l refuse
hut about fifteen yards from the gate. The furious Gurkhas rushed in
upon them and killed them all, and then dashed on through the long
grove, clearing the enemy in front of them. Returning along the banks of
the river, the same party discovered another body of Tibetans hiding
under the arches of the bridge. Twenty or thirty were shot down, and
about fifteen made prisoners. Similar success attended a rally from the
north-east gate made by Major Murray and Lieutenant Franklin. The enemy
fled howling from their hiding-places towards the town and jong as soon
as they saw our men issue. They were pursued almost to the very walls of
the fort. Indeed, but for the fringe of houses and narrow streets at the
base of the jong, Major Murray would have gone on. The Tibetans,
however, turned as soon as they reached the shelter of walls, and it
would have been madness to attack five or six hundred determined men in
a maze of alleys and passages with only a weak company. Major Murray
accordingly made his way back to the post, picking up a dozen prisoners
_en route_.

In this affair our casualties only amounted to five wounded and two
killed. One hundred and forty dead of the enemy were counted outside
the camp.

During the course of the day Major Murray sent a flag of truce to the
jong with an intimation to the effect that the Tibetans could come out
and bury their dead without fear of molestation. The reply was that we
could bury the dead ourselves without fear of molestation. As it was
impossible to leave all the bodies in the vicinity of the camp, a heavy
and disagreeable task was thrown on the garrison.

Towards sundown the enemy in the jong began to fire into the camp, and
our troops became aware of the unpleasant fact that the Tibetans
possessed jingals, which could easily range from 1,800 to 2,000 yards.
It was also realized that the jong entirely dominated the post; that our
walls and stockades, protection enough against a direct assault from the
plain, were no protection against bullets dropped from a height. So for
the next four days, pending the return of the Karo la column, the little
garrison toiled unceasingly at improving the defences. Traverses were
built, the walls raised in height, the gates strengthened. It was
discovered that the Tibetan fire was heaviest when we attempted to
return it by sniping at figures seen on the jong. Accordingly, pending
the completion of the traverses and other new protective w