian influence The Regent and the Ministers told
Tiunci that they were no strangeis to the reputation of
the leigmng Czaiina, Catherine, her extent of dominion,
and the commerce earned on with China. Many ovei-
tures, they told him, had been made on the part of
Russia to extend hei commerce to the internal part of
Tibet, but the disinclination of the Tibetans to enter into
any new foreign connection, and the watchful jealousy of
the Chinese, had hitherto defeated every attempt of
that nature
Tinner spent nearly a year in Tibet, and though he was
unable to visit Lhasa owing to the antipathy of the
Lamas, he was able to obtain some substantial concessions
from the Regent of the Tashi Lama at Shigatse He
obtained* " his promise of encouragement to all merchants,
natives of India, that may be sent to traffic in Tibet, on
behalf of the Government of Bengal," and he reports to
Warren Hastings that his authority alone is requisite
to secure these merchants the protection of the Regent,
who had promised to grant free admission into Tibet
* Turnei, p 374-
SO TURNER'S MISSION, 1782
to all such merchants, natives of India, as shall come
recommended by the Governor of Bengal , to yield them
every assistance requisite for the transport of their goods ,
and to assign them a place of residence for vending their
commodities, either within the monastery at Shigatse, 01,
should it be considered as more eligible, in the town itself
He did not consider it consistent with the spint of
Warren Hastings' instructions, he reports, to be impor-
tunate for greater privileges than those to native traders
Such as he had obtained he hoped would suffice to open
the much-wished-foi communication. When merchants
had learnt the way, tasted the profit and established
intercourse, the traffic might bear a tax, which, if laid
upon it in its infancy, might suppress its growth
Turnei rejoined Wairen Hastings at Patna in March,
1784, and I remember seeing, among some original letters
of Warren Hastings in the Indian Foreign Office, an
enthusiastic appreciation of Turner's work, and an ex-
pression of the great pleasure the meeting affoided him ,
for Hastings was as waimly appreciative with some men
as he was coldly reseived with others
As long as Hastings remained in India our intercourse
with Tibet prospered But soon after his departuie a
contretemps occurred, and all his woik was undone. In
1792 the Nepalese invaded Tibet, sacked Shigaise, and
carried off all the plundei of the monasteries The Lumas
had to flee across the Brahmaputia and apply for piotection
to the Chinese. A Chinese army was despatched to their
assistance The Nepalese were defeated and driven back
across their own frontier, and peace was only concluded
upon the conditions of an annual tnbute to the Empcior
and the full restitution of all the spoils which they
carried off.
By an unfortunate ciicuinstance, through the first
British Envoy having arrived in Nepal just about the time
of this^ invasion, the Chinese commander formed the
impression that we had instigated, or at least encouraged,
the Nepalese in their attack on Tibet; and the representa-
TRADE AGAIN STOPPED 31
tions which he made to his Goveinment, coupled, says
Turner, with our declining to afford effectual assistance to
the Lamas' cause, had considerable weight As a conse-
quence, all communication between Tibet and India was
stopped, and " the approach of strangers, even of Bengal
and Hindustan, was utterly prohibited " The Hindu holy
men weie charged with treachery in acting as spies and
guides for the Nepalese, and were forbidden to remain
any longer in Shigatse , and " from this period," con-
tinues Turner, "unhappily is to be dated the interrup-
tion which has taken place in the icgular intercourse
between the Company 's possessions and the territory of
the Lama "
It was a sad ending to what had begun so promisingly,
and one is tempted to reflect what Wan en Hastings
would have done if he had still held the reins of govern-
ment m Bengal, and whether he would have been able to
restrain the Gurkhas, to assist the Lamas, and to icassure
the Chinese Certainly it is a most unfortunate circum-
stance that we so often arc unable to help our friends just
when they most need our help, and press our friendship
upon them just when they least want it.
Thus the results of Warren Hastings' forethought and
careful, steady endeavour were all lost Yet it must be
conceded by the sturdiest advocate of non-interference
that those endeavours were not merely statesman-hke, but
humane, Theie was never any attempt to aggress No
threats were ever used , no impatience was shown
Warren Hastings, as the representative of a trading com-
pany, looked, firstly, to improve trade relations , but as
the ruler of many millions of human beings, he knew
that trade or any other relationship must be based on
mutual good feeling, and he knew that good feeling with
a suspicious people can only be established by a very,
very slow process. He therefore took each step deliber-
ately, and he strove to secure permanently the advantages
of each small step taken , and, having done this, he had
some right to expect ,that when he himself had shown
32 TURNER'S MISSION, 1782
so much restraint and moderation, those who followed
after would continue the same deliberate policy
Unfortunately, as we have seen, the policy of drift and
inaction in regard to Tihet set in on Warren Hastings'
departure. The promotion of intercourse had pioved a
difficult business , and with so much on hand elsewheie
in the building up of the Indian Empire, it was perhaps
natural that the ordinary Goveinor-General should let the
matter drop.
CHAPTER III
MANNING'S VISIT TO LHASA
Now when statesmen were most lukewarm about Tibet
the inevitable English adventurer came to the front And
it is a cunous circumstance that it was just when our
relations with the Tibetans were at their coldest that
the only Englishman who ever reached Lhasa before the
Mission of 1904 achieved this success He was not an
accredited agent of Government sent to bring into effect
a deliberate policy such as that conceived by Warien
Hastings. He was a private adventurer, and he went up
in spite of, and against the wishes of, the Government of
the time
His name was Manning At Cambridge he was the
friend of Charles Lamb, and was of such ability that he
was expected to be at least Second Wrangler, but he was
of an eccentric nature, and "had a strong repugnance to
oaths," and left the University without a degree. He
conceived, however, a passionate desire to see the Chinese
Empire. He studied the Chinese language in France and
England, aftei wards made his way to Canton, remained there
three years and in 1810 procured a letter of introduction
from the Select Committee of Canton to Lord Minto, then
Governor-General of India, asking him to give him every
practicable assistance in the prosecution of his plans But
he received little or no aid from the Government, and was
left to his own resources, without official recognition of
any description
Manning, attended by a Chinese servant, proceeded to
Tibet through Bhutan, and on October 21, 1811, arrived
at Phan, at the head of the Chumbi Valley. His descrip-
tion of the Jong then precisely corresponds with our own
33 ft
34 MANNING'S VISIT TO LHASA
experiences in Tibet on many an occasion since: "Dirt,
dirt, grease, smoke. Miseiy, but good mutton "
A Chinese Mandaim arrived there about the same time,
and Manning gave him two bottles of cherry-brandy and
a wineglass This, and probably Manning's very original
manners, evidently unfioze hib heart, for he asked him to
dinner, and promised to write immediately to the Lhasa
Mandarin for permission for him to proceed Manning
also leceived applications to cure soldieis, and his medicines
" did wonderfully well, and the patients were very grateful."
They even petitioned foi him to go with the Mandarin
towards Gyantse, and the Mandarin granted their
lequest
Altogether Manning made a very favourable impression
on the Chinese who, he remarked, lorded it in Tibet like the
English in India, and made the Tibetans stand before
them And he considered then that there were advantages
in having the Chinese in this superior position " Things
aie much pleasanter now the Chinese are here," he says ;
" the magistrate hints about overtures respecting opening
a commercial intercourse between the Chmese and the
English thiough Bhutan I cannot help exclaiming in my
mind (as I often do) what fools the Company aie to give
me no commission, no authoiity, no instructions What
use are their Embassies when their Ambassadors cannot
speak to a soul, and can only make ordinary phrases pass
through a stupid interpreter 2 No finesse, no toumuie,
no compliments Fools, fools, fools, to neglect an oppor-
tunity they may never have again 1 "
Poor Manning experienced very severe cold, and
travelled to Gyantse in great discomfort, and felt these
discomforts acutely, so that the greater part of his diary
is filled with quaint denunciation of his Chinese clerk ;
of a vicious horse which kicked and bit him; of the
" common horse-furniture," which was ' detestable " ; of
the saddle which was so high behind and before that he sat
INTERCOURSE WITH CHINESE 35
in pain unless he twisted himself unequally , of another
pony "which sprang forward in a full runaway gallop, with
the most fuiious and awkward motion he ever experienced" ,
of yet another that was " so weak, so tottering, and so
stumbling, and which trembled so whenever he set his foot
on a stone, winch was about every other step," that he
could " hardly keep up with the company " , of his being
" so eaten up by little insects " that he had to sit down in
the sunshine and get nd of as many as he could, foi he
" suffered a good deal from these little insects, whose
society he was not used to " , of his at last finding " a
very pleasant-going hoise with a handsome countenance,"
which he was tempted to buy, " but was checked by the
prudent consideration that he might encumber me at
Lhasa," and too much disencumber his lean purse, Stiange
that the first Englishman ever to visit Lhasa should have
been incommoded for want of a five-pound note with
which to buy a rough hill pony
At Gyantse the Chinese Mandarin and Geneial, iii
whose train Manning had come, appointed him a little
lodge in the courtyard of the principal house, and what-
ever he required was soon supplied by the Chinese soldiers
and others who wished medical treatment from him.
" One brought rice, one brought meat, another brought a
table, another brought a little paste and paper and mended
a hole in the window, another brought a present of a pen
and candles." Every Chinaman in the town came to see
him. The General was "vastly civil and polite," and
invited him to dinner. But though he was " very much
of a gentleman," Manning concluded that he was " really
no better than an old woman." The dinner was tolerably
good, and the wine excellent, but the cooking was
indifferent.
On the other hand, the Mandarin was impressed by
Manning's beard. He had known men with better
moustaches than Manning's, for he had, *' for convenience
of eating, song, and drink," cut his short in India, and it
had not yet grown again. But the beard never failed to
excite the General's admiration, and he declared he had,
never seen one nearly so handsome The General, like-
36 MANNING'S VISIT TO LHASA
wise, approved of his " countenance and manner." He
pretended to skill in physiognomy and fortune-telling,
and foretold very great things of Manning
Manning also visited the Tibet Mandarin, who lived
" in a sort of castle on the top of a hill," the Jong, which
General Macdonald attacked and captured in 1904, and
they discussed Calcutta and Tibet together for half an
hour, but what they said Manning does not record The
Tibetan intimated that he would return the visit the
next day, and he sent " some rice and a useful piece of
cloth, but did not come himself "
With his medical practice Manning had a greater
success. To one Chinaman and his wife, who were
suffering from " an inteimittent fever," he gave " opium,
Fowler's solution of arsenic, and afterwards left them a
few pages of bark The mother-in-law, also, who had the
complaint of old age, he cheered up with a little comfort-
ing physic "
The General often came to see him, " for, like many
other Generals, he had nothing to do, and was glad of a
morning lounge" He managed, howevei, to foist a
Chinese servant on to Manning as cook This man's
cooking was bad, but " in drying and folding up linen he
saved him infinite trouble," for, says Manning, " I never
could to this day fold up a shirt or other vestment A
handkerchief or a sheet I can manage, but nothing
further "
Manning, hearing that the General was fond of music,
and "no bad performer," took the opportunity " one day,
while he was smoking his pipe in my courtyard, of intro-
ducing the subject, and paying my court to him by
requesting the favour of hearing music. This brought me
an invitation to take an -evening repast and wine with him,
which was just what I liked. He gave us a very pretty
concert The Chinese music, though rather meagre
to a European, has its beauties. . . The General
insisted upon my giving him a specimen of European
(Calcutta) music on the Chinese flute I was not ac-
quainted with the fingering of that instrument, but I
managed to produce something, which he politely praised,"
VISITS THE GRAND LAMA 37
The answer from the Lhasa magistrate to his request
to be permitted to proceed to Lhasa arrived a few days
after his ai rival at Gyantse A passport was given him,
tiansport and supplies furnished, and as he neared Lhasa
he was met by a " respectable person on horseback, who
dismounted and saluted," and who had been sent out by
the Tibetan authorities to welcome him and conduct him
to Lhasa
The view of the Potala, " of the lofty, towering palace,
which forms a majestic mountain of a building," excited
his admiration, but if the palace had exceeded his expec-
tations, he says, the town as fai fell shoit of them There
was "nothing striking, nothing pleasing, in its appeal ance
The habitations were bcginncd with smut and dirt . .
In short, everything seemed mean and gloomy, and
excited the idea of something unreal "
His first care was to provide himself with a proper
hut, and, having found one, he proceeded to pay his
respects to the Chinese Mandarin, Coming into his
presence, he for the first time in his life performed the
ceremony oiketcsc, or kneeling. The Mandarin received
him politely, and said he had provided him with quarters*
On the following day he visited two of the chief Tibetan
officials.
On December 17, 1811, he went to the Potala to salute
the Grand Ltima He took with him as an offering some
broadcloth, two pair of china ewers, and a pair of good
brass candlesticks, which he had " clean and furbished
up," and into which he put " two wax candles to make a
show " He also took " thirty new bright dollars, and as
many pieces of zinc," and, besides this, " some genuine
Smith's lavender-water , . , and a good store of Nankin
tea, which is a rarity and delicacy at Lhasa, and not to be
bought there "
Arrived in the great hall he made due obeisance,
touching the ground three times with his head to the
Grand Lama, and once to the Ti-rm-fu. While he was
bowing, " the awkward servants contrived to let fall and
38 MANNING'S VISIT TO LHASA
break the bottle of lavender-water " Having dehveied
his present to the Grand Lama, he took off his hat, and
"humbly gave his clean-shaved head to lay Ins hands
upon "
This ceremony over, he sat on a cushion, not far from
the Lama's throne, and had such brought them But "the
Lama's beautiful and interesting face and manner engrossed
almost all his attention" His face was, he thought,
poetically and affectmgly beautiful, He was at that time
about seven years old, and had the sunple and unaffected
manneis of a well-educated, pimcely child Sometimes,
particulaily when he looked at Maiming, his smile almost
approached to a gentle laugh " No doubt," naively re-
marks Manning, "my gum beard and spectacles somewhat
excited his risibility,"
The little Grand Lama addressed a few remaiks to
Manning, speaking in Tibetan to the Chinese interpreter,
the interpieter in Chinese to Manning's Chinese Muushi,
and the Munshi in Latin to Manning " I was extremely
affected by this interview with the Lama," says Manning.
" I could have wept through strangeness of sensation "
Heie m Lhasa, as at Gyantse, Manning had many
applications made to him for medicine, and he treated
both Chinese and Tibetans But spies also came, and
" certainly," says Manning, " my bile used to rise when
the hounds looked into my room " The Tartar General
detested Europeans They were the cause, he said, of all
his misfortunes Sometimes he said Manning was ti
missionary, and at other times a spy " These Europeans
are very formidable ; now one man has come to spy the
country he will inform others, Numbers will come, and
at last they will be for taking the country from us." So
argued the Mandarins, and, indeed, there were rumours
that the Chinese meant to execute Manning. He had
always fully expected this possibility, and writes: "I never
could, even in idea, make up my mind to submit to an
execution with firmness and manliness."
Yet, on the whole, he was not badly treated. He
RETURN TO INDIA 39
remained on at Lhasa for several months, paying many
visits to the Giaud Lama, and eventually orders came
from Peking for him to return the way he came He
left Lhasa on April 19, and leached Kuch Behar on
June 10, 1812
Manning's own object was " A moral view of China, its
manners, the degree of happiness the people enjoy, their
sentiments and opinions so far as they influence life, their
hteiatine, their history, the causes of then stability and
vast population, then minor arts and contiivances , what
there might be m China to serve as a model for imitation,
and what to scive as a beacon to avoid." Having been
foiled in this his mam object, he does not appear to
have regarded the subsidiary circumstance that he had
readied Lhasa as of particular interest. And lie seems
to have been so disgusted with the Government's icfusal
to support him, that when he returned to Calcutta he
would give no one any particulars of his journey The
account which Markham published sixty years later was
only discovered long after his death
It is a meagre record of so important a journey, yet
it exemplifies one or two points which are worthy of
note It showed that an individual Englishman, with
delicacy of touch and with a real sympathetic feebng
towards those among whom he was travelling, could find
his way even into the very presence of the Dalai Lama in
the Potala itself It showed, too, that he could get on
perfectly well with the Chinese personally. But it showed
likewise that at the back of the minds of both the
Tibetans and Chinese was a stiong dread of the Batish
power, which made them tear to allow a single ttnglish-
mau to leiiuim m Tibet 01 even pass through the country.
Yet Maiming confirmed what Bogle and Turner had
also noticed - that, while the Tibetans dreaded the
Chinese* they disliked them intensely He says that the
Chinese were very disrespectful to the Tibetans. Only
bad-charactei ed Chinamen were sent to Tibet, and he
could not help thinking that the Tibetans * would view
40 MANNING'S VISIT TO LHASA
the Chinese influence in Tibet overthrown without many
emotions of regret, especially if the rulers under the new
influence were to treat the Grand Lama with respect , foi
this is a point in which those haughty Mandarins are some-
what deficient, to the no small dissatisfaction of the good
people of Lhasa." These words would be very fairly
applicable to the situation at the present day.
After Manning, no Englishman, in either a private or
official capacity, visited Lhasa till the Mission of 1 904.
This seems to show want of entei prise on the part of
Englishmen in India ; but some did make the attempt,
and many more would have if they could have obtained the
necessary leave fiom all the authorities concerned. British
officeis in India are keen enough to go on such adven-
tures, but leave can very rarely be obtained. I had myself
planned out such a journey in 1889. I had interviewed
the Foreign Secretary, now Sn Mortimer Durand, and
not only obtained permission, but even some pecuniary
assistance, when, at the last moment, I was refused per-
mission by the Colonel of my regiment. Such restric-
tions must, I know, have prevented many another besides
myself. Still, efforts were made by individual officers,
unsupported by Government, to explore Tibet, and, if
possible, teach Lhasa Moorcroft explored Western
Tibet, and, according to some reports, actually reached
Lhasa and died there , Richaid and Henry Strachey visited
the sources of the Brahmaputra and the Sutlej ; Carey,
Littledale, Bower, Wellby, Deasy, and Rawling explored
1411 Northern Tibet ; and native surveyors mapped even
Lhasa itself, to which point Sarat Chandra Das also pene-
trated at great risk and brought back most valuable
information.
These and other efforts to explore the country by the
Russian travellers Prjevalsky, Pievtsoff and Kozoloff; by
the Frenchmen Hue and Gabet, Bonvalot, Prince Henri
d'Orle'ans, Dutreuil de Rhins and Grcnard ; and by that
indefatigable and courageous Swedish traveller, Sven
Hedm, have all been brought together by Sir Thomas
SUBSEQUENT EXPLORATION 41
Holdich in his recent work on exploration m Tibet It
is not necessary here to do more than refer to the fact
that efforts to gam a knowledge of the country were
almost continuously being made through the second half
of last century ; my object is rather to describe the effort,
not so much to explore the country, as to regularize and
fostei the intercourse which already existed with its
people.
CHAPTER IV
THE BENGAL GOVERNMENT'S EFFORTS, 1873-1886
IT was not till a century had elapsed smce Warren
Hastings had begun his attempts to form a friendship
with the Tibetans that the Government in India again
made any real effort to come into proper relationship with
their neighbours Foi a century they were content to let
things take their course, m spite of then mfoiinahty, and
in spite of the fact that Indian subjects were having all
the worst of the intercoms, for while Tibetans were
allowed to come to India when and where and how they
liked, to trade theie without duty and without hindrance,
to travel and to reside wherever they wished, on the
othei side, obstructions of every kind were placed in the
way of Indians, and still moie of British, trading, travel-
ling, or residing in Tibet But in the year 1873 the Indian
Government began to stir, and take stock of the position,
and to reflect whether this one-sided condition of affans
might not be changed to the advantage of Indians and
Europeans without huitmg the Tibetans.
In that year the Bengal Government addiessed the
Government of India a letter, a copy of which was sent to
the Hoyal Geographical Society, in which they urged that
the Chinese should be piessed "for an ordei of admittance
to Tibet," and that "the authorities at Peking should
allow a renewal of the friendly intercourse between India
and Tibet which existed in the days of Bogie and
Turner " The Bengal Government said that the Govern-
ment of India and the Secretary of State had repeatedly
expressed the great interest which they took in this
subject, and the wish that no favourable opportunity
should be neglected of promoting the development of
4,2
NEED OF INTERCOURSE 43
commercial intercourse between British India and those
trans-Himalayan countries which were then practically
closed to us If only the Chinese and Tibetans would
remove the embargo at present imposed upon the entry of
our trade, theie were, by routes under our own control,
no senous difficulties or dangers of any kind to overcome,
and none of the risks of collision which existed else-
whei e.
Tibet, the Bengal Government said, was a well-
legulated country with which our Hillmen weie in constant
communication. When Europeans went to the frontier
and tried to cioss it, there was no display of violence or
distui bancc They weie civilly turned back, with an
intimation that there were orders not to admit them All
the 1 inquiries of the Lieutenant-Govcnior led to the
belief that the Tibetans themselves had no objections to
intercourse with us. The experiences of the gieat botanist,
Sir Joseph Hooker, who in 1840 had travelled to the
Tibetan border, and Blanford among the recent travellers,
and of Bogle and Turner in the past, were singularly at one
upon this point* The Commandant of Khamba Jong, who
had met Mr Blanford on the frontier m 1870, assured him
that the Tibetans had no ill-will to foreigners, and would, if
allowed, gladly receive Europeans. The fact appeared to
be, the Lieutenant-Governor said, tbat " the prohibition to
intercourse with Tibet is part of the Chinese policy of
exclusion imposed on the Tibebans by Chinese officials and
enforced by Chinese troops stationed in Tibet " He fully
sympathised with the Chinese desire to keep out foreigners
in China, " But," be said, " in Tibet theie is not wealth
enough to attract many adventurers , there is room only
for a moderate and legitimate commerce , " and among a
people so good and well regulated as the Tibetans there
would be no such difficulties as existed in China. If the
road weie opened, it would be used only by lair tiaders and
by responsible Government servants or travellers under
tiie control of Government.
In seeking to press the Chinese for admittance to
Tibet, lie said, the moat emphatic declaration might be
made that, having our natural and best boundary in the
44 THE BENGAL GOVERNMENT'S EFFORTS
Himalayas, we could not, and would not in any circum-
stances, encroach on Tibet, and we might offer to arrange
that none save Hillmen 01 classes domiciled in Tibet
should be allowed to go in without a pass, which would be
given under such restrictions that Government would be
responsible for the conduct of the holders
The Lieutenant-Governor adduced as a further reason
for entering into formal relationship with the Tibetans that,
if we had an understanding between us, we should together
be able to keep in order the wild tribes inhabiting the
hilly country between Butish territory and Tibet. And
he instanced the case of the Mezhow Mishmes, who for
murdering two French missionaries in 1854 were punished
both by us and by the Tibetans, and who, in consequence,
evei after had " a most salutary dread of using violence."
The Bengal Government also contended then m 1873,
as they are still contending now, for the admission of our
tea Indian tea is giown in large quantities on the hills in
Bntish temtory bordering Tibet But, said the Lieu-
tenant- Governor, nearly forty years ago : " The Tibetans,
or rather their Chinese Governois, will not, on piotectionibt
principles, admit our tea across the passes An absolute
embargo is laid on anythmg m the shape of tea,'* The
removal of this, he thought, might well be made a sub-
ject of special negotiation. And besides tea, the Bengal
Government thought that Manchester and Birmingham
goods and Indian indigo would find a market in Tibet,
and that we should receive m return much wool, sheep,
cattle, walnuts, Tibetan cloths, and other commodities.
Thus, thirty years before the Tibet Mission started the
local Government had made a real effort to have the
Chinese pressed to abandon their policy of exclusion so
far as Tibet was concerned. The lineal official descendant
of Warren Hastings m the Governorship of Bengal neither
attempted nor advocated any high-handed local measures,
He stated his case calmly and reasonably, and advocated
the most conect course the attempt to settle the matter
direct with the Chinese.
DELAYS OF CENTRALIZATION 45
Local officers are often told that they are too im-
patient, and that they too frequently want to settle a
matter by local ac-tion, when it might be so much better
disposed of by coirespondcnce from headquarteis ; by
negotiations, for instance, between London and Peking, or
London and St. Peteisburg. They are urged to take a
wider view, and to display a calmei spirit, and greater con-
fidence in the wisdom and sagacity of their London lulers
liul when thirty years after this veiy moderate and perfectly
reasonable icquest was made by the local authority, the
matter was still no ncarci settlement than it was when
the request was made , and when the House of Commons,
which controls the destinies of the Empiie, was still asking
why we did not apply to the Chinese, the local officer's
faith in the superior efficacy of headquarters treatment
is somewhat shaken. And he often questions whether
matters which, after forming the subject of voluminous
correspondence between the provincial Government and
the Government of India, between the latter and the
India Office, between the India Office and the Foreign
Office, between the Foreign Office and the Ambassador
abroad, between him and the Foreign Government, which
are discussed in the Cabinet, and form a subject for debate
in the House of Commons and the House of Lords,
and for platform speeches and newspaper articles in-
numerable, do not m this lengthy process assume a
magnitude which they never originally possessed , whether,
having assumed such magnitude, they ever really do get
settled or only compromised ; and whether, after all, they
might not have been settled expeditiously and decisively on
the spot before they had been allowed to grow to these
alarming proportions
There arc, one knows, many cases which can only
be settled by the Central Government, and which are so
settled very satisfactorily, but I am doubtful if Tibet
is one of these, and whether we have been wise in the
instance of Tibet, and in many others connected with
China, to make so much of* and expect so much from, the
Chinese Central Government, which has so little real
control over the local Governments. Perhaps if the
48 THE BENGAL GOVERNMENT'S EFFORTS
This is a very essential fact to bear in mind m the
consideration of the Tibetan question that aftei both
Tibetan and Chinese susceptibilities had been given way
to on every occasion, it was the Tibetans who invaded us
It was a Bhutanese invasion of the plains of Bengal,
followed by a letter from the Tashi Lama, that had
initiated our relations with Tibet in the time of Warren
Hastings And it was this invasion of Sikkim that forced
upon us the regularization of our relations with the
Tibetans
When the Tibetans thus invaded the teintory of our
feudatory, we should have been well within our right in
forthwith expelling them by foice, but, in accordance
with the policy of forbearance we had so consistently
pursued, we leferred the matter to the Chinese, and
icquested them to procure thewithdiawal of the Tibetans,
We also allowed the Chinese ample time, a year, within
which to bring then: influence to beai Then, at the end
of 1887, we wrote to the Tibetan commander that unless
he evacuted his position before March 15, 1888, he would
be expelled by force This letter was returned unopened.
In February we wrote to the Dalai Lama himself to the
same effect, but again we received no reply. It was only
on March 20, 1888, that a British force assumed the
offensive, and advanced upon the Tibetans in the position
they had occupied within our frontier at Lengtu,
The Tibetans, for the time being, offered no resistance,
and retired to Chumbi, on their own side of the frontier,
and our troops occupied a position at Gnatong, on our
side. Two months later, however, the Tibetans again
showed truculence, and with 8,000 men attacked our
camp at Gnatong. They were repulsed, and once more
withdrew. But in September they, for the third time,
advanced across our border, and m a single night, with
that skill m building for which they are so remarkable*
threw uj> a wall three miles long and from 3 to 4 feet high
in a position just above Gnatong, and some miles within
our bordef
TIBETANS EXPELLED 49
This position General Graham attacked on the follow-
ing day, and drove the Tibetans from it over the Jelap-la
Pass, and in the ensuing days pursued them into the
Chuinbi Valley But here again, in accordance with our
principle of respecting Chinese susceptibilities, our troops
did not remain in Chumbi a single day, but xeturned at
once to Gnatong. For two years now the Tibetans had
been encroaching on our side of the frontier, but not for
one day would we permit our troops to remain on the
Tibetan side Forbearance could scarcely go further than
this, but yet it was to be still more strained on many a
subsequent occasion.
CHAPTER V
THE CONVENTION WITH CHINA
THE Chinese Amban. or Resident, at Lhasa now appeared
upon the scene to effect a settlement, and during 1889 we
endeavomed to have the frontier line pioperly fixed and
our exclusive supremacy m Sikkim, which was recorded in
well-known treaties, definitely iccognized We also wished,
if possible, to have trade regulated Considering that we
had abandoned the pioposed mission to Lhasa out of
deference to Chinese and Tibetan susceptibilities, that the
Tibetans had assumed the offensive, and that the Chinese
had shown themselves utterly unable to control them, this
was not an unreasonable expectation to hold We made
no demand for indemnity 01 for any accession of territory.
We meiely asked that the boundary and tiade should be
regulated Yet a year of negotiation passed and no result
was obtained, and the Government of India told the
Chinese negotiators that they had decided "to close the
Sikkim incident, so far as China is concerned, without
insisting upon a specific agreement "
But now that the Indian Government, knowing that they
could perfectly well hold their own up to their frontier, and
finding that the Chinese were of little use in controlling
events beyond it, were quite prepared to diop negotia-
tions, the Chinese themselves came forward and pressed
for their conclusion. This is an important point. It was
now the Chinese who were pressing for an agreement.
Further, and this is still more important, they stated that
" China will be quite able to enforce in Tibet the terms of
the treaty," and they asked the Government of India to
depute officers to meet the Chinese Resident at Gnatong.
For the agreement which was subsequently reached the
so
CHINESE DESIRE A TREATY 51
Chinese are therefore in the fullest sense responsible
They had themselves sought it, and they had themselves
undertaken to control the aftaus of the Tibetans.
Agreement was eventually i cached in 1890, and a Con-
vention was signed by Lord Lansdowne and the Chinese
Resident in Calcutta on Mai eh 17 It laid down that " the
boundaiy of Sikhun and Tibet shall be the crest of the
mountain range separating the waters flowing into the
Sikkiin Teesta, and the affluents from the waters flowing
into the Tibetan Mochu, and noith wards into othei riveis
of Tibet." It admitted the Butish piotectoiate ovei the
Sikkim State. By it both the Chinese and Bntish
Governments engaged "reciprocally to icspect the
boundaiy as defined in Article 1., and to pi event acts of
aggicssion fiom their icspectivc sides of the frontier"
The three questions of piovicling met eased facilities for
trade, o\ pas tin ago, and of the method in which official
communications between, the British authonties in India
iiitl the authorities in Tibet should be conducted were
reserved For discussion by joint Commissioners from either
side, who should meet within six months of the ratifica-
tion ot'lhe Convention.
This Convention proved in practice to be of not the
slightest use, for the Tibetans ne\er recognized it, and the
Chinese were totally unable to impress them. But it was
nt least a start towards effecting our ultimate object of
icgulammg our intercourse with Tibet, and for another
three years we solemnly occupied ourselves in discussing
the three reserved points; the Chinese Resident, Sheng,
being himself the joint Commissioner on the side of the
Chinese, and Mr. A. W. Paul representing the British
Government,
Our principal aim was to get some mart recognized, to
which our mei chants could result and there meet Tibetan
merchants. We did not attempt to gam permission for
our traders to travel all over Tibet, as Tibetan traders can
travel all over India. We merely sought to have one
single place recognizer! where Indian and Tibetan traders
could meet to do business with each other. And the
place we sought to get so recognized was not in the centre
52 THE CONVENTION WITH CHINA
of Tibet, or even in Tibet proper at all It did not lie on
the far side of the Himalayan wateished It was Phari,
at the head of the Chumbi Valley, on the southern side of
the mam Himalayan range. Yet to even this the Chinese
and Tibetans would not agiee, and eventually Yatung, at
the extreme southern end of the Chumbi Valley and
immediately on our border, was agreed upon.
Having made this concession, and having refrained
fiom pressing foi permission to allow British subjects to
tiavel beyond this or to buy land and build houses there,
we had hoped that the Chinese would meet our wishes in
regard to the admission of tea. Speakers in Parliament
scoffed at the idea of pressing tea upon the Chinese, but
for the Bengal Government it is an important point. All
along the low hills bordeiing Tibet theie are numerous
tea-plantations, affoidmg both an outlet for British and
Indian capital and employment for many thousands of
Indian labourers To a responsible local Government it
is of importance to encouiage and foster this industry
Now, just across the fiontier are three millions of lea
drinkers Tea is just the kind of light, portable com-
modity most suited for transit acioss mountains, and it
was perfectly natural, icasonable, and right that tilt-
Bengal Government should press for its admission to
Tibet, that the Tibetans might at least have the chance of
buying it or not, as they pleased But the Chinese, in
spite of concessions in othei matters by the Government
of India, remained obstinate, and still remain obstinate,
in regard to the admission of tea, and eventually only
agreed to admit Indian tea into Tibet "at a rate of duly
not exceeding that at which Chinese tea is imported into
England/* which, as the latter rate of duty is 6d per pound
and the tea drunk in Tibet is very inferior, was m reality
the imposition of an ad valorem duty of from 150 to 200
per cent , and was therefore a concession of not the
slightest value.
On December 5, 1893, the Trade Regulations were
signed at Darjihng. The tiade-mart at Yatung was to
TRADE REGULATIONS SIGNED 53
"be open for all Butish subjects for purposes of trade
from the fiist day of May, 1894," and the Government were
to be " free to send officers to reside at Yatung to watch
the conditions of British trade" Butish subjects were
not at liberty to buy land and build houses for themselves,
but were to be fiee " to rent houses and godowns (stores)
for then own accommodation and foi the storage of their
goods," and "to sell their goods to whomsoevei they
please, to purchase native commodities in kind 01 in
money, to hue transport of any kind, and, in general, to
conduct their business without any vexatious restrictions "
Goods othei than arms, liquors, and others specified, were
to be " exempt from duty for a period of five years " , but
af tei that, if found desirable, a tariff might be " mutually
agreed upon and enforced " The Political Officer in
Sikkim and the Chinese Frontier Officer in conference
were to settle any trade disputes arising
No arrangements for communication between Butish
and Tibetan officials were made, but it was laid down that
despatches from the Government of India to the Chinese
Resident should be handed over by the Political Officer in
Sikkim to the Chinese Frontier Officer
And as to grazing, it was agreed that at the end of
one year such Tibetans as continued to graze their cattle
in Sikkim should be subject to such regulations as the
British Government might lay down.
May 1, 1894, had been fixed as the date upon which
the trade-mart at Yatung was to be opened, and at the
appointed time Mr. Claude White, the Political Officer
in Sikkim, was sent to visit Yatung, to attend the opening
of the mart, and to report on the general situation as
regards tiade. He was instiucted not to raise the
question of demai eating the frontier, but to undertake,
if the subject was mooted by the Chinese officials, that
their views and suggestions should be laid before the
Government of India,
Mr. White, writing on June 9 from Yatung, reported
that, in the first place, the site of the mart had been
54 THE CONVENTION WITH CHINA
exceedingly badly chosen " It will be remembered that it
was chosen by the Tibetans, and simply accepted by us
out of deference to their feelings It was at the bortom
of a narrow valley, shut in by steep hills, with no room
for expansion. He further reported that the godowns
(stores), 01 shops, built for the tiade would answer the
purpose of native shops, but were quite inadequate for the
storage of goods or for the use of European merchants,
and that the rent proposed was exorbitant, being Rs 23 a
month, when a fair rent would be fiom Rs. 4 to Rs. 5 He
found the Tibetans most discourteous and obstructive,
and he believed that the Lhasa authorities had issued
orders that the free-trade clauses of the treaty were not
to be carried out The local official at Phari, at the head
of the Chumbi Valley, charged 10 per cent on all goods
passing through Phari, both imports and exports; and
this action, in Mr. White's opinion, certainly did away
with any freedom of trade, as piovided for in the treaty,
for it was obviously useless to have provided by treaty
that Indian goods should be allowed to entei Tibet free
of duty if a few miles inside the fiontier, and on the only
road into Tibet, a heavy duty was to be imposed upon
them.
Mr White also reported that the Chinese, though
friendly to him, and apparently willing to help, had " no
authority whatever " They admitted that the treaty was
not being earned out in a proper spirit, and Mr. White
gathered that the Tibetans actually repudiated it, and
asserted that it was signed by the British Government and
the Chinese, and therefore they had nothing to do with it.
In any case, they maintained that they had a right to
impose what taxes they chose at Phari so long as goods
were allowed to pass Yatung free. The Chinese con-
fessed that they were not able to manage the Tibetans.
The Tibetans would not obey them, and the Chinese
were afraid to give any orders China was suzerain over
Tibet only m name, was Mr. White's conclusion, Nego-
tiation was, therefore, he said, most difficult, for though the
Chinese agreed to any proposal, they were quite unable to
answer for the Tibetans, and the Tibetans, when spoken to,
TIBETANS BREAK THE CONVENTION 55
either sheltered themselves behind the Chinese or said that
they had no ciders to give any answer for Lhasa, and
could only repoit.
Mi White's immediate supenor, the Commissioner
of the Rajshahi Division, agieed with him that the
levying of a duty of 10 per cent ad valorem at Phaii
was a clear breach of the mam article of the Trade
Convention He contended that by Article IV of the
Regulations it is provided that goods entering Tibet for
British India across the Sikkim-Tibet frontier, or vice versa,
shall be exempt from duty for a period of five years, and
that this meant a general exemption from all duties,
wherevei imposed, the place of realization being altogether
irrelevant He recommended, therefoie, that this breach
of the main article of the tieaty, to which all the other
provisions were ancillary, should be made the subject of a
representation to the Chinese Government
The Government of Bengal took the same view They
thought the levy of the duty at Phari undoubtedly
seemed to be inconsistent with the terms of the treaty,
"which piovided for free trade for a period of five
years. And the Lieutenant- Governor felt that no time
should be lost in making this matter the subject of a
representation to the Government of China.
And in this view our Minister at Peking, Mr.
(afterwards Sir Nicholas) O'Conor, Ambassador at St
Petersburg and Constantinople, thoroughly concurred, and
suggested to the Viceroy that the imposition of a 10 pei
cent, ad valorem duty at Phari should be very strongly
protested against as contrary to treaty stipulations.
The Government of India, however, " recognizing the
necessity for extreme patience in dealing with the Tibetans,
decided that it would be premature to make any formal
complaint of their obstructiveness,"* They wrote to the
Government of Bengal that " The information in regard to
the levy of duty at Phari and to the obstructiveness of the
Tibetans was certainly unsatisfactory, but the Regulations
* Blue-book, p. 24
56 THE CONVENTION WITH CHINA
only laid down that goods entering Tibet from British
India across the Sikkim- Tibet frontier, 01 vice vei sa, shall
be exempt, etc Phan is a considerable distance from the
frontier, and unless it could be shown that the duty to
which Mr White leferred was a special one newly imposed
it appealed doubtful whether the Government of India
could entei a valid objection " " It has always been
recognized," continues the despatch, "that the utmost
patience is necessary m dealing with the Tibetans, and
having regard to the short time which has elapsed since the
date fixed for the opening of the Yatung mart, the
Governor-General in Council would prefer to make nothing
in the nature of a complaint to the Chinese Government
at the present stage " %
The Viceroy, accordingly, merely wiote to the Amban
that he had been soiry to learn from Mr White's reports
that he was disappointed at the existing conditions of
trade between Tibet and Sikkim, that it would seem
that Mr White was of opinion that tiadc wtus unduly
hampered by the action of the Tibetan officials at Phan',
that His Excellency (the Amban) would be interested to
hear the views which Mr White had formed ; and that
he, the Viceroy, was confident that traders will, under the
Amban's directions, be allowed all the freedom and privi-
leges permissible under the Regulations, and he hoped that
before long they might be able to congratulate each other
on successful trade development at Yatung Certainly
nothing could have been milder, more patient, and more
forbearing and also, as it proved, less effectual.
It was not only m trade matters that the Tibetans
had shown a disregard of the treaty In the matter of
the frontier also they proved troublesome, and during his
stay at Yatung Mr White was informed that certain
ES m i j j 101111 - 6 ^ of Sikkim, and within the
boundary laid down in the Convention of 1800 had
wrnTJY ^ ccl ? led b y Tibetan soldiers. The Viceroy
wrote to the Amban in August, 1899, pointing out that
* Blue-book, p 31.
TIBETANS CROSS TREATY-BOUNDARY 57
such incidents were not unlikely to occur as long as the
frontier officials had no practical acquaintance with the
actual border-line, and suggesting that it would piobably
be convenient to arrange that Frontier Officers should
meet before long on the border and travel together along
the boundaiy fixed by the Convention.
To this the Amban replied, m October, that the
Tibetan Council raised objections to our officers " travel-
ling along " the frontier, and weie unable to agree that
British officers should travel on the Tibetan side of the
frontier, but that they considered the proposal to send
officeib to define the frontier was one with which it was
proper to comply. The Amban had, accordingly, deputed
a Chinese Major commanding the frontier troops, and the
Tibetan Council had deputed a General and a Chief
Steward, to proceed to the frontiei to meet the officer
appointed by the Viceroy, " there to inspect the border
between Sikkim and Tibet as defined by the Convention,
and to make a careful examination in order that boundary
pillars might be elected, which shall be for ever respected
by either side " In conclusion, the Amban asked to be
informed what officei had been deputed by the Viceroy
for this duty, and the date on which he would arrive on
the frontier, in order that he might instmct the Chinese
and Tibetan deputies " to proceed at the appointed time
for the work of demarcation."
This seemed clear and business-like enough Mr. White
pointed out to Government that, with winter coming on,
it would be impossible to commence demarcation before
May the 1st in the following year, so there was plenty of
time in which to make all preliminary arrangements. He
also said that the Chinese deputy was an official whom he
had met at Yatung, and who had been most courteous to
him. And the Commissioner and Bengal Government
agreed that the Tibetan objection to British officers travel-
ling within the Tibetan borders might be respected, and
that it would be sufficient to erect pillars at the passes,
which could be approached from, the Sikkim side. So the
Viceroy replied* in December, that he thought a start
should be made any time between May 1 and July 1 , that
58 THE CONVENTION WITH CHINA
Mr White had been deputed for the purpose, and would
meet the other deputies at whatever point on the frontier
might be convenient, and would be strictly enjoined
not to travel on the Tibetan side of the boundary, as it
would be sufficient if boundary pillars were erected ul
the passes which can be approached from the bikkim
side . . , t j
The Amban replied on January 13, 1895, that he had
sent orders to the deputies " to hold themselves m readi-
ness to commence work at the time suggested bv the
Viceroy," and he suggested that the respective officer,
should " come together at Yatung, where they can decide
upon the best place for beginning operations, and where
the three parties (Indian, Chinese, and Tibetan) can
agree upon a date for starting together on the work ot
demai cation."
Everything was then carefully and deliberately
arranged, and there seemed good prospect of a settle-
ment of the frontier ; but when, in the following May,
Mr White approached the frontier to meet the Chinese
deputy, in accordance with an arrangement they had made
between them, he was met by a letter, written by
direction of the deputy, and stating that the Lamas were
obstinate in their refusal to supply transport, and that he
was much disturbed at his failure to keep his appointment,
but had laid his difficulties before the Amban, On
May 19 Mr. White and the Chinese Major met tt
different one from the deputy ongrnally appointed, for the
latter had since died. He asked for more delay, but
Mr White refused, as he had already been kept waiting
with his escort at inclement altitudes, and Mr* White
and he fixed the site of the pillar on the Jelap-la (pass),
which is a spot where the site of the watershed forming
the boundary, according to treaty, is quite unmistakable,
as it runs along a very sharply-defined ridge, Mr, White
erected a pillar here, and arranged with the Chinese
deputy to meet him at another pass, the Dokala, cm
June 1, while Mi. White should in the interval erect &
TIBETANS REMOVE BOUNDARY PILLARS 59
pillar at the Donehukla, to be afterwards inspected by the
Chinese
At this time Mr White also leceived a letter from the
Amban, saying that a day tor the beginning of the woik
hnung betn decided upon, it was, of comse, proper that a
commencement should be made on that day, mid he had
already icceivcd the consent of the Tibetan State Council
to that end But the Lamas of the thiee great monas-
teries, the Amban proceeded to explain, were still full of
suspicion, and were pressing certain matteis upon him,
which made it neccssaiy for him to enlighten them further
He therefore requested Mi. White kindly to postpone
commencing woik Cor a time, in older to avoid trouble on
this point. But Mr. White replied that his letter had
amvccl too late, as the work of demarcation had already
commenced before its receipt, and he urged Government
to grant no further delay, for the Chinese had had five years
since the treaty was signed within which to settle with
tlie Tibetans
The Government of India, however, thought that no
serious inconvenience had apparently arisen through the
frontier being undemarcated, and that if the Chinese
delegate failed to meet him at the Dokala on or about
June 1, he should write to the Chinese Resident, explain-
ing that he had proceeded so far under arrangements with
the Chinese deputies at the Jelap-la ; but as they had not
joined him, he would return to Gantok, He was further
to ask the Resident whether work could be jointly pro-
ceeded with that season, and givipg latest dates for
recommencement.
