Strong reinforcements had now come up from India: the remainder of the mountain battery, under Major Fuller, a wing of the Royal Fusiliers, the 40th Pathans, and the 29th Punjabis; and on June 13 I set out to return to Gyantse with General Macdonald to relieve the Mission escort at Gyantse and, if need be, to advance to Lhasa, while Colonel Reid remained in charge of the communications.

At each post we stopped at the officers in charge invariably reported that the people were well content with us on account of our liberal treatment. The villagers themselves were thoroughly friendly. They were making money by selling their produce at rates very favourable to themselves. They were only afraid of the officials and Lamas. Captain Rawling, who had explored in Western Tibet in the previous year, and was well acquainted with the Tibetans, and who was now stationed at Phari in charge of a transport corps, specially remarked this. What the people were now afraid of was not our stopping, but our withdrawing, and leaving them to the vengeance of the Lamas.

This is a dilemma in which we are constantly being placed on the Indian frontier. The people of a country into which we advance are often ready to be friendly with us if they could be certain we would stay and be able to support them afterwards. But if they know we are going to withdraw they naturally fight shy, for those who show us friendship would get into trouble when we left. This is one of the many reasons which make me favour our keeping up a strong continuous influence when once we have been compelled to advance into a semi-civilized or barbarous country. It is often highly inconvenient to have to do this, but it is the most humane course, and I am not sure that it would be so inconvenient if it were followed consistently. It need not mean annexation or petty interference, but it must mean sufficient influence to prevent relapses to barbarism.

We reached Kangma without incident on June 22, and halted a day while Colonel Hogge was sent to disperse a body of 1,000 Tibetans who were holding a sangared position on the road which runs down here from the Karo-la. While halted I received a telegram from the Tongsa Penlop at Phari to say that a big Lama and one of the Councillors were coming to Gyantse, and that a parcel of silk had arrived for me. The Penlop also said he wished to come himself to see me at Gyantse. Thinking this might indicate anxiety of the Tibetans to come to terms at last—at literally the eleventh hour, for there were only two days left up to the expiry of the time beyond which I had signified that I would no longer be able to negotiate at Gyantse—I telegraphed to Government, recommending that a period of five days’ grace, up to June 30, should be given to them. Government replied, on June 24, that the advance to Lhasa might certainly be deferred for that purpose, and I so informed the Tongsa Penlop.

On June 26 we reached Gyantse, after encountering considerable opposition at the village and monastery of Niani, which was held by 800 Tibetans. The fight lasted from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m., Colonel Brander from Gyantse assisting by occupying the hills above the village. Major Lye, 23rd Pioneers, was here severely wounded in the hand and slightly in the head. On its arrival our force was ineffectually bombarded from the jong.

General Macdonald had now to break up the Tibetan force investing Gyantse. On the 28th he attacked a strong position on a ridge on which were the Tse-chen monastery and several fortified towers and sangars. The process of clearing the villages in the plain below lasted most of the day. At 5.30 the position itself was stormed by the 8th Gurkhas and the 40th Pathans, supported by the mountain battery. The fight was severe, for the hillside was very steep. Captain Craster, 46th Pathans, was killed whilst gallantly leading his company, and Captains Bliss and Humphreys slightly wounded. The capture of this position much disheartened the Tibetans: communications between Gyantse Jong and Shigatse were cut off, and the jong was now surrounded on three sides.

Hearing that the big Lama from Lhasa, known as the Ta Lama, was at Shigatse, and that the Councillor was at Nagartse, on the road to Lhasa, I made a Lama in our employ write to these two on June 28, saying that the Tongsa Penlop had told me that they wished to come here to settle matters, but were afraid. I promised them, if they had proper credentials to effect a settlement, to guarantee their safety and treat them with respect; but I said they must come at once, for we were about to start for Lhasa. These letters I sent by the hands of prisoners.

