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Show British Capture Fort at Gyangtse Pinnacle Held by 7000 Thibetans Is Taken by Mere Handful of Britons. GYANGTSE, Thibet, July 5. The pinnacle fort near here, held by 7000 Thibetans, was captured by a mere handful of British and Indian soldiers today. The excitement of the long day puimlnnlpfl In tho scallntr of a breach In the walls of the fort by Lieut. Grant, who was followed by a mixed company of Gurkhas and f uslllecrs. They climbed the cleft in the rock In the face of n hall of fire and a fusilade of stones which were hurled on their heads by the frantic Thibetans. A stone struck Lieut. Grant, sweeping him off his feet, but he recovered himself and was the first over the breach. Tho fort is on a rugged rock, 300 feet in height. At dusk the battle was over and, though fitful bursts of musketry were still to be heard, the British held the fort which dominates the town and the monestery beyond. The plan of attack included three columns which were to rush the villages vil-lages fringing the base of the rock. At midnight last night British troops began be-gan to move into position. The left and center columns were able to enter the village by sunrise, but so heavily was .the fire directed on the right column that It was Impossible to make uny headway for several hours. By 7 o'clock, however, the whole fringe of villages was captured. Lieut. Gordon, who was leading a party of Sikhs, was killed. The housetops house-tops were full of Thibetans who pelted the right column with bullets for hours. The British ten-pounders made a breach In the wall between the towers on the face of the cliff, the wall falling down In great masses. Shortly afterward after-ward an explosion occurred In the powder pow-der mugazlno of the Thibetans, by which many must have been killed. This, however, did not dismay the Thibetans. When the resolve companies of fusl-lecrs fusl-lecrs and Gurkhas advanced and delivered de-livered their assault, the Thibetans opened a heavy fire, but only one man was hit, owing to the open formation of tho British troops. By dusk tho helmets hel-mets of fuslleers and Gurkhas were to ' bo seen on tho highest building of the fort. Tho men were cheering. |