Through Unknown Tibet

by M. S. Wellby

Another unaccountable calamity befell these unfortunate people, in the shape of the sudden appearance of a mighty army of mice, which, just at the time when the grain was ready for reaping, devoured up the entire crops in the north and west valleys. From whence they sprung, or whither they disappeared, nobody knew. After such misfortunes, it is hard to realize how the people managed to exist at all.

It was rumoured that the Emperor had sent money to help them, but even if it reached them, it would have been useless in a place where there was no food to buy. All the grain captured from the rebels had been expended in feeding the soldiers.

It would appear that the severe and cruel treatment by both soldiers and the people displayed on the Mohammedans who remained, and the massacre of many hundreds of others who had submitted, notably at To-Pa, their chief stronghold, would merely have the effect of sowing the seeds of a future and more disastrous rebellion.

There is no doubt that the hatred between the Mohammedans and Chinese is more intense than ever. There are, I believe, still some thirty or forty thousand Mohammedans left in the north and south-east valleys. Were these to rise, there is the still more serious possibility of the Government Mohammedan soldiers casting in their lot with them. Were such a coalition to take place, very grievous trouble would be caused, and the north-west provinces would, before very long, be in the hands of the rebels.

It would be wise for the Chinese Government to enquire into the cause of the last rebellion, and by that means discover a remedy to prevent another one. Like the majority of wars, the cause was a religious one. It was, I am told, merely due to the interference of a Chinese official in a religious squabble between two Mohammedan sects called the white and black caps.

The judgment finally given was considered to be a one-sided decision, and ignited the first spark of the rebellion. Had the difference that had arisen between these two fanatical sects been entrusted to the arbitration of a few Mohammedan representatives chosen from each party, an amicable understanding might have been arrived at.

The hatred between the Chinese and the Mohammedans is so deeply rooted, that even if an impartial judgment is given, the Mohammedans, whose minds are so prejudiced, will scarcely credit the truth. There have been for years, and certainly will be for many more, internal squabbles in the homesteads and villages of the two sects, and, as long as these are judged by Chinese officials, there will always be the chance of another outbreak.

It seems remarkable that, although there have been two previous outbreaks during the present century, the last coming to an end only twenty years ago, no adequate means are taken to remove either the cause of another rebellion, or to cope with one which has risen.

First, the cause might be avoided by the appointment of certain Mohammedan officials, elected from amongst those who had remained loyal during the last rebellion, to manage all their internal affairs, and more especially those of a religious nature. Unless something of this kind is attempted it is utterly impossible for these two peoples, differing so vastly in their character and religious ideas, to live in harmony for any length of time. Secondly, the coping with the insurgents could more easily and speedily be accomplished, were powerful garrisons maintained at Ho Cheo and Lancheo, and other cities of importance and Mohammedan centres, properly trained, equipped, and kept in this state by efficient officers, existing in reality instead of merely on paper.

It seems incredible that the Chinese Government, with their previous experience, and their knowledge of the restless and fanatical dispositions of the Mohammedans, more especially of the black caps or Salar sect, and well aware of their greater enterprise and energy besides, should have been powerless at the time of the outbreak. The rebellion, in consequence, spread at an alarming rate, not to be suppressed before many thousands of men, women, and children had been killed or massacred. Even then the penalty was scarcely paid, for years of starvation and misery were lying in store for those who had escaped the calamity.