A-tun-tsi 59 
months and in return I gave him what news I| could from 
T’eng-yueh and Europe. 
For the next two weeks in splendid sunny weather I 
explored the surrounding mountains, but in order to make 
such description of botanical work intelligible, some pre- 
liminary idea of the country is necessary. 
The village, with a population of about 250 families, is 
situated at the head of a narrow valley on the lower slopes 
of the Mekong-Yang-tze divide, the main part of which 
forms a high rocky range of mountains to the east, its 
altitude according to Major Davies being 11,500 feet, a 
higher figure than that given by Prince Henri. The old 
monastery is in ruins, having been destroyed by the Chinese 
troops in 1905, but it has since been rebuilt on a hill imme- 
diately overlooking the village, which consequently, as far 
as one can see, is again at the mercy of the lamas. 
Considering its extraordinary situation, pinched in the 
head of this narrow valley, one is not surprised to learn 
that in the fighting between Chinese and Tibetans, this 
little village was taken and retaken no less than five times. 
Of all the horrors then perpetrated we know nothing, though 
it is freely admitted that the most awful tortures were 
inflicted by each side in turn when their opportunity came. 
Five hundred Chinese and Tibetans were killed here alone. 
Here is a story from Chun-tien, a city with a big 
lamasery, eight days’ journey to the south-east of A-tun-tsi. 
The Chinese official at Lichiang-fu sent two messengers 
to the head lama, warning the priests not to join their 
fellow-countrymen in the rebellion, or take up arms against 
the Imperial Government. The lama’s reply was charac- 
teristic of the ferocity of the Tibetans when roused, one 
man being taken and skinned alive, the other sent back to 
take news of his fate to the Lichiang official. And the 
monastery still stands! 
Since the rebellion, the garrison of A-tun-tsi has been 
increased to a hundred men, numerous Chinese merchants 
have established themselves, and the Tibetans, now poverty- 
stricken, have been deprived of all power. Most of the 
old lamas were either killed during the fighting or executed 
afterwards, very few escaping into the mountain fastnesses 
of Tsa-riing. 
° 