A few days later came the news that the pillar which
Mr. White had erected on the Jclap-la had been de-
molished by the Tibetans, and the stoneware slab on
which the number of the pillar had been inscribed had
been removed by them And on June 11 Mr. White
telegraphed that the pillar he had erected on the
])onchuk-la had been wilfully damaged, and as this was
an unfrequented pass he considered the outrage must be
60 THE CONVENTION WITH CHINA
deliberate He subsequently stated that the numbered
slab here also had been taken away, and that the destruc-
tion of the pillar was most probably the woik of thiec
Lamas sent from Lhasa to watch the proceedings of the
Tibetan Commissioners at Yatung
This was brought to the notice of the Chinese Resident
by the Viceroy, and a icply was received that the Council
of State had sent no ordeis for the destruction of the
pillar, and that he had given oiders that a strict examina-
tion should be made into the affair, and the people
who stole the slab from the pillar be severely punished
At the same time, the Amban suggested that the work of
delimiting the frontier should be postponed "until after
the expiry of the nee period when the treaty was to be
revised."
When informed of this proposal, our Minister at Peking
stated his opinion that it would be best to be firm in the
refusal of a postponement, and he solicited the Viceroy's
authority to repeat to the Chinese Government what he
had previously informed them, that, if obliged, the British
Commissioner would proceed alone.
The Bengal Government also urged that Mr White
" should be authorized to proceed with his own men alone
to lay down the boundary and set up pillars on the passes
along the eastern frontier where no dispute was known to
exist " But the Lieutenant- Governor was informed that
the Government of India were not prepared to insist upon
the early demarcation of the frontier, and directed that
Mr. White should return to Gantok forthwith, or, at any,
rate withdraw at once from the immediate neighbourhood
of the border
The Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Charles Elliott, acknow-
ledged that it was difficult for Mr White to remain
indefinitely in his camp on the frontier, but declaied that
it was impossible to disguise the fact that a return to
Gantok practically meant the abandonment of the demar-
cation He believed that the authorities in Peking were
anxious that the delimitation should continue wthout
SUGGESTED OCCUPATION OF CHUMBI 61
delay, but it was plain that the Amban at Lhasa was
unable to give effect to the wishes of his Government in
consequence of the opposition manifested by the Lamas,
who exeicised the leal authonty in Tibet The contem-
plated withdrawal of Mr White to Gantok would un-
doubtedly, he thought and events pioved him to be
absolutely light cause a loss of piestige, would be looked
upon by the Tibetans as a lebuff to British authonty, and
would encouiage them in high-handed acts and demands,
and possibly outrages He had no doubt that if the
British Government had only to deal with Tibet, the
wisest policy would be to give them warning that unless
they at once made airangements to co-operate in the woik
of delimitation it would be done without them, and that
unless they appointed a mlei on then side who could
piotect the pillars set up, the Biitish Government would
march in and hold the Chumbi \ r alley m pawn, eithei
temporal ily 01 permanently Such a bi usque and high-
handed line of conduct, added the Lieutenant- Governor,
was the only one that fiontiei tubes who have reached the
stage of civilization of the Tibetans could undei stand But
the affair, he allowed, was complicated by the lelations of
Government with China, and oui desire to uphold the
weak and tottering authonty of the Chinese in Lhasa, the
result of which was that the people who weie m leal
powei weie not those we dealt with, and that the people
we dealt with had no power to cairy out their engage-
ments with us In the circumstances, Sir Chailes Elliott
advocated such negotiations with the Chinese Govern-
ment as would leave the British Government free to
march in and hold the Chumbi Valley, with their consent,
and without any detriment to the Chinese suzerainty,
but with the object of assisting them to establish their
authonty more fhmly at Lhasa At any late, we ought,
he considered, to intimate in a firm and friendly way to
the Peking Government that either they must get their
orders carried out 01 we must He reminded the
Government of India that nothing had been exacted as
the result of the British victories at Lengtu and on the
Jelap-la not even compensation for the cost of the cam-
62 THE CONVENTION WITH CHINA
paign and he urged that we should now insist that we
would protect our own interests if China could not carry
out hei engagements.*
These, in the light of future events, appeal reasonable
and sensible proposals , but the Government of India, in
puisuance of their policy of foibeaiance and modeiation,
would not accept them They ordered Mr White
definitely to return to Gantok They noticed that^ the
leturns of trade between Bntish terntoiy and libet
showed a marked increase, and they hoped that the
continued exercise of modeiation and patience would
gradually remove Tibetan suspicions as to our aims and
policy
A few months aftei this was written, in November of
1895, Mr Nolan, the Comtmssionei of Darjilmg, an officer
who had for many years been conveisant with the
Tibetan question, and who held civil charge of that
division of Bengal which adjoins Sikkim and Bhutan, and
who supervised oui relations with those two States as we'll
as our trade with Tibet, visited Yatung, and had conver-
sations with Chinese and Tibetan local officials. His
report of the state of affairs theie is one of the most inter-
esting published f He found that the imposition of the
10 per cent duty at Phan was no new exaction, but had
existed for a long tune He found, also, that the reason
the Tibetans did not meet Mr AVhite m the previous
summer to delimit the boundary was that they wished
the general line of the frontier should be agreed upon, in
the first instance, with reference to maps, and the ground
visited only after this was done. But he found, too,
that the Tibetans lepudiated the treaty The " Chief
Steward," the sole Commissioner on the pait of the
Tibetan Government for reporting on the frontier matt or,
"made the important statement that the Tibetans did
not consider themselves bound by the Convention with
China, as they were not a party to it." He reported furthci ,
that the Tibetans had prevented the formation of a mart
* Blue-book, p 44 t Nnd , p, 54.
FEEBLE CHINESE INFLUENCE 63
by building a wall across the valley on the farther side of
Yatung, by efficiently guarding this and by prohibiting
their traders from passing through. Mr. Korb, a wool
merchant from Bengal, had come to Yatung to purchase
wool from some of his correspondents on the Tibetan side,
who had invited him thither , but the Tibetans prevented
his correspondents from coming to do business with him
Tibetan merchants were similarly prevented from seeing
Mr Nolan.
Mr. Nolan's conclusion was that, even though the duty
which was collected at Phari was neither special nor newly
imposed, yet exaction was inconsistent with the tieaty
provision that trade with India should be exempt from
taxation, and also that the first clause in the Trade
Regulations, providing that " a trade-mart shall be
established at Yatung," which "shall be open to all
British subjects for the purposes of trade," had not been
carried into effect
The failure to carry out the treaty he attnbuted
entirely to the Tibetans He was quite satisfied that the
Chinese officials in Tibet, whatever might have been their
prepossessions in favour of the policy of seclusion, then
sincerely desired to see the Convention can led out, being
afraid that they would be disgraced by their own Govern-
ment if it were not The Tibetans were the real as well
as the ostensible opponents And Mr Nolan believed
their true motives in opposing the tieaty were correctly
expressed by a monk, who said that if the English entered
Tibet, his bowl would be broken, meaning that the
influence of his Ordei would be destroyed, and its wealth,
typified by the collection of food made from door to door
in bowls, would be lost. And this opposition on the jpart
of the Lamas the Chinese had not the means of overcoming
They certainly had an acknowledged social superiority, and
they were feared to a certain extent on account of then-
power to send an army thiough the Himalayas, as they
had done on several occasions with surprising success On
the other hand, their present forces in Tibet were ridicu-
lously small, and from Yatung to Gyantse they only had
140 soldiers, and at Lhasa only a few hundreds, while
64 THE CONVENTION WITH CHINA
the monks at Lhasa numbered 19,100, of whom 16,500
were concentrated in three gieat monasteries, and they
were vigorous and formidable in a not, having attacked
the Chinese in 1810 and 1844 and the Nepalese in 1888
i
Mr Nolan, with his long experience on this frontier,
had, as events have shown, most accurately gauged the
situation The Lieutenant-Goveinoi, Sn Charles Elliott,
considered that his report showed that the improvement
hoped for from conciliation and foibearance had not taken
place in the two seasons during which the mart had
nominally been opened, and by the systematic obstruction
of the Tibetans the object of the treaty with China had
been frustrated. He therefoi e renewed his i ecommendation
that a diplomatic reference should be made to China,
pointing out how completely the Tibetans had violated the
spirit of the treaty and Trade Regulations, and had
refused to be bound by their terms.
But the Government of India again replied that they
wished to pursue a policy of conciliation, and did not
wish to make any serious repiesentations to the Chinese
Goveinment. They icpeated that trade had increased,
and as regards demarcation of the frontier, they understood
from a further report of Mr Nolan's that the Tibetans
claimed a strip of territory near Giagong, in the north of
Sikkim, and these claims the Goveinment of India con-
sidered it would not only be impolitic but inequitable to
ignore The Viceroy therefore wrote to the Chinese
Resident, suggesting that Chinese and Tibetan delegates
should be sent to Gantok, the capital of Sikkim, to meet
Mr. White there, and proceed with him to Giagong to
make a local inquiry, but that no actual demarcation
should take place until the reports of the results of the
inquiry had taken place
And so the game rolled on, and notning whatever
resulted. The Chinese Resident was superseded, and the
Chinese asked that action should be deferred till the new
one arrived. The new Resident came, and wrote that
the Tibetans are " naturally doltish, and prone to doubts
RESULT OF FIVE YEARS' EXPERIENCE 65
and misgivings," and it would be best therefore that they
should " personally inspect the line of demarcation men-
tioned in the tieaty," though a Tibetan repiesentative had
been with the Chinese Amban when the Convention was
made, and had ample opportunity during the years that
agreement took in negotiating to inspect and to give the
views of his Government upon it And so it resulted
that when, at the conclusion of five yeais fiom the signing
oi the Tiade Regulations, the Secretary of State asked the
Goveinment of India foi " a full lepoit, both on the
progress made since the date of that agi cement towards
the'settlement of the frontier, and on the extent to which
the tiade stipulations of the treaty and Convention had
been opeiative," the Bengal Goveinment had to reply*
that the boundaiy between Sikkim and Tibet, as laid
down in AT tide 1 of the Convention, had not yet been
demaicated, owing to the refusal of the Tibetans to abide
by the terms of the Convention, and to their claiming a
tiact of land to the north of Donkya-la, Giagong, and the
Lonakh Valley , and that the tiade stipulations contained
in the Regulations, had been inoperative The Tibetans
had prevented Yatung becoming a leal tiade-mait ; abso-
lutely no business was transacted theie, and it was merely
a registenng post for goods passing between Tibet and
India, and the proclamation of the place as a mait had in
no way influenced the trade between the two countries,
foi what small uiciease there was appealed to be mainly
due to, and might have been expected from, the restora-
tion of peace between the British Government and Tibet
This was the net result of the policy of conciliation
and forbearance towaids the Tibetans and of icliance on
the Chinese Cential Government, which had been pursued
from 1878
* Blue book, p 92
CHAPTER VI
SECURING THE TREATY RIGHTS
Now that five years had elapsed since the Trade Regula-
tions were concluded, and they were, according to their
provisions, subject to revision, the Government of India
began to consider any practical measuies for securing
fuller facilities for trade. The Convention of 1890 arid
the Trade Regulations of 1893 were intended to provide
these facilities, but so far none had been obtained , and
the Indian Government thought that, as the Tibetans
attached great importance to retaining the Giagong piece
of territory in Northern Sikkim, and as we had no real
desire to hold it, there might be advantage in conceding
that point if the Tibetans would, on their side, make some
equivalent concession. They might, it was, thought, con-
cede to us the point for which we had contended when
negotiating the Trade Regulations, and recognise Phari as
the trade-mart in place of the quite useless Yatung Lord
Salisbury* agreed that some action was necessary, but it
seemed to him that, as during recent years Chinese
advisory authority in Tibet had been little more than
nominal, and the correspondence of the Government of
India even seemed to show that it was practically non-
existent, it would be preferable to open direct communica-
tion between the Government of India and the Tibetan
authorities.
Lord Curzon therefore commenced, in the autumn of
1899, a series of attempts to open up direct communica-
tion with them. Ugyen K&d, the Bhutanese Agent in
Darjiling, who was accustomed to visit Tibet for trade
* Blue-book, p 101.
66
VICEROY'S LETTERS DECLINED 67
purposes, was first employed to write a letter on his own
behalf to the Dalai Lama, suggesting, in general teims,
that a high Tibetan official should be sent to discuss the
frontier and trade questions. This letter met with an
unfa voui able response Captain Kenmon, the Assistant
to the Resident in Kashmir, who annually visits Leh and
the Western Tibet frontier, was then charged with a letter
from the Viceroy to the Dalai Lama, which he was to
give to the Tibetan officials in Gartok, but six months
aftei this was leturned to Captain Kenmon, with the
intimation that the officials had not dared, in the face of
the legulations against the intrusion of foreigners into
Tibet, to send it to Lhasa. These two methods having
failed, Ugyen Kazi was entrusted with another letter from
the Viceroy to the Dalai Lama, which he was himself to
present at Lhasa. In August, 1901, he returned from
Lhasa, reporting that the Dalai Lama declined to reply
to it, stating as his reason that the matter was not one for
him to settle, but must be discussed fully in Council with
the Amban, the Ministers, and the Lamas, and the letter
was brought back with the seal intact.
A factor of determining importance now suddenly thrust
itself into the situation. At the very time when the Vice-
roy was making these fruitless efforts to enter into direct
communication with the Dalai Lama came the information
that this exclusive personage had been sending an Envoy
to the Czar. Our Ambassador at St. Petersburg forwarded
to the Foicign Office an announcement in the official
column of the Journal tie jtfaint Pctersbourg of October 2
(15), 1900, announcing the reception by His Majesty the
Emperor of a certain Doriieff, who was described as first
Tsanit Hamba to the Dalai Lama of Tibet. And, some
months later, our Consul-General at Odessa forwarded
to the Foreign Office an extract from the Odessa Novosti
of June 12 (25), 1901, stating that Odessa would welcome
that day an Extraordinary Mission from the Dalai Lama
of Tibet, which was proceeding to St. Petersburg with
diplomatic instructions of importance, At the head of
68 SECURING THE TREATY RIGHTS
the mission was the Lama, Dorzhievy (Dorjieff), and its
chief object was a rapprochement and the strengthening
of good relations with Russia It was said to have been
equipped by the Dalai Lama, and despatched with auto-
graph letters and presents fiom him to His Impel ml
Majesty And, among other things, it was to raise the
question of the establishment in St Peteisburg of a pei-
manent Tibetan Mission foi the maintenance ol good
relations with Russia
This Dorjieff, it appeared from an article in the Novae
Vremya of June 18 (July 1), 1901, was a Russian subject,
who had grown up and received his education on Russian
soil He was by birth a Bunat of Chovmskaia (in the
piovince of Verchnyudmsk, in Trans-Baikaha, Eastern
Siberia), and was brought up in the province of Azocho/Jki.
He had settled in Tibet twenty years before his present
visit to Russia. " This reappearance of the Tibet Mission
m Russia proved," said the Novoe Vremya "that the
favourable impressions earned back by Dorjieff to his
home from his previous mission have confiimed the Dalai
Lama in his intention of contracting the friendliest rela-
tions with Russia . A rapprochement with Russia
must seem to him [the Dalai Lama] the most natural
step, as Russia is the only Power able to frustrate the
intrigues of Great Britain."
Count Lamsdorff, however, in conversation with the
British Ambassador* on July 3, 1901, characterized " as
ridiculous and utteily unfounded the conclusion drawn in
certain organs of the Russian pi ess, that these Tibetan
visitors were charged with any diplomatic mission," He
said Dorjieff was a Mongolian Bunat of Russian origin,
who came occasionally to Russia with the object, he
believed, of making money collections for his Order from
the numerous Buddhists m the Russian Empire. Count
Lamsdorff added that on the occasion of Dorjieff s visit in
the previous autumn to Yalta, the Emperor had received
him, and he himself had had an opportunity of learning
some interesting details from him of life in Tibet; the
Russian Geographical Society also took an interest in lug
* Blue-book, p 166.
DALAI LAMA'S MISSION TO RUSSIA 69
visit, which had, however, no official character whatever,
although he was accompanied on this visit by other
Tibetans
But, in spite of this declaimer, Dorjieff was still styled
an Envoy Extraordmaiy, and the Messager Officiel of
June 25 (July 8, 1901) had the announcement that his
Majesty the Emperor had received on June 28, in the
Grand Palace at Peterhof, the Envoy Extraoidinary from
the Dalai Lama of Tibet And as the Russian press
announced that the Envoys had paid visits to Count
LamsdorfF and M Witte, Sir Charles Scott, the British
Ambassador, took an oppoitunity at an interview with
Count LamsdorfF of ascei taming some further particulars.*
The lattei said that, although the Tibetan visitors had
been described as Envoys Extraoidinary of the Dalai
Lama, their mission could not be icgarded as having any
political or diplomatic character The mission was of the
same character as those sent by the Pope to the faithful
in foieign lands Dorjieff had some post of confidence in
the Dalai Lama's service, but Count Lamsdorff beheved
that he still maintained his original Russian nationality
He had brought the Count an autograph letter from the
Dalai Lama, but tlus letter merely expressed a hope that
Count Lamsdorff was in the enjoyment of good health
and was prosperous, and informed him that the Dalai
was able to say that he himself enjoyed excellent health.
These proceedings naturally enough attracted the
attention of the Secretary of State for India, who on
July 25 pointed out to the Foreign Officet that the Dalai
Lama had recently refused to receive the communications
addressed to him by the Viceroy, and that while the
Viceroy was thus treated with discourtesy a mission was
publicly sent to Russia, and the publicity given to the
Tibetan Mission which had recently arrived in St Peters-
burg could not fail to engender some disquietude m the
minds of the Indian Government as to the object and
result of any negotiations which might ensue The
Secretary of State for India suggested, therefore, that
our Ambassador should be instructed to inform Count
* Blue-book, p. 117. t H>td., P- 123.
70 SECURING THE TREATY RIGHTS
Lamsdorff we had received his assurance with satisfaction,
as any proceedings that might have a tendency to alter or
disturb the existing status of Tibet, would be a movement
m which His Majesty's Government could not acquiesce
This suggestion was adopted, and on September 2, 1001,
our Ambassador informed Count Lamsdorff that His
Majesty's Government would naturally not regard with
indifference any pioceedmgs that might have a tendency
to alter or disturb the existing status in Tibet ^ The
Russian Minister repeated his assertion that "the mission
was chiefly concerned with matters of religion, and had
no political or diplomatic object or charactei "
For the time being the Government of India itsell
took no action in regard to this new factor, though in
concluding a despatch to the Secretary of State on
Febmary 18 of the following year (1902) they declared
that it was desirable that the unsatisfactory situation
m Tibet should be bi ought to an end with as little ^delny
and commotion as possible, since there were factors in the
case which, at a latei date, might invest the breakdown
of the unnatural barriers of Tibetan isolation with a wider
and more serious significance.
They continued to plod steadily along at the settle-
ment of the frontiei, and corresponded with the Secretary
of State and the Bengal Chamber of Commerce about the
introduction of tea to Tibet now that the five years, during
which it was to be excluded had expired But they
acted with much more decision than previously, and
instead of waiting year after year for the arrival of
Chinese or Tibetan deputies to meet our representatives,
they sent Mr White, in the summer of 1902, to Giagong,
to reassert British rights to the tract of countiy which the
Tibetans had been occupying in contravention of the
treaty of 1890, and, if necessary, to expel them from the
British side of the frontier Mr. White had suggested
that an effective and simple way would be to occupy the
Chumbi Valley, but the Government of India, though
they considered grounds for strong action were far from
TIBETANS EXPELLED ACROSS BORDER 71
lacking, were not for the time in favour of such a proposal.
And another alternative of stopping all Tibetan trade they
thought would be hard on our own traders, and might
drive trade permanently away to Nepal and Bhutan They
accordingly adopted the above-mentioned course
Mr White went to Giagong on June 26, 1902, with
200 men, and camped half a mile fiom the Tibetan wall,
where the Khamba Jongpen and 40 men were stationed
He gave them twenty-foui hours' notice in which to move
to the other side of the boundary On the following
morning, after some piotests, the Tibetans icmoved across
the boundary On July 4 a number of Tibetan officials
visited him, and said they had come under instructions
from the Tashi Lama to show him the Giagong boundary
Mi White told them that his orders were to lay down
the boundary as shown in the Convention of 1890, which
had been signed by the Chinese Amban on behalf of
the Tibetans To which they replied that they had
heard of the treaty, but that it was invalid, as it had not
been signed by any Tibetan. The Tibetans, however,
asked for a copy of the treaty and for the names of the
passes, and Mr White told them they could see for
themselves if the water ran into the Sikkim Valley or into
Tibet, and where the water parted into Sikkim and Tibet
was the boundary He found on the tract 6,270 sheep,
737 yaks, out of which only 1,148 sheep and 80 yaks
belonged to the Sikkimese, and the remainder were
Tibetan Near the top of the Naku La he found a
Tibetan wall running across the valley, with a blockhouse
on the east
The immediate consequence of this action was, that at
the end of July the Viceroy received a letter from the
Chinese Resident at Lhasa, asking for an explanation
of the object and reasons of Mr White's proceedings, and
saying that he had appointed Mr Ho Kuang-Hsi to
proceed to Giagong, and had further arranged with the
Dalai Lama for the despatch of a Tibetan official to act
conjointly with Mr. Ho in any discussion with Mr. White
which should arise.
The Viceroy, in reply, wrote to say that the object
72 SECURING THE TREATY RIGHTS
of the journey from which Mr White had recently
returned was to inspect the boundary as laid down in the
Convention of 1890, and to compel the withdrawal fiom
Sikkim territory of any troops which the Tibetans might
have established in violation of that Convention He
reminded the Chinese Resident that he had offered to
make concessions with respect to these frontier lands, on
the understanding that matters as to trade would be put
on a propei footing But Lord Curzon pointed out that
the negotiations foi the improvement of trade iclations
between India and Tibet had made no real progress
during the past twelve yeais In these circumstances, he
had no alternative but to compel the observance of the
boundary as prescribed by the Convention, and until
matters as to trade had been placed on a satisfactory
footing, he must continue to insist on the boundary being
observed, though any proposals which the Chinese
Resident would make foi the nnpiovement of trade
relations would leceive careful consideration, and Mi
White had been instmcted to discuss with the Com-
missioners appointed by the Amban any suggestions which
they might put forward
As a fact, the Commissioner never did meet Mr
White. Mr Ho was prevented by " ill-health " fiom pro-
ceeding to Gantok. Then he was recalled to Lhasa.
Then the Chinese Resident himself was to be replaced,
and the new one would not reach Lhasa till the following
summer And so on, with the usual and unfailing
excellent reasons for doing nothing.
But, m the meanwhile, the new factor in the situation
was assuming significant proportions and causing the
Government of India anxiety I have alieady related
now the Dalai Lama was sending missions to the C/ar
with autograph letteis to the Russian Chancellor, at the
very moment when he was declining all communications
from the Viceroy of India And now, from a totally
different quarter, came rumours that China was makine a
secret agreement with Russia in regard to Tibet
RUMOURED RUSSIAN AGREEMENT 73
Our Minister at Peking, on August 2, 1902, tele-
graphed * to Loid Lansdowne that theie had been going
the rounds of the press an agreement in regard to Tibet,
alleged to have been secretly made between Russia and
China In return for a promise to uphold the integrity of
China, the entire interest of China in Tibet was to be
lelmquished to Russia This rumom, said our Minister,
seemed to have originated in a Chinese paper published in
Satow. Fuller mfoimation was sent by letter. According
to this, among othei things, Russia would establish
Government officers in Tibet to control Tibetan affairs
On Sn Ernest Satow making, in accordance with
Lord Lansdowne's instructions, a representation to the
Chinese Foreign Board about this, the Piesident of the
Board strongly denied that there was any such agree-
ment, and declared that no such airangement had ever
formed a subject of discussion between the Chinese and
Russian Governments But the rumour seems to have
had a wide picvalence and to have been regarded
seriously, for our Ambassador at St Petersburg leported
in Octobei that the Chinese Minister there had told him
that several of his colleagues had been making inquiries
from him respecting this pretended agreement, which had
appeared in several Continental as well as Russian news-
papeis, and which he, the Chinese Minister, had fiist seen
m the Chinese newspapers. The Government of India,
also, reported to the Secretary of State that circum-
stantial evidence, derived from a variety of quarters, all
pointed in the same direction, and tended to show the
existence of an arrangement of some sort between Russia
and Tibet.
It may be askedand, indeed, it was asked why the
Government of India should have been so nervous about
Russian action in Tibet. The Russian Government had
said that the mission which the Dalai Lama had sent to
St. Petersburg was of a "religious" nature, and the
Chinese Foreign Board had said there was no agreement
* Blue-book, p. 140
74 SECURING THE TREATY RIGHTS
with Russia about Tibet Why not, then, have disre-
garded these idle rumours ? Such lofty disregaid is easy
for irresponsible persons at a comfortable distance in
England to display But the responsible Government
in India cannot dismiss such rumours with so light a
heart Russia might not have had any agreement
about Tibet, and the Tibetan Mission might have been
purely religious , but that she was extremely interested
m Tibet was unquestionable She had for years been
sending semi-official, semi-scientific expeditions into the
country. These had always reported on the nchness
of Tibet in regard to gold, and the desirability of getting
concessions there There was at the very moment one
of these expeditions with an armed escort in Tibet
Apart from this, the interest of Russiam Tibet was
thoroughly natural The Dalai Lama was regaided with
superstitious reverence by many thousands of Russian
Asiatic subjects. Moreover, at that time it was generally
looked upon as inevitable that Russia would shortly
absorb Mongolia, and all Mongols look upon the
Dalai Lama as a god. It was, indeed, because of his
immense influence over the Mongols that the Chinese had
for centuries, and at great cost to themselves, secured and
maintained a dominant influence in Lhasa. It is easy to
understand, therefore, that the Russians would be glad
enough of any opportunity of gaming an influence with
the Dalai Lama The mission of the lattei to the Czar
might, as the Russian Chancellor said, be mainly religious,
and similar to missions which the Pope sends out. But
even m Europe it is often difficult to distinguish between
religion and politics, and in Asia the two are almost indis-
tinguishable A religious understanding between the
Dalai Lama and the Czar might by the former be
regarded as a political agreement And whatever might
have been the intentions of the Russian Government at
the time, they might on some subsequent occasion have
sent a mission to Lhasa, as they had sent a mission to
Kabul in 1879 and caused an Afghan War.
Even so, why should we trouble? What possible
harm could a few Russians do in Lhasa ? Russia might
RUSSIAN DANGER TO INDIA 75
invade India through Afghanistan, but she could never
invade India across Tibet and over the Himalayas. Why,
then, should we be so touchy about her action there ?
Why not let her send as many missions and officers as she
liked ? This also seems a broad-minded attitude, such as
a platfoim oratoi in the heart of England might safely
take up But, again, it was not so easy for those away on
the fiontier of the Empire, with immediate responsibilities
on their shoulders, to feel so complacent If Russia had
been the iiiend she is now, arid if our influence in Lhasa
had been unmistakable, it would have been easier to take
such a view, and it is, indeed, in my opinion, the right
view now to take But in 1902 she was still on the crest
of a gieat advancing wave of expansion She had not yet
been checked by Japan She had spread over Manchuria
with startling rapidity Where, at the time of my journey
Lhere with Sir Evan James, no Russian had ever been
seen, there were now Russian railways and Russian can-
tonments. She had expanded in Western Turkestan and
annexed the Pamirs, and it was generally looked upon
only as a matter of time before she would absorb Chinese
Turkestan and Mongolia If, then, we complacently, and
without a protest, allowed her to establish herself in Tibet,
we could hardly expect those States dependent on us and
bordering Tibet to think otheiwise than that this was the
ictil Power m Asia, and this, therefore, the Power to look
up to
A lull-dress Russian invasion of India, through Tibet,
no responsible person ever dreamed possible But, without
a real invasion, Russia established in Lhasa, while we were
unrepresented there, could cause Government a great deal
of anxiety. In practical detail it would mean the increase
of our army on the North-East frontier by several
thousand men.
It was obviously prudent, therefore, to prevent her
acquiring a more predominant influence than our own in
Tibet. While it was quite natural that she should be glad
to have an influence at Lhasa, it was still more natural
that we should be jealous of her having more influence
than we had. For, while our border was contiguous with
76 SECURING THE TREATY RIGHTS
Tibet for 1,000 miles, from Kashmir nearly to Burma, the
Russian border nowhere touched or even approached
Tibet The whole breadth of Chinese Turkestan lay
in between the Russian frontier and the neaiest frontier oi
Tibet, and Lhasa itself was 1,000 miles distant from the
nearest point on the Russian frontier To appreciate the
position, let the reader diaw out the map at the end of this
volume
The Government of India, accordingly, recommended
piompt action The attempts to negotiate an under-
standing with the Tibetans thiough the Chinese had
proved a failure It had been found impossible to open
up direct communications with the Tibetans. The iesult
of the exclusion of the Tibetans from the pasture lands at
Giagong, though it had materially improved our position
on the border, was not in effect more than a timely
assertion of Bntish authority upon the spot. These
diffeient lumoms from such varied souices tending, in the
opinion of the Government of India, to indicate the
existence of some kind of an airangement between Russia
and Tibet, necessitated dealing with the situation Car more
drastically and decisively than it had ever been dealt with
before Continuously since 1873 the Government of
India had been trying by every correct and leasonublo
method to regularize their intercourse with Tibet, Their
patience was now exhausted, and, instead of trifling about
on the frontiei with petty Chinese or Tibetan officials,
they proposed, in the very important despatch of January 8,
1908,* to send a mission, with an armed escort, to Lhasa
itself, there to settle oui future relations with Tibet, and
to permanently establish a British representative.
This proposal, when it reached England, seems to have
caused considerable surprise But Warren Hastings, a
century before, had meant to do this very thing; and
the Russians had a Consular representative in Chinese
Turkestan alongside their frontier, so there seemed no
particular reason why we should not have had a similar
representative m Tibet alongside our frontier. The
rislc had to be considered, it is tiue, but why the case of
* Blue-book, p 152
PROPOSED MISSION TO LHASA 77
Cavagnau's murder at Kabul should be eveilastmgly
bi ought up as an aigument against sending an officer
outside our frontier it is difficult to understand It is
ignoble to the last degree to be scaied for all time by
what happened then. Cavagnan was murdeied What
then ? I agree with my old chief and first master in
Cential Asian politics, Sn Charles Macgregor, that if
oui agent A was muideied we should ha\e sent up B,
and if B was murdered we should have sent up C
Our whole Afghan policy for thirty years past has been
frightfully ignominious, and the day will come when we
shall bittcily regiet not having had an agent at the capital
of a country for whose foreign policy we aie responsible.
At any late, the fact of barbarian Afghans murdering oui
representative at Kabul in 1879 was no adequate reason
for not sending a repicsentative to Lhasa m 1903,
These, however, are merely my own views The
contention of the Government of India was that, in
suggesting a mission to Lhasa, they weie meiely reviving
a proposal which had been supported as far back as 1874
by Sir T Wade, then British Minister at Peking, and
which was almost taking definite shape m 1885-86, when
the importance of a Burmese settlement appears to have
so impressed itself upon ah 1 parties that the Lhasa Mission
was sacrificed m order that the signature of the Chinese
Government to the Burmese Convention might be
obtained. The Government of India considered it a grave
misfortune that they should have been diverted from a
project of unquestionable importance by the exigencies of
political considerations that had not the remotest con-
nection with Tibet. They recommended, therefore, the
revival of this precedent, and the firm pursuance of the
policy which was then abandoned
The Government of India regarded the so-called
suzerainty of China over Tibet as a constitutional fiction.
China was always ready to break down the barriers of
ignorance and obstruction and to open Tibet to the
civilizing influence of trade, but her pious wishes were
defeated by the short-sighted stupidity of the Lamas. In
the same way Tibet was only too anxious to meet our
78 SECURING THE TREATY RIGHTS
f advanpes, but she was prevented from doing so by the
despotic veto of the suzerain The Government of India
wished to put an end to this " solemn farce," and would
have preferred to deal with Tibet alone. But they
recognized that China could not be entirely disregarded,
and only asked that, if the Home Government trusted to
the interposition of China, this might be accompanied
by a resolute refusal to be defeated by the time-honomcd
procedure, and that if and when a new treaty was
concluded, it should not be signed by the British and
Chinese alone, but by a direct representative of the
Tibetan Government also.
At the same time, said the Government of India, the
most emphatic assurances might be given to the Chinese
and Tibetan Governments that the mission was of an
exclusively commercial character, that we repudiated all
designs of a political nature upon Tibet, that we had
no desire either to declare a protectorate or permanently
to occupy any portion of the country, but that our
intentions were confined to removing the embaigo that
then rested upon all trade between Tibet and India, and
to establishing those amicable relations and means of
communication that ought to subsist between adjacent and
friendly Powers.
These proposals the Government of India commended
to the favourable consideration of His Majesty's Govern-
ment, in the firm conviction that if some such step were
not taken, "a senous danger would grow up in Tibet
which might one day, and perhaps at no very distant date!
attain to menacing dimensions." They regarded the
situation as it seriously affected the frontiers which they
UP n t0 defend th Indlan
iwTo t >
W,r S ^ ^ n Was entitled to Cf ^y weight with
His Majesty's Government, and they enterttmed
sincere alarm ttat, if nothing was done Ld maS were
allowed to slide, they might before long have ucriw
gravely to regret that action was not taken whilst was
still relatively free from difficulty. S
CHAPTER VH
NEGOTIATIONS WITH RUSSIA
I woui D again recall the fact that when the Government
of India wrote the above-quoted despatch, Russia was not
yet at wai with Japan, and was very much in the
ascendant and active in Asia She had recently occupied
Port Arthur, and run a railway through Manchuria ; and
she was in a dominant, almost domineering, position at
Peking. And as showing the interest she took in Tibet,
there came, just after the leceipt by the India Office of
Lord Curzon's despatch, a representation from the Russian
Charge* d'Affaires m London, founded apparently upon
our very humble efforts of the previous summer within
our own frontier In this representation, which was made
in the form of a memorandum* communicated to the
Foreign Office, it was stated that, according to the infor-
mation which the Russian Government had received from
an authoritative source, a British military expedition had
reached Komba-Ovaleko, on its way north by the Chumbi
Valley, and that the Russian Government would consider
such an expedition to Tibet as likely to produce a situation
of considerable gravity, which might oblige them to take
measures to protect their interests in those regions.
It was impossible to tiace what place was intended
by Komba-Ovaleko. Mr. White and his little escort of
150 men had never gone outside the limits of Sikkim,
and had long since returned to their headquarters. There
was no difficulty, then, in giving the Russian Ambassador
the assurance that this '* authoritative " information was
without the smallest foundation. And Lord Lansdowne
went further than merely refuting the false information.
* Blue-book, p. 178.
79
80 NEGOTIATIONS WITH RUSSIA
He told the Ambassadoi* that the language of the com-
munication had seemed to him unusual, and, indeed, almost
minatory in tone He refeired especially to the state-
ment that the Imperial Government might, in consequence
of our action in a countiy which immediately adjoined
the fiontiers of India, find it necessary Lo take measuies
to protect Russian interests in those legions Loid Lans-
downe said he could not conceive why it was neccssaiy
for Russia to evince hei mteiest in this mannei
Count Benckendoiff expressed Ins opinion that these
exaggerated rumours had been spread designedly in order
to fostei ill-feehng between Great Bntam and Russia, and
thought we should spare no pains in order to dissipate
them There was, he said, no reason whatever why the
two Governments should have trouble over Tibet. Russia
had no political designs upon the countiy, and he presumed
we had not.
Lord Lansdowne icplied that if he was invited to say
that we had no desire to annex Tibetan territory, he
would unhesitatingly answer in the affirmative, but he
was bound to be careful how he gave general assurances,
the import of which might hereafter be called in question,
as to our future lelations with Tibet. It was natural that
the Indian Government should desire to promote Indian
trade in that country, and they would no doubt take
whatever measures seemed to them necessary for that
purpose The Ambassador admitted that this was only
natural
A few days later, on February 18, Lord Lansdownc,
in a further conversation with the Russian Ambassador,
recurred to the same subject f He said that the Indian
Government had been seriously perturbed by the com-
munication made to the Foreign Office. The interest of
India m Tibet was, Lord Lansdowne said, of a very
special character. With a map of Central Asia before
him, he pointed out to the Ambassador that Lhasa was
within a comparatively short distance of the Indian
frontier, while, on the other hand, it was considerably over
1,000 miles from the Asiatic possessions of Russia, and
* Blue-book, p 180 f Ibid, p. 181.
RUSSIAN PROTESTS 81
any sudden display of Russian interest or activity in the
regions immediately adjoining the possessions of Great
Britain could scarcely fail to have a distuibmg effect upon
the population, or to create the impression that British
influence was receding, and that of Russia making lapid
advances into regions which had hitherto been regarded as
altogethei outside her sphere of influence.
Loid Lansdowne added that he had received nom
apparently trustworthy sources reports to the effect that
Russia had lately concluded agreements for the establish-
ment of a Russian protectorate ovei Tibet, and also that,
if she had not already done so, she intended to establish
Russian agents or Consulai officers at Lhasa, and he
thought it of the utmost impoitance that as the Ambas-
sador had disclaimed on the pait of Russia political designs
upon Tibet, he should be in a position to state whether
these rurnouis were or were not without foundation
Count Benckendorff replied that he did not believe
that there was any foundation in them, but he expressed
his readiness to inake special inquiries of the Russian
Government as to the truth of the statements referred to
Lord Lansdowne then went on to say that as we were
much more closely interested than Russia in Tibet, it
followed that, should there be any display of Russian
ficLivity 111 that country, we should be obliged to reply by
a display of activity, not only equivalent to, but exceeding
that made by Russia If they sent a mission or an
expedition, we should have to do the same, but in greater
strength. As to our dealings with Tibet at the moment,
Lord Laasdowne stated that we were endeavouring to
obtain from the Tibetan authorities the fulfilment of
pledges which had been given to us in 1890 m regard to
the location of the frontier, and in regard to trade facilities
on the borders of Sikkim We had found that it was of
no use to deal with Tibet through China, owing to the
dilatory methods of the Chinese Government and the
filenderness of their influence over Tibet. It was abso-
lutely necessary that these local questions should be
disposed of to our satisfaction, and we should continue to
take the necessary steps for that purpose.
6
82 NEGOTIATIONS WITH RUSSIA
Some delay occmred in getting a reply from the
Russian Government, but on April 8, 1903, the Russian
Ambassador informed Loid Lansdowne* that he could
" assuie him officially that theie was no convention about
Tibet, eithei with Tibet itself, 01 with China, 01 with any-
one else , nor had the Russian Government any agents in
that country, 01 any intention of sending any agents 01
missions theie But, although the Russian Government
had no designs whatever about Tibet, they could not
remain indifferent to any senous disturbance of the status
quo in that country. Such a disturbance might rendei it
necessary foi them to safeguard their mteiests in Asia ;
not that even in that case they would desne to interfere
in the affairs of Tibet, as their policy 'nc viseiait le
Tibet en aucun cas,' but they might be obliged to take
measuies elsewhere They icgaided Tibet as ionmng
part of the Chinese Empne, m the integrity of which they
took an interest "
Count BenckendoifF went on to say that he hoped thai
theie was no question of any action on om pait in regard
to Tibet which might have the effect of raising questions
of this kind, and Loid Lansdowne told him thai we had
no idea of annexing the country, but he was well await"
that it immediately adjoined oui frontier , that we had
treaties with the Tibetans, and a light to tiade facilities.
If these weie denied us, and if the Tibetans did not lullil
their treaty obligations, it would be absolutely necessary
that we should insist upon our rights In cases of this
kind, where an uncivilized country adjoined the posses-
bions of a civilized Power, it was inevitable that the
latter should exercise a certain amount of: local pre-
dominance Such a predominance belonged to us in
Tibet But it did riot follow from this that we hud any
designs upon the independence of the country
With these veiy definite assurances from Russia, it
might well be asked why we should still have desired to
take pronounced measures in Tibet Anxiety in regard
to Russian action m Tibet was the mam reason why the
Government of India sought to take action in Tibet
* Blue-book, p 187
TIBETAN RELIANCE ON RUSSIA 83
Now that we were leasonably assured that Russia had no
intention of mterfeimg in Tibet, why should we still have
thought it necessary to send a mission into the country ?
The answer is that we had not yet settled those questions
of trade and mteicouise which had existed years before
the Russian factoi intiuded itself into the situation ,
besides which we had always the consideration that,
although it might be true enough that the Russians had
no mind to have any dealings with the Tibetans, yet the
Tibetans might sbll think they could icly on the Russians
in flouting us The Germans had officially no intention
of mterfeinig with the Boeis, yet it was because Kruger
thought he could iely upon Geiman support that he
went to war with England He was much too astute an
old gentleman bo have fought us if he had thought he
would have had to fight us by himself So it was with
the Tibetans The Russian Government might not have
the remotest intention of helping them in any possible
way, yet the Tibetans might, and did, think they could
count upon Russian support The Dalai Lama's Envoy
Kxtraoidnuiry had been vciy well received by the Czar
find by the Russian Chancellor and others Doubtless,
he had collected some very handsome subscriptions and
received valuable presents. A httle Oriental imagination
would soon expand these ordinal y amenities into a promise
of thick-and-thin support against the English We had
still this erroneous impression to reckon with,
CHAPTER VIII
A MISSION SANCTIONED
WHILE the negotiations with Russia were proceeding the
Home Government would come to no final decision as to
the action to be taken The question at issue, they m-
foimed the Indian Government'* m February, was no
longer one of details as to tiade and boundaries though
on these it was necessaiy that an agi cement should be
arrived at but the whole question of the future political
iclations of India and Tibet They agreed with the Indian
Government that, having regard to the geographical posi-
tion of Tibet on the frontiers of India, and its relations
with Nepal, it was " indispensable that British influence
should be recognized at Lhasa in such a mannei as to
lender it impossible for any other Powei to exeicise a
pressure on the Tibetan Government inconsistent with
the interests of British India " They admitted, also, the
force of the contention that the interest shown by the
Russian Government in the action of the Government of
India on the Tibetan frontier demonstrated the urgency
of placing our relations with Tibet on a secure basis.
They recognized that Nepal might be rightly sensitive as
to any alteration m the political position of Tibet which
would be likely to disturb the relations at present existing
between the two countries, and that the establishment of
a powerful foreign influence m Tibet would disturb those
relations, and might even, by exposing Nepal to a pressure
which it would be difficult to resist, affect those which
then existed on so coidial a basis between India and
Nepal They regretted the necessity for abandoning the
passive attitude that had hitherto sufficed in the regulation
* Blue-book, p 184.
84
VIEWS ON H.M'S GOVERNMENT 85
of affairs on the frontier, and weie compelled to recognize
that circumstances had lecently occurred which threw on
them the obligation of placing our relations with the
Government oi Lhasa upon a more satisfactory footing
And they acknowledged that the proposal to send an
aimed mission to enter Lhasa, by f'oice if necessaiy, and
establish theic a Resident, might, if the issue were simply
one between India and Tibet, be justified as a legitimate
icply to the action of the Tibetan Government in returning
the letters which on three occasions the Viceroy had
addressed to them, and in disregarding the Convention
with China of J 800 Rut they stated that they could riot
regard the question as one concerning India and Tibet
alone. The position of China in its relations to the
Powers of Europe had been so modified in recent years
that it was necessary to take into account those altered
conditions in deciding on action affecting what still had
to be regarded as a province of China. It was true that
we had no desire either to declare a piolectoiate or
permanently to occupy any portion of the country. But
measures of that kind might become inevitable if we were
once to find oui selves committed to armed intervention.
For the above reasons, the Home Government thought
it necessaiy, before sanctioning a course which might be
regarded as an attack on the integrity of the Chinese
Empire, to be sure that such action could be justified by
the* previous action of Tibet, and they had, accordingly,
come to the conclusion that it would be premature to
adopt measures so likely to precipitate a crisis in the
affairs of Tibet as those proposed by the Government of
India, They would await, therefore, the result of their
reference to the* Russian Government, and after those
explanations' had been jeceived they would be in a better
p()sition to decide on the scope to be given to the negotia-
tions with China, and on the steps to be taken to protect
India against any danger from the establishment of foreign
influence in Tibet.
