128 SIEGE OPERATIONS. 



gans made their appearance at Chobsen, with the 

 object of taking and destroying- the temple. Its 

 defenders, numbering 1,000 men, Chinese, Mongols, 

 and Tangutans, retreated within the principal enclo- 

 sure, leaving the enemy to take possession of the 

 outer houses, which of course they had no difficulty in 

 doing, but the main wall was strong enough to resist 

 all their efforts, and the first assault was unsuccess- 

 ful. The hour of taking tea now drew near, and as 

 the observance of this custom is not neglected even 

 during actual warfare, the besiegers withdrew to their 

 camp, about two-thirds of a mile from the temple. 

 Taking advantage of such a favourable opportunity, 

 the besieged sallied out of their fortress in full view 

 of the enemy, proceeded to the stream to obtain a 

 supply of water, and in their turn set to work tea- 

 drinking. The next day beheld a repetition of the 

 same process ; the Dungans invested till mid-day, 

 when they retired to drink tea ; in this way the siege 

 lasted six clays, at the expiration of which, finding 

 they could not take the place, the Dungans returned 

 to their homes. 



This anecdote would have been almost incredi- 

 ble, had we not convinced ourselves of the rotten 

 state of China and her tributaries. They are all 

 alike, and nothing but ignorance on the part of Eu- 

 ropeans could invest them with any of tht; attributes 

 of power or majesty. 



Notwithstanding the rancorous hatred between 

 Mussulmans and Chinese, they are not unwilling to 

 have commercial transactions with оп(; another. \\\ 



