T)ioneeriii
/ in
TIBET
ALBERT L, SHELTON
293
Ex. Libris pi
THECMADIMlt
TO THE
CANADIAN SCHOOL OF MISSIONS
with the
COMPUFPOTS OF
DR. J. LOVELL 11URHAY
CAVSN
KNOX COLLEGE
Pioneering in Tibet
ALBERT L. SHELTON, M.D.
Pioneering in Tibet
A Personal Record of Life and
Experience in Mission Fields
.By
ALBERT L. SHELTON, M. D.
NEW YORK CHICAGO
Fleming H. Revcll Company
LONDON AND EDINBURGH
CAVIM
KNOX COUfGt
Copyright, 1921, by
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
81293 i
New York: 158 Fifth Avenue
Chicago : 1 7 North Wabash Ave.
London : 21 Paternoster Square
Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street
Dedicated
TO THOSE WHO DIED
IN THE FIGHT
Contents
I. GETTING READY
II. GOING
III. WHAT WE FOUND .
IV. LEARNING TO TALK
V. ACROSS CHINA TO MEET OGDEN
VI. PROSPECTING ....
VII. MOVE TO BATANG .
VIII. FIRST OPERATION IN BATANG .
IX. GETTING READY TO BUILD
X. MEDICAL WORK
XI. DR. LOFTIS ....
XII. DR. HARDY COMES .
XIII. HOMEWARD BOUND TO TIBET .
XIV. ARRIVAL ....
XV. DRAYA
XVI. BUILDING AND IRRIGATING
XVII. ITINERATING ....
XVIII. MORE ITINERATING .
XIX. VISITORS ....
XX. VISITING THE BAD LANDS
XXI. UNREST
XXII. WAR NEGOTIATIONS
XXIII. CHAMDO
7
II
19
26
29
36
42
50
55
60
64
73
77
82
88
9i
95
101
1 06
in
114
123
127
136
8 CONTENTS
XXIV. OPIUM 143
XXV. GOOD-BYE 151
XXVI. CAPTURED BY ROBBERS . . . . 159
XXVII. TRAVELLING WITH THE BAND . .167
XXVIII. FATHER BAILLY FAILURE OF NEGOTI
ATIONS . . . . , .174
XXIX. SHOOTING A MAN . . . .179
XXX. THE FIRST BATTLE . . . .187
XXXI. A VISIT LETTERS .... 193
XXXII. DROPPED 199
XXXIII. ESCAPE 204
XXXIV. HOME AGAIN 208
XXXV. COME ON! ... . 214
Illustrations
ALBERT L. SHELTON, M. D Frontispiece
Facing page
LOOKING ACROSS MEKONG FROM TOP OF PASS NEAR YEN
Jui (SALT WELLS) ....... A A
ONE OF THE IMAGES IN YARA GONG TEMPLE . . .108
BAPTIZING, GWA GWANG AND MR. McLsoD OFFICIATING . 138
DORIS AND DOROTHY IN TIBETAN CLOTHES, WITH SOME OF
THEIR FRIENDS . . . . . . .152
GETTING KEADY
I WAS born in Indianapolis, Indiana, 9th day of
June, 1875. When I was about five years old my
parents moved to Kansas, so that I have no recollec
tion of Indiana at that time at all except being in a boat
one day with my father, and another time seeing a black
smith shop.
I do remember, however, our arrival in Kansas, when
my father, who had gone through in a wagon, came down
to meet my mother and us two children. Fred was then
just a baby.
We lived near Pawnee, in Bourbon County, where I
first started to school. After two years there we moved
out to Harper County, down by Ruella, where we lived
for some five years.
During these years I went to school to different
teachers. The first school which I attended was taught
by one of the home girls, who was only about sixteen
years old. She had in school five or .six boys who were
about ten or eleven years old and who, knowing her so
well, were rather hard to control.
One day she had told us we were not to go near the
creek, which was near the schoolhouse, but five of us
slipped off and went in swimming. Time passed very
much more rapidly than we had thought during the noon
hour, and the first intimation that it was over was seeing
her standing on a little rise about one hundred yards
from the creek and ringing the bell.
There was considerable difficulty in getting clothes on
11
12 PIONEERING IN TIBET
to wet bodies with what we considered requisite speed.
However, it was accomplished and we returned to the
schoolhouse some ten minutes late.
The teacher was very stern and she called one of the
larger girls, to whom it was an exceedingly great pleas
ure, to go out and get some switches. We considered
that she got them unnecessarily large. However, be that
as it may, the teacher lined the five of us up on the floor.
We thought our day had come but the first boy in line
saved us. She had made up her mind to give us a good
thrashing. When she drew back the switch the boy let
out a tremendous yell which frightened her and so took
from her her presence of mind that she only gave him
four licks. As she had only given him four licks she
could only give the rest of us four licks, so we got off
easily.
My father wasn t so easily frightened, however, as he
had promised that every time we got a thrashing in
school we d get another when we got home. This promise
he very faithfully kept.
Another teacher was Mr. Titus, afterward Senator
from the district.
After some two years in Harper County, and when I
was about eleven or twelve years of age, we moved again.
This time we all went in a covered wagon from Harper
County to Grant County, a distance of about two hun
dred miles. It was great fun for us children. We had
four horses to the wagon and just before leaving my
uncle completed my happiness by giving me a little Flo-
bert rifle and a thousand rounds of ammunition. So far
as I could see there was nothing else to wish for in this
life, and under my father s direction I was allowed to
shoot morning and night at such things as might be
available around camp.
GETTING BEADY 13
After arriving in Grant County we located on a Home
stead eleven miles to the northeast of Ulysses, a very
beautiful country, perfectly level, covered with a solid
mat of buffalo grass, and not a tree within many miles.
During the years spent on this Homestead I was grow
ing very rapidly and took a share of the work. One of
my jobs was to haul water. We could not afford a well,
as it was some two hundred and fifty feet to water and
cost a great deal of money to dig, so I hauled water from
Conductor, a little town some six miles to the west, where
there was a township well.
I drove two oxen and hauled the water in five barrels,
placing them in the bed of the wagon. There were a
great many other people who hauled water from this
place also, and sometimes there would be as many as
twenty or thirty wagons filled with barrels waiting for
water, and many times there would be races to see who
would get to the well first. It is not easy racing with an
ox team but it can be done.
My avocation those days was killing rattlesnakes.
There were a great many and I saved all the rattles, at
one time having a cigar box full.
Another thing at which I spent a great deal of time
and which was the means of enabling me to earn some
money, was the killing of gophers, ground squirrels,
skunks, coyotes, and jack-rabbits, on all of which there
was a bounty from five cents on the smaller game to a
dollar on the coyotes.
There were one or two occasions when I took my scalps
to town on Saturday and to bring my father home after
his week s work in town at carpentry, on which my earn
ings for the week were equal to those of my father, which
made me very proud.
There were antelopes and wild horses all around the
14 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
country, TOO, for the first two or three years. The herd
of eleven wild horses which grazed near our place were
all caught during the first two years we were there, with
the exception of three.
These three consisted of the black stallion that led the
herd, one buckskin and one bay mare. These were the
best of the herd and, because they were the best, people
were the more anxious to catch them.
An outfit finally came from Texas for the express pur
pose of catching these three. They ran them for three
days and nights without ceasing, changing horses many
times until finally the stallion was caught. He had been
shot formerly in an attempt to crease him and he was no
good, as his wind was broken.
The buckskin mare was lassoed, and six months after
ward would come at call to any place on the range and
was a most excellent animal.
The bay mare would never give up. She ran and ran
for some hours after the other two had succumbed and,
while still running at full speed, fell down dead.
During these years it was necessary in going to school
to walk some four miles. In the winter time we had to
get up before daylight and start just as soon as it became
light in order to get there on time.
We finally got a little school not far from home in a
dugout, taught by one of the neighbour girls.
After some years in that part of Grant County, we
moved over west of Ulysses, about seven miles from town.
I had also spent one or two winters in Ulysses in
school, which had given me a greater desire than I had
ever had before to attend school.
I attended the Teachers Normal Institutes during the
summer and the winter after I was seventeen, taught my
first school down in Morton County, about twenty-five
GETTING EEADY 15
miles from home. I would go home perhaps once a
month, walking after four o clock on Friday after
noon.
I am first and above all a product of my friends. I
have been made by them, and during these early school
years my life was influenced greatly by the teachers
whom I had, most of them men and women of an ex
ceedingly high type.
I cannot refrain from mentioning one in particular,
Miss Preston, who was my teacher during one winter
that I spent at Anthony, Kansas. It was at this time
that I went back to my grandmother s for the purpose of
going to school.
I spent the year following my first year in teaching,
clerking for my uncle in Leoti, Scott County. There I
was blessed with another great influence in my life, my
uncle and his good wife.
I taught again the following winter in Ulysses, our
County Seat, but this was to be my last school, and the
fall I was twenty, that is, in 1895, I went away to Em-
poria to school. It was a great undertaking and no one
knew what would be the outcome.
When I reached Emporia I had $9.25. That lasted
me for eight years. During the following years while I
was in Emporia, I carried the Kansas City Star, I did
janitor work, I cut corn, I took care of cows, I took care
of furnaces for some of the professors, and after I had
finished the course in mathematics, I did a great deal of
tutoring for Professor Bailey.
During these strenuous years, in 1898, the war with
Spain came on. Against the advice of friends and
professors I enlisted in Company H of the 22nd Kansas,
which company consisted of students from the three
State institutions.
16 PIONEERING IN TIBET
We never got farther than Camp Alger, but it was
good experience, and we were mustered out within about
six months of enlistment.
I went back to school with about one hundred dollars
in money, which I had saved, as I remember. I put it in
the First National Bank for safe keeping on Friday and
on Monday the president shot himself, the bank having
failed. However, I was in no worse condition than I
had always been.
The following spring, while still in school, I got two
days leave of absence and went down to Parsons and got
married. The young lady was Miss Flo Beal, whom I
had met the previous year at the State Normal.
When we got back to Emporia on the evening train
there were four hundred students who had, in some mys
terious way, heard of our marriage, and were waiting for
the train. Amongst them were three or four of my for
mer comrades in Company H, armed with a blanket, and
they proceeded to blanket me right there on the plat
form.
This blanketing consists of throwing the person some
ten or twelve feet in the air and letting him fall back on
the blanket. They succeeded, however, in letting me fall
out of the blanket and I was momentarily stunned, but
no damage was done. That night, after eating up all
the wedding cake Mrs. Shelton had brought and embar
rassing us to the limit of their ability, they showed their
hearty good will by presenting us with two lovely rock
ing-chairs in which we are still sitting.
Perhaps the greatest influence of my life during the
years in Emporia was Professor Iden, now in Michigan
University at Ann Arbor. He inspired all "Upper
Room" boys with the highest ideals of life, and gave them
the determination to make their lives count in the world.
GETTING KEADY 17
The year following my marriage, near the middle of
the year, I obtained through President Taylor a scholar
ship in the medical department of Kentucky University.
I was, however, unable to take advantage of it owing to
my financial condition.
Mr. C. A. Boyle, superintendent of the buildings and
grounds for whom I was doing janitor work, -said to me
one day, Well, Shelly, what you going to do about that
Medical School f" I replied, "Well, Boss, it isn t any
use thinkin about it because it can t be done."
That afternoon he came into the little room where I
was and laid a check for one hundred dollars on my
table, and said, "Now get out of here. I don t want to
see you around any more.
It touched me very deeply. I told him that I could
offer no security and that I might not be able to pay it
back. He said, "Who s talking about security? Get
out and go on and be quick about it."
I went, leaving Mrs. Shelton to finish the school year.
During the following summer I worked in the harvest
field with the threshing machine and, when that work
was finished, went to Wyoming as worker on a railroad
construction gang. When I had drawn my pay I went
at once to the post-office and bought an order for the
balance still owing Mr. Boyle.
When I had done -so I had no money with which to go
home. There was only sufficient for a few meals. I
made arrangements with a brakeman to travel in a coal-
car with twenty other tramps.
After arriving in Denver I was put, by the next brake
man, in the ice-box of a refrigerator car, the most cramped
position I ever held. After a day and night in this I
was forced to come out and consequently got put off the
train.
18 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
I finally arrived at Ellsworth, Kansas, and walked the
sixty miles across to Hutchinson, where I found an old
friend and borrowed enough money to get home.
But the big thing was done I was out of debt again.
The four years in Medical College were perhaps as
difficult as had been the former four years. I, however,
partly made my way by tutoring in chemistry some of
the boys who were deficient in that branch.
During two years of the time that I was in Medical
College Mrs. Shelton taught school, as she had been doing
for some years before our marriage.
During these early years I had a desire to be a
preacher, but I had decided that I wasn t good enough to
be a preacher, so I had decided to be a doctor, the alter
native as I thought, and the next best thing by which to
live a life of usefulness.
I had also, through friends in college and otherwise,
especially Professor and Mrs. Kelly and through H. P.
Scott, a former Normal Institute instructor, and others,
made up my mind to be a missionary. I had applied,
during my third year in Medical College, for an appoint
ment to the Foreign Christian Missionary Society in
Cincinnati. The reply to my application had been to go
on and finish my college work first and then they would
see.
Three months before I graduated I again applied,
with the result that after asking for references to whom
they could write, the Society informed me, through A.
McLean, that it would be impossible to send out any
more men that year.
This was a great disappointment, but couldn t be
helped. I therefore formed a partnership with Dr. J.
H. Henson, of Mound Valley, with whom I had worked
the previous year.
n
GOING
I WAS not, however, to get to practice again with
Dr. Henson because a few days before graduation
I received another letter from Mr. McLean, presi
dent of the Foreign Society, asking me to come to Cin
cinnati for a personal conference. I went.
Mr. McLean handed me a note asking me if I could
take it out to Dr. Kilgour, which I did.
Dr. Kilgour made a thorough physical examination of
me and sent a note something after this fashion back to
Mr. McLean. If this man s qualifications in other lines
are as good as they are physically, he ll be all right, be
cause he s certainly the best animal I ve seen in a long
time."
Mr. McLean again asked me if I could amuse myself
by going out to the Zoo till seven o clock in the evening.
I told him I could take care of myself all right until
seven o clock, which was the time at which the Executive
Committee was to meet.
I came in and found there another young man, Mr.
Roberts. I asked him where he was thinking of going
and he said he was going to Tibet with Dr. Rijnhart.
I was pretty much scared to death when I went in before
the committee. Every eye in the room seemed to be bor
ing a hole through me and the questions they asked and
the answers which I had to give, led me to believe that
my chances of appointment were not greater than the
proverbial snowball.
19
20 PIONEERING IN TIBET
I went out into the hall when they had finished with
me and said to Roberts, l Well, I guess I had just as well
be going. There will be no chance for me." He said,
"Wait a little anyhow."
A few minutes later they all filed out. Mr. McLean
came over, put his hand on my shoulder and said, l Well,
Doctor, you re going to China."
It was a great transition. One incident especially,
during this time, impressed itself upon my mind. It
was the question of Mr. F. M. Rains, Secretary of the
Foreign Society.
He said in his own way, "Well, Doctor, what ever
made you want to be a missionary anyhow?" After
talking for some time, when I was leaving, taking my
hand in his, putting one hand on my shoulder, he said,
"Well, don t get discouraged. Remember the Lord s
not dead yet." These words have been a source of con
stant courage and strength through all the years.
Shortly before time for our sailing I received a letter
from Mr. Eains in which he stated that for two years the
Society had been looking for some one to go to Tibet
with Dr. Rijnhart, but had been unable to find any one
and they wanted to ask Mrs. Shelton and myself whether
we would consider it.
We talked it over and, as the letter was to be answered
by wire, drove over to the railroad station from Mrs.
Shelton s home, where we were visiting, and sent the
answer that we would be glad to go.
In September, 1903, we began our journey. Arriving
at San Francisco we met Dr. Eijnhart for the first time.
Dr. Rijnhart had created a great deal of interest in
Tibet by her speaking, after her return from the jour
ney into that country. During this time she had lost her
baby, her husband had disappeared and she had been
GOING 21
left alone in that far land to make her way back as best
she could to civilization.
Her story was pronounced to be the most thrilling ac
count of missionary work in recent times.
Two or three days before the ship China, on which we
were going, was to sail, it was thought that as there was
no minister in the party, it was best that I be ordained,
which ceremony was conducted by Mr. Walter M. White,
assisted by some of the other brethren in San Francisco.
The journey across the Pacific was, of course, very
wonderful to us young people from far inland. We en
joyed it and I learned on this ship the sure cure for sea
sickness, but whether or not this cure has ever been pat
ented I am unable to say. Mr. Madden, of Japan, who
was on the boat, in trying to console Mrs. Shelton, would
go by on his trips around the deck, furiously chewing
gum, with the remark in passing, The only way to keep
from getting seasick is to keep going and chew gum."
In passing once, however, it was noticed that he had
to very hastily remove his gum from his mouth and step
to the railing. When asked what he was doing he re
plied, " Just making my little contribution to the fishes,"
repossessed himself of his gum and went on his way.
The impressions in Japan were terrible. We saw the
women doing the work which we had seen only men do
in America. The first sight of these things makes an
impression that is indelible.
The other sight in Japan that made the greatest im
pression on me was the Stars and Stripes floating from
the flagstaff of the Consulate.
On arriving in Shanghai it was necessary to stop for
a few days in preparation for the trip through China.
Dr. Eijnhart had remained over in Japan for one
steamer to do some speaking.
22 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
At length, however, we were ready and took the boat
for Nanking, the seat of the largest work of our Central
China Mission.
Here we met Dr. Macklin and Mr. Meigs, as well as
all the other members of our China Mission. Mr. Meigs
was exceedingly helpful in that he furnished us with two
men who were indispensable. One was Mr. Yang, who
went as a Chinese evangelist, and the other was
"Johnny," who went as our cook.
Soon we were off again and now we were really
started. The trip to Hankow was without special inci
dent. Our missionaries at Wuhu came down to see us.
At Hankow it was necessary to change from the large
down-river steamers to the small up-river steamers for
Ichang.
Arrival at Ichang put an end to all rapid transpor
tation, as at that time no steamers were going farther
up-river. Here the mode of travel had to be changed
entirely.
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Ammundson of the British and
Foreign Bible Society, Dr. Rijnhart, Mrs. Shelton and
myself secured a large house-boat on which all of our be
longings were placed, including Mr. Ammundson s stock
of Scriptures for opening the work of the Bible Society
in Yunnan Province.
Then began, perhaps, the most memorable part of the
whole journey, the trip up through the gorges of the
Upper Yangtze and the long journey into Chungking.
This part of the journey took us about a month.
Our house-boat was pulled by about forty coolies,
walking along the shore and pulling on a large bamboo
rope.
These coolies, it seemed to me, were the most miserable
people that I had ever seen. Some of them had scarcely
GOING 23
any clothing at all, and the little they had was ragged
and dirty. Some of them had festering wounds, but
were still compelled to go on and on day after day doing
this work.
The head man would go along the shore with a piece
of bamboo rope, which he used as a whip, and it was in
China that I first saw human beings struck as we use a
whip on an ox to make him work harder.
I did what I could at nights or at meal times for those
who were ill or who had wounds, and had I been two
men instead of one, one would have stayed to minister to
those thousands of coolies up and down this river.
Arriving in Chungking, we were very graciously taken
in by Dr. and Mrs. McCartney of the American Meth
odist Mission. After a short stay we were on again for
the last stage of the river journey, only another three
weeks or a little more to Kiating.
Mr. and Mrs. Ammundson left us at Suifu.
At Kiating we stopped with Mr. and Mrs. Kirie of the
China Inland Mission. Mr. Ririe, who was a very quiet
man, during the next few days could be seen occasionally
chuckling to himself, and when asked what was amusing
him would say that he was seeing a boy eating pumpkin
pie, the story of which Mrs. Shelton had told him a day or
two before. The boy had said that he always hated to
eat pumpkin pie because it always got his ears so dirty.
It was here that we met our first Tibetan. He was
the King of Tachienlu, on his way to Chentu, the capital
of the Province.
He had come down with Mr. Sorensen, who had come
to Kiating to get married.
The King was suffering from some sort of minor ail
ment and he asked Mr. Sorensen to have me come over
to see him. It was thus that I had my first Tibetan
24: PIONEEEING IN TIBET
patient, and thus was begun a friendship which has
lasted throughout all these years.
From here our mode of travel had to be changed once
more. All our goods were transferred from the boat to
bamboo rafts, and they were to go on for the next stage
of the journey to Yachow.
It was at Kiating that we first heard that war had
been declared between Japan and Russia. Before
going on farther into the interior, it was deemed
advisable that I should go up to the capital, Chentu, and
find out whether or not this war was likely to affect the
internal conditions of China.
It was here also that we met Mr. Endicott, of the
Canadian Methodist Mission, and who has since become
the General Secretary.
When we arrived at Yachow we met Mr. and Mrs.
Opeiishaw and Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, of the Baptist Mis
sion. There we had a few days rest getting ready for
the last stage of the journey.
We had now been on the way since the latter part of
September, and at this time it was early March. It was
very gratifying indeed to have this bit of rest and to hear
Mr. Taylor sing. His classic was "Clementine," which
Mrs. Shelton, who was playing for him, had never heard
before. But it broke up the meeting when the "roses
growing over her grave were fertilized by Clementine. 7
Mrs. Shelton was feeling rather sorrowful over Clemen
tine but, before the close of the verse, she simply
stopped playing and turned and looked at Mr. Taylor
with astonishment written all over her face. This
marked the end of the concert.
A few days later we started into the mountains. All
our baggage and boxes were on men s backs, ourselves in
sedan chairs, being carried by men. This was too much
GOING 25
for me. I didn t mind having people work for me, but
to be carried by them was just a little too much, so I had
the chair carried along, but I walked most of the way.
Some of the passes, though not exceedingly high, not
more than nine or ten thousand feet, were very difficult,
being covered with snow and ice.
The misery and suffering endured by the tea carriers,
who carried great loads of tea, sometimes as many as
twenty bundles of fifteen pounds each, over the moun
tains of Yachow to Tachienlu were very great. Some of
them were old men, who had been carrying for years,
and could now carry only a few bundles. Some were
young men in their prime, who carried the heaviest
loads. Some were young boys, not more than twelve or
fourteen years old, trudging along with their fathers,
carrying a few bundles.
I saw one man who had become ill and had lain down
in the road and died there. He lay there until he be
came a nuisance, when he was taken a few feet back from
the side of the road and buried. The other coolies who
came along had simply walked around him or stepped
over him and gone on.
I think my greatest trial was to see the utter indiffer
ence to human suffering and the cheapness of human life
in the Orient.
At last, after seven days, we were within one day of
Tachienlu, and on the morrow we would arrive.
in
WHAT WE FOUND
THE next morning we were out bright and early
and on our way. The last day s journey was a
continuous climb from an altitude of less than
three thousand feet to eight thousand five hundred feet,
along the rolling river which comes down from Tach-
ienlu.
After we had had dinner at the half-way place we
were on again, and about four o clock in the afternoon,
in a heavy snow-storm, we were met by Mr. Moyes, who
had come out a mile or two to meet us.
It was not until this time that we realized that a ro
mance was in the air. Mr. Moyes had been the first
white person Dr. Rijnhart had met on her escape from
Tibet some years before, after having lost her husband
and child, and he told me afterward that when he met
her, although she was dressed in dirty sheepskin clothes
and was almost black from exposure, as soon as he saw
her, without even knowing who she was or from whence
she came, he knew that she was the one who would be
his wife.
Mr. Moyes had very kindly rented for us in advance a
Tibetan inn. The floors of this inn were covered with
dirt inches thick which he had had taken out with a
shovel. He had papered two rooms in which we were to
live for some time. We at once set about trying to rent
a house, which with his help was accomplished in a short
time, and then began the process of remodelling, which
26
WHAT WE FOUND 27
was very difficult, as I could speak but very few words of
Chinese.
I secured a teacher from Chentu and we began the
study of Chinese. It is necessary for workers on the
border of Tibet to know both Chinese and Tibetan.
After some months our house was ready for occupancy
and we moved into the place which we were to occupy
for nearly five years. We were very comfortable but
had no stove. All our warming, and the winters are very
cold, had to be done with charcoal brasiers.
Mrs. Shelton became quite ill while we were staying
at the inn, but as spring came on she improved very
rapidly and was again well by the time we moved into
our new quarters.
Dr. Rijnhart began at once her work with the Chinese
and Tibetan women. She had brought with her from
Kiating a young girl, Manyin, who was to be her com
panion and helper in the work. Dr. Eijnhart was
greatly needed in this place, for there was no doctor
nearer than Yachow, eight days away.
I had intended to do no medical work for some time,
but to give my full time to study. This, however, was
impossible, as there were cases that must be attended to
in a surgical way at once. Many cases of frost bites and
consequent gangrene were coming in at this time, sword
cuts, gunshot wounds, and attempted suicides by opium
were all things that could not be let go, so it was
necessary that I combine work with study.
Shortly after we had occupied our home it became nec
essary to rent a place for the medical work and for a
preaching shop and for a school. This was secured
through the help of Mr. Moyes and Mr. Yang, the
evangelist whom we had brought from Nanking. Mr.
Yang carried on the meetings under the direction of
28 PIONEERING IN TIBET
Dr. Rijnhart and he created a great deal of interest, as
he was by far the best educated man in that part of the
country.
However, nothing was yet being done except medically
for the Tibetans. None of us except Dr. Rijnhart
could speak any Tibetan. One of the things at this
time which worried me considerably was the apparent
disregard of the truth by the Chinese merchants at the
place. I did some buying on the street with Mr. Young
himself, and it was a source of consternation to me that
a merchant, after he had declared up and down that the
cost price was so much, after haggling for a certain
length of time, Mr. Young would be able to secure the
article for less than half that amount.
I said to Mr. Young on one occasion, "That man cer
tainly lied to you. He sold you that article for so much.
He had just declared that the cost price was more than
that, and I do not believe that he sold it to you for less
than the cost." He replied, "Of course he didn t, but
that is not lying, that is the custom."
TV-
LEARNING TO TALK
DURING this time I was giving all of my morn
ings entirely to study. I studied the book until
I got tired; then I took the teacher and went
with him into the street to practice what I had learned.
In the afternoon I did the surgical work that was neces
sary to be done.
One day a little child whose hand was gone was
brought in. We asked what had become of the hand and
the mother replied that she had left the child lying on
the floor while she was out working in the garden, and a
pig had eaten it off.
After about a year or less I began the study of Ti
betan. My old Tibetan teacher was very intelligent in
some ways. However, he was thoroughly superstitious,
as a great many of the Tibetans are. Coming into the
courtyard one day he was limping. I said to him,
"Gigen (teacher), what s the matter with your foot?"
"Why," he replied, "just as I was coming up the alley
here a devil hit me on the foot and made me lame."
"Now," I answered, "you know that is not so. You
probably stepped on a rock and turned your ankle."
That made the old man quite angry, and he again re
plied, "Do you suppose I don t know when a devil hits
me?"
Another day in the dispensary a band of soldiers came
in from the interior. They were in a terrible state.
They had had their hands and feet frozen for so long a
29
30 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
time that they were black with gangrene and rotting.
The odour was terrific. That afternoon I cut off thirty-
one fingers and toes. One of the party had suffered far
worse than the rest. His legs were frozen half-way to
the knee. He could not walk, but simply pulled himself
along by his hands on the ground. Most of the flesh had
fallen from the bones of the leg. The feet had dried
hard and black. He was in a pitiful condition. It was
necessary to amputate both legs just below the knee.
I had not made as great success with Tibetan as with
Chinese. The language appeared to me to be more diffi
cult to speak. I had studied the book, however, sev
eral hours each day with my teacher. One great diffi
culty was that I could speak Chinese and, when I didn t
understand, immediately he would translate for me into
Chinese, with the result that I would forget the use of
the word in Tibetan. I was able to read the written
language fairly well, but when a man came into the dis
pensary and said, ( l Gne droba chig be nado Katro Katro
Smen chiza pin ro, I didn t know what he was saying.
But if I could see it written I knew very well that he had
the stomach ache and wanted a little medicine.
Consequently, becoming disgusted with my lack of suc
cess in learning Tibetan and my apparent inability to
get a speaking knowledge of it, where every one was
ready to translate into Chinese for me anything I might
not be able to immediately understand, I threw my books
aside, took two or three of the boys who were in school
and started for the country.
I went three days back into the country where there
were no Chinese and where it was necessary to speak
Tibetan or not speak at all, and spent some weeks in this
way. During this time I learned the language as it was
spoken.
LEAENING TO TALK 31
One day while on this trip two women came to me. I
had been giving out medicine for some time and they
said that they also wanted some medicine. I asked them
what the trouble was. One said, answering for both,
"She has just lost her husband. She has no children
nor father nor mother and she has no one at all. I, also,
am a widow, but I had one son. About a month ago he
died with smallpox and now I have no one. But the
difficulty is that the pain in here, pointing to her heart,
"never stops day nor night. We cannot sleep and we
want some medicine to stop the pain so we can sleep/
What would you do in a case like that ?
During our first summer in Tachienlu, Doris was born,
and she was a source of great amusement to all our
friends.
One morning I was sleeping rather late and one of the
schoolboys came into the room and shook me by the arm
to waken me. I awakened suddenly and said, "What is
the matter?" He told me that a very big official had
been shot and had sent a man to see if I could go to see
him. I asked, "Where is he?" He replied, "He is in
Tyling about five days to the north of here." I said,
"Yes, I can go, but I haven t any way to get there."
But the boy replied that the man had sent a mule for me
to ride. So getting up and arranging my medicines and
saddle-bags as quickly as possible, with the man from
the official as guide, we started off about ten o clock.
We went very rapidly until far in the afternoon, when
it began to rain. I had provided myself on coming out
with a mackintosh which was supposed to turn water.
This it did for a while, but it rained all night. We had
passed, early in the afternoon, the last settlement in the
valley and were going on and on toward the top of the
pass. Near midnight at the foot of the last stage of the
32 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
pass, we came to an old building occupied by some
traders for the night. Their mule and yak were inside
as well as their goods and themselves. They had built a
large fire in one end of the room around which they were
sitting.
I was so cold and worn out that I said to the men,
"We will stop here for the rest of the night and go on
in the morning. We went inside and I stripped to my
underclothes and began to dry out at the fire.
Being somewhat dried and having eaten a little I at
tempted to go to sleep, but the place was infested with
fleas, the smoke was exceedingly irritating, and sleep was
impossible. So after an hour I got up, dressed, and told
the men we would go on.
We started over the pass at two o clock in the morn
ing. It had stopped raining and the moon was shining,
but before we had been on the road an hour the rain
started again.
Across the pass in the rain and in the dark, miserably
cold and wet, with the glacier coming down to within a
few hundred feet of the road, we went on and on till day
began to dawn.
By this time the mule which my guide was riding had
given out and had been left behind. The mule which
I was riding was so tired that it would lie down with me
on it. I said to the men, "We will stop at the very next
house," but there were no houses, so we had to go on,
riding until shortly before noon.
At this time we rode into the gold camp where the
wounded official was. The wound was some days old,
had been sealed up according to Chinese fashion, had
festered, the neck was tremendously swollen, and he was
in great pain. Removing the coverings from the two
openings of the gunshot wound in the neck, the pus
LEAKNING TO TALK 33
shot out, but after washing and dressing the wounds, the
pressure having been released, he was much more com
fortable.
I then removed my clothing, which had by this time
partially dried, dressed in some of the official s Chi
nese clothes, and a little more than twenty-four hours
from the time of starting, I was ready to go to bed.
I slept till time for supper.
I spent some ten days in this camp attending to this
man and to many Tibetans who, hearing that I had
come,, came for treatment.