When the Russian assurances were at length received,
the purport of the convei Nation Lord Lansdowne had held
with the Russian Ambassador was at once communicated
86 A MISSION SANCTIONED
by telegram to the Viceroy, and on April 14 the Secretary
of State, piesummg that it would be necessary to include
in the scope of the negotiations with China and Tibet the
entire question of our future relations with Tibet, com-
meicial and otherwise, asked the Viceroy for his views as
to the foim which these negotiations should now takes
with special reference to the means to be adopted to
insure that the conditions that might be arrived at would
be observed by Tibet
The Viceroy on April 16 icphed that he had recently
received from the delegate deputed by the Chinese Resi-
dent an intimation that if Yatung was not considered a
suitable locality, they were willing to negotiate at any
place acceptable to us And he proposed, accoidmgly, to
invite the Chinese Resident to depute delegates to meet
oui representative at Khamba Jong, which was the
nearest inhabited place on the Tibetan side to the frontier
in dispute near Giagong The Viceroy proposed that our
representative, with an escort of 200 men, should proceed
to that place, while reinforcements were held in icserve in
Sikkim, and that, should the Chinese and Tibetan icpie-
sentatives fail to appear, or should the formei come with-
out the latter, our representative should move forward to
Shigatse or Gyantse, in order that the arrival of the
deputations from Lhasa might be accelerated
The Secretary of State telegraphed on April 29 that
there was no objection to the Chinese, Tibetan, and
Indian representatives meeting at Khamba Jong or to the
military anangements recommended ; but His Majesty's
Government considered that without previous reference to
them the Mission should not advance beyond that place,
as in existing conditions, even in the event of the failure
of the Chinese and Tibetan parties, any sudden advance to
Lhasa was not, in their opinion, justified
In regard to the subject-matter of the forthcoming
negotiations, the Viceroy telegraphed on May 7 that,
having regard to the stultification of existing treaty
provisions, and to the unsuitability of either Yatung,
Phan, or any other place in the Chumbi Valley, for a
trade-mart, in which business could be transacted directly
OBJECTS OF THE MISSION 87
between British and Tibetan merchants, without incurring
the monopoly of local traders, it was necessary to insist
upon opening a new trade-mait and upon having a British
agent at Gyantse The Viceroy thought that having
a British repiesentative at Lhasa, which would be the best
possible security foi the future observance of the con-
ditions, would be far preferable , but assuming the un-
willingness of His Majesty's Government to press this
claim, the proposal for an agent at Gyantse was a suitable
alternative In any case, the fullest facilities should be
given to the British lepresentative for direct communica-
tion with the Tibetan Government, and if he met with
obstruction, it would be necessary to resort to the
alternative of moving him forward to Lhasa Further-
more, it would be necessary to secure for British Indian
subjects the same freedom for trade and travel in Tibet as
was enjoyed by Kashmiris and Nepalese, and to insist thai
all British subjects duly authoiized by the Government of
India should be allowed to proceed by recognized routes to
Gyantse, beyond which a pass from the Tibetan Govern-
ment would be leqmred
As Commissioner, the Viceroy proposed to appoint
Major Younghusband, Resident at Indore. He could
confidently rely on his judgment and discretion, and he
had great Asiatic experience. With him he would
associate as Joint Commissioner Mr White, Political
Officer in Sikkim
The Secretary of State hesitated to accept at once
the proposal icgaiding Gyantse, and, wished before coming
to any decision to be mfoimed whether the Viceroy could
propose any altei native in place of the extreme course
of advancing by force into Tibet ; and the Viceroy said the
only alternatives were (a) the costly and ineffectual
measure of blocking all trade-routes and excluding
Tibetans from British India, and (b) an occupation of the
Chumbi Valley
The final decision of the Home Government on the
whole matter was telegraphed to the Viceroy on May 28.
They approved a procedure by which both the Chinese
and Tibetan Governments would be bound by the action
88 A MISSION SANCTIONED
of their representatives, but they wished that the negotia-
tions should be confined to questions concerning trade
relations, the iron tier, and grazing rights, and that no
proposal should be made for the establishment of a
Political Agent at Gyantse or Lhasa, as such a political
outpost might entail difficulties and responsibilities incom-
mensurate with any benefits which would be gained by it.
They had recently received assurances that Russia had
no intention of developing political interests in Tibet,
and they were unwilling to be committed by threats to
any definite course of compulsion to be undertaken in
futuie
While the Home Government and the Indian Govern-
ment were thus deliberating as to the final action which
should be taken> communications with the Chinese were
being exchanged The Chinese Government had, in
Decembei, informed our Mmistei at Peking that "the
Throne, attaching deep importance to international re-
lations, and icgarding the Tibetan question of great
importance, had specially appointed Yu Tai to be Imperial
Resident in Tibet, with oiders to proceed with all speed,
and negotiate with Mr White in an amicable spirit."
This newly-appointed Resident called on the British
Minister on January 5, and informed him that he had
hoped to be able to travel to his new post by way of
India, but that, in ordei to avoid aiousing the suspicion
of the Tibetans, it had been decided that he should travel
by the Yangtse River and Szechuan, and would not be
able to reach Lhasa much before July. He did not, in fact,
reach it till six months later still, till thirteen critical
months had elapsed since the Chinese Government had
told us that he was to proceed to Lhasa with all possible
speed.
Mr. Townley, the British Charge* d' Affaires at Peking,
on May 12, informed the Chinese Government that
the Government of India would invite the Resident
at Lhasa to send Chinese delegates to meet the repre-
sentatives of the British Government at Khiunba Jong,
CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CHINESE 89
foi the settlement of pending questions, and would inform
the Resident that the Chinese delegates should be accom-
panied by a duly acci edited Tibetan representative The
Chinese Government weie told that we attached gieat
impoitance to this lattei point, for the Tibetans had more
than once intimated to the British authorities that they
did not considei themselves bound to obseive the pro-
visions of the tieaties previously made between the British
and Chinese representatives, because no icpiesentative
of the Dalai Lama had taken part m the negotiations.
The Chinese Government, on receipt of this, tele-
graphed to the Resident at Lhasa, asking him again to
admonish the Dalai Lama, and to persuade him not to fail to
send, with speed, a Tibetan official to be associated with the
deputy Ho m his discussion with Mr White In icply,
the Chinese Government icceived, on July 18, a telegram
from the Resident, saying that he had at once com-
municated these instructions to the Dalai Lama,
"directing him to send a Tibetan [lit., barbarian] official of
fairly high standing and despatch him to the frontier,
provided with credentials as a negotiator, m order to
concert with the Prefect Ho and his colleagues, to await
British officials, and effect a harmonious and sincere
settlement."
The Resident at Lhasa had also at this time submitted
to the Throne a memorial, which furnishes exceedingly
instructive reading He said he had summoned the
Tibetan Councillors to his office, and admonished them in
person to the ell'ect that the English intended to bring
troops to Tibet, and that it was difficult to fathom then
objects. All this, lie said, was the result of their obstructing
last year a deputy with his letinue, so that a favourable
opportunity was lost. If the English did make this long
march, it would, of course, be the duty of him, the
Imperial Resident, to proceed m person to the frontier and
find some way of persuading them to stop But the
Tibetans, on their side, must not show their previous
obstinacy, and if the English did not stop, and insisted on
entering Tibet, they must on no account repel them with
arms, but must discuss matters with them on the basis of
90 A MISSION SANCTIONED
reason Thus he hoped a ruptuie might be avoided, and
things brought back to a satisfactory conclusion But if,
as before, the Councillors allowed themselves to be guided
by the three gieat monasteries, and hostilities once began,
then the horrors of war would be more than he could hear-
to think of, and even the mediation of him, the Impenal
Resident, would be of no avail
Such, said the Resident, were the admonitions which he
addressed to the Tibetan Councillor, and as he did so he
watched then: demeanour. It was submissive certainly, but
obstinacy was engrained in the chaiacter of the Tibetan
barbarians, and whether, when matters should become
pressing, they would consent to obey and discuss questions
m a friendly spint, it was difficult for him to tell in advance.
The laconic observation by the Emperor on this curious
document, which coriectly described the Tibetans, and
which incidentally depicted both the contempt of the
Chinese for these "barbarians' 1 and the ineffectiveness of
their control over them, was " Seen "
But the Resident had also written to the Viceroy, on
April 6, saying that he had deputed Mr Ho and Captain
Parr for the discussion of affairs, and they were waiting at
Yatung The deputy appointed by the Viceroy might,
he said, eithei come to Yatung, or the Chinese deputies
would proceed to Sikkim, or such other place as might be
decided on by the Viceroy.
To this the Viceroy replied, on June 3, 1 903, that as
the Resident had already clearly recognized, it would be
useless to negotiate upon matters affecting Tibet without
insuring the full and adequate representation of the
Dalai Lama's Government throughout the proceedings.
He was nominating as his Commissioner Colonel Young-
husband, who, accompanied by Mr. White, Political
Officer m Sikkim, as Joint Commissioner, would proceed
to meet the Commissioneis appointed by the Resident,
who should, of course, be of equivalent rank, and must be
attended by a Tibetan officer of the highest rank, whose
authority to bind the Tibetan Government was absolute
and unquestioned On this understanding, that the Lhasa
authorities would be duly and fully represented, the
INSTRUCTIONS TO THE COMMISSIONER 91
Viceioy was piepaicd to accept the Resident's invitation
that the Commissioners should meet at a very eaily date,
and discuss, not only the exact position of the frontier
undei the Convention of 1890 and the mutual lights of
grazing to he allowed on cither side of that frontiei to the
people of Tihet and Butish teintoiy, hut also the method
m which our Liade i elation s could be improved and
placed upon a basis moie consonant with the usage of
civilized nations and our direct and predominating interests
in Tibet And as the Resident was prepared to let his
deputies meet the British representative at any place
which the Viceioy might select, and as Khamba Jong,
being the nearest inhabited place to the frontier in
question, seemed to be the most suitable place for the
meeting, he had directed Colonel Younghusband to
proceed thither as soon as he conveniently could, and he
trusted that the Resident would secure the attendance of
the Chinese and Tibetan lepresentatives at Kharnba Jong
on, or as soon as possible aftei, July 7
On the same date as this letter was written I also
received my own formal instiuctions.* I was informed
that a strict insistence on the boundary-line as laid down
in the Convention of 1890 was, perhaps, not essential either
to the Government of India or to the Sikkim Durbar, and
I was directed to give my opinion on this point after
inspecting the tract in question The matter of grazing
rights was not one of great importance, and aftei discus-
sion with the Chinese and Tibetan delegates 1 was to
submit my proposals as to the agreement which might be
come to in this mattei. The revision of the Trade Regu-
lations and the recognition of Gyantse as a trade-mart in
place of Yatung were to form the subject of discussion
with the Chinese and Tibetan delegates, and the provision
of guarantees for the observance of such agi cements as
might be concluded were to be considered a matter of the
first importance. It was further considered very desirable
that arrangements for free communication between the
Government of India and the authorities at Lhasa should
be made, and possibly also annual meetings between
* Blue-book, p. 198.
92 A MISSION SANCTIONED
British and Tibetan officials for the due settlement of the
trade and frontier difficulties which might occur
In conclusion, I was warned to be veiy careful to
abstain from using any language 01 taking any action
which would bind the Government to any definite course
hereafter without first obtaining the sanction of the
Government of India
All was now prepared for the start of a mission In
this extiaordmanly complex and intricate matter the many
different lines had at last been made to converge on one
point The manifold communications which had taken'
place for thirty years between the Bengal Government and
the Government of India, between local Indian officers and
local Chinese and Tibetans , the" coirespondence between
Simla or Calcutta and London, between the India Office
and the Foreign Office, between the Foieign Office and
the Russian and Chinese Governments, and between the
Viceroy and our Mimstei at Peking and the Chinese
"Resident at Lhasa, had all been boiled down into the
definite act of the despatch of a mission to a place a bare
dozen miles inside Tibet to discuss trade-relations, frontier
and grazing rights.
This was not, after all, any remarkably bold or out-
rageously aggressive act Such as it was, was it justified '*
The narrative of the causes which led to the move lias
been long, but, even so, it has been hard to put their true
significance so that it may be appreciated by people un-
acquainted with Orientals Still, there are some faiily
plain facts and considerations which emerge from the
long narrative, and which all who are accustomed to the
conduct of affairs may be expected to undei stand
The first fact is this that it was aggression on the
pail of the Tibetans or their vassals which led to action
on our part, and that before ever a single soldier of the
British Government had crossed the frontier into Tibet
Tibetan troops had ciossed it to the Indian side, It was
the irruption of the Bhutanese into the plains of Ifeuim]
which caused Warren Hastings to send Bogle Lo Tibet in
JUSTIFICATION OF THE MISSION 98
1774 It was the invasion of Sikkim by the Tihetans
which made the necessity for the treaty of 1890. And it
was because the Tibetans repudiated that treaty, and
occupied terntoiy inside the boundary therein laid down,
that we had to take measuies to see it observed
But even supposing they were aggressive, it may be
said that we ought to have treated the Tibetans with
leniency, gentleness, and consideiation, because of their
ignorance. So we ought, and so we did Warren
Hastings conceded the request of the Tashi Lama And
though the Tibetans for a century have been free to come
down to India, with no restuctions on their trade 01 on
their tiavel, we for years nevci pressed foi any ordinary
lights of trade and travel for our own subjects, whethei
British 01 Indian We allowed the Tibetans to come
down where, and when, and how they liked. Foi a
century we let the principle of heads they win, tails we
lose, continue Even when we at last stiried, and thought
of sending Macaulay to Lhasa to make some less one-
sided aiiangcment, we gave up the idea when we saw that
the Tibetans raised objection And even, again, when
the Chinese asked us to make a definite treaty with them
OIL behalf of the Tibetans, and guaranteed its obseivance
by them, and when the Tibetans broke it, and repudiated
it, and refused to meet our officers, we continued for ten
years showing them forbeaiance and patience. It was
only at last when the Tibetans, having broken the treaty,
having declined to have any communication with us, yet
sent Envoys to the Russians, that we took high action,
and despatched a mission with an escort into Tibet. If
we had shown no inclination to hold the Tibetans and
Chinese to their engagements, others might well think
that they also would not be held to theiis, and our
authority and influence would slacken in proportion as
this impression got abroad. No Government can conduct
the affairs of contiguous States if it allows a treaty to be
broken with impunity
My personal view is that the local question would have
been better settled, and much subsequent international
complications would have been saved if, at an earlier stage
94 A MISSION SANCTIONED
in the proceedings, when it first became amply cleai that
our treaty was valueless , that the Tibetans repudiated and
ignored it, and that the Chinese were unable to have it
observed, we had at once resumed the pioceedmgs wheic
we had left them when we diove the Tibetans across
our border, and had again advanced into the Chumbi
Valley, and stopped there till we had effected a properly
recognized and lasting settlement This was the course
recommended by Sir Charles Elliott, the then Lieutenant-
Governoi of Bengal, and whether that would have been n
wise couise or not, I do not see how anyone who has care-
fully considered the whole course of tiansactions which at
last led up to the despatch of a mission to the first
inhabited place across the bolder can deny that such a
eouise was justified
Whether the mission was conducted with due con-
sideration 01 with unnecessary haishness, and whether
any good came of it, eithei to oui selves or to the
Tibetans or to anyone else, aie matteis foi scpa.ia.te
icview, and to that purpose I will now addiess myself in
the following narrative of the couise of the mission
CHAPTER IX
SIMLA TO KHAMBA JONG
THE previous chapters have been necessarily, though
perhaps somewhat tediously, filled up with a narrative of
the many intricate consideiations which went towaids
the final determination to send a mission to Tibet
Hut of all that had been going on of the voluminous
correspondence in the great offices, of the meetings
and attempts at meetings on the frontier I wa& wholly
ignorant. Anglo-Indian papeis seldom contain informa-
tion on such happenings And for some years past,
in accordance with the well-intentioned, but, as it has
since tinned out, thoroughly unsound, advice of a pievious
Viceroy, that it would be to my advantage in the Political
Department not to remain for evei on the frontier, but
Lo acquire experience of internal affairs as well, I had
been serving in the interior in political agencies in
Hajputana and Central India, and had heard nothing of
any intention to send a mission to Tibet Nor had I ever
had any connection with Tibet, though as long ago as
1888 the then Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal had, I dis-
covered many years after, asked the Government of India
for my services, as I had then just returned from a journey
around Manchuria and across Central Asia, from Peking to
Kashmir, and it was thought that, knowing Chinese
customs, 1 might be of use, in addition to the Chinese
interpreter. This request was twice made, it appears ;
but 1 was then a young subaltern, still in military employ,
and in the throes of examination, and the Government of
India replied that 1 was not available, as I was about to
go up for examination, and, if sent away then, would fail
to qualify for promotion. So 1 went up for one of those
95
96 SIMLA TO KHAMBA JONG
examinations of which such a fetish is made, and never
till now had been near the Tibet nontiei. I made, indeed,
an abortive effort in 1889 to go to Lhasa, disguised as a
Turki from Central Asia ; but this, too, was nipped in the
bud by the icfusal of my Colonel to give me leave from
the regiment What spirit of adventure I possessed
never received much encouragement from Government,
and, as I have said, I had left the frontier foi some years,
and was superintending the affairs of a native State in
the very heart of India, when, on a sweltering day in
May, I suddenly received a summons to proceed at once
to Simla to leceive instructions regarding a mission I was
to lead to Tibet
Here, indeed, I felt was the chance of my life 1 was
once more alive. The thrill of adventuie again ran through
my veins. And I wasted little time in rounding up my
business, packing my things, and starting off for Simla,
There I was handed ovei all the papers in the
Foreign Office to digest while the final instructions of the
Secietary of State were still awaited And one afternoon
I was asked to lunch with Loid Curzon and Lord
Kitchener, at a gymkhana down at Annandale, wheic,
after lunch, sitting under the shade of the glorious pine-
trees, Lord Curzon explained to me all his intentions,
ideas, and difficulties Men and ladies performed every
feat of equestrian skill and equestrian nonsense, and the
place was crowded with all the beauty and gaiety of Simla
in the height of the season But the Viceroy and I sat
apart, and talked over the various difficulties I should meet
with in Tibet, and the best means by which they could be
overcome.
One thing he made perfectly clear to me from the
start that he meant to see the thing through ; that he
intended the mission to be a success, and would provide
me with every means within his power to make it so.
Fortunately, we knew each other well ever since his first
appointment as Under-Secretary of State for India. We
had travelled together nine years pieviously lound Chitral
and Gilgit , we had corresponded for years ; and when he
came to India he, with a kindness of heart for which he is
COMPOSITION OF STAFF 97
oidinanly given veiy httle ciedit, had asked me to legaid
him, not as Viceioy, but as an old hi end and fellow-
tiavellei No bettei initiatoi and suppoiter of such an
eriteipnse as a mission to Tibet could be imagined He
had his whole heait and soul in the undei taking, and I do
not think it took long for me to put my whole heait into
it, too
I had in pievious yeais been despatched fiom Simla
on two political missions ~m 188<) to cxploie the un-
known passes on the northern fiontiei of Kashmir, and
to put down the laids iiom Hunza, and m 1890 to the
Pamirs and Chinese Tuikestan so I had some geneial
idea of what to expect on the piescnt occasion, and as I
had also spent Llnee months in the Legation at Peking,
besides tiavelhng fiom one end to the othei oJt the Chinese
Empire, I knew enough about the Chinese to know that
\ should nevei be able to deal successfully with them
without the assistance of someone who had had a life-
training in the woik I therefore, in the iiist place, asked
for an officer of the China Consular Seivice to act as
adviser and interpietei. Next, as regards dealing with
the Tibetans, it was most necessary to have an officer who
could speak the Tibetan language, and it was fortunate
for the success of the mission that Government were able
to send with it, first as Intelligence Officer and afterwards
as Secretary, ('apt am O'Connor, an artillery officer, who,
when stationed with his mountain battery at Darkling,
had learned the Tibetan language and studied the history
and customs of the Tibetans, and who, Infteiwaids found,
was never so happy as when he was .surrounded by
begrimed Tibetans, with whom he would spend hour after
hour in apparently futile conversation.
The services of some of the Gurkhas and of the
Pathan, Shah'/acl Mir, who bad been with me on my
mission in 1881), I also tiled to secure , but the Gurkhas
had all left their regiment, and Shahzad Mir, who had
been employed on many a mission and reconnaissance
since, was then absent in Abyssinia
Mr. White reached Simla a day or two after my
arrival, and we at once set to work to discuss arrange-
7
98 SIMLA TO KHAMBA JONG
ments He had had expeiience on that fioutioi for
fouiteen yeais, and was naturally well up m all the luenl
aspects of the question, and knew what I did not
what dealing with Tibetans really meant. His accounts
of then obstinacy and obstructiveness appeared to me
exaggeiated, and, with the optimism of inexperience, I
thought that we should, together with Captain O'Connor s
assistance, be able to soon break thiough it. But Ah,
White turned out in the end to be right, and I think
from the first he knew that we should not be able to do
anything elsewhere than in Lhasa
Mr White's long local experience on that frontier
made his recommendation in legard to arrangements
specially valuable We were Lo have an escort of 200
men from the 32nd Pioneeis, who had been for some
months in Sikkim improving the road towards the frontier,
and we wished arrangements made for them to precede
us to the vicinity of the frontici, so that we, towelling
lightly, might reach Khamba Jong as quickly us possible,
for we were now getting well on into the summer, and
had not much time to spare for negotiation before the
winter came on
Indian troops and officers have, fortunately, plenty of
expeiience in rough work of this and every other descrip-
tion The 32nd Pioneers I had known m the Kehef of
CM I n 1895 ' and they had come almosl fctruitflil I"
frikkun from another frontier expedition, so they could be
relied on to be thoroughly up to the duty now expected
ot them. All I asked Government for, on Mr. White's
recommendation, was that, as they would be muvinir HP
TTnn * ,\ Steamy ^ leys of Lower Sikkim ton plateau
15,000 feet above searlevel, they should be provided with
clothing on the winter scale, with poshtms (sheepskin
3 r fl f ntries > jd that special rations shoufd be
issued to the men. And foi ceremonial effect, which is
AS TVS b Ji hgh u tly P assed over ir '^W* *H i
Asiate I aaked that they should take with them their
full-dress uniforms, and that twenty-five of them should
be mounted on pomes, which could be procure
The Government of India always equips n^d
DEPARTURE FROM SIMLA 99
its expeditions well, and such little arrangements were
soon and readily made And by a piece of foresight on
its part, there was on the spot in Sikkim the best practical
rough-and-ready supply and transport officer in their
service, Major Bretherton, D S O , a very old friend of
mine in Chitial days, a man of unbounded energy, of
infinite icsource, and of quite unconquerable optimism,
who was drowned in the Brahmaputra within a few days'
march of Lhasa, when we were just about to reap the
leward which he, more than any other single man, had put
within our leach
All headquarter arrangements having been made, and
my formal instructions icceived, Mr White and I left
Simla early in June to pioceed by Darjilmg to the
Sikkim fi on tier. In India such enterprises as we weie
now embarking on are always started off very quietly, and
few outside a limited official circle, and possibly the
Russian Government, knew anything at all about oui
mission The Government of India is over-sensitive to
questions and criticisms in Parliament, and, dependent as
it is upon the support of public opinion in England,
would be bettei advised, in my opinion, to take the public
ITI England more into its confidence But this sensitive-
ness is intelligible It must by the necessity of the case be
especially difficult to govern India from England, but that
task is rendered vastly more difficult by careless questions
and criticisms of Members of Parliament. My mission
suf fiered much through the want of support by the British
public, and they could hardly have been expected to give
it suppoit when it was eventually sprung so suddenly on
them, and when they had not had the opportunity of
watching affairs giadually growing to a crisis On the
other hand, the Indian Government cannot be expected
to expose delicate affairs to the risk of rough, crude
handling from men who, though they ultimately control
these affairs, are so very little veised in their conduct.
I departed, then, from Simla in the most matter-of-fact
manner possible, telling my friends, what was perfectly
100 SIMLA TO KHAMBA JONG
true, that I was going to see Darjilmg I had therefore
no " enthusiastic send-off." But I had what was better,
the heartfelt good wishes of the Viceroy, who has known
the conditions under which frontier officers work, and has
been moie interested in the problems which confront them
than any other Viceroy for many a year past I was also
greatly cheered, and subsequently most warmly and con-
tinuously supported, by Sir Louis Dane, the Foreign
Secretary, whose hospitality I had enjoyed during my itay
in Simla
The journey from Simla to Darjilmg by Calcutta was
a cunous beginning for an expedition to the cold of the
Himalayas. The monsoon had not yet broken. The hunt
of the railway journey was frightful At Calcutta tht'
tempeiatuie was almost the highest on recoid. And w
hurried on, for I was impatient, not only to be out of
the heat, but to be getting to work
At the very outset I looked forwaid to one experu-wr
of, to me, peculiar inteiest My life through, mountains
have excited in me a special fascination. I was hunt
in the Himalayas, within sight of the Kashmir Moun-
tains, and some inexplicable attraction has drawn nit*
back to them time after time. Now that I was eullrd
upon to pierce thiough the Himalayas to the far countn
on the hither side, I was to make my start from that
spot, from which of all others the most perfect view is
to be obtained Darjilmg is now known throughout Un*
world foi the magnificence of its mountain .scenery, and
fortunate it is that such a spot should be now ,so easilv
As in the earliest dawn I looked out of the twin
window, to catch the first glimpse of thole ny
mountains I had to penetrate, I saw far up in the sky It
level plain The air was stifling with the^hoilt of'*
tropical midsummer But I knew that pinky Jmss
the sky could be nothing else tJian the ]iT nf Z"
Himalayas, tinted by the yet unrtei sun gtt e me
FIRST VIEW OF HIMALAYAS 101
the first thrill of my new advcntme, and I forthwith
drank 111 gjeedily cvciy new impression
All ai omul in the plains there was tank, dank,
depicssing \egctation I Jnwholesomeness exuded Irom
the soil Puticfymj* pools of watei lay about oil c^cry
side The whole an was tlnek with fevei. But those
hih hcL\enly mountains waned ho]>e As the tiain
progressed, tlie lower " hills"- themselves 7,000 or 8,000
I'eet in height cnie into si^ht F^cntually we reached
Liu 11 base, and left tho oidmary tiain ibi the little mountain
railway which ascends to Daijihng. And now, indeed,
weie charms on every hand The little railway winds
its way upward tlnough a tropical forest of supeib
magnificence The orchids could almost he plucked iiom
UK* miniature carnages The* luxmiant vegetation nearly
nu'l over the tram Immense tree-terns and wild bananas
shot u|) beneath the oveihanging arches of the dripping
loiest trees. Wieaths and festoons of \ine, convol-
vulus, and begonia stretched from bough to bou^h
Climbing baulnmas and robimas entwined the trunks and
hung like great cables from tiee to tree. Bamboos shot
up in dense tufts to a height of 100 feet Refreshing
streams dashed foaming down the mountain-side, Glorious
waterfalls here and there thundered over steep cliffs.
And through all the diminutive train panted its way
upward- by xigxags, by spirals, thiough tunnels, across
diray bridges, along the sides of cliffs- -but only too slowly,
fou glorious as was the tropical forest, I thirsted for the
sight of Kinchinjtmga, which we should get when we at
last topped the ridge and reached Darjiling.
Alas ! when we at last reached the summit, all was hid
in cloud. Fresh from the steamy plains, we shivered in the
damp mists, and whoa we reached Darjilmg itself rain was
descending in cataracts It was depressing, but it had the
advantage that it enabled me to recuperate u little from
tlit* hot, trying railway journey through the plains of
India, and be all the more fit therefore to thoroughly
enjoy and appreciate the great view when at last it should
be revealed.
Many times afterwards I saw it, and each time with a
102 SIMLA TO KHAMBA JONG
new and more wonderful impression. Sometimes in the
eddying cloudy billows a break would come, giving a
glimpse into heaven itself, and through the little inlet \\ (mid
be seen a piece of sky of the mtensest blue, and against it
a peak of purest white, so lofty and so much a paituci of
the sky and clouds it seemed impossible it could ever bo ol
earth This was Kinchmjunga m one of its aspects At
another time, when all was clear of cloud, I would look
steeply down from the tropical foiests of Dmjihng fin 1
6,000 feet to the bottom of the narrow valley beneath,
and then up and up through tier aftei tier of evci -heighten-
ing ndges, till, far up in the skies, suffused in the blue
and dreamy haze, my eyes would rest on the culminating
range of all, spotless and ethereal, and reaching its climax
in one noble peak nearly 28,000 feet above the valley
depths from which it rose. And at yet another time, when
the houses were all lit in the bazaai, and the lamps
lighted along the roads, and night had almost settled
down upon Darjihng, high up in the skies would be
seen a rosy flush: Kinchmjunga was still icceivmg tlu k
rays of the sun, long since set to us below. In these
and many other aspects Kinchmjunga had never-ending
charms
Darjihng itself, with such scenery and vegetation, w;is,
it need hardly be said, an exquisitely beautiful place.
And it had about it none of the busy air of Simla. It
was at this season nearly always shrouded in mist, mid
seemed wrapped m cotton-wool No one was in a hurry,
and the whole tone of the place was placid and serene
Sir James Bourdillon, the acting Lieutenant-Governor;
Mr Macpherson, the Chief Secretary; Mr. Mariiulin, the
Commissioner , Mr Walsh, the Deputy-Commissioner,
were aU most helpful to me, and I appreciated their assist
ance all the more because I could not help feeling somewhat
of an interloper and poacher upon other people's preserves.
Since 1873 the Bengal Government had been working for
the settlement of then- frontier affairs with Tibet, and now
at the crucial moment a stranger dropped down from the
Olympian heights of Simla to cariy out the culminating
act 1 could naturally expect oidinary official civility
OVER-CENTRALIZATION 103
fiom them But they, eveiy one of them, went out of
then way to put then whole infoimation and experience
at my disposal More than that, both they and their
wives weie moie thoughtful and kind to my wife than
I could possibly iccoid duimg all that time of anxiety
and depiession when we subsequently advanced to Lhasa,
and we have evei felt most deeply giateful to them
The Bengal Government, I have often thought, has
expenenced a haid fate ovei Tibet affans It was a
Goveinoi of Bengal Wairen Hastings who initiated
the idea of sending a mission to Tibet It was anothei
Lieutenant- Go vei 1101 who revived the idea of mteicouise
in 1873 It was a Bengal officei, Colman Macaulay, who
ongmated and pushed thiough the idea of a mission to
Lhasa in 1885 It was a Bengal officer, Mr Paul, who
negotiated the Tiade Regulations of 1893 , and it was a
Lieutenant-Go vei 1101, Su Charles Elliott, who, in 1805,
made what seems to me to have been the most suitable
lecommendatioii foi the settlement of the question, an
occupation of the Chumbi Valley
But giadually, in the course of yeais, the conduct of
fiontiei matteis has been taken out of their hands by the
Government of India and out of the hands of the latter
by the Impenal Government Theie has been a gieatei
and gi eater centralization of the conduct of frontier lela-
tions, which may be necessaiy fiom some points of view,
but one of the effects of which is appaient locally The
local Government loses its sense of responsibility foi
fiontiei matteis Local officei s feel little inducement to
fit themselves for the conduct of such affairs And, con-
sequently, when good tiontier officei s really aie wanted
in future, they will not be found, and the next mission
to Lhasa will in all probability be led by a cleik fiom
the Foreign Office in London
I left Daijihng on June 19, in drenching ram To
leahze it the English leader must picture to himself the
heaviest thimdeistoim he has evei seen, and imagine that
pouimg down continuously night and day, I was, of
course, piovided with a heavy waterproof cloak, with a
riding apion and an umbrella, but the moisture seemed to
104 SIMLA TO KHAMBA JONG
soak through everything, for there was not only the ram
beating down nom ahove, hut the penetrating mists
creeping in all round But I could not be depressed by
mere ram, howevei much The road passed through a
forest of unsurpassable beauty Chestnuts, walnuts, oaks,
laurels, rhododendrons and magnolias grew in great mag-
nificence, and' among them Himalayan kinds of birch,
aldei, maple, holly, apple, and cheriy Orchids of the
most brilliant varieties I could have gathered in basketfuls
The perpetual moisture and the still atmosphere nourished
the most delicate ferns, while the mosses weie almost as
beautiful, and hung from the trees in giaceful pendants,
blending with the festoons of the climbing plants
After ndmg for some miles along the ridge, we de-
scended towards the Teesta River, and again met with the
magnificent tree-ferns, palms, bamboos, and wild bananas
We passed by seveial flourishing tea plantations, each
with its cosy, but lonely, bungalow, sunounded by a
beautiful garden. By the roadway caladiums of every
variegated colour brightened the piospeet But as we*
descended the atmosphere grew more oppressive and
stifling, till when we reached the Teesta itself, which here
lies at an altitude of only 700 feet above sea-level, the
atmosphere was precisely that of a hothouse The
thermometer did not rise above 95, but the heat was weJl-
nigh unbearable. Perspiration poured from every pore.
Energy oozed away with every drop, and the thought of n
winter amid the snows of Tibet became positively cheering.
It was a curious beginning for such an expedition as was
to follow, but the Indian officer has to be prepared to
undergo at a moment's notice every degree of heat or
cold, of storm and sunshine, of drought or deluge, and
take everything he meets cheerily as in the day's work.
We were now in Sikkim proper, the thin wedge of <i
valley which runs from the plains to the watershed of
the Himalayas, and separates Nepal from Bhutan. For
luxuriance and for variety of vegetation, and of animal,
bird,' and insect life, it must, I should say, be unequalled
by any other country in the world, for it lies in the
tropics, and rises from an elevaLion of only a few hundred
SIKKIM SCENERY
7*11
TROPICAL SCENERY 105
feet above sea-level to a snowy range, culminating in a
peak 28,178 feet m height
The valley bottom was naiiow, and the Teesta
River, 100 yaids 01 so bioad, dashed down over great
boulders and beside piccipitous cliffs with immense
velocity Both the main and the side valleys were very
deep, the slopes steep, and the whole packed with a dense
tbiest of rich and graceful and variegated foliage Tropical
oaks of gigantic size, a tree with a buttressed trunk grow-
ing to a height of 200 feet, " sal," sago-palms, bamboos,
bananas, baulnmas, " took," screw-pine, and on the ridges
Pnim dccelms An immense chmbei, with pendulous
blossoms, and which beais a fruit like a melon, was very
picvaJcnt, and anstolochias, with then- pitchei-like ttoweis,
oichids, and ferns Tropical profusion of vegetable
growth was nowhere bcttei exemplified But almost
moie lemarkable weje the number and the variety of the
HutteiHies 1 counted seventeen different species in a
couple of bundled yards, some of the most exquisitely
beautiful colommg, flashing out every brilliant and
metallic hue , others mimicking the foliage, dnd when at
rest shutting their wmgs together, and exactly resembling
the leaves of a tree Less beautiful, but equally abundant,
was the wealth of insect life And here with a vengeance
was the thorn which every lose possesses Midges,
mosquitoes, gnats, cvciy conceivable hoiror and annoy-
ance in tins particular line, was picsent here; also beetles
in myriads , some spiders, too, of enormous si/e , cock-
chafers and cockroaches, winged ants, and, in addition to
nil these insect pests, the countless leeches on every leaf
and every blade of grass It is indeed a paradise for a
naturalist, but only for such a naturalist as has his flesh
under due subjection to the spirit And such a naturalist
was the great Sir Joseph Hooker, the fuend of Dai win,
who first explored this country m 1848 and 1849, and who
is even now living amongst us
The stillness of these parts I have already referred^to.
There is seldom a breath of air stirring, and one feels in a
gigantic hothouse. But it is not noiseless, for, apart from
the roar of the main river as it dashes impetuously
106 SIMLA TO KHAMBA JONG
thiough the languid forest, and, apart from the thundering
of the voluminous waterfalls, which, fringed with rich
masses of maidenhair and many other delicate and grace-
ful ferns, form yet another striking featme in the laud-
scape, one hears also in the forest depths the incessant
choius of the insects Bud-life thcie is scarcely any, and
therefore veiy little song of the birds; hut thcie is an
incessant rhythmic rise and fall of insect whirring, biokcn
at intervals by the deafening, dissonant screeching s of
invisible crickets
All this was very beautiful and veiy interesting as tin
experience, but I felt no temptation to linger in the
stifling valley, and was glad when the road began to rise
to Gantok and the temperatuie to lower Then the
more distinctly tropical vegetation began to disappear,
and at between 4,000 and 5,000 feet a kind of birch,
willows, alders, rhododendrons, and walnuts grew side
by side with the plantains, palms, and bamboos Among
the plants grew balsam, climbing vines, brambles, speed-
wells, forget-me-nots, strawberries, geraniums, orchids,
tree-ferns, and lycopodiums
Embedded amidst all the luxuriance of forest and
plant hfe, and facing the snowy range with a view of
Kmchmjunga itself, is the Gantok Residency, a charmmij
J&ngnsh house, clustered over with roses, and surrounded
by a garden in which rhododendrons, magnolias, cnimu
of every rich variety tree-ferns, lilies, and orchids-, and
all that could excite the envy of the horticulturist, grow
alm iSd ^thout the trouble of putting them into the
Here T enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. White, who Imd
E d6 ^ T to , ma , ke P* e P aratl < He and M m W i '
had lived there for fourteen years. They were devoted to
their garden, m which they found a never-ending interes
with all us, daftbdnf pa
tr P ical P^s
, ey oun a never-ending
with all the English flowers-narcissus, daftbdnf
recent book, "Sikkim and Bhutan,"*-
CHARACTER OF LEPCHAS 107
people, amongst whom it is a pleasuie to live " And
he says they make excellent and fciustwoithy seivants
Ceitamly these people wcie devoted to Mr White, who,
in a kindly patnaichal way, did many a kindness foi them
as he touted thiough then \alley And T was paiticulaily
mteiested in obseivmg them, and hearing Mi White's
opinion ol them, because they have been the subject of so
man> encomiums on the pait of Heibert Spencei On
account of then tiuthfulness and gentleness they had been
held up by him as an example to civilized people, and
I was anxious to sec whether at close quaiteis they were
as estimable as they had appealed at a distance to the
philosophci
They aie ol the Mongolian type of featuie, yet they
have veiy distinctive featuies of then own, and would
ncvei be mistaken foi eilhei the Tibetans, the Nepalese,
01 the Bhulanese, who touch them on eithei side, and they
seem to have come along the foothills fiom Assam and
Bui nm Then chief chaiactenstic is undoubtedly then
gentleness Timidity is the woid which might bettei
descnbe it. They live 111 a still, soft, humid climate, and
then chaiactei is soft like the climate , but then disposition
is also attractive, like their countiy They aie gieat loveis
of Natuie, and unequalled as collectois In their own
country and unspoiled they aie fiank and open, good-
natured and smiling, and when they are at their ease,
amiable, obliging, and polite They are indolent and
improvident, but they seldom have pirvate 01 political
feuds. They never aggi ess upon their neighboms And
by nature they aie scuipulously honest Then women
are chaste, and neilhei men noi women dimk in excess
These 0,000 Lepchas certainly have every estimable
quality, and many foi which we Euiopeans are not
strikingly rcmaikable Yet rncie gentleness, without
strength and passion at the back, can hardly count much
in the woild, and it is not possible seriously to regard the
Lepchas as an ensample ibi our living Even the naughty
little Gmkhas, who would, except foi oui protection of the
Lepchas, have long since swallowed them up, we really
prefei .
108 SIMLA TO KHAMBA JONG
We remained only a few days in Gantok, and then
pushed on toward the Tibetan frontier, for we were well
on in the summer now, and we wanted, if possible, to get
the mattei settled before wintei The ram never ceased :
bucketfuls and bucketfuls came drenching down Hie
ordinal y waterproofing in which we wrapped oui luggage
was soaked through as if it had been paper In the valley
bottom we passed the camp of the 32nd Pioneers engaged
in improving the load, and anything more depressing and
miserable I have nevei seen Tents, clothes, furniture
everything was soaking The heat was stifling, the insect
pests unbearable Fever sapped the life out of the men,
and one shuddered at the misery of life under such condi-
tions : day after day, week after week, month aftei month,
digging and blasting away at a road which as soon as it
was made was washed into the liver again , wet through
with lain and with peispiration while at work, and finding
everything equally moist on returning to camp, toimented
with insect pests at work and in camp by night and by
day Yet it was only by mastering such conditions as
these that the eventual settlement with Tibet was ever
rendered possible
Fortunately for them, some 200 were now to leave
these dismal suiroundings and accompany me to the
Tibetan frontier as escort We marched on up the valley
by a road earned in many places along the side of preci-
pices overhanging the roaring river, and with neither wall
nor railing intervening between one and destruction.
Only m Hunza, beyond Kashmir, have I seen a more pre-
carious roadway The same luxuriant vegetation extended
everywhere But what impressed me most in this middle
region of Sikkim were the glorious waterfalls. Never
anywhere have I seen then* equal We were m the midst
of the rains. The toirents were full to the limit, and they
would come, boiling, foaming, thundenng down the mouii-
tain-sides in long series of cascades, gleaming white through
the ever-green forest, and festooned over and framed with
every graceful form of palm and fern and foliage,
And now, as we reached the higher regions, the louth-
some leeches, the mosquitoes, gnats, and midges, were left
UPPER SIKKIM 109
behind, and we came into a legion of Alpine vegetation
spmce-fiis, ash, birch, maple, crab-apple, and nut, with
jasmine, ivy, spiraea, wood-sorrel, and here and there, rising
lightly through the shade of the forest, a gigantic white
lily, most exquisitely lovely.
On June 26 we i cached Tangu, at a height of 12,000
feet above the sea, and here in a comfortable wooden rest-
house, in a cool and refreshing climate, we were able to
ibiget all the depressions of the steamy valleys The
spnaja, maple, cheny, and laich, which we had met
lower down, had now disappeaied, and in then- place
were willow, junipei, stunted birch, silver fii, white
lose, beibeny, curiant, and many rhododendrons The
mountain-sides were covered with glass and carpeted with
ilowcis, and especially wiLli many beautiful vaiieties of
pnmuLis, as we]] as with gentians, potentillas, geianmms,
campcinuliis, giound oichids, delphiniums, and many other
plants, while neai by we found a fine dark blue poppy ,
and, most icinarkable plant of all, growing here and
there on the mountain -side m isolated giandeur, a gigantic
iliubarb (Rheum nobik], dcscnbed by Hooker as the hand-
somest herbaceous plant in Sikkim, with great leaves
spread out on the giound at the base, while the mam
plant rose erect to a height of 3 feet in the form of a
pyramid, but with the clusters of flowers protected from
the wind and rain, by reflcxed bracts
Here, at Tangu, only a march below the district
round Giagong, which the Tibetans claimed, the leal
business of the mission commenced. By July 1 the
whole of both the escort and the support the former
200 men and the latter 300 were assembled, under the
command of Colonel Biander. Both the men and the
transport animals had suffered greatly m marching through
the drenching ruin and the steamy, fever-laden lower
valleys , but now, in the cooler air of Tangu, they re-
covered their strength, and all were eager for the advance
into Tibet, 1 was myself equally keen, but as I could
hear no news of either Chinese or Tibetan officials of rank
110 SIMLA TO KHAMBA JONG
01 authority having arrived at Khamba Jong to meet me,
I decided to let Mi White, with Captain O'Connoi rind
the whole escoit, go on in advance to arrange pic-
limmanes
On July 4 they left Tangu, and encamped some nine
miles distant, on the near side of the wall at Giagong,
winch the Tibetans claimed as their boundaiy, and from
which they had been removed by Mr White in the pic-
vious year Before reaching camp that is to say, well
on the Sikkim side of even the wall Mi White was met
by the Jongpen, or Commandant, of Khamba Jong
"Jong" being the Tibetan foi fort. He mfbimed
Mr White that theie were encamped at Giagong, on the
other side of what the Tibetans claimed as then frontier,
two officials a General and a Chief Secietaiy of the
Dalai Lama who had been deputed to discuss Iron tier
matters, and who were anxious to confei with Mr, White
on the following day
Mr White informed the Jongpen that he would be
prepared to gieet the officials on the load, and to icccive
them in a friendly mannei in his camp on the next evening,
but that he was not piepared to halt or hold any discussion
at Giagong.
On the following day Captain O'Connoi rode forward,
and was met by the Jongpen of Khamba Jong at tlie w:ill
at Giagong, which the Tibetans clanned as their frontier,
but which was on a nver flowing into the Teesta Kivor,
and therefore clearly on our side of the frontier laid down
by the Convention of 1890, concluded by the Chinese
Resident, who had with him a Tibetan representative.
