Peking to Lhasa : vol.1 / Page 253 (Color Image)

0253	Peking to Lhasa : vol.1

CHAMDO TO LHASA 185

of half-a-dozen tins of jam and sardines. For

salt he had native stuff looking like glass. His

sugar was the coarsest brown sugar, looking like

pieces of brown soap. His tea was the coarsest

native brick tea ; and his milk was yak milk with

a pungent taste.

On the day following his arrival in Lhasa he

received a cablegram from England in answer to

the one he had despatched on arrival—a striking

illustration of how much closer Lhasa now is to

the outside world.

On this day he also visited the Tsarong Shapé

or Commander-in-Chief. He was thirty years of

age and had learnt a few words of English. He

was dressed in a khaki uniform with a " coat-warm-

British ". His little son of three or four was also

dressed in khaki. The next day he invited Pereira

to lunch and afterwards to inspect the troops,

and told him he was the first British officer who

had inspected them. Four companies, one from

each of the four barracks of Lhasa, were paraded.

The rifles, khaki and equipment were all of British

pattern, and one company wore turbans. Con-

sidering everything, and that the words of com-

mand were in English, the drill was very good,

and much better than Pereira had anticipated.

One sergeant who had been in India had a very

good word of command.

The Dalai Lama received Pereira on October

24. As Pereira was travelling as a private in-

dividual he had not liked to ask for an audience,

but finding that the Dalai Lama expected to see

him, he was glad to have the opportunity of visit-

ing him. The Dalai Lama received him in his

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