BRITISH MISSIONS TO BHUTAN
cho-jong. During his stay in Bhutan with the Deb Raja Turner was witness to a small civil war occasioned by the rebellion of Angdu-phodang, which was ultimately quelled by the Deb Raja. The fighting, he said, on both sides gave him a very poor idea of the “military accomplishments” of the Bhutanese, and though several engagements took place between the opposing parties very few on either side were killed or wounded. He attributes this display of martial weakness more to want of discipline than to actual lack of courage. The principal weapon in use was the bow and arrow, and Turner says the arrows were sometimes poisoned. A few of the soldiers were armed with very unserviceable matchlocks. Turner considers the Bhutanese to be expert swordsmen, in which he differs widely from Macgregor’s account of his experience in the Bhutan war nearly a hundred years later. Before leaving Bhutan, Turner visited Wandipore, or Angdu-phodang, and Poonakha, and ultimately entered Tibet by the Paro and Phari routes. Turner does not add much to the knowledge of the country acquired by Bogle, and says little or nothing about its political institutions. He describes the Deb Raja as a popular and prudent administrator, and seems to have experienced great kindness and hospitality at his hands. The Deb, he says, was an “intelligent man, possessed with a versatility of genius and spirit of inquiry” and fond of mechanics, and derived great amusement from Turner’s electric battery. The Raja “would never venture to draw even a spark himself, but would occasionally call in parties to be electrified, and much enjoy the foolish figure they made on the sensation of a shock.” The Raja also possessed a knowledge of medicine equal to any of the physicians in his dominions, and was interested in experimenting with English drugs on himself and his Court doctor. This interest, however, waned after an overdose of ipecacuanha. At Poonakha, the summer residence of the Court, there was a fruit garden of oranges, lemons, pomegranates, peaches, apples, and walnuts. Very excellent turnips
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