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Land of the Lamas
Adventures in Secret Tibet
by Peter Goullart
[Part 2]
Chapters 14 - 27
 
XIV
Return
to
the
Lolos
THERE
was
still
no
newsfrom
my
Headquarters
in
Chungking
and
Mr.
Ling
continued
urging
me
not
to
stay
in
Tadhienlutoo
long.
He
also
pointed
out
that,
if
any
trips
were
to
be
made,
they
should
be
undertaken
forthwith
because
of
the
rainyseason
which
would
start
in
August
Remembering
Commander
Yang's
promise
to
introduce
me
to
Lolo
nobles,
I
was
casting
about
for
a
legitimate
pretext
to
make
another
trip
south.
Then
a
most
amazing
thing
happened
to
me
which,
overnight,
gave
shape
and
substance
to
all
my
plans
and
hopes.
General
Chang
Talun,
the
Director
of
the
Generalissimo's
Headquarters
for
Sikang,
suddenly
arrived
on
a
state
visit
to
Tachienlu
and
I
immediately
called
on
him,
presenting
to
him
a
letter
of
iatroductioa
froi&his
old
teacher
and
boss,
the
famous
General
Lee
Kunyuen,
General
Lee
had
been
Prime
Minister
of
China
under
President
Li
Yuanhung
and
now
was
one
of
the
most
venerated
elder
statesmen
and
a
cele-
brated
calligraphist.
I
had
met
General
Lee
and
his
son
on
the
train,
going
on
a
pilgrimage
to
the
Taoist
monasteries
on
Mt
Taishan
and
the
Tomb
of
Confucius
at
Koufou
in
1930
and
ever
since
we
had
remained
fast
friends.
The
Provincial
Government
elders
were
quite
taken
aback
when
they
$aw
General
Chang,
after
reverently
reading
the
message
from
his
venerable
master,
open
his
arms
to
me.
There
was
a
grand
feast
arranged
for
the
General
and,
to
my
surprise
and
delight,
I
was
invited
too.
On
arrival
I
was
greeted
by
the
Chief
Secretary
and
General
Den,
Head
of
theProvincial
Army,
who
acted
as
hosts
and,
again
to
my
great
surprise,
I
was
con-ducted
to
the
table
at
which
the
distinguished
visitor
sat.
This
was
an
additional
and
no
mean
honour
as
there
was
a
number
of
other
tables
in
the
spacious
room.
109
 
Return
to
the
Lolos
General
Chang,
a
tall,
burly
man
with
a
high-pitched
voice,
beamedon
me
and
spoke
to
me
quite
often
during
the
dinner,
asking
me
about
my
work
and
plans.
At
the
end
of
the
banquet
he
formally
invited
me
to
visit
Sichang,
where
his
headquarters
were
located.
I
blessed
him
in
my
heart
for
this
most
providential
invitation
which
would
permit
me
to
leave
Tachienlu
for
a
long
period
of
time
for
a
perfectly
valid
reason.
I
lost
no
time
in
approaching
the
Provincial
Government
for
permission
to
conduct
an
industrial
survey
between
Tachienlu
and
Sichang.
I
particularly
dwelt
on
Sichang's
importance
as
the
second
largest
city
in
the
SikangProvince
and
the
capital
of
its
southern
part.
This
time
the
official
"wheels
within
the
wheels'
had
turned
with
surprising
rapidity.
The
approval
had
been
given
and
I
was
armed
with
a
chengmingshu,
a
pass
with
the
Governor's
big
seal,
which
conferred
on
me
official
status
in
the
province
and
entitled
me
to
an
escort
of
ten
soldiers.
CommissionerLee
sup-
plied
me
with
another
certificate
which
proclaimed
that
I
was
the
Adviser
to
theProvincial
Co-operative
Department.
The
latter
tide,
though
honorary,
carried
with
it
some
travel
expenses.
I
had
summoned
Lee
Chizau
and
by
the
time
he
arrived,
every-
thing
was
ready
for
my
departure.
However,
an
unexpected
but
short
delay
occurred.
MissSydney,
secretary
and
companion
tothe
famous
explorer
and
writer,
Madame
Alexandra
David
Neel,
who
was
living
in
Tachienlu,
had
to
return
to
England.
She
would
have
left
earlier
but
for
the
prevalence
of
bandit
activity
on
the
passes
which
made
her
jittery
to
venture
out.
I
gallantly
offered
to
escort
her
through
the
dangerous
territory,
although
I
was
not
too
happy
about
it
myself,
and
she
eagerly
clung
to
the
proposi-
tion,
imploring
me
to
wait
a
couple
of
days
until
she
got
ready.
When
we
started
for
Wassakou
Ifelt
like
Sir
Galahad
escorting
a
helpless
damsel
through
a
dragon's
maw.
Miss
Sydney
was
an
indefatigable
walker
ina
truly
English
tradition,
a
keen
admirer
of
the
natural
beauties
of
the
country,
and
she
never
complained
of
the
poor
food
or
accommodation
at
the
inns.
At
Hualinping
we
took
an
escort
of
local
soldiers,
to
which
I
as
an
official
was
entitled,
and
slowly
descended
into
the
Nitung
of 00

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