One of these messengers was seized by the Tibetans and brought to the jong, where a council was held to consider its contents, as a result of which, on the following morning, a messenger with a flag of truce of enormous dimensions was sent to the Mission post. The whole garrison crowded to the walls to see his arrival, for this was the first indication of peace. He said the Tibetan leaders desired an armistice till the Ta Lama, who was at Penam, halfway to Shigatse, and who could be at Gyantse on the following day, could arrive to negotiate with me. The messenger said that he and the Councillor coming from Nagartse had powers from the Dalai Lama to treat.

After consultation with General Macdonald, I replied to the Tibetans that I would grant the armistice they asked for till sunset of June 30, to enable the Ta Lama to reach Gyantse; but that as I was attacked on May 5 without warning, though I had informed the Tibetan Government that I was ready to negotiate there, and as Tibetan armed forces had occupied the jong and fired into my camp ever since, General Macdonald, who was responsible for the safety of the Mission, demanded that they should evacuate the jong and withdraw all armed force beyond Karo-la, Yang-la, and Dongtse. A reasonable time for this would be given.

By June 30 neither of the Tibetan delegates had arrived, but both the Tongsa Penlop and the Ta Lama were to arrive the next day, and we allowed the armistice to extend informally till they arrived. The Tongsa Penlop arrived first, though he had had twice the distance to travel, and at once came to see me, and showed me a letter he had received from the Dalai Lama, saying he had heard we had appointed a date up to which we would negotiate, and after which we would fight; but as fighting was bad for men and animals, he asked the Tongsa Penlop to assist in making a peaceful settlement, and he was appointing the Ta Lama, who was a Councillor, the Grand Secretary, and representative of the three great monasteries, to negotiate. The Tongsa Penlop also produced a packet of silks, which he said the Dalai Lama had sent me.

About three in the afternoon the Ta Lama arrived in Gyantse, and as he was already a day later than the date of the armistice, and six days over the date of the original ultimatum, I sent a message to say I should be glad to see him that afternoon. He replied that he proposed to visit the Tongsa Penlop on the following day, and would come and see me some time after that. I returned a message to the effect that unless he visited me by nine on the following morning military operations would be resumed.

Undisturbed by this threat, he shortly after nine on the following morning proceeded to visit the Tongsa Penlop; but as he had to pass my camp, I sent out Captain O’Connor to say that I insisted on his coming to pay his respects to me, unless he wished me to consider he was not anxious to negotiate. He was at perfect liberty to discuss matters with the Tongsa Penlop, but he must no longer delay paying his respects to me, and giving me evidence that the Tibetan Government were sincere in their wish to negotiate.

At eleven I received the Ta Lama and the Tongsa Penlop in Durbar. There were also present the Tung-yig-Chembo (the Grand Secretary, who was one of the delegates at Khamba Jong last year), and six representatives of the three great Lhasa monasteries. As all except the Grand Secretary were men who had not met me before, and were probably ignorant of our view of the situation, I recounted it at length, showing how we had lived on very good terms with Tibet for nearly a century and a half, and it was only after the Tibetans had wantonly invaded Sikkim territory in 1886 that misunderstanding had arisen; that Mr. White had for years tried at Yatung to make them observe the treaty made on their behalf by the Chinese; and that when I came to Khamba Jong, a place of meeting which the Viceroy had been informed was approved of both by the Emperor of China and the Dalai Lama, they still repudiated the old treaty, refused to negotiate a new one, or have any intercourse at all with us; while after my arrival at Gyantse, when I told them I was ready to negotiate, instead of sending me negotiators, they sent soldiers and treacherously attacked me at night. I concluded by saying that the Viceroy, on hearing this, had directed me to write letters to the Dalai Lama and the Amban, announcing that if proper negotiators did not arrive here by June 25 we would advance to Lhasa to compel negotiations there; but these letters had been returned by the commander in the jong, no negotiators had arrived by the 25th, and it was only because on the 24th the Tongsa Penlop had informed me that negotiators really were on the way that the British Government, in their anxiety for a peaceful settlement, had been pleased to grant them a few days’ grace. We were ready to go on to Lhasa the next day. If they were really in earnest and had power to make a settlement, I was prepared to negotiate with them. If they were not empowered to make a settlement, we would advance to Lhasa forthwith. Had they proper credentials?