The Jongpen importuned Captain O'Connor to dismount
and to persuade Mr. White to do the same. But Captain
O'Connor said that no discussion was possible, and on
Mr. White's arrival with the escort they all passed
through the wall, and just beyond saw the two Lhasa
officers arrayed in yellow silks, and accompanied by u
crowd of unarmed retainers nding towaids them from
their camp Captain O'Connor advanced to meet them,
and they dismounted and spoke to him very civilly. They
asked him to persuade Mr. White to dismount, to proceed
TIBETAN REMONSTRANCES 111
to then tent close by, to paitake of some refreshments,
and to " discuss matters " Captain O'Connoi replied
that Mi White was not piepared to bieak his journey 01
to discuss matteis at Giagong, but would be glad to see
them in his camp that evening, though any discussion
must be defeired until aftei the ai rival of myself and the
Chinese Commissionei at Khamba Jong
They piessed forward on loot, and, catching hold of
Mi White's bridle, impoituned him to dismount and
lepair to then tents At the same time their servants
piessed round the hoises of the Butish officers, and,
seizing then icins, endeavouied to lead them away
Attei speaking veiy civilly to the two Lhasa officials,
Mi White was obliged to call two 01 thiec sepoys to cleai
the way, and the Butish officers then lode on, while the
two LI visa officers mounted and lode back to camp The
Jongpen aitctvvaids followed the Butish officeis, and made
repeated efforts to induce them to halt foi a day al the
next camp in oicloi to confei with the two Lhasa officials.
lie was in <i vciy excited state, and hinted moie than once
at possible hostilities, and said " You may flick a dog
once 01 twice without his biting, but if you tiead on his
tail, even if he has no teeth, he will tuin and try and
bite you "
1 suppose it is always difficult foi one party to see the
other paity's point of view, but, of couise, Ins contention
legarclmg us precisely applied to what we thought of
the Tibetans It was simply because the Tibetans had
encroached on us, and weie even now dddiessmg us inside
the frontier fixed by treaty, that we were at last turning
and insisting on oui treaty lights
That evening Mr. Ho, the Chinese delegate, sent word
that he had arrived at Gin, just on the other side of the
frontier, and asking that Mr White would remain at
Giagong
The next day Mr. White and his escort lode quietly
across the fioritier, without meeting anyone except the
Chinese Commandant of the small post of Gin, who
passed by without speaking Mr White encamped neai
Gin, and received a visit from Mr Ho, who communicated
112 SIMLA TO KHAMBA JONG
to him the contents of the Resident's reply to the Viceroy,
and made a lequebt, which was politely declined, that the
Butish Commissionei should remain at Gm in prefeiencc
to proceeding to Khamba Jong In this despatch the
Chinese Resident informed the Viceroy that he had again
deputed Mr Ho, in conjunction with Captain Parr, the
Customs Commissioner at Yatung, who, he said, weie
truly of equal lank to the Commissioner deputed by the
Viceroy, to discuss all matters in a friendly manner, He
further said that the Dalai Lama had deputed his Chief
Secietary and a Depon (General) of Lhasa to negotiate
in conjunction with the Chinese Commissioners. But the
Resident understood, he said, that Khamba Jong was in
Tibetan temtory, and therefore the meeting could only
be at the boundary neai the grazmg-grounds fixed by the
Convention of 1890 The Resident contended, that is to
say, that though the Tibetans had for thirteen years with
armed men occupied terntory on our side of the frontier
laid down by the Convention, we were not even to meet
temporarily for discussion on the Tibetan side of the same
frontier
On July 7 Mr White, with his escort, marched 1o
Khamba Jong, and encamped on a small stream not far
from the Jong, 01 fort, which was an imposing building
on the summit of a lofty crag some hundreds of feet above
the plain Mr Ho wrote to Mr. White saying that he
had instructed the Khamba Jongpen to provide linn with
supplies, and that he himself, accompanied by the two
Lhasa officials, would arrive theie on the following day
A letter of thanks was sent, and on the strength of
Mr Ho's letter Mr White wrote to the Tibetan Jongpen
asking him to supply some grass , but the letter was
icturned unopened, with a somewhat unceremonious
verbal message
Major Bretherton, the energetic supply and transport
officer, who had come up from Sikkim to arrange supply
matters, on the following day found a rich and fertile
valley some three or four miles fiom Khamba Jong, where
grazing was abundant, and where barley crops were raised
and sheep and cattle reared
THE LHASA DELEGATES 113
In the evening the Khamba Jongpen, with two
jumoi officei s bearing presents from the Lhasa delegates,
arnved in camp JMi White leccived them, and sent
polite messages in letuin, and Captain O'Connoi after-
wards IT itei viewed the messenger m his own tent, and
conversed very amicably for some tune, the messenger
being evidently veiy pleased with his reception, and alto-
gether u j f using to accept money, which was all Mr White
had at the moment, in return ioi their presents The
Jongpon also behaved with gieat civility, and repeatedly
apologized in icgard to Ins refusal to accept the lettei,
and piomised to supply grass on the following day.
The two Lhasa officials, who were those refened to in
the Chinese Resident's lettei to the Viceioy, visited Mr.
White on July 1 1 They were well-mannei cd, but made
piotcsts icgaidmg what they called our transgiession of
the frontier After the interview with Mr. White they
visited the Sikkun hcir-appai ent, who had arrived in
Mi. White's camp on the previous day , and here
Captain O'Connoi , in a less formal way, had a long con-
versation with them, endeavouring to find out under what
amount of authority they had come. But they evaded
all queues, and meiely reiterated that if they had not had
proper orders they would not, of course, be there. On
the same day Mr. White visited Mr* Ho.
Captain O'Connor had a two-hours conversation with
the Lhasa delegates on the 12th. He elicited that the
Chief Secretary had been to 1'eking arid back by Calcutta
and Shanghai The position they took up was that the
place appointed by their Government for the discussion of
affairs was the Gwgong frontiei, and on arrival there they
would produce their credentials As regaids official coire-
spondcncc, they stud that by the terms of some treaty
between the Chinese and the Tibetans all official corre-
spondence between the Tibetans and foreigners had to be
conducted through the Ainbons, and, under these circum-
stances, they could neither receive nor reply to our letters.
But they affirmed, nevertheless, that they were fully
empowered to treat with our Commissioners at the proper
plttoe- the Giagong frontier.
114 SIMLA TO KHAMBA JONG
Their dislike of the Chinese they plainly expiesscd
They said the Chinese despised the Tibetans, and weie
often instrumental in letting foieigners into the countiy
the poor Chinese who are accused hy us of keeping
foieigneis out f The iclations of Tibetans and Chinese-
were indeed extiaordmanly anomalous Whilst I lie
Tibetans deferred to Mr Ho in almost every mattei,
going so far as to foiward to him official letteis lecenut
from our camp for fear that they might get into trouble it'
they retained them, Mr Ho himself admitted that in
many matters he was poweiless The Tibetan officials
appeared to be childishly impotent and terrified of their
own Government, whilst at the same time they were
dehbeiately obstructive m eveiy matter, great or .small, in
which the Bntish were concerned, and were quite ready
to use the Chinese as a very convenient scapegoat when-
ever it suited them
Mi White made a foimal visit to them on July Itf,
and at the close of the interview gave them presents,
including two packets of tea each They tried U> raise
some objections to receiving the tea, but no attention
was paid, and the piesents weie accepted.
While all these proceedings were taking place 1 , I
confess that I at Tangu was in some anxiety To
march across the frontier in face of all protest* as
Mr. White did, appears, when set down like this, us
a very high-handed action But it was also very risky,
I had purposely, though not very wisely, but at any
rate to avoid a duect collision at the very start, decided
not to attack, and remove the Tibetans from Giugong,
as they had been removed on the previous year. Mr.
White was simply to march through to the place appointed
by om Government in communication with the Chinese
Government for the place of negotiation. But in so doing
we left Tibetan troops in a good position on our Jmu of
communications, and as the Tibetans were evidently in an
irritable state, this was no mean risk to take, and Colonel
Biander and I at Tangu used to look out with con-
siderable anxiety for the arrival of the daily dak from
Mr White. y
FUTILITY OF NEGOTIATIONS 115
On the face of it there seems some force in the
Tibetan argument that discussion should take place at
Giagong , and when officials from Lhasa had at last arrived,
and with a Chinese deputy as well, and even provided with
ciedentials, and were leady to negotiate, it would seem moie
icasonable on our pait to have met there and negotiated
But such negotiations would not in fact have led to
anyiesult The poweis they had would simply have been
not to let us mside the wall They would have had none
to negotiate in the real sense of the word, and they would
have been afraid to make any kind of concession for fear
their property or even their lives would be forfeited Even
when we arrived close to Lhasa, and men of much higher
lank came to meet us, they had absolutely no power.
Even the Regent had none, nor the whole Council. The
Tibetans had no machinery for the conduct of foreign
relations They were under some arrangement to let the
Chinese conduct their foreign relations, and yet, as we
had experienced, they refused to abide by what the
Chinese did for them.
CHAPTER X
KHAMBA JONG
Now that Chinese and Tibetan representatives of sonic
kind had appeared, even though they were not of much
rank or accredited with much power, I thought it well to
proceed to Khamba Jong to get into touch with them,
and form my own impression of how matters stood 1
therefore rode straight through from Tangii to Khnmki
Jong on the 18th, accompanied by Mr Dover, the
Sikkim engineer, who had made such excellent rough
roads and bridges, and escoited by a few mounted men
After Tangu the mountain-sides became more ami
more barren , trees were replaced by low shrubs awl
dwarf rhododendrons, and highei up they, too, disappeared,
till, when we crossed the Kangra-la (pass), there was
nothing but lough coarse scrub The pass itscli' was easy
enough, though it was just over 17,000 feet in height*
As we descended from it we were at length really in
Tibet, and the change was most marked. In place of
narrow valleys were great wide plains, intersected indeed
by distant ranges of mountains, and absolutely devoid of
trees, but open and traversable in every diiection. The
sky, too, was clear The great monsoon clouds were led
behind, and the sun shone with a power which brought
the temperature up to 82 m the shade, and made ll
quite uncomfortably hot at midday, though at night there-
were 4 of frost ft
As we rode on into Tibet and got out into the open,
and well away from the Himalayan range, we obtained
a glonous view of that stupendous range from Chumal-
han, 24,000 feet, on the extreme east, to Kiuclniyuugn,
OBJECTIONS TO KHAMBA JONG 117
28,275 feet, in the centre, and Everest itself, 29,002 feet,
and ninety miles distant in the far west.
On July 20 I made a formal call upon Mr Ho and
the Tibetan delegates Mr Ho was not a very polished
official, and did not favourably impress me. The Tibetan
Chief Secretary, however, did, and I reported at the time
that he had an " exceedingly genial, land, accomplished
style of face " But appeal ance belied him, and right up
to the conclusion of the tieaty, nearly fourteen months
later, he was the most inimical to us of all the Tibetans
As this was a first interview, I did not proceed with
any business discussion, but I told the delegates that,
though I must await the orders of the Viceroy on the
leLtci which the Resident had addiessed him, and could not,
therefoie, yet commence foimal negotiations, yet I would
at our next meeting state plainly in detail the view which
Lhc Viceroy took of the situation, so that they might
know oui views, and be ready when the formal negotiations
commenced to make proposals for their settlement
Two days later they all came to return my visit, and
after the usual polite conversation I said I would now
ledeem my promise, and 1 told the mteipreter to com-
mence reading a speech which I had prepared beforehand,
and which Captain O'Connor had carefully translated into
Tibetan But befoie he could commence the Tibetans
raised objections to holding negotiations at Khamba
Jong at all. The pioper place, they said, was Giagong
1 told them that the place of meeting wab a matter
to be decided upon, not by the negotiators, but by
the Viceroy and Amban The Viceroy had selected
Khamba Jong because of its proximity to the portion of
frontier in dispute, and he had chosen a place on the
Tibetan lather than the Indian side of the frontier because
the last negotiations were conducted in India ; and when,
after much trouble a treaty had been concluded between
the Chinese and British Governments, the Tibetans had
repudiated it, saying they knew nothing about it. On the
present occasion, therefore, the Viceroy decided that
negotiations should take place in Tibet, and had asked
that a Tibetan official of the highest rank should take
118 KHAMBA JONG
part in them, in order that, when the new settlement was
completed, the Tibetans should not be able to say they
knew nothing of it.
The Tibetans then raised objections to the size of my
escort. I explained that it was merely the escort which
was becoming to my rank, and was even smaller than the
escort which the Chinese Resident took to Darjiling and
Calcutta at the former negotiations. They said they had
understood that the negotiations were to be friendly, and so
they themselves had brought no armed escort. I replied
that the negotiations certainly were to be friendly, ami
that if I had had any hostile intentions I shoxild have
brought many more than 200 men, a number which was
only just sufficient to guard me against such attacks of
bad characters as had very recently been made upon the
British Ambassador at the capital of the Chinese Empire.
My speech was then read by the interpreter. It
recounted how, seventeen years before, the Viceroy
proposed a peaceful mission to Lhasa to arrange the
conditions of trade with Tibet. British subjects luid UK-
right to trade in other parts and provinces of the Chinese
J^mpire, just as all subjects of the Chinese Emperor were
allowed to trade in every part of the British Empire. Hut
m this one single dependency of the Chinese Empire, in
libet, obstacles were always raised in the way of trade.
It was to discuss this matter with the Tibetan authorities
at Lhasa and to see if these obstacles could not be removed,
that the then Viceroy of India proposed, with the consent
?n ! sL ST G , oven ? mer *' io send a mission to Lhasa
rJ ^ But when the mi ssion was about to start, the
vSf 6 t ?7!f nm p e ? at the kst moment informed the
^ iceroy that the Tibetans were so opposed to the idea of
admitting a British mission to their country that they (the
Chinese Government) begged that the mission rnigh e
postponed; and out of good feeling to the cl nee
Government and on the distinct understanding thut the
SSfS W v rt the Tibetans to P romote "Sd dcveC
trade, the Viceroy counterordered the mission. '
Seventeen years had now passed away since the
Chinese made the promise, and the British GovenLent
SPEECH TO LHASA DELEGATES 119
had just cause to complain that in all these years, owing
to the persistent obstruction of the Tibetans, the Chinese
had been unable to perform their pledge.
And the forbearance which the Viceroy had shown in
countermanding the mission had met with a bad return on
the part of the Tibetans, for they had proceeded, without
any cause or justification, to invade a State under British
protection. Even this the Viceroy bore with patience for
nearly two years, trusting they would be obedient to the
authority of the Chinese Government and withdraw. But
when they still remained in Sikkim, and even attacked
the British troops there, he was compelled to punish them
and drive them back from Sikkim and pursue them into
Chumbi. And in Chumbi the British troops would have
remained as a punishment for the unprovoked attack
upon them if it had not been for the friendship which
existed between the Emperor of China and the Queen of
England.
Out of regard, however, for that friendship, the Viceroy
agreed to enter into negotiation with the Chinese Resident
acting, on behalf of the Tibetans, and after some years an
agreement was made, by which the boundary between
Tibet and Sikkim was laid down, and arrangements were
made for traders to come to Yatung to sell the goods to
whomsoever they pleased, to purchase native commodities,
to hire transport, and to conduct their business without
any vexatious restrictions. It was also agreed that if,
after five years, either side should wish to make any
alterations, both parties should meet again and make a
new agreement.
At the end of five years the Queen's Secretary of State
wrote to the Viceroy and inquired how the treaty was
being observed, and the reply went back that the Tibetans
had destroyed the boundary pillars which British and
Chinese officials had erected on the frontier laid down by
the treaty ; that they had occupied land at Giagong inside
that boundary ; that they had built a wall on the other
side of Yatung, and allowed no one to pass through to
trade with the traders who came there from India ; and,
lastly, that they had repudiated the treaty which had been
120 KHAMBA JONG
signed by the Resident and the Viceroy on the ground
that it had not been signed by one of themselves.
When the Queen's Great Secretary heard of the way
they had set at naught the treaty which the Amban and
the Viceroy had signed, he was exceedingly angry, and
ordered Mr. White to go to Giagong to remove the
Tibetans who had presumed to cross the frontier which
the Amban and Viceroy had fixed. Mr. White had gone
there and removed the Tibetans, and thrown down their
guard-house, and reported to the Viceroy what he had
done.
Now the Amban, when he heard what Mr. White had
done, wrote to the Viceroy that, if there was any matter
which needed discussion, he would send a Chinese officer
and a representative of the Dalai Lama to settle it with a
British officer. And the Viceroy had written in reply
that he had sent a high officer with Mr. White to
Khamba Jong to settle everything about the frontier and
about trade ; but as the Tibetans had broken the old treaty
because they said they had known nothing about it, His
Excellency had written to the Amban that there must be
at the negotiations a Tibetan official of the highest rank,
whose authority to bind his Government must be un-
questioned. Mr. White and I had accordingly come, and
as soon as I heard from the Viceroy that he was satisfied
on this last point I was ready to commence negotiations.
The Viceroy, I could assure them, had no intention
whatever of annexing their country, and it was possible,
indeed, that he might make concessions in regard to the
lands near Giagong, if in the coming negotiations they
showed themselves reasonable in regard to trade. But I
warned them that, after the way in which they had broken
and repudiated the old treaty, concluded in their interests
by the Amban at the close of a war in which they were
defeated, they must expect that he would demand from
them some assurance that they would faithfully observe
any new settlement which might be made.
" You come and travel and trade in India just as you
please," I said. " You go where you like, and stay there
as long as you like. But if any one from India wishes to
TIBETANS REFUSE TO REPORT SPEECH 121
trade in Tibet he is stopped on the frontier, and no one is
allowed to go near him. He can trade in Russia, in
Germany, in France, and in all other great countries, and
in all other dependencies of the Chinese Empire, in
Manchuria, in Mongolia, and in Turkestan ; but in Tibet
alone of all countries he cannot trade. This is a one-sided
arrangement, unworthy of so fair-minded and cultured a
people as you are ; and though His Excellency has no
intention of annexing your country, and may, indeed, if
you prove reasonable in regard to the admission of trade,
make concessions to you in respect to the frontier lands
near Giagong, yet lie will insist that the obstacles which
you have lor so many years put in the way of trade
between India and Tibet shall be once and for ever
removed/ 5
This speech was, of course, made for the benefit of the
Lhasa Government. The Tibetan officials would receive
no written communications, but 1 thought it barely
possible that they might pass on a verbal communication,
especially when it was made before a responsible Chinese
official, and after I had given due notice of my intention.
The Tibetan delegates listened attentively while it was
being delivered, but at its conclusion said that they could
not enter into any discussion upon it. I replied that
neither could I discuss it with them, for I had not yet
heard from the Viceroy that he was satisfied that they
were of sufficiently high rank to carry on negotiations, I
had, however, as a matter of courtesy, taken the trouble
to acquaint them informally with the Viceroy's views,
which I trusted they would report to their Government.
They replied that they could not even do that much, that
they could make no report at all unless we went back to
Giagong,
Mr. Ilo here interposed, and said that the Tibetans
were very ignorant and difficult to deal with, and he asked
me if I could not meet them by agreeing to go to the
frontier* I said I would with pleasure, and when repre-
sentatives whom the Viceroy would permit me to
negotiate with were present I would gladly ride with them
to the frontier and discuss the question on the spot; but
122 KHAMBA JONG
the frontier was not at Giagong, as the Tibetans supposed,
but at the Kangra-la (pass), only ten miles from where
we where. Mr. Ho said the actual position of the frontier
was not known yet, but that it was where the waters
flowed down to India. I said five minutes' investigation
would make clear where that was, and Mr. Ho said that
then the matter could be very easily settled.
Mr. Ho's Chinese secretary then suggested that I
should give the Tibetans the copy of my speech which the
interpreter had read from. I assented with readiness, and,
with Mr. Ho's approval, presented it to them. But they
could not have got rid of a viper with greater haste thaii
they got rid of that paper. They said that they could on
no account receive it, and handed it on to Mr. Ho's secre-
tary, to whom, as he spoke English, I had also given an
English version.
These so-called delegates never came near us again at
Khamba Jong, but shut themselves up in the fort and
sulked. And in reporting the result of this interview to
Government, I said that both Mr. White and I were of
opinion that Government must be prepared for very pro-
tracted negotiations, and also for the possibility of coercion.
The attitude of the Tibetans was fully as obstructive, I
said, as Mr. White and every other person acquainted
with them had predicted it would be, and I saw at present
little prospect of coming to a settlement without coercion,
though I would use every possible means of argument and
persuasion.
And if the delegates did not choose to give me any
work, I was quite content to do none, for I was thoroughly
happy camp there at Khamba Jong. All my staff were
deligttfiil companions, and we were very happy together.
Mr. White was the best possible hand at making a camp
comfortable and feeding arrangements good; and we
had neither the stifling heat of the Indian plains nor the
discomforts of the rainy season in the hifis. We were
beyond the reach of the monsoon. We had occasional
refreshing showers but for July, August, and September,
the rainfall was only 4-9 inches, and, for the most part,
the weather was bright and fine and clear. We could see
DEPUTATION FROM TASHI LAMA 123
immense distances over the rolling plains. We would watch
the mighty monsoon clouds sweeping along the Himalayas ;
we would catch glimpses of some noble peak rising superbly
above them, and Kinchin) unga close by and Everest in
the farthest distance were a perpetual joy.
Some of us went out shooting antelopes and Ovis
cunmon; while others went botanizing or geologizing; and
when, later on, our scientific staff was complete, I could
accompany Mr. Hayden to hunt for fossils, Captain
Walton to collect birds, and Colonel Prain, now Director
of the Botanical Gardens at Kew, to collect plants, and
thus hear from each of these specialists in turn all the
interests of their sciences, so I did not care a pin how
long these obstinate Tibetans kept us up there.
But while the Lhasa delegates would have no more to
say to us, a deputation came to see me on behalf of the
Tashi Lama, who is of equal spiritual importance with the
Dalai Lama, though of less political authority. They
said that they had been sent to represent to us that the
Tashi Lama was put to great trouble with the Lhasa
authorities by our presence at Khamba Jong ; that the
Lhasa authorities held him responsible for permitting us
to cross the frontier, and he begged me to be so kind as
to save him from the trouble by withdrawing across the
frontier or to Yatmig, which was the place fixed for meet-
ings of this kiwi 1 repeated to them all the arguments I
hud used with the Lhasa delegates. They were much
more courteous, and talked over the matter in a perfectly
friendly, and even cheery, way. They said, though, that
they knew nothing about the treaty, as it was concluded
by the Amban, and not by themselves, and they could not
be responsible for observing it. 1 said that that was pre-
cisely the reason why we had now come to Tibet We
wished now to make a new treaty there, where Tibetans
could take part in the negotiations, so that they would
not in future be able to say they knew nothing about it.
They laughed, and said this was a very reasonable argu-
ment, but that it was the Lhasa people, and not them-
selves, who had broken the treaty, and we ought to go to
Yatung and make the new treaty there.
124 KHAMBA JONG
I told them that, in the first place, they also had
broken the treaty by crossing the boundary fixed in it and
occupying Giagong ; and, in the second place, we must
regard Tibetans as all one people, and hold all responsible
for the actions of each.
The impression left upon me by this interview, 1
reported at the time, was that the Tibetans, though exces-
sively childish, were very pleasant, cheery people, and,
individually, probably quite well disposed towards us,
Mr. Wilton, of the China Consular Service, joined us
on August 7. He had been acting as Consul at Chcngtu,
in Szechuan, and I had not spoken to him for more than
five minutes before I realized what a help he would be to
us. He at once said that neither the Chinese nor the
Tibetan delegates were of at all sufficient rank or authority
to conduct negotiations with us, and no one else than one
of the Ambans and one of the Tibetan Councillors would
be of any use. The new Chinese Resident, who had been
deputed in the previous December specially for the pur-
pose of conducting these negotiations lie had himself seen
at Chengtu, and it is significant of the dilatoriness of the
Chinese that, while Mr. Wilton reached me early in
August, the Resident did not reach Lhasa till the next
February, thirteen months after he had set out from
Peking.
Having received Mr. Wilton's advice regarding the
status of the delegates, the Viceroy, on August 25, wrote
to the Chinese Resident, suggesting that either he himself
or his Associate Resident should meet me, and that, as the
present Tibetan delegates had shown themselves entirely
unsuited for diplomatic intercourse, and would not even
accept the copy of the speech explanatory of the relations
between India and Tibet which I had made, he proposed
that the Tibetan Government should be invited to depute
a Councillor of the Dalai Lama, accompanied by a high
member of the National Assembly.
As regards the objection which the Resident had made
to the selection of Khamba Jong as the meeting-place,
Lord Curzon said that it was the nearest point in Tibet
to the disputed boundary ; and it was necessary that the
FEAR OF TIBETAN ATTACK 125
present negotiations should be conducted in Tibet, as the
former Convention which the Tibetans had repudiated was
concluded in India, and His Majesty's Government were
not prepared to allow a similar repudiation of any new
agreement. But, as winter was approaching, if the
negotiations were not completed, I might have to select
some other place in Tibet for passing the winter. In con-
clusion, the Viceroy emphasized the importance of my
position and duties, and stated that I was entitled to
expect that he should reply to my communications, and
look to him for co-operation.
At Khamba Jong itself no progress was being made.
There was, indeed, fear at one time that we should be
attacked, and I have not much doubt that we should have
been if we had shown any slackness or unguardedness.
But Captain Betlmne was an officer of much experience,
and his men were all accustomed to frontier warfare, and
every precaution was taken. Our camp was well fortified
and the country round regularly patrolled.
Two Sikkim men who had gone to Shigatse, as was
customary, were seized, however, and, we heard, had either
been tortured or killed. In spite of our representations,
the Tibetans refused to give them up, and, in retaliation,
we had to seisse Tibetan herds and to remove all the
Tibetans I had so far, though at considerable risk, allowed
to remain at Uiagong.
Some slight chance of a settlement appeared when, on
August 21, the head Abbot of the Tashi Lumpo monas-
tery, near Shigutse, came to make another representation
on behalf of the Tashi Lama, tie was a courteous, kindly
man, and wits accompanied by two monks and a lay
representative, besides the former deputy from the Tashi
Lama* The Abbot said that a Council had been held by
the Tashi Lama, and it had been decided to make another
representation to me. This representation did not, how-
ever, differ from the first, and I repeated the same argu-
ments in reply. He was especially insistent about
Giagong, and I asked him when one man had a certain
thing which another man wished to get from him, which
was the wiser course to pursue to make friends with him.
126 KHAMBA JONG
or to do everything to make him annoyed. The Tibetans
all burst out laughing at this argument, and I then went
on to say that the Lhasa authorities, instead of doing
everything they could to dispose us favourably towards
them, and incline us to make concessions in regard to
Giagong, had adopted a steadily unfriendly attitude; they
had sent only small officials to meet Mr. White and
myself, and these small officials did nothing but say tlii'y
would negotiate nowhere else but at Giagong, This was
not the way to predispose us in their favour.
The Abbot said the delegates were not small officials,
but were next in rank to the Councillors, I said I had
concluded they were men of little power, because when I
had made a speech to them on my first arrival, and had
asked them to report the substance of it to the Lhasa
Government, they had refused. If they could not even
report a speech, I supposed they would not be fit to
negotiate an important treaty.
I asked the Abbot to give this advice to His Holiness
that if he wished us to withdraw from Khamba Jong, he
should use his influence with the Lhasa authorities to
induce them to send proper delegates, and instruct such
delegates to discuss matters with us in a reasonable arid
friendly spirit. Then matters would be very soon settled,
and we would return to India.
I then made some personal observations to the Abbot,
and he told me that from a boy he had been brought up
in a monastery in a religious way, and was not accus-
tomed to deal with political matters, I told him I envied
him his life of devotion. It was my business to wrangle
about these small political matters, but I always admired
those who spent their lives in the worship of God. He
asked me if he might come and see me again, and I said
he might come and see me every day and all day long ;
and Captain O'Connor, who could speak Tibetan, would
9 often pay him visits.
On August 24 the Abbot again came to see me* and
said that after his previous visit he had gone to the Lhasa
delegates and urged them to negotiate at Khamba Jong,
instead of at Giagong. But they had replied that* just &&
INTERVIEW WITH SHIGATSE ABBOT 127
my orders were to negotiate at the former place, so their
orders were to negotiate at the latter, and they could not
agree to anything different. The Abbot, therefore, now
came to say that there were several hundred Tibetan
troops near by, but he would get those withdrawn if I
would send away my escort. He thought that then the
Lhasa Government would probably consent to negotiations
at Khamba Jong. I told him that I had not the slightest
objection to the presence of the Tibetan troops, but it
surprised me that, when they had so many hundreds near,
they should have any objection to the small number
which I myself had.
The innocent-minded Abbot then asked if I would send
away half, and he woyj^l himself remain with us as a
hostage. He explained that the Tibetans thought we had
come with no friendly intent, as we had forced our way
into the country, and a reduction of our escort would
appease them- I told the Abbot I could not acknowledge
that we had forced our way into Tibet, as I had up to
now ignored the presence of Tibetan soldiers inside the
treaty frontier, who had no business to be where they
were ; and I repeated my old arguments in regard to the
strength of my escort.
The Abbot very politely apologized for all the trouble
he was giving me by making so many requests. I told
him he might make requests to me all day long, and he
would always find me ready to listen to him^and give him
what I, at any rate, considered reasonable answers. I
much regretted the inconvenience which was being caused
to the Tashi Lama, and I felt sure that if the conduct of
these negotiations rested with His Holiness and the
polite and reasonable advisers of his whom he had sent to
me, we should very soon come to a settlement.
I advised the Abbot to get the Tashi Lama to repre-
sent matters directly to Lhasa. He replied they were not
allowed to make representations against the orders of the
Lhasa Government Nevertheless, he would again, that
very day, go to the Lhasa delegates, tell them how he had
once more tried to induce me to go back to Giagong, and
would ask them to make a request to Lhasa to open
128 KHAMBA JONG
negotiations at Khamba Jong, and he said he would even
go so far as to undertake to receive in their stead any
punishment which the Lhasa Government might order
upon the delegates for daring to make this request.
He then asked me what we wanted in the coming
negotiations. I told him that I had set our requirements
forth fully in a speech I had made on my first arrival, a copy
of which I would very gladly give him. But he was well
acquainted with it, and asked me what was meant exactly
by opening a trade-mart. I explained that we wanted a
proper trade-mart, which would not be closed with a wall
behind it, as Yatung had been a mart where Indian
traders could come and meet Tibetan traders ; a mart such
as we had hi other parts of the Chinese Empire, and had
formerly had in Shigatse itself.
The Abbot himself was a charming old gentleman.
Whatever intellectual capacity he may have had was not
very apparent to the casual observer, and he corrected me
when I inadvertently let slip some observation implying
that the earth was round, and assured me that when I had
lived longer in Tibet, and had time to study, I should find
that it was not round, but flat, and not circular, but
triangular, like the bone of a shoulder of mutton. On
the other hand, he was very sociable and genial He
would come and have lunch and tea with us, and would
spend hours with Captain O'Connor and Mr. Bailey,
playing with gramophones, typewriters, pictures, photo-
graphs, and all the various novelties of our camp.
But the situation now began to grow worse. On
August 31 I was informed by a trustworthy person, who
had exceptional sources of information, that he was
convinced that the Tibetans would do nothing till they
were made to and a situation had arisen. They were
said' to be quite sure in their own minds that they were
fully equal to us, and, far from our getting anything out
of them, they thought they would be able to force some-
thing out of us. Some 2,600 Tibetan soldiers were occu-
pying the heights and passes on a line between Phari and
Shigatse. My informant did not think, however, that they
would attack us for the present, though they might in the
I
SL
TIBETANS ASSEMBLE TROOPS 129
winter, when our communications would be cut off. Their
immediate policy was one of passive obstruction. They*
had made up their minds to have no negotiations with us'
inside Tibet, and they would simply leave us at Khambu .
Jong, while if we tried to advance farther, they* woulft
oppose us by force. They were afraid that if they gave
us an inch we would take an elf, and if they allowed lis at
Khamba" Jong one year we should go to Shigatse the next,
and Lhasa the year after- So they were determined to
stop us at the start.
The Shigatse Abbot had, I beard, done his best to
make the Lhasa officials take a more reasonable view, but
without success* The Lhasa officiate were entirely ruled
by the National Assembly at Lhasa* and this Assembly
was composed chiefly of Lhasa monks.
It was difficult to understand why there was all this
trouble about negotiating at Khamba Jong, for the
Chinese Government had informed our Minister at
Peking on July 19 that "the Imperial Resident had
now arranged with the Dalai Lama to appoint two
Tibetan officials of fairly high standing to proceed with
the Prefect Ho to Khamba to meet Major Younghusband
and Mr. White, and discuss with them what steps are to
be taken/* The Chinese Government added that they
trusted it would be possible to effect a speedy and
friendly settlement of this long-starring dispute, and
requested Mr. Townley to acquaint his Government by
telegraph with the contents of this communication, so
that Major Yourighusband and Br, White might be
instructed to open negotiations in a friendly spirit with
the Tibetan and other delegates appointed, and it was
hoped that the pending questions would* then be speedily
and finally settled.
The Chinese Government did, indeed, ask the British
Government to withdraw the troops we had with us at
Khamba Jongf, but this was on the strength of fc report
they had received that when I was to follow Mr- White
to Khamba Jong, I was to bring with me the 80(* men who
formed the support left at Tangu. ^
That the Dalai Lama himself had agreed to SJhamba
r *
130 KHAMBA JONG
Jong being the meeting-place seems evident from the
copy of the telegram from the Chinese Resident at
Lhasa, which the Chinese Government forwarded to
Mr. Townley with the above-mentioned communication.
The Resident's words were : " The Dalai Lama's answer
is to the effect that, since the British Government has
appointed Major Younghusband as Boundary Commis-
sioner and Mr. White as his fellow-Commissioner, and
fixed the 7th instant for the meeting of the delegates at
the frontier station of Khamba, and as the Prefect Ho
Kuang Hsieh is to proceed there in a few days from
Chingshi, it is his duty, the matter being a very important
one, also to appoint interpreter officials above the usual
rank to proceed to Kliamba, and, in company with the
Prefect Shou [? Ho], to meet the British delegates and
discuss the frontier question with them."
Nothing would seem clearer than this. Both the
Chinese Government and the Dalai Lama accepted
Khamba that is, Khamba Jong as the place of meeting,
and directed their delegates to proceed to meet Mr, White
and myself there. Yet, when we met at the appointed
place, they refused to have anything to do with us !
I think a solution of this extraordinary proceeding
may be found in the last paragraph of the telegram of the
Resident to his Government. In this very same telegram
in which he announces that the Dalai Lama is sending
delegates with Mr. Ho to meet me at Khamba Jong,
the Resident asks that we should " be careful not to cross
the frontier, and thus again excite the suspicion and alarm
of the Tibetans."
My impression is that neither the Chinese Govern*
ment, the Resident, nor the Dalai Lama knew that
Khamba Jong was on the Tibetan side of the frontier.
And this appalling ignorance of the frontier by men who,
nevertheless, kept the control of frontier affairs absolutely
in their hands was one of the main difficulties with which
we had to deal, and was what made it an absolute
necessity to negotiate with them face to face at Lhaa
itself.
In any case, whether they really were ignorant or not
REPRESENTATION TO CHINESE 131
of the position of Khamba Jong, they had all formally
agreed to send delegates to meet Mr. White and myself
there, and the continued refusal of these delegates even to
receive communications was utterly indefensible.
On September 1 Mr. Ho came to me to say he had
been recalled to Lhasa owing to ill-health. I took the
opportunity to recount the difficulties the Chinese Govern-
ment had placed us in by undertaking responsibilities in
regard to the Tibetans, and then not being able to fulfil
them. The British Government had time after time
shown consideration to the Chinese Government, but the
net result was that the Tibetans had broken the old
treaty, and now placed every obstacle in the way of
negotiating a new one. I trusted he would represent to
the Resident the seriousness of the position, and impress
upon him the importance of using his influence with the
Tibetan Government to induce them to change their
present intolerable attitude. The Tibetans did not seem
to understand that for years they had been offending the
British Government, and that it ill became them, therefore,
to object to the mere place where negotiations were to be
held. We had given them the opportunity for negotiat-
ing, and if the Lhasa Government still persisted in
refusing to hold negotiations at Khamba Jong, and the
Chinese still showed their incapacity to make them
negotiate there, then the Resident must understand that
the position would become very grave indeed, and the
Chinese and Tibetans would only have themselves to
thank if, under these circumstances, the British Govern-
ment took matters into their own hands and adopted their
own measures for effecting a settlement
Mr. Ho said he would explain all this to the Amban,
and he also then and there explained it to the Tibetans
4$te Shigatse Abbot and others, though not including the
tehasa delegates who were present, and these seemed
impressed, though they said we were acting in a very
0|>pe$$ive manner.
t>n September 2 the Government of India asked me to
submit proposals for dealing with the situation if the
Tibetans continued to be so impracticable. I replied on
132 KHAMBA JONG
the 9th, that I thought that the Viceroy's reply to the
Resident might have some effect upon the Chinese at least
Both Chinese and Tibetans had so far been under the
impression that the present mission was only one more of
the futile little missions which had come and gone on the
Sikkim frontier for years past. They thought that if they
could be obstructive enough during the summer ami
autumn, we should no doubt return before the winter. On
this point the Viceroy's letter would leave them in no
doubt. It was clear from that that we intended to stay
for the winter. Besides this I had, I said, in conversation
with Mr. Ho and the Shigatse people, tried to bring both
the Chinese and the Tashi Lama round to putting
pressure on the obstinate Lhasa monks. But there was
little hope, I thought, that mere verbal persuasion would
be sufficient. Direct action would be required. The
despatch of a second Pioneer regiment to put the road
to the Jelap-la (pass) in order, had, I understood, been
ordered. I recommended, therefore, that about the same*
time my escort should be strengthened by 100 men from
the support.
What I thought, however, would have a greater effect
than anything else upon the Tibetans would be the
demonstrating to them that the Nepalese were on our
side, and not theirs. The Nepalese Minister had offered
8,000 yaks. I would have 500 of these march across to us
by the Tinki Jong route, and would recommend that
a suitable representative of the Nepalese Durbar should
accompany them for the purpose of formally handing
them over to us. This would be a sign which the Tibetans
could not mistake that the Nepalese were on our side.
The strengthening of my escort and the appearance of
the Nepalese yaks might be made to coincide with the
concentration of the 23rd Pioneers in the neighbourhood
of the Jelap-la (pass) in about a month's time* Tins I
thought was all that dould be done to bring the Tibetans
to a more suitable frame of mind. If these measures
failed, an advance into the Chumbi Valley was the most
obvious course to take, for the Jelap-la could be crossed at
any time during the winter, and along the Chumbi Valley
PLANS FOR COERCION 133
lay the best trade-route and military road to Lhasa.
When the Chumbi Valley had been occupied, the mission
might, transported by Nepalese yaks, march across to
Gyantse. The 32nd Pioneers and all transport would
then be transferred to the Chumbi Valley line, and that
line be made our chief line of communication.
These were my recommendations to Government
when two months' experience had shown me the difficulty
of even entering into communication with the Tibetans.
Neither Mr. White nor I, nor any of us, had any real hope
of effecting a final settlement anywhere short of Lhasa
itself; for it was quite evident to us on the spot that
to carry the negotiations through we should have to come
to close grips with the priestly autocrats who kept all
power in their own hands, and to whom the officials
on the frontier were frightened to represent the real
state of affairs. But at that time it was high treason
for me to whisper the word Lhasa to my nearest friend,
such agitation did the sound of it cause in England. So I
racked my brains and everyone else's brains to think of
alternative measures to an advance to Lhasa, which might
be exhausted before this alarming proposal could be made.
And I subsequently strove honestly to get the utmost out
of each of those measures before I suggested the next, for
I quite realized the difficulty which any Government at
home has in securing support from the House of Commons
in a matter of this kind. Such methods are very costty ,
very risky, and very ineffective ; but as long as what an
officer in the heart of Asia may do is contingent on the
" will " of " men in the street " of grimy manufacturing
towns in the heart of England, so long must our action be
$low, clumsy, and hesitating, when it ought to be sharp
a&d decisive.
1 have referred to the offer of the Nepalese Govern-
ment to help us with yaks, a species of buffalo peculiar to
Tibet, which are of value as transport animals at high
altitudes. This offer was not only of great practical use,
but of still greater political significance. And it is time
134 KHAMBA JONG
now to consider this yet other important factor in the
situation the attitude of the Nepalese Government ; for
Nepal was in rather a peculiar position in this matter.
On the one hand, it sends a mission to Peking every three
years, and also has a treaty with the Tibetans, under
which it is bound to come to their assistance if they are
attacked; on the other hand, it has political relations
with ourselves. The attitude which the Nepalese Govern-
ment would take under the circumstances was a matter of
considerable importance to us, and no doubt of much
questioning among themselves.
Recognizing this, the Government of India at the
start laid down in their despatch to the Secretary of State
of January 8, 1903, that they contemplated acting in com-
plete unison witk the Nepalese Durbar throughout their
proceedings, and?would invite them, if thought advisable,
to take part in our mission. The Indian Government
believed that the policy of frank discussion and co-
operation with the Nepalese Durbar would find the latter
prepared most cordially to assist our plans. An interview
at Delhi at the time of the Durbar between Lord Curzon
and the Prime Minister of Nepal, Maharaja Chandra
Shamsher Jang the same who came to England in 1908
confirmed the impression. The Nepalese Government
regarded this rumour of intrigue in Tibet with the most
lively apprehension, and considered the future of the
Nepalese State to be directly involved. Further, the
Maharaja (the Prime Minister) was prepared to eo-
ogerate with the Government of India in whatever way
might be thought most desirable, either within or beyond
the frontier, for the frustration of designs which he
deemed to be utterly inconsistent with the interests of his
own country.
This intention the Maharaja afterwards most ann>ly
fulfilled right up to the close of the mission. The
welcome offer of 500 yaks, now accompanied as it was by
a further offer of 8,000 yaks within a month, was the first
practical sign of the intention. A second was to follow.
And early in September I received from Colonel Raven-
shaw, our Resident in Nepal, who had so much con-
THE PH1MB MINISTER OF NEPAL.
AID FROM NEPAL 135
tributed to this good understanding between us and the
Nepal Prime Minister, the translation of a letter which the
latter had just addressed to the Council of Lhasa.
In this letter the Nepal Minister said that he had
heard from his frontier officers and from newspaper
reports that, in the absence of fully-empowered Com-
missioners from Tibet to deal with the British Commis-
sioners at Khamba Jong, no settlement could be arrived
at, and the latter were being unnecessarily detained.
This omission to depute Commissioners vested with full
authority, and the neglect or failure of the Tibetan
Council to bring about a reasonable settlement for so
long, compelled him to say that "such unjustifiable
conduct" might lead to grave consequences. It was laid
clown, the Minister said, in the treaty between Nepal and
Tibet that Nepal would assist Tibet in the case of the
invasion of its territory by any foreign Rajas. Conse-
quently, when a difference of opinion arose between the
Tibetans and anyone else, it was incumbent on him to
help them to the best of his power with his advice and
guidance, in order to prevent any trouble befalling them
from such difference of opinion. And the manner in
which the Tibetans had managed the present business not
appearing commendable, the assistance he would give at
this crisis 4 * of their own creation " would consist in giving
such advice as would conduce to the welfare of their
country. Should they fail to follow his advice and trouble
befall them, there would be no other way open to him of
assisting them in the troublous solution brought about by
following a wayward course of their own. This should be
understood well, for the British Government did not
appear to him to have acted in an improper or ^high-
handed way in this matter, but was simply striving to
have the conditions of the treaty fulfilled, and it was
against the treaty and against all morality or policy to
allow matters to drift, and to regard as enemies the
officers of such a powerful Government who had come to
enforce such rights, Besides, when the Emperor of
China had, for their good, posted Ambans of high rank, it
was a serious mistake on their part to disregard even their
136 KHAMBA JONG
advice and neglect to carry on business with the British
Commissioners.
The advice the Nepal Minister gave to the Tibetan
Council was this : If the report was correct that they had
refused to be bound by the treaty of 1890, on the ground
that it was concluded by the Chinese and not by them-
selves, then they had acted very improperly. The
Tibetans and the Nepalese had for a long time held the
Emperor of China in high respect. It was improper,
then, to declare that the treaty, having been made by the
Chinese, was not binding upon the Tibetans, since what-
ever was done was done on their behalf. The Minister
pointed out that, since the conclusion of the treaty
between the British and Nepal Governments representa-
tives of each of the Governments had resideu in the
other's country, and the due observance of the terms of
the treaty had been continually advantageous to the
Government of Nepal, and their religion had not suffered
in any way. The advantages derived from such an
arrangement were too many to enumerate. Since the
treaty was made, the British Government had on different
occasions restored to them territories lost by Nepal in
war, and producing a revenue of many lakhs of rupees.
The Tibetans must bear in mind that the Government that
they had to deal with was not a despotic, but a constitu-
tional, one, and this would be corroborated by the fact
that the British had helped the Nepalese to maintain the
autonomy of their country for so long a time, whereas
they might easily have deprived them of it if they had had
a mind to behave in a despotic and unjust manner. The
most notable feature in the relations of the Nepalese with
the British, continued the Minister, was that they
sacredly observed Nepalese religious and social prejudices.