It was here that I saw my first Chinese spanking. One
of the workmen in the mines had stolen an ounce of gold,
and the wounded official had his trial on the top of the
Tibetan house where we were staying. The man did not
deny his guilt and the official said, Give him two thou
sand. He was laid down, one man sat on his head, two
others held down his feet, and a fourth with a small
bamboo began applying the punishment. When he
started I thought, "Well, that is no more than he
needs." It was no harder than a parent would ordi
narily spank a child; but two thousand! At the end of
the first two hundred the skin was considerably scuffed.
At the end of five hundred the limbs were considerably
swollen. Before the first thousand had been reached the
skin was broken and the blood oozing out, and by the
time the two thousand had been reached the back of
both legs was like large beefsteaks.
I asked and received permission to treat him also.
At the end of ten days the official was so much im
proved that I was enabled to go home. He asked what
my charges were. I told him that I made no definite
charges, but those who were able to pay were supposed
to make a donation to the hospital for the benefit of those
34 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
who were not able to pay. He had brought out two
hundred rupees which, he informed me, were for the
hospital and for the poor people who were not able to
pay. This was an exceedingly large fee for this coun
try. He said to me, l Now I want you to have something
for yourself. So saying, he signalled a man who came
around from the corner of the house leading a large
mule, all saddled and bridled, as a present to me. This
was the largest fee I had ever received. I rode this mule
many thousands of miles.
One thing the Tibetan people are not able to under
stand is anaesthetics, either local or general. I had, one
day, a finger-nail on my left hand which had become in
fected and it was necessary to remove the nail. I was
studying with my Tibetan teacher at the time. I reached
up and got my hypodermic syringe and my pocket surgi
cal case, filled the syringe with a solution of cocaine and
injected it under the nail, after which I took a small knife
and, having loosened the nail, took a pair of forceps and
removed it in its entirety. Of course it hurt not at all,
but my teacher, sitting and watching me with his eyes
sticking out and occasionally groaning and making ex
clamations, said, "I hope that the Tibetans will never
have to fight foreigners, because they do not feel pain at
all." It was impossible to make him understand that
such an operation did not hurt.
At the end of two years word came from Cincinnati
that we were to have another family. Mr. and Mrs.
Ogden, of Kentucky, had been appointed to come out
and help. We began getting ready for me to go to the
coast to bring them up.
It was at this time that Mr. Moyes came down with
typhus fever. After some days it appeared that the case
was hopeless. One night about midnight I told Dr.
LEARNING TO TALK 35
Rijnhart that I could do nothing further, and that he was
dying. She immediately collapsed and I was helpless.
I determined that I would keep life in him just as long
as possible. I had used all the heart stimulants that I
had dared to use, but to no avail. I then took a large
syringe and filled it with whiskey and inserted it under
the muscle of the breast. In two minutes the heart-beats
began to get stronger and the sweat to dry on his face.
This held for nearly an hour and down it went again. I
repeated the operation. I did this at intervals all
through the night till at the end of twenty-four hours,
through the night and next day, each injection was hold
ing him for more than four hours, and he had become
able to swallow. I then ceased the injection and began
feeding him through the mouth, a thing which had here
tofore been impossible.
He recovered slowly and when we were ready to travel
he and Dr. Rijnhart were also ready to travel to the
British Consul at Chentu, where they were married.
ACROSS CHINA TO MEET OGDEN
MRS. SHELTON and myself and Doris now
about a year old, started toward the coast.
Mrs. Shelton and the baby were to stay in
West China while I should go on to Shanghai. It was a
very easy matter to go down the river as compared to
the task of going up-river. In one day you drift down
a distance which it would require many days to go up.
In this way, within a month of the time we had left
Tachienlu I was in Nanking.
I had expected that Mr. and Mrs. Ogden would meet
me there, but on arriving and going up to Mr. Meigs
house, in the heart of the city, I was told that they had
not come up to Nanking but were waiting for me at
Shanghai. I went on at once and the following day
met them there.
They had been considerably worried because I had not
come sooner. I had not, however, been able to determine
exactly when I should be there, and owing to the illness
of Mr. Moyes, it had been impossible to leave Tachienlu
any sooner in any circumstances.
It did not take us very long to get ready for the up-
river journey at this time. We did, however, spend a
few days at Nanking, where I met Professor and Mrs.
C. T. Paul, who had come out to work in the University.
They were old friends of Dr. Rijnhart and took this
opportunity to send things to her which they had
brought from home.
ACKOSS CHINA TO MEET OGDEN 37
We soon started on the long journey up the Yangtze
and it was here that again the appeal of the need of the
thousands of coolies all along the river came to me with
great force and I wished that I might be able to do sev
eral things at one time, one of which would be going up
and down the Yangtze, following the river from Kiating
to Ichang with a sort of travelling hospital.
This, so far as I know, has never been done, but the
need of it and the appeal of it have been with me through
all these years, though, of course, now there are several
hospitals along the river at different places.
Arriving at Kiating, where Mrs. Shelton had been
waiting, we passed quickly on to Yachow to make ar
rangements for the transportation of our goods. We
were to go by land from Yachow to Tachienlu, while our
goods were left to come more slowly by raft.
At last everything was ready and we were prepared to
go on.
We had, while in Shanghai, purchased an organ. I
felt that it would be of great service. Dr. Rijnhart had
a little folding organ, but it was not adequate. When
it came to transporting a full-sized organ over these
mountains it was a different proposition. We finally
managed it, however, by having it tied between poles and
carried by four men much in the same manner that they
carry a sedan chair.
It was shortly after arriving in Tachienlu that Mrs.
Shelton came down with typhus fever. As she lay un
conscious for more than three weeks it was a great ques
tion for many days as to whether or not she would re
cover. Mr. and Mrs. Ogden very kindly took Doris, and
it was only occasionally that I would get to see her.
Toward the last it appeared as if Mrs. Shelton must
surely go. It appeared impossible that she should re-
38 PIONEERING IN TIBET
cover, but at last, after two days and nights, during
which time, at intervals of fifteen minutes, she had been
given a teaspoonful of water to prevent her choking as
she lay unconscious, she began to show improvement.
After she began to recover she grew better very rapidly
and was soon up and around again. She scarcely knew
Doris and Doris hardly knew her, as it had been neces
sary to shave her head.
During the summer we had a visitor, Mr. Mason
Mitchell, the United States Consul at Chungking. A
visitor in these out-of-the-way places in the world means
a great deal, and we were glad to have him in our home.
He had come up to Tachienlu from Chungking to hunt
the Budorcas, a large, ox-like animal found only in the
Himalaya region. It was while out with him on a hunt
ing expedition that I received one night a letter from
Mrs. Shelton saying that Mr. Ogden, who had been
somewhat feverish of late, was not nearly so well; in
fact, he had typhoid fever and I had better return at
once.
With night coming on I saddled my mule and made
my way down the mountain and then on until two
o clock in the morning, when I reached Tachienlu. Mr.
Ogden was very ill for some weeks, but eventually re
covered. It appeared as if we were having more than
our share of sickness.
Mr. and Mrs. Moyes had now returned to Tachienlu
and it was during this time, owing to the difficulty of se
curing buildings for the work, that we deemed it advi
sable to erect a building, regarding which we had already
written the Board the year before. In reply to our let
ters regarding this, however, they had asked whether or
not it would be possible to move on nearer to the actual
border of Tibet, although Tachienlu is, in reality, the
ACKOSS CHINA TO MEET OGDEN 39
border line between the peoples. The geographical bor
der is some five hundred miles to the west.
At this time it did not seem advisable, neither was
it possible to do this. In the early fall, however, it
was determined that Mr. Ogden and myself should go to
Batang for a trip and see what would be the possibilities
and the conditions.
During the years in Tachienlu the little school had
grown. Perhaps a dozen people had been baptized,
among them one young man who, being desirous of a
better education than could be obtained in Tachienlu,
had gone to Nanking and entered the school there.
I had baptized several of the schoolboys ; some of these
were Chinese and others had Chinese fathers and Ti
betan mothers.
The medical work had grown and we were called upon
by a great many people and some from long distances.
The people in Tachienlu had come to consider it a safe
thing to commit suicide by eating opium, owing to the
efficacy of the treatment rendered them.
It was, however, very amusing at the first, to be called
out to treat some man or woman who, in a fit of passion,
had swallowed opium in order to end their lives. I
would be hurriedly called to see them. People would be
frantic, trying to produce vomiting by running a finger
down the throat or any other means possible. Then I
would take an hypodermic needle and stick it into the
arm, giving them a dose of apo-morphine and tell the
distracted relatives to get a wash basin. The amusing
part was to note the looks of astonishment that the vio
lent emesis which had been so easily induced but which
they had been unable to bring about, brought to their
faces.
I purposely made the patient so violently ill that he
40 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
considered a long time before again attempting such
procedure.
The work there in Tachienlu had also come to include
one married couple who were continually fighting and
she, being the weaker and, as it seemed, rather loose
jointed, always got the worst of it. In any case, after
every fight her right shoulder was found to be out of
joint. The man came to me in great distress the first
time and I went and put it back in place. Only a few
days later he came back again and, on inquiry, I found
that the cause was the same as before, they had been
fighting.
He was a small shopkeeper and after attending his
wife this time I told him that I had other things to do
than going around fixing his wife s bones after every
fight and that if he ever did it again it would be neces
sary for him to pay a fee of two thousand cash (about
one dollar and a half) for the services rendered. This
was successful in restraining him somewhat for a time
but again one night, about midnight, I was called and it
was the same man with the same story. I insisted upon
payment of the fee. He rather insisted that they had
not been fighting but had just been playing with each
other a little and the joint had come out. I told him
that it made no difference whether it was fight or play,
that from now on it would cost him two thousand cash
each time it occurred. He finally paid it, but it had
such an effect upon him that I think in two years I had
only one other opportunity of repairing the effects of his
play.
Some of the patients were exceedingly grateful and
would pay what they could, but there were a few who, al
though able to pay, would try to scheme in such a way
as to get their treatment free.
ACEOSS CHINA TO MEET OGDEN 41
Every man, woman, and child who ever came to the
dispensary received the best treatment it was possible
for us to give them. Those who were able to pay were
asked to pay the cost of the medicine, and those who were
not, who were the great majority, were asked to pay
about five cents, which was the cost of the dose of med
icine for the stomach ache, or pay for amputating a leg.
yi
PROSPECTING
ME. OGDEN and I made our arrangements for
the trip to Batang and one morning early in
September we started. I had never been a
great way on this road, having only been to Dong
Gnolok, three days from Tachienlu.
After crossing the first high pass, Jedo, from which
pass we could see the great mountains which surround
Tachienlu, continually covered with snow, and one of
the reasons for its being so very cold, we came into the
Plain of Anyachong, where one travels for more than a
day with no rise or fall in the road of more than a few
feet.
It was rather unusual to find a place so lovely. It
was especially lovely in the early autumn days when all
the stock of yak, sheep and horses were in prime condi
tion.
Having been there before, our medicine was much in
demand along the road. Five days from Tachienlu we
arrived at Nachuka, the Chinese Hokeo, where we must
cross the river.
There was kept there by the Chinese, at this time, a
large wooden boat in which our goods and horses, as
well as ourselves, could be taken across.
After crossing the river at half-way to Litang, we
came to Shignolok, the seat of one of the Tibetan head
men. He was very kind indeed, inviting us in and
42
PBOSPECTING 43
insisting on our drinking far more butter tea than was
good for us.
Butter tea is made by boiling in a large tea cauldron
the very coarse leaves and twigs which are brought
up from China and sold to the Tibetans in bricks.
Then the tea is strained into a churn into which is
thrown a large handful of salt and a large piece of stale
butter. This is churned for some time until it is
thoroughly emulsified.
The Tibetans and Chinese who use this tea and never
bathe, after a time come to have the odour of stale butter,
and the Chinese say that one of the trials of going back
to China after staying in this country is to have their
friends continually turning up their noses and asking
them to get out.
The Westerner also learns to drink butter tea but fails
to acquire the odour owing to his insistence on occa
sionally having a bath.
At the end of ten days we reached Litang where is
located one of the great monasteries of Eastern Tibet,
where three thousand three hundred priests are sta
tioned. There is also located there one of the great
printing places where there are carved blocks for the
printing of the Gangur, the one hundred and eight vol
umes of Buddhist Scripture. Each page is carved on a
block almost two feet long and six inches wide, and these
blocks are stored in regular order in a great building,
there being many many thousands of them.
It was at this place that I saw the finest copy of
the G-angur it had ever been my privilege to see. It was
all written on heavy paper, which had been smoothed
and blackened by rubbing with India ink until it had
acquired a gloss. The whole one hundred and eight
volumes had been thus prepared by hand and written in
44 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
lines of alternate silver and gold ink. This ink is made
by grinding gold and silver on a stone, and then after
ward mixing the resultant with glue water. The title
pages were all beautifully decorated. It had required
the services of many priests for many years to prepare
these one hundred and eight volumes, each weighing
from thirty to forty pounds and bound with carved
boards.
This work was destroyed some time later by the
Chinese soldiers during fighting between the Chinese
and the Tibetans. They would open the volumes,
scatter the leaves and make a bonfire out of some, and
the whole was utterly destroyed. It was so mutilated
that it was of no further value.
There are some fourteen passes between Tachienlu and
Batang, the lowest of which is about fourteen thousand
feet above sea level, and the highest between sixteen and
seventeen thousand.
In crossing these passes the men who have heretofore
not been in high altitudes breathe with difficulty, espe
cially should they try to walk. Many Chinese soldiers,
who do not understand this mountain sickness nor the
reason for it, call these passes Yosan, or Medicine
Mountain, saying that there is strong medicine in the air
which causes the difficulty in breathing.
The man who was accompanying Mr. Ogden, although
riding, was feeling the effect of the altitude considerably
one day and I, in a spirit of mischief, said to him,
"Fusi, I believe what you need is a little exercise/
"Well," he replied, "I wouldn t be surprised." We
were not far from the top of one of the passes. It was
rather a gradual slope on up to the top, and I proposed
to him that he and I run a rapid race from there to the
top, a distance of perhaps two hundred yards. He said,
PBOSPECTING 45
"All right," so dismounting from onr horses we pre
pared for the race. Ogden gave the command and away
we went. I, however, knew the impossibility of running
more than a very few steps at that altitude and quickly
stopped. Fusi went on for perhaps fifty yards, when
he fell down on the grass groaning and gasping for
breath like a fish out of water and declaring that it was
no use, he knew he was going to die. It was perhaps a
cruel thing for me to do, but I had been trying to tell
him the reason for his condition which he in no wise be
lieved, but insisted that it was because of medicine in
the air.
A day or two later we were riding along and were
going through a country which was noted as being the
seat of operations of a robber band. Pusi had been
greatly disturbed because we were having to pass through
this country and was very much alarmed. We were rid
ing along quietly, a little in the rear, and I heard him
talking to himself, or so it seemed, and I noticed that his
eyes were closed. I wondered if he could be ill and
slowed the pace of my mule until his horse came almost
abreast and I could hear what he was saying. He was
offering up the most fervent prayers that we be saved
from meeting these robbers.
Arriving at Sanba, we were shown what, up to that
time, was the farthest inland missionary grave. In 1898
Mr. Moyes and Mr. Soutar had gone on a journey to
Batang, and while in Batang Mr. Soutar had been taken
ill. They had started at once for Tachienlu but it was
useless. They had been able to proceed only three
days journey to this lonely settlement of nomads at the
foot of the highest mountain in all Eastern Tibet, covered
with great fields of snow, and there he had succumbed.
The grave had later been marked by a stone, and sleeping
46 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
here, at the foot of the eternal snows, lies one of God s
pioneers.
Three days later we reached Batang after having
crossed the Dasso pass, the highest on the road, being
nearly seventeen thousand feet. We had gone down,
down, and down from the top of this pass, following a
narrow road, sometimes built up and sometimes blasted
out along the edge of the rolling torrent, which runs
down to Batang.
It is very cold coming over the passes and a descent of
from sixteen thousand feet to a little less than nine
thousand feet, causes it to appear very warm.
While Batang had an elevation of about nine thousand
feet and would be considered rather high, still in this
land of such tremendous altitudes it is considered to be
very low and many of the people from the highlands, in
transporting goods to Batang, will only bring them to
within about ten or fifteen miles of Batang where the
elevation is still some twelve thousand feet, as they find
it is very dangerous to bring their yak down into such
low country where it is so very warm.
We were very kindly received both by the son of the
Tibetan Prince, who was still there, and also by the
Chinese official. Knowing what we were able to do in a
medical and surgical way, we were kept busy during the
two or three days of our stay, attending to old wounds
and all manner of sickness.
It was there that we came upon the worst form of
dysentery that it has ever been my lot to see. It does
not kill quickly, the person simply gets more and more
emaciated, and some that we saw were simply skin and
bones, lying in the awful stench of the continual excreta
from which no one considered it important that they
should be moved, and from which they themselves were
PEOSPECTIKG 47
unable to crawL The awful need and the gross igno
rance appealed to us very strongly.
We inquired as to the conditions around Batang, the
number of villages up and down the valley, their prob
able populations, and after having made some short
journeys into the country, and knowing that this, in the
Chinese plans, would eventually become the seat of gov
ernment for the new Province, it appeared to us that it
should at least be made one of the main stations of the
Mission.
Lying about a quarter of a mile from the main part of
the town were the ruins of what had formerly been the
pride of all that section; a great monastery, housing
some two or three thousand priests, and which had been
destroyed during the fighting between the Chinese and
Tibetans, which followed the murder of the Chinese
minister a year or two before. The Chinese had been
absolutely ruthless in their punishments. The innocent
and guilty suffered alike, and the executions would some
times run into forty and fifty in a single day.
We went to call upon the son of the Prince. His
father had been executed in the general slaughter. He
was very kind and lived in a quite considerable palace
but was closely guarded and watched by the Chinese.
He was a very poor specimen, being a confirmed opium
smoker, a habit which the Chinese had introduced, and
he was rapidly using up the property that was his.
He was afterward transported, himself, his wife, son,
and daughter, to Chentu, the capital of Szechuen, where
one by one they all, except the son, succumbed. They
were unable to stand the low altitude and great heat of
the plains.
The Tibetans generally are very much afraid of the
lowlands, and it was with great difficulty that any of
48 PIONEERING IN TIBET
them could be persuaded to accompany us down into the
plains of China at furlough time.
After a few days spent at Batang, we started on our
return journey, travelling very quickly because we did
not wish to leave the women alone at Tachienlu for too
great length of time. We got on well until we reached
Litang, which was thirteen thousand two hundred feet
above sea level, and which is so high that neither barley
nor wheat will mature, and the country round about is
entirely given over to grazing and to the washing of
gold which is found in considerable quantities along the
banks of the shallow streams.
After our arrival there was a great snowfall and we
were snowed in for two days. The houses were very
low, badly excavated and badly built with sod above the
surface level. The fires are of yak dung and some wood,
which is brought from a considerable distance. The
chimney is a thing about which they do not trouble.
As a consequence the smoke is exceedingly irritating, and
sore eyes are very prevalent among the Tibetans.
It was impossible for Mr. Ogden and me to endure
this smoke; finally we succeeded in securing a small
quantity of charcoal with which to keep ourselves warm.
We had provided ourselves before leaving Tachienlu
with sheepskin garments, so we were not greatly incon
venienced.
On reaching Tachienlu and finding all well after some
six weeks absence, we sent our recommendations to
America, which were that the main station of the Mis
sion be located at Batang, but that one family be lo
cated at Tachienlu for the purpose of forwarding sup
plies, mail and money, as we would be constantly de
pendent upon the outside for these things. We also
pointed out to those at home the difficulties of the road
PBOSPECTING 49
and transportation. In reply they stated that after
having considered our report, they would like to ask
that, in view of the difficulties of the road, the great
remoteness of the place, and above all, the difficulties of
finding men and women who were willing to go to this
remote place, we very seriously consider the advisability
of giving up the work and going down into China where
reinforcements were greatly needed.
This was discouraging in the extreme. We had been
hoping that things were going to move forward and
here we were being asked the advisability of abandoning
the field altogether. After considering the matter very
seriously it was decided that we could not give up the
field, that it should not be done, and that the difficulties
should only be a spur to greater effort because the task
must be accomplished ; and we so wrote the Board.
It was with great joy, therefore, that some months
later we received a letter from the president of the
Society in which he stated that our answer was just what
he was praying that it might be.
VII
MOVE TO BATANG
SO with the consent of the Executive Committee in
America, we were now to move on to Batang. In
preparation for this it was necessary that we
obtain certain things, including tents, glass, a few
hinges, nails, etc., from America. So these were ordered
and we made preparation to go to Chentu, the capital of
Szechuen, to attend the Conference of all missionaries in
West China and, at the same time, bring up, when they
should arrive, these things from America.
Accordingly, in January, 1908, we went to Chentu
and after the Conference, which was of very great help
to us all after having been isolated for some years, we
took boat and floated down the Chentu River to Suifu,
where we left Mrs. Shelton and Mrs. Ogden with the
children, while Mr. Ogden and I went on to Chungking
to get the supplies which should be arriving from
America.
They were greatly delayed, however, and after a wait
of some ten days it was decided that I should go on
back, take the women and return to Tachienlu, as the
spring was coming on and the heat would be very op
pressive in the lowlands.
So I went on back to Suifu, making as long stages as
possible. I was riding along one afternoon and was
feeling exceedingly sorry for my mule. After I had
covered almost two stages in that one day, he appeared
so tired that it seemed almost impossible for him to go
50
MOVE TO BATANG 51
further. The road was very narrow and raised above
the surrounding paddy fields on each side of the road.
I was just saying to myself that the next day, although I
was in a hurry, I would not try to cover more than one
stage as it was too hard on my mule. The paddy fields
were in terraces, some two or three feet above each other,
and we were going down grade. In one of the fields
just ahead were some ducks which I had not seen and
suddenly, one of the ducks, in attempting to come from
one of the lower fields into an upper, flapped his wings
very vigorously and said, "Quack, quack, quack/ and
my mule, being thus startled, gave just one jump side
ways and landed in a paddy field some six feet below,
while I went over his head somewhat in the fashion of a
bullfrog and landed in the paddy field next below him.
I went under the water and mud on all fours and
when I came up and got the water out of my eyes, there
was my mule in the paddy field above, with his ears
stuck forward, looking to see what I was doing. After
excavating myself, as well as the mule, from the paddy
fields, and getting back on to the road, I went to a small
stream near by, and I gave my clothes a bath with me
inside them; and, as dark was coming, I mounted and
rode away, water and all. I wasn t troubled any more,
however, with any feelings of compassion for that mule
and we made the remaining five miles in record time.
After a short stop in Suifu, Mrs. Shelton, Mrs. Ogden
and myself took the road for Tachienlu where we arrived
in good time. Now began the preparations for the move
while waiting for Mr. Ogden to come up with the goods
from below. He finally arrived and after all things had
been prepared, there being some things still to attend to,
it was decided that Mrs. Shelton and I should go on
ahead. We had in the meantime dispatched Johnny, our
52 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
faithful cook whom we had brought on the first trip
from Nanking, to Batang to rent and prepare as best
he could some place of residence for us.
He had great difficulty in securing any place as it was
reported in Batang that it was the custom of foreigners
when they had once rented a place and occupied it, to
keep it for themselves; so that it was only with great
difficulty and through the help of Mr. Bu, one of the
Chinese missionaries sent by the Chentu Church to do
work among the Tibetans, that a house was found.
All our goods had to be packed in boxes weighing not
more than seventy-five pounds. This was sometimes ex
ceedingly difficult, especially when it came to cook-
stoves. With the organ, of course, it was impossible.
Cook-stoves could be taken apart and packed in pieces,
but the organ could not ; so we had to have it carried.
Finally, in June, Mrs. Shelton and I were off. Doris
and Dorothy, our two babies, riding in one chair, Mrs.
Shelton in another, and I on my mule. It was lovely
travelling during the summer except that sometimes
violent hail and snow storms would come up for a short
while but would quickly pass, and we could drive on
again. The passes were all covered with flowers and in
going through the forests in the somewhat lower altitude
the scenery was lovely indeed.
At Hokeo, where we had to cross the river, we saw
great mountains of tea on their way to the interior.
This tea is carried all over Tibet. It is very much sought
after and passes in the interior as money in trade and
barter. There would be caravans, sometimes as many as
two hundred yak, all loaded with tea from China. The
Tibetans come out in the spring from the interior to
Tachienlu, the great tea market, bringing their wool,
hides, deer horns, musk, gold, rugs, woolen cloth, etc.
MOVE TO BATANG 63
These articles they trade for tea, silk, sugar, tobacco,
etc. This trade, which formerly amounted to hundreds
of thousands of dollars, has been greatly curtailed dur
ing the last few years owing to the continuous fighting
between the Chinese and Tibetans.
In Litang we stopped for a day that we might get
some washing done and do some needed cooking for the
remainder of the journey, which would be completed in
about seventeen stages, and would require seven days.
We had not, up to the present, experienced any great
difficulty with the altitude and got along fairly well even
in Litang, thirteen thousand feet above sea level, but the
following day as it was impossible to cross the high pass
that separated us from the next valley it was necessary
for us to stop at Totang, a small military outpost on the
top of the Whangtogang, which has been translated by
some one as meaning, The abomination of desolation.
Covered with great boulders, the road is very difficult
and there, in a small stone hut, occupied by a lone China
man and his Tibetan wife, neither of which could under
stand the other, we spent the night.
Here during the night I was suddenly awakened by
Mrs. Shelton sitting up in bed and saying that she was
having an awful dream. She turned over and tried to
go to sleep again but in a few minutes it was the same
thing. It was then that we found out what the trouble
was. We were simply like fish out of water. There
was not enough oxygen in the air to sustain one at a
retarded rate of respiration, so we sat up and managed
to get through the night; but at three o clock got break
fast and were ready to move on.
It was a great relief to get out the next night from
this extremely high altitude and where we could sleep
again.
64 PIONEERING IN TIBET
After another week in these high altitudes, crossing
one pass after another and after a day of going around
the pass of Genyi, the great snow mountain at whose
foot James Soutar lies sleeping, and crossing the last
high pass we came down into livable conditions again
and on one bright, sunshiny day about two o clock in
the afternoon, we arrived in Batang.
We found Johnny in the midst of having an old room
which he had been able to rent, ceiled and floored for
our occupancy. We moved in and the work went on.
We lived in this place for some months until we were
able to rent and repair a more suitable quarter.
We were again strangers in a strange land but found
some friends whom we had been able to help on a
former trip. We found there one man who came in to
me one day and was exceedingly friendly. I could not
understand why he should be so. He smiled and talked
in a great way and I was wondering what he wanted
when he turned to me and said, "You don t know me,
do you?" I said, "No, I don t know you." He im
mediately began unbuttoning his clothes and pulling up
his shirt, exposing a scar on his abdomen, said, "Now
do you know me?" He was a former patient from
Tachienlu on whom I had operated for appendicitis.
These patients I met from time to time through all the
country and though I did not remember them, they did
remember me.
vin
FIRST OPERATION IN BATANG
JUST the day before we left Tachienlu for Batang,
a man had come in to see me, with a great row of
enlarged glands around his neck and had asked
me to remove them. He had come from Lichang in the
Province of Yunnan, some twenty-five days to the south
west, for the express purpose of having me operate on
him. Arriving as he did, just as we were departing for
Batang, it was impossible to operate because many of my
instruments and supplies had gone on. I told him that it
would be impossible to attend to him now but that if he
could come on five hundred miles to Batang, I would be
glad to take care of him. He said he would but I hardly
expected it. However, we had been in Batang only two
days when he arrived and insisted that he was ready for
the operation. We had not had time to unpack or in
any way to prepare for taking care of the sick, but I had
promised him that I would take care of him as soon as
he came to Batang. So there was nothing else to do
except to unpack the boxes containing the instruments
and do the best we could.
It is always a mistake among these superstitious, in
credulous people to do things behind closed doors, be
cause all sorts of stories get out. In Tachienlu I was
greatly puzzled for a long time as to why, when I would
go on the street, small children would see me and take
to their heels and never stop till they were safely inside
their own doors. Upon inquiry, we found that they
55
56 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
were told, and it was believed by many people, that we
would catch children and take out their livers and eyes
and use them for medicine.
There was great curiosity shown by many of the
people in Batang when it was found out that I was
going to operate on this man. I secured an old door,
placed it on two benches out in the open part of the
house, where any one who wished could see. After
sterilizing everything as well as could be done, Johnny,
my assistant, gave the anaesthetic and put the man to
sleep, and the operation was performed. Every one
thought the man must be dead as he lay so still and
uttered no moan while the operation was being done, and
it was with great surprise that they saw him at last
wake up. He recovered and went back to his home in
Lichang some twenty-five days to the south, having had
to travel, in all, nearly seventy days in order to be cured.
One of our great trials in Batang during the first year
was the lack of proper food. There were very few
vegetables to be had, we had no garden of our own, and
we could obtain practically nothing except meat and
flour. We found that there were a few potatoes of a
small, round variety, no larger than a marble. We were
able to obtain some of these and they were appreciated.
Dorothy became very ill and we despaired of saving her
and for some months it was a question every day as to
whether she would survive. But with the advent of
cold weather she began to improve and eventually re
covered. Later in the fall we were gladdened by the
news that Mr. and Mrs. Ogden had decided to come on in
before cold weather finally shut down and closed the
passes ; so early in October they arrived.
Mr. Bu, the Chinese missionary of the Methodist
Church, who had come in some months previously, very
FIEST OPERATION IN BATANG 57
kindly assisted us in every way in his power, in helping
us to rent a garden, for we saw that it would be neces
sary for us to raise our own vegetables. We also bought
some cows in order that we might have our own milk and
butter, kept and prepared in a sanitary way. This was
absolutely necessary for the health of the children.
We had brought from Tachienlu and had sent to us
from America, all kinds of garden seeds and hoped to
be able to raise most of what we would want in that line.
We succeeded in renting a small piece of ground which
was well irrigated, and from that time to the present we
have never been without our own vegetables. We
brought from Tachienlu seed potatoes and potatoes have
become, in Batang and the surrounding country, one of
the chief products. Many hundreds of bushels are raised
each year. This is a, great blessing, as potatoes yield
far more abundantly than any other crop.
There have been brought in and introduced by Mr.
Ogden, Mr. Baker, Dr. Hardy, Mr. McLeod, and our
selves, many varieties of vegetables, some of which are
proving very valuable indeed. My father sent me
alfalfa seed from Oklahoma. It produced wonderfully
and is much sought after in the early spring by the
people as a vegetable, as it is the first green thing that
appears and is very palatable.
Broom corn, sorghum, cabbage, onions, beets, peas,
beans, parsnips, carrots, pumpkins, squash, almost any
thing, in fact, that is produced in America, grows
abundantly here.
The difficulty is in getting the people to use them.
They have become so accustomed, through many genera
tions, to live almost exclusively on parched barley and
butter tea, that they do not feel the need nor relish a
variety of diet.
68 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
Mr. Ogden and Mr. Baker, when they came, succeeded
in keeping alive through all the months of travel, nine
strawberry plants from which we have succeeded in
populating the whole valley, so that we have now about
as fine strawberries as can be grown any place. There
are a few peaches and wild raspberry plants, as well as
apricots, grown in the valley. We have at last succeeded
also, through the efforts of Mr. Baker, in getting a few
apple trees started. Pears are a very poor variety, but
are grown to some extent.
There is one product in this valley which cannot be
excelled any place. This is the English walnut, which is
produced in great abundance. Mr. McLeod is a Scotch
man and, as soon as he arrived, threw his efforts into
cultivating oats, and they are now flourishing. Canta
loupes do well. One great sorrow in my life has
been my utter inability, after seventeen years of trial, to
raise watermelons.
It was somewhat difficult at first to secure a teacher.