The Grand Secretary replied, on behalf of the Ta Lama, that we had come by force into the country, and occupied Chumbi and Phari, and though the Tibetan soldiers at Guru had strict orders not to fire on us, we had fired on them and had killed all the high officials. He said they did not know I was here when this camp was attacked on May 5; but they now had orders to negotiate with me. They had no special credentials, but the Dalai Lama, in his letter to the Tongsa Penlop, had mentioned that they were coming to negotiate, and the fact of a man in the Ta Lama’s high position being here was evidence of their intentions.

I replied that I did not wish to discuss the past except to make clear one point. They were not at the Guru fight, but I was, and I saw the first shot fired by the Tibetans after General Macdonald had purposely restrained his men from firing. But what concerned me was the future. If they made a settlement with me now, would it be observed, or would it be repudiated like the last one? They at first replied that this would depend upon what was in the settlement, but subsequently explained that, though they might have to refer to Lhasa for orders, yet, when once the Dalai Lama had placed his seal on a treaty, it would be scrupulously observed. They said they wished to talk matters over with the Tongsa Penlop, who would act as mediator and arrange matters with me. I informed them that I would be very glad if they could discuss the situation with him, and I was quite willing that he should accompany them when they came to see me, but they themselves must come to me if they desired that negotiations should take place. They said they would have a talk with him the next day, and come and see me the day after. I told them, however, that they must have their talk before noon on the following day, and come and see me again at that hour, as I was not yet satisfied of the earnestness of their intentions.

The same afternoon they had a prolonged interview with the Tongsa Penlop, who asked them what they had gained by their silly attitude of obstruction, and advised them to give up fighting and make terms with us. The Tongsa Penlop informed me he thought the delegates, or certainly the Dalai Lama, were really anxious to make a settlement.

On July 3 the Tongsa Penlop arrived half an hour before the time fixed for the reception of the delegates. At noon I took my seat in the Durbar, which was attended by General Macdonald and many military officers, while a strong guard of honour lined the approach. I waited for half an hour, but as at the end of that time the Tibetan delegates had not arrived, I rose and dismissed the Durbar.

At 1.30 the Tibetans appeared; but as the dilatoriness they had shown in coming to Gyantse and after their arrival in coming to see me was a pretty clear indication that they had not even yet realized how serious the situation was, I saw that I should have to do something yet to impress them with its gravity. The Tongsa Penlop was able to come from much farther and reach Gyantse before them. He had come to see me at once on arrival, while they had delayed till the next day; he had come half an hour before the time fixed for the Durbar, while they had come an hour and a half late. All this indicated that, while they were still so casual and indifferent, no negotiation that I could enter into with them would produce the smallest result. They had yet to be shown that we were not to be trifled with any longer. So on their arrival I had them shown into a spare tent, and informed that I had waited for them in Durbar for half an hour; that as they had not arrived by then, I had dismissed the Durbar, and would not now be at leisure to receive them for another two or three hours.

By four o’clock the Durbar was again assembled, with General Macdonald and his officers, all my staff, and a guard of honour. Captain O’Connor then led in the Tibetan delegates, and showed them to their places on my right; but I made no signs of receiving them, and remained perfectly silent, awaiting an apology. They moved about uncomfortably during this deadening silence, and at last the Ta Lama, who was really a very kindly, though perfectly incapable, old gentleman, and absolutely in the hands of the more capable but evil-minded Chief Secretary, murmured out a full apology. I informed them that the inference I drew from the disrespect they had shown me in arriving an hour and a half late was that they were not in earnest in desiring a settlement. The Ta Lama assured me that they were really in earnest, but that the Grand Secretary was ill. I then informed them that, as I had been attacked at Gyantse without any warning, and after I had written repeatedly to the Amban saying I was waiting there to negotiate, and as I had been fired on from the jong continually for two months since the attack, I must press for its evacuation. General Macdonald was prepared to give them till noon of the 5th—that is, nearly two days—in which to effect the evacuation; but if after that time the jong was occupied, he would commence military operations against it. Irrespective of these operations, I would, however, be ready to receive them if they wished to make a settlement, and prevent the necessity of our proceeding to Lhasa.

