and they, with indomitable pluck, kept up a steady
reply to the volleys of rifle bullets which must have penetrated
clean through and through the thin adobe walls,
Brigadier-General Macdonald then ordered up the ten-
pounders and the improved seven-pounders, and 60
or 70 shells were fired into this house ; the men, however,
escaped, and were seen making their way through
the bushes and enclosures to the north of the village.
The column then started again, and about ten o’clock
that evening the last stragglers arrived in camp near
Chang-lo. There was a day’s halt and then the clearing
of the Gyantse neighbourhood began.
On the 28th Macdonald sent a strong force down
the valley. The 32nd Pioneers were on the right bank
of the Nyang chu, the 7th Royal Fusiliers and the
23rd Pioneers were on the left bank, and they moved
down the wide open space, clearing it from end to end
as they advanced. There was no great resistance,
and at last the valley of Gobshi, where the carpet factory
is, was taken and occupied. Here there was a long
pause, and the battalions forming the left wing of the
attacking force found themselves unable to proceed
to the capture of the most important position of the
day. This was the fort-like monastery of Tse-chen,
crowning the sharp knife-edged spur which here runs
out from the west, separated from the hills only by
the narrow strait in which Gobshi lies. The importance
of this operation was obvious, for by securing Tse-chen
we cut off the main and, indeed, the only remaining
road to Gyantse which the Tibetans had in their
possession.
I t fell to the lot of, the Gurkhas and Pathans to
capture, by one of the most picturesque actions that
is possible to imagine, this western, barrier which had
for so long screened from our sight the movements of
the enemy along the Shigatse road. The mise en scene
of the fight it would be hard to parallel ; the key to
the position was a squat, strongly-built stone keep,
astride the crest between two fortified peaks. Immediately
below it, the ascending tiers of white monastery
buildings, all well occupied, prevented direct approach.
On the other side of the crest, towards Dongtse, the
rock descended headlong. B y the time the movement
began, the sun was low and heavy indigo clouds were
coming up from Shigatse. The jagged outline of the
spur was clearly silhouetted against the lemon-yellow
of the sky, and, after a long wait, one could see very
clearly the little figures of the Gurkhas moving along
the skyline from the west.
It was a difficult task ; they could only advance in
single file along the very teeth of this rocky jaw ; again
and again they halted ; once they signalled down to ask
for the guns’ help to clear a strongly-held sangar across
the ro ad ; it was instantly given, beautifully timed and
thoroughly effective. Then the little dots crawled forward
once more over the evacuated wall. At last, just
as the leaders reached the left-hand peak overlooking the
jong, a stubborn and somewhat unexpected resistance
was encountered. The defences of the peak were still
held, and the curious vision of men hurling down
enormous rocks over the steep sides of the peak was
etched sharply against the glow of the western sky.
It could not, however, last long, and the Gurkhas forced
their way through to the main position only to find
it empty. Meanwhile, the Pathans had been sent
zigzagging up the slope to the north, passing through