So we had struggled on and on as best we could with
out a teacher, since no one was willing to help us.
I was almost desperate and one day one of my Tibetan
friends came to visit me and I said to him, "Gezong
Ongdu, I am in an awful fix. Why can t you
help me out with this Tibetan a little? " He
said, "Yes, I ll be glad to help you out a little."
" Well, " I said, " how much .shall I pay you a month ? r
" Oh," he said, "I m not going to do it for money at
all. If I can do it for you as your friend I 11 be glad to
do it. Otherwise I 11 not do it at all. To which terms I
was forced to accede for a time. At the end of the month
I proposed to give him what he considered fair wage and
tried to do so. He refused and I insisted. I finally took
and stuffed it into his gown. He said, "All right, if you
FIEST OPEEATION IN BATANG 59
don t want to be friends any more I ll take it; but if you
want us to be friends and want me to come back, you will
have to take your money back." Thus I was forced to
accede to his terms because I could not get along without
him. I, however, got even with him later.
IX
GETTING EEADY TO BUILD
THE lamasery at Batang was in ruins. Not only
was it in ruins, but many of the houses
throughout the surrounding country were
burned up, simply the bare walls of mud left standing.
The people were poor, many of the families had no
heads, the men having been executed following the kill
ing of the Chinese minister; desolation and poverty
reigned everywhere.
In these conditions work was very difficult because in
a way we were looked upon as being friends of the Chi
nese. But we never made any change in our attitude
so far as it was possible to maintain it, telling them that
we were there to do good to every one, whether Chinese,
Tibetan, or half-caste, insisting at all times, both to the
Chinese and Tibetans, that all men were brothers.
One day Ju Lama, one of the incarnations in Batang,
and looked upon as being one of the heads of the Bud
dhist Priesthood, came to me and wanted to know if I
would be willing to go some two days journey across the
mountain into Yangtze valley where a house had col
lapsed, killing several and wounding many others.
Taking one of my assistants, Mr. Bu, with me, in com
pany with Ju Lama, we set out. It was a place where no
white man had ever gone before, and where Chinese were
afraid to go. We were, however, perfectly safe, escorted
as we were by a messenger who had brought the word
and by Ju Lama.
60
GETTING BEADY TO BUILD 61
We started very early, somewhat before daylight, in
order that we might make the journey by hard travelling
in one day, which we did. The road, after crossing the
mountain, led up the Yangtze River. On the side of the
mountain some two thousand feet above the river, it runs
into a deep gorge. At almost sundown we arrived at the
village. I stopped while inquiries were being made as
to where the injured were. The house was pointed out
but we were informed that I would not be allowed to
enter that night. On inquiry as to why, we were told
that we had been on the road all day and we were prob
ably possessed of a great many devils that we had ac
quired on the road, and that it would be a great injury
to the patients for us to enter the house that night.
Loath though we were to postpone anything that could
be done, we were forced to comply and seek shelter in
some other home, where we were allowed to stay in a
small room on top of the third story of an adobe house.
It is a great wonder that more people are not killed in
these adobe houses than are, because the walls, made of
adobe, are built sometimes to tremendous heights.
We did not sleep much because it rained nearly all
night and the water, pouring through the mud roof,
could only be kept off by using an oil covering over the
bed. After a night spent in discussing the different
problems of the Tibetans with Ju Lama, morning came
at last. Ju Lama has been a good friend to me through
all the years.
The next morning we went to see the injured folk, one
of whom was a man with both legs broken by a beam fall
ing on them. The neighbours had set the bones as best
they could, but had used only small sticks and wrapped
them with woolen cords very tightly, so that there was
no chance for the return circulation. As a consequence,
62 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
the feet were swollen to great size and the man was in
great agony. We did what we could for the man, but
were not allowed to stay, and they refused to have the
feet amputated. The bones had run through the flesh
and he was being eared for in a room in the back part of
which was the fireplace and bed. The bed was simply an
old sheepskin laid on the ground. In the front part
were yak and sheep. The filth was indescribable and the
wounds infected so that there was not much chance with
out radical measures, which they refused.
We reluctantly bade them good-bye and returned
home. Three days later the man died. Even the band
ages with which we had wrapped his legs were taken
off and returned to us in Batang.
It was about this time that I performed my first mar
riage ceremony. The boy that took care of my mule was
told by some of his friends that it was time he was get
ting married. He said that if they thought that he
ought to get married it was all right with him, and, if
they could find him a wife, it would suit him very well.
They looked around and a few days later announced
that they had found a Tibetan girl who was very strong
and who could do lots of work and who would make him
a good wife. He was satisfied, so the papers were drawn
up and the agreement made. Time went on and prepa
rations for the marriage were carried forward. He
came to me and said, "Dr. Shelton, although I am not
yet a Christian, I expect to be some day, and I would
like you to marry me instead of being married according
to the Chinese custom." I told him I would be glad to
marry him.
I had not as yet seen the bride-to-be, nor had he.
When the time came he was decked out in all the finery
of a Chinese mandarin, with a peacock feather sticking
GETTING EEADT TO BUILD 63
out from the back of his head, and dressed in silks and
satins worth more than he could have earned in a year.
These were borrowed from other folks, by his friends,
for the occasion.
He was escorted to our house by several of his friends
and a few minutes later, there came the bride escorted
by her friends. Now Niuniu, the boy, was quite small,
being something over five feet, while the bride was
nearly six feet tall. He looked up to see what she looked
like, and she was very shy. He could not speak a word
of Tibetan, nor could she speak a word of Chinese, so it
was necessary for me to marry him in Chinese and her
in Tibetan, and for some time to come, when they wished
to have any conversation, it was necessary to call in an
interpreter.
These friends in Batang, seeing the different articles
in our home, kept asking us if we would not get the same
for them. This we did when we could, but there came a
time when we had to stop it, as it became too much of a
burden, this trying to purchase things in America, espe
cially as there were great difficulties in transportation
and many times the articles were lost.
While it was very difficult many times in making
friends with the grown folks, it was not nearly so much
so with the children, especially as our own children
opened the way with them. This is our greatest hope,
the work with the children and young folks, although
sometimes the older ones do become Christians. But
even becoming Christians, they carry with them over
into Christianity many of the old customs and supersti
tions that have been born and bred in them.
The spring following our arrival in Batang witnessed
the advent of the first white baby, little Ruth Ogden,
who was a source of wonder to all the natives.
MEDICAL WORK
IT now became necessary to plan for building. We
had as yet secured no land on which we could build.
The prospects appeared good and it was thought
wise to begin preparing, because building in this far out
post of civilization is a different proposition from what
it is in America where, if you want so much lumber, so
much lime, so many brick, all you have to do is to send
word down to the lumber yard or brick kiln. In this
place there are forests on the mountains and clay on the
banks. If you want lumber, you must make it. If you
want brick, they must also be made. If you want lime,
stone must be gathered and burned.
In preparation for this I had made arrangements be
fore leaving Tachienlu to have sawyers sent in when I
should require them. I had also bought saws in Chung
king.
I accordingly sent to Tachienlu and had fifteen men
come in, bringing with them their Chinese axes and also
their carpenter tools.
The work began in early fall and consisted first in
scouting expeditions back into the mountains to find
suitable lumber. It was at last located some fifteen or
eighteen miles from Batang, up one of the small streams
whose waters come down the valley.
Then it became necessary to get permission from the
magistrate to cut the lumber. After some negotiations
64
MEDICAL WORK 65
we secured his permission and at last tsamba (parched
barley meal), tea, salt and flour having been secured,
camp was made and the work begun. It was to be an all
winter s job, and the snow would be very deep, so it be
came necessary to build snow huts which were thrown
together from some of the first lumber cut.
The work went on, I having made out the bill of what
was required, and all through the winter these men
worked up in the mountains, felling trees, cutting them
up into the required lengths, then hewing with their axes
until they were more or less square and then slowly and
laboriously sawing each plank.
I spent considerable time with them in the mountains.
Every time I went up I took a big piece of meat so that
they might have a good feed.
The conditions under which people labour in this
country are the conditions, only perhaps somewhat ex
aggerated, under which our forefathers worked in our
own land. The nights were long and cold, but there was
one blessing, wood was abundant, and at night we would
have a great bonfire, around which we all sat, making
the evening the most pleasing part of the day, and it was
with great reluctance, often at a very late hour, when the
men would get out in the morning. Often it would be
nine or ten o clock before any work would be done.
Time, however, is one of the things which has no
meaning for an Oriental. If a thing cannot be done to
morrow, it can be done the next day or next week.
After the timber had been cut, the following spring it
became necessary to transport the boards to Batang.
This was done in several ways. The small boards were
usually carried on donkeys or yak. The larger pieces
were too unwieldy for this and were carried on men s
backs, and very large pieces, which were too heavy for
66 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
one man to carry alone, were tied up and carried by
several.
After the wood had been brought into Batang and
seasoned all winter, it was planed and stored for use. The
preparation of flooring, grooving, and tonguing was all
done by piece-work at so much per board. Had it not
been so the cost would have been prohibitive. Being
done by piece-work, if a man wanted to spend an hour
filing his saw or whetting his plane, that was his business.
The making of doors was given to the best carpenter
in the bunch. He made some very good doors indeed.
It also became necessary to burn brick and tile for the
roof. This was perhaps a more serious job than the get
ting out of the lumber. It was finally decided that the
brick should be burned as near the spot where they were
to be used as possible. Two kilns were built which
would hold approximately ten thousand brick each.
Sheds for the moulding and drying had to be prepared,
wood for the fire had to be brought down from the moun
tains. There was an endless amount of detail that had
to be looked after, and I began to think of what I had
heard a missionary say down in China as we came
through. He had been delegated to do the building for
his mission and he said that the mission had decided that,
instead of having each man do his own building, it was
just as well to let one man go to Hell and be done with
it and give the rest a chance.
During the summer and winter I burned some two
hundred thousand bricks. As fall came on it was neces
sary to suspend operations, for the brick would freeze
before drying.
It also was necessary to prepare furniture for the dif
ferent families. Tables, chairs, beds, wash-stands, and
all other things in the line of furniture must be made;
MEDICAL WOKK 67
so it was no unusual thing to find a missionary studying
over Montgomery Ward s catalogue, looking over the pic
tures, trying to decide in what way the furniture should
be made.
During this time the medical work had been continu
ally increasing as also were the other branches of the
work. Sword cuts and gunshot wounds, accidental
broken bones and things of this nature were constantly
occurring. For these I was constantly called in. For
the work of a more purely medical nature, such as fever,
etc., I was not so much in demand, as they had methods
of their own for treating things, among which are the
calling in of some eight or ten priests and the reading of
prayers, the ringing of bells, the blowing of horns, and
the beating of drums, in order to drive out the devils.
Another custom that they have in treating the sick is
to never allow them to sleep. Day and night some one
will sit beside the person who is ill, and he eventually
becomes almost dead for lack of sleep, but he will be
roused, stuck with a pin or in some other manner roused
again to wakefulness. They think that if a person is
allowed to go to sleep he may not wake up again, and it
is with the greatest difficulty that they can be convinced,
and sometimes not at all, that sleep is a very necessary
thing for a person who is ill.
Another way of curing disease is to have a big priest
write a prayer on a slip of paper, which is rolled into a
pill and swallowed by the patient. Another way is to
take a knife that has been heated hot and jab it into the
affected part.
One day I was going down with Ju Lama to his home.
His mother is a nomad and lived some two days to the
southeast of Batang. As a usual thing, for my medical
and surgical ability, I am treated with considerable re-
68 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
spect while travelling along the road, but travelling with
him I was a person of no consequence whatever. People
would see him coming and would line up along the side
of the road, bow their heads and clasp their hands before
their faces, and wait for him to ride along and place his
hand on one head after another in blessing.
People also came during the noon hour while we were
stopping for dinner, bringing bits of string on which
they wished him to tie a note. He did this, and after he
had tied the note he would breathe upon it. Upon in
quiry I found that this was to protect them from small
pox.
On reaching his home a great many persons came
bringing presents of one kind or another and asking for
charms and blessing, or for relief from this or that con
dition, all of which he, without hesitation, promised. At
last a man came bringing a much larger present than
usual, consisting of some pounds of Tibetan butter, sev
eral pounds of tea, a measure of barley and a chicken.
Well, said Ju Lama, what can I do for you ? " The
man very respectfully bowed, sticking out his tongue, as
was the custom, and replied, "It is very serious and I
need your help badly. About two months ago my father
died, then a little later some of the horses died, then
again a pig died, and now another one of the horses is
sick, and at the present rate I will be ruined shortly
unless you can do something to help me. Will you
please cast lots to find out what the trouble is so that I,
if possible, may remedy it?"
Watch how it works.
Ju Lama very promptly removed from his gown his
little box containing two dice which, after blowing
upon them, he very solemnly cast back into the box,
looking intently at the dots. This he did three times,
MEDICAL WOEK 69
and then turning to his visitor and sticking his finger at
him, he said very solemnly, "You have not been any too
good a man, and the fact of the matter is that the gods
have been considerably displeased with you. Now I ll
tell you what to do. You hire ten Lamas for ten days
to come and read prayers in your home, and you see to it
that they are not only well paid but that they are well
fed while they are there. " "Lasso, lasso (yes, yes),"
exclaimed the man, and, thanking the Lama profusely,
withdrew. I said to Ju Lama, "What in the world did
you want to go and tell the man all that stuff for ? You
know very well that it won t do any good and that
man is in serious trouble and really wants help." He
said, "Hush, hush, don t talk so loud some of the peo
ple will hear you." "But," I said, "I want to know."
"Well," says he, "if I didn t do this they wouldn t have
any confidence in us at all, and if they got so they didn t
have any confidence in us, we wouldn t be able to make
a living." Ju Lama has no more confidence in these
things than I have, and yet, by force of circumstances
as well as inclination, he is almost compelled to go on.
One day at Batang, not long after we had arrived, a
man came down from the magistrate s Yamen, asking
me if I would go up, as the magistrate wanted to see me
for a few minutes. I went up immediately, and after
greetings, he said, 1 1 have been building a road out here,
and I have had a good many people in from the country
working on it, and we had a very serious accident this
morning. A rock fell down from one of the cliffs and
hit one of the men on the head, and I want to see if you
can do anything for him. I asked where the man was
and he replied, "Over here in one of these houses." He
went over to the house with me and we found the man
lying on the straw where the yak and horses were. Brain
70 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
matter was slowly oozing from the wound in his head.
After examining the man I found a place about the size
of the hand that was greatly depressed and the bone was
badly mashed.
I told the magistrate that the man would probably die
and that, just having arrived, it was a very serious thing,
not only for him but for us, and should I operate on the
man and should he die, we would be accused of causing
his death.
Some of his friends, however, standing around, said,
"No, no, he ll certainly die now. Please do what you
can for him." So we arranged a place with one of the
old doors as a table, as I had not yet been able to have
tables and other necessary things made, and took him
up-stairs into one of the rooms. The ceiling of the room
was covered with soot and there was great danger of it
falling down, so we hung up a sheet over where the table
was to be and, after preparing as thoroughly as possible,
he was given chloroform and the work was begun.
I laid back the scalp from the wound, and, after getting
a start, removed fourteen pieces of crushed bone, cleaned
out the wound thoroughly and stitched back the scalp.
The man was barely breathing. It appeared as if he
would not live. But that man got well, when by all the
laws of medicine he ought to have died. But " Man s
extremity is God s opportunity." It would have meant
retarding greatly all work should this man s life have
gone out.
About three weeks after he was well and had gone
home I was walking along in a hurry one day, going
home to dinner. I met an old man and woman who,
when they saw me, got down on the side of the road and
began bumping their heads on the ground. I went up
and told them to get up, that we did not allow any one to
MEDICAL WOEK 71
get down on their knees to us. I asked them what they
wanted. The old man began fumbling inside his sheep
skin gown and brought forth first, an old rooster, then
a dirty piece of Tibetan butter and six eggs. These he
presented to me and then down they went on the ground
again. I said, "See here, what do you folks want?" It
is necessary to be very careful in this country when ac-
cepting presents, because they very often have strings
tied to them, and sometimes they wish things done that
we cannot do. They often wish us to help in different
ways, especially in their lawsuits, with which we can
have nothing whatever to do.
Getting up from the ground, he said, " You know that
man with the broken head? Well, we re his father and
mother, and we have come to thank you for saving our
son s life." And down they went again. These old
folks had come five days journey to thank me for saving
their son s life. My fee was one old rooster, one piece
of dirty butter and six eggs, but, you know, it was one of
the best fees I have ever received. Gratitude of people
to whom we have been able to be of service is one of the
greatest compensations.
There is also considerable blindness in the country. A
great deal of it is past remedy, but there are quite a few
with cataracts who can be helped. It is very gratifying
to see a man or a woman who has been walking in dark
ness for many months, perhaps years, step out and be
able to follow the road without being led, or to pick up
his own Tsamba Bo, or in other ways resume the ordi
nary occupations of life.
The confidence which the people have in us, engen
dered by these things, is indeed heart-breaking. They
get to believing that we have almost supernatural power
and come to us with things which we can in no way help.
72 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
Hearing what had been done, people come from long dis
tances confidently expecting help, and when told that
they cannot be cured, refuse to believe it. They think
that we are telling them this so that they will bring
money.
XI
DR. LOFTIS
THE time of our furlough was drawing near. It
was necessary that another doctor should come
and take my place in the work while I should
be home. The committee at home had been searching
for a man who was capable; not only one who was ca
pable, but thoroughly consecrated and willing to come
to this place. At last they found a man whose request
was that he might be sent to the most difficult field
in the world and where the need was the greatest. That
man was Dr. Zenas Sanford Loftis, a member of P. Y.
Pendleton s church at Vine Street, Nashville, Tennessee.
After his long journey across the Pacific and some
months up through China for more than two thousand
miles, he was at last nearing his destination. He had
been accompanied by Mr. Edgar of the China Inland
Mission on his long journey overland from Tachienlu.
Dr. Loftis was a man who loved all the beauties of
nature and was able to see God on every hand. When
they reached Sanba, at the foot of the mighty Genye,
whose snows towered thousands of feet above the road, it
was there that he saw Soutar s grave. A premonition
seemed to seize him there and he was not able to sleep
that night. Rising in the middle of the night, he placed
this entry in his diary, " Sleep on, thou servant of the
Living God, if it be Thy will that I, too, should find a
grave in this dark land, may it be one that will be a land-
73
74 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
mark and an inspiration to others, and may I go to it
willingly if it is Thy will/
Three days later we were all overjoyed to meet him in
Batang. We had waited and prayed for years for this
promised help, and it was at hand at last. He was a
man much superior to us in training. His consecration
and spiritual force were a great joy to us all and a great
inspiration to every one.
Soon after he arrived, Mr. Ogden and myself, taking
advantage of the opportunity which came with his com
ing, of having a medical man in the station, went on a
journey, doctoring and preaching, to visit Shangchen, the
home of the fiercest tribe in all Eastern Tibet.
During the month that we were gone we had oppor
tunity of seeing and knowing these people, about whom
we had before only heard, and did a great deal of work
on the way. We went across from Shangchen till we
struck the banks of the Yangtze River and came back up
that river valley, stopping at each village to give aid to
any who might be sick.
It was a great journey and promised much good in a
better understanding of the people, and in their having
a better understanding of us.
We came back and found Dr. Loftis unpacking his
goods, which had arrived. A day or two later he was
somewhat tired out from this work and didn t care for
much breakfast. In the meantime he had completely
captured the hearts of the children of the Mission, espe
cially Dorothy, who, now that there was another doctor
here, did not want her father to attend to any of her
childish ailments, but would say that she would wait and
let Dr. Loftis see it. The following day he said he did
not feel well. He had attended two patients who had
smallpox, and, although he had been successfully vacci-
DB. LOFTIS 75
nated, we wondered whether or not he was to have small
pox. On the third day we were somewhat reassured
when we found that such was the case, because the erup
tion was very light. However, as is usual in such cases,
when the appearance of the eruption is favourable, the
fever did not abate but went on. He got steadily worse
and the eruption of typhus fever joined that of smallpox.
Smallpox was raging everywhere and no vaccine could
be procured. Mr. and Mrs. Ogden had taken Baby Ruth
and gone to the mountains. I was isolated with Dr.
Loftis. I did all that was possible for me to do. Mr.
Ogden said he had no fears whatever because the Lord
would not permit Dr. Loftis to be taken after we had
waited so long, and he had just reached the field, and
everything was so full of promise. But one afternoon
about four o clock he died. I was alone with him. I
could not go home for fear of carrying infection. Mr.
Ogden was in the mountain, so I had two carpenters
come and prepare a coffin.
About twelve o clock in the night, word having been
sent, Mr. Ogden came down from the mountain through
the rain and the dark and walked in. His face wore a
peculiarly hard expression. I was all broken up.
"Well," he said, "there he is." He added, "I didn t
believe the Lord would let him die. We ve waited and
waited and waited for his coming. But there he is.
We prepared him for burial and, toward morning
when the coffin was finished, placed him in it. A mili
tary officer had heard what had happened and sent his
messenger to know if there was anything in the world
that he could do. He sent men to dig the grave and a
little later sent ten men, with a captain to command
them, and very slowly and reverently they carried him
down-stairs and out into the road and up to where the
76 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
grave was prepared, and there we two laid him to rest.
His grave -stands facing the road that leads to Lassa, the
capital of the country he had come so far to serve. Six
weeks was he on the field, and he was not, for God took
him.
XII
DR. HARDY COMES
WHAT were we to do now? The promised re
lief had come and gone. We cabled the
Board and asked them to send a new man.
We doubted their ability to do so, for they had been some
years trying to find a man to come, and yet, God always
prepares a way.
When the cable was read, announcing the death of Dr.
Lof tis, and a call for a new man in his place, in his home
church in Nashville a young man sought out his pastor
and said, "I ll go." This young man was Dr. Wm. M.
Hardy, who would finish his medical work the following
year.
We in Batang were stupefied and asked the eternal
question, "Why, why?" And in an endeavour to find
the answer to this question, we got closer to the Lord
than we had ever been. And in so doing the Spirit of
the Lord was enabled to work and use us as He had
never been able to do before.
The school grew in numbers and in effectiveness. A
great many people that had never come near the church
before began coming. They wanted to learn and, as
they came in the right frame of mind, they gave us
greater opportunities than had ever been ours, and it
was our constant prayer and is yet, that we may be kept
to represent Christ to these people.
77
78 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
During the fall and winter the work went on and grew
and prospered as it never had before. The blessing that
Dr. Loftis had brought to us was to go on and on.
At length the time came when Dr. Hardy was to come
and take his place. Meanwhile we were preparing for
our long journey to America.
Ju Lama had confessed to me in private that he did
believe. "Then," said I, "why don t you come out and
make your confession publicly?" "Oh," he said, "you
can t understand why I don t. I would be persecuted, per
haps killed ; I would certainly be left without any way of
making a living." The night before we left we had a
long talk together and, although he had come to believe,
and although he had known us for some years, he came
to me privately and said, "Now, just what is it that you
want over here? If you will tell me, perhaps I can get
it for you on the sly." It seemed to be impossible to get
the idea out of his head that there must be something
else for which we had come, and that we were hunting
for some norbu, or treasure, which we would secretly
take away with us. The idea of anything done altruis
tically, or for the good of others, without hope or desire
of reward, is so utterly foreign to the Tibetans that it
seems impossible for them to conceive of it.
"We waited till we knew that Dr. Hardy was coming so
that the station would not be without a medical man for
a very great length of time, and early in October we
started on our long trip to America.
When it came time to say good-bye it was not a pleas
ant thing. As the caravan filed out the women were
standing along the road waiting to say good-bye to Mrs.
Shelton, crying and offering her, instead of the cus
tomary wine, for they knew that we did not drink that,
milk instead. Every woman insisted that she should at
DE. HAEDY COMES 79
least taste hers, and she drank milk till she could drink
no more.
I had been saying good-bye to friends out along the
road, and we had at last said good-bye to the Ogden fam
ily, who had gone out the road a considerable distance,
with the schoolboys and other friends. But I had missed
my teacher, Gezong Ongdu. I wondered if he had not
come to say good-bye. Going up the road about two
miles, I saw him standing with one of his friends. I
rode up, got off my mule, and said, "Well, good-bye,
Gezong." He then held out his hand, but tears came to
his eyes and he couldn t speak, so I just got on my mule
and rode away.
The journey in the autumn when the days are clear
and bright, and the view is unobstructed, was beautiful.
After twenty days we reached Tachienlu without mis
hap, and there met Dr. Hardy, who came in two days
after our arrival.
We spent a day getting acquainted and then went on ;
he waited for a short time for Mr. Ogden, who met him
there to escort him through the Tibetan country.
After eight days we arrived at Yachow, and there our
land journey ended. We were to make the first stage of
the journey to Kiating by raft, a distance of about one
hundred miles. We piled all our goods in the middle of
the raft on poles, somewhat elevated to keep them dry,
and we got on top with a piece of matting stretched over
them, and were off.
The rafts are some fifty or sixty feet long and from six
to eight feet wide, and are made by lashing large bam
boos together. They are very safe but rather scary,
especially when going through a rapid, when they bend
and creak as the water splashes, and the position seems
very precarious indeed.
80 PIONEERING IN TIBET
Doris and Dorothy were very much alarmed at the
first rapid, the second not so much, and by the time we
had passed the fourth and fifth and come to still water
again, they were wishing that another rapid would come,
as it was much more entertaining than drifting down the
quieter water.
At Chungking and Suifu we renewed acquaintance
with friends we had met on our journey out years before.
It was necessary to stop at each place for a day or two
to change boats. At Chungking we were again the
guests of Dr. and Mrs. McCartney. Things there seemed
quite grand, especially when oil lamps were brought into
the bedroom. Mrs. Shelton, however, was considerably
disturbed and blew them out. I asked her why she did
it and she replied that she was afraid they would blow
up, so she proceeded to get a candle out of her grip. We
had become so used to the using of candles that oil lamps
seemed extraordinary.
We went on, stopping only for a day in Nanking.
We were fortunate in securing passage from Shanghai
home at once. After eighty-nine days of continuous
travel, we at length reached our home in America early
in January.
The time spent in America passed quickly. Oppor
tunity was given for two short sessions in school. It
doesn t take a medical man very long on the field to be
come a back number, the changes in medicine and sur
gery are so rapid.
I was associated for some months with the Million
Dollar Campaign, of which Mr. A. E. Cory was the
leader.
The time came for returning to Batang, and just as we
were preparing to start, word came of the Chinese Revo
lution, and it was thought best that we postpone our re-
DE. HAEDY COMES 81
turn, especially as it had become necessary for Mr. and
Mrs. Ogden and Dr. Hardy to leave Batang. The Chi
nese official had reported to them that he would no longer
be able to protect them, and it was necessary for them to
go out.
This they were forced to do, and, owing to the dis
turbed state of the country, they were compelled to make
the journey by the south, en route through Yunnan and
Indo-China, to Haiphong.
They encountered many hardships on this forced jour
ney, and Mr. and Mrs. Ogden were in rather a serious
condition of health when they arrived in America.
Just as soon as it was thought advisable we prepared
for the return journey.
We were to build and it had become necessary to pro
vide the glass, hinges, screws, nails, roof, paint, etc.,
which could not be secured on the field.
I also took back with me at the time furnishings for
the hospital beds, an operating-table, medicine, etc.
The greatest blessing that I received during our stay
at home was in coming to know the great body of people
that are back of us in the work and whose prayers and
support lent strength and encouragement to our efforts.
XIII
HOMEWARD BOUND TO TIBET
WE were to start on our return journey early
in the fall. Our goods had been bought and
shipped and we were to have a month or
more to visit our home. However, late in June, it be
came necessary for some doctor to go at once to China
with Mr. James Ware, of Shanghai, whose health was in
a very critical condition and who could not travel alone.
I was glad to accompany him as a physician.
So bidding good-bye to my parents hastily, I took the
family to the Pacific Coast, where Mrs. Shelton and the
children were to visit her mother and sister, and then
went on to Vancouver, where I met Mr. Ware.
This was one of the great blessings of my life, the
journey across the Pacific with Mr. Ware. He was a
rare spirit and, to me, he was a great blessing.
We arrived in China at the very worst part of the
year, the middle of August, and were met at the wharf
by Mr. Ware s family. He lingered on until near Christ
mas, when, after nearly thirty years of service, he passed
quietly away at his home.
I spent one night in Shanghai. I stayed in a bedroom
up-stairs and, after getting the bed all wet with sweat,
I moved out into the hall and lay there. After I had the
carpet sufficiently saturated, I gathered up a sheet and
quilt and moved to the yard, where I succeeded in obvi
ating the necessity of having the lawn mowed by rolling
around on the grass from then on until morning. Every
82
HOMEWAKD BOUND TO TIBET 83
mosquito in Eastern China, hearing that I had just re
turned from America in rather a corpulent state, came to
have a feast.
The next day I went to Kuling, where most of the folk
go for six weeks during the hottest part of the year. It
was considerably cooler than in Shanghai and down on
the plain, but it was necessary to give your shoes a good
going over in the morning in order to remove the mould
which had accumulated during the night.
It was there that I met Dr. Hardy again. He had not
returned to America but had remained in China. He
had, in the meantime, succeeded in acquiring reinforce
ments for Batang by marrying Miss Nina Palmer, who
had gone out to Nanking as a missionary.
I also met Mr. and Mrs. Baker, who had come out the
year previous and had been in China studying the lan
guage. I also met Johnny, who had, during the time I
had been home, been employed as a doctor in the Chinese
army. He also had acquired a wife. I waited there
for some six weeks until Mrs. Shelton and the girls ar
rived in Shanghai.
After their arrival we started, together with Dr. and
Mrs. Hardy, for Tibet. Mr. and Mrs. Baker were to
stay in China for a short time yet, as James Baker, who
had just made his appearance, was too young to travel.
After a thousand-mile trip up the river we arrived at
Ichang, where we were compelled to wait for some time
reassembling our belongings and waiting for some of the
things which had been delayed in transit.
It was during our stay there that one of the go-downs,
or storehouses, in which our goods were, burned down,
and, for a time, it appeared as if everything was lost.
It was there that we tried a new experiment. It had
formerly taken a month to make the journey from
84 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
Ichang to Chungking. A small steamer was now run
ning between these two places and we decided to take
passage on it, leaving our goods to come up by junk.
We did this and arrived in Chungking in five days in
stead of thirty.
We were compelled to await in Chungking the arrival
of our goods. It was some two months before we were
ready to proceed.
It was necessary now to take to the house-boats. Some
three weeks later, arriving at Kiating and loading our
stuff on rafts, we set out for Yachow.
There it became necessary that all our belongings,
building material, medicine, beds, hospital supplies,
should be transferred from water to land. Some hun
dred or more coolies had to be engaged for their trans
portation to Tachienlu. This seemed to be an endless
job and, though men were sent along to watch and take
care of the things en route, some of the things never did
come to hand.
This is one of the penalties you pay in travelling in
China, but if the greater part of your goods arrive you
should consider yourself very fortunate and be thankful.
While waiting in Tachienlu, we heard that Mr. and
Mrs. Ogden and Mr. and Mrs. Baker were on the way.
Not having such a tremendous amount of goods as it was
necessary for us to transport, they were able to travel
much more rapidly than we were. So, after waiting for
a month or more, we were joined by them.
It was there that the whole Mission was together for
the first time. We took advantage of the opportunity to
have our first regular Mission meeting and to decide
what was to be done.
We were to go on in three parties, yak had been hired
for transporting our goods, that is, such as had arrived,
HOMEWAED BOUND TO TIBET 86
and Mrs. Shelton and the children and I were off to
gether, Dr. Hardy was to follow in a few days, it being
very difficult to secure at one time the required number
of yak for such an occasion.