Hence if the Tibetans would even now take time by the
forelock, settle the pending questions, and behave witn the
British as true friends, he was sure Tibet would derive
the same benefit from such an alliance as Nepal had
hitherto done. That the British Government had any
evil designs upon Tibet did not appear from any source.
It was well known that the sun never sets upon the
ARRANGEMENTS FOR FUTURE 137
British dominions, and that the Sovereign of such a vast
Empire should entertain designs of unjustly and im-
properly taking the Tibetan mountainous country should
never cross their minds. So wrote the Nepalese Minister
to the Lhasa Council
Another month passed, and there was still no improve-
ment in the situation. On the contrary, continued
rumours arrived that the Tibetans were massing troops,
and that at Lhasa they were quite prepared to go to war.
The old Shigatse Abbot was very friendly, but quite
ineffectual in bringing about negotiations. One day he
lunched with us, and assured us that he had made a
divination that Yatung was the place where negotiations
would be carried on quickest. I said that what we
wanted to find was a place where the negotiations could
be carried on, not quickest, but best ; and I asked him to
consult his beads again, and see if Shigatse would not be
suitable in that respect. He laughed, and replied that the
divination had to be made in front of an altar, to the
accompaniment of music. Captain O'Connor had suc-
ceeded in making the Abbot and his people so friendly
that Mr. Wilton heard from Chinese sources that the
Chinese believed that we had either bought over the
Abbot or promised him some considerable concession
neither of which was, of course, the case. Still, all this
friendliness of the Shigatse men amounted to very little
practical use as long as the Lhasa people were still
obstinate. So on October 7 I telegraphed to Government
that J was strengthening my escort by 300 men from the
support, and on the following day telegraphed them a
rcSsumd of the whole situation.
I said that the Viceroy's despatch had reached the
Resident one month previously, ana no reply had yet been
received* though letters from Lhasa could reach Khamba
Jong in four days, The Mission had been there for three
months without being able to even commence negotiations.
The Chinese showed indifference and incompetence, and
the Tibetans pure obstruction* The present Resident was
138 KHAMBA JONG
acknowledged by even the Chinese to be weak and incom-
petent, and his Associate Resident had been allowed Lo
resign some months back. The new Amban, though
appointed in December, was only just leaving Chengtu,
and could not reach the frontier till January, The new
Associate Resident had been given sick-leave before even
joining his post. Mr, Ho, though 1 had given him the
above-mentioned very serious warning, made no haste to
proceed to Lhasa, but had loitered at Phari. Even if the
Chinese showed less indifference, they could do little with
the Tibetans. Mr, Ho was refused transport, and Colonel
Chao (his successor) had informed me that the new Resi-
dent could not bring large numbers of troops into Tibet,
as Tibetans would refuse to furnish transport and sup-
plies. As regards the attitude of the Tibetans, the people
in the vicinity and the Shigatse deputies were perfectly
friendly, but the Lhasa authorities were as obstructive us
ever. The delegates, since the first formal visits, had
refused all communication, social or official, with me.
The two Sikkim men made prisoners remained in custody,
and Tibetan troops lined all the heights between our camp
and Gyantse or Shigatse ; and there was much probability
that Siberian Buriat Lamas were present in Lhasa. The
result of all our moderation in the present and previous
years was nil, and I could, I said, no longer hold out any
nope to Government of a peaceful solution of the question.
On October 11 I left Khamba Jong to proceed to
Simla to confer with the Government of India on future
action, and thus ended this futile effort to settle the ques-
tion on the frontier.
The unsatisfactory nature of the situation had in the
meanwhile been taken notice of by the Government in
England, and, under their instructions, Sir Ernest Satow,
our Minister at Peking, on September 25 presented n note
to the Chinese Government, stating that, in spite of the
Dalai Lama having agreed that negotiations .should take
place at Khamba Jong, the Tibetan representatives had
refused to negotiate there ; they had imprisoned two British
subjects at Shigatse, and refused to release them ; and
they were collecting troops, and making hostile prepara*
SUMMONED TO SIMLA 139
tions. Sir Ernest Satow further verbally informed the
Foreign Board, in accordance with his instructions, that
His Majesty's Government expected them to bring imme-
diate pressure to bear upon the Dalai Lama, with a view
to the release of the two British subjects who had been
imprisoned, and to the commencement without delay of
negotiations between the Tibetan delegates and the British
Commissioners. Should the Dalai Lama not give imme-
diate satisfaction to these demands, His Majesty's Govern-
ment would feel themselves compelled to take such
measures as they might consider necessary for the safety
of their Mission and for the release of the two British
subjects.
Prince Ching promised Sir Ernest Satow to despatch
u telegram at once to Lhasa by Batang, and said he hoped
an improvement would manifest itself as soon as the new
Resident arrived ; but he described the Tibetans as
intensely ignorant mid obstinate, and very difficult to
influence.
At first the Imperial Government was not prepared
to sanction anything further than the occupation of the
Chuinbi Valley ; but on October 1 Lord George Hamilton
telegraphed lo the Government of India that Govern-
ment had again considered the position, and were now
prepared, if complete rupture of negotiations proved
inevitable, to authorise, not only the occupation of the
Chuinbi Valley, but also the advance of the Mission to
Gyantse, if it could be made with safety ; and he asked
the Viceroy to inform him of his plans, and particularly
how he proposed to secure the safety of the Mission at
Gyantse*
It was upon this that 1 was summoned to Simla to
advise the Government of India, and after consultation
with me at a meeting of the Council, which I was invited
to attend, they telegraphed, on October 26, to Mr, Brodrick,
who had now succeeded as Secretary of State, that, for
the following reasons, an advance into Tibet seemed indis-
pensable : (1) Though the Dalai Lama had agreed to the
Commissioners meeting at Khamba Jong, the Tibetan
delegates had refused to hold any communication with the
140 KHAMBA JONG
British Commissioner ; (2) no Chinese delegates of suitable
rank had as yet been sent ; (3) the procrastination of the
Chinese Government ; (4) the warlike preparations of the
Tibetans ; (5) the arrest and imprisonment of two British
subjects ; (6) the complete failure of the policy pursued
for twenty-five years, the only result of which was that
the Tibetans mistook our patience for weakness, and
despised our strength. They recommended, therefore, the
advance should extend to Gyantse, and should not be con-
fined to the Chumbi Valley, for these reasons: (1) That
the Chumbi Valley is on the Indian side of the watershed,
and is not regarded as part of Tibet, and a move from
Khamba Jong only to there would be regarded as a retro-
grade movement by the Tibetans ; (2) that if we moved
only into the Chumbi Valley, we should find the existing
situation at Khamba Jong repeated at Phari; (3) that
Colonel Younghusband considered it extremely important
that we should come into contact with the Tibetan people,
for they were quite prepared to enter into relations with
us, and were friendly, it being only the hierarchy of
Lhasa Lamas who were opposed ; (4) that, as we wore
pressing to have a mart at Gyantse, that object could be
secured in no better way than by advancing thither at
once. On arrival at Gyantse the force would not attack
the place, but, as had been done at Khamba Jong, would
establish a fortified port, and invite Tibetans and Chinese
to resume negotiations.
It was estimated, in a subsequent telegram, that the
total force to be employed would be one battalion of
Gurkhas, two companies of Sappers and Miners, two
battalions of Pioneers, two guns, British Mountain Battery,
two Maxims, and two seven-pounder guns. The com-
mand of the whole was to be entrusted to Brigadier-
General Macdonald.
The Secretary of State,* in a telegram dated Novem-
ber 6, at last gave his sanction to an advance. In view of
the recent conduct of the Tibetans, His Majesty's Govern-
ment felt that it would be impossible not to take action,
and they accordingly sanctioned the advance of the
* Blue-book, I., p.
MOVE TO GYANTSE SANCTIONED 141
Mission to Gyantse. They were, however, clearly of
opinion that "this step should not be allowed to lead to
occupation or to permanent intervention in Tibetan affairs
in any form. The advance should be made for the sole
purpose of obtaining satisfaction, and as soon as reparation
was obtained a withdrawal should be effected. While
His Majesty's Government considered the proposed action
to be necessary, they were not prepared to establish a
permanent Mission iri Tibet, and the question of enforcing
trade facilities in that country should be considered in the
light of this telegram."
It was a curious telegram, which I never quite under-
stood. It said that the advance was to be made for the
sole purpose of obtaining satisfaction. But it was always
understood, and it was most emphatically laid down, that
this was not a punitive expedition to obtain satisfaction
and get reparation. It was a Mission despatched to put
our relations with the Tibetans on a regular footing, to
establish ordinary neighbourly intercourse with them.
Lord Lansdowne himself said in the House of Lords* :
" We desire that a new Convention should be entered
into between the Government of India, on the one hand,
and the Tibetans and Chinese, as the suzerain Power, on
the other. That is the object of the Mission/* It is
remarkable that a document which was so often quoted to
the Russian Government, to the Indian Government, to
the Chinese Government, and which the Indian Govern-
ment on one occasion quoted to me in terms of admoni-
tion, should have described with so little precision the real
purpose of the advance and this at the culminating point
of thirty years' effort on the part of the Government of
India, It was not till after the Mission had been attacked
at Gyantse, and on account of that attack, that we
demanded satisfaction in the shape of an indemnity.
The obvious purpose of the advance was to do what
Warren Hastings had attempted, what the Government of
Bengal since 1878 had been advocating to put our inter-
Bourse with the Tibetans on proper terms* We had
fmind it impossible to effect this object on the frontier or
* February 26, 1904,
142 KHAMBA JONG
by negotiation with the Chinese Government. We were
going to advance into Tibet, to Gyantse, to see if we
could not effect it there, to get the frontier defined and
recognized, to have the conditions under which trade
could be carried on determined, and to have the method
of communication between our officials and Tibetan
officials clearly laid down. This, and not the obtaining of
satisfaction, which is the business of a military commander
in charge of a punitive expedition, was obviously the
purpose of our advance into Tibet, and it is odd that this
was not recognized in what was so often afterwards quoted
as the fundamental statement of our policy.
The telegram was not very purposeful or instructive,
but such as it was we were glad enough to get it* It at
least allowed us to go to Gyantse, and though at the time
when my advice was asked I said I did not think we
should get the business really settled till we reached Lhasa,
we certainly stood a better chance at Gyantse than at
Khamba Jong. In all civilized countries envoys who
have to negotiate a treaty go straight to the capital, and
how it could ever have been expected that in Tibiet, where
all power was concentrated in a supposed god, who relied
upon the support of Russia in any difficulties, we should
have been able to negotiate a treaty at anywhere short of
Lhasa, it is hard now to realize.
However, as I told Lord Curzon at his camp in
Patiala, where I took leave of him on my return to Tibet
I meant to do my very best to get the thing through,
He once more gave me the same warm encouragement
he always extended to those in India whom he believed
to be working well, and I left again for Darjiling.
While we were making preparations at Darjiling for
the next move, correspondence was also taking place
from headquarters. The Viceroy, in reply to a letter of
the Lhasa Resident's of October 17, stating that he had
nominated a Colonel Chao in place of Mr. Ho, that he
had asked the Dalai Lama to send a Councillor of State
to accompany him (the Resident) to Khamba Jong, but
CHINESE PROTESTS 143
that all this required time to settle, and asserting that the
Tibetan passes were guarded by soldiers, and requesting
the Viceroy, therefore, to instruct the British Commissioner
not to move from the present camp, told the Resident
that he understood that Colonel Chao was of lower, not
higher, rank than Mr. Ho, and that, as the Resident's
departure was contingent on the Dalai Lama's nomination
of a Councillor, and as the Dalai Lama had for four
months past failed to send, as desired, an officer of the
highest rank, he saw no prospect of the Resident arriving
at Khamba Jong within any reasonable time. The
Viceroy then recapitulated our various grounds of com-
plaint, and concluded by saying that, in these circumstances,
he had no alternative but to transfer the place of negotia-
tions to some more suitable spot, where he hoped they
might be resumed. And as the Resident had stated that
the Tibetan passes were guarded by soldiers, he had been
compelled to take measures to insure the safety of the
Commissioners in moving from Khamba Jong, and to
prevent any possible interruption of communication with
them.
The Chinese Government made on November 16 a
protest to Lord Lansdowne against an advance, and
hoped that I would be instructed to await the arrival of
the new Resident, who, it will be remembered, had been
instructed nearly a year previously to proceed as rapidly
as possible to Lhasa; but Lord Lansdowne informed
them that His Majesty's Government had learnt by
experience that the Tibetans systematically disregarded
the injunctions of the Emperor and the Chinese Govern-
ment, who had no real influence in restraining them from
acts such as those we complained of. We had treated
the Tibetans with the utmost forbearance, but these
recent proceedings compelled us to exact satisfaction, and
we could not remain inactive until the arrival of the new
Resident, who had unnecessarily protracted his journey.
The Chinese Minister said that his Government
recognized the forbearance shown by the British authori-
ties towards the Tibetans, and also the friendly spirit
brought by the British Commissioners to the discussion of
144 KHAMBA JONG
frontier questions, and they hoped that we would recog-
nize the difficult position in which China had been placed
by her obstinate and ignorant vassal, and enjoin our Com-
missioners to exercise patience and forbearance, and thus
assist the Resident, who had been instructed to proceed
in person to the frontier to bring the Tibetans to a
juster sense of their duties and responsibilities as good
neighbours.
To this Lord Lansdowne replied that the Chinese
had hitherto signally failed in such attempts, and the
attitude of the Tibetan authorities had of late been of
increased hostility. It was impossible, therefore, for us to
desist from the measures already sanctioned.
In the event, it turned out that the Resident never
did meet me on the frontier, and that even his successor,
when at last he arrived at Lhasa, did not care to meet
me even at Gyantse, for the Tibetans, so he informed me,
would not provide him with transport. Lord Lans-
downe's refusal to desist from action and pursue still
further the policy of patience and forbearance was, there-
fore, amply justified by events.
But it was not only the Chinese Government who
were now beginning to protest against our action* The
Russian Government also began to move in the matter.
Lord Lansdowne had on November 7 5 the day on
which the forward move was sanctioned by Government,
informed the Russian Ambassador* that, owing to the
outrageous conduct of the Tibetans, it had been decided to
send our Mission, with a suitable escort, farther into the
Tibetan territory, but that this step should not be taken
"as indicating any intention of annexing, or even of
permanently occupying, Tibetan territory/' And on
November 17 Count Benckendorff called on Lord
Lansdowne,f and spoke in the most earnest tones of the
effect which had been created in Russia by the announce-
ment that we were about to advance into Tibet He was
instructed to remind Lord Lansdowne of the former
* Blue-book, I., p, 294- t Ibid., p, 298,
RUSSIAN PROTESTS 145
statement he (Count Benckendorft) had made to him as
to the manner in which the Russian Government regarded
the Tibetan question. They could not help feeling that
the invasion of Tibetan territory by a British force was
calculated to involve a grave disturbance of the Central
Asian situation, and it was most unfortunate that at that
moment, when the Russian Government were disposed
to enter into an amicable discussion of our relations at
the various points where British and Russian interests were
in contact an allusion to the preliminary negotiations
for the Anglo-Russian Agreement and entente cordiale
an event of this kind, so calculated to create mistrust on
the part of Russia, should have occurred.
Lord Lansdowne expressed his great surprise at the
excitement which the announcement of the advance
seemed to have enacted. He had, he said, already pointed
out to the Ambassador that Tibet was, on the one hand,
in close geographical connection with India, and, on the
other, far remote from any of Russia's Asiatic possessions.
Our interest in Tibetan affairs was therefore wholly
different from any which Russia could have in them.
He reminded Count Benckendorff that he had already
explained to shim that we had received the greatest
provocation at the hands of the Tibetans, who had not
only failed to fulfil their treaty obligations, but had virtually
refused to negotiate with us. We had alwajrs been
reluctant to entangle ourselves in quarrels with the
Tibetans, but our forbearance had led them to believe
that we could be ill-treated with impunity. Lord
Lansdowne said he was firmly convinced that the Russian
Government would not have shown as much patience as
we* had, and that they would have been at Lhasa by that
time. He felt bound to add that it seemed to him beyond
measure strange that these protests should be made by
the Government of a Power which had, all over the world,
never hesitated to encroach ugon its neighbours when the
circumstances seemed to require it. If the Russians had
a right to complain of us for taking steps to obtain
reparation from the Tibetans by advancing into Tibetan
territory, what kind of language should we not be entitled
10
146 KHAMBA JONG
to use in regard to Russian encroachments in Manchuria,
Turkestan, and Persia.
Count Benckendorff asked him whether he had any
objection to his saying that Government had approved of
the advance into Tibetan territory with reluctance, and
only because circumstances had made it inevitable, and
that our sole object was to obtain satisfaction for the
affronts we had received from the Tibetans; and Lord
Lansdowne said that he had no objection to his making
such a statement.
Despite Russian and Chinese protests, the advance to
Gyantse was now irrevocably decided on, and once again we
have now to ask, Was the Mission justified in advancing
into Tibet ? I have given all the reasons for thinking that
the despatch of the Mission to Khamba Jong was justified.
Was this further advance into the Chumbi Valley and to
Gyantse equally necessary? Perhaps, if we had shown
yet more patience and yet more forbearance, we might
have effected our object without advancing by force into
the country. Was this so ?
What eventually occurred showed that there were no
g^ssible grounds for such a belief. Even when the
hinese Central Government were aroused, and had
ordered the Resident to proceed to the frontier to settle
matters, he was unable to get there. The Tibetans refused
him transport, and when we reached Lhasa, in August
of the following year, we found him to be practically
a prisoner, and almost without enough to eat, as the
Tibetans had prevented supplies of money from reaching
him, and he had actually to borrow money from us- But
it was with the Tibetans that we really wished to
negotiate. Perhaps they would have come to terms with
us if we had been a little less impatient and remained on
the frontier ? Perhaps they would have sent a Councillor,
as we had asked, and negotiated a treaty ?, On this point,
too, our later experience showed that we could not have
relied. When we at length reached Lhasa I had to
negotiate, not with one Councillor only, but with the whole
REPLY TO RUSSIAN PROTESTS 147
Council; and not with the Council, but the Regent himself,
to whom the Dalai Lama had entrusted his own seal and
whom he had appointed in his place ; and not with the
Council and the Regent only, but with the National As-
sembly and three great monasteries in addition ; and with
all in the presence of the Chinese Resident himself. No
one man would ever have been entrusted by them with
power, and no one man would take responsibility. It was
only with the whole together that it was possible to nego-
tiate ; and we could negotiate with the whole together no
where but in Lhasa itself.
Granted all this, some may say, but even then was it
worth incurring Russian resentment in order to settle a
trumpery affair of boundary pillars and petty trade
interests in a remote corner of our Empire? Now, I most
fully sympathize with the Russian view. Our advancing
into Tibet would and, in fact, did u involve a grave
disturbance of the Central Asian situation/* The news
of our signing a treaty in the Potala at Lhasa, and of
the Dalai Lama having to flee, did produce a profound
impression. But if the subject-matter of our dispute was
small, there was small reason why the Russians should
trouble us about it. The matter grew in dimension
because the Tibetans, whom the Chinese suzerains them-
selves had characterized as obstinate and difficult to
influence, had grown still more obstinate and still more
difficult to influence, through their having led themselves
to believe that they could count on Russian support* In
view of Russian disclaimers, we can assume that the
Russian Government gave them no intentional grounds
for that belief, Nevertheless, they had it, and for practical
purposes that was all that concerned us then* The
reception of the Dalai Lama's religious missions by
the Czar, the Czarina, the Chancellor and Minister,
and the subscriptions they had collected, together with
the extraordinary belief they had that Russia was nearer
to Lhasa than India was, had led the ignorant Dalai
Lama to believe that he could count on Russian support
against the British* One can cmite realize that the
Russians, with their thousands of Buddhist Asiatic sub-
148 KHAMBA JONG
jects, and with the prospect that then seemed near of
their absorbing Mongolia, and so possessing still more
Buddhist subjects, would be sensitive of our acquiring a
predominant influence with the Dalai Lama. But that is
scarcely a reason why we should not take measures to
counteract an influence which was already, and in hard
fact proving, detrimental to our own interests by en-
couraging the Tibetans in the belief that they could with
impunity ignore their treaty obligations. The Russian
Government had no intention of sending an agent to
Lhasa. Nevertheless, there was in Lhasa all the time a
Russian subject who had more influence over the Dalai
Lama ^ than the Chinese Resident When such was the
condition of affairs, we could hardly defer to Russia in a
matter concerning a country adjoining our frontier, but
nowhere adjoining hers.
Just as the move to Khamba Jong a dozen miles
inside the Tibetan frontier was most amply justified, so
also was the move to Gyantse, halfway to the capital.
CHAPTER XI
DARJILING TO CHUMBI
DURING our stay at Khamba Jong Mr. White, Captain
O'Connor, and I had often talked over the question of
advancing into Tibet in winter. It had always so far
been assumed that with the approach of winter all opera-
tions on this frontier must cease, missions must withdraw,
and troops go into winter-quarters. But on the Gilgit
frontier we had taken troops across snow-passes in winter,
and Colonel Kelly took troops and guns across the
Shandur Pass to the relief of Chitral in April, which, from
the softness of the snow, is the very worst time. I asked
Mr, White, who knew the Sikkim frontier so well,
whether there was really any insuperable obstacle to our
crossing these passes in winter, and as he said there was
not, and as he was heartily in favour of such a move, I
urged Government not to delay till the spring, but to let
us advance even in winter. We do not hesitate when
there is real necessity to send troops and missions into
unhealthy and hot places in the hottest season of the year.
Why, then, should we be put off by cold ? Against cold
we could take plenty of precautions by clothing troops
and followers with furs and sheepskins, and we should
doubtless lose some, but not more than we lose from
malaria and heat-strokes in hot places. And as for passes
being closed, I had had as much experience as most people
of Himalayan passes, and I knew that passes which are
closed for single men or small parties, are not necessarily
closed for large parties, which can organize regular shelters
&jid trample down paths in the snow. It was a risk to
take, and Lord Curzon and the Government of India
were courageous in taking it. But, like many other risks
149
150 DARJILING TO CHUMBT
we took on this enterprise, it was justified by the result
By April the casualties from sickness and frost-bite were
only thirty-five deaths among combatants and forty-five
among followers, which, considering the circumstances,
was wonderfully low, and we had proved for all time to
the Tibetans, to ourselves, and to the world, that Indian
troops could march across the Himalayas in the very
depth of winter,
As we settled down to our preparations at Darjiling,
it did indeed seem a bold task that we were under-
taking. The weather now, in November, was clear and
bright. Day after day from our headquarters at the
Rockville Hotel we could look out on that stupendous
range of snowy mountains, to view which hundreds of
people come at this season from all over the world. And
to think that we had to pierce through that mighty
barrier at the coldest season of the year in face of the
certain opposition of the Tibetans, and to establish our-
selves far beyond in a spob to which for half a century
no European had approached, did indeed at times appal
one. But the very risk and romance and novelty of the
task soon again inspired one with enthusiasm. It was no
ignoble little raid, as ignoble Little Englanders were
saying, that we were embarking on, It was an under-
taking with every moral justification behind it. And it
was a feat which, if successfully performed, would add
one more to the triumphs of man over Nature, and
bring added glory to the Indian army by whom it was
accomplished.
It had been originally intended that I should return to
Khamba Jong to the Mission which I had left there, and
with them march across to Kalatso, on the Gyantse line,
while General Macdonald marched up through Chumbi.
But on talking the matter over with him at Darjiling, he
thought that such a move would involve unnecessary risk*
apd would be difficult to arrange for with the transport
and supplies, as the Tibetans had forcibly dispersed the
yaks which the Nepalese had sent across the frontier,
It was arranged, therefore, that the Mission, now under
the charge of Mr, Wilton, should be withdrawn from
PREPARATIONS FOR THE ADVANCE 151
Khamba Jong ; but both Mr. White and I were anxious
that no retirement should take place from one direction
till we were actually advancing in another, for any
symptom of withdrawal before such people as the Tibetans
is apt to be misconstrued into fear, and to encourage
them into hostile action. So it was arranged that until
we advanced into Chumbi the Mission would remain at
Khamba Jong, and then retire into Sikkim and join
General Macdonald and myself in Chumbi.
General Macdonald, his Chief Staff Officer, Major
Iggulden, who was well acquainted with the frontier,
having served in the little Sikkim campaign of 1888,
Major Bretherton, and Captain O'Connor now had their
hands full with the arrangements for the advance, and, as
always happens, every additional unnecessary difficulty
arose. For advance into Tibet in mid-winter, animals like
yaks, which hate being below 12,000 feet, and are stifled
with the heat if the thermometer rises above the freezing-
point, were, of all others, the most suitable, and the
Nepalese Government, with great trouble had collected
several thousand and despatched them to Sikkim. But
just as they arrived some kind of disease broke out among
them, and all, except a very few, which had to be secluded,
died. It was a terrible blow, but Major Bretherton, with his
unfailing cheery resourcefulness, set about getting the
transport he knew and had worked so well on the
Kashmir frontier Kashmir ponies, Balti and Poonch
coolies. Sir Edmond Elles, the Military Member of
Council, was near by in Calcutta at the time, and with
his unrivalled experience in organizing such expeditions,
was able to direct the whole scheme of arrangement to its
greatest possible advantage. He would not, indeed, at
this stage spare those magnificently organized mule corps
which he treasured up in the event of greater need else-
where, and which he only eventually sent when operations
in Tibet assumed a greater importance* But in every
other way he gave General Macdonald support it these
most difficult transport and supply arrangements, and
with great rapidity bullocks, ponies, and coolies, arrived in
the Teesta valley. And sheepskins, blankets, woollen
152 DARJILING TO CHUMBI
comforters, thick jerseys, and warm socks, were provided
for both fighting men and followers. If the Government
of India does a thing at all, it does it well, and nothing
was spared except the mules to make the movement a
success.
The local authorities were also extremely helpful.
Mr. Walsh, the Deputy Commissioner of Darjiling, on
account of his knowledge of the frontier, and because he
spoke Tibetan, was to accompany me as an Assistant
Commissioner ; and Mr. Garrett, who took his place^ at
Darjiling, put his whole energies to collecting coolies,
ponies, and supplies. The local engineers got the road
along the Teesta Valley which with unfailing regularity
falls into the river in the rainy season into proper work-
ing order again. Mr. White, in Sikkim, set to work to
raise a coolie corps for work on the passes. And in a
month from the date of receiving the sanction of the
Secretary of State, General Macdonald was able, in spite
of the blow which had befallen him in the loss of the
yaks, to make the start towards Tibet.
It was a sad day when I said good-bye to my wife and
little girl to plunge into the unknown beyond the mighty
snowy range which lay before us. To me there was
nothing but the stir and thrill of an enterprise which
would ever live in history ; before her there lay only long
and dreary months of sickening anxiety and suspense, for
which my eventual success might or might not be a
sufficient recompense. A little knot of visitors assembled
at the Rockville Hotel on the morning of December 5 to
bid us good-bye and good luck, and Mrs. Wakefield, the
manageress, patriotically waved a Union Jack. Then we
were off as it turned out, to the mysterious Lhasa itself.
The first night I passed with Mr. James, a nephew of
my old travelling companion in Manchuria, at a most
charming little bungalow in a tea-plantation, and on the
way met other tea-planters, all very anxious that my
Mission would have the result of opening up Tibet for
their produce, I once more rode through all that glorious
tropical vegetation in the Teesta Valley. I passed the
camp of the 23rd Pioneers, and first made the acquaintance
CROSSING THE FIRST PASS 153
of Colonel Hogge and his officers, with whom I was to
be so closely associated in future, and in whom I always
found such firm supporters. And by December 10
General Macdonald and his staff, the bulk of the troops
for the advance, Mr. White, Mr. Walsh, Captain O'Connor,
and myself had all rendezvoused at Gnatong, ready to move
into Tibet.
The force then assembled consisted of two guns, No. 7
Mountain Battery, Royal Artillery ; a Maxim gun de-
tachment of the Norfolk Regiment ; two guns, 7-pounders,
8th Gurkhas ; half-company 2nd Sappers ; eight companies
23rd Sikh Pioneers; six companies 8th Gurkhas; with
field hospitals, engineer field park, ammunition column,
telegraph, postal, and survey department detachments.
In spite of foot-and-mouth disease among the pack-
bullocks, of sickness and desertion amongst the Nepalese
Coolie Corps, and of rinderpest, Major Bretherton had
succeeded in accumulating a month's supply for the troops
and ten days' fodder for the animals, and General Mac-
donald was able to make a short march on the llth to
the foot of the Jelap-la (pass) with the first column,
consisting of 1,150 fighting men, four guns, and four
Maxims.
On December 12 we crossed the pass itself. It is
14,390 feet in height, and leads, not across the main
watershed of the Himalayas, but across the range dividing
Sikkim from Chumbi, a sharp, bare, rocky ridge. The
ascent to it was very steep, and, as the ridge formed the
boundary between Sikkim and Tibet, it was possible we
might be opposed at the summit.
But on the question of opposition I had had some
communication with the Tibetans. News of the assembly
of troops and of the preparations we were making had
naturally reached the Tibetans, and on November 28
Captain Parr, who was in Chinese employ, associated with
the Chinese delegate, informed me that the Tibetans were
expecting that, before any advance was made into their
country, the British Government would make a formal
declaration of their intention ; that if they intended to
make war they would make a formal declaration of war.
154 DARJILING TO CHUMBI
I replied that no more formal declaration would be made
than that conveyed in the letter from the Viceroy to the
Chinese Resident. If the progress of the Mission were
obstructed, General Macdonald would use force to clear a
way for the passage of the Mission. If no opposition were
offered, he would not attack the Tibetans. We were pre-
pared to fight if fighting were forced upon us ; we were
equally ready to negotiate if the Chinese and Tibetans
would send proper delegates to negotiate with us.
All accounts seemed to show at that time that the
Tibetans intended to fight, and from several independent
sources came information that they were relying on
Russian support. And these latter reports were con-
firmed later by Colonel Chao, the Chinese delegate,
who said that Dorjieff was then in Lhasa, and that the
arrogance of the Tibetans was due to their reliance on the
support of the Russians, since many discussions had been
held in Russia between Dorjieff and Russian officials, with
the result that of late the Tibetans had been taunting the
Chinese openly, and saying that they had now a stronger
and greater Power than China upon which to rely for
assistance.
Still, I meant to do my best to secure our passage to
Gyantse without fighting, and to the General commanding
the Tibetan troops at Yatung I gave the pledge that we
were conducting the Mission, under adequate protection,
to a place better fitted for negotiation, but that we were
not at war with Tibet, and unless we were ourselves
attacked, we should not attack the Tibetans. I repeated
these assurances to some Tibetan messengers at Gnatong,
and told them to tell the Tibetan Generals that if they did
not attack us we would not attack them.
On reaching the summit of the Jelap-la, on a bright,
clear sunny day, with glorious views all round, we found
no one to oppose us. We looked down into the Chumbi
Valley into a sort of labyrinth of deep forest-clad valleys,
and beyond these to the high main range, which still
separated us from Tibet proper, for Chumbi is not
geographically part of Tibet, nor are its inhabitants true
Tibetans.
ARRIVAL AT YATUNG 155
The march was very trying for the troops and trans-
port, for the " road " was simply a mountain-path of the
roughest description. One coolie corps struck work, and
a number of the local drivers of a pony corps and many
Nepalese coolies had deserted, for a curious feeling was
prevalent on the frontier that we were advancing to our
doom. But the troops and the bulk of the transport got
over all right, though very exhausted, and we encamped
in three bodies near Langram, well below the pass, in a
deep, narrow, forest-clad gorge.
Here I was met by the ubiquitous Captain Parr, who
in many ways was extremely helpful at this time, by the
local Chinese official, and by the Tibetan General. They
asked me to go back to Gnatong, where the Chinese
Resident and Tibetan Councillors would come and discuss
matters with me. On my declining, they asked me to
remain where I was for two or three months. I told them
I had waited for months without result at Khamba Jong ;
now I had to go on into Tibet, If my passage were
opposed, General Macdonald would break down opposi-
tion ; if they did not oppose us, we would not attack
them. They asked me what we should do if on the
morrow we found the gate in the Yatung wall closed. I
said we would blow it open.
What would happen on the morrow was now the
interesting question. We would reach Yatung, which
for the last ten years we had been trying to make into a
trade-mart, according to the treaty, and we would approach
that wall which the Tibetans had thrown up to prevent
anyone coming to trade. The dramatic moment had
arrived ; and as General Macdonald and I on the following
morning rode down the wooded gorge with all military
precautions, it was impossible to say what our reception
would be.
Suddenly, as we turned a sharp corner, we saw a solid
wall, stretching right across the valley from the river up
the mountain-side. General Macdonald sent a flanking
party up the hills, and a skirmishing party to advance
straight at the wall As we approached we were met by
the same officials who had visited us on the previous night
156 DARJILING TO CHUMBI
They asked us not to advance, but we noticed that they
had left the gate open, so the advance-guard passed through.
Then General Macdonald and I followed, and exactly as I
passed under the gateway the local official seized my bridle
and made one last ineffectual protest.
On the other side I called together all the officials, and
sitting on a stone, with a large crowd gathered round, I
explained to them the reason for our advance. I let them
repeat their protests, for it evidently appeased the Tibetan
General to say it in public ; but it did not strike me that
he personally particularly minded our coming, and the
meeting broke up in great good -humour. Then we
adjourned to Captain Parr's house, where we had to eat
not only his lunch, but lunches sent us by the Chinese and
Tibetan officials as well, these latter themselves joining in
the meal.
This was an excellent beginning, which filled me with
great hopes of effecting a settlement peacefully ; and as
we advanced up the valley in the next few days we found
the villagers ready to bring in supplies for purchase, and
to hire out their mules and ponies, while the women and
children who had run away to the hills returned to the
villages in perfect confidence.
After we had struck off from the subsidiary Yatung
Valley into the main Chumbi Valley, through which runs
the Amo-chu (river), the valley opened to a width of
two or three huudred yards, the road was good, there was
a considerable amount of cultivation, and grass was
plentiful; the houses were better built, and the villages
had a more prosperous look than is generally seen in
Himalayan valleys; and with a road right down the
Amo-chu to the plains of Bengal, which would save
crossing the Jelap-la, this seemed the obvious route by
which to approach Tibet.
General Macdonald had to halt for some days, com-
pleting his arrangements for supplies and transport, and
while we were halted we were joined by Mr. Wilton,,
Captain Ryder, RE., the Survey Officer, and Mr. Hayden,
the geologist, who had all come in from Khamba Jong.
They had had a very cold and very trying time after I
MACDONALD OCCUPIES PHARI 157
left, and their retirement was an extremely delicate opera-
tion. The Tibetan troops hovered about, and with a
17,000 feet pass to cross in December, Captain Bethune
had about as difficult a manoeuvre to perform as often falls
to the lot of a soldier. The Tibetans occupied our camp
in triumph, but never actually attacked, and the retire-
ment was safely effected.
Both Captain Ryder and Mr. Hayden had done excel-
lent work. The former had surveyed all the neighbour-
hood, fixing many new peaks far into Tibet; and Mr.
Hayden, roaming over the hills, had made interesting
discoveries of fossil-bearing beds, which enabled him to
determine the age of the strata in those parts.
General Macdonald, with a flying column of 795 fight-
ing men, started on the 18th for Phari, through a piece
of country which had never before been traversed by a
European. It was reported that there was a Tibetan
force there ready to oppose us. The first march beyond
the permanent camp at the meeting of the Amo-chu and
the Rilo-chu was easy ; but the second march was over a
very bad road, ascending steeply through a narrow wooded
gorge, where a few determined men could have greatly
delayed the advance of the column. The hardships of the
march were increased by the almost total absence of fuel
at Kamparab camping-ground, which was two miles beyond
the wood limit. A certain amount of fuel had been taken
on spare mules, and this, with yak-dung in small quantities,
had to suffice. On the 20th General Macdonald reached
Phari, marching over open country, where the only obstacle
to rapid marching was the great altitude and numerous
frozen streams. The Jong (fort) he found unoccupied.
It was a strong, lofty, masonry-castellated structure, at
lite junction of the road to the Tang-la (pass), with a road
to Bhutan, up which Bogle, Turner, and Manning had
proceeded to Tibet so many years before.
In this Jong General Macdonald stationed two
>anies of the 8th Gurkhas and one 7-jtounder gun,
5 the remainder of the column camped on the plain
Side. To the Tibetan and Chinese officials General
Idnald explained that he was only safeguarding the
158 DARJILING TO CHUMBI
road for the advance of the Mission, and guarding against
the regrettable display of force with which the Tibetans
had endeavoured to intimidate the Mission at Khamha
Jong. He stayed there a couple of nights, during which
the cold was intense, the thermometer registering about
40 of frost at night The ground was frozen so
hard that a working party of twelve men only succeeded,
after two hours' hard work, in excavating some 33 cubic
feet of earth, and as neither turf nor stones were avail-
able, it was impossible to construct any entrench-
ments.
Leaving Major Row in command of the two companies
in the Jong, General Macdonald returned with the
remainder of the force to Chumbi, which he reached on
the 23rd* And on Christmas Day we received a mostly
kindly and encouraging telegram from Lord Curzon. The
inhabitants of the Chumbi Valley were now selling us grass,
buck-wheat, turnips and potatoes, and Major Bretherton
had arranged for 400 mules to ply on a contract system
between here and the Teesta Valley, This, though very
helpful, did not amount to very much, and we were
dependent for most of our supplies and transport from
the rear. In addition to this, the loss of the yaks was
now severely felt. So our progress was necessarily slow.
But I was very anxious, as soon as we could, to be
over the main range, in Tibet proper, in some position
equivalent to Khamba Jong. Just over the Tang-la (pass)
we knew there was a small place called Tuna, and there 1
wished the Mission established with a good escort and
plenty of ammunition and supplies, while all arrangements
were being completed for the further advance to Gytintse.
There was a certain amount of risk in this ; but to be
among the Tibetans proper, and to compensate for the with-
drawal from Khamba Jong, I thought it was necessary to
run it. Our prestige at this time on the Sikkim frontier
was quite astonishingly low, I had never seen it so
low elsewhere. , In other places there was always that
indefinable something behind which gave one something
to work; with, but on this frontier the people stood to
much greater awe of the Lhasa Lamas than ttiejr did of
OBSTRUCTION OF LHASA MONKS 159
us, and we had to do everything we could, short of
fighting, to establish some prestige.
On January 4 the Mission and a flying column, under
General Macdonald's personal command, left Chumbi, and
on the 6th reached Phari. The cold was now terrible.
Piercing winds swept down the valley, and discomfort was
extreme. Near our camp was a big waterfall frozen solid.
At Phari we found that representatives of the three
great monasteries at Lhasa and a General from Lhasa
had arrived, and Major Row reported many cases in
which the inhabitants had expressed their willingness to
deal with us, but feared to do so on account of the threats
of these Lhasa functionaries. Captain O'Connor saw
these monks, whom he found to be exceedingly surly,
saying they would discuss nothing whatever until we went
back to Yatung.
A Major Li, who had been deputed by the Resident to
take Colonel Chao's place, visited me, and told me it was
impossible to get the Tibetans to do anything. He said
,they were a most obstinate people, and at present would
pay no respect to the Chinese, as they were so fully
relying on Russian support.
Captain O'Connor reported that the whole demeanour
Q& these Lhasa monks, who were the men who really
g^led the destinies of Tibet, was impracticable in the
extreme. They made no advance in civility, though I
insteaeted Captain O'Connor to be studiously polite in his
r, and they adopted the high tone of demanding
withdrawal. All I asked them was an assurance that
would not prevent willing people from selling
ies to us, and even this little they refused both the
*ese and myself.
the worst feature of the situation, as I reported at
e, was that the local people, and even the Chinese,
llteaglit that in advancing into Tibet we were advancing to
truction. They were not impressed by our troops ;
how few there were ; they knew of thousands
troops on the far side of the pass ; and they
lat the new Lhasa-made rifles $nd the new
prevent the loss the^ had incurred in their
160 DARJ1LING TO CHUA1BI
last campaign against us. Many of our camp-followers
deserted, and local men in our employ brought, in stones
of the numbers and prowess of the Tibetans, and how
they would attack us in the night and swamp us.
These were the circumstances in which we set out,
now in the extreme depth of winter, to cross over the
main range of the Himalayas into Tibet.
On January 7 we encamped nl the foot of the pass,
the thermometer that night falling to 18 below/ero. As
I looked out of my tent at the first streak of dawn the
next morning there was a elear cutting feel in the atmo-
sphere, such as is only experienced at great altitudes.
The stars were darting out their rays with almost super*
natural brilliance. The sky was of a steely clearness, into
which one could look unfathomable depths. Behind the*
great sentinel peak of Chumalhari, which guards the
entrance to Tibet, the first streaks of dawn were just
appearing. Not a breath of air stirred, but all was gripped
tight in the frost which turned buckets of water left out
overnight into solid ice, and made the remains of last
night's stew as hard as a rock, (under such conditions
we prepared for our advance over the pass, and as the
troops were formed on parade, preparatory to starling, it
was found that many of the rifles and one of the Maxims
would not work, on account of the oil having frown*
The rise to the pass was very gradual, and the puss
itself, 1 5,200 feet above sea-level, was so wide and level that
we could have advanced across it in line. But soon now
the wind got up, and swept along the pass with terrific 1
force. At this altittide, and clad in such heavy elothmg,
we could advance but slowly, and the march seemed in-
terminable. The clearness of the atmosphere made the
little hamlet of Tuna appear quite near ; hut hour after
hour we plodded wearily over the plateau, and it was late
in the aftem<x>n before we reached it, and even then* for
the sake of water, we had to go a mile or more beyond*
and encamp i&the open,
A Tibetan force was near at hand, and a,s they were
credited with a habit of attacking at night, General Mac-
donald took .special precautions against such m even-
S
EH
O
ffi
3
o
CROSSING THE TANG-LA 161
, tuality ; but as darkness set in and the cold increased in
intensity, we felt we should be pretty helpless in an open
camp, and 1 there were some thoughts of retiring again across
the pass, for the military risks were very great. But, on
the whole, we thought it would be better to face it now
we were there ; and as, next morning, we examined the
hamlet of Tuna, and found it could Jbe turned into a good
defensible post, and had a well within the walls, we
decided that the Mission should remain there, with an
escort of four companies of the 23rd Pioneers, Lieutenant
Hadow's Maxim-gun detachment, and a 7-pounder
the whole under Colonel Hogge ; while General JVlac-
donald, with the flying column, returned to Chumbi to
complete his arrangements,
The immediate surroundings in which we now found
ourselves were miserable in the extreme. Tuna was nearly
15,000 feel above the sea, and was the filthiest place I
have ever seen. We tried to live in the houses, but after
a few days preferred our tents, in spite of the cold, which
was intense, and against which we could not have the
comfort and cheer of a fire, for only sufficient fuel for
cooking could be obtained, most of it being yak-dung, and
much having to be brought from Chumbi. The saving
feature was the grand natural scenery, which was a joy
of which I nevtr tired. Immediately before us was an
almost level and perfectly smooth gravel plain ten or
twelve miles in width, and on the far side of this rose
the great snowy range, which forms the rnain axis of
the Himalayas, and here separates Tibet from Bhutan.
Snow seldom fell; The sky was generally clear, and
the sunshine brillianVand well wrapped up, away from
the dirty hamlet and sheltered from the terrific wind,
there was pleasure to be had out of everfTTuna. And *the
sight of the serene and mighty Qhumaihari, rising proudly
above all the storms below and spotless in its purity, was
a never-ending solace in our sordid winter post.
11
CHAPTER XII
TUNA
THE first event of importance after our arrival at Tuna
was the receipt, on January 12, of a message from the
Lhasa officials, saying that they wished for an interview.
At noon, the time I had appointed, several hundreds
of men appeared on the plain below the village. They
halted there, and asked that I should come out and meet
them halfway. Perhaps unnecessarily, J refused this
request. It was bitingly cold in the open plain, and I
thought the Tibetan leaders might have come into my
camp, where I had said I would receive them, and where
a guard of honour was ready. However, I sent out the
indispensable and ever-ready Captain O'Connor to hear
what they had to say, and on his return he replied that
they once more urged us to return to Yatung, but after-
wards stated that they were prepared to discuss mutters
there, at Tuna.
This constituted a distinct improvement on the
attitude adopted by them at Phari, and their general
demeanour was much more cordial, according to Cantain'
O Connor. But they told him that if we advanceJand
they were defeated, they would fell buck upon another
Power, and that things would then be bad for us. In
conversation with the Munahi they suid thai they would
prevent us from advancing beyond our present position,
and they repudiated our treaty with the Chinese', sayinif
they were tired of the Chinese, and could concimi J
treaty by themselves.
. Encouraged by the fact that they showed some litflr
signs of a desire to discuss matters, I determined now f o
make a bold move to get to close quarter* with them.