The Grand Secretary then said that if the Tibetan troops withdrew from the jong, they would expect that we also would withdraw our troops; otherwise the Tibetans would be suspicious. I replied that the Tibetans did not at all seem to realize that they would have to pay a penalty for the attack they had made on the Mission, and that I could not discuss the matter further. They must either leave the jong peaceably before noon on the 5th, or expect to be then turned out by force. On leaving, the Ta Lama very politely and respectfully expressed his regrets for having kept me waiting, and begged that I would not be angry. But the Grand Secretary went away without a word of apology. He was the evil genius of the Tibetans throughout this affair.

The following morning the delegates had a long interview with the Tongsa Penlop, and asked whether time could not be given them to refer to Lhasa for orders. I sent back a message saying that it was already nearly a week since I had let the Ta Lama know that the evacuation of the jong would be demanded, that they ought to be grateful for the opportunity that had been given them of withdrawing unmolested, and that no further grace could be allowed.

The Tongsa Penlop also informed me that they were very suspicious, and wanted an assurance that we really wished a settlement. I told him he might inform them that the best evidence that we desired a settlement was the fact that the control of affairs was in my hands. If we had intended war the control would have been in the hands of a General.

The delegates and the commanders in the jong were still undecided. No one would take the responsibility of evacuating the jong. On the morning of the 5th the Tongsa Penlop with some Lhasa Lamas came to see me, and I sent one of the latter over to the delegates, saying that at twelve a signal gun would be fired to warn them that half an hour afterwards firing would commence. I told them that if they came over either before or after with a flag of truce they would be given an asylum in the Tongsa Penlop’s camp. I begged that the women and children should be taken out of the town; and I sent a special warning to General Ma, the local Chinese official. No notice was taken of any of these warnings. At twelve I had a signal gun fired, and at 12.30 I heliographed to General Macdonald that he was free to commence firing.

The Tongsa Penlop had stayed with me on the ramparts of our post up till noon, and I asked him to remain and see the fight. But he said he would prefer to see it from a little farther off, and I dare say he did not yet feel quite certain that we should win. For it was a tough task that lay before General Macdonald. We were right in the heart of Tibet, with all the strength that the Lamas, with a full year of effort, could put forth. The fortress to be attacked from our little post in the plain looked impregnable. It was built of solid masonry on a precipitous rock rising sheer out of the plain. It was held by at least double, and possibly treble, our own force, and they were armed, many hundreds of them, with Lhasa-made rifles, which carried over a thousand yards. In addition, there were several guns mounted. No wonder the Tongsa Penlop thought it best to be a little distance off, and not too decidedly identified with either side.

General Macdonald probably never would have been able to take the jong if his guns had not just been supplied, on the recommendation of General Parsons, the Inspector-General of Artillery, with “common” shell as well as the shrapnel, which was all that up till now they had carried with them. Shrapnel is of use only against troops. Common shell is more solid, and can be used against masonry, and against the jong it proved tremendously effective when fired by the accurate and hard-hitting little 10-pounders.

At 1.45 p.m. on July 5 General Macdonald began his operations by renewing the rifle fire on the jong. Then, at 3.30 p.m., two guns, six companies of infantry, and one company of mounted infantry, were sent to make a feint on the monastery side of the jong. This succeeded in inducing the Tibetans to reinforce largely that side of their defences. But after dark this column was withdrawn, and shortly after midnight a force of twelve guns, twelve companies of infantry, one company of mounted infantry, and half a company of sappers moved out in two columns to take up a position south-east of Gyantse.

We in the Mission post naturally spent the night on the ramparts awaiting events. It was 3.30 a.m. by the time the columns had taken up their position. Dawn had not yet appeared. All was still and quiet. The stars shone out in all the brilliance of these high altitudes, and nothing could be more serene and peaceful than this clear summer night. Suddenly a few sharp rifle cracks spat out, telling us that the enemy had seen our assaulting columns. Then the dull, heavy thud of an explosion showed that some doorway had been blown open. And after that came the full blaze of the fight, the whole jong lighting up with the flashes of rifle and jingal fire, and down below our own fire getting hotter and hotter.