To get to Batang it was necessary to go by the north
ern road, as robbers were rampant on the main road.
This made the journey very much longer. It required a
month s time to make the journey on the northern road,
while by the southern road it could be done easily in
from eighteen to twenty days.
However, there was no help for it, as the Chinese of
ficials absolutely refused permission to travel by the
southern route, one of the French Fathers having
been killed near Litang by robbers the day previous.
He was not only killed but his body was badly muti
lated.
While we were in Tachienlu, Dorothy s birthday oc
curred. Mr. Clements, of the China Inland Mission,
made her a present of a large black hen. This hen was
considerable of a pet and Dorothy would carry her
around and sit with her in her lap and feed her, but be
fore a great while, Annie decided that she wanted to set.
So nothing would do Dorothy but that she must get some
eggs and let her set.
When she had been setting about two weeks, it came
time for us to go. What was to be done with Annie?
Dorothy would not hear of leaving her behind nor could
we break up her setting, so Dorothy solved the whole
problem by having her put in a low basket, eggs and all,
and slipping the basket under the seat of her chair.
When we reached Dawo the eggs began to hatch and
soon we had seven or eight little chickens. It came to be
that whenever the chair stopped, Annie would begin to
cluck very vigorously to get out with her brood. They
86 PIOKEEBING IN TIBET 7
would be let out in the grass and fed and then when
ready to move on again they would all be caught and put
back in the basket and shoved under the seat.
This went on day after day. One night we were stop
ping in an old house and Annie and her chickens were
roaming around the room playing, when suddenly an old
cat jumped into the room and, before it could be pre
vented, killed two of the chickens. There was great
consternation and it appeared as if some of the family
had been killed, nor was it long before the spirit of the
cat had gone to join the chickens.
When we arrived in Batang these chickens were al
most three weeks old. They prospered and Annie and
her son, Pete, and her daughter Polly, had become the
progenitors of a great army of chickens that now inhabit
the valley. The Tibetan chickens are small and Annie
has proved a blessing to a good many people and to the
country at large in that not only the chickens, but the
eggs over the whole country, have been improved. Annie
is well along in years now, but is still boss of the whole
barnyard.
At one place along the road our cook thought it neces
sary to open up a food box which was on a very wild yak.
During the operation the yak became frightened, gave
a sudden jump, and away he went, and the manner in
which he scattered food, tin cans, plates, knives, forks,
and spoons, over that stretch of the road, would have
done credit to a street sprinkler. The sight of the cook
standing with his hands outstretched, and with a look of
horror on his face, as he watched the performance, was
ample repayment for any damage that was done.
While we were at Dawo we met one of the Catholic
Fathers who was in charge of the work there. He came
to see us and asked if it were possible for me to stop over
HOMEWAED BOUND TO TIBET 87
a day. He said that one of his men was very grievously
wounded and he wanted me to attend him.
I saw the man and found that he was suffering from
an old gunshot wound of the knee. The bones were
smashed and torn and the leg was greatly deformed.
The leg was perfectly useless. I stopped the next day
and amputated it.
This also it was necessary to do in the open where
every one could see what was being done, in order to
allay suspicion. People climbed up on everything avail
able, and from a hundred to a hundred and fifty people,
with the accompaniment of groans and ejaculations,
watched while the leg was being amputated.
Without further unpleasantness other than that com
mon to travelling in high altitudes and among nomads of
a somewhat turbulent disposition, after twenty-nine days
we were near ing Batang and the journey was over.
XIV
AEEIVAL
ON nearing Batang we began to meet people that
we knew, and when we were within two or
three miles of the town we began to meet the
people who had come out to meet us. They all seemed
glad to see us and gave us a very hearty welcome back.
Among these were Gway Gwang and Gway Yin, the two
orphan boys that I had taken some years before to raise.
In the meantime Gway Gwang married, and shortly be
fore we arrived in Batang his wife died, leaving him
with a small girl baby to care for. He was consid
erably broken up over the matter and had a very hard
time of it.
During the Revolution, when the city had been sur
rounded by turbulent Tibetans for more than forty days,
the people died in great numbers as the result of some
plague. I have never been able to decide from the de
scriptions what this plague was.
We found that conditions were very bad. During the
time of the fight, while we had been gone, our dispensary
had been broken into, the microscope, many instruments
and drugs had been stolen (not that those who had taken
the drugs had any use for them or needed them; that
would have been quite all right could they have been of
service, but they were taken and poured out and thrown
away) . Drugs to the value of some hundreds of dollars
were destroyed in order to secure the bottles to put
wine in.
88
AEEIVAL 89
Many thousands of our brick had been carried away to
make barricades. People had taken them to build stoves ;
the lumber, also, which we had prepared, had suffered to
some extent, though not as greatly as we had at first
thought.
When Mr. Ogden and Dr. Hardy left it was necessary
for them to leave on a few hours notice. As a conse
quence, it was impossible for them to pack and store all
goods and belongings of the Mission. Consequently, the
houses were all broken into and the goods stolen. The
loss was considerable. Our rugs, beds, clothing, table
ware, etc., had all been carried off, including a fine ele
phant tusk that had been given to Mrs. Shelton shortly
before we left Batang for home by the Nepalese Ambas
sador on his regular journey carrying tribute to Peking.
We were asked by the Chinese Governor to make an
estimate of the loss incurred and we were assured that
this would be made good. The loss was estimated very
carefully and very conservatively, as we preferred that
it should be underestimated rather than overestimated,
as we feared that the people of the place might be forced
to pay it, while as a matter of fact, the actual thieving
had been done by the soldiers to a large extent and under
the direction of one of their officials.
For many months after returning I would occasionally
find a pair of hinges in a shop for sale, or go into a man s
house and find there one of our chairs. Mrs. Ogden s
fruit jars had been in great demand as containers for
wine and were scattered all over the town. As to what
became of the microscope it was never definitely learned,
but we were informed on fairly good authority that it
had been taken by the commanding General.
Mrs. Shelt oil s greatest trial was not the loss of her
goods, serious as this was, but it was the cutting of the
90 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
great walnut tree in our yard and which could never be
replaced. It had been a place of shade and rest and her
greatest joy in the little home we were occupying.
As soon as we arrived friends and neighbours began
coming in, wanting to assist in one way or another, reno
vating the house and getting things in shape.
It was a great privilege, after so long a journey, to be
in a place where it would not be necessary to get up be
fore daylight and get ready for the road again, and
where it would be possible to have a bath once in a while,
and where we could open the boxes containing our be
longings, and have them at hand where we could use
them, and not have to be content with the knowledge that
we had them, but they were inaccessible.
Some days after our arrival Dr. Hardy came in, and a
month or two later Mr. Ogden and Mr. Baker, with their
families. We were all at home at last, all the members
of the Mission, and ready for work, which was begun in
earnest and at once.
Gway Gwang had been able to conserve considerable
of the work. Although greatly hampered and hindered
and many times without funds, he was now greatly
elated that things were to go forward once more and
with redoubled energy.
XV
DRAYA
SHORTLY after our arrival in Batang I was asked
by the commanding General if I would go to
Draya to attend to the wounded. The Chinese
and Tibetans had been fighting, and there were a great
many wounded, and help was urgently needed at that
place. So just as quickly as possible, medicine, instru
ments, bandages, etc., were packed, and with Mr. Bu as
assistant I started off for Draya, some ten days to the
northwest.
For the first three or four days of the journey we were
in the company of the General himself, as he too was
going to Draya. After we had been travelling two or
three days it appeared that the progress of his column
would be much too slow, as he had some hundreds of men
with him. So we asked permission to go on in advance.
He was very reluctant to have us do so, as bands of
robbers were all along the road, and he was afraid that
we would be in danger. At length, however, he agreed
to send us on with an escort of fifty soldiers. We
went for some days without incident until we were near
Draya, when it became necessary to ford one of the
rivers.
This river, owing to the recent heavy rain, was very
high, and when we had reached the banks we were told
by the villagers that it would be absolutely impossible to
ford it for perhaps another forty-eight hours, and then
only in the event that there should be no more rain in
that time.
91
92 PIONEERING IN TIBET
We stopped for the night and the rain recommenced,
but fortunately did not last long. The next day was
bright and clear, but the flood showed no signs of abat
ing.
We waited another night and the next morning we
were awakened before daylight. There is an idea in the
minds of Tibetans, whether true or not, that the force of
the water is less just at daylight than at any other time.
The whole party was out and ready to cross when day
began to dawn. They had told us that it would be pos
sible to cross when a small island of rock in the middle
of the river would begin to show. I asked them if they
could see the island. "Yes," they said, "you can see
where it is, and we have made arrangements for you to
cross.
Eiding down to the bank of the river I saw a sight
such as I had never imagined before. In preparation
for our crossing the Tibetans had driven down from the
mountains about a hundred yak which they had driven
into the river and by the use of stones, which they threw
at them, had forced them into a continuous string across
the river with their heads up-stream. They were hold
ing their own as best they could against the force of the
flood, one occasionally being carried away for a few min
utes but being driven back by people standing on the
bank both above and below and throwing stones at them.
The yak were for the purpose of breaking the force of
the rushing stream, and we crossed immediately at their
tails, they holding their position with their hind feet and
their noses sticking out of the water. It was a weird
sight, and, although it was August, the frost had already
come and the water was exceedingly cold, and we were
chilled to the bone before we got across.
But that cold was as nothing compared to the necessity
DEAYA 93
of sitting down on the opposite bank and changing
clothes.
However, the crossing was successfully accomplished,
and no one was drowned, for which we were truly thank
ful. The following afternoon we arrived at Draya.
On arriving at Draya our first care was, of course, for
the wounded. Work was begun the next day and con
tinued daily until all necessary operations had been per
formed.
During the afternoons I was too tired to work further
and all had been accomplished for the day that could be
done. I strolled about the place seeing the sights. One
sight which attracted my attention at once was a large
iron cauldron sitting on three stones in the middle of one
of the squares. As it had grease around its sides I asked
what might be its purpose. The man whom I asked
said, "Hush, 111 tell you what they use it for, but don t
talk much about it because there are some folks that
don t like to hear about it. That is where we cook Ti
betans. And then gradually came out the whole grue
some story which came near causing me to have a fight.
Some ten days before, the Chinese Colonel command
ing in this place had succeeded in capturing some forty-
five or fifty Tibetans. He thought to make himself par
ticularly feared by the Tibetans, so he decided to make
an example of these persons. Three of them had one
after another been placed in this cauldron in cold water,
tied hand and foot, but with their heads propped up, and
then a fire built under the cauldron and slowly the water
was brought to a boil. The skeletons were lying bare on
the stones near by, the flesh having all been eaten by the
dogs. Others had had oil poured upon them and been
burned alive. Others had their hands cut off and sent
back as a warning to those from whom they came.
94 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
Others had been taken and, with yak hitched to each arm
and each leg, had been torn in pieces.
We worked hard during the time of our stay and at
the end of ten days, having left bandages and dressings
with the Chinese doctor who was already there and who
was provided with nothing at all, we began our journey
home.
On the way back, before reaching Jangka, we were
met by a caravan whose leader stopped us and asked us
if we would please attend to a wounded man. I asked
what the trouble was. He told me that they had been
attacked by robbers a half -hour ago and that one of his
men had been just about killed and was lying a short
distance back in the road.
He went back with us and there we found a man along
the side of the road with a long gash in his head. The
knife had passed completely through the skull and the
brain was throbbing in plain sight, the blade having
turned and pried up a part of the skull.
There we were on the road, miles from any habitation.
Nothing more could be done than simply to cleanse the
wound and sew it up, which we did, and there at the side
of the road we left the man lying on the grass.
We had to go on and leave him, but some months later
I was rejoiced to see this same man again, active and
going about his business, though with a great deformity
on his head where the bone had been raised and had
never been put back in place.
Such is some of the medical work that a doctor in this
outpost, with no other doctor within seven hundred
miles, is called upon to do.
XVI
BUILDING AND IRRIGATING
IN the securing of land Mr. Ogden had done almost
all the work and had considerable difficulty. It
seemed to be impossible to secure any land that was
then in proper condition. The only thing that offered
was a piece of waste land that no one else wanted, cov
ered with graves, brush, rock, and in every way undesir
able.
This land belonged to the Government, and they
finally agreed that we might have it for the ordinary
rental, or sixty ounces of silver. It was accordingly se
cured and before they had to come home Mr. Ogden and
Dr. Hardy had the graves removed. But during the
Revolution more had been buried there, though not very
many.
It now became necessary to define the boundaries of
this lot, which, after a long time, in the presence of the
local official, was done, and stones for the marking of the
same were put up.
There were to be erected two residences, the hospital,
and some barns and outhouses. The next thing was to
decide where these buildings should be located. Then
we had to face the problem of securing a supply of
water for the place. We considered for a time using an
hydraulic ram, but after getting estimates as to the
amount of water it would be able to lift and the probable
cost, it was found that it would be in no way adequate.
We also considered putting up a battery of windmills
95
96 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
to lift the water a sufficient distance so that it would
flow on to the land. After a thorough study it appeared
that neither of these would answer the purpose. As a
consequence, it appeared as if the only other alternative,
that of a ditch, would be the only method by which we
could secure the requisite amount of water.
We had been afraid the cost of this would be pro
hibitive, as after surveying with an instrument from the
highest point of the land nearest inland where water
could be obtained, a distance of about two miles, it was
found that it would be necessary to carry the water in
flumes for a considerable distance around perpendicular
cliffs.
As there was nothing else to do we contracted for the
digging of the ditch around the edge of the mountain,
across gullies, and above the cliffs. The people would not
enter into a contract for the putting up of the flumes, as
they knew nothing whatever about such things, so it be
came necessary for us to do that ourselves.
This task was given over to Mr. Baker, and it was sur
prising in how short a time the ditch was constructed,
and it was rather surprising, too, that it had cost no
more money than it did. A thousand dollars had been
given for the purpose. This was more than sufficient to
construct the ditch; there was left enough in hand for
maintenance for two or three years.
As soon as it became apparent that the ditch was going
to be a success, the land adjoining that which had been
granted us by the Government became, in the eyes of
other folk, very valuable, and there was a rush to secure
the same. Land was opened up on all sides, and while
we had been allowed to build the ditch, the title for the
same had been retained by the Chinese Government with
the understanding that we, after building, should have
BUILDING AND IBRIGATING 97
first water rights but that we should have no say as to
what should be done with any superfluous water.
It was soon found that the ditch we had built, while
sufficient for our own needs, was not sufficient also for
all the additional land which had been opened up adjoin
ing ours.
As a consequence, the owners of the land adjoining
went in together and raised a fund for enlarging the
ditch to about twice its original size. Another flume was
laid at the side and now there is water for all concerned
and, in addition to the nine acres taken up by the
Mission, land adjoining sufficient for the maintenance
of twenty families has been opened up.
The plans for the houses were drawn up subject to
criticism by the Mission, and again redrawn and brought
up for review, until at last a plan was secured which was
adopted by the Mission as the one to be used in building
our residences. This we considered to be an important
thing, as it would obviate any misunderstanding that
might arise in later years.
We had been greatly influenced both in the building
of the hospital and in the erection of the dwellings by
the recommendations of Mr. Clark, with whom I had
a conversation on the way up river. Mr. Clark was a
man who, on behalf of the London Mission, had given
many years to the study of mission problems. One of
his recommendations was that the native plan of house
be used, so that with what improvements were able to
be introduced, it would be to the people of the place an
example and an incentive to improve their houses. He
said that it was quite often the case that the introduction
of a purely foreign house in a community rather dis
couraged than encouraged the people in improving
their own, but that if the native form of house could
98 PIONEEBIBTG IN TIBET
be used with such improvements as the Westerner was
able to make use of in its construction, great advantage
not only to the natives, but in the matter of cost, would
be the result. We believed that his argument was well
founded and we went forward in this way.
And so the hospital and the residences are of native
construction, that is, the walls are of adobe, built some
what more substantially than their own and with greater
care, so the cracks do not appear. These walls are ex
ceedingly strong and if protected thoroughly from
water getting into the top of the wall, will last for untold
years.
The contract for building the walls was given to a
man who was said to be the best wall builder in the
country. His reputation as to ability was correct, but
a more dissolute old drunkard it was never my lot to
see. However, he was quite strict with the rest of his
crew and reserved to himself the privilege of getting
drunk at all times whenever he might desire, which was
almost every afternoon. In these circumstances it was
a great trial to get the work forward, but he did good
work.
I had many talks with the old fellow, trying to get
him to quit the use of this thing which was killing him.
But it was no use, and shortly after the completion of
the walls he died very suddenly.
It had become necessary, also, while the walls were
being built, that carpenters should be working preparing
the window frames. These were made from the lumber
that had been gotten out some years before and which
was now well seasoned. In order to withstand the lateral
and vertical pressure put upon them, these frames were
made of four inch stuff.
The process of building was somewhat slow and tedi-
BUILDING AND IRBIGATING 99
ous. It became necessary to prepare further timbers
for the construction of the interior framework. I kept
a force of fifteen or twenty men in the mountains getting
out this timber. There was a force of about twenty
carpenters, mud builders, cement makers, lime burners,
plasterers, and what not.
Every problem that came up was a new one for me.
I had had no training as a builder but by persistent
study and effort the difficulties were overcome, and the
work went forward.
In the time of building there was only one accident
worthy of note. Two men who were working on the
scaffold on the third story of the hospital fell when the
scaffolding gave way, and one was killed. The other
escaped with a broken arm. I regretted this more than
I can say, but it seemed a thing that could not be fore
seen, as the timbers which gave way appeared to be very
strong.
At last the buildings were nearing completion. Four
teen years after coming to the field we were to have a
new house. We had been quite comfortable in the
native houses at times. We had, at other times, how
ever, been somewhat uncomfortable, especially when dur
ing a rain lasting all night, the mud roof would suddenly
give way and a flood of mud and water land on the bed
in which we were sleeping. The houses have ample
room to make any family very comfortable and at a very
moderate cost.
The hospital is of sufficient size to accommodate fifty
persons and in emergency could be made to accommodate
as many more. Shortly before Dr. Hardy left for fur
lough it became possible to open the hospital. The
finishing touches were added, the dispensary was moved
in and the formal opening announced.
100 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
As is the custom in this country, quite a great many
friends were invited to a dinner which, though not
elaborate, was greatly enjoyed. The military and sev
eral officials, as well as several others, brought scrolls
with complimentary sentiments written in white and
gold on three large boards, extolling the virtues of the
hospital and what it was able to do. These were hung
in the guest room facing the entrance to the great yard.
Thus was built and put in commission the first hos
pital in the Tibetan country, and we hope and trust
that it may be to these people all that is hoped for it.
XVII
ITINERATING
ONE year, just after Christmas, I decided that I
would go to Adensi. This is the border town
between the Chinese and Tibetan population of
Yunnan occupying a position somewhat similar to that
of Tachienlu, being the mart where Chinese and Tibetans
exchange goods in a considerable quantity, and is both a
starting place of the yearly caravans to Lassa, and also
a place to which they return every winter after their
long trip to the capital. These caravans are made up of
people from different parts of the country to the east,
southeast, and northeast, of Adensi, but this is the as
sembling point.
I started off down the Yangtze River just after Christ
mas, going down for the first half day to a place where
it is possible to let animals rest while we go down in
the skin boats. These skin boats, or coracles, are made
by stretching the skin of yak over a framework of
switches. While they are very light and very frail, still
when properly loaded they will hold a considerable
weight, and it is very much more pleasant to accomplish
the half day journey floating swiftly down with the
current in two hours, what it takes you some five or six
hours to accomplish by road.
The second day we got out of the valley and up into
the highlands. At that time of year it is very cold but
the sun is usually bright and the air dry, so that it is
101
102 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
very pleasant. The third day out we arrived at Janiding.
We had intended to go on to Tsonggnen but we found
that it would put us in too late, so rather than have to
travel after night we stopped there.
The next morning bright and early we were out on
the road and toward nine o clock were near the village
where we should have stayed the night before.
We saw a great smoke arising and then some one said,
t It looks as if some one s house is on fire. We rode on
rapidly and when we came in sight of the village we
found that the house of the headman, with whom we
were to have spent the night, was a smouldering mass of
ruins. We saw the people standing around apparently
helpless, and rode up to inquire how it happened to
burn. Although these people appear to be exceedingly
careless with fire, using torches in going through the
house at night and into the barn, it is remarkable how
few are the fires.
On nearing the place we came suddenly upon the
body of a man who had been, riddled with bullets. We
rode a little farther and found a young child who had
been stabbed with a bayonet and thrown where it was
lying. A little farther and near the door, was an old
grandmother, whose body was partially burned, and so
on and so on. Only one member of the household, a
boy of fourteen years old, had escaped destruction. He
had crawled under a grain box in the lower story and
although in imminent danger of being suffocated and
buried alive, had held his position until the worst was
over and had thus been saved.
Some years before, this headman had been the instru
ment in the hands of the Chinese official of extermina ting
a family in a neighbouring town for, as the Chinese of
ficial had claimed, disloyalty to the Government. The
ITINEEATING 103
family had been wiped out with the exception of one son
about twelve or thirteen years old. Curiously enough,
the deaths in this case had been twelve, one member of
the family escaping. The work upon which we were
gazing now had been the work of a party led by the
surviving son.
Such things are very common among the Tibetans,
and are caused by the old feud spirit. It is incumbent
upon the son to take up and carry on the feud of the
family. If he does not, he is looked upon with aversion
by his family and friends. There is now left in each
of these families one son. Their only remaining busi
ness in life is the destruction of each other.
I talked later with the surviving son of this family
which had just been .destroyed. He was very calm about
it. I asked him what his plans were, if he were not go
ing to school, if he were not going to prepare himself for
some position of usefulness. He replied, " I have just
one business and one thing for which to prepare and that
is to kill ," naming the man who had led the party
of destruction.
These feuds are pitiful things. Some of our friends
in Batang are bound up in this way and as the years
go on, unless they break the custom and the force of
tradition that binds them, some who are now in their
boyhood and are friends, on reaching maturity, must
take up and carry forward old feuds whose origins are
lost in the far distant past.
Going on, we arrived two days later at Yenjin (salt
wells). There we spent two or three days looking over
the salt wells and the methods and manner of manufac
turing salt. This is a very important industry in this
part of the country, for people come for many weeks
journey to buy this salt and to carry it far into the in-
104 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
terior, especially toward the north and northeast. The
salt is obtained during the winter and early spring by
taking the water from the shallow wells near the edge
of the river. The water in these wells is very briney.
It is carried up on women s backs in kegs on to roofs
built of mud in the shape of small boats. There the
water is allowed to evaporate, which it does at a very
rapid rate, the wind being up the valley, and during
these months being very strong and very dry.
When the water has evaporated, it leaves a thin layer
of salt on the floor. This is swept up, together with the
dirt and rocks which come with it. This is taken and
carried to the most remote parts of the country.
During my stay in Yen j in I was asked to be the guest
of the Catholic priest. He is a young man, an Alsatian,
and is very capable. I furnished him with vaccine for
vaccinating some two hundred people; this he used to
very great advantage.
The road after leaving Yenjin goes down the banks
of the Mekong and in places is very dangerous, being
sometimes built on stakes driven into holes bored in the
stone, upon which are placed the planks which make
the road, while fifty to one hundred feet below is the
river.
The foolhardiness of some of the men in riding
through some of these places instead of dismounting and
walking was very great. Occasionally a man goes over,
horse and all, and when he does there is just the plunk.
In Adensi I met a great many old friends whom I had
known formerly in Batang. With Mr. Bu s help I did
quite a few operations and I vaccinated a great many
children. In all my travelling my first care in every
village, no matter where, is that all sick should be
attended to to the best of our ability. There was sta-
ITINEBATING 105
tioned here in Adensi a Frenchman, Mr. Perrone, a
musk merchant. He had many times assisted us in
business transactions for which we were very grateful.
The greater part of the world s supply of musk comes
from the eastern Himalayas.
In returning home to Batang we did not come by the
same road but came across Tsali, the great pass which
lies between Batang and Adensi, and which is about
sixteen thousand feet high. This pass is missed by going
the longer way round.
The night spent at the foot of the pass, sleeping out
under the stars, although very cold was very pleasant,
and the view the next morning from the top of the pass
was one not to be surpassed.
After these trips, no matter whether long or short, as
I began to get nearer home the stages gradually
lengthened, and my mule appeared to be just as anxious
to get home as I was, so that quite often we would get
home one day or even two days before we were expected.
Home ! It s the only place of rest in all the thousands
of miles of mountain travel.
XVTII
MORE ITINERATING
IT now became my intention to make a trip far to the
north of Batang to visit Jeykundo, the seat of a
great annual fair or meeting place for traders from
all over Tibet, far eastern China and Mongolia. This
fair takes place annually on the fifteenth day of the
fifth month. There opportunity is offered for getting
acquainted with people from all over the country, and
it appeared to me a desirable thing to go.
Accordingly, setting out with a good supply of medi
cines, instruments, and such literature as might be
used, we started off. The first place of importance at
which we halted was Peheu. I was there again almost
a year later attending wounded men from the Tibetan
and Chinese fighting.
The Chinese commander was very much exercised over
the fact that I was there at all, as he feared that I might
get hurt in the fight and asked that I return as quickly
as possible to one of the strongholds half-way to Batang
where I could operate in peace behind heavy walls.
We were never molested, however, in any way and were
treated with respect and courtesy by both Chinese and
Tibetans.
It was while stopping at this place that I was the
innocent cause of very great embarrassment on the part
of one of the Tibetan headmen. There is, in this coun
try, a very large marmot. This animal becomes very
106
MOEE ITINEKATING 107
fat at a certain time, and it appeared to lis that the
contention of the Chinese coolies, that it was very ex
cellent meat, was well founded.
We decided that we would at least try it and I ac
cordingly killed two and when we got in, Andru had
skinned and cleaned them. After boiling them for
a while, he had changed the water and then had boiled
them almost all night. The next morning they were very,
very tender and very good. While I was eating break
fast one of the headmen came in. I asked him to sit
down and have breakfast with me. After some little
persuasion hejiid so. I gave him a large piece of bread
and a piece of this meat which disappeared very rapidly.
I helped him a second time. This also went the same
way. He had just finished the third supply when my
teacher, who had been out, came in and seeing him eating
marmot, let out an exclamation and said, "What in the
world are you doing eating marmot ?"
These marmots are considered to be the incarnations
of Lamas, and during their long hibernations in the
winter are supposed to be meditating on the doctrines of
the Goddess of Mercy, and it is considered a very great
sin to eat one of them.
This man had already eaten three large pieces but
when informed by my teacher that he was eating marmot,
his face was for the moment one of consternation; then
remembering how good it was he had quickly recovered
and said, "Well, it can t be helped now, so I might as
well go on with the rest of it."
This idea of an animal praying and meditating is not
confined to the marmot, but the cat, when she purrs, is
supposed to be praying, and although she may kill a lot
of birds, rats and other things, she is laying up merit
by the many prayers which she utters. She is also re-
108 PIONEERING IN TIBET
ceiving absolution for the sins of having killed a rat or
a bird.
After we had left Peheu, we went directly up one of the
highest passes in that part of the country. It was the
ninth day of June and yet it was the heaviest snow
through which I had ever passed. The snow on the far
side of the pass was about four feet deep. We hap
pened to be the first party over after the fall, and it
was impossible to tell where the road ran.
I was in the lead and it being impossible for the mule
to make his way without falling down, I dismounted and
was wallowing through, leading the mule behind. My
assistant, Mr. Bu, who was with me, was very reluctant
to dismount and determined that he was going to ride
through. His horse would struggle along for a few
steps through the snow, when he would stop, stumbling
over a snow-bank, and throw Mr. Bu over his head into
the drifts. Mr. Bu would come up spluttering, wiping
the snow from his neck and ears and face, but not to be
deterred, would get on again only to have the perform
ance repeated. It was only after repeated attempts and
failures that he was forced to get down and plow through
as I had done, utilizing as best he could, the slight path
we had made. A mile below the snow ceased and we
were again on bare ground.
That night we reached Hobo where are made the
teapots, saddle fittings, sword scabbards and swords
that are famous through all Tibet. Some of the teapots
are really works of art and are very beautiful, being
made of hammered brass or nickel or silver, and the
trimmings are of a metal of a different colour from that
of the bowl. If the bowl is white then the handle and
spout will be yellow, and so on.
Two days later we arrived in Derge. Derge is the
ONE OF THE IMAGES IN YARA GONG TEMPLE
MOEE ITINEEATING 109
name of the Province, the capital of which is called
Gonchin, which means great lamasery. There is lo
cated the other great printing establishment of eastern
Tibet where are not only the blocks for printing the
hundred and eight volumes of the Gangur, but also the
blocks for the printing of the two hundred and sixteen
volumes of the Tanjur, which latter are the commentaries
on the former. There are here also blocks for the print
ing of several volumes on medicine. A few books of
stories and a few volumes of history are also found there.
I made inquiries as to the cost of these and found that
the cost of the Gangur, which is printed in red, is about
twelve hundred rupees, and the cost of the Tanjur is
about sixteen hundred rupees, which at the present rate
of exchange is about six and eight hundred dollars,
respectively.
"We had been some four days in this place doctoring
the people, distributing literature and being entertained,
and were to leave early the next morning. We were not
yet out of town when we met a man from Batang. He
brought letters saying that Mrs. Baker was very seri
ously ill and stating that I should use my own best
judgment about returning, saying that it would prob
ably be too late or that she would be considerably better
before I could return.
There was nothing else to do. The man had covered
the ten days journey in six days on foot. His feet
were blistered and he was worn out and past going. I
gave him money for the return journey, took the horse
containing my bedding, a little food in my saddle-bags,
and letting Mr. Bu, my assistant, and Gezong Ongdu,
my teacher, resume the journey on as far as Chamdo, I
began the return journey to Batang.
We travelled till far in the night, only stopping for a
110 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
few hours rest and were on again before daylight. In
this way we covered the distance, that had taken us
almost two weeks coming, in four and a half days,
arriving at Batang a little after noon where I was
overjoyed to find that Mrs. Baker, under Dr. Hardy s
care, was progressing very rapidly.
This is one of the things that makes travelling un
pleasant, the constant fear that everything may not be
well at home, and the time that it takes to receive and
reply to a message from home.
XIX
VISITORS
DURING the years that have passed one of the
great events has always been a visit from any
European. Being so far from neighbours, it
is very seldom that any one comes our way.
At Tachienlu we had visitors much more frequently,
but in Batang, being eighteen days farther away, visitors
were extremely scarce. One of the first visitors whose
stay in Batang we appreciated very much, was His
Highness the Nepalese Ambassador on his way to and
return from Peking, when he went on his last journey
taking tribute to the Chinese Emperor.
This tribute has been taken regularly every ten years
for the last hundred and thirty years, following the
invasion of Nepal by a Chinese army.
It was a great sight to see the caravan numbering some
five hundred animals, the Ambassador s chair being car
ried by many men, he dressed in his robes of cloth of
gold, a man running at the side of his chair carrying
his long "hoo ka" or water pipe.
On his return journey he stopped for some days in
Batang. During this time he visited us. He spoke
English very well, and was a very pleasant man. He
carried with him his own private musician, whom he
very kindly had sing and play for us, and the weird
songs and airs were very much appreciated.
The Er Kagi, or his lieutenant, liked to come and visit
very well and, while he could speak but very little
111
112 PIONEERING IN TIBET
Chinese and no English at all, we managed to get along
quite well. He was a very large man of a very jolly
disposition and took delight in showing us his purchases
which he had made in Peking. The tribute which had
been taken to Peking consisted of a great ivory tusk,
saffron flowers, cloth of gold, jewels, and many other
articles from Nepal and India, and in return the
Chinese Emperor had sent to the Maharajah silks, satins,
embroideries, carved beads, etc. The main business of
the expedition, outside of conveying the tribute, seemed
to be the trade carried on by the individuals themselves.
