at Shepherd was able to resume his preparations for making a way into
the Tibetan stronghold. But he still had to face an awkward fire, and
the three further breaches he made were attended by the loss of several
men, including Lieutenant Garstin, shot through the head. But the last
explosion led our troops into the big house. Tibetan resistance then
practically ceased. About twenty or thirty men made an attempt to get
away to the jong, but the majority were shot down before they could
reach the covered way.

In this affair our total casualties were twenty-three. In addition to
Lieutenant Garstin, we had seven men killed. The wounded included
Captain O'Connor, R.A., secretary to the mission, and Lieutenant
Mitchell, 32nd Pioneers. The enemy must have lost quite 250 in killed
and wounded. The position at Palla was too important to be abandoned,
and for the rest of the bombardment it was held by a company of Sikhs.
In order to provide free communication both day and night, Captain
Shepherd, with his usual energy, dug a covered way from the post to the
village.

The fight at Palla was the last affair of any importance in which the
garrison was engaged pending the arrival of the relieving force. The
Tibetans had received such a shock that in future they confined
themselves practically to the defensive, if we except five half-hearted
night attacks which were never anywhere near being pushed home. There
were no more attempts to interrupt our lines of communication, though
later on Naini was again occupied as part of the Tibetan scheme for
resisting General Macdonald's advance. The jong Commandant devoted his
energies chiefly to strengthening his already strong position.

The night attacks were all very similar in character, and may be summed
up and dismissed in a paragraph. Generally about midnight, bands of
Tibetans would issue from the jong and take up their position about four
or five hundred yards from the post. Then they would shout wildly, and
fire off their matchlocks and Martini rifles. The troops would
immediately rush to their loopholes, clad in impossible garments, and
wait shivering in the cold, finger on trigger, for the rush that never
came. After shouting and firing for about an hour, the Tibetans would
retire to the jong and our troops creep back to their beds. On no
occasion did the enemy come close enough to be seen in the dark. We
never fired a single shot from the post. Twice, however, the Gurkha
outpost