"The Lamaseries ax Armed Camps: The Mystery of Their Supply of Up-to-date' Rifles: Old Commissioner Trying to Return: The King of Chala's Unlucky Intrigue From Our Own Tachienla, West China, Jan, Tt has snowed steadily and heavily' in Tachienlu since January 1, and the lowest temperature recorded is. 25 Fahr. The winter so far. has been severe and many of the poor' people have suffered considerably' through the extreme cold and the abnormal price in food, The snow storm continues unabated and the only people who seem to appreciate it are the woolly Tibetans. Snow, like wool, seems to be one of their natural elements. 'They plough about the city' and no doubt wonder why others look so blue and cold, A few Tibetans came into my study the other day and not to mess my. study floor they calmly took off their boots in the snow and sat down bare-foot till his highness the "Living Buddha" had paid his visit, With the present intense cold, no Chinese army however well fed and clad could make any progress aguinst the Tibetans in their In the present struggle between the two opposing Chinese fuetions, the Lolox and Tibetans have merely acted ax mercenaries and simply fought for those who offered the diggest advantage. This has unfortunately created an impossible situation as at any other time and under different circumstances the Lolox may fight against those they fave now helping.
The Chamber The—military authorities Tachientu have asked the merchant for 80,000, presumably to "tip' the Tibetans "and continue the present struggle, Tt is not a large sum to usk and hitherto the merchants on the frontier have not been ushed for much money; but they have suffered severely in othe ways, For now elope on one yeu the "Chinese merchants on the Dordey have been unable to exrry on their business with the outside world because of the "present military operations, and because of thix they have petitioned the authorities to name a lower figure. This may have eon done as we now hear that the tibetans are leaving the city tomorrow for their homes in'Minya, Whatever happens here on the frontier the unfortunate Chamber From a mi ern Tibet now occupies a very peculiar position. On its west the Tibetan troops, and on its cast {the Chinese soldiers, and it will sooner or later have to choose between the two. One of the mysteries connected with these large armed—lamaseries is, how did the lamas secure the fine, foreign, modern rifles, and from where do they get their supply of ammunition? Should Eastern Tibet, wedged in as she is between Lhasa and China, have to defend herself against one or the other, what means has she of securing & supply jof ammunition which would enable her to hold out against her enemies?
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.