As day dawned we could see that we had gained a footing in the town which was the immediate object of General Macdonald’s attack previous to the assault on the jong itself. What had happened was this: The Tibetans had opened an unexpectedly heavy fire before the assaulting columns could get close up under the walls of the outlying parts of the town, and our three columns were reorganized into two—that on the right under Colonel Campbell, of the 40th Pathans, a tried and experienced frontier officer, and that on the left under Major Murray, 8th Gurkhas. With Colonel Campbell was Captain Sheppard, R.E., who, with that dash and effectiveness which always characterized him, succeeded in laying and firing a charge under the walls of the most strongly held house, and blowing in it a breach, which, with the damage done by the fire of the 7-pounder gun, gave an opening for the assaulting column. On the left Lieutenants Gurdon and Burney also succeeded in blowing breaches in the walls of the houses; but, to the grief of all, Gurdon was killed—it is believed by the falling debris of the very wall which he had blown up. He had been with the Mission escort from the very first, and in many of these very dangerous assaults on villages had displayed most daring courage. He was a brother of the Captain (now Lieutenant-Colonel) Gurdon who had so distinguished himself in the Siege of Chitral, and who was one of my closest friends. When the news came in to me from the front, I felt how sad indeed it was that one so young and so full of promise, with a great and useful career most certainly before him, should have been thus in an instant cut off. But he did not fall in vain, for what he had done at the cost of his life enabled the assaulting columns to enter the town, which by 7 a.m. was in our possession.

The troops began to make good their position in the area thus won, but the real business had yet to be accomplished. The jong, with 5,000 or 6,000 Tibetans inside it, still had to be assaulted. During the morning there was a general lull in the proceedings while the troops rested. But about two o’clock Colonel Campbell, who was in command of all the advanced troops in the town, sent back word to General Macdonald, who was in the Palla village, recommending that an assault should be made on the extreme east of the jong. To him in his advanced position, immediately under the walls of the jong, it appeared that if our guns could make a breach in the wall itself an assault could be made, though the storming party would have a stiff, hazardous climb over the steepest part of the rock. General Macdonald adopted the proposal, and as the Tibetans now appeared somewhat exhausted, ordered the assault to be made at once.

At three o’clock General Macdonald ordered forward four companies of the reserve, and directed the 10-pounder guns to concentrate their fire on the portion of the wall to be breached for the assault. As the reinforcements crossed the open to the town the Tibetans redoubled their fire, but our fire from all parts of the field also increased. The 10-pounder battery under Major Fuller did magnificent work. Stationed only 1,000 yards from the point to be breached, it placed one shell after another in exactly the same spot. Bit by bit the wall came tumbling down. A larger and larger gap appeared, and by four a breach sufficiently large for an assault had been made.

Then the heliograph flashed from post to post that the jong was now to be assaulted. Major Fuller immediately gave the order for “Rapid firing” on the upper buildings. Maxims from three different directions began rattling away with peremptory emphasis. Every man poured in his rifle fire with increasing energy. Then a little cluster of black figures, ever augmenting in numbers, was seen, like a swarm of ants, slowly making its way up the nearly precipitous rock towards the breach. A cheer was raised, which was taken up from post to post all round our encircling force and back to the reserves in the rear. The Tibetans could still be seen firing away in the breach and hurling down stones, but we only redoubled our fire upon them.

Very, very gradually—or so it seemed to us in our suspense below—the Gurkhas, under Lieutenant Grant, made their upward way. First a few arrived just under the breach, then more and more. Then came the crisis, and Grant was seen leading his men straight for the opening. Instantly our bugles all over the field rang out the “Cease fire,” so as not to endanger our storming party. The Tibetans, too, now stopped firing; and where a moment before there had been a deafening din there was now an aching silence. We held our breath, and in tense excitement awaited the result of the assault. We saw the little Gurkhas and the Royal Fusiliers, who formed the storming party, stream through the breach. Then we watched them working up from building to building. Tier after tier of the fortifications was crowned, and at last our men were seen placing the Union Jack on the highest pinnacle of the jong. The Tibetans had fled precipitately, and Gyantse was ours.

