Xviii INTRODnCTION, 



military reasons. These instructions were carefully observed. In the 

 storming of the stockade at Jeyluk, a short distance below Lingtu, only 

 thirty-two Tibetans were killed ; and no attempt was made to pursue 

 the Lingtu garrison, who fled from their fort when Sir Benjamin Brom- 

 head and some men of the Pioneers reached the gate. The methods 

 of defence adopted at Jeyluk recall some of the incidents of medieval 

 warfare. Walls and stockades had been built across the most preci- 

 pitous part of the road ; the road itself was cut away so as to leave an 

 impassable chasm ; rocks and tree-trunks were piled at favourable 

 points, with levers to hurl them down on an ascending enemy ; and 

 slings and arrows were freely, but vainly, used as our men advanced. 

 The issue, one would think, might have shown that the weapons of 

 Morgarten avail little against modern infantry. But the lesson was 

 lost on the fanatical monks of the great monasteries around Lhassa. 

 Their only answer to our pacific messages was to hasten up to the 

 frontier all the troops they could collect, and to occujiy the Jelap and 

 Pembirin"-o passes with a continually increasing force. Meanwhile 

 we had fortified the more sheltered and defensible position of Gna- 

 tong, about eight miles to the sovith of the Jelap, a-nd lay waiting 

 there for events to develop themselves. The whole of April and the 

 early part of May were spent by the Tibetans in massing their troops 

 on their own side of the passes. On the 22nd May, encouraged by 



^^ , a promise of victory from the " shaking oracle"^ at 

 Tibetans attack t.,^. , ,, l1 ^ A n i. • £ 



Gnatong, 22iicl May Naichang, they attacked unatong in force, were 



1888. °' repulsed with heavy loss, and retired over the Jelap. 



In order to avoid needless slaughter, our men were not encouraged to 



follow the flying enemy farther than was necessary to completely 



break up the attack and convince the Tibetans that they had been 



really defeated. This conviction, however, came slowly to those who 



had taken no part in the fight. Strange rumours of the prowess of 



"the Lama army" that was gathering at Lhassa found their way 



across the frontier; fresh troops were beaten up in all directions; 



terrible threats were conveyed to the leaders of the force on the 



frontier; and everything went to show that the counsels of the monastic 



party were still for open war. It is hardly surprising that this should 



have been so. The new avtpa, despatched by China with instructions 



to bring about a peaceful settlement, had not yet arrived, and the 



lamas lacked the sagacity to perceive that we were only holding back 



in order to give him time to make his influence felt. To their eyes 



we appeared to forego without purpose our own advantage, and they 



' TUs may refer to the use of an arrow as a sort of divining rod, described by 

 Schlagintweit, " Buddhism in Tibet," or possibly to divination by the shivering of an 

 animal, for which there are classical parallels. 