His Excellency insisted on making presents to Mrs.
Shelton and the girls. To Mrs. Shelton he gave the
small elephant tusk which was afterward stolen during
the Chinese Revolution.
At that time we were just preparing to leave for
furlough and the Er Kagi wanted very much the fine
setter which we had. She had, at the time, two small
pups, which he placed in a basket and had them carried
on a man s back, so that it was not difficult for him to
persuade her to follow.
One of the visitors was Mr. Coles, the English Consul
at Tachienlu, another Mr. Clements of the China In
land Mission, also Mr. Edgar who had formerly been in
Batang in the China Inland Mission, Dr. Weigold of
Berlin, Mr. and Mrs. Lewer and Miss Agar of the Pente
costal Union in Yunnan, Mr. Teichman, the successor to
Mr. Coles in Tachienlu, as well as two or three French
priests from the south.
There was always considerable difficulty at these times
among the ladies as to who should have the honour of
entertaining these visitors and, while the list seems quite
extensive, yet when spread out over ten or twelve years
there are not a great many.
VISITOKS 113
There also lived in Tachienlu, Do Tusi, the former
Prince of Derge who had been deposed and confined as a
prisoner at Batang by the Chinese. He was treated very
well and was given as a place of residence the home of
the former Prince of Batang. He and his wife were
frequent visitors in our home. He was at last allowed
to return to Derge but on the capture of that place by
the Tibetans, he was made a prisoner by them on the
grounds that he had formerly helped the Chinese and
was taken to Lassa, so that he is in disfavour both with
the Chinese and the Tibetans. He was formerly very
wealthy, as Derge was considered by the inhabitants of
that Province to occupy most of the earth s surface
under heaven.
The only remaining representative of the family of
the second Prince of Batang is Gwa Tsen Gi, a young
man not more than twenty years of age. He, with his
family, consisting of father, mother, sister, and himself,
had been transported to Chentu, the capital, where all but
he had succumbed. He was finally allowed to return to
Batang, but he had become so debauched and addicted
to opium that he was not a man of much force of
character. It was the effort of his friends to rehabilitate
him and they came to me and asked me if I would make
the effort to break him of smoking opium. I took him
into the hospital and finally into my own home, where
he stayed for more than a year. I succeeded in breaking
him of the opium habit and he became quite influential.
His family connections are of the very best. His mother
was a member of the famous Hla Ja Ri family in Lassa.
It is with great regret that I hear that he has again re
verted to opium smoking and does not dare return to
Batang for fear that he will be executed by the present
Chinese officials.
XX
VISITING THE BAD LANDS
ONE time I determined to make a visit to the
Bad Lands lying to the west of the Yangtze
River and to the northwest of Batang. In
order to get over into these lands it was necessary to go
down the river a half day s journey and there cross in
the Chinese boats.
Accordingly, all things having been prepared, in com
pany with my teacher and my mule man, Andru, we set
out, and crossing the river at Leh, we went directly up
the mountain to stop for the first night at Shi Song Gong,
a small village lying about two thousand feet above the
Yangtze valley. Going on the next day we crossed one
of the high passes into the grass lands and were among
the nomads, where we also found herds of yak and sheep.
We had been joined at Shi Song Gong by a man of our
acquaintance, who was taking advantage of the oppor
tunity to accompany us over the Bad Lands on a hunt
for some horses of his which had been stolen by the
robbers.
These Bad Lands had been the home of robber bands
from time immemorial. This man was decked out in all
the finery of a Tibetan, having his long gun from the
stock of which protruded the two horns that make the
rest for the gun, a sword and charm box. These charm
boxes are made of silver or nickel and contain a small
additional piece of Lama s clothes, ceremonial scarfs,
different kinds of medicine and charms, and are supposed
114
VISITING THE BAD LANDS 115
to protect the wearer from injury in any encounter that
he may have.
On the second day out I asked the man what he was
wearing that thing for and he replied, "You don t seem
to know where we are going." I said, "Yes, I know
where we are going all right, but that thing isn t going
to do you any good." " Oh, yes, it will," he replied.
"I have been shot at seven times and have never been
hurt yet. The bullets can t go in. They will some
times penetrate my clothes or make a black and blue
spot on my skin but they never go in." "Is that so?"
I asked. , "What did that box cost?" He replied that
they were very expensive, that one costing about one
hundred and fifty rupees. So I said to the man, "Well,
I d like to have one if it will work, but I have never
yet seen one that would work." He assured me that
this one worked all right and I asked him if he would
sell it to me, but I insisted that I should first try it to
see whether or not it would work.
I said to him, "You stand out there and let me shoot
at you once and if I can t hit you, you name your own
price, because if the thing works it is worth any amount
of money." Well, he didn t just know about that and
rather demurred at my trying it on him. I said, l You
needn t be afraid because I ll not shoot to kill you, but
will only shoot you in the leg, and if I should happen
to hit you I ll doctor you till you get well and do it
free of charge."
He refused, however, to have the thing tried on him,
but we finally came to an agreement that it should be
tried on a goat. The bargain was that if I could not hit
the goat he was to have his pick of my guns, which were
three : two high power rifles and a repeating shotgun.
My teacher very excitedly called me off to one side and
116 PIONEERING IN TIBET
said, "Why did you ever make such an agreement as
that? He is going to take your very best gun. You
needn t think he doesn t know which the best is, for he
does, and he will take the best one you have." "Well,"
I said, "perhaps he won t get it." "Of course he ll get
it, and it is a shame, because you ll never be able to get
another one like it. " I told him that now it was too late
to be helped because the bargain was made, so I went up
to one of the nomad tents and for two rupees succeeded
in purchasing a goat, on which we tied the charm box.
I asked him now which gun I should use. He said,
"You can t use that one," designating one of the rifles,
"for that has nickel on the bullets, and this thing may
not work against nickel. Let me see the ammuni
tion for the other rifle. I showed it to him. That, too,
was metal, so he declined to have me use that. Finally
he said, "Use that one, as that shoots nothing but lead,"
and he designated the shotgun.
Well, it was only about ten seconds before he was
gathering up the remains, for I had smashed the charm
box as well as killed the goat. He was the most discon
solate man I had ever seen. He sat fingering over the
different pills, pieces of cloth, etc., that had been con
tained in the charm box, the very picture of despair.
This story preceded us during all the journey of more
than two weeks in these Bad Lands, but it was not until
our return to Batang that anything further came of it.
One day Adam, one of my old friends in whose house
one of the missionaries had once lived, came to me and
asked if the story were true. I replied that it was true
and still held. I had raised my offer to two thousand
rupees for one of these charm boxes that would work.
He asked me if I had that much money. As a matter
of fact, I did not have, but I told him that I could secure
VISITING THE BAD LANDS 117
it all right, that I would sell my mule and my guns to
secure it, because if one of these charm boxes could be
found that would work, it would be priceless.
The trial was to be, as formerly, with a goat. But he
stipulated that the trial should be held secretly, as there
were some of his friends who were opposed to it, but he
said that I had just as well begin to get the money ready
because there was no chance of my hitting the goat with
his charm box tied on him, and he proceeded to tell me
the story of its wonderful power of protection.
To make doubly sure, however, on the morning of the
trial he had gone to the high priest at Batang and had a
ceremonial scarf especially blessed and breathed upon by
this priest. Not satisfied with this, he had also gone to
another big priest far up on the mountain and had him
prepare one. These two scarfs, together with his charm
box, were tied on the goat, and he felt sure that it would
be utterly impossible for me to hit the goat with these
two scarfs on it.
He brought four or five of his friends, and I took as
many of mine for the trial. He had told me that I could
not use my guns but would have to use his. His gun
was one of the old eleven millimeter mausers. I replied,
"All right, I have ammunition that will fit your gun."
"Oh," he said, "but you can t use your ammunition."
I asked why. "Well," he said, "you do some sort of
hokus pokus over that ammunition that may make this
charm box uneffective, so you will have to use my ammu
nition as well as my gun.
I finally stipulated that he should bring plenty of am
munition, as I did not want them to play any tricks on
me by removing the powder from the shells.
This was not attempted, however, and when all was
ready I asked for the gun to examine it. He readily
118 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
passed it over. It appeared to be all right. I then
asked for the ammunition. I put it in a shell and tried
it on a small stone. I shot three or four inches high.
Making an allowance for this, the next time it shot all
right.
Everything was now ready and I asked them to place
the goat. "Wait a minute," he said, "I want to have
this bargain clearly understood. He called his friends
up and asked me to repeat the bargain we had made so
that all might hear, but I insisted that he repeat it. He
said, "As I understand it, if you fail to kill the goat I
am to get two thousand rupees." "That is right," I
replied. The goat had no more chance than had the for
mer one, and when the man was sorrowfully removing
his charm box he was very discouraged and much be
puzzled. His friends began to chaff him and make fun
of him. I said to them, "None of that, please, for this
is a very serious matter," and going up to him I put my
arm around his shoulder and said to him, "Adam, it is
not with any intention of making fun of you or of ridi
culing your religion, for a man s religion, no matter
what it is, is to him the most sacred thing in the world.
But you have some things in yours that are false, and
you ought to get rid of them. These charm boxes are
one of the false things."
He could not see it that way, but returning to the
high priest, asked for an explanation of how it had hap
pened when he had been assured that there was no
chance whatever of failure.
Now it seems to be an impossibility to corner these
priests. They always have an explanation, and here was
his. He said, "The reason you failed is this; Ju Lama
has got married." Ju Lama was one of the other big
priests in Batang formerly mentioned. The priest con-
VISITING THE BAD LANDS 119
tinned, "Priests are not allowed to get married, and be
cause Ju Lama got married our god is displeased with
us. The Christians God has him kadaoed (cowed) and
has the upper hand, and it will be no use to have any
more such trials while the priests continue to sin as they
do, for our god will not help.
The journey into the Bad Lands was one of much in
terest, it being into a country where no white man had
formerly gone. The people in some instances were very
much afraid, but taken all in all were very hospitable
and very kind.
We passed one day the shrine at which the robbers all
would stop to worship when starting out on an expedi
tion. This was a very high cliff at the foot of which in
cense was burned and prayers offered for the success of
the party.
The road led up the Yangtze River, which there lies in
a deep gorge with many valleys running in from the
side, so that our progress in a lateral direction was very
slow, being mostly up one hill and down another.
In some places the people, in transporting our goods,
would not bring animals at all and when asked why, they
said, "It is better to carry the goods because our yak or
horses might fall over the cliff and be lost/ 7
At one place where the party that had been transport
ing our goods had stopped, I was considerably astonished
to see that the women were making their beds for the
night out in the yard. The house was large, and there
was no reason, so far as I could see, why they should not
go into the house. On asking the reason I was informed
that in this village it was the custom that, when a bride
came into a house, no other woman was, in any circum
stances, ever allowed to enter. As a consequence, when
the women of the village wanted to visit, it was necessary
120 PIONEERING IN TIBET
for them to assemble in some yard, as they were never
permitted to enter each other s homes.
Polyandry, or multiple husbands, while by no means
universal, is quite common in that district. The brothers
of a family, sometimes as many as half a dozen, take one
common wife. The wife occupies quite a respectable
position in the home as compared with that occupied by
women in some Oriental countries and, contrary to what
might be expected, there is very little jealousy or strife
among the husbands.
While travelling one day I was asked to stop to see a
sick man who happened to be the elder of two brothers.
They had one wife, and when I examined the man he was
very ill and I told them that I could do nothing for him.
The grief of the common wife and the other husband was
very genuine. The elder brother in this relation is con
sidered by the children as the father. The others are
called uncles.
On arriving at the seat of government for this district,
there was a Chinese official who was quite held in and
surrounded by Tibetans. I was very courteously enter
tained, and stopped for a few days to doctor the numer
ous sick that came from the different villages.
On leaving, it was necessary to recross the Yangtze
River, as we were going back into Batang from the
north. The Yangtze there is a very turbulent stream
and the only means of crossing is by coracles or skin
boats. All animals must swim. The skin boats at this
place are quite large, as they must be paddjed by six
men, for the water is very swift and it is necessary to get
across as quickly as possible to avoid going down into the
rapids below. The boats at this place seemed to be in a
very bad state of repair, and it was a scary sight watch
ing the crossing. Only very little luggage and two or
VISITING THE BAD LANDS 121
three men could be taken into the boat in addition to the
six paddlers. By way of precaution we stripped and,
getting in, tried to place our luggage so that it could be
kept as dry as possible.
Water began coming in through holes in the bottom of
the boat. My teacher was considerably excited and
would put first one heel and then another over the holes
where the water was spouting up. My poor old mule
was led up on a steep bank just above the edge of the
river and three men gave him a sudden push and in he
fell. The end of the halter rope was held by one of the
men in the boat. He went entirely under and when he
came up let out a bray as if he thought his time had
come. When we landed on the further shore it was nec
essary for them to go back and get Gway Gwang, our
evangelist, who was to come the next trip.
We were not exceedingly wet, but he was not so fortu
nate. His clothing, tracts and papers and Bibles were
all soaked and it was necessary to stop for more than an
hour and rearrange things before we could proceed.
Some of the scenery in going up into the mountains
again on this side of the river was very fine. A natural
bridge, perhaps one hundred and fifty feet high, was
one item in it.
While returning, we saw two large wolves across the
valley, and getting down from my mule and taking care
ful aim, I succeeded in killing one. The exclamation let
out by one of the escorts at that time I had never heard
before nor have I heard it since. It was this: "Well,
it s no use. Whenever he draws down on anything
with that gun, the horse is in the barn."
One of the things especially appreciated by the women
on this trip were the small looking-glasses sent out as an
advertisement by the Horlick s Malted Milk people.
122 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
I would give one to the hostess or perhaps to some
woman who was in the party, and word of this would
precede me always, and I would be very shyly asked dur
ing the next day for more by the women of the place into
which we had come.
XXI
UNREST
CONDITIONS in Eastern Tibet now became very
much, strained. Chinese and Tibetans were at
war again after a period of comparative quiet.
This was due to different causes, depending upon the
persons by whom they were set forth. If it was the
Chinamen, the Tibetans; if it was the Tibetans, the Chi
nese were to blame. It became impossible for Chinese
to travel in the country at all unless in sufficient numbers
and well enough armed to protect themselves.
On many of my journeys I saw the graves in ones and
twos along the road where at different times runners had
been waylaid and slain for the sake of the gun and am
munition that they carried.
If a Chinaman wanted to travel in safety his best plan
was to don just as few clothes as possible, carry nothing
of value whatever, and walk. Otherwise he was liable
to be killed even for the sake of the few clothes.
Not only was there war by the Chinese and Tibetans,
but the Tibetans were often at war among themselves,
one district fighting another. Reports were constantly
coming into Batang, and merchants coming said that
they had been attacked by robbers and asked protection.
In the effort to pacify the country the officials took
the attitude that they should act in a conciliatory way
toward the robbers. It thus came about that in negotiat
ing with them, they would be given not only good terms
123
124 PIONEERING IN TIBET
but considerable presents, in the effort to get them to
behave themselves. This tended to enrage the law-abid
ing people, who were taxed unmercifully for the support
of the army. They reasoned that it would be far better
for themselves to turn robbers, as they would be able
thus to obtain better conditions than they, as law-abiding
citizens, could.
Everything that was done only seemed to increase the
turbulence and violence all over the country. Human
life was worth nothing at all, nor were the rights of
property in any way respected. Advantage was taken
of this condition by many of those having private
grudges to wreak vengeance on those whom it was their
desire to injure. The great and outstanding incentive
to robbery was arms and ammunition, and the robbers
became so bold that at one time they would attack the
garrisons of the small forts surrounding Batang at night,
and on two different occasions killed some of the men
and succeeded in getting away with a few guns.
One of the chieftains who had been perhaps more law
less than any of the others was apparently pacified and
was brought into Batang as a guest, where he spent his
days and nights going from one place to another drink
ing and gambling. He was so much feared by the peo
ple that he was treated with extreme respect and all
kindness.
This condition of affairs is only a part of the great un
rest that seems at this time to be spreading over not only
all Asia, but also over the whole world. Murmurings
are heard on every side. Even the Tibetans themselves,
when they have been freed from Chinese rule, complain
very bitterly at the exactions of their own officials. This
cannot be done openly for fear of instant punishment,
but in talking with any one whom they consider a friend
UNBEST 125
and who will not betray their confidence, this bitterness
crops out at all times.
It was constantly being reported in Batang that fresh
troops were being sent from down in China and great
were the promises of punishment for the Tibetans when
these troops should arrive. They have, however, even
in two or three years, failed to materialize. Now when
any one speaks of new troops coming he is laughed at
and told that perhaps they will come sometime during
the next generation.
Smallpox had come again with its great toll of death
and suffering. The people of Batang and surrounding
communities had become during the year more and more
convinced of the efficacy of vaccination and it was not so
difficult this time to persuade them. My assistants and
myself were kept busy making vaccine and sending more
out to the different surrounding villages in answer to
calls that were constantly coming in.
There is an unwritten law in the villages that if any
one is to be vaccinated, all must be vaccinated. Should
any one take it into his head to be vaccinated or to have
his family vaccinated before the others had given their
consent and agreed also to be vaccinated, he would get
into serious trouble.
Many were urged by the priests upon casting lots that
it would be best for them not to be vaccinated. In
Batang there were thus two classes those who were, and
those who were not vaccinated. Gezong Ongdu, my
teacher, summed up the results very accurately one day
when he said, "Well, it s no question any more about
vaccination. Those who cast lots are dead; those who
are vaccinated are still alive."
Gezong Ongdu has become an expert with Mrs. Shelton
in the last few years in translation work. She has
126 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
pared, with his help, a song-book of some one hundred
and fifty of the best hymns of the church, with music, and
twenty kindergarten songs. Also a book of thirty-two of
the best stories for use in the schools, and what is perhaps
as greatly needed in a general way, a combined geog
raphy and astronomy showing the relations of the earth
and the heavenly bodies. These are now ready for pub
lication and are greatly needed in the church and school
work ; also a translation of Esther.
A peculiar sadness comes over the little community,
isolated far in the interior, when one of the number is
called to pass on. Little Bobby Baker was laid to rest
with his little sister, little Jimmie Ogden and Dr. Loftis,
in our little God s Acre in Batang.
XXII
WAR NEGOTIATIONS
THINGS were getting desperate. One afternoon
the Commanding General asked me to come to
his place as he wished to see me. When I went
he warned me that the Tibetans were making constant
inroads on the Chinese, that the garrison at Chamdo was
completely surrounded and cut off, that Draya had
fallen, and that Jangka had been taken by the Governor
of Lower Kham. It was reported that he would be
down to take Batang within a few days, so that he, the
General, could no longer protect us, as he had neither
the men nor the arms nor provisions with which to offer
any great resistance. He further said that he thought
it would be better for us to leave at once, and asked what
we were going to do.
After discussing the matter we, as a Mission, decided
that we would stay. He seemed to be considerably sur
prised that we were going to stay, and our decision had
the effect of calming the somewhat hysterical feeling
that was getting to be prevalent among the people.
"Well," he said, "if you re going to stay, would you
mind going over to see if some arrangements can be
made by which an armistice can be arranged until the
Chinese-Tibetan affairs can be finally settled by means
of negotiation?" I replied that I would be glad to do
all I could, and two days later, in company with my
teacher and the two headmen of the place, we started
out.
127
128 PIONEERING IN TIBET
We were besieged on every hand and asked to please
do our best to keep war from coming to Batang. After
reaching the border, some three days from Batang, we
established ourselves in an old house and wrote letters
across to the Governor asking if we might come.
There were stationed in this village a small garrison of
some twenty-five soldiers, who were very greatly alarmed
at the news that was constantly filtering through and
were fearful that any night they, too, might be taken.
They asked us to procure a man and send him across to
find out the actual state of affairs, and whether or not
Jangka had fallen into the hands of the Tibetan Gov
ernor.
This was done, and one night about midnight he re
turned saying that it was all true, that the Chinese who
had been killed were many, that many more had been
taken prisoners, and that a band of Tibetan soldiers had
been that day at the top of the pass and were momenta
rily expected.
I reported this to the Captain in charge, who became
panic-stricken and asked that I help in procuring ani
mals to take them two days nearer Batang and across
the Yangtze River. I assisted as best I could, and ani
mals were promised to take them on in the morning.
At three o clock I was again awakened by two soldiers
standing at my bedside and asking me to please get up
and see what could be done, as no animals had arrived.
I dressed and went out into the night with Gezong Ongdu
and we did not go back to bed until an hour and a half
later, but we had seen the women and children, wives of
these soldiers, loaded on to yak, horses and mules, and all
on the way in a very terrified frame of mind.
The next afternoon word came from the Governor in
a very curt letter in which he said that if we cared to
WAE NEGOTIATIONS 129
come out we could come. We were not greatly encour
aged by the tone of the letter, but made preparations to
go on the following morning. However, at five o clock
the next morning a letter came by special runners from
the General at Batang saying that there were other
things to be considered and before going on would I
please come back to Batang for further conference.
Two mules were at once saddled and with one of the
men who was with me, we started for Batang, three days
distant.
We travelled hard, with no stop but for a few minutes
at noon for the mules to eat a bite of grain, and just as
dark was coming on we reached Batang and spent the
fore part of the night getting additional instructions,
slept for two hours and started on the return journey
and reached our post just as the sun went down.
The following morning, everything having been ar
ranged, we proceeded on our journey and two days later
were met on nearing Jangka by one of the headmen in
the employ of the Government. He said that provision
had been made for a place where we might stay, and, on
entering the place, we found its streets absolutely
crowded with a great horde of the unkempt and dirty
nomads all dressed in the sheepskin clothes and all
carrying the old firelocks of the country.
It was a weird sight to see these hundreds of men all
massed there before the Governor s residence. In strik
ing contrast to this were the smart uniforms and arms
of the soldiers from Lassa.
We were escorted to our stopping-place and a short
time later were informed that the Governor would see
us. We went over and were received in a very frigid
manner. He was, however, scrupulously polite to me. I
had a chair and a place of honour at one end of the table,
130 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
which he bade me take. He took the one at the other
end and very unceremoniously told the priests that they
could sit on the rugs on the floor at the other side of the
room. "Well, now," he said, "for what have you
come?" I told him that I had come at the instance of
General Liu to see if there was not some way by which
an armistice could be arranged until the Chinese-Tibetan
affairs could be finally settled by diplomacy. I further
more told him that on our own behalf and from our
point of view it was deplorable that any of our friends
both on his side and also among the Chinese were being
killed, and for the sake of humanity I would like very
much if it could be arranged so that there need be no
more fighting.
"Well," he said, "that can be arranged very easily/ 1
I replied that I was exceedingly glad to hear it and
asked what he would suggest. He replied that if Gen
eral Liu would simply surrender all his arms and ammu
nition that not one of his men would be killed and they
would be given safe escort to Lassa. This was peace
with a vengeance. I told him that that would be impos
sible, that General Liu would thus be endangering his
own life by surrendering, and that furthermore I had no
orders to negotiate on any such lines, but that I was there
simply for the purpose of getting them together, at which
time they could talk out their own terms. He replied
that there was no other way. I said that I was very
sorry but if that was all that could be done there was
nothing more to be said, and I told him that if he would
arrange for animals for us we would be going back in
the morning.
" Oh," he said, "don t be in a hurry; let s talk some
more about it." The fact of the matter was that the
Tibetans were just as anxious to negotiate as were the
WAB NEGOTIATIONS 131
Chinese. After an endless amount of talking, running
far along toward midnight, he made this proposition,
that I should put in writing what I had said and submit
it to the Galon Lama, Commaiider-in-Chief of the Ti
betan forces then stationed at Hlotsong, one month s
journey to the west. That he would also write a letter
and send it with mine and that he would abide by the
decision of the Commander-in-Chief , whatever that might
be, and that I should wait here for the answer to this
letter.
I asked if I were going to have to wait for two months
until an answer came to these letters and he replied,
"Oh, no, the man will be back in twelve days, during
which time I will make no move against Batang."
At three o clock in the morning the letters were ready
and the man started on his way with the instruction that
he should be back in twelve days or it would go hard
with him. He came in about midnight the night of the
twelfth day. The answer was very gratifying, the Galon
Lama saying that he was glad to know that I was inter
ested in seeing the fighting stopped and that now what
ever I should say would go.
I explained to the Governor that I was in no posi
tion to say anything, that I was simply there in order
to try to get the Tibetan and Chinese representatives to
gether and let them make their own terms.
Time went on, and day after day General Liu prom
ised to come time after time, but from one cause or an
other he was hindered till it began to appear as if he was
not going to come at all. At last, however, I wrote him
a letter stating that it appeared that he was not coming
and that should he not be there by a certain time, my
companions and I would return to Batang.
This had the desired effect and a few days later he ar-
132 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
rived and was very graciously received with all honours
by the Governor.
During the time, almost two months, which I spent at
Jangka, I was constantly kept busy doctoring. Soon
after our arrival I had been to the country one morning
seeing a wounded patient and coming back I saw quite
a crowd of men in a little grove near by and heard a
great volley of shots. I supposed that they were target
shooting and wondered why all the shots should be at
one time. A few minutes later I saw that it was nothing
of the kind, but simply a firing squad of some thirty or
forty men and, that there might be no mistake or chance
of a miss, all were provided with ball cartridges.
As a consequence, the victim looked like a pepper box,
being hit in all parts of the body. A few minutes later
the Governor was back in his place conducting further
trials. In these trials, sentences and punishment were
simultaneous. There was no stay of execution.
He cut off three hands of men whom he considered to
be traitors. The hand would simply be pulled out and
with one slice of the sword severed at the wrist. Friends
of the men who were on trial, knowing or suspecting that
such punishment might be meted out, always provided
themselves with a bowl of boiling butter in which the
stump of the arm was at once plunged and cooked to
stop the flow of the blood.
I was kept busy all day caring for these people. First,
however, I went to see the Governor and asked him if
there were any objections on his part to my attending
to them. He said, " Not at all. When I get through
with them you can do as you like.
During this long wait in Jangka there was another
man who also was waiting. He was the head of one of
the great robber bands and had come to the Governor
WAK NEGOTIATIONS 133
and asked that he be allowed to take Batang. I pro
tested to the Governor and told him that these people
knew nothing of how to treat a place when captured,
but would utterly destroy lives and property. The
Governor told him to just keep his hands off, that
when he got ready to take Batang he would take it him
self.
This man used to come over to visit me during our
long wait and I would go and visit him. After a time
we came to be very good friends. So he said to me one
day, "Why not let you and me be brothers?" They
have the custom in that country that when men are very
good friends, they sometimes write a paper pledging
themselves to mutual help and aid through life and
declaring themselves brothers. I replied that I couldn t
do that and he wanted to know why. " Well/ said I,
* in the first place, you kill people, and you rob, and you
drink whiskey and do a great many things that are
against our religion. I told him that we had come over
here to do good, to help save life, instead of doing wrong
and destroying.
This made him a little angry; he didn t like it very
well and he went away. Some two or three days later
he came back and said, "Well, what will your religion
allow you to do ? " This gave me a good opportunity, so
I gave him our conception of Christ s teaching. Two
or three days later he came back and this time he was
all smiles. "Oh," he said, "I ve got it fixed now all
right." I asked what had happened and he told me he
had been up to the high priest that morning and had
taken an oath that he would not kill, he would not rob,
he would not drink whiskey, etc. I said, "Well, that
is fine I am glad to hear it." He questioned, "That s
all right, is it?" I told him of course it was. "Well
134 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
then," he said, "how will this do?" He reached in his
gown and pulled out a paper. He had our contract all
written up. It ran somewhat in this fashion : " In view
of the fact that General Lozong (he called himself a gen
eral) and Dr. Shelton have taken an oath that they will
not kill, that they will not drink whiskey, etc., and they
have decided to be brothers, etc.," and toward the close
he finished with this sentence : Furthermore, this is to
give notice that if any of you ever molest Dr. Shelton
I ll bring a thousand men to wipe you off the face of
the earth." This was a pretty good passport in that
country, and here is the sequel. A year and a half
later, just before leaving Batang, I received a letter
from Lozong, some six or seven days to the west, in
which he said after inquiring for my health and that of
my family, "This is to inform you that I am strictly
keeping my oath of a year and a half ago."
The Governor and I had many friendly discussions
during these two months on all matters, and at last we
got to the place where we could disagree violently with
no danger to either. At one time he asked me what
were my intentions, what I wanted to do later. I re
plied that I would like to go to Lassa, build a hospital,
take some fifty or sixty Tibetan young men from dif
ferent places over the country and teach them medi
cine for five or six years and let them go back to their
own homes where they might be of great service to their
fellows. He replied that that would suit him fine, but
he said, "I am not in a position to agree that you can go
because I am under the Dalai Lama and no one but
the Dalai Lama can give you this permission." I re
plied that I had been trying and trying to write him for
several years but could find no one who would take the
letter; every one seemed to be afraid. He said, "You
WAE NEGOTIATIONS 135
write the letter and I ll see that it goes, and I will send
it with my endorsement."
After much painstaking care with my teacher, the
letter was ready and sent forward. Some four months
later the reply came. It is, so far as I know, the only
letter ever written by the Dalai Lama to a missionary.
It runs somewhat after this fashion: "I know of your
work and that you have come a long way to do good,
and, so far as I am concerned, I will put no straw in
your way, providing there are no foreign treaties to
prevent your coming."
XXIII
CHAMDO
THE condition of the prisoners in Jangka was
sometimes pitiable and sometimes, knowing
the men as I did and their years of rascality
and oppression of the Tibetans, was rather gratifying
than otherwise; especially did the imprisonment of the
former magistrate awake in me no sense of pity what
ever. He had oppressed and mistreated the people and
stolen from them in a great way. His stealings had all
been taken from him and now he was nothing but a
baby and he acted like one. I could not, however, be
sorry for him, though perhaps I ought. During the
time that we were there he succeeded in bribing one of
the underlings to prevent his being sent to the interior.
A part of this bribe was borrowed from one of the men
who was with me. Later on, after his release, he abso
lutely denied having borrowed the bribe, which in
creased my already low regard for him.
On the arrival of the General from Batang I was
anxious to get away at once, as I had been gone almost
two months. Toward the last Mrs. Shelton had become
quite concerned, fearing that I might not get home at
all, and had begun to make it quite unpleasant for the
General. The Governor insisted that I stay a day or
two and assist him and the General in getting started on
their negotiations, and a further armistice of two months
was agreed upon.
Before this was passed Mr. Eric Teichman, the Brit-
136
CHAMDO 137
ish Consul at Tachienlu, had been sent up to act as
mediator, and a further armistice of one year was ar
ranged, during which time it was hoped that they might
be able to settle amicably all differences and fix perma
nently the status of the Tibetan people.
The year has passed and gone. The armistice has been
extended because of the unsettled state of the country
and the lack of any central power with authority in
China. No permanent arrangement can be made until
there is such a settled power in Peking. After a day of
visiting with the Governor and the General, we started
on our return trip to Batang, where we arrived without
further incident. We were met by the local official
and many of the people, who considered that we had
been instrumental in saving Batang from destruction.
I had been home but a few days when I received a
letter from Mr. Teichman from Chamdo, stating that
he was writing in behalf of the Galon Lama, who asked
that I come up at once in order to care for the wounded
in the recent fight.
Preparations were quickly made and with Mr. Bu as
my assistant and with the son of the former Prince of
Batang, who was now living with us, we started off.
Three days later we met Mr. Teichman, who was re
turning temporarily to Batang on his way to the town
of Adensi, to await further instructions. I had a great
caravan, as the Galon Lama and the Governor had both
acceded to our request in allowing many non-combatants
to accompany me out of the country.