162
VISIT TO TIBETAN CAMP i 63
I was heartily tired of this fencing about at a dis-
tance ; 1 wanted to get in under their reserve. And I
thought that if we could meet and could tell them in an
uncontentious arid unceremonious manner what all the
pother was about, we might at any rate get a start get
what the Americans call a "move on." It was worth
while, it seemed to me, to make a supreme effort to get
this intrinsically small matter settled by peaceful means,
even if a very considerable risk was incurred in the
process ; and 1 wished particularly to see them, and to
judge of them, in their own natural surroundings. I was
constantly being called upon by Government to give my
opinion upon the probable action of the Tibetans, but so
far I had only seen them in our own camps, and they had
steadily refused to admit me into theirs. 1 therefore
determined on the following morning, without any for-
mality, without any previous announcement, and without
uny escort, to ride over to their camp, about ten miles
distant, at ^Guru, and talk over the general situation
not as British Commissioner, with a list of grievances for
which he had to demand redress, but as one who wished
to understand them, and by friendly means to effect
a settlement I was only too well aware that such an
attempt was likely to be taken by the Tibetans as a sign
of weakness ; still, when I saw these people so steeped in
ignorance of what opposing the might of the British
Empire really meant, I felt it my J duty to reason wijth
them up to the latest moment, to save them from ti&
results of their ignorance.
Captain O'Connor and Captain Sawyer, of the 23rd
Pioneers, who was learning Tibetan, accompanied me, but
we did not 'take with us even a single sepoy as escort.
On our way we were met by messengers, who had come
to say that the Tibetan chiefs would not come to see me
at Tuna, and I was all the more pleased that I had left
Tuna before the message arrived.
' On reaching Guru, a small village under a hill, we
found numbers of Tibetan soldiers out collecting yak* >
dung in the sttrroundijag pl^in ; but there was no military
precaution whatever^jsken, and we rode straight into the
164 TUNA
village. About 600 soldiers were huddled up in the
cattle-yards of the houses. They were only armed with
spears and matchlocks, and had no breech-loaders. As
we rode through the village they all crowded out to look
at us, and not with any scowls, but laughing to each other,
as if we were an excellent entertainment. They were not
very different in appearance from the ordinary Khuiia
dandy-bearers of Darjiling or the yak-drivers we had with
us in camp.
We asked for the General, and on reaching the
principal house I was received at the head of the stairs by
a polite, well-dressed, and well-mannered man, who was
the Tibetan leader, and who was most cordial in his greet-
ing. Other Generals stood behind him, and smiled and
shook hands also. I was then conducted into a room in
which the three Lhasa monks were seated, and here the
difference was at once observable. They made no attempt
to rise, and only made a barely civil salutation from their
cushions. One object of my visit had already been
attained : I could from this in itself see how the land lay,
and where the real obstruction came from.
The Lhasa General and the Shigatse Generals - -we
had become accustomed to calling them Generals, though
the English reader must not imagine they at all resembled
Napoleon took their seats on cushions at the head of the
room and opposite to the monks. We were given three
cushions on the right, and two Shigatse Generals and
another Shigatse representative had seats on the left,
Tea was served, and the Lhasa General, as the spokes-
man of the assembly, asked after my health*
After I had made the usual polite replies and inquiries
after their own welfare, I said I had not come to them
now on a formal visit as British Commissioner, or with
any idea of officially discussing the various points of differ-
ence between us ; but I was anxious to see them and
know them, and to have an opportunity of freely discuss*
ing the general situation in a friendly, informal manner.
So I had ridden over, without ceremony and without
escort, to talk matters over, and see if there > was no means
of arriving at a settlement by peaceful means. 1 said that
DISCUSSION WITH TIBETAN LEADERS 165
I had been appointed British Commissioner on account of
my general experience in many different countries, that I
had no preconceived ideas upon this question and no
animus against them ; from what I had seen of them, I
was convinced there was no people with whom we were
more likely to get on, and I hoped now we had really met
each other face to face we should find a means of settling
our differences and forming a lasting friendship.
The Lhasa General replied that all the people ot
Tibet had a covenant that no Europeans were ever to be
allowed to enter their country, and the reason was that
they wished to preserve their religion. The monks here
chimed in, saying that their religion must be preserved, and
that no European, on any account, must be admitted. The
General then went on to say that, if I really wanted to
make a friendly settlement, 1 should go back to Yatung.
1 told him that for a century and a half we had re-
mained quietly in India, and made no attempt to force
ourselves upon them. Even though we had a treaty right
to station tin officer nt Yatung, we had not exercised that
right But of recent years we had heard from many
different sources that they were entering into friendly
relations with the Russians, while they were still keeping
us at arm's length. One Dorjieff, for instance, had been
the bearer of autograph letters from the Dalai Lama to
the Cmr and Russian officials at the very time when the
Lama was refusing letters from the Viceroy of India, We
could understand their being friendly with both the
Russians and ourselves, or their wishing to have nothing
to do with either ; but when they were friendly with the
Russians and unfriendly with us, they must not be sur-
prised at our now paying closer attention to our treaty
rights.
The General assured me that it was untrue that they
had any dealings with the Russians, and the monks
brusquely intimated that they disliked the Russians just as
much as they disliked us ; they protested that they had
nothing to do with the Russians, that there was no
Russian near Lhasa at that time, and that Dorjieff was a
Mongolian, and the custom of Mongolians was to make
166 TUNA
large presents to the monasteries. They asked me, there-
fore, not to be so suspicious.
I said it was difficult not to be suspicious when they
persistently kept us at such a distance* I then addressed
them in regard to religion, and asked them if they had ever
heard that we interfered with the religions of the people
of India. They admitted that we did not interfere, but
they maintained, nevertheless, that it was to preserve their
religion that they adhered to their determination to keep
us out.
As the Buddhist religion nowhere preaches this
seclusion, it was evident that what the monks wished
to preserve was not their religion, but their priestly
influence. This was the crux of the whole situation.
And it entirely bore out what Mr. Nolan, the Com-
missioner of Darjiling, had observed many years before*
that it was " the breaking of the beggars' bowl " that was
in question, the loss of these presents from Mongolians and
others.
So far the conversation, in spite of occasional bursts
from the monks, had been maintained with perfect good-
humour ; but when I made a sign of moving, and said that
I must be returning to Tuna, the monks, looking as black
as devils, shouted out : " No, you won't ; you'll stop here.*'
One of the Generals said, quite politely, that we had
broken the rule of the road in coming into their country,
and we were nothing but thieves and brigands in occupy-
ing Phari Fort. The monks, using forms of speech which
Captain O'Connor told me were only used in addressing
inferiors, loudly clamoured for us to name a date when we
would retire from Tuna before they would let me leave
the room. The atmosphere became electric. The faces
of all were set. One of the Generals left the room;
trumpets outside were sounded, and attendants closed
round behind us.
A real crisis was on us, when any false step might
be fatal. I told Captain O'Connor, though there was really
no necessity to give such a warning to anyone so im-
perturbable, to keep his voice studiously calm, and to
* See p. 68.
CRITICAL SITUATION 167
smile as much as he possibly could, and I then said that I
had to obey the orders of my Government, just as much as
they had to obey the orders of theirs ; that I would ask
them to report to their Government what I had said, and
I would report to my Government what they had told
me. That was all that could be done at present ; but if
the Viceroy, in reply to my reports, ordered me back tc
India I should personally be only too thankful, as theirs
was a cold, barren, and inhospitable country, and I had a
wife and child at Darjiling, whom I was anxious to see
again as soon as I could.
This eased matters a little. But the monks continued
to clamour for me to name a date for withdrawal, and the
situation was only relieved when a General suggested that
a messenger should return with me to Tuna to receive
there the answer from the Viceroy. The other Generals
eagerly accepted the suggestion, and the tension was at
once removed. Their faces became smiling again, and they
conducted me to the outer door with the same geniality
and politeness with which they had received us, though
the monks remained seated and as surly and evil-looking
as men well could look,
We preserved our equanimity of demeanour and the
smiles on our faces till we had mounted our ponies and
were well outside the camp, and then we galloped off as
hard as we could, lest the monks should get the upper
hand again and send men after us. It had been a close
shave, but it was worth it.
I had sized up the situation, and felt now I knew how
I stood. I knew from that moment that nowhere else
than in Lhasa, and not until the monkish power had been
broken, should we ever make a settlement. But it was
still treason to mention the word " Lhasa " in any com-
munication to Government, and I had to keep these con-
clusions to myself for many months yet, for fear I might
frighten people in England who had not yet got accus-
tomed to the idea of our going even as far as Gyantse.
While I perceived that the monks were implacably
hostile, that they had the preponderating influence in the
State, and were entirely convinced of their power to
168 TUNA
dictate to us, I perceived also that the lay officials were
much less unfriendly, less ignorant of our strength, and
more amenable to reason, and that the ordinary people
and soldiers, though perhaps liable to be worked on by the
monks, had no innate bad feeling against us. Hereon I
based my hopes for the security of the eventual settlement.
A few days later the Lhasa General, known as the
Lhi-ding Depon, in company with a high Shigatse official
and the General who had met me at Yatung, paid me a
visit at Tuna. The Lhasa General announced that, like
me, he was most anxious to come to a friendly settlement,
and therefore he would ask me to withdraw to Yatung,
where discussions could then take place in the most
amicable manner. I told him I did not wish to say any-
thing disagreeable to himself personally, as he had always
been polite to me, but I would ask him to let his Govern-
ment know that the time was past for talk of this kind,
and to warn them that they must take a more serious
view of the situation ; they must realize that the British
Government were exceedingly angry at the treatment
that I, their representative, had received, and were in no
mood to be trifled with. Far from going back, or even
staying here, we were going to advance still farther into
Tibet, and I expected to be met both by the Amban and
by a Tibetan official of the highest rank, who would have
sufficient authority to negotiate a proper treaty with me
in the place of the one concluded by the Amban, which
the Tibetans repudiated. I had waited for six months for
a proper representative to be sent to meet me, but even
now none had arrived,
I heard from him later that he had communicated to
the Lhasa monks the substance of this interview, but they
had stated they could make no report of my views to the
Lhasa Government until we had retired to Yatung.
Two Captains were sent to me on February 7 with a
message that I must retire to Yatung, and I sent the
usual reply verbally by them and in writing by the hands
of my Tibetan Munshi. This latter communication was
returned, with the customary intimation that letters were
not received-
o
I
I
PH
&H
p
O
TRIALS FROM COLD 169
Two more messengers arrived on the 10th, asking me
to fix a date for withdrawal, and threatening trouble if I
remained. These threats and rumours of attacks, and
reports of the monks having set apart five days to curse
us solemnly, continued for the following weeks, and caused
us to keep well on the lookout: double sentries were
posted at night, and, on account of the cold, relieved every
hour. It was wearisome and anxious work, but we felt
quite confident of ourselves, and in the end no attack was
made.
General Macdonald and the main body were also
having a perhaps equally trying time. Communications
had to be kept up across two high passes right through
the winter ; a flying column had to be ready to proceed at
any moment to our assistance at Tuna ; and supplies and
transport had to be collected for our advance as soon as
possible to Gyantse. On the Tang-la there was never any
great depth of snow, and what snow fell soon cleared away ;
but there were terrible winds, and the convoys sometimes
crossed in blinding, icy blizzards. In February General
Macdonald himself came over with one of these convoys
for a short inspection. On the passes into Sikkim there
was much more snow, and they were occasionally closed
after an unusually heavy storm. Still, fairly continuously
the transport corps plied across them, and supplies accumu-
lated in Chumbi.
All this time we had been in considerable anxiety in
regard to Bhutan. During our advance through Chumbi
we had Bhutan on our right flank. The Bhutanese were
of the same religion as the Tibetans, and closely connected
with them. It was possible, therefore, that they might
take the Tibetan side, and it was of the highest importance
that we should secure at least their neutrality. Mr,
Marindin, the Commissioner of Darjiling, had written to
ask them to send someone to discuss matters with him ;
but the answer, which was received as we were passing
through Chumbi, was not wholly satisfactory, so I sent
another message, with the result that an official of some
standing, the Trimpuk Jongpen, arrived at Pliari, and was
brought on by Mr. Walsh to see me at Tuna.
t,
170 TUNA
He was a rough, jovial person, and when I said that I
merely wished to know on which side the Bhutunese
intended to place themselves, that, as they were of the
same religion and race as the Tibetans, we could quite
understand their siding with them, but only wished to
know plainly, so that we could make our arrangements
accordingly, he replied most emphatically that the Bhu-
tanese would be on our side. I said that these were mere
words, and he said that he would put them on paper and
seal it, which he did. I said that that was, after all only
a piece of paper. Would he show his friendship by
deeds? Would he help us with supplies? And he
readily promised, and gave us permission, on payment, to
make a road up the Amo-chu. Like the Nepalese on our
left flank, these Bhutanese on our right were most whole-
souled in their support, and it greatly strengthened ^my
position subsequently to be able to advance into Tibet
arm-in-arm with Nepal and Bhutan.
This Trimpuk Jongpen at once became a useful ally.
I explained to him the whole of our case with the Tibetans,
pretty much as I had explained it to the Tibetans in my
speech at Khamba Jong. He asked me whether he might
see the Lhasa delegates, explain our views to them, and
try and induce them to come to a settlement, for he said
his Government were most anxious that a peaceful settle-
ment should be arrived at I had no hope that he would
be able to effect anything, but I thought that the fact of
his attempting to mediate might be the means of bringing
the Bhutanese Government into closer relation with us.
I therefore consented to his seeing the Lhasa delegates,
and asked when he proposed to go to Guru. His answer
surprised me. He said he found there was no one there
of sufficient rank for him to visit them, so he would send
over and invite them to come and see him. The Lhasa
General, another General, and one of the Lama repre-
sentatives did come and see him, and this incident
furnished sufficient proof of what we had all along con-
tendedthat the men whom the Lhasa Government had
sent to negotiate with me were of an altogether too insig-
nificant position for me to meet in serious negotiation.
INTERVIEW WITH BHUTANESE ENVOY 171
After the first interview the Bhutan Envoy came to
me to report the result. He said he had repeated to them
what I told him, and the Lhasa delegates had replied that
Yatung was the place appointed for discussions, and we
ought to have discussed matters there ; but, instead of
that, we came with an armed force to Khamba Jong, and
then had come into Chumbi, so they did not believe that
we honestty intended to make a peaceful settlement, but
they asked what were the terms of the settlement we
wished to make.
I told the Envoy that I would willingly go back to
Yatung if I thought that by doing so there was the
slightest prospect of making a durable settlement with
the Tibetans. But, as a matter of fact, we had tried for
years to make a settlement at Yatung. Our political
officers, Mr, White and Captain Le Mesurier, had met
Tibetan officials, and also the Amban, there, but without
result* As to what terms we would ask in the settlement,
that was, of course, a matter which I should have to discuss
with the high official possessed of full powers to negotiate,
as soon as one was appointed ; but I might say, in general
terms, that there were three main points we should want
to settle with the Tibetans : Firstly, the boundary with
Sikkim ; secondly, the regulation of trade and the selec-
tion of a more suitable trade-mart than Yatung; and
thirdly, the means of communication between ourselves
and the Tibetans. The Envoy then returned to the
Lhasa delegates, who had been awaiting my reply. On
the following day they had a full meeting at Guru to
consider it, and the Lhasa General paid another visit to
the Bhutan Envoy. The Tibetans said that, as we were
in the wrong, having advanced into Tibet, we should
retire to Yatung, and then negotiations could take place ;
but as regards our wish to regulate communications with
them, they coiild 6nly say that no communications would
ever be allowed, as it was against the rule of the country.
These negotiations had led to nothing ; but one more
stone had been turned in our attempt to effect a settle-
ment peacefully, and incidentally the attempt had been
instrument^ in putting us on good terms with the Bhu-
172 TUNA
tanese. I wrote at the time that I was hopeful that
from this beginning we might establish more intimate
relations with Bhutan, for the Envoy was the first sensible
man I had met on that frontier, and there might be
advantage in closer intimacy between us. Everything
turned out well afterwards. Mr. White twice visited the
country and established the best possible relations with
the people, and Bhutan is now definitely under our
protection.
This was the last attempt to negotiate before we
advanced. The old Resident at Lhasa spoke much of
coming to meet me, but never came. The new Resident,
who had been appointed specially for this work in De-
cember, 3902, did not reach Lhasa till February the llth,
1904^ and neither he nor any proper Tibetan negotiator
appeared. And we remained patiently at Tuna through
all February and March.
The military officers had a poor time, for they had to
be so rigorously on the watch, and Colonel Hogge had
such a bout of sleeplessness from the effect of the high
altitudes that he had to go for a fortnight's change to
Chumbi, which is only 9,000 feet above sea-level, to give
himself the chance of sleeping again, after which he was
all right. We had, too, twelve cases of pneumonia among
the sepoys, eleven of which, from the altitude, proved
fatal. And one poor young fellow in the postal depart-
ment, Mr. Lewis, had to have both his feet amputated
for frost-bite, and eventually died of the effects.
But we had much to employ us, too. Captain Ryder
would go off surveying; Mr. Hayden would make
geologizing expeditions; Captain Walton would collect
every living animal of any size and description he could
detect; Captain O'Connor would always be surrounded
with Tibetans, of every degree of dirt; and I would
spend my days on the mountain-sides, sheltered as much
as I could be from the wind, getting as much as I could
of the bright warm sunshine of these southern latitudes,
and on the whole thoroughly enjoying myself, for the
natural scenery was an unfailing pleasure.
Generally the days were clear and bright, but almost
Fife;
TERRIFIC BLIZZARDS 173
invariably at ten or eleven a terrific wind would arise, and
blow with fury for the rest of the day. And sometimes
mighty masses of cloud would come sweeping up from
the direction of India. Snow would fall, and then for two
or three days together we would be the sport of a terrific
blizzard. The mountains would be hidden, and nothing
would be visible but dull masses of fiercely-driven snow,
as fine and dry as dust, and penetrating everywhere. For
days together the thermometer would not rise above 15
even in the middle of the day. Our camp would be the
very picture of desolation. It seemed impossible that the
poor sentries at night would ever be able to stand against
the howling storm and the penetrating snow* or that our
soldiers would ever be able to resist an attack from the
Tibetans in such terrific circumstances.
By the middle of March General Marrionald's
arrangements were Hearing completion, and 1 wrote to the
new Resident, who had recently announced his arrival,
saying that I was about to move to (iyuntse to commence
negotiations, that I hoped to meet him there, and trusted
he would secure the attendance of fully-empowered
Tibetan representatives of suitable rank* I asked him to
warn the Tibetans that the consequences of resistance to
the passage of my Mission would be very serious,
On March 24 General Macdonald left Chumbi, and
arrived at Tuna on the 28th, with two 10-pounder guns, one
7 -pounder, four companies ?Wnd Pioneers, three and a half
companies 8th Gurkhas, iield-hospitai, and engineer park*
Colonel Hodge's patrols had been watching the
Tibetans carefully lately* Reinforcement?} had arrived
since i visited Guru, and the Tibetans had built a wall
across the road about six miles from Tuna. There was
also a considerable force on the other side of the Bam-tso
(lake).
On March 81* after we hud given fair warning to the
Tibetans, the advance was made. Light snow lay on the
ground* The cold was even now intense* News that the
Tibetans were still in position had reached us, and the
crucial moment which was to decide upon peace or war
was now approaching.
174 TUNA
We moved along as rapidly as is possible at those high
altitudes and encumbered with heavy clothing. A short
way out we were met by a messenger from the Tibetan
General, urging us to go back to India. I told the
messenger to gallop back at once and tell the Lhasa
General that we were on our way to Gyantse, and were
going as far as Guru, ten miles distant, that day, I said
that we did not want to fight, and would not unless we
were opposed, but that the road must be left clear for us,
and the Tibetans must withdraw from their positions
across it. Farther on, as we advanced across an almost
level gravelly plain, we came in sight of the Tibetan
position in a series of sangars on a ridge. At 1,000 yards'
distance we halted, and awaited the arrival of the Tibetans
for our last palaver. They rode up briskly with a little
cavalcade, and we all dismounted, set out rugs and coats
on the ground, and sat down for the final discussion. I
reiterated the same old statement that we had no wish or
intention of fighting if we were not opposed, but that we
must advance to Gyantse. If they did not obstruct our
progress or did not attack us, we would not attack them.
But advance we must, for we had found it impossible to
negotiate anywhere else. They replied with the request
or, indeed, almost order that we must go back to Yatung,
and they would negotiate there. They said these were
their instructions from Lhasa. They also did not wish to
fight, but they had orders to send us back to Yatung.
There was no possible reasoning with such people.
They had such overweening confidence in their Lama's
powers. How could anyone dare to resist the orders of
the Great Lama ? Surely lightning would descend from
heaven or the earth open up and destroy anyone who had
such temerity! I pointed to our troops, now ready
deployed for action. I said that we had tried for fourteen
years inside our frontier to settle matters. I urged that
for eight months now I had patiently tried to negotiate,
but no one with authority came to see me, my letters
were returned, and even messages were refused. I had
therefore received the commands of the Emperor to
advance to Gyantse, in the hope that perhaps there re-
ADVANCE TO GURU 175
sponsible negotiators would meet us. Anyhow, the time
for further parleying here was gone. The moment for
advance had arrived. I would give them a quarter of an
hour after their return to their lines within which to make
up their minds. After that interval General Macdonald
would advance, and if the Tibetans had not already left
their positions blocking our line of advance, he would
expel them by force.
All this was interpreted to them by Captain O'Connor
with his inimitable suavity and composure. But we might
just as well have spoken to a stone wall. Not the very
slightest effect was produced. After all, our numbers were
not very overwhelming. The Tibetans had charms against
our bullets, and the supernatural powers of the Great
Lama in the background. Whether they had any lurking
suspicions that perhaps, after all, these might not be
efficacious I know not. But, anyhow, all had to obey the
orders from Lhasa. Those orders were not to let us
proceed farther, so stop us they must, and that was all
they were concerned with. They had formed no plan of
what they should do if we did advance contrary to the
Great Lama's orders. But for that there was no need ;
the Lama would provide. Such were their ideas. It was,
of course, an impossible situation.
The Generals and their following returned to their
camp. The quarter of an hour of grace elapsed. And
now the great moment had arrived. But I wished still
to give them just one last chance, in the hope that at
the eleventh hour, and at the fifty-ninth minute of
the eleventh hour, they might change their minds. I
therefore asked General Macdonald to order his men not
to fire upon the Tibetans until the Tibetans first fired on
them. In making this request I well knew the responsi-
bility I was incurring. We were but a handful of men
about 100 Englishmen and 1,200 Indians in the face of
superior numbers of Tibetans, in the heart of their country,
15,000 feet above the sea, and separated from India by
two high passes ; and the advantage our troops possessed
from arms of precision and long-range fire I took from
them.
176 TUNA
It was the last and final effort to carry out our object
without the shedding of blood. The troops responded
with admirable discipline to the call They steadily ad-
vanced across the plain and up the hillside to the Tibetan
lines, expecting at any moment that from behind the
sangars a destructive volley might be opened upon them
before they could fire a shot. Some of them afterwards,
and very naturally, told me that they hoped they would
never again be put in so awkward a position. But I trust
their discipline will at any rate show to those in England
who so decried this day's action, and spoke about our
** massacring unarmed Tibetans " that men on the re-
motest confines of the Empire can and do exercise
moderation and restraint in the discharge of their duty*
and do not always act with that wantonness and reckless
cruelty with which they are so often credited at home.
If General Macdonald had had a perfectly free hand,
and had been allowed to think only of military considera-
tions, he would have attacked the Tibetans by surprise in
their camp, without giving them any warning at all ; and
even after I had given the Tibetans warning, if he had still
been free to act on only military lines, he would have
shelled their position with his guns, and with long-range rifle-
fire have broken down the defence before advancing to the
attack. As it was, in order to give them a chance up
to the very last moment, he abdicated both the advantage
of surprise and of long-range fire, and his troops advanced
up the mountain-side on less than even terms to the
fortified position of the Tibetans.
The Tibetans on their side showed great indecision*
They also had apparently received orders not to fire first ;
and the whole affair seemed likely to end in comedy rather
than in the tragedy which actually followed. The Tibetans
first ran into their sangars and then ran out again.
Gradually our troops erept up and round the flanks. They
arrived eventually face to face with the Tibetans, as will
be seen in the accompanying photograph by Lieutenant
Bailey, and things were almost at aa impasse till the
Tibetans slowly yielded to the 'admonitions of our troops,
and allowed themselves to be shouldered out of their
1
-I
o
H
IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION
position and be "moved on/* as Londo%policemen would
disperse a crowd from Trafalgar Square.
At this point the two Lhasa Majors who had met me
previously m the day rode out again, and told me that
the Tibetans had been ordered not to fire, and* begged
me to stop the troops from advancing. I replied that
we must continue the advance, and could not allow
any troops to remain on the road. There was a post
actually on the road, with a wall newly and deliberately
built across it, and it was obvious that if we were ever
to get to Gyantse the Tibetans behind that wall must be
^ n Tn. d ; Yet l thou g ht *e affair was practically over.
I he libetans were streaming away from their position
along the ridge, and had even begun to leave their post on
the road. Then a change came. The Lhasa General, or
possibly the monks, recalled the men to their post, and
an officer reported to General Macdonald that, though
surrounded by our troops, they refused to retreat : they
were not fighting, but they would not leave the wall they
Jiad built acr6ss the road.
General Macdonald and I had a consultation together,
p ^nd agreed that in these circumstances the only thing to
q* was to disarm them and let them go. We rode,
together to the spot, and found the Tibetans huddidf
* $her like a flock of sheep behind the wall. Our
ttry were in position on the hillside only 20 yards
ve .them on the one side ; on the other our Maxims
K guns were trained upon them at not 200 yards' dis-
\e. Our mounted infantry were in readiness in the
.^ sgjn only a quarter of a mile away. Our sepoys were
ftfually standing up to the wall, with their rifles pointing
|>ver at the Tibetans within a few feet of them. And the
|sa General himself with J^js staff was on our side of
wall, in amoi^g our sepoys.
" ; had, of course, completely lost his head. Though
tmaridw some thousands of armed men, and though
given him Dimple warning of our intention' to
^ance, he^-wsas totally unprepared fer action wheft our
'ance was ma,del He had brought his men back iiito aft
a|$urd positid^- his action when he had got them back *
178 TUNA
was simply childish. J sent Captain O'Connor to announce
to him that General Macdonald and I had decided thai,
his men must be disarmed, but he remained sullen ami
did nothing ; and when, 'after a pause, the disarmament
was actually commenced, he threw himself upon a sepoy,
drew a revolver, and shot the sepoy in the jaw.
Not, as I think, with any deliberate intention, but from
sheer inanity, the signal had now been given. Other
Tibetan shots immediately followed. Simultaneously
volleys from our own troops rang out; the guns aa'd
Maxims commenced to fire. Tibetan swordsmen made it
rush upon any within reach, and the plucky and enter-
prising Edmund Candler, the very able correspondent of
the Daily Mail, received more than a dozen wounds, while
Major Wallace Dunlop, one of the best officers in the
force, was severely handled. For just one single instant
the Tibetans, by a concerted and concentrated rush, might
have broken our thin line, and have carried the Mission
and the military staff. But that instant passed in a /lash.
Before a few seconds were over, rifles and guns were dettliiur
the deadliest destruction on them in their huddled musses!
Ihe Lhasa General himself was killed at the start, and
m a few minutes the whole affair was over. The plain
was strewn with dead Tibetans, and our troops instiru--
tively and without direct orders ceased firing-thoud., in
fact, they had only fired thirteen rounds per man.
It was a terrible and ghastly business ; but it was not
fair for an English statesman to call it a massacre of
unarmed men, for photographs testify that the Tibetans
were aU armed r and, looking back now! I do not see how
it could possibly have been avoided. The Tibetans after-
ward* i at Lhasa told me in all seriousness thrt I iSt
have known their General did not mean to fight, foi ifhe
did he would not have been in the front as he was This
no doubt, was true, and, left to himself, he would we
may be sure have arranged matters with me in a J?
THE GURU DISASTER 179
awing him, a fanatical Lama from Lhasa. Ignorant and
arrogant, this priest herded the superstitious peasantry to
destruction. It is only fair to assume that, somewhere in
the depths of his nature, he felt that the people's religion
was in danger, and that he was called upon to preserve it,
But blind fear of the danger which he believed threatened
was so combined with overweening confidence, and there
was such a lack of effort to avert the supposed danger by
reasonable means, as might so easily have been done, that
lie simply brought disaster on his country, and, poor man,
paid the penalty of his unreasonableness with his life.
What to me is so sad is that now, when the Lamas have
discovered their errors and are imploring our aid, we can
do so little to befriend them.
After the action. General Macdonald ordered the whole
of the medical staff to attend the wounded Tibetans,
Everything that with our limited means we could do
for them was done. Captains Davies, Walton, Baird,
Franklin and Kelly, devoted themselves to their care, A
rough hospital was made at Tuna. And the Tibetans
showed great gratitude for what we did, though they failed
to understand why we should try to take their lives one day
and try to save them the next. We had been in some
anxiety regarding a second body of Tibetans, 2,000 strong,
on the opposite side of the lake, but these, on hearing of
the disaster near Guru, retreated ; and on April 5 we
resumed our march in the direction of Gyantse, the ther-
mometer, even thus in April, showing 23 degrees of frost
on the morning we started.
I now received a letter, dated March the 27th, from
the Resident, who said he was most anxious to hasten to
meet me, and had seen the Dalai Lama, but " difficulties
arose over transport, which he was unwilling to grant/*
After considering all this, he had come to the conclusion
that Tibetan politics were those of drift; that Chinese
officials were too engrossed in self-seeking, and hence the
Tibetans shirked action. But a quarrel on his part with
the Dalai Lama would only mar matters, so he would
" go on " and perform his share of the duties allotted to
him, and he had decided to write " a succinct report to
180 TUNA
Peking," and then again ask for transport. He hoped I
would recognize his perplexities. I had excellent reason
for an advance to Gyantse with my escort, he said. But,
" notwithstanding the craft and deceit of the Tibetans and
their violation of principle," he had compelled them
" somewhat to understand the meaning of principle," and
if I suddenly penetrated into their country he feared they
would lapse into their former temper, and thus imperil
the conclusion of trade relations. The Dalai Lama had
told him that if I would retire to Yatung he would select
Tibetan delegates and request him (the Resident) to
proceed there and discuss matters. The Resident added
that " this frontier matter had been hanging fire for over
ten years because it had been perfunctorily drawn up in
the beginning, and because subsequently it was shirked by
the different delegates, who did not strive honestly to
adjust the difficulties." He was ashamed to mention the
question of my retirement to Yatung, but, still, he thought
it would be better for me to retire there and ''insure the
smooth working of a settlement."
This is all we got after waiting for him for fifteen
months. I replied, informing him of the circumstances of
the Guru fight, and telling him that I was advancing on
Gyantse, winch I expected to reach in about a week, and
I hoped that I should then have the pleasure of meeting
him and a high Tibetan official with the power to make a
settlement which would prevent any further useless blood-
shed.
On the way to Gyantse, at the Tsamdang Gorge, the
Tibetans again opposed our progress by building a wall
across the narrow passage. But General Macdonald dis-
lodged them and inflicted heavy loss, and on April 11 we
arrived at Gyantse.
We found the valley covered with well-built hamlets
and numerous trees and plenty of cultivation. Most of
the inhabitants had fled, but the jong, or fort, which
stands on an eminence in the middle of the valley, was
still partially occupied. The Commandant was informed
that General Macdonald proposed to occupy the jong on
the following morning, and \vould expect to find it vacated
ARRIVAL AT GYANTSE 181
by 9 a.m. On the morning of the 12th we found that
the troops had been withdrawn, and the Jong was occupied
without opposition.
So ended another phase of the enterprise, and on
April 14 the Viceroy telegraphed, offering to myself,
General Macdonald, and to all the officers and men of the
Mission escort, both civil and military, his warmest con-
gratulations upon the success of the first part of our
undertaking, and his grateful recognition of the cheerful-
ness, self-restraint, and endurance exhibited by all ranks
in circumstances unexampled in warfare, and calling for
no ordinary patience and fortitude.
CHAPTER XIII
GYANTSE
GYANTSE, which had been our goal for so many months,
and with which we were to be but too well acquainted
before we had finished, has two principal features the
Jong and the monastery, called Palkhor Choide. The
Jong is a really imposing structure built of strong, solid
masonry, and rising in tiers of walls up a rocky eminence
springing abruptly out of the plain to a height of 400 or
500 feet. It has a most commanding and dominant look.
And the monastery immediately adjoining it at a purl ol'
the base of the hill is also impressive from the height and
solidity of the walls with which it is surrounded, mid by
the massiveness of the buildings within the walls.*
The town itself was not of much importance, nor so
promising as a trading-mart as I had hoped. It lay at
the foot of the jong, and the bazaar did not possess shops
of any size. The real population, indeed, seemed to be
scattered in the numerous hamlets dotted all over the
valley, through which ran a considerable river.
The demeanour of the inhabitants was respectful.
Iney brought in supplies for sale, and in a few days a
regular bazaar was established by the Tibetans immediately
outside our camp, the bartering being carried on, as usual.
mostly by women The people said they had not the
slightest wish to fight us, and only desired to escape
being commandeered by the Lhasa authorities. The
valley proved to be very fertile, with cultivation all down
it, and supplies were plentiful.
e found
182
QUIET AT GYANTSE 183
Gyantse was indeed a delightful change from Tuna.
It was, in the first place, nearly 2,000 feet lower, so
naturally warmer. In addition, spring was coming on.
Leaf-buds were beginning to sprout on the willows. The
little irises in plenty were appearing. And birds of several
rare varieties came to rejoice Captain Walton's heart and
fill his collection.
Captain O'Connor, Captain Ryder, and Mr. Hayden
rode down the Shigatse road to Dongtse and visited its
monastery, besides other houses and estates of note in
the valley. They found the people everywhere friendly
and very different from what they would have been on
the north-west frontier, for instance, under similar circum-
stances. The peasants were ploughing and sowing their
fields, and the whole country appeared perfectly contented
and quiet.
From the rear, too, came encouraging tidings. I
received a letter from the Dhann Raja, of Bhutan, saying
that when he heard that his friends had won a victory he
was greatly rejoiced, for nowadays England and Blmtan
had established a firm friendship, and he hoped that there
would always be firm faith and friendship between the
English and Bhutanese.
Yet, with all this ease and quiet, there was not the
slightest real sign of the business of negotiation being
commenced. I had naturally expected that, when the
Resident had been specially deputed by the Chinese
Government for these negotiations sixteen months pre-
viously, I should have found him at Gyantse, or at any
rate on his way there, and that, after the Chinese Govern-
ment had been urging the Tibetans since the previous
summer to send a properly empowered delegate, the
Resident would have been accompanied by a Tibetan
Commissioner capable of negotiating with tone. But on
April 22 I received a despatch from the Resident, stating,
indeed, his intention of arriving at Gyantse before May 12,
but giving no news that a proper Tibetan Commissioner had
been appointed. He stated that the Lhasa General had
been the aggressor in the fight at Guru, that the fault was
on the side of the Tibetans, who had disregarded his
184 GYANTSE
advice, and he recognized our compassion in having mag-
nanimously released the foolish and ignorant prisoners,
cared for the wounded, and shown humane motives of
sternness and mercy. He added that the Dalai Lama
was now aroused to a sense of our power. But still there
was no mention that the transport which the Resident
was "insisting on" had been provided, and the appoint-
ment of a proper Tibetan Commissioner was still not
made. In fact, the Councillors had all been imprisoned
by the Dalai Lama, and there were fct but few capable
Tibetan officials to settle the frontier and oilier important
questions," ^ which could not, added the Resident, "be
disposed of in a peremptory manner/' A few days' delay
would not, therefore, he considered, be out of place.
Three days later he wrote that in this matter of
proceeding to meet me he had exhausted himself in talking
with the Tibetans, and trusted I would perceive something
of the difficult nature of the circumstances. And on
April 20 lie wrote that he had received a reply from the
Dalai Lamn about some representations I had made
against monks taking part in the fighting, but in this reply
not a word was mentioned about his transport or any other
matters.
In these circumstances I telegraphed to Government
on April 22 that the best way to meet these dilatory
tactics was, at the earliest moment by which military pre-
parations could be completed, to move the Mission straight
to Lhasa, and carry on the negotiations at the capital,
instead of halfway. This, I said, would be the most
effective and only permanent way of clinching matters,
besides being the cheapest and quickest Our prestige, I
urged, was then at its height, Nepal and Bhutan were
with us, the people were not against us, the Tibetan
soldiers did not care to %ht, the Lumas were stunned.
By a decisive move then a permanent settlement could
be procured, I added that, in recommending this pro-
posal at so early & stage for the consideration of Govern-
ment, my object was that the favourable season might be
utilized to the full, and that we might not allow the
psychological moment to pass without taking advantage
TIBETANS AGAIN ASSEMBLE 185
of it. Meanwhile, I said, I would receive the Amban,
and would ascertain what power to effect a settlement he
and the Tibetan representative really possessed.
In making this recommendation I was counting on a
collapse of the Lhasa authorities, which seemed to be
indicated by the Resident's statement, by the statement
of a Chinese official from Lhasa that Tibetan officers were
begging the Resident to intercede, by the fact that the
common people even, it was said, at Lhasa did not resent
our presence, that there were few troops between Gyantse
and Lhasa, and that the Lhasa authorities had been able
to produce only 5,000 men to oppose our advance as far as
Gyantse.
Whether this collapse would have taken place if we
had then set about advancing to Lhasa it is impossible to
say. Certainly it did not take place. But this may have
been due to the retirement of General Macdonald with
the greater part of the force which now took place, in
accordance with the plan prearranged between us of
leaving the Mission with a good strong escort to conduct
negotiations while the bulk of the force remained in sup-
port in Chumbi, where supplies were more readily avail-
able. This, from a supply point of view, was desirable,
and it was in accordance with the policy of Government,
but it may have had the effect of re-arousing the Tibetans.
Anyhow, rumours soon began to reach me that
Tibetan forces were collecting again. On the 24th came
news that they were building walls across the road at the
Karo-la (pass) on the way to Lhasa, that camps holding
700 or 800 Tibetans had been established there, that the
Dalai Lama was endeavouring to gain time to enlist
Tibetans from far and wide to resist a British advance to
Lhasa, and that the local soldiers round Gyantse were,
under his orders, quietly leaving and proceeding towards
Lhasa.
To ascertain the truth of these rumours. Colonel
Brander, who was now in command of the Mission escort
of 500 men, two guns and two Maxims, and some mounted
infantry, on April 28 sent out a reconnaissance party of
one company of mounted infantry to the Karo-la ; and on
186 GYANTSE
May 1 we received news from Captain Hodgson, com-
manding the party, that he had advanced with his mounted
infantry across the pass, and three miles beyond had found
the Tibetans in occupation of a wall, some 600 yards long,
built across the valley. The Tibetans, estimated at from
1,000 to 1,500 in number, opened a heavy fire on the
mounted infantry at about 300 yards' distance. Our men
then retired steadily, firing only a few shots and returned
towards Gyantse.
Besides the definite information thus acquired, reports
also reached me that other troops were assembling in the
Rong Valley, ready to support those on the Lhasa road,
and that there was a large gathering, estimated at 4,000,
assembled at Shigatse itself, a portion of which was to
move up to Dongtse, twelve miles from Gyantse.
Colonel Brander now came to me and asked for leave
to go out and attack the Tibetans before these gatherings
could come to a head. He had much frontier experience,
and I also had some, and we both of us knew that when
such gatherings take place it is a pretty sound general
principle to take the initiative, and hit hard at them
before they have time to accumulate overwhelming
strength. It was a bold move, he contemplated, for the
Karo-la (pass) was forty-five miles distant, and was over
16,000 feet high ; and while he was away with two-thirds
of the escort, the Mission, with only one-third of its full
escort, might be itself attacked. I said that if he, on his
side, did not mind taking this risk, I, on my side, did not
mind it, and, as far as my military opinion was worth
anything, was quite in favour of the operation*
But it was on political grounds that I had to give the
decision, and on those grounds I had no objection. I had
come to negotiate, but there was no symptom of nego-
tiators appearing. On the other hand, the Tibetans were
still further massing their troops ; their position at the
Karo-la and between there and Kangma was threatening
our line of communication; and they had fired on our
reconnoitring party. For these reasons I informed
Government by telegram on May 2 that I had raised no
objection on political grounds to Colonel Brander's pro-
ATTACK ON THE MISSION 187
posal to go out and attack the Tibetans on the pass before
they could attack our line of communication. I had stated,
verbally and in writing, to the Chinese and to the Tibetans
that we came to Gyantse to negotiate. Since our arrival
we had evacuated the Jong, and General Macdonald, with
the greater part of the force, had returned to Chumbi.
There could be no question, then, that we meant to
negotiate and not to fight. Yet they still neither sent a
negotiator, nor said they had any intention to negotiate ;
instead they massed troops to attack us ; and I felt at
perfect liberty to let the commander of the Mission escort
take whatever means he liked to secure its safety.
On the same day, in view of the rumours of the hostile
attitude of the Tibetans towards Shigatse and of their
reinforcement by local levies, I placed the Gyantse Jong-
pen in custody in the British camp.
Colonel Brander set out on May 3, with three com-
patiies of the 32nd Pioneers, one company 8th Gurkhas,
two 7-pounder guns and two Maxims, accompanied by
Mr. Wilton and Captain O'Connor, to assist him in case
Chinese or Tibetan officials were met with.
On May 4 Captain Walton's patients waxned him that
some kind of attack on us at Gyantse was likely, and
Major Murray, 8th Gurkhas, who was in command during
Colonel Brander's absence, sent out a mounted patrol some
miles down the Shigatse road ; but they returned, report-
ing everything quiet.
At dawn the next morning the storm burst, I was
suddenly awaked by shots and loud booing close by my
tent. I dashed out, and there were Tibetans firing through
our own loopholes only a few yards ofR From the Shigatse
direction a force of 800 men had marched all night, and
many, under cover of the darkness, had crept up under
the walls of our post. Then at dawn these suddenly
jumped up, and, supported by the remainder, made an
attempt to rush our post, a substantial house with a
garden at one side, the wall of which we had loopholed.
In the first critical moment they almost succeeded. They
as nearly as possible forced an entrance, but were stoutly
held at bay by two gallant little Gurkha sentries till our
188 GYANTSE
men turned out. Then, as at Guru, once the single
favourable moment had flashed by, nothing but disaster
lay before them. The attack began at about 4.30, and
did not cease till nearly 6.30, but in that time they had
left about 250 dead and wounded round our post.
Personally, 1 did not deserve to get through the
attack unscathed, for directly I was out of my tent I
made straight for the Mission rendezvous. I was in my
pyjamas, and only half awake, and the first thought that
struck me was to go to the rendezvous, agreed upon before-
hand, in what we called the citadel. But I ought, as I
did on other occasions and as I think always should be
done in cases of any sudden attack to have made straight
for the wall with whatever weapon came to hand, and
joined in repelling the attack during the few crucial
moments.
Major Murray, as soon as he had repelled the attack,
pursued the enemy for about two miles down the Shigatse
road. But it now became evident that this attacking
party was not the only force of Tibetans in the neighbour-
hood, and that another of similar strength had occupied
the Jong, for these latter began firing into our post, and
we gradually came to realize that we were now besieged.
It turned out from information received from prisoners
that these troops had been collected by a General recently
appointed by the Lhasa Government, and that it was
accompanied by a representative of the great Gaden
monastery at Lhasa, by two clerks of the Dalai Lama,
and by other Lhasa officials. It was, therefore, no mere
local rising, but an attack deliberately planned by the
Central Tibetan Government.
For a few days, till Colonel Brander returned, we were
in a critical position, and we were also anxious about
Colonel Brander himself. The worst that, in making our
calculations at Darjiling in November, we 'had deemed
likely to happen had happened, and we were now at the
straining-point. Major Murray, assisted especially by
Captain Ryder with his engineering experience, strength-
ened the post as far as possible during the day, and at
night we looked out watchfully for a further attack. For
BRANDER'S FIGHT AT KARO-LA 189
it was at night, when our long-range rifles lost their
special advantage, that the Tibetans would have their
best chance. We only had 170 men, and the vastly
superior numbers which the Tibetans were now collect-
ing ought to have had a fair chance of overwhelming us
if they had pressed home a well-planned night attack.
They fired a good deal during this and the following
nights, but we kept a good watch, and we heard after-
wards that the Lamas tried to organize a second attack
on us, but the men refused to turn out.
