the houses of the monastery almost unscathed. To
the great regret of all his colleagues, Captain Cr’aster
was here killed by a matchlock ball fired at point-blank
range. The Pathans reached the top almost at the
same moment that the Gurkhas descended upon the
jong, and the mingled figures of the lanky Pathans and
the small Gurkhas were clearly distinguishable one
from the other against the red glow of the dying sunset.
I t was a beautifully executed manoeuvre, and from first
to last it was thrown into prominence in a way which
rarely indeed occurs in military operations in these
khaki days when gallantry and capacity in the field are
rarely to be detected at the distance of a mile.
On the 29th a white flag approached Chang-lo.
An armistice was demanded for the purpose of negotiations.
Colonel Younghusband consented to a cessation
of hostilities until sunset upon the following day, in
order to allow time for the arrival of the Tibetan representatives
in Gyantse. It was agreed that everything
should stand in statu quo during this armistice, but
Colonel Younghusband made it abundantly clear that
no negotiations would be entered upon by the British
until the Tibetans had evacuated the jong and had
retired from the neighbourhood of Gyantse.
It was obvious that General Macdonald’s action in
clearing the valley was the immediate cause of these
overtures. Subsequent events seem, to suggest that
the whole scheme was a device to gain time ; certainly
the evacuation of the jong was never contemplated,
and the only practical use which the Tibetans made
of the armistice was to increase the strength of their
fortifications in direct contravention of the terms under
which it had been granted. Just before the expiration
of this armistice a messenger arrived asking for an
extension of time, because the Ta Lama, the chief monk
official and one of the four members of the Tibetan
View westwards from Tse-chen.
Cabinet, could not press on beyond Dongtse till the
following day. The armistice, therefore, was extended
by Colonel Younghusband till noon on the following
day, the 1st of July.