to accede to this request. He determined, however,
to be guided by the advice of Colonel Campbell on the
spot. A t a little past three, a concentrated fire from
all points was ordered to be directed upon the wall
at the head of this steep climb. The common shell used
by the ten-pounders was now employed with terrific
effect, and one could see, second by second, a larger
ragged hole being torn open in the wall at this point.
Clouds of dust rose and slowly drifted away to the west
in the slight breeze, and whenever a lull in the cannonade
allowed a clear sight, the breach was wider by a yard
or two. A constant cataract of dislodged masses of
stone and brick fell down the face of the rock below,
which here was almost sheer for forty feet. I t was
not shell only that did this work. Magazine fire was
concentrated at the same point, and under this whistling
canopy of ball and shell, the Gurkhas were soon seen
moving upwards and onwards from the houses at the
base of the rock. It was a moment tense with excitement.
Lieutenant Grant was in charge of the storming-
party, and soon the first figures appeared over the belt
of houses and trees which hem in the rock on this side.
Instantly the fire redoubled, and from three points a
converging .fire hammered and bit upon the wall above
their heads.
Absolutely confident in the skill of the gunners, the
Gurkhas climbed on. Not a Tibetan was seen on the
wall above, but through the loopholes,of the bastions a
few shots were fired which, at what was becoming almost
point-blank range, caused one or two casualties among
the little figures clambering upwards on their hands and
knees. To those who watched from a distance, it seemed
as if more loss was being inflicted when again and again ^^Hbreach in the walls of Gyantse jong by which it was stormed. As is usually the case, this
photograph diminishes the apparent steepness and height of the rock.