The information that was received from these men
was simple and always to the same effect. They had
no quarrel with u s ; they had been driven to the front
unwillingly, partly by the superstitious hold which the
Lamas had over them, partly by the threat of physical
punishment which the hierarchy did not fail to wield ;
and they realised soon enough that any attempt to
stop us was not only unnecessary but impossible. At
any rate they would prefer to take up any service,
however menial, with us rather than go back to the
tyranny of their priests. Many wounded men came in
from a distance of their own accord. Morning after
morning one or two dead figures would be found a few
hundred yards away from our outposts— men who had
been painfully trying to drag their broken bodies in to
this miraculous healing of which the fame had spread
far and wide. It has often been said, and no doubt
said with some truth, that the work that we then did
to heal our wounded enemies, besides sorely depleting
our stock of bandages and other surgical necessities,
was a source of weakness rather than strength to the
subsequent negotiations. The methods of a Genghiz
Khan would no doubt have brought our Mission to a
speedier end. But knowledge is not to be confounded
with wisdom, and many of our Oriental experts have
forgotten in their experience of detail that, after all, the
Oriental is a man. Whatever may be the ultimate
success or permanence of our diplomatic relations with
the present priestly government of Tibet, the reputation
for magnanimity which we have secured among the
poor unlettered peoples of these uplands will as a tradition
long outlive the remembrance of political success,
however great. Besides, the thing had to be done.
The column halted at Guru. This is an unattractive
spot, bare and wind-swept, and marked only by a few
disreputable houses in two clumps, gathered in each
case round a house of more respectable appearance.
Here the Chinese “ General ” Ma appeared. But Captain
Parr, of the Chinese Maritime Customs, declined to
Captain O’Connor interviews the prisoners.
recognise his representative character. On the morning
of the 5th, the Mission moved on past Dochen, towards
Chalu by the northern shore of the lake. It was a
long march, and the narrowness of the shore made it
impossible to advance in more than one column.
Here we struck into the heart of the land of Bogle and
Turner. What they wrote* 130 years ago is true to
the letter to-day. The high, naked spurs which en