The Tongsa Penlop next morning came over to congratulate General Macdonald and myself; and we went over the jong together. Till I had got up there and looked down through the Tibetan loopholes on our insignificant Mission post below, I had not realized how certain the Tibetans must have felt that they could overwhelm us, and how impossible it must have seemed that we could ever turn the tables upon them. If one stood in the Round Tower of Windsor Castle and looked down from there upon a house and garden in the fields about Eton, held by some strangers who said they had come to make a treaty, one would get the best idea of what must have been in the Tibetans’ minds. They were in a lofty and seemingly impregnable fortress in the heart of their own country. We were a little dot in the plain below. The idea of making a treaty with us, if they did not want to, must have appeared ridiculous. And as I stood there in their position and looked down upon what had till just then been my own, I soon understood how it was that the Ta Lama and other delegates had been so casual in their behaviour.

Yet, in spite of our success, and to a certain extent by reason of it, I was still ready to negotiate with Tibetan delegates. I had disliked, with an intensity which only those can know who have been in a similar position, the idea of making any mention of negotiation during all that critical time in May, while they were firing proudly at us from the jong, and were surrounding me in my little post below. Now that, through General Macdonald’s skilful dispositions and the bravery of his troops, I was in the top place, I readily tried to negotiate. And I thought that His Majesty’s Government were anxious that further efforts to negotiate here should be made; for on June 25 they had telegraphed that if there was reasonable expectation of the early arrival of the Resident, accompanied by competent Tibetan negotiators, the advance to Lhasa might be postponed. They thought that the advance should not be undertaken unless there was adequate ground for doubting the competency of the Tibetan delegates or the earnestness of the Tibetan Government. Moreover, some few days’ delay was necessary for General Macdonald to complete his arrangements for the advance, to collect sufficient supplies, and to establish Gyantse as his secondary base.

I therefore, immediately the jong was captured, asked the Tongsa Penlop to send messengers to tell the Ta Lama and the Councillor at Nagartse that I was still ready to negotiate, as previously announced, but that they must come in at once, as otherwise we would proceed to Lhasa. But the messenger found the monastery in which they had been staying deserted and the delegates fled.

On July 9 the Government of India telegraphed to me that they considered the advance to Lhasa inevitable, but that if the delegates could be induced to come in and negotiate en route I might invite them to accompany me, explaining the terms of His Majesty’s Government, and warning them that any further resistance would involve a settlement less favourable to Tibet.

By July 13 General Macdonald’s preparations were all complete. He had reconnoitred the country both up and down the valley, and found the Tibetans had fled in every direction. He had amassed plentiful supplies. He had set about repairing the jong, in which he was, to my infinite regret, to leave Colonel Hogge, and the 23rd Pioneers, and he was ready to leave for Lhasa the next day. It was sad that the old Pioneers, who had borne the burden and the cold of the day at Tuna all through that dreary and anxious winter should be left behind, while other regiments who had but just arrived from India should have the glory of going to Lhasa, and I would willingly have had it otherwise.

All were now eager and ready for the advance, and I wrote to the Chinese Resident, that as neither he nor any competent Tibetan negotiator had come to Gyantse I was proceeding to Lhasa. I stated that my purpose was still to negotiate, but that I must ask him to prevent the Tibetans from further opposing my Mission, and I intimated that the terms I was demanding would be still more severe if we encountered opposition.

The Tongsa Penlop also, at my request, wrote to the Ta Lama, saying that I was prepared to carry on negotiations en route, in order that the settlement might be ready for signature at an early date at Lhasa. And I asked the Tongsa Penlop, further, to write to the Dalai Lama himself, giving an outline of the terms we should demand.

Lastly, I issued a proclamation, drafted by the Government of India, stating that we had no desire to fight with the people of Tibet or to interfere with their liberties or religion, but that it was necessary to impress unmistakably upon the Government of Tibet that they could not with impunity offer insults to the British Government, and that they must realize the obligations they had entered into and act up to them in all respects. The people were warned that any opposition to our advance would only result in making the terms demanded more exacting.