authorities, accepting their statement, committed themselves
to this course.
The official estimate of the distribution of the Tibetan
force at this date is interesting; they were supposed to
have 500 men at Kamba-jong, where a night attack was
imminent, 2,000 men at Shigatse, 500 between Shigatse
and Kamba-jong, 1,000 at Gyantse, and a few in the
Chumbi Valley. On the 8th of November the Tibetans
were reported to be moving 3,000 men towards Chumbi,
and a week later it was said that nearly 3,000 more
soldiers were advancing upon Kamba-jong, a somewhat
significant action : foot-and-mouth disease' was
at the same time reported to have made terrible ravages
among the Nepalese yaks.* For these accumulated
reasons the advance in two columns was abandoned,
and it was decided to move in a single strong column
through the Chumbi Valley.
The question then arose, first, as to the route by
which the Chumbi Valley should be reached, and,
secondly, as to the date at which the retirement from
Kamba-jong should be carried out. Colonel Young-
husband was naturally anxious, under the circumstances,
that no retreat should be made from Kamba-
jong until a footing had been effected in Tibetan territory
in the Chumbi Valley. It was, therefore, decided
to make the two movements coincident in point of time.
As to the route to be adopted, Mr. Claude White was of
opinion that in October the Jelep Pass was preferable.
There was this to be said in its favour that it was already
well known to us, and had been used in the 1888 expedition.
It was arranged that the original advance was
to be made over the J elep, but it was also decided to im-
* This was afterwards discovered to be anthrax.
prove and utilise the Natu la route through Gangtok,
and this eventually became the sole line of communication.
By the 10th of December there were concentrated
at Gnathong two guns of No. 7 Mountain
Battery, the machine gun of the 2nd Battn. Norfolk regiment,
two seven-pounders, half a company of the 2nd
Gnathong.
Sappers, eight companies of the 23rd Sikh Pioneers, and
six companies of the 8th Gurkhas, with the necessary
hospital, ammunition, and postal columns. On the
n th a short march was made to Ku-pup, and on the
12th the Jelep was crossed in bitter weather. On the
13th the column reached Yatung, and after a formal
protest made its way through the gateway in the Tibetan
wall, where a not unfriendly welcome was extended by