po
travelled in a large litter, carried by two mules. Besides this
multitude, whose journey extended to Lha-Ssa, there was an escort of 300
Chinese soldiers, furnished by the province of Kan-Sou, and 200 brave
Tartars, charged by the princes of Koukou-Noor, with the protection of
the holy embassy of the Tale-Lama, to the frontiers of Thibet.

The soldiers of the province of Kan-Sou fulfilled their functions like
thorough Chinese. In order to avoid any disagreeable encounter, they
carefully kept at the rear of the caravan, where they sang, smoked, and
joked at their ease, giving no sort of heed to any possible brigands.
Every day they exhibited the remarkable peculiarity of waiting until the
rest of the caravan had filed off, when they carefully searched all over
the night's encampment in order to pick up anything that might have been
left behind, and, of course, travelling somewhat in the rear of the rest,
they were further able to realize any matters that those preceding them
might drop during the progress of the day. The Tartar soldiers pursued a
conduct precisely the reverse: they were ever in the van, and at the
sides of the caravan, dashing about to the tops of the hills and the
depths of the valleys to see that no ambush of brigands lay in wait
there.

[Picture: The Tchanak-Kampo, and the Caravan]

The general march and particular movements of the caravan were executed
with tolerable order and precision, especially at the outset. Generally,
we started every morning two or three hours before sunrise, in order that
we might encamp about noon, and give the animals full time to feed during
the remainder of the day; the reveille was announced by a cannon shot;
forthwith, everybody rose, the fires were lighted, and while some of each
particular party loaded the beasts of burden, the others boiled the
kettle and prepared breakfast; a few cups of tea were drunk, a few
handfuls of tsamba eaten, and then the tent was taken down, and packed.
A second cannon-shot gave the signal for departure. A few of the more
experienced horsemen took the lead as guides; these were followed by long
files of camels, and then came the long-haired cattle, in herds of two or
three hundred beasts each, under the care of several lakto. The horsemen
had no fixed place in the procession; they dashed here and there, up and
down, just as their caprice suggested. The plaintive cries of the
camels, the roaring of the bulls, the l