Documenta Nepalica

Commentary

The report on the first meeting between Jagatsera Khatrī, an officer of ministerial rank (kājī)in Cheng-du is described by the British traveller Thomas Thornville Cooper in the following words, which seem to portray Jagatsera in a more miserable situation than the Englishman:

On the following day, His Excellency Juggut Share [Jagatsera], the Nepaulese ambassador, arrived. He was a young man of very courteous bearing, but seemed ill, and his conversation soon showed me that he was not only ill in body, but greatly depressed in spirits. His position was anything but pleasant, and he confided to me the history of his embassy on its way so far towards Pekin. He had left Khatmandoo nearly two years before, and after a long journey through Thibet, had arrived without encountering any serious difficulties at Ta-tsian-loo, the border town of China.11 Here he met his first repulse; a messenger from Pekin brought him an Imperial order to deliver the presents sent by Jung Bahadoor [Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā] to the Emperor at that place, and return to Nepaul, as the road to Pekin was rendered unsafe by the Nien-fei rebels. This the young ambassador refused to do, pleading his instructions from Jung Bahadoor, which compelled him to deliver the presents in person. The authorities were determined to enforce the Emperor's orders, and Juggut Share was equally determined to proceed to Pekin; another application accordingly had to be made to the Emperor, for a reply to which he waited several months. When it came, it was in the form of a permission to him to proceed as far as Chen-tu [Chengdu], in order to dispose of several hundred chests of opium, brought for sale in China, and then to return home. He soon reached Chen-tu, and hoped to proceed further; but the authorities made this impossible. He could hire neither coolies nor boats, and what was worse, no one would buy his opium; it was too strong, and the people preferred the native drug.

"At the time of my arrival, he had spent several months at Chen-tu, vainly pressing his request for leave to proceed to Pekin. The officials treated him with great discourtesy, hoping by this means to force him to return, and had lodged him in a dirty hovel outside the city, which, as he said, was so filthy, that he was ashamed to ask me to visit him in it.” (Cooper 1871: 158-160) and Cooper 1882: 174-178.

Later, after his failed attempt to reach Assam in British India and thus a direct trade route from China to India, Cooper met Jagatsera again in a place called by him Pa-moo-tan west of Batang (see DNA_0003_0047 and Michaels 2019 for more details). This is what Cooper (1871: 398-400) reports:

“While thus indulging in pleasant anticipations, a Goorkha came to say that the Ambassador was ready to see me; so off I started for his quarters, where (a great mark of distinction in this country) he received me at the door. When closeted together in his room, I narrated all my misfortunes, and requested permission to join his party, and travel with him to Lhassa. With many expressions of regret, the Ambassador informed me that he dared not let me accompany him, for the Thibetan Government had already given him notice that they would not permit any strangers to join his party. He, however, kindly told me that if I was in need of money he would be glad to supply my requirements, and would also give me a horse. Thus my hopes were again blighted; and for a moment or two I was unable to speak, so great was my disappointment. In Chen-tu the Ambassador had, with such apparent sincerity, proposed to me to accompany him, that I never dreamed of his now refusing. It seemed improbable that the plea of inability could be genuine, for the Thibetans were unmistakeably afraid of the Nepaulese, and I at once naturally concluded that he was afraid to take me with him without the orders of His Royal Highness Jung Bahadoor the Nepaulese Regent, whose jealous dislike of English intrusion into Nepaul was too strong for him to relish the idea of introducing an Englishman into the Thibetan nest, where he, in conjunction with the Chinese, finds so many golden eggs. Subsequent information, however, convinced me that Juggut Share would gladly have acceded to my request if he had dared; and I take this opportunity of placing on record my sense of gratitude for the great kindness experienced at his hands. (…)

"Early next morning I repaired to Juggut Share's quarters with pens, ink, and paper, and we both set to work writing; I to her Majesty's representative at Khatmandoo, stating my imprisonment and forced return; and the Ambassador to Jung Bahadoor, from whom he had not heard for several months, as the Chinese had kept back all his despatches. While thus engaged, Juggut Share could not refrain from expressing his utter astonishment in the most amusing manner ; every now and again looking at me, as I sat dressed in full European costume, he would say, ‘Ah, you Englishmen are wonderful men! who but an English Sahib would travel alone in such a dreadful country as this, so far away from any of your countrymen?’ From such remarks as these, which both he and his officers frequently made during the day, I learnt that whatever may be the jealous dislike of the Nepaulese towards the English in India, they certainly respect and admire the courage of ‘the Sahibs.’ It was at last time to return to dinner, for, as Juggut Share remarked, with polite apologies, ‘his caste’ could not allow of our eating together; but he had already shown his thoughtful care by sending a live sheep to our quarters; and I left him with a promise to call for his letters, and take leave of him, as I passed through the village in the morning. After I had dined, several officers of the Embassy called upon me, nearly all of whom spoke Chinese, which they had acquired during their two years sojourn in China; several who did not speak Chinese, understood Hindostani, and this served as a medium for conversation” (Cooper 1871: 389-400).

Notes