more successful, but in the absence of any support,
the position of the little storming-parties was dangerous
indeed. Soon afterwards, as we were to hear with
the deepest regret, Garstin was killed outright, and
O’Connor was seriously wounded by a ball through the
shoulder, before safe quarters could be taken up. In
fact, these exposed sections suffered all the more serious
casualties of the day, and in number no less than eight
out of a total of eleven.
As soon as it was light enough, the guns on the
little hill opened fire upon the still strongly-held houses
to the east of the village, and Major Peterson showed
great gallantry in bringing up his Pioneers through
the gardens and houses, taking each by storm in turn.
The fighting was severe, for with the rising of the sun,
the Tibetans found themselves caught without the
chance of escape. The jong lay 1,200 yards away,
but to reach it fugitives were obliged to cross an entirely
coverless plain. Their fellows in the town could be
of little assistance to them. One plucky attempt on the
part of a score of mounted men was, indeed, made, but
the enterprise was hopeless ; riding straight into the
zone swept by the maxims, hardly three of them escaped
back. Nor did the bombardment, which the jong
opened at the first streak of light, help the defenders
of the village. With an impartial hand the gunners
showered their balls upon friend and foe alike, and
to this cannonade some at least of the Tibetan casualties
among the crowded houses of Pala must have been due.
A stout defence against overwhelming odds was made for
a short time ; but as the morning wore on, the Tibetans
abandoned their loop-holes and their windows, and fled
to their labyrinth of underground cellars, where they