It was an intense relief to me to hear on the 7th that
Colonel Braiiderhad been successful in clearing the gather-
ing at the Karo-la, which consisted of 2,500 men, armed
with numerous Lhasa-made and foreign rifles, and headed
by many influential Lamas and officials from Lhasa. In
a short note to me he told me of the anxious moments he
had passed when, on the early morning before he made his
attack, he received a letter from me saying that the
Mission had been attacked at Gyantse. The Tibetans
were in a very strong position behind a loopholed wall of
great solidity, and 800 yards long, which they had built
right across the pass ; and to attack such a position at a
height of over 16,000 feet above sea-level, surrounded with
glaciers, with only a sixth of the numbers opposed to him,
and with his communications not over safe behind, Colonel
Brander had in truth to set his teeth and steel his
nerves. His frontal attack failed. Poor Bethune, a
typically steady, reliable and lion-hearted officer was killed.
The guns proved absolutely ineffective. Ammunition was
none too plentiful. And Colonel Brander said in his letter
to me that he was on the point of despairing when, just
at the critical moment, the turning movement of the
Gurkhas, under Major Row, who had slowly scrambled
up to a height of 18,000 feet, proved successful. Panic
took the Tibetans. They first began dribbling away from
the wall, then poured away in torrents. Colonel Brander
hurled his mounted infantry at them, and Captain Ottley
pursued them halfway to Lhasa.
It was a plucky and daring little action, and unique of
its kind in the annals of any nation ; for never before had
190 GYANTSE
fighting taken place at altitudes well over the summit of
Mont Blaric. I was indeed relieved to hear of its brilliant
success, and late at night on the 7th that is, the very day
after the fight to welcome back Captain O'Connor, Mr.
Perceval Landon, and the indefatigable Captain Ottley,
with his dashing mounted infantry, already the terror of
the Tibetans. They had made a bold dash back ahead of
Colonel Brander, and on the very next morning Captain
Ottley was to show the Tibetans who were investing us
the difference which his presence made.
A party of Tibetan horsemen were seen from our post
sauntering unsuspectingly along the valley, out of reach
of our rifles, but not out of reach of our mounted infantry,
twenty of whom, under Captain Ottley, now dashed out
of our post in pursuit. The Tibetans galloped up a side
valley ; Captain Ottley galloped after them ; and now we
saw a great body of Tibetan horsemen issue from the Jong
to cut him off. I held my breath in suspense, fearing he
would not see the party behind in his eager pursuit of
the party in front But Captain Ottley was not to be
so easily caught. He suddenly wheeled on to some rising
ground, dismounted his men as quick as lightning, and
was blazing away at both parties before they could realize
what had happened. In a moment several Tibetans
dropped, and the remainder scuttled away as fast as they
could.
All this put fresh spirit into our men, for we had had
three days and nights of considerable strain; and on the
day following Colonel Brander himself with his column
returned safely to camp, and arrangements were at once
made to harry the garrison of the jong with rifle and
Maxim fire.
We now heard full details of the Karo-la fight. It
appears that the Tibetans engaged were mostly drawn
from the districts of South-Eastern Tibet They were
commanded by a layman and a monk official, and had
been organized by a monk State Councillor and another
high ecclesiastical official who had been stationed for some
time at Nagartse. Representatives of the three great
Lhasa monasteries were at the fight. m& each monk had
DEATH OF BETHUNE 191
been provided by the Lhasa Government with a matchlock
and a knife before starting to join the army.
On the morning of the 10th we buried the remains of
poor Bethune, and it was my melancholy duty to read the
Burial Service over one whom I had known since the
Relief of Chitral, whose genial,, manly nature attached him
to every one of us, and for whose soldierly qualities all had
the highest admiration. He was a grand type of British
officer, strict and thorough in his duties, yet beloved by
his men, and his loss was severely felt in the days that
were upon us.
Colonel Brander now reconnoitred the Jong to see if
it was possible to capture it. He came to the conclusion
that an attack was too much to undertake. Our two
7-pounder guns were useless, though they had been
brought up specially for this purpose, and our force was
too small to carry the place by assault. It will naturally
be asked why, when the Jong was evacuated on our first
arrival, we were not now occupying it instead of a house
in the plain. General Macdonald had several excellent
reasons for not establishing the Mission with escort in the
jong. It was too far from a water-supply ; and it was too
big to hold. The post he chose was compact and on the
river. Here he placed us, with ample supplies to last us
till relief could arrive if we were attacked. As I have
said, the worst that could happen did happen, and we held
out till reinforcements came.
But Colonel Brander, though he could not attack the
jong, did not allow himself to be simply invested in his
post. He constantly sallied out to clear villages, and
demolish any within the vicinity of our post ; he main-
tained a mounted dak service to the rear, and in every
way endeavoured to keep as much in the ascendant as
was possible in the circumstances.
An important stage had now been reached. The
Government of India on May 14 telegraphed to me that
His Majesty's Government agreed with them that recent
events made it inevitable that the Mission should advance
to Lhasa, unless the Tibetans consented to^ open negotia-
tions at Gyantse, I was, therefore, to give notice to the
192 GYANTSE
Amban that we should insist on negotiating at Lhasa
itself if no competent negotiator appeared in conjunction
with him at Gyantse within a month.
This was satisfactory to a certain degree, but I was
disappointed to have to be still further talking about
negotiations when we had been wantonly attacked, when
we were now actually invested, and when the Lamas
were gathering yet more forces around us. Any mention
of negotiating in such circumstances would only lead them
to believe we feared them, and it was with much re-
luctance that 1 eventually gave this message. But the
Government had to contend with many difficulties. They
were in the face of a strong opposition in the House of
Commons. There was no enthusiasm for the enterprise in
the country. We had only recently emerged from the
South African War. The Russo-Japanese War was
causing anxiety. And we had not yet concluded the
agreement and formed the Entente Cordiale with France.
General Macdonald was meanwhile making every
preparation in Chumbi for supporting the Mission escort
and eventually advancing to Lhasa ; and he had many
difficulties of his own to contend with, through an out-
break of cholera, and through the heavy rains causing
many breaches in the road in Sikkim. Supplies, munitions
and transport, had to be laboriously collected, and progress
was necessarily slow. But on May 24 strong reinforce-
ments reached Gyantse, and were a most welcome addition
to our strength, enabling Colonel Brander to assume n
more active attitude. They consisted of two 10-pounder
guns of the British mountain battery, under Lieutenant
sa ^ ers and min -> ^h,
.-f^ ttle i a son was strengthened, too, by the
-5
SHEPPARD AND OTTLEY 193
paigns for his bravery. Here he added daily to his
reputation, and he and Captain Ottley were the two
whom I, as an onlooker seeing a good deal, if not always
most, of the game singled out to myself as having in them
the surest signs of military genius. In a military career
so much depends on chance that these two may very
possibly sink down to the usual humdrum respectable
commander or staff officer. But I will stake my reputa-
tion as a prophet that, if the chance ever does come to
either of them before routine and examinations have
quenched their burning vitality, they will make a mark
like Lord Roberts or like the daring Hodson of Hodson's
Horse.
Here I must in a brief parenthesis criticize some re-
marks I heard Mr. Roosevelt, for whom otherwise I have
the greatest admiration, make to the Cambridge University
Union Society, He said that in public life and in the
army geniuses were not wanted, but that what was required
were average men with the ordinary qualities developed
by the men themselves to an extraordinary degree. In
this I most profoundly disagree. It is not the ordinary
average man, however much he may develop his mediocrity,
that is most wanted. It is the exceptional man. It is the
man with just that touch which we cannot possibly define,
but which we all instinctively recognize as genius. There
is a superabundance of ordinary men, and it must be
admitted that they do ordinary work very much better
than geniuses. But it is the genius alone who, when the
occasion arises, will flash a ray through these masses of
ordinary men, and make them do what they would never
do with any amount of development of their ordinary
plodding qualities. And it is of the highest importance to
find out these exceptional men. But the way to do this
is not by examinations unless those who are least capable
of passing them are chosen. It is by letting the best
select the best, by letting the proved best select whom
they think promise best.
All this, however, is byway of interlude, and is merely
one of the many reflections I made while I was myself
under enforced inactivity, and had nothing much else to
13
194 GYANTSE
do but watch the adtion of those others upon whom the
responsibility for the time being rested.
With his reinforcements Colonel Brander now UK >k the
offensive in earnest, and on May 26 attacked the strongly-
built village of Palla, which was only 1,100 yardn from our
post, and which the Tibetans were holding in strength,
and connecting with the jong by a wall* In the dead of
night, in utter darkness, the attacking party assembled.
All of us who were to remain behind went up to the roof
to watch the result. The column moved noiselessly out
from our post. A long silence followed. Then a few
sharp rifle cracks rang out, and soon from the jong and
from the Palla village there was a continuous crackle, with
sharp spurts of flame lighting the darkness. Soon after a
great explosion was heard, followed by a deadly silence,
What had happened we heard afterwards* Captain
Sheppard, accompanied by Captain O'Connor, had dashed
up to the wall of one of the principal houses in the village 1 ,
and after shooting two Tibetans with his revolver, placed
a charge of gun-cotton, lighted a fuse, and dashed back
again to cover. The explosion was the result, and a big
breach had been made. Captain O'Connor had tlujn, with
his cake of gun-cotton, rushed into another hou.se and
successfully fired it. Lieutenant Garstin and Lieutenant
Walker in another place tried to make a similar breach,
but the fuse did not act, and in making a second attempt
the former was killed, while Captain O'Connor also was
severely wounded.
This blowing up of houses crammed full of armed wen
is indeed a desperate undertaking, but except by this
method of deliberately rushing up and placing a charge
under manned walls, and firing the charge, there was no
means of getting in and Sheppard, Garstin, Walker, and
O Connor deserve all the honour that is due to the bravest
of military actions.
Breaches had been made, but the village had yet to be
stormed, and Major Peterson, with his Sikh Pioneer* a*
soon as it was light, gallantly stormed house after home
while Colonel Brander supported him with tteg^on
the hillside a few hundred yards off; The Tibetam
FIGHT AT PALLA 195
fought stubbornly, as they always did in these villages, but
Major Peterson pressed steadily on, and by 1.30 the
village was in Colonel Brander's hands.
Our losses were, besides Lieutenant Garstin, Royal
Engineers killed, Captain O'Connor, Lieutenant Mitchell,
32nd Pioneers, Lieutenant Walker, Royal Engineers, and
nine men wounded. It was a heavy casualty list for our
little garrison to sustain, but the capture of the village
was a great shock to the Tibetans, who till then, accord-
ing to a Chinaman whom Mr. Wilton met when accom-
panying one of our sorties, had become very truculent,
and talked of first attacking us and cutting all our
throats, and then murdering all Chinese.
The Palla village was occupied by our troops, and at
1.30 on the morning of May 30 the Tibetans, who had for
long been trying to screw themselves up for an attack
upon us, attacked both this and a Gurkha outpost we had
established. It was a beautiful sight to watch, with the
jong keeping up a heavy fire on us, and the houses at the
foot of the jong firing away hard on the village. But the
Tibetans were easily repulsed, for Colonel Brander had
been careful to fortify the place well, and the Tibetans
after this never ventured to take the offensive against
us, and the tide now definitely began to turn.
I therefore now with less reluctance wrote letters to the
Resident and Dalai Lama, saying that we were ready to
negotiate at Gyantse up to June 25, but that unless by
that date the Resident and competent negotiators had
arrived, we would insist upon negotiations being carried
on at Lhasa. The letters, together with a covering letter
to the Tibetan commander in the jong, were sent by the
hands of prisoners. Before undertaking their delivery,
however, the bearers stipulated that they should be
allowed to return to us as prisoners, which was a signifi-
cant commentary on the method of enlistment of the
Tibetan forces opposing us. The next morning the letters
were returned by the Tibetan General, who said that it
was not their custom to receive communications from the
English.
On the afternoon of June 5 I received instructions
196 GYANTSE
from the Government of India to proceed to Chumbi,
to confer with General Macdonald as to future plans,
We had to a certain degree kept open our communications.
Still, there were Tibetans all about, and it was a some-
what unusual, and certainly risky, proceeding for the chief
of the Mission to have to ride 150 miles down the lines
to consult the military commander. However, I was
glad enough of the change from the monotony of our
investment at Gyantse, and at four the next morning,
while it was still dark, I rode out with an escort of forty
mounted infantry, under Major Murray, and accompanied
by that gallant doctor of the 8th Gurkhas, Dr. Franklin.
We gave a wide berth to the Niani monastery, and arrived
safely at Kangma, our first fortified post, forty miles
distant, where Captain Pearson, of the 23rd Pioneers, was
in command with about, 100 men.
All was quiet here, and the post had never so far
been attacked, owing probably to the effect of Colonel
Brander's action on the Karo-la, from which a route led
direct to this place, I had risen at 4.30 the next morning
to make an early start, and was just dressed when I heard
that peculiar jackal-like yell which the Tibetans had used
when they made their attacks at Gyantse, I instantly
dashed on to the roof, and there, sure enough, was a mob
of about 300 of them weighing down upon the post, and
n "-^*-***^ V*VTT** V*/VJU diV IMsnbf Hi lit
before our men were out they were right up to the walls,
hurling stones and firing at me up on the roof, which was
flat, and from which I could not for the moment find a
way down. We all, dressed or undressed, dashed up to
the walls, seizing the first rifles we could find, and firinir
away as hard as we could. And here again the Tibetans
just lost their opportunity. As before, in a moment it was
gone, and they suffered terribly for their want of military
acumen. Sixty or seventy were killed, and the rest drew
ott up the mountains.
Whfi?*?" 8 WES n0t f^ e on , ly bod y of Tibetans about.
White these were making the direct attack, two other
met^thf bet "^ ^ - a PP eajred ' dl of them KhaS
valley and the other down, to cut ^oifAJr^on&th^t
TIBETANS ATTACK KANGMA 197
hand. This was a great strategical effort on the part
of the Tibetan commander, but it failed, because as soon
as the attack on our post was repulsed Major Murray
sallied forth, and in turn attacked the other Tibetan
parties, climbing the hillside and sending them helter-
skelter over the mountains.
Then we had some breakfast, and I proceeded on my
way to Chumbi. It was twenty-eight miles to the next
stage, at Kala Tso, and there was considerable risk of
encountering Tibetans on the way; but I argued that
there was less risk immediately after a repulse than there
might be a day or two later. So I set out with twenty
mounted infantry, Major Murray and his men having
to return to Gyantse. At Kala Tso I was welcomed by
my old friends the 23rd Pioneers, under Colonel Hogge,
who had been our escort at Tuna during all that terrible
winter.
I now replied to a telegram I had received in the
morning from Government, asking me to communicate
my views on the general situation by telegram, as they
wished to have them as soon as possible. I said, with
reference to the contention which had been made by
the military authorities that it would be impossible to
keep troops at Lhasa after the autumn, that in my
opinion * an effort should be made to quarter troops at
Lhasa for the winter, for if we retired to Chumbi in
November, we risked the loss of all the results of our
present efforts, and the Tibetans would be still more
obstructive." 1 computed that the Lhasa and Gyantse
valleys would support 1,000 men each. I hoped that
while the ample forces now being sent would break
down opposition during the summer months, it would
be possible to keep in Lhasa a garrison, like that then
at Gyantse, capable of holding its own for a whole winter.
I added that if it was the case, as the military said, that
troops could not be maintained in Lhasa during the
winter, I had better not go to Lhasa at all, for there was
little use in my commencing negotiations with two such
obstructive people as the Tibetans and Chinese in any
place where I could not stay a full year, if necessary, I
198 GYANTSE
had been eleven months trying even to begin negotiations.
I should be quite unable to complete them in two or three
months, especially if the Chinese and Tibetans knew
we intended to leave before the winter.
The substance of this telegram I still think was per-
fectly sound, but its tone I do not now in cold blood
seek to defend. I must confess that during all this
Gyantse period I was not so steady and imperturbable as
an agent should be. Perhaps the prolonged stay at very
high altitudes was 'beginning to tell, for even Gyantse was
over 13,000 feet. Perhaps it was the greater realization
that nothing ever would be effected short of Lhasa, and
,that this playing about at Khamba Jong, at Tuna, and at
Gyantse was merely for the benefit of the distant British
elector. Or it may have been the difficulty of reconciling
military with political considerations. Or possibly it was
reading in the newspapers now arriving from England
the accusations of cruelty, injustice, and oppression which
were being publicly brought against the Mission, and the
prophecies of disaster, such as befell Cavagnari, which
were to come on us also. Whatever it was, I certainly
became very restive, and now earned a rebuff from the
Government of India, which only made me worse, awl
determined me to give up the whole business, ft seemed
so easy to carry through if we only went straight at it, so
utterly impossible when in England they were only hnlf-
hearted. I see now that I ought to have gone stolidly
and cheerily on, for Governments, too, have innumerable
difficulties of their own. Still, this was not easy at the
time.
It was tolerably certain a fortnight after my arrival at
Gyantse that the Tibetans did not seriously mean to
negotiate, and if we had to go to Lhasa, it was urgently
necessary to make early preparations for an advance*,
so that another whole summer might not pass away
without result. Yet I was undoubtedly premature in
breathing the word Lhasa so early as the end of April
It was clear to me that if we wished to make a well-
taought-out, complete, and lasting settlement with the
Tibetans and the Chinese combined, and if we wished
NEED FOR REMAINING AT LHASA 199
what I always regarded as much more important than
any paper settlement, and as our real object in going to
Tibet the establishment of a good feeling between our-
selves and the Tibetans, we must not only go to Lhasa,
but be able to stay there for an ample period. Yet when
1 stated this opinion to Government, I should, I acknow-
ledge, have given it in a less brusque way than I did in
the telegram I have quoted.
I had this much in excuse. I had, as I have related,
at dawn on the day I sent that telegram, and before having
had my breakfast, been attacked by the Tibetans, and had
myself to fight with a rifle in my hand. I had had, after
breakfast, to ride nearly thirty miles with the constant risk
of further attack on the way. I had had to do all this
after being cooped up for a month in a house without
being able to stir outside it, I had therefore to compose
and cipher my telegram when 1 was physically exhausted
and depressed in spirit. I knew that military considera-
tions, and Imperial considerations, and international con-
siderations, and every other consideration which hampers
action, were dead against my proposal, and I was not in
the mood to be respectful towards them. Still, I was ill-
advised to let my telegram have the slightest tinge of
brusqueness in it If I wanted to get the thing done, I
should have preserved that marvellous imperturbability
and cheery good sense which, from the Strangers' Gallery,
I have so frequently admired in British Ministers in the
House of Commons. All this I note for the benefit of
future leaders of unpopular Missions. For the effect of
my telegram was not to further the object I had in view
the making of all preparations for keeping the Mission
at Lhasa for the winter, if need be. It fherely earned for
me a reprimand from Government, who telegraphed back
on June 14 that they found it necessary to remind me
that any definite proposals I made for their consideration
should be, as far as possible, in conformity with the orders
and present policy of His Majesty's Government ; and I
was to remember that the policy of His Majesty's Govern-
ment was based on considerations of international relations
wider than the mere relations between India and Tibet,
200 GYANTSE
which were not only beyond my purview, but also beyond
the purview of the Government of India. They expected
me, therefore, to do my utmost to carry out the present
plans until there was unquestionable proof that they were
impracticable. It was impossible, I was told, to argue
the political necessity for remaining at Lhasa during the
winter until I had arrived there and gauged the situation ;
and the military objections were great and obvious.
My reply to this is not published, so I will not quote
it, I will only say that I pretty well despaired of getting
this business through. Lord Curzon was away in England,
and evidently now military, and not political, considerations
were having the upper hand. I knew about the u inter-
national relations " and the " wider view," for copies of all
the important despatches to our Ambassadors were sent
to me. But there were dozens and scores of men to repre-
sent those " wider " views, which need not, as is so often
imagined, be wiser simply because they are wider, whereas
there was only one person, and that was myself, to repre-
sent the narrower view, but which, because it was local,
need not be inferior or less important.
^ The narrow local point of view was, then, that for
thirty years continuously we in India had been trying
to settle a trumpery affair of trade and boundary with
a semi-barbarous people on our frontier, and time a Her
time we had been put off by these "considerations of
international relations wider than the mere relations
between India and Tibet/' But now we had the chance
of a century of settling this business once and for till
We had, after years of negotiations and correspondence,
made our effort. We had taken immense trouble and
gone to great expense. And all I wished to do was to
represent from my restricted point of view that I ought
to have plenty of time to make the most of this oppor-
tunity. I should have represented my views in less
provocative language, I admit ; but the main contention
was, I am sure, sound, and it would have been better now
if it had been acted on. If I had not been rushed at
Lhasa, but had had plenty of time to gauge and report
the situation there, and to receive the orders of Govern-
RENEWED PLEDGES TO RUSSIA 201
ment on any modifications which might be suggested by
the circumstances, I should have been able to conclude
with both the Chinese and Tibetans a treaty which my
own Government as well as they would have accepted.
The Russian Government now began again to refer
to Tibetan affairs. On April 18 Lord Lansdowne had
assured the Russian Ambassador* that "nothing had
happened to modify the objects with which we had
originally determined to send Colonel Younghusband's
Mission into Tibetan territory." And on June 2,f the
Ambassador having on several occasions expressed a hope
that our policy towards Tibet would not be altered by
recent events, Lord Lansdowne informed him in writing
that, in sanctioning the advance of the Mission to Gyantse,
they announced to the Government of India that " they
were clearly of opinion that this step should not be
allowed to lead up to the occupation of Tibet, or to
permanent intervention in Tibetan affairs. They stated
that the advance was to be made for the sole purpose of
obtaining satisfaction, and that as soon as reparation had
been obtained, withdrawal would be effected. They added
that they were not prepared to establish a permanent
mission in Tibet, and that the question of enforcing trade
facilities in that country was to be considered in the light
of this decision." " I am now able to tell you," continued
Lord Lansdowne, " that His Majesty's Government still
adhere to the policy thus described, though it is obviou r s
that their action must to some extent depend upon the
conduct of the Tibetans themselves, and that His Majesty's
Government cannot undertake that they will not depart
in any eventuality from the policy which now commends
itself to them. They desire, however, to state in the most
emphatic terms that, so long as no other Power endeavours
to intervene in the affairs of Tibet, they would not attempt
either to annex it, to establish a protectorate over it, or
in any way to control its internal administration."
This, in the sequel, was to be a clinching fetter on the
* Blue-book, IIL, p. L t HM., p. 15.
202 GYANTSE
action of the Indian Government. They still wanted a
representative at Lhasa ; and in view of the determined
hostility of the Tibetans, they wanted discretion to occupy
the Chumbi Valley as a guarantee for the fulfilment of
the treaty; and when the Russians had permanently
stationed thousands of troops in Manchuria, had con-
structed railways, built forts, and established posts, where
seventeen years before I had not seen a single Russian,
and when they had Consular representatives all along
their border in Chinese Turkestan and Mongolia, it was
hard to see on what grounds they could have objected to
the very mild measures which the Government of India
desired to adopt. In any case, when the Tibetans had
shown, not merely passive obstinacy, but downright hos-
tility, and when, even though it might be the case that, in
the words of Count Lamsdorff to Sir Charles Hardinge,*
" the relations between Russia and Tibet were of a purely
religious nature, due solely to the large number of Russian
Buriats who regarded the Dalai Lama as their Pope," it
was clear that the Tibetans relied on those merely religious
relations as a support against us, the Government of India
might have hoped that their hands would be freed to
enable them to definitely settle up this intrinsically not,
very important Tibetan affair. But "wider international
considerations " were, as so often happens in Indian aflairs,
to^tell hardly against the Government of India, Since tho
Mission had started into Tibet war between Russia and
Japan had broken out. Our relations with Russia were,
consequently, at a very delicate stage. War was in the
air, and statesmen had to be careful For the sake of
this insignificant business with Tibet, it would be hardly
worth while endangering our relations with Russia,
especially when her adhesion to our arrangement with
France in regard to Egypt was required. Yet when we
look at the map at the end of this book, and see how far
the Russian frontier is from Tibet and to what a length
our own actually touches it, and when we remember, too,
that there was actually in Lhasa at this time a Russian
subject who had been accustomed to go backwards and
* Blue-book, III., p, 20.
FETTERING RESULT OF PLEDGES 203
forwards between Lhasa and St. Petersburg, and served
therefore all the purposes required of those religious rela-
tions which it was very natural should subsist between the
Dalai Lama and Russian Buddhists, it does seem hard
that the Government of India, now at the climax of all
their efforts, should have been tied down through defer-
ence to the distant Power.
It is a remarkable coincidence, in this connection, that
while the Russians were making protests and representa-
tions upon a move of ours which was not within a thousand
miles of their frontier, the Chinese Vice-Minister, when
Sir Ernest Satow informed him* that we intended to
advance to Lhasa, received the news with perfect equa-
nimity, raised no objection, and remarked that the Dalai
Lama was ignorant and pigheaded.
I reached Chumbi on June 10, and spent the next few
days in discussing details of the advance with General
Macdonald. The change from the monotony of the
investment at Gyantse and from the barrenness and high
altitude of Tibet was refreshing in the extreme. I met
old friends again : Colonel J. M. Stewart, who had years
before relieved me when I had been arrested by the
Russians on the Pamirs ; Major Beynon, who had been
Colonel Kelly's Staff Officer in the Relief of Chitral ; and
my brother-in-law, Vernon Magniac, who was to accompany
me now as private secretary, and whose companionship
was the greatest relief in the midst of a host of the usual
official worries. The drop from 13,000 feet at Gyantse to
9,000 feet in Chumbi, and the change from constant risk
to absolute security, all eased the tension on me ; and the
joy of being once more amidst luxuriant vegetation, with
gorgeous rhododendrons, dense pine forests, roses, primulas,
and all the wealth of Alpine flowery beauty, was a soften-
ing and welcome relaxation.
At Phari, on my way to Chumbi, I had met the
Tongsa Penlop, now the Maharaja of Bhutan, who had
recently come, to interview General Macdonald and myself.
* Blue-book, III., p. 19.
204 GYANTSE
Mr. Walsh, who had been in political charge of Chumbi,
had interviewed him on June 3, and to him the Tongsa
Penlop had admitted the unreasonableness and folly of
the Tibetans, but argued that it was due to the bad advice
of the Councillors, who had, in consequence, all been put
in prison. He said, though, that nothing could be gained
by our going to Lhasa, as the Dalai Lama and the Govern-
ment would all leave before our arrival, and we should find
no one there with whom to negotiate. He had written to
the Dalai Lama, informing him of what I had told the
Trimpuk Jongpen at Tuna we wanted, and the Dalai
Lama had replied that the Sikkim boundary must be
as it was, that no trade-mart could be established, and
that no communication from the Indian Government
could be received by the Tibetan Government The
Tongsa Penlop added that the rumour in Bhutan
was that Mr. Walsh had been kiUed at Guru, that
I had been killed at Gyantse, and that Russians hud
landed at Calcutta, defeated the English, and set up five
banners.
This was a somewhat gloomy outlook ; still, I was a
good deal encouraged by my interview with the Tongsa
Penlop. Mr. Walsh had been able to dispel many
illusions, and at subsequent interviews the Tongsa, Penlop
had been a good deal impressed by General Macdoimld
and Mr. White, the latter of whom founded a friendship
which has had most beneficial subsequent results.
The Tongsa Penlop I found to be a straight, honest-
looking, dignified man of about forty-seven years of aw.
He bore himself well, dressed well, gave me costly presents,
ancl altogether showed himself a man of importance and
authority. He said he was most anxious to effect a .settle-
ment between us and the Tibetans. The latter had been
very obstinate and wrong-headed, but the Dalai Lama
was a young man, who needed good counsellors, and un-
fortunately there were bad men in Lhasa, who acted in hi*
name to the detriment of the country. General Mae-
dosald had told him that we were prepared to rece ve
negdtiators up to June 25, and he (the Tongsa Penlop}
had, accordingly, written urgently to the Tibetans to send
THK TONOMA I'KNLOI' (NOW MAIf,\UA.IA <>!' H1HITAN).
INTERVIEW WITH TONGSA PENLQP 205
a negotiator before that date. Would not I, therefore,
show patience up to then ?
I asked him whether he himself would be inclined to
be patient if he had been attacked four times at night
after waiting eleven months for negotiators to come. He
admitted that he would not, and would feel more inclined
to go about killing people ; but he said I was the repre-
sentative of a great Government, and ought to be more
patient than he would be. I said I had named June 25
as the date up to which I would receive negotiators, but
since then I had been again attacked at Kangma, and I
could not answer for it that the Viceroy would still allow
me to receive negotiators,
I said no Englishman liked killing villagers who were
forced from their homes to fight us. We knew they did
not want to fight, and we had no quarrel with them. But,
unfortunately, it seemed impossible to get at the real
instigators of the opposition to us except by fighting, in
which the innocent peasant-soldiers, and not the authors
of the trouble, suffered most. If these latter would only
lead their men I would be better pleased, for then they
would appreciate what opposition to the British Govern-
ment really meant The Tongsa Penlop was much
amused at the suggestion, but said the leaders always
remained a march behind when any fighting was likely to
take place*
Continuing, I said that, though I had little hope that
any settlement would be arrived at without fighting, yet,
fighting or no fighting, I had to make a settlement some
time, and one that would last another hundred years. If
the Tibetan#$iad only been as sensible as the Bhutanese,
and come and talked matters over with me, we could
easily have arrived at* a settlement long ago. All we
desired was to be on friendly and neighbourly terms with
States like Bhutan'and Tibet lying on our frontier. War,
though it could have but one result, gave us much trouble,
which we had &o wish unnecessarily to incur. We, there-
fore, much preferred peace, I sent my respects to the
Dharm Raja, and asked the Tongsa Penlop to write to
me often and give me advice regarding the settlement
206 GYANTSE
with Tibet, and he fervently assured me of the good-will
of the Bhutanese, and said that they would never depart
from their friendship with the British Government.
In this interview I purposely appeared indifferent
about receiving negotiators, for the less anxious I seemed
for them to come the more likely was their arrival. As a
fact, when, a fortnight later, there really were signs of their
appearance, I asked Government to agree, which they
readily did, to grant a few days' grace beyond the 25th to
allow them to come in.
Besides this friendly support from Bhutan on our right,
we had also further evidence at this time of equally
friendly, and much more valuable, support from Nepal on
our left. The Nepalese Minister informed Colonel Raven -
shaw that he had received a letter and some presents from
the Dalai Lama, but that he made no allusion to our
Mission, which omission led the Minister to think that
the Dalai Lama was kept in ignorance of what was going
on. And this surmise was, I think, perfectly correct, and
represented one of the great difficulties with which %ve
had to contend. No one dared inform this little god that
things were not going as he would like them, and yd
they had to get orders from him, for they would do nothing
without his orders.
The Nepalese Minister, to remove this difficulty, wrote
early in June to the Dalai Lama, expressing his anxiety
at < e the breach of relations [between India and Tibet]
which had been brought about by the failure of* the
Tibetan Government to have the matters in dispute settled
by friendly negotiation." He referred to the letter which
he had written to the four Councillors in the previous
autumn, and he went on : Wise and far-seeing as you
are, the vast resources of the British Government must be
well known to you. To rush to extremes with .such a big
Power, and wantonly to bring calamities upon your poor
subjects without having strong and valid grounds of your
own to insist upon, cannot readily be accepted as a
virtuous course or wise policy. Hence it may fairly be
MORE AID FROM NEPAL 207
inferred that the detailed circumstances of the pending
questions have not been properly and correctly represented
to you." The Minister then urged the Dalai Lama at
once to send a duly authorized Councillor to meet the
British officers, to desist from fighting with the British
Government, and to try his best to bring about a peaceful
settlement ; otherwise he saw clearly that great calamities
were in store for Tibet. He concluded by saying that
His Holiness was' too sacred to be troubled with mundane
affairs,, but the present critical condition in Tibet demanded
his utmost foresight, and on him depended the salvation of
his country.
It is melancholy to think that the Dalai Lama paid
no heed to this well-intentioned advice, and then, when
calamities had fallen upon his country and we were just
outside Lhasa, fled on the pretext of retiring into religious
seclusion, and left his country to take care of itself.
CHAPTER XIV
THE STORMING OF GYANTSE JONG
STRONG reinforcements had now come up from India :
the remainder of the mountain battery, under Major
Fuller, a wing of the Royal Fusiliers, the 40th Pathans,
and the 29th Punjabis ; and on June 13 I set out to return
to Gyantse with General Macdonald to relieve the Mission
escort at Gyantse and, if need be, to advance to Lhasa,
while Colonel Reid remained in charge of the communi-
cations.
At each post we stopped at the officers in charge
invariably reported that the people were well content with
us on account of our liberal treatment. The villagers
themselves were thoroughly friendly. They were making
money by selling their produce at rates very favourable
to themselves. They were only afraid of the officials arid
Lamas. Captain Rawling, who had explored in Western
Tibet in the previous year, and was well acquainted with
the Tibetans, and who was now stationed at Phari in
charge of a transport corps, specially remarked this.
What the people were now afraid of was not our stopping,
but our withdrawing, and leaving them to the vengeance
of the Lamas*
This is a dilemma in which we are constantly being
placed on the Indian frontier. The people of a country
into which we advance are often ready to be friendly with
us if they could be certain we would stay and be able to
support them afterwards. But if they know we are going
to withdraw they naturally fight shy, for those who show
us friendship would get into trouble when we left This
is one of the many reasons which make me favour our
keeping up a strong continuous influence when once we
208
MACDONALD ARRIVES AT GYANTSE 209
have been compelled to advance into a semi-civilized or
barbarous country. It is often highly inconvenient to have
to do this, but it is the most humane course, and I am
not sure that it would be so inconvenient if it were
followed consistently. It need not mean annexation or
petty interference, but it must mean sufficient influence
to prevent relapses to barbarism.
We reached Kangma without incident on June 22,
and halted a day while Colonel Hogge was sent to disperse
a body of 1,000 Tibetans who were holding a sangared
position on the road which runs down here from the
Karo-la. While halted I received a telegram from the
Tongsa Penlop at Phari to say that a big Lama and one
of the Councillors were coming to Gyantse, and that a
parcel of silk had arrived for me. The Penlop also said
he wished to come himself to see me at Gyantse.
Thinking this might indicate anxiety of the Tibetans to
come to terms at last at literally the eleventh hour, for
there were only two days left up to the expiry of the time
beyond which I had signified that I would no longer be
able to negotiate at Gyantse I telegraphed to Govern-
ment, recommending that a period of five days' grace,
up to June 30, should be given to them. Government
replied, on June 24, that the advance to Lhasa might
certainly be deferred for that purpose, and I so informed
the Tongsa Penlop.
On June 26 we reached Gyantse, after encountering
considerable opposition at the village and monastery of
Niani, which was held by 800 Tibetans. The fight lasted
from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m., Colonel Brander from Gyantse
assisting by occupying the hills above the village. Major
Lye, 23rd Pioneers, was here severely wounded in the
hand and slightly in the head. On its arrival our force
was ineffectually bombarded from the Jong.
General Macdonald had now to break up the Tibetan
force investing Gyantse. On the 28th he attacked a
strong position on a ridge on which were the Tse-chen
monastery and several fortified towers and sangars. The
process of clearing the villages in the plain below lasted
most of the day. At 5,80 the position itself was stormed
14
210 THE STORMING OF GYANTSE JONG
by the 8th Gurkhas and the 40th Pathans, supported
by the mountain battery. The fight was severe, for the
hillside was very steep. Captain Craster, 46th Pathans,
was killed whilst gallantly leading his company, and
Captains Bliss and Humphreys slightly wounded. The
capture of this position much disheartened the Tibetans ;
communications between Gyantse Jong and Shigatsc were
cut off, and the jong was now surrounded on three sides.
Hearing that the big Lama from Lhasa, known as the
Ta Lama, was at Shigatse, and that the Councillor was at
Nagartse, on the road to Lhasa, I made a Lama in our
employ write to these two on June 28, saying that the
Tongsa Penlop had told me that they wished to come
here to settle matters, but were afraid. I promised them,
if they had proper credentials to effect a settlement to
guarantee their safety and treat them with respect ; but
I said they must come at once, for we were about to start
for Lhasa. These letters I sent by the hands of prisoners.
One of these messengers was seized by the Tibetans
and Jbrought to the jong, where a council was held to
consider its contents, as a result of which, on the following
morning, a messenger with a flag of truce of enormous
dimensions was sent to the Mission post The whole
garrison crowded to the walls to see his arrival, for this
was the first indication of peace. He said the Tibetan
leaders desired an armistice till the Ta Lama, who was at
Penam, halfway to Shigatse, and who could be at Gyantse
on the following day, could arrive to negotiate with me.
The messenger said that he and the Councillor coming
from Nagartse had powers from the Dalai Lama to treat
After consultation with General Macdonald, I replied
to the Tibetans that I would grant the armistice they
asked for till sunset of June 30, to enable tfce Ta Lama to
reach Gyantse; but that as I was attacked on May 5 with-
out warning, though I had informed the Tibetan Govern-
ment that I was ready to negotiate there, and as Tibetan
armed forces had occupied the jong and fired into my
camp ever since General Macdonald, who was responsible
for the safety of the Mission, demanded that they should
evacuate the jong and withdraw all armed force beyond
ARRIVAL OF TA LAMA 211
Karo-la, Yang-la, and Dongtse., A reasonable time for
this would be given.
By June 30 neither of the Tibetan delegates had
arrived, but both the Tongsa Penlop and the Ta Lama
were to arrive the next day, and we allowed the armistice
to extend informally till they arrived. The Tongsa Penlop
arrived first, though he had had twice the distance to
travel, and at once came to see me, and showed me a
letter he had received from the Dalai Lama, saying he
had heard we had appointed a date up to which we would
negotiate, and after which we would fight ; but as fighting
was bad for men and animals, he asked the Tongsa Penlop
to assist in making a peaceful settlement, and he was
appointing the Ta Lama, who was a Councillor, the Grand
Secretary, and representative of the three great monas-
teries, to negotiate. The Tongsa Penlop also produced
a packet of silks, which he said the Dalai Lama had
sent me.
About three in the afternoon the Ta Lama arrived in
Gyantse, and as he was already a day later than the date
of the armistice, and six days over the date of the original
ultimatum, I sent a message to say I should be glad to see
him that afternoon. He replied that he proposed to visit
the Tongsa Penlop on the following day, and would come
and see me some time after that. 1 returned a message
to the effect that unless he visited me by nine on the
following morning military operations would be resumed.
Undisturbed by this threat, he shortly after nine on
the following morning proceeded to visit the Tongsa
Penlop ; but as he had to pass my camp, I sent out Captain
O'Connor to say that 1 insisted on his coming to pay his
respects to me, unless he wished me to consider he was
not anxious to /negotiate. He was at perfect liberty to
discuss matters with the Tongsa Penlop, but he must no
longer delay paying his respects to me, and giving me
evidence that the Tibetan Government were sincere in
their wish to negotiate.
At eleven I received the Ta Lama and .the Tongsa
Penlop in Durbar* There were also present the Tung-yig-
Chembo (the Grand Secretary, who was one of the dele-
212 THE STORMING OF GYANTSE JONG
gates at Khamba Jong last year), and six representatives
of the three great Lhasa monasteries. As all except the
Grand Secretary were men who had not met me before,
and were probably ignorant of our view of the situation, I
recounted it at length, showing how we had lived on very
good terms with Tibet for nearly a century and a half,
and it was only after the Tibetans had wantonly invaded
Sikkim territory in 1886 . that misunderstanding had
arisen ; that Mr. White had for years tried at Yatung to
make them observe the treaty made on their behalf by the
Chinese ; and that when I came to Khamba Jong, a place
of meeting which the Viceroy had been informed was
approved of both by the Emperor of China and the Dalai
Lama, they still repudiated the old treaty, refused to
negotiate a new one, or have any intercourse at all with
us ; while after my arrival at Gyantse, when I told them I
was ready to negotiate, instead of sending me negotiators,
they sent soldiers and treacherously attacked me at night
I concluded by saying that the Viceroy, on hearing this,
had directed me to write letters to the Dalai Lama and
the Amban, announcing that if proper negotiators did not
arrive here by June 25 we would advance to Lhasa to
compel negotiations there; but these letters had been
returned by the commander in the jong, no negotiators
had arrived by the 25th, and it was only because on the
24th the Tongsa Penlop had informed me that negotiators
really were on the way that the British Government, in
their anxiety for a peaceful settlement, had been pleased
to grant them a few days' grace. We were ready to go on
to Lhasa the next day. If they were really in earnest and
had power to make a settlement, I was prepared to nego-
tiate with them. If they were not empowered to make a
settlement, we would advance to Lhasa forthwith. Had
they proper credentials ?
The Grand Secretary replied, on behalf of the Ta
Lama, that we had come by force into the country, and
occupied Chumbi and Phari, and though the Tibetan
soldiers at Guru had strict orders not to fire on us, we
had fired on them and had killed all the high officials,
He said they did not know I was here when thin camp
TA LAMA AND TONGSA PENLOP 213
was attacked on May 5 ; but they now had orders to
negotiate with me. They had no special credentials, but
the Dalai Lama, in his letter to the Tongsa Penlop, had
mentioned that they were coming to negotiate, and the
fact of a man in the Ta Lama's high position being here
was evidence of their intentions.
I replied that I did not wish to discuss the past except
to make clear one point. They were not at the Guru
fight, but I was, and I saw the first shot fired by the
Tibetans after General Macdonald had purposely restrained
his men from firing. But what concerned me was the
future. If they made a settlement with me now, would it
be observed, or would it be repudiated like the last one ?
They at first replied that this would depend upon what
was in the settlement, but subsequently explained that,
though they might have to refer to Lhasa for orders, yet,
when once the Dalai Lama had placed his seal on a treaty,
it would be scrupulously observed. They said they wished
to talk matters over with the Tongsa Penlop, who would
act as mediator and arrange matters with me. I informed
them that I would be very glad if they could discuss the
situation witli him, and I was quite willing that he should
accompany them when they came to see me, but they
themselves must come to me if they desired that negotia-
tions should take place. They said they would have a
talk with him the next day, and come and see me the day
after. I told them, however, that they must have their
talk before noon on the following day, and come and see
me again at that hour, as I was not yet satisfied of the
earnestness of their intentions*
The same afternoon they had a prolonged interview
with the Tongsa Penlop, who asked them what they had
gained by their silly attitude of obstruction, and advised
them to give up fighting and make terms with us. The
Tongsa Penlop informed me he thought the delegates, or
certainly the Dalai Lama, were really anxious to make a
settlement.
On July 3 the Tongsa Penlop arrived half an hour
before the time fixed for the reception of the delegates.
At noon I took my seat in the Durbar, which was attended
2H THE STORMING OF GYANTSE JONG
by General Macdonald and many military officers, while a
strong guard of honour lined the approach. I waited for
half an hour, but as at the end of that time the Tibetan
delegates had not arrived, I rose and dismissed the
Durbar.
At 1.30 the Tibetans appeared ; but as the dilatoriness
they had shown in coming to Gyantse and after their
arrival in coming to see me was a pretty clear indication
that they had not even yet realized how serious the situa-
tion was, I saw that I should have to do something yet to
impress them with its gravity. The Tongsa Penlop was
able to come from much farther and reach Gyantse before
them. He had come to see me at once on arrival, while
they had delayed till the next day ; he had come half an
hour before the time fixed for the Durbar, while they had
come an hour and a half late. All this indicated that,
while they were still so casual and indifferent, no negotia-
tion that I could enter into with them would produce the
smallest result. They had yet to be shown that we were
not to be trifled with any longer. So on their arrival I
had them shown into a spare tent, and informed that I
had waited for them in Durbar for half an hour ; that as
they had not arrived by then, I had dismissed the Durbar,
and would not now be at leisure to receive them for
another two or three hours.
By four o'clock the Durbar was again assembled, with
General Macdonald and his officers, all my staff, and a
guard of honour. Captain O'Connor then led in the
Tibetan delegates, and showed them to their places on
my right ; but I made no signs of receiving them, and
remained perfectly silent, awaiting an apology. They
moved about uncomfortably during this deadening silence,
and at last the Ta Lama, who was really a very kindly,
though perfectly incapable, old gentleman, and absolutely
in the hands of the more capable but evil-minded Chief
Secretary, murmured out a full apology. I informed
them that the inference I drew from the disrespect they
had shown me in arriving an hour and a half late was that
they were not in earnest in desiring a settlement The
Ta Lama assured me that they were really in earnest, but
INTERVIEW WITH TA LAMA 215
that the Grand Secretary was ill. I then informed them
that, as I had been attacked at Gyantse without any warn-
ing, and after I had written repeatedly to the Amban
saying I was waiting there to negotiate, and as I had been
fired on from the jong continually for two months since
the attack, I must press for its evacuation. General Mac-
donald was prepared to give them till noon of the 5th
that is, nearly two days in which to effect the evacua-
tion ; but if after that time the Jong was occupied, he
would commence military operations against it. Irrespec-
tive of these operations, I would, however, be ready to
receive them if they wished to make a settlement, and
prevent the necessity of our proceeding to Lhasa.
