From Yunnanfu to Batang: Some Unknown Country:
Wild Life on the Tibetan Fronier Brigadier-Geneval Pereira started from Funnanjfu northwards on July 16 last, in company with Dr. Thompson of the C.M.S. and the following letter is the first account of his journey to Batang, on which as his map shows, he has gone through some hitherto untouched country.
Baitang, Sept. 25.
We have carried out my plan to here exactly as I outlined to you from Yunnantfu. As it vurned out it was all peaceful. A few stray robbers in hills north of Yunnanfu, but they did not venture out, as they prefer single Chinese.' Our route lay through beautiful hilly scenery past Fu-ninghsien, Wutingchow, Makai (or Yuanmowhsien), sodn after we left the main road to Szechuan, and followed up to west of a big bend of Yangtze to Jenhokai. Makai was raided last April by a band, said to be 1,000 strong from Szechuan, and several houses burnt, but the band has withdrawn and there are a good many soldiers echeloned up to Jenhokai. Beyond that the country is quite peaceful and we had only nominal escorts." We crossed the Yangtze by ferry just west of its junction with the Yalung. Two or three stages on we found t" French priests, the only European dwellers in these parts. Continuing on past Yungpebhsien, we crossed the Yangtze at Tzuli, by a suspension bridge, which is I believe, the only bridge over it in its whole course. Formerly there was one west of Chaotungfu, but as the Lolos found it useful for raiding, the Chinese destroyed it. This bridge was at an altitude of 4,321 feet, and from it we had a climb of over 5,000 feet, before descending to the broad fertile Likiangfu. Here we first heard of Weatherbe's capture by brigands some three weeks before. A gang of some 500 to 800 disbanded soldiers had captured him further to the southwest, just north of Kienchuan. According to his Burman boy they warned him of brigands ahead, but he pushed on and found himself in their midst. Since then I hope he has long since been released, but we have had no further news of him or practically anything of the~ outer world. The telegraph ends at Likiang, and the post after that is peculiar. At Likiang news pa' are very late arriving, beyond it is rare for one to arrive at all. From Likiang we followed the beaten track to Batang, vid Weisi, Atuntzu and Yakalo. At Weisi we went up part of the way with the relieving garrison of Atuntzu. I was told they started from Yunnanfu, I think 300 strong, but reduced then to 50 by the time they reached Weisi. Here 30 soldiers who had been driven out of Teiyunghsien by the Nanka Lama east of the Yangtze near Atuntzu, were incorporated in the depleted force. I have never seen such a wretched collection as they straggled along in glorious disarray, great number were mere boys, who appeared to be about 15 or 16, many of the others were in 2 shocking state and some, Dr. Thompson said, ought to have been isolated for fear of infect tion. One man, whose hands were a mass of sores had aggravated
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.