The Unveiling of Lhasa

I reached Gyantse on July 12. The advance to Lhasa began on the 14th. As might be expected from the tone of the delegates, peace negociations fell through. The Lhasa Government...

The Chumbi Valley is inhabited by the Tomos, who are said to be descendants of ancient cross-marriages between the Bhutanese and Lepchas. They only intermarry among themselves,...

On the afternoon of the day on which the house was taken we were provided with a new excitement--continuous firing was heard to the rear of the post about a mile away. Captain O...

The passage of the river was difficult and dangerous. If we had had to depend on the four Berthon boats we took with us, the crossing might have taken weeks. But the good fortun...

The intention of the Tibetans at the Hot Springs has not been made clear. They say that their orders were to oppose our advance, but to avoid a battle, just as our orders were t...

Icy winds and suffocating smoke are not conducive to a literary style, though they sometimes inspire a rude eloquence that is quite unfit for publication. As I write we are hudd...

By the first week in September I had visited all the most important temples and monasteries in Lhasa. We generally went in parties of four and five, and a company of Sikhs or Pa...

The conduct of Great Britain in her relations with Tibet puts me in mind of the dilemma of a big boy at school who submits to the attacks of a precocious youngster rather than i...

For a long time no responsible delegates were forthcoming. The Shapés, who were weak men and tools of the fugitive Dalai Lama, protested that any treaty they might make with us...

Gyantse Plain lies at the intersection of four great valleys running almost at right angles to one another. In the north-eastern corner there emerge two gigantic ridges of sands...

To write of any completed phase of the expedition at this stage, when I have carried my readers only as far as Tuna, is a lapse in continuity that requires an apology. My excuse...

The village of Tuna, which lies at the foot of bare yellow hills, consists of a few deserted houses. The place is used mainly as a halting-stage by the Tibetans. The country aro...

From Darjeeling to Lhasa is 380 miles. These, as in the dominions of Namgay Doola's Raja, are mostly on end. The road crosses the Tibetan frontier at the Jelap la (14,350 feet)...

The place is quiet and pastoral; climbing roses overhang the roof and invade the bedrooms; martins have built their nests in the eaves; cuckoos are calling among the chestnuts d...

The Tibetans stood on the roofs of their houses like a row of cormorants, and watched the doolie pass underneath. At a little distance it was hard to distinguish the children, s...

An irresponsible administration--An insolent reply--Tibetan haggling--Release of the Lachung men--Social relations with the Tibetans--A guarded ultimatum--A diplomatic triumph--...

Failure of peace negociations--Opposition expected--Details of force--March to the Karo la--Villages deserted--The second Karo la action--The Gurkhas' climb--The Tibetan rout--T...

The passage of the river--Major Bretherton drowned--The Kyi Chu valley--Tropical heat--Atisa's tomb--Foraging in holy places--First sight of the Potala--Hidden Lhasa--Symbols of...

A transport 'show'--Difficulties of the way--Vicissitudes of climate--Frozen heights and sweltering valleys--Disease amongst transport animals--A tale of disaster--The stricken...

A retrospect--Early visitors to Lhasa--The Jesuits--The Capuchins--Van der Putte--Thomas Manning--The Lazarist fathers--Policy of exclusion due to Chinese influence--The Nepales...

The Tibetans responsible for hostilities--Their version of the Hot Springs affair--Treacherous attack at Samando--Wall-building--The Red Idol Gorge action--A stiff climb--The en...

The deadlock at Tuna--Discomforts of the garrison--The Lamas' curse--The attitude of Bhutan--A diplomatic triumph--Tedious delays--A welcome move forward--The Tibetan camp at Ho...

Attack on the postal riders--Brilliant exploit of the Mounted Infantry--Communications threatened--Clearing the villages--A narrow shave--Arrival of reinforcements--The storming...

Gautsa to Phari Jong--A wonderful old fortress--Tibetan dirt--A medical armoury--The Lamas' library--Roadmaking and sport--The Tibetan gazelle and other animals--Evening diversi...

Sullen monks--A Lama runs amok--The environs of Lhasa--The Lingkhor--The Ragyabas--The cathedral--Service before the Great Buddhas--The Lamas' chant--Vessels of gold--'Hell'--Wh...

The Tomos--A hardy race--Their habits and diversions--Chinamen in exile--A prosperous valley--But a cheerless clime--Kasi and his statistics--Trade figures--Tibetan cruelties--K...

A happy valley--Devastated by war--Why the Jong was evacuated--The lull before the storm--Tibetans massing--The attack on the mission--A hot ten minutes--Pyjamaed warriors--Woun...

In a doolie to the base--Tibetan bearers--A retrospect--A reverie and a reminiscence--Snow-bound at Phari--The Bhutia as bearer--The Lepchas and their humours--Mongolian odours-...

From the base to Gnatong--A race to Chumbi--A perilous night ride--Forest scenery--Gnatong three years ago and now--Gnatong in action--A mountain lake--The Jelap la and beyond--...

A garden in the forest--A jeremiad on transport--The servant question--Jung Bir--British Bhutan--Kalimpong--'The Bhutia tat'--Father Desgodins--An adventurous career--A lost opp...