The Grand Secretary then said that if the Tibetan
troops withdrew from the Jong, they would expect that we
also would withdraw our troops ; otherwise the Tibetans
would be suspicious. I replied that the Tibetans did not
at all seem to realize that they would have to pay a
penalty for the attack they had made on the Mission, and
that 1 could not discuss the matter further. They must
either leave the Jong peaceably before noon on the 5th, or
expect to be then turned out by force. On leaving, the
Ta Lama very politely and respectfully expressed his
regrets for having kept me waiting, and begged that I
would not be angry. But the Grand Secretary went
away without a word of apology. He was the evil genius
of the Tibetans throughout this affair.
The following morning the delegates had a long inter-
view with the Tongsa Penlop, and asked whether time
could not be given them to refer to Lhasa for orders. I
sent back a message saying that it was already nearly a
week since I had let the Ta Lama know that the evacua-
tion of the jong would be demanded, that they ought to
be grateful for the opportunity that had been giv,en them
of withdrawing unmolested, and that no further grace
could be allowed.
The Tongsa Penlop also informed me that they were
very suspicious, and wanted an assurance that we really
wished a settlement. I told him he might inform them
that the best evidence that we desired a settlement was
216 THE STORMING OF GYANTSE JONG
the fact that the control of affairs was in my hands. If
we had intended war the control would have been in the
hands of a General.
The delegates and the commanders in the Jong were
still undecided. No one would take the responsibility of
evacuating the Jong. On the morning of the 5th the
Tongsa Penlop with some Lhasa Lamas came to see me,
and I sent one of the latter over to the delegates, saying
that at twelve a signal gun would be fired to warn them
that half an hour afterwards firing would commence. I
told them that if they came over either before or after
with a flag of truce they would be given an asylum in the
Tongsa Penlop's camp. I begged that the women and
children should be taken out of the town ; and I sent a
special warning to General Ma, the local Chinese official.
No notice was taken of any of these warnings. At twelve
I had a signal gun fired, and at 12.30 I heliographed to
General Macdonald that he was free to commence firing.
The Tongsa Penlop had stayed with me on the
ramparts of our post up till noon, and I asked him to
remain and see the fight. But he said he would prefer to
see it from a little farther off, and I dare say he did not
yet feel quite certain that we should win. For it was a
tough task that lay before General Macdonald. We
were right in the heart of Tibet, with all the strength that
the Lamas, with a full year of effort, could put forth.
The fortress to be attacked from our little post in the
plain looked impregnable. It was built of solid masonry
on a precipitous rock rising sheer out of the plain. It was
held by at least double, and possibly treble, our own force,
and they were armed, many hundreds of them, with Lhasa-
made rifles, which carried over a thousand yards. In
addition, there were several guns mounted. No wonder
the Tongsa Penlop thought it best to be a little distance
off, and not too decidedly identified with either side*
General Macdonald probably never would have been
able to take the jong if his guns had not just been supplied,
on the recommendation of General Parsons, the Inspector-
General of Artillery, with " common " shell as well as the
shrapnel, which was all that up till now they had carried
NIGHT ATTACK ON GYANTSE TOWN 217
with them. Shrapnel is of use only against troops.
Common shell is more solid, and can be used against
masonry, and against the Jong it proved tremendously
effective when fired by the accurate and hard-hitting little
10-pounders.
At 1.45 p.m. on July 5 General Macdonald began his
operations by renewing the rifle fire on the Jong. Then,
at 3.30 p.m., two guns, six companies of infantry, and one
company of mounted infantry, were sent to make a feint
on the monastery side of the Jong. This succeeded in
inducing the Tibetans to reinforce largely that side of
their defences. But after dark this column was with-
drawn, and shortly after midnight a force of twelve guns,
twelve companies of infantry* one company of mounted
in tun try 4 and half a company of sappers moved out in two
columns to take up a position south-east of Gyantse.
We in the Mission post naturally spent the night on
the ramparts awaiting events. It was 3.30 a.m. by the
time the columns had taken up their position. Dawn had
not yet appeared. All was still and quiet. The stars
shone out in nil the brilliance of these high altitudes!, and
nothing could be more serene and peaceful than this clear
summer night Suddenly a few sharp rifle cracks spat
out, telling us that the enemy had seen our assaulting
columns. Then the dull, heavy thud of an explosion
showed that some doorway had been blown open. And
niter that came the full blaze of the fight, the whole Jong
lighting up with the flashes of rifle and jingai fire, and
down below our own fire getting hotter and hotter, ^
As day dawned we could see that we had gained a
footing in the tovm which was the immediate object of
General Maedonald's attack previous to the assault on the
jong itself. What had happened was this : The Tibetans
had opened an unexpectedly heavy fire before the assault-
ing columns could get close up under the walls of the
outlying parts of the town, and our three columns were
reorganised into two that on the right under Colonel
Campbell, of the 40th Pathans, a tried and experienced
frontier officer, and that on the left under Major Murray,
8th Gurkhas. With Colonel Campbell was Captain
218 THE STORMING OF GYANTSE JONG
Sheppard, R.E., who, with that dash and effectiveness
which always characterized him, succeeded in laying and
firing a charge under the walls of the most strongly held
house, and blowing in it a breach, which, with the damage
done by the fire of the 7-pounder gun, gave an opening
for the assaulting column. On the left Lieutenants
Gurdon and Burney also succeeded in blowing breaches in
the walls of the houses ; but, to the grief of all, Gurdon
was killed it is believed by the falling debris of the veiy
wall which he had blown up. He had been with the
Mission escort from the very first, and in many of these
very dangerous assaults on villages had displayed most
daring courage. He was a brother of the Captain (now
Lieutenant-Colonel) Gurdon who had so distinguished
himself in the Siege of Chitral, and who was one of my
closest friends. When the news came in to me from the
front, I felt how sad indeed it was that one so young and
so full of promise, with a great and useful career most
certainly before him, should have been thus in an instant
cut off. But he did not fall in vain, for what he had done
at the cost of his life enabled the assaulting columns
to enter the town, which by 7 a,m. was in our possession.
The troops began to make good their position in the
area thus won, but the real business had yet to be
accomplished. The Jong, with 5,000 or 6,000 Tibetans
inside it, still had to be assaulted. During the morning
there was a general lull in the proceedings while the
troops rested. But about two o'clock Colonel Campbell,
who was in command of all the advanced troops in the
town, sent back word to General Macdonald, who was in
the Palla village, recommending that an assault should be
made on the extreme east of the Jong. To him in his
advanced position, immediately under the walls of the
jong, it appeared that if our guns could make a breach in
the wall itself an assault could be made, though the storm-
ing party would have a stiff, hazardous climb over the
steepest part of the rock. General Macdonald adopted
the proposal, and as the Tibetans now appeared somewhat
exhausted, ordered the assault to be made at once.
At three o'clock General Macdonald ordered forward
THE ASSAULT ON JONG 219
four companies of the reserve, and directed the 10-poundqr
guns to concentrate their fire on the portion of the wall to
be breached for the assault. As the reinforcements crossed
the open to the town the Tibetans redoubled their fire,
but our fire from all parts of the field also increased. The
10-pounder battery under Major Fuller did magnificent
work. Stationed only 1,000 yards from the point to be
breached, it placed one shell after another in exactly the
same spot. Bit by bit the wall came tumbling down, A
larger and larger gap appeared, and by four a breach suffi-
ciently large for an assault had been made.
Then the heliograph flashed from post to post that the
jong was now to be assaulted. Major Fuller immediately
gave the order for " Rapid firing " on the upper buildings.
Maxims from three different directions began rattling
away with peremptory emphasis. Every man poured in
his rifle fire with increasing energy. Then a little cluster
of black figures, ever augmenting in numbers, was seen,
like a swarm of ants, slowly making its way up the nearly
precipitous rock towards the breach. A cheer was raised,
which was taken up from post to post all round our
encircling force and back to the reserves in the rear. The
Tibetans could still be seen firing away in the breach and
hurling down stones, but we only redoubled our fire upon
them.
Very, very gradually or so it seemed to us in our
suspense below the Gurkhas, under Lieutenant Grant,
made their upward way. First a few arrived just under
the breach, then more and more. Then came the crisis,
and Grant was seen leading his men straight for the
opening. Instantly our bugles all over the field rang out
the " Cease fire," so as not to endanger our storming
party* The Tibetans, too, now stopped firing; and
where a moment before there had been a deafening din
there was now an aching silence. We held our breath,
and in tense excitement awaited the result of the assault.
We saw the little Gurkhas and the Royal Fusiliers,
who formed the storming party, stream through the
breach. Then we watched them working up from
building to building. Tier after tier of the fortifications
220 THE STORMING OF GYANTSE JONG
was crowned, and at last our men were seen placing the
Union Jack on the highest pinnacle of the jong. The
Tibetans had fled precipitately, and Gyantse was ours.
The Tongsa Penlop next morning came over to con-
gratulate General Macdonald and myself; and we went
over the jong together. Till I had got up there and
looked down through the Tibetan loopholes on our insig-
nificant Mission post below, I had not realized how certain
the Tibetans must have felt that they could overwhelm
us, and how impossible it must have seemed that we could
ever turn the tables upon them. If one stood in the Round
Tower of Windsor Castle and looked down from there
upon a house and garden in the fields about Eton, held by
some strangers who said they had come to make a, treaty,
one would get the best idea of what must have been in
the Tibetans' minds. They were in a lofty and seemingly
impregnable fortress in the heart of their own country.
We were a little dot in the plain below. The idea of
making a treaty with us, if they did not want to, must
have appeared ridiculous. And as I stood there in their
position and looked down upon what had till just then
been my own, I soon understood how it was' that the
Ta Lama and other delegates had been so casual in their
behaviour.
Yet, in spite of our success, and to a certain extent by
reason of it, I was still ready to negotiate with Tibetan
delegates. I had disliked, with an intensity which only
those can know who have been in a similar position, the
idea of making any mention of negotiation during all that
critical time in May, while they were firing proudly at us
from the jong, and were surrounding me in my little post
below. Now that, through General Macdonald s skilful
dispositions and the bravery of his troops, I was in the top
place, I readily tried to negotiate. And 1 thought that
His Majesty's Government were anxious that further
efforts to negotiate here should be made; for on June 20
they had telegraphed that if there was reasonable expecta-
tion of the early arrival of the Resident, accompanied by
competent Tibetan negotiators, the advance to Lhasa might
be postponed. They thought that the advance should
CAPTURE OF JONG 221
not be undertaken unless there was adequate ground for
doubting the competency of the Tibetan delegates or the
earnestness of the Tibetan Government. Moreover, some
few days' delay was necessary for General Macdonald to
complete his arrangements for the advance, to collect
sufficient supplies, and to establish Gyantse as his
secondary base.
I therefore, immediately the jong was captured, asked
the Tongsa Penlop to send messengers to tell the Ta Lama
and the Councillor at Nagartse that I was still ready to
negotiate, as previously announced, but that they must
come in at once, as otherwise we would proceed to Lhasa.
But the messenger found the monastery in which they
had been staying deserted and the delegates fled.
On July 9 the Government of India telegraphed
to me that they considered the advance to Lhasa in-
evitable, but that if the delegates could be induced to
come in and negotiate en route I might invite them to
accompany me, explaining the terms of His Majesty's
Government, and warning them that any further resist-
ance would involve a settlement less favourable to Tibet.
By July 13 General Macdonald's preparations were all
complete. He had reconnoitred the country both up and
down the valley, and found the Tibetans had fled in every
direction. He had amassed plentiful supplies. He had set
about repairing the Jong, in which he was, to my infinite
regret, to leave Colonel Hogge, and the 23rd Pioneers, and
he was ready to leave for Lhasa the next day. It was sad
that the old Pioneers, who had borne the burden and the
cold of the day at Tuna all through that dreary and
anxious winter should be left behind, while other regiments
who had but just arrived from India should have the glory
of going to Lhasa, and I would willingly have had it
other 'Wise
All were now eager and ready for the advance, and I
wrote to the Chinese Resident, that as neither he nor any
competent Tibetan negotiator had come to Gyantse I was
proceeding to Lhasa. I stated that my purpose was still
to negotiate, but that I must ask him to prevent the
Tibetans from further opposing my Mission, and I inti-
222 THE STORMING OF GYANTSE JONG
mated that the terms 1 was demanding would be still
more severe if we encountered opposition.
The Tongsa Penlop also, at my request, wrote to the
Ta Lama, saying that I was prepared to carry on negotia-
tions en roiite> in order that the settlement might be ready
for signature at an early date at Lhasa. And I asked the
Tongsa Penlop, further, to write to the Dalai Lama him-
self, giving an outline of the terms we should demand.
Lastly, I issued a proclamation, drafted by the Govern-
ment of India, stating that we had no desire to fight with
the people of Tibet or to interfere with their liberties or
religion, but that it was necessary to impress unmistakably
upon the Government of Tibet that they could not with
impunity offer insults to the British Government, and that
they must realize the obligations they had entered into
and act up to them in all respects. The people were
warned that any opposition to our advance would only
result in making the terms demanded more exacting*
CHAPTER XV
THE ADVANCE TO LHASA
JUST a year had now elapsed since we had arrived at
Khamba Jong, and now at length all were united in the
single purpose of advancing to Lhasa the Imperial
Government, the Indian Government, and the military
authorities. A year had been wasted in futile forbearance
for the benefit of the British public, but at length what
the responsible Government of India had advocated since
January of the previous year was to be carried into effect,
and on July 14 we left our dreary little post at Gyantse
and set out, full of enthusiasm, for Lhasa.
Though we were so high above sea-level, it was quite
hot now in the middle of the day, for the sun in these low
latitudes and in this clear atmosphere struck down with
considerable force. But we also had some very heavy
rain in the next few days.
As we approached the Karo~la (pass), the scene of
Colonel Brander's gallant little action, I received a letter
from the Tongsa Penlop at Gyantse, enclosing a letter he
had received from the Dalai Lama. It said :
" We have written to the Yutok Sha-p, inquiring from
him whether it will be easy to effect a settlement or not
Will jmu also request the English privately not to nibble up
otir country ? Please use your influence well both with
the English and the Tibetans, I cannot at present speak
with exactness with regard to the frontier, but I have
said something on the matter to the Pukong Tulku, so it
will be well if the negotiations are begun quickly. Once
they have begun, we shall hear gradually who is in the
right"
On the next day, July 17, we marched to a camp
224 THE ADVANCE TO LHASA
immediately below the Karo-la, and there we found the
Bhutanese messenger who had earned a letter from the
Tongsa Penlop to the Yutok Sha-pe's camp had returned,
saying that some Tibetan officials would come over pre-
sently to see us. The Tibetans, however, fired at our
mounted infantry from the wall on the far side of the
pass, and no officials appeared.
This looked as if we were to have another fight.
Before we left Gyantse we had heard that the pass was
occupied by 2,000 Tibetans, and that there were 2,000
more in support, and the mounted infantry now reported
the pass to be strongly held and fresh walls and surigars
, to have been built. All the villages en route* too, had
been deserted, so we fully expected a fight.
Our camp under the pass was right in among it lolly
knot of mountains, one of which rose to a height of over
24,000 feet above sea-level. A magnificent glacier de-
scended a side valley to within 500 yards of the camp*
The whole scene was desolate in the highest degree. And
though we were on the highroad to Lhasa, the road was
nothing but the roughest little mountain pathway rubbed
out by the traffic of mules and men across it.
The afternoon and evening of the 17th were occupied
in reconnoitring the position of the Tibetans, They were
very strongly posted at a narrow gorge three miles from
our camp on the north side of the pass, and their position
was flanked by impassable snow mountains. The old
wall of Colonel Brander's time had been extended on
either hand till it touched precipices immediately under
the snow-line. Behind this lay a second barrier of
sangars. Like all the walls which the Tibetans so skil-
fully erected at such places, this was built up of heavy
stones. The position was manned, according to our latest
information, by about 1,500 Tibetans.
At 7 a,m. on the morning of the 18th, when now,
even in the height of summer, there was still a nip of
frost in the air, the advance troops marched off. The
Royal Fusiliers, under Colonel Cooper, were to attack
the centre, and, on either side parties of the 8th Gurkhts
were to turn the flanks.
3
ACTION AT KARO-LA 225
While the Gurkhas were slowly plodding up the
mountain-sides, I seated myself beside Major Fuller's
mountain battery, and watched the effects of gun-fire at
these altitudes. It was most interesting. The pass
itself was 16,600 feet, and the battery was a few hundred
feet above it, and was for some time firing at groups
5,000 yards away, and some of them on the glacier at
about 18,000 feet above the sea. In such a rare atmosphere
ordinary sighting and ordinary fuses were quite useless.
The shells would cleave through the thin air at very con-
siderably greater velocity than they would pass through
the thicker air at sea-level. All the sighting and the
timing of the fuses had, therefore, to be completely read-
justed by trial and guesswork. Despite this, however,
wonderfully accurate shooting was effected by these
splendid little guns, and it would have made all the differ-
ence to Colonel Brander if he had had them instead of the
useless 7-pounders,
The Gurkhas and Pathans, after a long and difficult
climb to 18,000 feet, turned the position, but the Tibetans
in the centre had not waited. They knew that the
dreaded mounted infantry would be after them, so each
determined that he, at any rate, would not be the last to
leave Ithe position, and all had cleared off before our troops
arrived. Most, indeed, had retreated in the night, and in
reality only about 700 Kham men were left to hold the
position. Many of these escaped high up over the snows,
pursued only by our shrapnel shells. Our mounted
infantry reconnoitred up to within two miles of Nagartse
Jong, which was found to be occupied, while reports
came in that 1,800 more men from Kham were expected,
Nagartse was reached bn the 19th, and close to it I was
met by a deputation from Lhasa. Here were signs of
negotiations at last I said I would have a full interview
at three that afternoon, but must warn them at once that
it would be necessary for me to occupy the Jong, and to
advance to Lhasa, though I was ready to negotiate on the
way* The deputation, "which consisted of the Yutok Sha-p^,
the Ta Lama, the Chief Secretary, and some monies,
arrived in my camp shortly before the time appointed.
15
226 THE ADVANCE TO LHASA
The Yutok Sha-p took the chief place. He was a genial
gentlemanly official of good family and pleasant manners.
But it soon became apparent that both he and the la
Lama were in the hands of the Chief Secretary, the monk
official who, from our first meeting at Khamba Jong, had
ever been an obstacle in our way. This latter official,
acting as spokesman, said they had heard from the Tongsa
Penlop that we wished to negotiate at Gyantse, and they
had set out to meet us when they heard that we were
advancing. They were quite willing to negotiate if we
returned to Gyantse, and in that case they would ac-
company us and make a proper settlement with us there.
I repeated for the fiftieth time that I had waited for
more than a year to negotiate ; that even at Gyantse I had
given them many opportunities; that when I had first
arrived there I had announced my desire to negotiate ;
that after the attack upon me I had still declared my
willingness to negotiate up to June 25 ; that on the inter-
cession of the Tongsa Penlop the Viceroy had extended
that term for some days ; that even after the capture of
the jong I had sent messengers over the country to find
them, and waited for another week at Gyantse ; but that
eventually the patience of the Viceroy had become com-
pletely exhausted, and His Excellency had ordered me to
advance to Lhasa forthwith, as he had reluctantly become
convinced that only there could a settlement be made.
We were now advancing to Lhasa. I would be quite
ready to negotiate with them on the way, and if the
Tibetan troops did not oppose us we would not fight
against them ; but as our troops had on the previous day
been fired at from the Jong, we must send our troops in to
occupy it. We would, however, allow the delegates to
remain unmolested, and would see that their property was
not disturbed, and that they themselves were accorded
proper marks of respect.
The delegates replied that if we went on to Lhasa there
was no chance of a settlement being arrived at ; that they
had come here with the sincere intention of making
friendship with us and securing peace, but if we sent
troops into the jong they did not see how they could be
LHASA DELEGATES ARRIVE 227
friends with us ; they were the two biggest men in Tibet
next to the Dalai Lama, and it was both against their
religion and disgusting to them to have soldiers in the
same place where they were staying. I said they must,
after all, allow that this could not be half so disgusting to
them as having their soldiers firing into my camp at
Gyantse, while I was asleep, was to me. They continued
one after another wrangling and protesting against our
occupying the Jong. After listening for an hour to their
protests, I asked them if they would now care to hear the
terms we intended to ask of them. They replied that
they could not discuss any terms till we returned to
Gyantse. I said I had no wish now to discuss the terms,
but merely desired to know if they wanted to be acquainted
with them. They continued to protest that they would
discuss nothing here, and it was only after considerable
fencing that I got them to admit that they had heard the
terms from the Tongsa Penlop.
I then said that I wished them to understand that if
we were further opposed on the way to Lhasa, or at
Lhasa itself, these terms would be made stricter. I said the
British Government had no wish to be on any other than
friendly terms with Tibet, that we had no intention of
remaining in Lhasa any longer than was required to make
a settlement, and as soon as a settlement was made we
would leave. But I had the Viceroy's orders to go to Lhasa,
and go there I must I desired, however, to give them
most earnest advice and warning. They were the leading
men of Tibet, and upon them lay a great responsibility. I
was quite prepared on arrival at Lhasa to live on as
friendly and peaceable terms with the people as I had at
Khamba Jong, and as I had when I first arrived at
Gyantse; to pay for everything, and to respect their
religious buildings. It rested with them now to decide
whether our stay at Lhasa should be of this peaceable
nature and of short duration, and whether the settlement
should be of the mild nature we at present contemplated,
or whether we should have to resort to force, as we had
been compelled to do at Gyantse, to impose severer terms,
and to prolong our stay.
228 THE ADVANCE TO LHASA
The delegates listened attentively while I made this
exhortation to them, but, after consulting together, replied
that even if we did make a settlement at Lhasa, it would
be of no use, for in Tibet everything depended on religion,
and by the mere fact of our going to Lhasa we should
spoil their religion, as no men of other religions were
allowed in Lhasa. I asked them if there were no Moham-
medans living in Lhasa, and they replied that there were
a few, but they were not allowed to practise their religious
rites a sad admission in view of the toleration which the
Buddhist religion in reality enjoins. I added that we
would not have gone to Lhasa unless we had been abso-
lutely compelled to by their incivility in not meeting us
elsewhere ; that personally I had already suffered great
inconvenience, and would much prefer not to have the
further inconvenience of going to Lhasa; but no other
resource was now left to us, and my orders from the
Viceroy were final.
The Yutok Sha-p throughout was calm and polite,
and at his departure was cordial in his manner. The
Ta Lama, though more excited, was not ill-mannered.
The Chief Secretary was very much excited throughout,
and argumentative and querulous. The whole tone of the
delegates showed that they or, at any rate, the Dalai
Lama had not even yet realized the seriousness of the
position. The tone they adopted entirely ignored their
serious breaches of international courtesy, and was that of
people with a grievance against us and quite ignorant of
the fact that we had grievances against them ; they were,
too, excessively unbusinesslike and impracticable, and I
anticipated an infinity of trouble in carrying through a
settlement with such men. On the other hand, the dis-
position and manners of the Yutok Sha-p gave one more
confirmation of the impression I had long formed that the
laymen of Tibet were by no means inimical, and that but
for the opposition of the monks we might be on extremely
friendly terms with them.
Under General Macdonald's well-thought-out arrange-
ments the occupation of the jong was effected without
any mishap or loss of life. Captain O'Connor aecom-
ATTEMPTS TO STOP OUR ADVANCE 229
panied the delegates back towards the Jong, which, how-
ever, they did not again enter, but took up their quarters
in the village, while their followers and baggage were sent
down to them there. I expressed my regret to the Yutok
Sha-p that at our first meeting I should have had to put
him to such inconvenience. But the occupation of the
jong was a military necessity. It was a matter of con-
gratulation that it should have been effected without the
loss of life on either side.
The following day the Tibetan delegates held another
prolonged interview with me, lasting three and a half
hours. They made no further mention of the occupation
of the Jong, but were very insistent that we should not
advance to Lhasa. The Yutok Sha-pe was the chief
spokesman at first, but during the course of the interview
each one repeated separately much the same arguments.
They said that in Lhasa there were a great number of
monks and many unruly characters, and disturbances might
easily arise ; to which I replied that I should much regret
any such disturbances, and hoped the delegates would do
their best to prevent them, for the result could only be
the same as the result of the disturbances at Gyantse.
Another argument the delegates used was that, if we
went to Lhasa, we should probably find no one there. To
this I replied that this would necessitate our waiting until
people returned. I reminded them that they lived apart
from the rest of the world, and did not understand the
customs of international intercourse. To us the fact of
their having kept the representative of a great Power
waiting for a year to negotiate was a deep insult, which
most Powers would resent by making war without giving
any further ehance for negotiation. But the British
Government disliked making war if they could possibly
help it They had therefore commanded me to give the
Tibetans one more chance of negotiating, though that
chance could only be given at Lhasa itself. Let them
make the most of this opportunity.
The delegates replied that they had intended no insult
by keeping me waiting a year ; it was merely the custom
of their country to keep out strangers. " But, anyhow,"
230 THE ADVANCE TO LHASA
they said, " let us forget the past ; let us be practical, and
look only at the present. Here we are, the leading men
in Tibet, ready to negotiate at Gyantse, and make a settle-
ment which will last for a century."
I replied to the Yutpk Sha-p that I had no doubt that
if a sensible man like himself had been sent to me sooner,
we might have made up a satisfactory settlement long
ago, and there would have been no necessity for us to go
through all this inconvenience of advancing through an
inhospitable country to Lhasa ; but after the many chances
which had been given them of negotiating at Gyantse,
they could hardly consider it reasonable that we should
give them any more. Moreover, the Viceroy had formed
the opinion, from the fact of the Ta Lama having told me
at Gyantse that he had no authority to evacuate the Jong
without referring to Lhasa, and from the fact of his run-
ning away, that he had not sufficient power to make a
settlement. For all these reasons we were compelled to
go to Lhasa, though I was ready to negotiate on the way,
and we would return directly a settlement was made.
They then made further reference to their religion
being spoilt if we went to Lhasa, and I asked them to
make more clear to me in what way precisely their re-
ligion would be spoilt. I said we were not intolerant of
other religions, as they themselves were. They had yester-
day told me that, though there were some Mohammedans
in Lhasa, yet they were not allowed to practise their
religious rites. We had no such feelings towards other
religions. On the contrary, we allowed the followers of
each to practise their religious observances as they liked.
The delegates said that they were not so intolerant to
the Mohammedans: they merely forbade building mosques,
and prevented any new Mohammedans coming into their
country. I said that at any rate some were there, and
apparently they had not spoilt the religion of the
Tibetans. They replied that the ancestors of these had
come many, many years ago, and the Tibetans had become
accustomed to them ; to which my rejoinder was that if
Mohammedans had lived among them practising their
religious rites for all these years apparently for centuries
DELEGATES REFUSE DISCUSS TERMS 281
without spoiling the religion of Tibet, I could not
believe that the fact of our going to Lhasa for a few
weeks only could have any permanent ill-effect on the
religion of Tibet.
They then remarked that if we now went to Lhasa all
the other nations would want to go there, and see the
sights, and establish agents there. I told them I had not
the smallest wish to see the sights of Lhasa. I had
already travelled in many different lands, and seen finer
sights than they could show me at Lhasa; and as to
stationing an agent there, we had no such intention.
Could they tell me if any other nation wished to ? They
replied that the Russians would be wanting to send an
agent to Lhasa. I told them they need not be in any fear
on that score, for the Russian Government had assured
our Government that they had no intention of sending an
agent to Tibet. I added that, though we had no intention
of establishing a political agent at Lhasa, we desired to
open a trade-mart at Gyantse on the same conditions as
the tnide-mart at Yatung had been opened that is, with
the right to send a British officer there to superintend the
trade.
The delegates would not, however, be led into a dis-
cussion of the terms. They said they could only discuss
the terms at Gyantse, and the conversation drifted back
into the old lines of withdrawing to Gyantse. Each of the
four members of the delegation repeated in turn the same
arguments for withdrawing to Gyantse, and I gave to
each in turn my reasons for advancing to Lhasa. I said I
feared they must think me extremely obstinate, and I felt
sure that, if they had been deputed by their Government
earlier in the day, I should have been able to agree to
their wishes, and we could have soon come to an' agree-
ment As matters stood at present, I could do nothing
but obey the orders of the Viceroy. They asked if I
could not stop here, represent to His Excellency what
they had said, and await further instructions* I replied
that the Viceroy only issued his orders after very careful
deliberation, but once they were issued, he never revoked
them.
232 THE ADVANCE TO LHASA
I endeavoured throughout the interview to avoid being
drawn into petty wrangling. Even more important than
the securing of a paper convention, which might or might
not, be of value, was, I stated to Government at the time,
the placing of our personal relations with the officials of
Tibet upon a good footing from the start. I had to be
severe with them at Gyantse, because they would not pay
proper respect to me ; but at each interview since they had
come well before the appointed time, they were thoroughly
respectful throughout, and I was able to treat them with
the politeness I preferred to show them when they made
this possible. I trusted that, after I had suffered two
interviews, one of three and a quarter hours and another
of three and a half hours, they would feel that I was at any
rate accessible, and that they would have no compunction
in coming to see me whenever they felt inclined. Until,
however, they received further orders from Lhasa, there
was nothing more to be said on either side.
We had halted a day at Nagartse to collect supplies,
of which we were short, and some question arose whether,
as we had the negotiators here, it would not be better to
stop and negotiate. By being too uncompromising we
might be simply stiffening them up to renewed fighting,
and in the desolate country in which we found ourselves,
with practically no supplies and with a lofty pass behind
us, we might find ourselves in a very awkward predica-
ment. All this had certainly to be taken into considera-
tion. Still, we should be sure to find supplies in the Lhasa
Valley, unless the Tibetans resorted to the extreme course
of destroying or carrying off all their foodstuffs ; and as the
Tibetans were now evidently on the run, I never had any
real doubt that we should keep them on the run, and
follow them clean through, right up to Lhasa.
On the 21st we found that the delegates had decamped
in the night. Perhaps, after all, I had made a mistake,
and allowed these very coy birds to escape just as tlxey
had come into my hand. On the whole I thought not.
I believed others would soon come in. So I marched very
contentedly along the shores of one of the most beautiful
lakes I have ever seen the Yamdok Tso. It was 14,850
A LOVELY LAKE 233
feet above sea-level. In shape it was like a rough ring, sur-
rounding what is practically an island ; and in colour it
varied to every shade of violet and turquoise blue and
green. At times it would be the blue of heaven, reflect-
ing the intense Tibetan sky. Then, as some cloud passed
over it, or as, marching along, we beheld it at some
different angle, it would flash back rays of the deep greeny-
blue of a turquoise. Anon it would show out in various
shades of richest violet. Often, when overhead all was
black with heavy rain-clouds, we would see a streak of
brilliant light and colour flashing from the far horizon of
the lake ; while beyond it and beyond the bordering moun-
tains, each receding range of which was of one more
beautiful shade of purple than the last, rose once more
the mighty axial range of the Himalayas, at that great
distance not harsh in their whity coldness, but softly
tinted with a delicate blue, and shading away into the
exquisite azure of the sky- What caused the marvellous
colouring of this lake, which even the Tibetans call the
Turquoise Luke, \vc could none of us say. Perhaps it was
its depth, perhaps it was its saline character, or some
chemical component of its water. But whatever the
luain cause, one cause at least must have been the in-
tense blue of the Tibetan sky at these great altitudes, so
deep and so translucent that even the sky of Greece and
Italy would pale beside it.
This latter theory is what Lord llayleigh would adopt
In n lecture which he delivered this year at the Royal
Institution on the causes of the coloration of water, he
gave his conclusion, from careful observations and tests,
that the cause of the blueness of, say, the Mediterranean
Sea was the Mediterranean sky, which was exactly the
tiieory we had thought must apply to this Tibetan lake.
Marching along uy this lake we had much rain, turning
into snow at night. Pete Jong, a picturesque little fort
close to the shore, was reached on the 22nd, where, as at
Nagartsc, a company of infantry and a few mounted
infantry were left to keep up the line of communications.
From here the mounted mfaixtry, reconnoitring ahead,
reported the remnants of the Kham force to be retreating
23* THE ADVANCE TO LHASA
in a disorganized condition, and looting the country en
route.
Another of the Tibetan stone walls, running from the
waters of the lake far up the mountain-side, was found
deserted on the next day, and that same day we crossed
the last pass on the way to Lhasa, the Kamba-la, 15,400
feet The ascent was steep, but we all eagerly clambered
up in the faint hope of getting some distant glimpse of
Lhasa, or at any rate of the mighty Brahmaputra River,
which still lay in between us and the sacred city. The
enthusiastic Perceval Landon was quite certain that
through some chink he saw the glitter of a gilded cupola,
and refused to be convinced by the prosaic survey officers
that whatever it might be it at any rate was not the roof
of the Potala.
But if we were not yet to catch a sight of our goal we
had many other exciting incidents on that day. We
descended rapidly from the pass by a very steep path to
a n amp U the banks of the ^ eat Brahmaputra itself,
called here the Sanpo, .and presumed to be identical -
though this is a great geographical problem yet to be
solved with the Brahmaputra of India. It was here
11,550 above sea-level, and spread out in many channels,
but farther down, where it was narrowed into a single
channel, it was 140 yards wide and flowing with a strong,
swift current. The valley was wide and well cultivated
with wheat and barley, and several cultivated valleys ran
into it. In these valleys were plenty of trees, poplars
and willows, but the hillsides were not wooded, as we
had hoped.
General Macdouald sent on his mounted infantry to
seize the Chaksam Ferry, and they succeeded in capturing
the two krgS ferry-boats, and occupied Chaksam for the
?% *K V 11 * WaS a "*?* stroke ' as if the Tibetans had
kept the boats on the other side of the river our difficulties
in surmounting this most serious obstacle would have
been immensely increased.
Another great event on this day was the receipt of
RriSh ^ i t e / Wt ^ rit ? en comm ication which
any British official had received from a Tibetan official
I
5
H
-"J
O
O
B
LETTER FROM NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 235
since the time of Warren Hastings, It was addressed to
u The all- wise Sahib sent by the English Government to
settle affairs, from the Tibetan National Assembly." It
ran as follows :
** Recently the Tongsa Penloj} sent a letter to the
Dalai Lama, and also communicated with the two
delegates, but hitherto a treaty has not been effected.
The Sahibs say that they intend to come to Lhasa and to
see the Dalai Lama and to negotiate there, and that they
will there establish friendship. The letter which contains
the nine terms of the Convention has arrived here* This
is a matter of great importance, and therefore the
Chigyab Kenpo (Lord Chamberlain) has been sent to
Chisul. Now, our Tibetan religion is very precious, so
our Regent, officials, monks, and laymen have consulted
together. Formerly we made a National Convention
I hut none was to enter the country. So now, even if the
Sahibs should come to Lhasa and meet the Dalai Lama,
this will not advantage the cause of friendship. Should a
fresh cause of dispute arise, we greatly fear that a dis-
turbance, contrary to the interests of friendship, may
follow. So we beg of the Sahibs both now and in the
future to give the matter their earnest consideration, and
if they will negotiate with the delegates who are now here
all will be well Please consider well all that has been
said, and do not press forward hastily to Lhasa.
" Dated the Wood Dragon year/'
This letter was brought by a messenger, who said that
the new delegates were then at Chisul, on the opposite
bank of the river. And now again arose the question
whether we should make use of this new chance of
negotiating or should still press on to Lhasa. We had
in front of us the serious obstacle formed by the Brahma-
putra Iliver, which, if we crossed it, would be a nasty
impediment to have in our rear. On the other hand, we
had negotiators here with more ample credentials than
any had had before, and we had the National Assembly
236 THE ADVANCE TO LHASA
itself in communication with us. The fear of our going
to Lhasa might have more effect than our actual presence
in the place. The mere dread of our advance might make
them agree to our terms, while if we actually advanced to
their sacred city we might find that the most determined
defence had been reserved for the capital; and that we
had put our heads into a hornets' nest, and irritated 20,000
monks into buzzing about our ears. This was an eventu-
ality on which I had to count, and of which I had been
warned by speeches by responsible men in England which
did ^little to encourage me in my task. An ex-Prime
Minister, Lord Rosebery, had said in February in the
House of Lords that this Mission bore "in its circum-
stances so melancholy a resemblance to that first war in
Afghanistan, which we conducted under the lute Lord
Lytton, that it must give all those whose minds and
memories recurred to the past serious grounds of mis-
givings when they saw once more His Majesty's Govern-
ment proceeding in the same direction Lo an end which
they could not see themselves." A future Prime Minister,
Sir Henry Campbell-Baimerman, in pressing for the recall
of the Mission, had said in the House of Commons in
April that " we had had experience before, and the associa-
tions connected with the name of Cavagnari did not seem
to invite us to undertake a similar policy again/'
If we pressed on to Lhasa, into this swarm of fanati-
cally hostile monks, we might all share the fate of
Cavagnari, while if we simply held up the threat of
advancing we might, get the treaty through* It was an
alternative which I had to consider ; but I felt fairly sure by
now that I had rightly taken the measure of the Tibetans,
so I sent a verbal intimation by the messenger that 1
would be glad to receive the delegates, but that I could
not consent to defer my advance to Lhasa, And, in reply
to the letter of the National Assembly, 1 wrote to the
Dalai Lama that more than a year ago I had arrived at
Ivhamba Jong, which he had approved as a meetiiiir-pkcc
lor the negotiations, but that the appointed delegates
refused to negotiate. I had advanced to Gyantse, but
still no negotiators had arrived, and instead, 1 was
MAJOR BRETHERTON DROWNED 237
treacherously attacked at night. Now the Viceroy had
ordered me to advance to Lhasa to negotiate there.
Those orders I had to obey, but I had no desire to create
disturbances in Lhasa or interfere with the religion of the
country, and as soon as I had obtained his seal to the
Convention I had been instructed to negotiate, I would
retire from Lhasa. No religious places which were not
occupied by Tibetan soldiers would be occupied by British
soldiers ; our soldiers would not fire if no opposition was
offered to them ; and all supplies taken from the peasants
would be paid for. But if opposition were offered, our
troops would be compelled to commence military opera-
tions, as they did at Gyantse, and the terms of the settlement
would be increased in severity.
This letter I despatched on the 25th, and the same
day we marched six miles down the banks of the Brahma-
putra River, to Chaksam Ferry. For the purpose of
crossing this river we had brought with us from India
four collapsible Berthon boats, and with these and the
local ferry-boats seven companies of infantry and one
company of mounted infantry were crossed over by
nightfall.
But a sad accident occurred : one of the boats capsized
in the rushing, eddying current, and Major Bretherton,
the Chief Supply and Transport Officer, and two Gurkhas
were drowned. There was no more capable and energetic
officer in the Force. Our success depended much less on
fighting than on supply and transport arrangements, and
these had been wellnigh perfect. Major Bretherton, in the
Kashmir, Gilgit, Chitral, and North- West frontiers, had
almost unrivalled experience of rough transport work, and
his driving power, his readiness, quickness, far-sightedness,
and inexhaustible buoyancy and cheerfulness were of
inestimable value in carrying through such an enterprise
as that which we had now so nearly completed. It was
hard that young Gurdpn should lose his life just at the
beginning of so promising a career; it seemed almost
more cruel that a man who had achieved so much, and
who was just within sight of the goal for which he had
worked longer and harder than any one of us, should have
238 THE ADVANCE TO LHASA
been swept away in an instant and have never seen his
reward. It is in reflecting on cases such as these that one
begins to wonder whether our touching trustfulness in the
mercy of Providence is altogether justified.
We had to halt some days now, while the troops and
baggage were being transported across the river, and on
the 27th I had a three hours' interview with this new
deputation from Lhasa, which consisted of the Dalai
Lama's Chamberlain, a man of some capacity, with an air
of great consequence, who was evidently regarded with
much respect; the Ta Lama, the somewhat effete, but
genial, old gentleman who had met me at Gyantse ; and
a Secretary of the Council, a brisk, cheery gentleman, with
an ever-ready smile, and very different from the other
Secretary who had met us at Khamba Jong, Gyantse, and
Nagartse.
They brought with them a letter from the Dalai
Lama, and repeated the old request that we should not
go to Lhasa. The only new argument they used was
that our going to Lhasa would so spoil their religion that
the Dalai Lama might die. I told them that I should
much regret that our arrival in Lhasa should have any
such melancholy result, but I had studied their religion,
and could hardly believe it was so weak that it would not
stand our presence in Lhasa for a few weeks. The dele-
gates repeatedly urged me to realize the personal incon-
venience our presence in Lhasa would be to the Dalai
Lama. The Ta Lama explained that the Chamberlain
was in constant personal attendance on the Dalai Lama,
and enjoyed his fullest confidence, and for that reason had
been specially deputed by the Dalai Lama. I was given
to understand that this was a very unusual favour, and I
was earnestly begged to accede to the Dalai Lama's per-
sonal wishes ; the delegates further told me that if I did
not accede to them they would themselves be severely
punished by the Dalai Lama. y
In reply I expressed my inability to accede to the
JUaiai llamas wishes, but trusted they would ask His
Holiness to excuse my insistence. They had spoken of
the inconvenience our presence in Lhasa would cause the
ENVOY FROM DALIA LAMA 239
Dalai Lama, but His Holiness would, I felt sure, realize
the inconvenience we had already suffered through the
delay in the arrival of negotiators. I could assure them
that the Viceroy had every desire to consult the feelings
of the Dalai Lama, and it was because we knew that His
Holiness was averse to the presence of strangers in Lhasa
that His Excellency had not sent me there in the first
instance, though the capital of a country was the natural
and usual place in which to conduct negotiations. It was
only after we had found it impossible to effect a settle-
ment anywhere else that I had been ordered to proceed to
Lhasa.
I added that after an Envoy had been kept waiting for
a year, and had been attacked and shot at for two mouths,
most rulers would have refused to allow their representa-
tive to negotiate till the capital had been captured. We
were not, however, advancing with that object. They
could see that here we were paying for all supplies we
took, and the monastery immediately outside the camp
was left unmolested. I was prepared to sho^ like con-
sideration on our arrival at Lhasa if we were unopposed,
and I trusted His Holiness would appreciate this con-
cession.
The delegates assured me again that the Dalai Lama
was really anxious to make a settlement, that they had
come in a peaceful manner, and had let the army they had
with them a few days ago disperse to their homes. I
had little difficulty in believing these assertions, for we had
received accounts that the Tibetan army had scattered in
a panic, the Kham levies looting in all directions. A
peaceful settlement was undoubtedly, therefore, the sincere
desire of the Dalai Lama, though turbulent monks might
yet create a disturbance in Lhasa. As to the delegates
being punished if we advanced to Lhasa, I said that I
myself would be punished if we did not.
A discussion afterwards followed on the question of
other foreigners coming to Tibet if we were allowed there.
I told them it was the usual custom for neighbouring
countries to have representatives at each other's capital,
and we would probably have avoided all the niisunder-
240 THE ADVANCE TO LHASA
standings which led to the present troubles if we had had
a representative at Lhasa and they had had one in
Calcutta. We knew, however, their aversion to keeping a
British agent at Lhasa ; we were not, therefore, pressing
the point, and were only insisting upon having trade
agents at Gyantse and other marts. There would, how-
ever, in any case, have been no reason for other foreigners
establishing an agent at Lhasa. Russia had declared that
she had no intention of sending an agent to Tibet. The
delegates replied that our establishing an agent even at
Gyantse would be against their custom, and spoil their
religion. I said that I understood, then, that they were not
prepared even now to agree to our terms, and they
informed me that they were only authorized to discuss
them, and they would have to be considered in the
National Assembly. " You expect me, then," I said, " to
remain out here in a half-desert place discussing terms. I
have already remained for months together in desert
places in Tibet, and can now negotiate in no other place
than Lhasa." I begged the Chamberlain as a practical
man to accept this as inevitable, and to turn his mind now
to insuring that there should be no more useless blood-
shed on the way, and that we should be enabled by the
speedy conclusion of the settlement to leave Lhasa at an
early date.
Before closing the interview, I had Some conversation
with the delegates on the general question of intercourse
between Tibet and India. I said that we should be very
glad if they would more frequently accept the hospitality
we were always ready to offer them in India. They would
find that in India they could travel wherever they liked,
and would everywhere be protected and welcomed. They
would see, too, that though we were Christians we not
only tolerated but protected Buddhists, Hindus, and
Mohammedans. We even spent large sums of money in
preserving ancient buildings of other religions. In this
camp was an officer, Colonel Waddell, who had spent his
life in studying the Buddhist religion, and while reading
the ancient books had discovered instructions indicating
exactly 