Mr. Teichman informed me of the present state of
negotiations and said that he hoped that arrangements
could be made for a permanent peace.
Arriving at Jangka, we were very graciously and
kindly received and implored to stay over for a few
138 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
days to visit, which was impossible. It was very grati
fying, however, to find that the Governor and Gwatsengi,
son of the former Prince of Batang, were related by fam
ily ties. The Governor thanked me for what I had been
able to do for Gwatsengi and asked me to continue my
care of him.
At the feast, which is the invariable accompaniment
of any good time in the Orient, there were with the
Governor two of his lieutenants, one of whom had not
formerly been to a feast served in Chinese fashion and
who was unacquainted with several of the dishes and
also with the etiquette.
The fashion at a Chinese feast is to have watermelon
seeds passed around, a small pile placed at the side of
each plate. These are used to pass the time. You
crack them with the teeth and eat the kernel.
The General was an expert at this. He would some
times toss as many as five or six watermelon seeds in
his mouth at one time, skilfully cracking them one by
one with his teeth, removing the kernel and blowing the
hulls from his lips. The lieutenant, seeing the General
thus engaged, decided that he too would eat watermelon
seeds, and proceeded to throw some into his mouth. He
heard the crack of the seeds but did not know that the
kernel was removed and the hull thrown away, so he pro
ceeded to masticate the hull and all.
The next day we were on our way with one man sent
by the Governor who acted as advance agent, going on
ahead every day, securing lodgings and preparing for
our comfort. It was the only time for years that I
had been permitted to travel unaccompanied by an
escort.
Ju Lama, who had been with me during the negotia
tions in Jangka and had been retained by the General
BAPTIZING, GWAY GWANG AND MR. MAcLEOD OFFICIATING
CHAMDO 139
on his arrival, asked and received permission to accom
pany me on the journey to Chamdo.
After a stop of one night at Draya, where I had been
some years before to care for the wounded and had seen
the results of the ruthless treatment of Tibetans by the
Chinese, we went on and on and the tenth day from
Batang got into Chamdo.
Here we were met some two miles from the town by a
Captain sent out by the Galon Lama to receive us. As
we got nearer the town we were met by many other
folk, among them the prisoners. They were not confined
in buildings and were allowed to roam around at will
except that they were not allowed to cross the bridge on
the road leading toward China.
A little farther on just as we were entering the town,
there was lined up the most pitiable group that it had
been my lot to see the wounded prisoners. Such of
them as were able to drag themselves out had come and
lined themselves at the side of the road to show their
respect.
Soon after arriving, the Galon Lama sent word that
he would be glad to see us at any time. We went over
and were received in a very kind manner by the old
man whom we found to be a man of considerable ability
and great shrewdness. He also was glad to see Gwat-
sengi, having been acquainted with his mother before
her coming to Batang. He asked, now that we were
here, what would be our plans, stating that he would
do all in his power to further them.
After outlining to him what would be needed the
following morning when we expected to begin work, he
called the Captain and asked me to repeat these things
to him, which I did. It was enough to appall him be
cause it included the building of a stove, the securing of
140 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
great iron kettles for heating water, the securing of
tables and benches for operating, and many other things
too numerous to mention. When I had finished the
Galon Lama said to him, See that everything is ready
before daylight." It was.
We had been invited to dine with the Galon Lama and
in the meantime I went on a tour of inspection to see
the wounded who were housed in three different build
ings on beds of straw, rotten, stinking, not a wound less
than two months old. It was one of the worst proposi
tions that I have ever had to undertake. We began with
the worst and for ten days, beginning between seven and
eight in the morning, I operated as long as I was able
to stand up, being assisted by the three men who were
with me.
At the end of this time we were through with the
operations with the exception of two. There were two
that were hopeless. Their friends, however, insisted that
they should be operated on. I finally consented to pre
sent the case to Galon Lama and abide by his decision.
When told of the conditions he absolutely refused to let
me touch the men, saying that so far everything had
gone well and that, so far as he and I were concerned,
we would know that it was all right if these men should
die on the table, but there would be a great many others
who would not know the circumstances, to whom it might
appear otherwise, and he therefore forbade my op
erating. One of them died before I left and the other
shortly after.
It was the custom of the Galon Lama, during the time
we were there, every day at about two o clock when we
were finishing the work, to send the Captain with his
compliments, saying that dinner was ready whenever
we were, and a good part of the afternoon, from two
CHAMDO 141
o clock on, was spent at his place discussing the various
problems that came up constantly and conditions all
over the world. We also discussed religion and I found
him a very tolerant Buddhist to whom you could talk
freely and from whom you could expect courteous treat
ment.
There were several things during this stay which were
very gratifying. One was the humane treatment ac
corded to the Chinese prisoners, which was so contrary
to the conditions that had formerly existed that it was
very noticeable. The Galon Lama was very jealous of
his reputation for justness and in some cases carried it
somewhat too far.
I found that very much of this changed attitude was
due to the Younghusband expedition to Lassa in 1905.
I met one captain who had been in the fight at Gyangtse.
He said, "Do you know, those English soldiers, when
they caught me, found that I had been very seriously
wounded. I expected that I would be killed but I was
not. They took me and put me on a bed and a man came
and tended to my wounds. They took care of me until I
was well and gave me good food, and not only that ; when
I was well they let me go and also gave me a little money
to go home on." This was so in contrast to any treat
ment to which they had ever been subjected, that it made
an indelible impression on the whole country.
He also said that not only would the English, not loot
any of their monasteries, but that they paid for all sup
plies. The Galon Lama is trying to emulate the lessons
learned at that time.
When the time came to return, on the evening of the
last day, and we were saying good-bye to the Galon
Lama, he had brought out two large wine vases which
are only made in Chamdo. These are made in a very
142 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
beautiful shape, of pig iron, in which figures have been
cut with a chisel, almost completely covering them, and
in these notches thus made by the chisel are laid gold
and silver wire which are then beaten in and the whole
smoothed down, making a very beautiful pattern.
These he presented to me together with three hundred
rupees to help pay travelling expenses. He also gave to
each of my assistants a parcel of money and expressed to
us his very great appreciation of what we had done.
On leaving I said to him, Well, there are many things
upon which you and I have agreed and I want to make
you a proposition. He said, What is it ? " li This,
said I, "that from this time forth you and I give the
best effort of our lives for the good of our brother men/
He replied, I can accept that with my whole heart.
XXIV
OPIUM
THAT night there was practically no sleep, as
people were coming all through the night.
They had been here before wanting to go out
with us. Some had secured permission and some had
been refused. One man, whose wife we had known in
Batang, and who was with him here in Chamdo, had
been promised by one of the underlings that he could
go. He had, however, been very injudicious in giving
his presents and had not spread them around sufficiently.
As a consequence, the next morning when it came time
to go, he was detained. His wife was in despair but
nothing could be done.
The Captain who had been selected to supply all our
needs while we were in Chamdo told me that he had
one son who was in London studying military tactics.
One of the officers here in the army is Mongol, who had
been in several of the capitals of Europe, in Egypt,
Mesopotamia, China, and Japan, and said that he hoped
yet to go to America.
I found two or three who could speak a little Eng
lish. Two of them had cameras and the Galon Lama
had a phonograph. This latter, however, was formerly
property of the Chinese General whom he had captured.
On my return to Batang I found that General Liu and
Mr. Teichman had just left for Chamdo in preparation
for the negotiations. Some weeks later I received a
143
144 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
letter from Mr. Teichman in which he said that the
Galon Lama had been very much humiliated and angered
by a dispatch from Lassa in which he had been in
formed that he was accused of having taken me prisoner,
and that inquiry had been made from Peking through
the Indian Government to the Galon Lama, asking for a
report on the same.
I wrote to the Galon Lama in answer to this accusa
tion, stating that I had had the pleasure of being his
guest for some days and that I had never, at any time, re
ceived more kind and courteous treatment than had been
accorded me in that territory, and regretted very much
that any such report should have gotten abroad when
the fact of the matter was that just exactly the opposite
was true.
The Galon Lama was very much pleased to receive this
letter, especially in view of the fact that he is very
jealous of his reputation for kind and just treatment to
every one.
Christmas in Batang is a very happy time of the year.
We make the most of all birthdays, Christmas, the
Fourth of July, etc. This Christmas we arranged to
feed the poor; that is, to give them one good meal, be
cause there are some people who, from one year s end
to another, never know what it is to have a sufficiency
of good food.
This year when we came to serve those who had come,
there were seated in the sunshine (for it is warm in the
middle of the day in front of the hospital), three hun
dred and eleven of the poor. They were given a good
meal, all they could eat, good beef, several kinds of vege
tables, and a generous supply of tsamba which they
might take home.
Fifteen years ago when I adopted the two young boys
OPIUM 145
who had started out to be beggars, I had not dared
hope for the present results. Gway Gwang had been
through many years a constant trial and it was thought
at times that I had made a mistake in adopting him, but
he has developed, under the tutorage of Mr. Ogden, Mr.
Baker and Mr. MacLeod, into a really great preacher.
During the last year he has been pastor of the church
and under his guidance it has been doing wonderfully
well.
We were almost ready to leave now and there was a
class of about forty who were ready to be baptized.
Amongst these forty were my own two girls, Doris and
Dorothy. I think it was perhaps the greatest day in my
life when I saw this boy, who had once been almost a
beggar, take my own two daughters down into the
waters of baptism. He is very short; they are tall.
Almost every one who was baptized was larger than he
was. He did the work beautifully but in order that
one or two might not be lost, Mr. MacLeod assisted. It
was a great day and things are going along as they never
have before.
The school has far outgrown its present quarters and
a new building is required.
Last spring there came to Batang, in the planting of
opium, what appeared to us to be the greatest menace
that had ever come our way. A company of men had
decided that it would be a great thing if, instead of
using money to buy opium in Yunnan, opium could be
raised in Batang, and thus the money be left at home.
It was done very quietly and I had no inkling of the
matter until one day I saw a man planting something
which appeared very strange to me. I asked him what
he was doing. He said he was planting opium. I asked
him if he did not know that this was against the law.
146 PIONEEEIKG IN TIBET
"Well," he said, "the official has given us permission
to do it, and we re doing it." I asked if he had gongsi
(official written permission). He said no, that they had
been told that they didn t need it.
I went at once to the official and asked him if he had
given these men permission to plant opium. He denied
that he had, but he looked very suspicious. I asked that
he use his influence to prevent the consummation of such
a thing because it would mean ruin to many of the young
men and boys in the community who, while opium was
dear, would not be tempted to try it and thus get the
habit; but should it become common in and around
Batang and should it be obtainable in exchange for
wheat and barley and other things, as it inevitably would
be should it be raised there, it would become a great
menace to all young men.
He promised his assistance and I went away hoping
that the thing would be finished in a few days. As time
went on he appeared very reluctant to take any steps,
but finally he was persuaded to issue a proclamation
forbidding the planting of any more and ordering that
that already planted should be torn up. Getting the
opium torn up was long, hard work, as those who had
planted it were very reluctant to destroy what already
promised to be a profitable crop.
But by dint of persuasion and talks most of it was
destroyed, until there remained, so far as I was able to
find out, but two fields, one the property of the banker
and one the property of a merchant on the street. They
were both very unwilling to tear up their fields of opium,
and wanted to know if there was any way by which I
could be persuaded to let it alone. I told them there
was just one way, that was to hire some one who was
interested to shoot me. They said, "No, no, no." I
OPIUM 147
told them that under no conditions would I give up my
opposition to this thing. Finally, seeing that it was im
possible to get it all up without radical measures, I went
to the official and told him I was very sorry but I would
have to report him to his superior for allowing opium
to be grown in Batang, but that it couldn t be helped
and that although he and I were friends of many years
standing I would have to do so because I could not con
sent to see the opium grown in the district without using
every effort in my power to suppress it. I said to him,
"I have not been trying to persuade you to do some
thing that is not your duty but, on the other hand, have
been trying to get you to do that which will be of in
calculable value to the people of your jurisdiction. " He
pretended to be very angry at those who had not obeyed
his command and destroyed the opium. Perhaps he was
so. At least during the afternoon he sent men and had
these two men put in chains and led down through the
middle of the street in shame to the jail and their re
maining fields of opium destroyed. Thus was the last
poppy pulled up. Batang is, for one year at least,
saved from this curse.
These men were let out in a few days and I rather
think that I have made no permanent enemies by the
course taken, though there was quite intense feeling at
the time. I went to the men personally and expressed
to them my regret that it had been impossible for the
matter to be solved in any other way, as they were not
inclined to heed the proclamations of the official. They
said, whether true or not, that they didn t blame me but
if they ever got a chance they would get even with the
official for at first having given his consent and later
withdrawing it.
Shortly before we were to leave for furlough the Gov-
148 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
ernor, knowing that that was our intention, sent a man
from Jangka carrying an invitation to the whole fam
ily to come and visit him before leaving. He was to
escort us up. He had written several times previously
concerning this matter. Mrs. Sheltoii felt that she could
not go as she had still some of the translation work which
must be finished, so Mr. MacLeod and the two girls and
myself accepted.
A five days journey on horseback brought us to his
place. The girls were quite scared at first on seeing
two hundred soldiers come out to meet us. We dis
mounted to walk through the lines drawn up on each
side of the road and were quite surprised when, just
entering the line, to hear the command given in English,
to present arms.
We had a fine time and made many good friends. The
Governor and his wife, who had now joined him, were
constant in their attentions and met us at the door of
the place where we were to stay to show us to our quar
ters. A little later a man came over and asked me to
please sit down in the door. I was somewhat puzzled
but complied and there came some fifteen men bearing
presents from the Governor.
First, a man bringing about thirty or forty pounds of
butter, another with twenty pounds of tea, two more
bearing whole carcases of mutton, another with a quarter
of beef, another with a keg of honey, another bearing a
leopard, wolf, and fox skin, another with a box of rice,
the next a bag of flour, the next a bag of tsamba, bags of
barley for the mule, and so on.
This puts one in a very embarrassing position. Mis
sionaries salaries are not on the scale that allow them
to give presents in such profusion. It could not be re
fused, however, and we returned the compliment, which
OPIUM 149
was also repeated for Mr. MacLeod, by taking the pic
tures of the Governor and his wife, his staff, in all sorts
and kinds of conditions and sending him a set of the
prints on our return to Batang.
We spent a week there and had a great time as well
as being able to be of service doctoring those who were
sick. Every day we went for a visit, which lasted from
about two o clock in the afternoon, to hear the phono
graph and the bagpipes and to see the Governor s wife
dance, which she did for our amusement.
The second or third day we were there Mr. MacLeod
and I arose at a much earlier hour than those whom we
were visiting and were playing a game of checkers while
waiting for the other folks to get up. It got to a very
critical point in the game when suddenly Mr. MacLeod
exclaimed, "There s the pipes." I said, "What s the
matter? Come on, what are you going to do there?"
He very unceremoniously closed the game and replied,
"I don t care what you do; don t you hear the pipes?"
I said, "That is just some Chinaman playing the flute.
Come on and finish the game." He said, "You can t
fool me," and out he went, and sure enough it was the
pipes, the Governor having sent to Chamdo and brought
down its piper for our amusement.
The Tibetans have adopted the Scottish bagpipes as
their national instrument for the military. This man
could play "The Cock of the North," "The Campbells
are Coming," and so on, with great skill.
Mr. MacLeod also tried to play the pipes but the
altitude being more than twelve thousand feet, he was
unable to furnish enough wind and was forced to give
it up. He was not to be outdone, however, so he per
suaded the Tibetan to do the blowing while he did the
fingering and the music went merrily on.
150 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
In one of his bursts of enthusiasm he said, l I m blood
kin to these people.
When it came time to leave the girls were the most re
luctant of all. They wanted to stay, and even after we
returned to Batang were determined that we should
make one more trip to Jangka before starting home.
Having been born in this land and growing up with
these people they understand them as we, who are
grown up, never can; and Doris, at the age of fifteen,
when she left, gave up a Sunday School class of about
one hundred and twenty with very great reluctance.
XXV
GOOD-BYE
THE time was now definitely set for our de
parture and it was necessary that the Society
should be wired and everything made ready
far in advance to prevent disappointment when the time
should come. Most of our things had been packed, that
is, such as were to be brought home. Very little, if
anything, that had originally come from America was
to be taken home, but things which had been acquired
during our stay in Batang that would be useful at home,
and which were associated with our work amongst
Tibetans, were to be brought. Our other belongings,
such as cook-stoves, dishes, etc., were to be disposed of
to the other missionaries.
A great many of Mrs. Shelton s pictures were used
for decorating the men s ward, which she furnished in
memory of her father. Furniture also was put in the
large room given over to the fifteen little orphans that
have been taken in and constitute a part of Mrs. Ogden s
large family.
People were constantly bringing presents of one sort
or another, as is the Tibetan custom when friends are
leaving, to show their good will. Many of the pres
ents were eatables so that we might be well fed before
starting on the journey.
Mrs. Shelton doesn t like to say good-bye. As a con-
151
152 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
sequence, when she found out that she was to be escorted
out of town by a great many people and that she would
have to say good-bye to them, she decided to leave early
in the morning in order to escape this trial.
She spent the day previous to our departure going to
the different homes and saying good-bye which, not be
ing considered by them as the real good-bye, was not so
affecting. So on the night previous to our departure,
all things having been made ready, our animals were
brought over and fed at our place. Boxes were all
brought out and loads made up so that when morning
came there would be nothing to do except to place the
loads on the animals and start.
People, however, had found out that we were going
to start at a very early hour so as to escape having to
say good-bye. They were not to be outwitted, but for
fear that we would get away too early, they went on
down the road the night before and stayed all night at
different places. As a consequence, they were waiting
for us as we came along the next morning. Of course
there were those who came to say good-bye before we
left as well as those along the road. Consequently, we
were saying good-bye for the next twenty miles, and
some even going a day s journey and returning the
next day.
We had breakfast with Mr. and Mrs. Ogden before
starting. Doris and Dorothy were loath to go, as they
were waiting for some of their friends who were yet
coming; so we rode off and left them on the side of the
road with Andru, waiting till their friends should come
and they would catch up with us later.
There were with us several people who were leaving
Batang, going to their homes down in China. Among
these were Johnny, who had been my faithful assistant
GOOD-BYE 153
for more than fifteen years, and his wife. He has two
fine boys and a girl, and is very anxious to give them
the best education that it is possible for them to receive ;
so he is taking them to his home in Nanking to begin
their education.
The first few days of the journey were passed without
incident save that for the first three the girls were
constantly reminded by scenes and acquaintances along
the road that this was the same road they had taken on
their visit to Jangka.
The mornings were getting quite cold now, especially
as we had gone out of the Yangtze valley on to the
Highlands, so that the third morning we were travelling
through snow all morning and, being on the western
slope of the mountain, were in shadow for some hours.
It is the custom to start just as soon as daylight, so
that the first six hours of the journey were very cold.
The girls were riding mules, Mrs. Shelton was in the
chair. They were well provided with warm wraps and
sheepskin boots so that they did not greatly suffer from
the cold.
Some five or six days out we crossed over the highest
pass on the road, which is about sixteen thousand feet.
The ascent was exceedingly difficult, especially as the
slope was covered with ice. The men and animals found
great difficulty in keeping their foothold, and it was
necessary many times for all those riding mules to dis
mount and walk or scramble over the worst places.
This was to be a long, hard day and it was necessary,
in order to find a good camping place, not only to cross
the pass but to go far down on the other side below the
timber line. We at last reached the summit and on the
far side of the mountain the wind was very cold, so we
hurried on as fast as possible, only stopping for dinner;
154 PIONEERING IN TIBET
then we were on again. There were no houses, so it was
simply a question of choosing a suitable place for camp
that night.
The men had some misunderstanding among them
selves. As a consequence, those in front went far past
the place where those behind had expected to camp; so
when they came up with the chair and Mrs. Shelton,
they found no camp where they had expected it, and it
was getting late. Night came on ; it got dark and Doris
and Dorothy were with the people in front, as was I.
Mrs. Shelton had not come ; so I had to start back with
matches to light the lantern with which we had provided
ourselves for just such an emergency.
At last we reached camp and this was perhaps the
longest day of the whole journey. It is always far
better to make camp early, and get supper over with
and things arranged for the night before darkness
comes on.
To make matters worse, rain was falling, which was
unusual at that time of year, and as this was the only
place where we would have to camp out before reaching
Adensi, we had not thought it worth while to bring a
tent. We were able to get along very well, however, by
covering up with oil sheets, especially as the rain soon
turned to snow. It was rather hard on some of the men
who were not so well provided for and very hard on the
animals.
The next day we got into the lower country going down
the valley. One of our mules went over the bank and
turned over and over until at last the boxes being
loosened, he was enabled to stop himself, and so was not
seriously injured, but the boxes went merrily on toward
the river, eight hundred feet below. Fortunately, the
river was filled with stones at this place and the water
GOOD-BYE 155
was very low, so that the boxes were not carried away
but lodged on the stones and were recovered, though
one of them was badly smashed up. The things were
somewhat soaked but not lost, and soaking is a thing on
which you must always count and not feel bad when it
occurs. We were very thankful that the things were not
carried entirely away.
The following day we arrived at Adensi and there the
things were thoroughly dried.
We had been on the road now nine days and we were
to stop a day for washing clothes, cooking, etc. It was
necessary also to change animals here. I had written
one of my friends to ask his assistance in hiring animals
for the further journey to Lichang, some fifteen days
further on.
We stopped with Mr. and Mrs. Lewer, who had visited
us in Batang. We had there many friends whom we had
formerly known in Batang, and were very busy paying
and receiving calls.
We had there the pleasure of meeting the families of
two French merchants. Mr. Bu, my former assistant,
who was now with General Lieu, also joined the party
for the trip out. There are three roads leading from
Adensi to Lichang, and, after some discussion, it was de
cided that we should take the middle one. Each road
had its advantages and disadvantages. The great ad
vantage of the road we proposed to take was that it af
forded more ample pasture for the animals than did
either of the others. While its disadvantage was that we
should spend two full days in crossing one great moun
tain where there were no dwelling places, and we would
be forced to camp at a very great altitude. We had,
however, provided ourselves with a tent and from this
time on to Lichang, I think we spent only one night in a
156 PIONEERING IN TIBET
house, preferring, even when there were stopping places,
to camp out in the open, as the weather was for the most
part fine.
The first night out on this great mountain was, how
ever, anything but pleasant. The mercury went quite
low and we were camping in the snow, and wood for
camp fire was exceedingly scarce.
Our chair carriers, who were old friends and acquaint
ances of Batang, had decided to go on with us from
Adensi. They did most excellent work and being
Tibetans, did not mind the cold nor altitude in the
least, but were always cheerful and happy so long as we
were in territory occupied by Tibetans.
Afterward, however, on reaching purely Chinese ter
ritory, they were very unhappy.
There was one mountain on this road that was ex
ceedingly difficult. It was considerably infested by
robbers and the people in the valley, to prevent the
driving off of stock, had felled a great many trees across
the road in trying to block the road entirely, so that it
was the most difficult piece of work on the whole jour
ney the clearing of these two miles of road, blocked
by fallen timber, the road quite steep, covered with snow
and ice, the animals many times falling in the narrow
path and having to be unloaded before they could rise
from the slippery ice. The bumping of the mules
noses as they would go down on their knees before we
reached the top of the pass left a trail of blood in the
snow.
It was impossible for the chair to be carried through
in ordinary position. Mrs. Shelton had to get out, and,
assisted by two Tibetans, to walk as best she could. She
said her nose would have been bleeding too, had it not
been for the Tibetans holding her up. As it was, her
GOOD BYE 157
knees were black and blue from falling before we reached
the top.
On reaching the top the whole caravan was completely
exhausted. So we stopped as quickly as possible for
dinner, and then started on down the mountain. This
side was not covered with snow but the road was so
washed out that it was almost as difficult for the chair,
so Mrs. Shelton had to walk again. I finally stopped for
her with a horse. She declared she would not ride.
She could scarcely walk at all, so what was to be done?
One of the Tibetans solved the problem. He said to her,
"Well, if you won t ride I ll have to carry you." He
started for her, and she had a sudden change of heart
and decided to ride.
Arriving at Lichang, Mr. and Mrs. Klaver very kindly
took us in for a day or two to rest, wash, cook, etc. It
here became necessary to hire animals through the local
magistrate, as no animals were allowed to go out except
through his office. He was using all that he could pro
cure in the transporting of military supplies to the
north.
While there we also met many former patients, and
literally hundreds of people came to be doctored. It was
impossible to attend to them all. This place very badly
needs a hospital and it is one of the greatest openings
for medical work in Yunnan.
Some people who had heard of our coming had come
two or three days journey in order to be there as we
went through, wanting operations. I was not able to do
these at the time, but promised to stop on my way back
and attend to as many as possible in a week or ten days.
One woman came in one day bringing a great basket
of oranges and two ducks and said she was bringing
them in gratitude for my having cured her husband. I
158 PIONEERING IN TIBET
told her that I did not know who her husband was and
she said, He is in the interior now and is not here, but
he is the man who went to Tachienlu, following you to
Batang, and was operated on just as soon as you arrived
in Batang."
Five days after leaving Litang we reached Talifu,
were met by Dr. and Mrs. Hardy and Molly and Billy
and their caravan of supplies and provisions. They
were on their way to Batang. We spent one day visit
ing and hearing the things of America. Dr. Hardy
asked that I bring some of the supplies for the hospital
which had not yet arrived in Yunnanfu when he left.
Horses having been hired for the remaining twelve
days of the overland journey, we again set out, little
realizing that I would not complete that twelve days
journey for over three months.
XXVI
CAPTURED BY EOBBERS
WE had been travelling some twelve days to
ward Yunnanfu when suddenly, one after
noon about two o clock, somebody shouted,
1 1 There are the robbers. One of the four soldiers that
were with us jumped out in front of my mule, stuck
his gun in the air and pulled the trigger. Bang! He
jumped around behind my mule again, and away the
four of them went just as fast as they could go. I
turned around and looked and said, "I don t see any
robbers." I made the mistake of looking in the direc
tion the soldiers were going. They said, "In there, in
there; up there in front."
The shots had begun in earnest now, and it was no
trouble to find where the robbers were. The chairs
with Mrs. Shelton and Doris and Dorothy were perhaps
fifty yards in front. I jumped off my mule and started
running toward the chairs. Some of the people behind
kept saying, "Come back, come back," but I went on to
the chairs. Mrs. Shelton and the girls had climbed out
and laid down in a ditch on the side of the road to be
out of line of the firing.
One bullet smashed Mrs. Shelton s thermos bottle,
which was under the seat of the chair. However, no
one was hurt. The robbers now began pouring down
around us, quickly taking all things from our pockets
159
160 PIONEERING IN TIBET
and chairs and saddle-bags. One man who had tried to
make himself look as scary as possible by putting a big
smear of black across his face, stuck a big pistol in my
stomach. He looked so grotesque that I laughed.
Within a few minutes they had all of which we were
possessed.
One of the leaders coming up then said to me, "We
want you to go back up the road a way and see our Gen
eral. I said, All right, where is he ? He said, He
is back up there a little way. You come along with
me." So off I started with him. Mrs. Shelton and the
girls begged for me not to leave them alone. I told
them just to keep quiet, that they would not be hurt,
and that I was going up to see the leader and would be
back in a little while.
I thought that the robbers wanted to know where the
rest of our goods was and that, after possessing them
selves of all we had, I would be allowed to go. I started
off therefore, but was not to see my wife and children
again for seventy-one days.
Arriving at the top of the little pass over which we
had just come I met Yangtienfu, the leader of the
band. He had my shotgun, glasses, camera, etc., and
he wanted to know how to work them. I started show
ing him but had not got very far before bullets began to
fly from the valley below. The soldiers had given the
alarm and the garrison of the village where we had taken
dinner was coming out. The leader then quietly in
formed me that I was to be held for ransom. This was
somewhat of a surprise as I had expected to be allowed
to return to my family.
He directed his men to escort me on up the mountain.
They would wait there for the soldiers. I mounted
my mule, which had been brought up by those who had
CAPTURED BY EOBBEES 161
been detained by the other members of the party. I
was taken on in front so as to be out of danger. We
went along the crest of the mountain. The soldiers
were firing from below, the bandits from above, but the
range was too great for any serious damage to be done
on either side.
A running fight lasting about three hours followed.
Two soldiers were killed and one of the bandits wounded.
During the afternoon we kept moving steadily on. It
became necessary to cross a very deep ravine. We got
down very well by slipping and sliding, but the ascent
was exceedingly difficult. My mule had to be taken
around and we went up almost on all fours.
Toward sundown we had to stop to await Yangtienfu
and the rest of the party. The firing had ceased and
the battle was over. The rest of the robbers came up
shortly, and I attended a wounded man. One of the men
who got well in a few days insisted on paying me three
dollars. We stopped there for an hour and a half and
had supper. They boiled rice in pots, which were carried
along for that purpose. While the few whose business it
was to get supper were working, the rest of the party
smoked opium.
I was to learn later how great a part opium played in
the lives of these people, as they depended more upon
it during periods of strain than upon food.
When all the animals which had been stolen were
brought up, then began the opening of the loads and
saddle-bags. Most of the things had been taken from
my saddle-bags to start with. Yang, however, demanded
to know what all had been in my saddle-bags, and every
thing was brought out for his inspection.
As one load after another was opened, all the men
standing around, each appropriated what he wanted.
162 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
You must realize that in appropriating loot they had
to be very careful, and sometimes things of great value
were thrust aside as not wanted, simply because of the
fact that every man had to carry his own belongings,
and on forced marches even things of great value, when
they weigh a few pounds, lose their attractiveness.
At one time I saw one of the men who was complain
ing very bitterly because he had twenty ting of silver,
each weighing ten ounces. He knew not what to do with
it, and carried it all day and all night around his waist
and felt it to be a tremendous burden. After supper
had been eaten and the loot divided, we were off again.
We went on for several hours, then turned sharply to
the right and went down the mountain. It was very
steep ; there was no road. I could not understand how
they were finding their way through the valley; how
ever, we soon came upon a trail. We followed this for
only a short distance and stopped at a small village
where they were expected. Every one crowded in the
houses.
I wanted to unsaddle my mule and give him a little
rest, but Yang would not allow it. I was told that I
could lie down on a mat beside a very tall man who was
smoking opium, if I wanted to sleep. I was tired out
and did want to sleep; I did lie down but I had no
covering. The room was full of smoke from a smoulder
ing fire in the center, and was very uncomfortable. I
had been lying down for perhaps five minutes when I
felt something put into the pocket of my coat. I reached
to see what was being done. The man lying next to me
had had my small medicine case out, had taken several
of the bottles, a small pair of scissors from it, and then
returned it to my pocket.
Yang had told the men at supper that they were not
CAPTUKED BY EOBBEES 163
to molest my small personal belongings. He inquired
very strictly as to how much money I had had on my
person, which was very little, about ten or twelve dollars.
As soon as it began to get light every one was roused
again to be prepared to go on. It began raining almost
immediately, and as there was a heavy fog they could
not see very far, so they decided to stop for a time for
fear that they might run into parties of soldiers unaware.
It was cold and raining and there was no place you
could warm yourself with any comfort. I took up my
position in an old straw shed, protected from the wind.
The men came to me and asked me to write letters
immediately, which they would undertake to have de
livered, telling the Governor of the Province that he
should not send soldiers to pursue, and that if he did I
would probably pay the penalty. I refused to write
these letters. While waiting there in the rain in this
straw shed I thought that instead of writing these letters
I would heed Mrs. Shelton s injunction and start a
diary.
I usually start a diary every year or two and some
times keep it up for a week. In my saddle-bags were
just three books, my New Testament which had been
given me by Mr. McLean when I was home before, a
copy of Service s "Rhymes of a Red Cross Man/ 7 sent
me by Mr. Burnham, and a copy of Ian MacLaren s
"Beside the Bonnie Briar Bush." It was on the blank
pages and margins of this last that I kept my diary.
