138 IN TIBET AND CHINESE TURKESTAN.
to obtain from him the promise of assistance. The Yuz Bashi of Tir had been brought from his village and, when I went to the Yamen, I found him waiting to have his case disposed of. The Chow-Kuan investigated the matter, and it seemed clear that the man was to blame. He was sentenced to be beaten and, that he might not be subjected to torture, I asked and obtained permission to be present when the punishment was inflicted. Some of the officials
BEATING THE YUZ BASHI OF TIß.
of the Yamen asked me to deal with the prisoner myself, but this I declined to do. The prisoner was placed on the stone floor in front of the judgment seat, and held face downwards by two or three men while another beat him on the leg between the knee and the buttock. The short, rapid strokes of the thick stick seemed at first to cause little pain, but in a short time the skin became discoloured and, at my intervention, the beating was discontinued.
IIIF Color HighRes
