While inner Tibet remains comparatively quiet month after month, moking allowance for a certain amount of robbing on a small scale by small numbers of Tibetan brig-ends from either side of the border; such is not the case along the southeastern border of Tibet upon the Chinese side where dwell most of the worst robber tribes. Never has this been more apparent perhaps than during the present year.
Last winter, after two caravan robberies affecting the people of this immediate area, Tibetan and local reaps were sent several days march to the southeast to arbitrate if possible, and failing that to fight. The Ah Tong robbers having other cares decided to arbitrate, and our war-riots soon returned home. No sooner was that matter ended than the Ah Tong Tibetans stirred up trouble at Atuntze, culminating in the slaying of the Ah Tong tui chang and about forty of his men. After that it took a full month to secure even the sem-blanco of peace. And in the interim some of the remaining Ah Tong have become worse robbers than before.
Encouraged and assisted by robber friends from across the Yangtze River they have been sallying forth occasionally to kill and plunder. Just recently they pursued a few Chinese soldiers who were out on the trail of a deserter from the Atuntze midget army and sle& one of their number. They next caught and quartered a member of the Atuntze civilian militia, fleeing beyond the reach of the soldiers sent out in pursuit.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.