Peking to Lhasa : vol.1 / Page 330 (Color Image)

0330	Peking to Lhasa : vol.1

246 PEKING TO LHASA

murders of Europeans. The possibility of further

conflict could not therefore be ruled out.

The Chinese garrison at Batang consisted of

some three hundred soldiers, who were mostly

stationed on the road south up to Kung-tzu-ting,

39 miles off. Only twenty or thirty were in Batang

itself. There was a garrison to the east at Litang,

and to the south there were some eighty men at

A-tun-tzu. The officers of these troops were practi-

cally all opium - smokers. The men apparently

did nothing and they were all married to Tibetan

wives. Before the present extreme chaos resulted

the Chinese soldiers wanted wives. The Tibetans

brought the old women. The Chinese said they

wanted young girls. The Tibetans under com-

pulsion brought the young girls, but swore to be

avenged when the occasion arose. They lay out-

side Litang capturing and killing every small

Chinese detachment and carrying off their rifles.

In this way they killed over seventy Chinese.

Eastern Tibet under Chinese rule comprised

kings (debo) at Derge and Tachienlu, prefects

(deba) at Batang and Litang, the five tributary

races of Horpa, namely Changko, Berim, Chu-wo,

Nyarong or Chantiu. The governor was ap-

pointed from Lhasa till the country was subdued

by Chao-Erh-feng. Chamdo was under the (?) pa-

pa Lama, Draya was under another Lama, Mar-

kham, that is Lower Kham, was, as at present,

under a sub-governor or ti-jei. The other states

north and west, e.g. the king (debo) of Nangchen,

were under the Koko Nor administration.

Pereira had now to prepare for the most diffi-

cult and most risky part of his present journey

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