SOJOURN AT TSEKOU 



Desgodins in his book. Suffice it to say that the demands of 

 our minister at Pekin for justice to be done to the Fathers have 

 been of as little effect as the promises extorted from the Tsung- 

 li-Yamen. The edicts of Pekin are disregarded on the banks of 

 the Mekong. The authorities at Ouisi refused to recognise the 

 re-issue by China in 1894 of the article in the Treaty of Tien-tsin- 

 that sanctioned the acquisition by the missionaries of houses and 

 land in any part of China by private negotiation without the 

 interference of the local magnates. The mission at Atentse was 

 not allowed to be rebuilt. In that same town lay some chests, 

 containinof religious ornaments and effects, stolen ei^ht years before 

 from the Fathers. There had originally been thirty bo.xes, but the 

 previous mandarin of Ouisi had declared there were no more than- 

 seventeen. The present number admitted was nineteen, which 

 caused the Father drily to ask if they had bred in captivity. 

 Always and everywhere the same Chinese deceit. 



In the neighbourhood of Tsekou was the pagan village of 

 Tsedjrong. The besse, or chief man, of this place was an im- 

 placable foe to the mission. It was he who, in 18S7, had menaced 

 the Fathers with vengeance if they did not clear out in two days. 

 He it was who had cut their rope bridge, and, while outwardly 

 obsequious in their presence, had never ceased to annoy them by 

 every means in his power. To all of which ill-will they had 

 replied by advancing him grain wherewith to pay his tribute, and 

 so avoid being clapped into gaol at Ouisi. 



While we were at Tsekou a Christian came down one morning 

 from the mountains, and reported that three Lamas of the 

 Lamaserai of Honpou (Gueloupas) had come by night, under 

 pretext of recovering a debt, and had killed his pigs, beaten his 

 wife, and carried off his daughter. It is a dangerous thing to- 



