ing in his world,
were impending when the British column rounded the corner of Naini
Valley.

At first we were received without hostility, or even suspicion. The
ruined jong, uninhabited save for a few droning Lamas, was surrendered
as soon as we asked for it. A clump of buildings in a large grove near
the river was rented without demur--though at a price--to the
Commission. And when the country-people found that there was a sale for
their produce, they flocked to the camp to sell. The entry of the
British troops made no difference to the peace of Gyantse till the
Lamas of Lhasa embarked on the fatal policy of levying more troops in
Lhasa, Shigatze, and far-away Kham, and sending them down to fight. Then
there entered the peaceful valley all the horrors of war--dead and
maimed men in the streets and houses, burning villages, death and
destruction of all kinds. Gyantse Plain and the town became scenes of
desolation. To the British army in India war, unfortunately, is nothing
new, but one can imagine what an upheaval this business of which I am
about to write meant to people who for generations had lived in peace.

The incidents connected with the arrival of the mission with its escort
at Gyantse need not be described in detail. On the day of arrival we
camped in the midst of some fallow fields about two miles from the jong.
The same afternoon a Chinese official, who called himself 'General' Ma,
came into camp with the news that the jong was unoccupied, and that the
local Tibetans did not propose to offer any resistance. The next morning
we took quiet possession of the jong, placing two companies of Pioneers
in garrison. The General with a small escort visited the monastery
behind the fort, and was received with friendliness by the venerable
Abbot. Neither the villagers nor the towns-people showed any signs of
resentment at our presence. The Jongpen actively interested himself in
the question of procuring an official residence for Colonel Younghusband
and the members of the mission. There were reports of the Dalai Lama's
representatives coming in haste to treat. Altogether the outlook was so
promising that nobody was surprised when, after a stay of a week,
General Macdonald, bearing in mind the difficulty of procuring supplies
for the whole force, announced his intention of returning to Chumbi with
the larger portion of the escort, leaving a sufficient guard with the
mission.

The guard left behind consisted of four co