The men said they were going to take me back when
it quit raining. They also were at great pains to tell
me to comfort my heart, that they had nothing against
me, that they wanted to do me no harm in any way
whatever.
We went on all during the afternoon. As it was
164 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
nearing dark we could see far out across a great basin
in the mountains. As we were travelling along the cliff
we heard far away the faint call of the bugle. I sup
posed there were soldiers not far away. We stopped
where we were and a man was sent across the basin.
Somewhat after dark the headman who had taken
me to Yangtienfu again put in his appearance and said
that I should be of good cheer as he had been down to
see how Mrs. Shelton and the girls were, and he told me
what I afterward found to be the truth, that they had
gone on to the next village and were stopping there
waiting for me. The men had tried to take Mrs. Shelton
and the girls too.
They had made the girls walk and this fellow had
got into one of the chairs and with his pistol sticking
into the back of one of the chairmen, had forced him to
carry him up the side of the mountain, but it was im
possible to make progress this way, and after the sol
diers came out, they were very quickly forced to let
them go, for which I was very thankful.
After waiting till it was very dark we cautiously
slipped down the side of the mountain into a quite con
siderable village. This village was very friendly and
the headman of the village was a confederate of Yang
tienfu. We stopped there until near midnight and then
were on again.
On leaving this place the band went very cautiously,
no one being allowed to speak above a whisper. The
party had a number on first count of only seventy-one
men.
About two o clock in the morning we crossed the main
road. I recognized it as such by the fact that the tele
graph wires ran along it. I afterward learned, when
passing this place in the daytime, that we were within
CAPTUBED BY EOBBEES 165
one mile of Lao Yao Gwan, where Mrs. Shelton and the
girls were waiting for me. Little did we realize that
we were so close together.
Going on till almost daylight we came to a village
where most of the people were said to be Catholic con
verts. There we stopped for two hours, and shortly
after daylight were on the move again.
The band had promised that morning I should be
taken on to the Catholic place, which they said was down
the valley a few miles. When daylight came, however,
instead of going on down the valley we turned back to
the mountains, going up a very steep road. When I
was convinced that we were turning back to the moun
tains, after we had travelled for a while (it was impos
sible to ride), I told them that they could go as they
liked, but I was going no further. I had had no sleep,
I was tired out, and they had done nothing but lie since
I had been taken, and I was convinced that they had no
intention of doing any of the things that they had said,
so I stopped. We stopped there till almost night and
they asked for one of my cards that they might take it
down to the Catholic priest. About two o clock in the
afternoon they returned with the name, Paul Bailly,
printed on a card, and a message written in French,
which I was unable to decipher. The man who brought
the card informed me that Father Bailly had gone to
Lao Yao Gwan for the purpose of escorting Mrs. Shelton
and the children on into the capital.
I afterward learned that this was the truth. The
debt of gratitude that I owe Father Bailly I shall never
be able to repay.
Near night we moved on a short distance and came to
a very excellent temple hidden back in one of the gorges
in the mountain. I learned later that this was only a
166 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
short distance, not more than a mile and a half, from
Mitsao, where Father Bailly was located.
Word was also brought by the man who brought the
card that Father Bailly was to attempt to have my
release effected and that word would be brought back
within five days as to what the result would be.
XXVII
TRAVELLING WITH THE BAND
WE stopped all night at this temple and had a
fine rest. There we were able to secure a
fine hog, which was butchered. We were
also able to secure vegetables and as a consequence we
had two or three good meals. The next day all in the
party, without exception, went into the temple and paid
their respects to the different deities represented there.
Later the priests were called up and given a very gener
ous donation of money.
The rest of the day was spent in gambling and smok
ing opium. It is somewhere near this place evidently
that they have at least a part of the opium stored, be
cause it was from there that two of the men went forth,
and in a few hours returned with several hundred
ounces. It was cut off in chunks and passed out to
the men as they wanted it. They were all urged to
take plenty because they might not be back for several
days and might not have a chance to secure more on
the road.
As darkness came on, after a night and day of rest,
preparations were made to continue the journey. We
crossed the valley and went on and on through the
mountains. It appears as if they knew intuitively where
the roads were. We seemed to travel with equal facility
whether in the darkness or in the light, and only once
or twice in all the days that I was a captive, did I ever
see them puzzled as to which way to turn, and then only
167
168 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
for a moment. Yang always took the lead. He not
only took the lead, but, for the sake of peace and so that
there would be no grumbling, he refused to ride, insist
ing that he eat the same food, as well as travel the same
as his men. He was frequently the only one in the
party who had no money on his person.
After travelling half the night we stopped for an hour
to rest and to give the men an opportunity to smoke
opium. Then we were on again. One little fellow in
the party greatly amused me. He was only about four
teen years old and he carried an old sling-shot pistol, cap
and ball, about a twelve bore. He also carried the
longest sword in the party. It was amusing to see the
little fellow, when we were passing through a village,
throw back his shoulders and march. He was the hero
of the children of the villages and was considered by
them to be the only original Jesse James.
In a day or two I began to get acquainted. One of
the men had been especially courteous. He was a cap
tain, was low voiced, his name was Gnan. The lieu
tenant under him was equally nice. In speaking to
Yangtienfu about some of the men, I mentioned this
man as being very nice. He was at once made my body
guard with twelve other men.
Biding along a crest of the mountain we could see
down into the valley and could see Lao Yao Gwan near
where I had been taken. We were going now, so Yang
informed me, some days journey to the west in order
to get a donation of money that had been given them by
a man in the place.
That afternoon we met a great string of people on
their way to Lao Yao Gwan, for the following day was
market day. They were carrying all sorts of things.
Whatever was wanted the men took. It made me espe-
TEAVELLING WITH THE BAND 169
cially furious when the men robbed several small boys
who were carrying great loads of sugar-cane to market.
They very kindly offered me some but I was too mad.
I told them that I didn t eat stuff stolen from children.
Arriving about dark in the largest town which we had
yet passed through, at the muzzles of guns the head
men of the town were forced to do their bidding in pro
viding what was wanted and finding places for the men
to get their supper. The people of this town were not
at all friendly to them and it looked occasionally as if
there might be violence. However, no one, so far as I
know, was shot there. We stayed only two hours be
cause it was feared that some one had slipped out of
town and gone to call the soldiers, so we were on again
through the night over the worst and most dangerous
road we had yet come.
One mule went over the cliff. I could not see, I could
only sit on my mule and let him go. He was being led
by one of the men. About two o clock in the morning
we came to the bank of a river which it seemed neces
sary to ford. They could not do this in the night and
it was necessary to wait for dawn.
We stopped in a wheat field, the men shivering.
There was no suitable place for camp. Nothing could
be done. A little wood was found to make a fire but
it was entirely inadequate. Some of the boys found
some rice straw on the side of the hill, and I stole some
along with the rest, I took a few bundles and laid them
in the field and lay down on them. I took a few other
bundles and threw them over myself to get warm if
possible. It was no use, for not long after some man,
thinking that he needed the straw worse than I did, un
ceremoniously took it and walked away with it.
It was about this time that Yangtienfu and I had a
170 PIONEEKISTG IN TIBET
long talk. He had demanded several things for my re
lease. Some were important, some were not. One of
the things he demanded was that his wife and mother
and son, who were held by the Governor in Yunnanfu,
should be released. The most important thing to his
way of thinking, however, was not that, but that he be
given a ransom of about fifty thousand dollars worth
of arms and ammunition for me. I told him that I
would not be ransomed, that I would not be a party to
making the life and liberty of every missionary in the
Province forfeit to him, because should he succeed in
getting the price for me he would simply catch another
missionary and get his price for him, and so on.
He afterward consented to forego this demand and
asked that a blanket pardon be granted to him and all
his bands scattered over the country for all the crimes
committed in the last three years; but more about this
later.
At daylight we crossed the river and descended
quickly to a small village not very far away. There we
stopped for the day, as we were in a place where we
could watch the fort should any pursuers come our way.
There they tied up a man who refused to accede in
stantly to some of their demands. He was taken out and
prepared for execution. His father and mother were
kneeling and crying and begging all the while. I asked
Yang why he was going to kill him. "Well," said he,
"he lied to me." I said, "Why, man, you re not going
to kill him for lying, are you?" "Yes," he said, "I
am." "Well," I replied, "I hope you won t go to
shooting people for lying because there will not be any
one left in the party to take me back, for the whole bunch
of you have done nothing but lie ever since you got me.
This seemed to rather relieve the situation and on the
TRAVELLING WITH THE BAND 171
man promising that in the future he would stand ready
to do their bidding and help them to the utmost of his
ability, he was released from his bonds.
Just as night was coming on we again took to the
road, but contrary to expectations, we did not go very
far; but having ascended well up the side of the moun
tain, stopped again for the night, sleeping behind stones
and under trees.
It was at this place that I brought my saddle-bags
and threw them down in front of Yangtienfu and told
him that if he wanted the stuff, or if any of the men
wanted it to take it, and please be done with it that I
had some respect for a man who would hunt and rob and
take his life in his hands in doing so, but a sneak thief
I could not endure, and I had been having little things
stolen from me, taken from my pockets and saddle-bags,
ever since I had joined the party. He was exceedingly
angry and told the men he would shoot the next man
who should purloin any of my effects.
It was there that my beard began to itch and bother
me. I had no razor and though they sometimes shave
with a pocket knife I had thought it advisable not to at
tempt to do likewise. It was about this time that I first
noticed the tumour that had started in my neck.
Some three days later we arrived at the extreme
southern end of the trip. Money was secured. This
also was a place where guns of the old type were manu
factured and all that could be obtained were bought.
It was there also that, during the night, a runner came
in bearing letters from Yunnanfu both for Yangtienfu
and for me.
I received two; one from Mrs. Shelton and one
from the French Consul. The Consul stated that he had
seen the Governor and that the Governor was willing
172 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
to negotiate, that he had appointed Father Bailly as his
representative to conduct the negotiations, and that he
hoped the affair would be brought to a speedy conclu
sion, and I released. Mrs. Shelton also was very hope
ful that I would be home within the next week. The
men were also hopeful that they would now be given
pardon in exchange for my release and would be al
lowed to go home. They were tired of living as wild
animals and longed to go home where they could stop
without the constant fear of pursuers on the track.
The next morning we started back and two days
later arrived at one of the Governor s copper mines.
We stopped there for one day. The copper is mined
and smelted in a very crude manner and run into
plates weighing perhaps a hundred pounds. These are
later carried on pack animals to the capital for sale or
refining.
At one other place where we stopped Yang had de
manded from a wealthy man two thousand dollars. He
had refused, saying that he had no such amount of
money. Yang, however, was fairly well informed as to
the condition of the man from whom he demanded the
money. He worked nearly all night on this man, try
ing to persuade him to peacefully and willingly con
tribute the two thousand dollars, but he was determined
that he would not. In the morning almost as soon as
we had arisen, word was brought to us that soldiers
were within five miles of us, so within twenty minutes
we were on the road and the man was tied up and taken
along.
We went on that day and again arrived just back of
the mountain that separated us from Mitsao, where
Father Bailly was. A man was sent on in advance to
get Father Bailly to come across the mountain to where
TEAVELLIKG WITH THE BAND 173
we were. It was found, however, that he was not at
home, having gone to town.
While waiting for the messenger to return, they pro
ceeded to extract the promise of the two thousand dollars
from the man who had been brought along. He was
stripped to the waist and prepared for execution, his
hands being tied behind his back, and he was made to
kneel down. The executioner was sitting on the ground
in front of him, whetting a sword on a stone. When
the executioner got up and spit on his hands and grasped
his sword the man had a change of heart and decided to
pay the two thousand dollars, which he did a few days
later.
Late in the afternoon we passed through Mitsao, along
the street of which Yang passed with an automatic Colt
in one hand and an automatic mauser in the other, and a
little later we arrived again at the temple where we had
formerly spent a night and a day.
XXVIII
FATHER BAILLY FAILURE OF NEGOTIATIONS
THAT night after his return from town, Father
Bailly came to the temple, and I saw him for
the first time. He is rather a short man, round
and fat, with a long white beard, a kindly smile, a
twinkling eye, and a bald head. After talking for some
time in Chinese (he can speak no English) he asked
Yangtienfu to let me accompany him to his home, per
sonally offering to be responsible and, although he
begged until I pleaded with him to quit, Yangtienfu was
adamant.
The next day he returned, bringing me a loaf of bread
and some coffee, for which I was truly grateful. He
also brought me a small home-made cheese, which tasted
very good.
I told Yang that in order to expedite negotiations he
should be closer to Lao Yao Gwan, as it would consume
too much time to have to be writing letters back and
forth, and that as there was a telephone at Lao Yao Gwan
it would be easy to be in constant communication with
the Governor, thus securing at once confirmation of
agreements reached by the negotiators. Yang was some
what skeptical as to the good faith of the Governor s
men and, while he agreed to move over to another place,
it was so far on the other side of town that it was of no
great advantage.
We went over there and the next day retravelled quite
boldly the road we had travelled the second night after
174
FATHEE BAILLY 175
my capture, and I now saw how near I had been that
night to Mrs. Shelton and the children.
At this stopping place it appeared as if negotiations
were certainly to be carried out. The men were jubilant
and at last two or three of the Governor s men, accom
panied by Father Bailly, arrived on the scene, accom
panied by Yang s son, who had been released by the
Governor. His mother and wife arrived some few days
before.
It appeared as if the Governor intended to keep faith,
and every one was jubilant. A day or two later the
band was joined by a company of soldiers who had
lately mutinied and killed their officers because of lack
of pay. There was quite a ceremony in receiving them
into the band. Speeches were made and, as it was con
fidently expected that pardon would be obtained for
all, every one felt good.
Father Bailly came again, bringing four letters. Mrs.
Shelton had also obtained permission from the Gov
ernor to send me some bedding and some more clothes,
which she did. Taking advantage of this permission, she
had included several newspapers and it was in one of
these that I read of the death of F. M. Rains.
It was there that I had the finest talk it was my lot
to have with Yangtienfu. There were times when all
that was best in the man appeared to come to the sur
face, and when he seemed to have a genuine longing and
desire to live a good life. There were other times when
I think the evil was by far the dominant trait ; when he
would sacrifice anything on earth, including, if neces
sary, his mother, wife or son, to say nothing of his
friends, if it would in any way forward his ends.
In that place there joined the band a young smart
Alec. He at once took it upon himself to constitute
176 PIONEERING IN TIBET
himself my special guard. He became exceedingly tire
some as day after day, surrounded by a band numbering
now about two hundred, I had to listen to his continuous
chatter, chatter, chatter. At times I would go off; and
lie down under a tree or behind the building in order
to get a little quiet. The young man seemed to think
that whenever I did so I was trying to escape, and he
came as quickly as possible around to where I was. I
told him, "If you don t quit following me around, unless
Yangtienfu has made you my especial guardian, and, if
he has, he has not informed me of it, I ll fix you so you
won t be able to keep up with the band." A little later
he was again following me. I warned him again. Later
in the day I was again walking along around one of the
buildings and I noticed that he was watching me from
the corner of his eye and suspected that he was going
to follow me. I stepped around one of the buildings,
but instead of going very far stopped right near the
corner and seemed very much surprised that he was so
near. I grabbed up a club which was lying near and
started after him. He let out a yell and away we went.
He came near dropping his gun but didn t. We went
down through the street, I in a great passion. Yang
tienfu, seeing us, said, "Here, here, here, what s the
matter f " I said, " I am going to kill him. Yang called
out, "Wait a minute, wait a minute, let me kill him
for you." Yang did have him spanked and told him I
would shoot him if he didn t quit annoying me.
We now went back to Mitsao. It appeared that
negotiations would certainly be completed within the
next few days and that I would be released.
The band was planning a big celebration. Yang said
they were going to buy fifty dollars worth of fire
crackers with which to escort me into the capital. He
FATHEE BAILLY 177
was lavish in promises of different kinds, but he was very
much concerned that I was going to leave them, and the
day before it appeared that negotiations were certainly
going through, he came to me and said, See here, there
is no use of your going back at all. You come and stay
with us. We need you. You can be our doctor, and
you can be our chaplain too, and if you organize a
church we ll all join, as we need you badly. We re go
ing to give you twelve thousand dollars a year, and
we ll pay you six months in advance," and right there
he began counting out bills.
I said, Here, wait ; I can t do any such thing as this
because I have my own work to do. You don t seem to
realize that I have my family waiting to be taken to
the coast." It was a great disappointment to him that
I would not willingly consent to stay with them.
Finally the men who were to negotiate for the Gov
ernor came, and then began a long series of dickering.
They seemed unable to make any progress until I got
very angry because of the nature of the discussion and
told them that neither side appeared to have the ability
to do any thing but lie and smoke opium all day long;
then they came to an agreement. The men left the
following morning to report by telephone to the Gov
ernor.
The agreement was to the effect that the band were
to be pardoned and were to be given charge of the road
for a distance of twelve days. Their pay was to be fur
nished by the local officials along this road and they
were to constitute themselves the guardians and pro
tectors of its whole length. The Governor was willing
to grant their pardon, but was not willing to give them
charge of a considerable portion of the country.
He was persuaded by his men that night that it was
178 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
unnecessary to even consider pardoning Yang and his
band because it would be a very easy matter to capture
them, as there were not more than two hundred or a
few more in the band at the time. Because of this
representation soldiers started in our direction that
night. Yangtienfu s Intelligence Department, how
ever, was far better than that of the Governor, and just
as soon as he knew that soldiers had started in our direc
tion, we were up and off again. He not only took me,
but he also took his mother, wife and son, who had been
returned to him.
A few days before, when his wife and mother had
arrived, Father Bailly asked him to let me go to his
place. Yang said, What do two women amount to ? Of
course I d like to have my wife but I can buy one just
as good as she any day for a hundred dollars, so the
Governor needn t think he has done anything very par
ticular in turning over to me two women. " His son,
however, was considered to be of more importance.
So we were again on the move.
XXIX
SHOOTING A MAN
NOW began about forty days of most strenuous
travelling, the most strenuous that I ever had.
I had been travelling for forty-seven days be
fore I was captured, and had been travelling for a month
since I was captured, and the strain was beginning to
tell. Up to this time the tumour in my neck had given
me not a great deal of trouble, but it now began to grow
at an increased rate and began paining to some extent.
The men and Yangtienfu did not mistreat me, in fact
they treated me as a guest and as well as was possible in
the circumstances, living as they were like wild animals,
being chased over the mountain by dogs, sleeping at
night many times under the trees and behind rocks. At
one time they discussed what would be the effect of kill
ing me, whether or not it would be advisable. They
came to the conclusion that it would not be advisable
because Yang himself hoped some day to be Governor
of Yunnan, and they considered that, should they kill
me, he might be looked upon with disfavour by the rep
resentatives of the foreign powers, so it was definitely
decided that I was not to be killed in any case.
We were travelling in a very irregular course, but
within two days we had crossed to the north of the main
road and started toward the bend in the Yangtze River
some days to the north.
It was now nearing Chinese New Year, which date is
179
180 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
an important one with every Chinese. It is the time
of year that he wants to go home and be with his family.
It is the greatest time in the whole year.
One day we had stopped for noon at a small place and
on getting ready to start on I noticed four of the men
in the road kneeling and crying. The whole bunch was
around them and talking in quite loud voices. I rode
up and asked Yang what the trouble was. He said,
" These fellows want to go home." "Well," I said,
"aren t you going to let them?" He had some days
previously, on taking them into the band (they were of
the company of soldiers who joined the band), promised
them that they should be allowed to go home at any time
they wished to go, but that they would not be allowed
to take their guns, but must dispose of them for a rea
sonable price to the band; the guns and ammunition
were never to be disposed of, and on these terms the
men had joined. Several of them now wanted to go
but permission was refused.
To see the men thus forced to continue in this life
when I knew that there were a great many who were
genuinely desirous of quitting, made me very angry.
I said to him in quite a loud tone of voice so that all those
around could hear, "Why don t you take those four men
and me, for I want to go back, too, and stand us up
against the wall and shoot us? We re all in the same
mood and you re going to get before very long what they
gave their officials some days ago when they mutinied.
You can t continue to deceive men and misrepresent
things to them and keep it up. They ll turn some day
and you will be shot."
I was talking right out in meeting, for I knew that
there were more than fifty men in the group who were
ready for mutiny. This was very embarrassing to Yang
SHOOTING A MAN 181
and in order to put an end to the scene he ordered the
column forward. Some of his regulations were very
good. The treatment accorded the women and girls by
the soldiers in some of the places was exceedingly brutal.
Yang had said to his men, "You let the women alone."
However, one day when we had distanced the soldiers
to such an extent that Yang considered it safe to stay
all night, one of the men in the party, seeing a girl with
whom he was very much enamoured, simply took her.
The next morning after we were ready to start, a man
and woman came into the courtyard where Yang was,
crying and going on in Chinese fashion, and coming up
to Yang got down on their knees and began kotowing.
He asked, "What s the matter now?" They replied
that their home was now ruined, that their daughter had
been taken by one of his men, and that they were very
miserable indeed. Yang said, "Do you know who it
was?" They said they did, and he asked, "Can you
point him out?" They said, "That is he over in the
corner." When Yang looked in the man s direction
for a moment, he saw that guilt was written all over the
man s face. He didn t even deny the charge.
Yang said to some of the men sitting near, "Bring
him over here." Yang looked at him hard for a mo
ment and then said to the men, "Tie him up," which
they did by tying his elbows behind his back. "Now,"
said he to some of the other men, we re going out this
road. You take him out and shoot him in the middle
of the road and let him lie there until we come along,
so that every one can see what is coming to him in like
circumstances.
Ten minutes later we went along and saw that he had
a hole in him almost the size of a tin can.
At different times I was shown many kindnesses by
182 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
these men and had a great many friends in the party.
One day when we had been travelling especially hard and
reached a place at nearly midnight where Yang had de
cided to stop until morning, I was so worn out that I
had lain down in an old grain room. A little later I
was awakened by the man whom I considered the
toughest character in the whole gang. He was
standing by my side and holding a lighted candle by
my head. I roused up and asked, What s the matter ?
He said, "I stole an orange. I want to share it with
you." It was exceedingly grateful in the feverish con
dition in which I then was.
Travelling as we were, it was very difficult to get a
bath, but one day after I had become so dirty that it
was impossible to stand it any longer, when Yangtienfu
announced that we were going to stop for at least two
hours, I finally obtained some hot water and succeeded
in getting a partial bath. I asked him if he didn t want
one too. He said, no, he was afraid he would catch cold,
as he hadn t taken a bath for over three years.
During one of Yang s good days he asked me to take
his boy to educate, saying that he would like to have
him grow up to be a man of ability and not, as he him
self was, able neither to read nor write, and that he
would pay all expenses. I told him that I would be
very glad to do this for him and, up to the time that I
became so ill that I could no longer talk matters with
him, he was continually referring to the arrangements
that it would be necessary to make. During the first
month, he himself had learned the alphabet, a few words
in English, and was able to count a little.
After the failure of the negotiations and when we had
taken to the road the second time, Yang with his family
and myself travelled for some days, but it soon became
SHOOTING A MAN 183
evident that the rate was entirely too strenuous for the
women. As a consequence, when we were heading for a
certain place one afternoon, he with one of the men, his
mother, wife and son, halted at the side of the road
for a little while. The column got considerably in
advance. This was a very unusual thing. Within an
hour the column stopped to rest and wait for him to
come up. After waiting for quite a while some one
was sent back to see why he was not coming and it
was reported that he had taken a different road alto
gether. The understanding that we were to arrive that
night at such and such a place had been plain, and there
fore we could not understand why he had gone a dif
ferent road.
The Captain who had me in charge now assumed com
mand and decided that we should go on to the place
agreed upon, which we did. The people had all fled and
the party moved into what had been the public build
ings. Here things were thrown about in great con
fusion. There was a great store of charcoal in one of
the rooms and, as it was very cold, the different groups
made haste to appropriate it and, during the evening,
many hundred pounds of charcoal were burned.
I had taken my horse blankets and lain down, as my
bedding had been stolen or lost, together with all my
clothes, during the night of the flight. It was never
recovered. I had been sleeping perhaps an hour when
I was awakened by Captain Gnan and told that Yang-
tienfu had sent for us and was very much worried, and
that we should immediately take to the road and join
him some ten miles out, which we did about four o clock
in the morning, but when we joined him he was alone ;
his wife, mother and boy were not there. He had taken
them to the house, presumably of a friend, but it mat-
184 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
tered little whether it was the house of a friend or an
enemy; fear of his vengeance would be a sufficient motive
to prevent their revealing their whereabouts to the
authorities.
After two hours rest we were on again and in a day
or so arrived at Long Gai. There we spent two or three
days as, after the failure of the Governor s coup, Yang
had again, through some of the local magistrates of the
districts, attempted to reopen negotiations. Only ex
treme desire on the part of many of the men to end this
sort of life induced Yang to again consider a reopening
of the question.
Finally it was decided that he would meet one of the
men. The time spent at Long Gai was a very grateful
period of rest. For two days and two nights we were
not required to move. During this time I did some writ
ing and hired a man, with Yang s consent, to take let
ters to the capital. I wrote personally to the Governor
and asked him that, if it were possible for him to do
anything, to please do it quickly, as I was in very poor
physical condition.
Yang also sent letters to the Governor stating what
terms would be acceptable to him. But he also stated
that no terms whatever would be acceptable unless they
were guaranteed by some foreign power, as he was fear
ful of bad faith on the Governor s part.
This man was sent off, he agreeing to make the trip
of five days to the capital and to be back within five
days. He was well paid, and I learned afterward that
he reached the capital successfully and was provided
with letters for me, some more clothes, papers, etc., by
Mrs. Shelton and the French Consul, but on his attempt
to leave the city he was seized by the Governor, all let
ters and articles confiscated, and he was cast into prison.
SHOOTING A MAN 185
While we were in Long Gai Yangtienfu provided en
tertainment for the band by hiring a company of sleight
of hand performers for a whole day. Some of their
tricks were very good indeed, but some were very crude.
One young lady who was taking the part of a very
famous character in Chinese history was asked by one
of the other members of the company, From whence did
you come?" She replied, "From Peking." Why,"
he said, "that is a long ways some three thousand
miles. When did you arrive ? " Yesterday. " " When
did you start?" "This morning." And he replied,
"My, that is fast travelling."
My stock of medicines had been almost exhausted. I
still had, however, a supply for making eye ointment,
and, as soon as it was found that I had eye medicine, I
was besieged on every hand. I was compelled to refuse
treating all other diseases because of lack of medicine, but
the treatment for sore eyes was sufficient.
After this rest of two days we took the back track,
for what purpose I did not know, as we started off very
suddenly one morning without any previous warning.
We travelled all day and stopped at night at a small vil
lage where good entertainment was provided by the vil
lagers.
Some time during the night a great quantity of money
was brought in and early the next morning Yang be
gan paying the men. While he was dividing the money
he brought a hundred dollars in silver to me and in
sisted that I take it. I told him that I had no use for
it whatever, that it would only weight me down. He
said, "Well, any time you want any just let me know;
but you better take some anyhow to buy sugar for the
mule." He put down a pile of half dollars on the
table before me, taken up at random from the hat in
186 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
which he was carrying the money. I counted it later
and it was forty dollars.
The next morning we were off again, still on the back
ward track. We did not go very far this day. About
ten o clock we stopped, and during the rest of the day
the men loafed and gambled and smoked opium.
I went to Yang s quarters late in the afternoon to
see him and was told that he was not in. Late at night
he was still not there, but early the next morning he
was there and with him his mother, wife, and son.
This day we turned around again and went back to
ward Long Gai. We travelled hard all day. I was told
that the Governor s representative was to meet us that
night at a little village not far from Long Gai.
I was congratulated by the different members of the
party on my impending release, and was told that it was
now only a matter of two or three days. I did not, how
ever, hold forth any very strong hopes, as long dealing
with the Chinese had taught me that it is only when a
matter is actually accomplished you can be certain.
We got into this village an hour before sundown and we
were expected. A good meal was being prepared and
when it was ready, which was at nearly sundown, the
band was still waiting for the Governor s representa
tive to appear over the rise about a half mile back in
the road. Instead of the Governor s man appearing,
there was suddenly a cry, "The soldiers, the soldiers!"
and there appeared on the road about two hundred men
and in a very few minutes the place was surrounded and
bullets were flying in every direction.
XXX
THE FIKST BATTLE
WE had no time to eat supper. Each man
grabbed some of the food and seized his gun,
shoving in a mouthful now and then as occa
sion offered. I took a piece of meat and wrapped it in
an old handkerchief and put it in my hip pocket for a
more convenient time. My mule, with the saddle on,
was led quickly into the main building of the village,
and at Yangtienfu s command all the men were
congregated in the main building. There was no time,
however, for bringing in all the animals, and for but
very little of the stuff that was being carried along.
As a consequence, several mule loads of all sorts and
kinds of things had to be left in the mad scramble. The
doors were barred, but firing was kept up constantly
from the upper story. One of the men, called a Major
in the organization, had lost his life because he refused
to believe that the people we saw coming were soldiers,
as they had taken off their soldier clothes and dressed in
the familiar manner in which the bandits were dressed.
He believed that it was some of the other bandits under
Yang s control coming to join them here and in this
belief had his men withhold their fire until the first
volley was fired, and he was killed. Some five or six
men were lost and there was great consternation in the
band.
Some inside went up and down crying and saying,
187
188 PIONEEKING IN TIBET
"Brothers, brothers, we are lost." With these Yang-
tienfu was very stern and told them that if they would
not be quiet he himself would shoot them. He did kill
three of his own men that night because he found them
trying to effect an escape from the building, in order to
join the soldiers.
Yang instructed Captain Gnan that he and twelve
men were to have charge of me and were to have no
other duties, that they were not to engage in the fight
at all unless it should come to hand-to-hand combat.
These men surrounded me in the hall and we stood
there for more than an hour while different expedients
were being tried out. I became so tired finally that I
asked Yang if I couldn t lie down. He had me shown
to a room up-stairs and I lay down and there, in spite
of the continuous racket and shooting, I dropped off to
sleep, not waking up until Captain Gnan, shaking me,
said, "It s time to go."
I went down-stairs and by the light of torches saw
several dead men lying around. The firing had almost
ceased, just an occasional shot.
The division of the loot had proved too much for the
soldiers and they had withdrawn about a mile for that
purpose, and thus gave the band an opportunity to
escape. The killing of all would have been a com
paratively easy matter had they stationed men so as to
cover the two exits from the building and, if necessary,
sent for reinforcements. But here was the opportunity
and Yang lost no time in taking advantage of it.
Quietly opening the door and extinguishing all lights
he led the way, we all following in single file. Just in
side the door was one of the soldiers who had been shot
and his body and gun dragged inside.
Some of the men, after an ancient Chinese custom,
THE FIEST BATTLE 189
had removed his clothes, piled them on his breast, and
burned them. In passing out one of the men gave the
body a kick and said, "You dog."
Two or three men had been temporarily left behind to
give the illusion that we were still there and they kept
firing from the upper story until we had gone a sufficient
distance ; then they too could leave their posts and join
the main band.
We went on through the night very quietly, the light
from one of the buildings (not the main one) which had
been set on fire, showing from time to time after we as
cended the mountain where the battle had been fought.
We went on and on hour after hour up this mountain
where there was no road. It was impossible for the
mules to go where we were going and one of the boys
took my mule around by a way that was much longer.
We had to go up many times on all fours, and I was
very quickly exhausted. I was helped along, however,
by the men, but before reaching the top I was so com
pletely exhausted that it was impossible to go further;
and so I told Captain Gnan. So we rested there for a
while. It was bitterly cold and in order to keep warm
I lay down between two of the men. We spooned.
