This is all we got after waiting for him for fifteen months. I replied, informing him of the circumstances of the Guru fight, and telling him that I was advancing on Gyantse, which I expected to reach in about a week, and I hoped that I should then have the pleasure of meeting him and a high Tibetan official with the power to make a settlement which would prevent any further useless bloodshed.

On the way to Gyantse, at the Tsamdang Gorge, the Tibetans again opposed our progress by building a wall across the narrow passage. But General Macdonald dislodged them and inflicted heavy loss, and on April 11 we arrived at Gyantse.

We found the valley covered with well-built hamlets and numerous trees and plenty of cultivation. Most of the inhabitants had fled, but the jong, or fort, which stands on an eminence in the middle of the valley, was still partially occupied. The Commandant was informed that General Macdonald proposed to occupy the jong on the following morning, and would expect to find it vacated by 9 a.m. On the morning of the 12th we found that the troops had been withdrawn, and the jong was occupied without opposition.

So ended another phase of the enterprise, and on April 14 the Viceroy telegraphed, offering to myself, General Macdonald, and to all the officers and men of the Mission escort, both civil and military, his warmest congratulations upon the success of the first part of our undertaking, and his grateful recognition of the cheerfulness, self-restraint, and endurance exhibited by all ranks in circumstances unexampled in warfare, and calling for no ordinary patience and fortitude.

CHAPTER XIII
GYANTSE

Gyantse, which had been our goal for so many months, and with which we were to be but too well acquainted before we had finished, has two principal features—the jong and the monastery, called Palkhor Choide. The jong is a really imposing structure built of strong, solid masonry, and rising in tiers of walls up a rocky eminence springing abruptly out of the plain to a height of 400 or 500 feet. It has a most commanding and dominant look. And the monastery immediately adjoining it at a part of the base of the hill is also impressive from the height and solidity of the walls with which it is surrounded, and by the massiveness of the buildings within the walls.[[28]]

The town itself was not of much importance, nor so promising as a trading-mart as I had hoped. It lay at the foot of the jong, and the bazaar did not possess shops of any size. The real population, indeed, seemed to be scattered in the numerous hamlets dotted all over the valley, through which ran a considerable river.

The demeanour of the inhabitants was respectful. They brought in supplies for sale, and in a few days a regular bazaar was established by the Tibetans immediately outside our camp, the bartering being carried on, as usual, mostly by women. The people said they had not the slightest wish to fight us, and only desired to escape being commandeered by the Lhasa authorities. The valley proved to be very fertile, with cultivation all down it, and supplies were plentiful.

Gyantse was indeed a delightful change from Tuna. It was, in the first place, nearly 2,000 feet lower, so naturally warmer. In addition, spring was coming on. Leaf-buds were beginning to sprout on the willows. The little irises in plenty were appearing. And birds of several rare varieties came to rejoice Captain Walton’s heart and fill his collection.