ese!" The whole town was
raised; all rushed to arms, and went tumultuously to the palace of the
Kin-Tchai, who were cut in pieces. The fury of the people was so great,
that they attacked, indiscriminately, all the Chinese, and hunted them
down like wild beasts--not only at Lha-Ssa, but also at the other places
in Thibet, where they had established military stations, making a
ruthless butchery of them. The Thibetians, it is said, did not lay down
their arms till they had pitilessly pursued and massacred all the Chinese
to the very frontiers of Sse-Tchouen and Yun-Nan.

The news of this frightful catastrophe having reached the court of
Peking, the Emperor Kien-Long immediately ordered large levies of troops
throughout the empire, and had them marched against Thibet. The Chinese,
as in almost all the wars they have waged with their neighbours, were
worsted, but they were successful in negociation. Matters were replaced
on their former footing, and since then, peace has never been seriously
disturbed between the two governments.

The military force which the Chinese keep up in Thibet is inconsiderable.
From Sse-Tchouen to Lha-Ssa, they have, at each stage, miserable
barracks, designed to facilitate the journeys of the imperial couriers.
In the town of Lha-Ssa, their garrison consists of a few hundred
soldiers, whose presence contributes to adorn and protect the position of
the ambassadors. From Lha-Ssa, going towards the south as far as Boutan,
they have also a line of barracks, very badly kept. On the frontiers,
they guard, conjointly with the Thibetian troops, the high mountains
which separate Thibet from the first English stations. In the other
parts of Thibet there are no Chinese, their entrance thither being
strictly forbidden.

The soldiers and the Chinese Mandarins established in Thibet are in the
pay of the government of Peking; they generally remain three years in the
country. When this time has elapsed others are sent to replace them, and
they return to their respective provinces. There are some of them,
however, who, on the termination of their service, obtain leave to settle
at Lha-Ssa, or in the towns on the road to Sse-Tchouen. The Chinese at
Lha-Ssa are very few in number; and it would be rather difficult to say
to what profession they attach themselves to make their living.
Generally speaking, they are jacks-of-all-trades, having a thousand ways
of transferring to their own purses the tchan-kas