When the top-side had become so cold that we could
stand it no longer, we would turn over on the other side
for a while.
Along toward daylight we made our way, cold and
stiff, over the top and down a short distance on the
other side where the light of the fire did not show, and
there we built a roaring fire by which we were consider
ably revived.
After it became light enough to travel we were again
on the road descending the long valley. We kept up
the pass all day long and stayed that night within sight
190 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
of the Yangtze and in a much, warmer country, having
descended to a much lower altitude. Here were fields
of poppies in full bloom and a few were ready for the
harvesting of opium.
We spent the night there with guards out in every
direction, and the next morning were off again over
another pass.
This was the last day of the old year. To-morrow
would be New Year s, about February 20th. The men
had hoped that there would be a chance to rest on the
Chinese New Year, but here, just when they were ex
pecting to have a good time, was the worst condition of
all.
We went on over this pass, which was exceedingly
steep, but when we had ascended to the top we did not
at once go down again, but waited for two or three
hours, the men watching with my glasses in every direc
tion for any sign of the military. None having ap
peared, men were sent to act as spies and bring reports.
Going around the side of the mountain for about two
hours, we arrived at a small village perched far up on
the mountain overlooking the great valley to the north.
There we prepared to spend the night and the next day.
As that was New Year s, except under the gravest neces
sity, no move would be made.
Two or three hogs and many chickens were procured
and preparations made for a great feast. The next day
there was no disturbance, but toward evening some of the
spies came in and reported that the soldiers were less
than three miles away, camped on a plateau just back
of the ridge.
There was very great apprehension as to what might
happen that night, but Yang was quite confident that
nothing would be attempted on New Year s Day.
THE FIEST BATTLE 191
They were out and ready, however, by daylight the
next morning, but nothing happened till toward noon,
when word was brought very suddenly that the soldiers
were approaching. The men had been in position for
some time, that is, those who were to fight. The rest
of the body was to move on across a ravine and up the
opposite slope on a predetermined road leading on to
the north and east.
The battle began and we from the opposite slope could
see them running back and forth amid the trees and
wondered how it might be going. The bullets occasion
ally came over to where AVC were and two or three spent
bullets were picked up by the men while we were watch
ing the fight.
Yang took about twenty men and went to intercept the
soldiers should any of them discover our course of flight
and try to pursue. This was not the case, however,
and before night the band were all together again, that
is, those who were not dead. I always rather imagined
that their losses were minimized and those on the op
posite side exaggerated, for it was said that night that
more than thirty soldiers had been killed and five or six
of the band.
There were brought along four men who were
wounded. Two were in very serious condition, one hav
ing been shot through the breast, and the other through
the thigh. I procured some cloth and after boiling it,
made bandages, and tended to the wounds as best I could
with no facilities.
These men were carried for many days, the man shot
through the breast refusing to be left behind, and
eventually he was on the highroad to recovery. One
man with his leg smashed had been left on the field of
battle, refusing to be moved. His gun had been taken
192 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
and he had been left there to die. I learned subse
quently from the soldiers who were in the fight that they
found him and beheaded him where he lay.
Yangtienfu said now that there was no use of talking
about negotiating, that he could see plainly it was im
possible to negotiate with a man such as the Governor,
and it appeared so to me.
This did not, however, in any way help me and I was
suffering greatly from the pain in my shoulder and neck.
Yang said that now we were going to Szechuen, that we
would cross the river into the Province to the north
where we would be out of reach of the Governor, and
that I would be eventually freed and let go down river
to Suifu and Chungking.
He asked if I would not send for Mrs. Shelton and
the girls and have them come, and we would all go out
the same way. This I refused to attempt under any
consideration.
XXXI
A VISIT LETTERS
TWO days later we arrived at the seat of one of
the local tusis, or headmen, of one of the tribes.
Yang had expected to receive assistance from
him, and that he would join him, but on arriving in the
village he found that he had fled, but his son was there.
The son came out along the road a considerable distance
to meet Yang, received him very graciously and put
everything in the village at his disposal. Quarters were
found for all the men and anything that the village
could provide was forthcoming.
I learned later that this place suffered greatly at the
hands of the soldiers after we had gone.
The next day was to be market day, but many people
from the surrounding country were greatly afraid and
were not coming. However, Yang sent out word that no
one would be molested and that all articles would be
paid for. Quite a few people came on this assurance
and, to his credit, there was very little looting. One
man brought pears and everybody wanted them. As a
consequence, everybody made a dive and got what he
could, and in less than a minute his basket was empty,
and he hadn t received a cent. A few minutes later
Yang passed along and the man said to him, " You prom
ised us that there would be no looting, and now I have
lost all that I had." Yang asked him what he had and
when he told him pears, he asked how much they were
193
194 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
apiece, and about how many he had. Yang calculated
as to about what the amount would be and gave him
twice that much. The man was very glad that he had
been looted.
That afternoon we were told that we were going on
and we all started up the mountain. We had only gone
about two miles when we came to a fine level spot be
tween two mountains and there we stopped. We stayed
there all afternoon and night and until late in the fol
lowing afternoon; Yang himself was not there. On
inquiry the men said that he had gone to the river to see
if the ferries could be captured for crossing.
Late that afternoon a man came hurrying up from the
village and handed me a letter with the instruction that
if there was any answer I should write it at once. It
was from Mrs. Shelton and she stated that she had sent
Shensi, our cook, with letters, in the hope that he might
be able to get through, as several others had failed.
I asked where the messenger was. They said that he
had not been able to come but had hired a man to bring
the letter. Mrs. Shelton stated in the letter that she was
losing hope, but that the girls were perfectly confident. I
asked that I might be allowed to go down to the village
and see the man who had come. This they refused. I
therefore hastily wrote an answer and gave it to the man.
We spent another night in this gully, protecting our
selves as best we could from the wind. Early the next
morning my mule was saddled and Captain Gnan in
formed me that Yang had sent up word that I was to
come down to the village. I went, not knowing what
might be the occasion. On riding in I saw a man lying
on a manure pile apparently dead, his face covered with
a handkerchief. I asked who it was and they replied,
"A spy." On walking into the building where Yang
A VISITLETTERS 195
was quartered I was met by Shensi. He gave me one
long look, seized my hand and broke down. Yang said
to him, " Don t do that now. You ll make Dr. Shelton
feel bad." We spent an hour or so talking. I wrote
another letter to Mrs. Shelton, stating that I had seen
Shensi and asking her not to send him any more, as it was
extremely dangerous attempting this kind of thing.
I had been brought down for the purpose of identify
ing him. If he were my cook, as he claimed he was, he
was not to be molested. If not, he would probably have
been killed. His companion, a man whom he had hired
to show him the road, as he was totally unacquainted
with this part of the country, was the man I had seen
lying on the manure pile. He had been tied up between
two posts and beaten until unconscious and thrown there.
Shensi had not been allowed to see him. Yang informed
Shensi that he would be allowed to go, but the other man
could not, as he was a spy sent by the military. After
an hour or two, however, Yang consented to our com
bined entreaty that he be allowed to accompany Shensi
back, as Shensi was utterly unable to understand the talk
of the tribes of people among whom we were and would
be unable to secure food and transportation. It was
finally agreed that he should go. He was, however, un
able to walk, and Yang secured two mules with an order
from the tusi that they should be replaced at the next
village by other animals, and so they set off on their re
turn journey.
Yang s wife, mother and son had again disappeared.
It seemed he had not been able to capture the ferries.
He therefore started on east and kept going for some
days.
I was rapidly nearing the end of my strength. I had
taken advantage of Shensi ? s going to send out, with
196 PIONEERING IN TIBET
Yangtienfu s consent, the little volume containing my
diary up to this time. This would give Mrs. Shelton a
day-by-day account of what had taken place. I also
sent with him a small camera which had been in my
saddle-bags with which I had taken eight or ten pic
tures. This camera at first had been a source of great
amusement to these people. They wanted to know what
it was and how it worked, etc. Several had wanted to
have their pictures taken and I had taken them. They
immediately wanted to see them. I tried to explain to
them that it was necessary that the film be washed in the
dark with certain medicines, but it was no use. They
were determined to see the inside of it and the film. I
took it out and they, seeing that the film was perfectly
white and that there was no picture thereon, seemed to
lose interest in the matter entirely, and I was thus en
abled to preserve the one other film I had possessed after
the pictures had been taken.
The soldiers were following us as reports were con
stantly coming in. It was also ascertained that others
were being sent. Shensi had brought word that the
United States Government was at last sending a man
through to look into the matter. Up to this time I had
felt that practically no interest had been taken in my
fate by the authorities in Washington. I was somewhat
cheered by the fact that at last some one was coming,
but could not understand why it had taken nearly two
months for them to act, and doubted very much their
ability to arrange things in the present state of affairs.
However, I was utterly helpless and could do nothing
but simply wait.
Three days out from this place we began, a few at a
time, to turn to the right, while the main body kept on.
This was for the purpose of misleading the soldiers.
A VISIT LETTERS 197
Fifty men were sent on ahead to make a trail which the
soldiers could easily follow while the main body turned
off at right angles to the course we had been pursuing.
That night these men came across the long side of the
triangle and joined us at a predetermined place.
We waited there the next day until word came that
the soldiers were coming along the opposite ridge. The
men spent the time using my glasses and watching the
soldiers following the wrong trail.
It was there that I became unable to further stay on
my mule. When I would be lifted up I simply crumpled
up and rolled off. The band tied two poles together and
put me on them and drafted four men of the village to
carry me, which they did all day long on the backward
trail.
The second day, after spending the night in a very
wild part of the mountains, we crossed the trail of the
soldiers, turned again north toward Fanchow. I was in
a very miserable condition now, but one day later we
were allowed to rest for some hours on the top of a moun
tain. They were making for Fanchow but word came
that a force of soldiers was also coming out from there.
In the village where we stopped that afternoon were
some fine young chickens. I saw people making corn
bread. I had eaten rice and the fat pork that they pro
vided for so long a time that it seemed impossible for
me to swallow another grain. I was very weak but man
aged to crawl out and through one of the men who un
derstood the tribe s talk, succeeded in buying a young
chicken. I got some fat meat fried out, used the grease
and fried the chicken, and then made a little corn bread
with salt and water. I felt as if I could eat the whole
chicken. But when it came to the trial, although it was
very good, I was able to eat very little. I tied the rest
198 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
up in a handkerchief, which I washed for the purpose,
and put it into one of my large pockets.
Just at night time word came that another band of
soldiers was coming from another direction. According
to reports we were being surrounded. It was said that
there were more than two thousand soldiers on the field.
Things looked serious, and at ten o clock we were on the
road again.
We went on all that night and going down a very steep
mountainside, but immediately after daylight we started
up another.
I was being carried by men drafted from the villages
through which we passed. They were having an awful
time, as was I. I was sometimes almost standing on my
head as we went up.
We went on all the next day without rest and toward
evening soldiers were seen in the distance, and we were
compelled to turn down into another very steep valley.
We went on and on until about three o clock in the
morning and then the band decided at the village
through which we were going that I was not worth carry
ing further and that I should be left behind.
XXXII
DROPPED
I WAS taken to an old barn and put up in the loft.
This loft was only about three and one-half feet
high and was filled with rice straw. In this straw
they dug a hole leading clear to the back end and in
there they hollowed out a place sufficiently large for a
man to lie in, and in this they put me, with four men
from the village to care for me. Three of these were
tribesmen whose language I could not understand; the
headman was a Chinaman.
The instructions to these men, I afterward learned,
were that, in the event of my death, I should be disposed
of secretly; but should I recover sufficiently to be able
to travel again, Yangtienfu was to be informed, and he
would return and get me.
I lay in this hole in the straw for five days and nights,
and in all my life I think that this was the most grateful
experience, just to be able to lie still and not have to go
on and on and on. I removed my clothes for the first
time in many days and, a day or two later, when I was
a little rested, I secured a pan of hot water through the
kindness of the Chinaman and took a bath as best I
could.
This Chinaman came to me the second night, I think,
with a proposition that he go to the China Inland Mis
sion stationed a day s journey away and see if they
would send some one to get me, inquiring if I had enough
money to hire a man for the purpose. I had still about
199
200 PIONEERING IN TIBET
ten or twelve dollars which had not been taken when I
was dropped.
When he was departing Captain Gnan had come in
and held my hand for a time and said that I should com
fort my heart and not be worried, as they would come
back in a few days and get me. He was weeping when
they left.
The boy who had taken care of my mule also came
and, kneeling down at my side, cried and asked me to
pray for him.
When the band left they took everything of which I
was possessed; my mule, to whom I owed my life over
and over again, my saddle, gun, glasses, etc. I still had
this little more than ten dollars, and I grasped this
straw and told the man that I had money to pay for
being taken to the mission station and asked why they
could not get men here to take me there. I was unable
to walk, but pointed out that I could be carried on poles,
as I had been the last several days. He told me to leave
it to him and he would see what could be done.
I readily gave the man the money and didn t see him
again for two days. On seeing him again I upbraided
him for his treatment. He replied that he had been to
the China Inland Mission station to see what could be
done but when he got there he found that Yangtienfu
had been there before him, and that now the two men of
the station were his prisoners. I doubted whether or
not this was true, but found out later that it was.
These two Englishmen, however, were in home coun
try and were acquainted with all the surrounding vil
lages, many of which they had been in and had converts
and were thus enabled to escape very quickly, one being
in captivity only one day and night, the other escaping
within the week.
DEOPPED 201
I was in such pain that I had to take opium three
times during the five days that I lay in the straw and in
quite large doses. I procured this opium and had taken
it once before I had been dropped. I tried to get it from
Captain Gnan, but he had refused to let me have it, fear
ing that I intended to commit suicide. I had gone then
directly to Yangtienfu and he procured for me an ounce.
Hundreds and hundreds of acres in this country were
in opium this last year, put in and cultivated at the in
stance of Yangtienfu, who had promised the people pro
tection from the Government troops. Opium had for
merly been six to nine dollars an ounce at harvest time j
now it was only fifty cents an ounce.
I have just received letters from China stating that
Yang is still at large and is now demanding and collect
ing a tax from these people for having protected them,
so that they are in worse condition with the low price of
opium and his tax than they would have been had they
planted other crops.
The Chinaman returned to me the ten dollars, think
ing that he would eventually get it anyhow. It ap
peared to me at the time as if all the plans of my life had
been wrecked. I had had such high hopes of accom
plishing something, and now, if I were to wind up in
this out-of-the-way corner of the Empire, my life would
more or less have been in vain. One verse of Scripture
kept constantly recurring to my mind. It was this:
"For unto you it is given not only to believe on him,
but also to suffer with him." I had made one great mis
take, which I will never make again, and that is, I had
with me only a New Testament. It should have been the
whole Bible, and if ever taken again I will not be without
the consolation of the Psalms. Some one has said that
he who carries his temple about with him can go to prayer
202 PIOETEEEnTG IN TIBET
when lie pleases, with Moses in the wilderness, with
Daniel in the lions den, with Jonah in the fish s belly,
with Paul in prison, or with Jesus on the mountain or
on the cross, and the seeker after God will find, wherever
he may be, that that place is none other than the house
of God and the gate of Heaven. This is true.
The morning of the sixth day the Chinaman came in
and said, "I believe that you are able to travel again,
and your being here greatly endangers the whole village,
for if the soldiers ever find that you are here they will
destroy it. So I am going to call Yangtienfu to come
and get you again, for we cannot have you here longer/
And he started off.
That afternoon about four o clock an old man who had
been there helping him gather opium, an old China
man, between seventy and eighty, came crawling back
through the hole in the straw, crying bitterly. I said
to him, "What is the matter?" "Oh," he said, "the
soldiers are coming. " " Well, I replied, that is noth
ing to cry about." "Oh," he said, "that is all right
for you, but I m the first man whose head they will cut
off." I told him that he should not be alarmed, because
he had been good to me and was in no way to blame for
my plight, and that I would do all in my power to help
him should the soldiers come.
The rumour that the soldiers were coming was suffi
cient to frighten the whole village, and within a few
minutes they had all fled to the mountains, taking such
personal belongings as they were able to carry, and
the village was deserted. We waited for more than
an hour and yet no soldiers came. The rumour was
false.
But there was coming through that afternoon a minor
official travelling with only one servant, who was on his
DBOPPED 203
way to investigate the looting of the China Inland Mis
sion mentioned before.
When he arrived in the village, with the help of the
old man, I crawled out to meet him. He was greatly as
tonished at finding that I was there. The authorities
had been using every effort for more than two months
to secure my release, and here I now was in his hands,
without any effort on his part whatever.
XXXIII
ESCAPE
WITH the help of his servant I was able to walk
on to the next village, which was distant only
between a quarter and a half a mile, where
he procured for me eight men who were to help me over
the mountains to the mission station. They had no
method of conveyance at all nor could they arrange one,
so twisting together a rope from hemp, I got hold of the
middle and, with them pulling, we started up the moun
tain. In this way I was able to walk for three hours.
We had started between five and six o clock in the
afternoon. At the end of three hours I was in such con
dition that I could no longer stand. When I was lifted
to my feet my legs would give way and down I
would go. We had, however, reached the first Chris
tian village and, though we could not understand a
single word of the language spoken, the fact that we
were in a Christian village meant more to me than any
thing had previously. Not only eight men came out to
see me on my way, but the whole village, men, women,
and children.
One old lady would hardly let go of my hand and kept
holding and holding. I was offered food in great abun
dance, but could eat very little.
Being unable to walk and having no method of con
veyance, two of the huskiest men came, one on each side,
204
ESCAPE 205
and with, their shoulders together they lifted me up, and
I was able to wiggle my legs, and away we went.
We went on and on through the night. It seemed as
if we would never reach the mission station, but at last,
between twelve and one o clock in the morning, we ar
rived only to find that the people, having seen us coming
(we were a great torchlight procession), had fled, leaving
in charge only one old man and one old woman. They
were told who I was and I asked for assistance. They
were plainly incredulous and refused to believe that I
was Dr. Shelton. Through a man who could speak a
little Chinese they said, "We have been praying for Dr.
Shelton for over two months, but this is not he.
My whiskers are somewhat of the Bolsheviki type. I
had had no razor, and they were greatly frightened.
They said, "This man is some Russian or a Frenchman,
for Americans don t have whiskers like these. Finally
I was able to persuade them that I was Dr. Shelton, and
they sent to the mountains and called back those who had
fled.
They brought with them two small ponies which I was
to ride and, by half-past four in the morning, we were
ready to be gone again. My escort from this place on
were the eleven elders and deacons of the church, all
being in readiness for the journey. I said to one of
them, "Well, if everything s ready, let s go." He said,
We re not quite ready yet. We always pray before we
start, and, standing there in the cold at half -past four
on that March morning, he called on the oldest man to
lead in prayer, and, though I could understand no word
of what he said, I never listened to a prayer that went
nearer home.
Being put on one small pony with one man on either
side to steady me and one leading my horse, we were off.
206 PIONEEETNG IN TIBET
I would ride one pony for a while and then another.
There were four men who went on ahead watching the
road, and three or four behind; for it was now more
than eighteen hours since Yangtienfu had been called
and it was no telling at what moment he might appear.
So we went on and on and on without rest. It seemed
as if I was like Tennyson s brook, and would go on for
ever ; but after nearly twenty hours of continuous travel
ling we reached Yenmo, where there was a magistrate
and soldiers, and I was safe.
There I met Mr. and Mrs. Gowman. Mr. Gowman
was one of the men who had been taken from the station
and had escaped the first night out. They had suffered
the loss of all things but were exceedingly glad that Mr.
Gowman had been able to escape. They were utterly
dumbfounded when I went into the yard and Mr. Gow
man could only say, " Thank God! thank God!"
There was a telegraph office there and I immediately
sent word to Mrs. Shelton that I was free at last. The
Governor also was quickly informed, and he immediately
sent instructions that I was to be sent on without any
delay whatever, under the escort of a hundred men, to
meet an escort of two hundred which he was sending out.
It was there that I first learned from Mr. Gowman of
the rescue party that had been organized by Colonel
Drysdale, who had been sent by the United States Gov
ernment to see if, in any way, my release could be ef
fected. I learned that the outposts of this party were
at Uting, some four days toward the capital. They were
also quickly informed of my escape, and the magistrate,
with heavy escort, started that same afternoon to meet
their party.
Mr. and Mrs. Gowman, though comparatively safe in
this place, knew not how long it might be before they
ESCAPE 207
would be able to return to their station, and decided to
go to the capital also.
By the time everything was arranged it was too late
to start that night; so arrangements were made to start
the next morning. We travelled all day and the men
were constantly on the lookout for any signs of Yang-
tienfu. He had, two days before, fought a battle with
them at a plain near Yenmo, and it was feared that he
was coming back to try to capture the place.
That night we stopped at a small village, sleeping on
the floor, but provided with some bedding through the
kindness of the Yenmo official.
I had regretted very much on leaving Yenmo, parting
with the elders and deacons who had escorted me thus
far. But their homes and their interests were all back
in the mission station to which they must go unprotected
from Yangtienfu and his band.
This first night the pain was again so great that I had
to take opium.
XXXIV
HOME AGAIN
DURING the night strict watch was kept because
it was feared that Yangtienfu might decide to
take the whole group, soldiers and all, as it was
a very great temptation should he be in the vicinity and
a very good opportunity to secure arms and ammunition.
Nothing occurred, however, and the next morning we
were off again.
During the day we met an additional company of five
hundred soldiers who were a part of those who had been
trying to surround him for days before I was dropped.
The fact of the matter is that the soldiers have no very
great incentive to apprehend him. They are fighting
for about twenty cents a day. He and his band are
fighting for their lives.
That day, while coming around the pass of a small
mountain, I could see across a small valley two hundred
soldiers drawn up in the little village waiting to receive
us. There was a man out in front of the soldiers walk
ing up and down who appeared to be dressed in Ameri
can clothes. It was Dr. Osgood. He had been sent
some two thousand miles by our Central China Mission
to see if he could assist in any way. Neither one of us
said a word. We simply clasped hands; that was all.
From that time on I was taken care of as if I were a
baby, which, in reality, I was.
The old magistrate of Uting, who was in command of
208
HOME AGAIN 209
this party, was very gracious and very kind. He is one
of the magistrates of the old school, and is very efficient.
He certainly knows how to handle Chinese, and the
string of vilification and abuse he would pour forth
upon the head of some delinquent attendant would have
made the members of Yangtienfu s band turn green
with envy.
He had brought out sedan chairs in abundance and
here I was provided with a comfortable conveyance at
last. He also provided one for Mrs. Gowman; but I
envied Mr. Gowman his horse.
That night we reached Long Gai, near where the first
battle had been fought. On coming into the place I was
reinstated in the room which I had formerly occupied,
but under what different conditions!
My feet had been on the ground for some time, the
soles of my shoes having worn entirely through. Dr.
Osgood, opening his grip, insisted on supplying me with
a pair of shoes, for which I was very grateful. I already
had Gowman s underclothes on. Yangtienfu had given
me a pair of socks, now I got Osgood s shoes, a little
later I got Thornton s shirt, and, with something from
Smith, I was almost complete, and was the only original,
genuine composite. On arriving at Long Gai there were
more folks with sore eyes who wanted to be attended to,
but Dr. Osgood took them over, as well as all other ailing
folk, and I was not permitted to take care of any.
In this, as in everything else, Dr. Osgood relieved me
of all care or anxiety in every way. He insisted on me
having my food in bed and in other ways protected me
all along the road.
The next day, after a very long journey, we were near-
ing Uting. About a mile out from the place I was met
by a young man who introduced himself as Thornton.
210 PIONEEBING IN TIBET
He is the Standard Oil Company s representative in
Yunnanfu, a big, full-blooded American and very effi
cient. Smith had not come out, as he was not feeling
well. Mr. Smith was the Far Eastern representative of
the Chicago Tribune, and had joined Dr. Osgood in
Shanghai when Osgood was starting on the journey.
Mr. Smith was afterward very ill with fever and at one
time his life was despaired of. The kindness shown by
all these men, Osgood, Thornton, and Smith, I can never
repay.
I was starving to death for something made of wheat.
I had eaten rice until it seemed impossible to eat any
more. When I arrived in Uting Smith had a box of
crackers, but ten minutes later he didn t have them.
Connection was made at once by Thornton on the tele
phone with the capital, and Colonel Drysdale and Mrs.
Shelton were informed of our arrival.
Letters were also awaiting me. It appeared as if I
were almost home. I talked for a few minutes with Mrs.
Shelton over the phone. She had heard through Shensi
of my whiskers. One of her requests was that they be
disposed of at once ; so by the help of Osgood s scissors
and Thornton s razor, I was again transformed from
Bolsheviki into an American.
The Uting magistrate was very insistent that we spend
two or three days with him and celebrate. This, how
ever, we very courteously declined, insisting that it
would be necessary to go on the next morning. The
people worked almost all night dismantling the rooms
they had occupied, taking down telephones and packing
up; and at a fairly early hour, under command of the
old magistrate, who still insisted on accompanying us
into the capital, and with a heavy guard of soldiers, we
were off again. It had been decided that in order to
HOME AGAIN 211
make the journey in two days we should travel a part of
the night, which we did, arriving at our stopping-place
at about midnight, where the magistrate, who had heard
of our coming, had prepared a great feast. I was so in
capacitated, however, that I was at once put to bed by
Dr. Osgood. The rest of the men were of a similar mind
and would have much preferred going to bed also, but
the feast had to be eaten and it was more than two
o clock in the morning before they finished.
After some little delay the next morning, we were off
again. About four o clock in the afternoon we topped
the last pass and could look down into the great plain
and in the distance see the great lake, on whose shore
Yunnanfu is situated. Not far below the pass, which is
some four or five miles from town, we began to meet dif
ferent members of the community coming out to meet us.
We stopped in a small village some three miles from the
city to rest for a few minutes before going on in.
It was while sitting in the back of a little tea shop
that I was suddenly aware of some one standing by my
side. He put his hand on mine and then there was a
great burst of sobbing ; he lowered his head on the table
and cried on and on. It was Drashi, one of our Tibetan
boys, who had come with us from Batang.
Going on a little farther we kept meeting more and
more people, and amongst them were Doris and Dor
othy. Doris had outrun Dorothy, and when she saw me
she came running, waving her hands, and her first words
were, "Oh, Papa, God does answer prayer, doesn t He?"
I replied, "Of course He does."
All human agencies had failed, and it was only in an
swer to the prayers of the many friends that I was pre
served.
A little further along came Dorothy and Andriu
212 PIONEEEING IN TIBET
Andru was crying too. They said that they had feared
that they would never see me again.
Again I met a company of twelve people, only one of
whom I had ever seen before. After shaking hands with
them, as I was carried on, they started a hymn of thanks
giving. A half -hour later I was carried into the French
hospital where Mrs. Shelton had gone to prepare for me.
She was waiting in the courtyard, and Dr. Osgood went
on in so as not to witness our meeting.
The next morning Dr. Velette, of the French Consular
Hospital, assisted by Dr. Osgood and Dr. Bradley, per
formed an operation on my neck. Not deeming it advi
sable to entirely remove the growth, they took out only
a part. The next nine days were spent recuperating in
the hospital. Within a day or two I was able to see my
friends.
Shortly, in order that they might be with me, the girls
were allowed to come and take their meals in the hos
pital. Mrs. Shelton had been permitted to room there
from the first.
I improved quite rapidly and hoped that I would be
able to return to Batang. Dr. Osgood and the other
doctors were very insistent that I go on to America. I
protested quite vigorously to Dr. Osgood on this matter,
especially as to the disarrangement of all my plans for
going into the interior. He administered what was per
haps a much needed rebuke when he said, "You don t
seem to think that the Lord can perhaps manage things
as well as you can."
During my stay there I had also the privilege of see
ing again Father Bailly, who came to visit me.
To Father Bailly of the French Catholic Mission; to
Mr. Nagadir, the French Consul; to Colonel Drysdale,
of the United States Army, Military Attache at Peking;
HOME AGAIN 213
to Dr. Osgood, of the Central China Christian Mission;
to Mr. Smith, the Far Eastern representative of the
Chicago Tribune, and to the whole host of friends who
so kindly assisted Mrs. Shelton and the children in Yun-
nanfu, and to the great number of people who used their
best efforts in America to secure my release, I wish to
make grateful acknowledgment. I do not even know
who all of them were; I am constantly hearing of new
ones. Will they, too, please accept my grateful thanks?
After nine days stay in Yunnanfu we were again on
our way, this time by train. Dr. Osgood very graciously
made all arrangements and cared for us all. He had so
much to attend to that Doris named him "Patience and
Long-suffering. " He stayed with us until we reached
Hong-kong and, as it appeared as if we might have to
wait there for a considerable length of time before being
able to secure passage home, he went on.
We were very fortunate, however, in securing passage
by the next boat, as a cabin was vacated at the last min
ute, and on April 26th, once more a united family, we
were again on American soil.
Letters and telegrams of sympathy and congratulation
poured in upon us from all parts of the country. Going
at once to Rochester, Minnesota, I underwent a second
operation, with the complete removal of the growth in
my neck.
From Rochester we went almost immediately to the
home of my father and mother at Enid, Oklahoma, and
the long journey was done.
XXXV
COME ON!
THE long fight for Tibet has continued for many
decades and will be carried on and on until at
last it is His.
Lying there in the heart of Asia, self-satisfied, held in
by the greatest mountains on earth, not knowing nor
wanting to know what is outside, the Tibetans have
rested for hundreds of years in the firm belief that theirs
is the country of perfection. They are now beginning
to wake up and to realize that other folk have contribu
tions to make to their welfare.
The opportunity now is such as it has never been
before. The feeling toward Westerners is far more
kindly than it has ever been.
There is an opportunity for any young man to utilize
all the abilities with which he has been blessed in meet
ing the problems that he will have to solve; and he will
find use for others which he has not.
Let no young man think that it was a mistake that he
should bury his particularly fine abilities in mission work
in Asia ; for it requires in the service of the Kingdom of
God just as high an order of intelligence, just as great
concentration, just as fine tact, and just as much
" punch " as are required to run any great business con
cern. Come on, young men, and let s help to make the
last nation on earth a part of the Kingdom of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Printed in the United State: of Amerfca
214
Recent Missionary Books
MRS. LAURA DELANY GARST
A West-Pointer in the Land of the Mikado
A vivid account of missionary life in
Japan.
Illustr
ustrated,
President Foreign Christian
Missionary Society
Epoch Makers of Modern Missions
Biographical sketches and studies of sixteen leaders of mis
sion work in foreign fields from Martyn onward.
ARCHIBALD McLEAN
Where the Book Speaks
" This is a book to be read, studied, digested, passed on to
others." Homiletic Review. Cloth,
SUSIE C. RIJNHART, M.D.
With the Tibetans in Tent and Temple
" One of the most moving stories of modern missionary
travel." .AT. Y. Sun. Illustrated,
ELLIOTT I. OSGOOD
Breaking Down Chinese Walls
From a Doctor s Viewpoint.
" Those who wish to know what a missionary family does
and how it is done cannot do better than to read this most in
teresting work." Archibald McLean. Illustrated,
Z. S 1 . LOFTIS, M. D.
A Message from Batang
The Diary of Z. S. Loftis, M. D.
" No one can read unmoved this book with its forceful
message." Christian Advocate. Illustrated,
MRS. EMMA R. WHARTON
Life of G. L. Wharton
Pioneer Missionary of the F. C. M. S.
Will prove of special interest to " Disciples of Christ " as an
appreciation of one of their own heroes. Illustrated,
JASPER T. MOSES
Helen E. Moses
Of the Christian Woman s Board of Missions.
" The story of her life and its results would be inspiration
to anyone it is renewed inspiration for those who knew
her." Indiana News.
CAVIM
KMOX COUiGf
