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- Herausgeber: Jazzybee Verlag
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
Right in the heart of Asia, where Britain, Russia and China stretched encroaching fingers towards a possible meeting, lies the mysterious tract of country passed over in half a page in our geography books, and omitted, except in vague and general outline, from our atlases. It is a region about which people have inquired little. North and South have been eagerly explored; the Pole and Sahara are brought, so to speak, to our doors. But the centuries have passed with but few at tempts to penetrate the core of the mysterious East. There is something about the very name of Khotan, of the Pamirs, of Mus-tagh-ata, which tickles the imagination, and we confess to something of a superstitious thrill in opening Dr. Sven Hedin's book. For if the hidden Lama is to be unveiled, surely we have a right to expect portents. But what do we find? That Dr. Hedin visited the Temple of the Ten Thousand Images and " had tea " with the " Living Buddha! " Yet that was a mere incident, disposed of in a few lines of a book whose every page is alive with serious interest. Dr. Hedin has plenty of humour, and of good humour, but his book is one to be taken seriously. He has traversed thousands of miles where no European had ever before set foot; his adventures and experiences have been in themselves extraordinary, and his discoveries of far-reaching importance; but perhaps the charm of the book lies, as much as anywhere else, in the writer's art of telling his story simply and unaffectedly and of keeping the warm human interest alive from first to last. There is hardly a more fascinating or a more thrilling travel book. The descriptions of the various attempts to scale the Mus-tagh-ata, of the wonderful scenic effects, of the mental and physical sensations of the traveller, and the grand invincibility of the Father of the Ice Mountains, are enough to set the nerves a-tingling in the bare reading.
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Through Asia
Volume 1
SVEN HEDIN
Through Asia 1, Sven Hedin
Jazzybee Verlag Jürgen Beck
86450 Altenmünster, Loschberg 9
Deutschland
ISBN: 9783849663858
www.jazzybee-verlag.de
CONTENTS:
PREFACE.. 1
CHAPTER I. RESUME OF CENTRAL ASIAN EXPLORATION.. 5
CHAPTER II. THE PLAN AND OBJECTS OF MY JOURNEY.. 16
CHAPTER III. ACROSS RUSSIA TO ORENBURG... 23
CHAPTER IV. ACROSS THE KIRGHIZ STEPPES. 28
CHAPTER V. FROM LAKE ARAL TO TASHKENT.. 35
CHAPTER VI. FROM TASHKENT TO MARGELAN... 43
CHAPTER VII. THE SYR-DARIA.. 50
A WINTER JOURNEY OVER THE PAMIRS. 57
CHAPTER VIII. UP THE ISFAIRAN VALLEY.. 57
CHAPTER IX. OVER THE TENGHIZ-BAI PASS. 66
CHAPTER X. UP THE ALAI VALLEY.. 71
CHAPTER XI. OVER THE TRANS-ALAI. 79
CHAPTER XII. LAKE KARA-KUL.. 84
CHAPTER XIII. POPULATION OF THE RUSSIAN PAMIRS. 94
CHAPTER XIV. GEOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY.. 97
CHAPTER XV. FORT PAMIR.. 103
CHAPTER XVI. FROM THE MURGHAB TO BULUN-KUL. 108
CHAPTER XVII. MUS-TAGH-ATA.. 114
CHAPTER XVIII. AN ATTEMPT TO CLIMB MUS-TAGH-ATA.. 121
CHAPTER XIX. REMINISCENCES OF KASHGAR.. 128
CHAPTER XX. A CHINESE DINNER-PARTY.. 133
CHAPTER XXI. FROM KASHGAR TO IGHIZ-YAR.. 139
CHAPTER XXII. THROUGH THE GORGE OF TENGHI-TAR.. 145
CHAPTER XXIII. THE PLAIN OF TAGHARMA.. 154
CHAPTER XXIV. AMONG THE KIRGHIZ.. 159
CHAPTER XXV. LITTLE KARA-KUL LAKE.. 164
CHAPTER XXVI. LITTLE KARA-KUL LAKE (Continued) 172
CHAPTER XXVII. AMONGST THE GLACIERS OF MUS-TAGH-ATA.. 178
CHAPTER XXVIII. MY SECOND ATTEMPT TO ASCEND MUS-TAGH-ATA 189
CHAPTER XXIX. MY THIRD ATTEMPT TO ASCEND MUS-TAGH-ATA 198
CHAPTER XXX. MOONLIGHT ON MUS-TAGH-ATA.. 204
CHAPTER XXXI. TO FORT PAMIR AND BACK.. 215
CHAPTER XXXII. BOATING ADVENTURES ON THE LITTLE KARA-KUL 225
CHAPTER XXXIII. LIFE AMONG THE KIRGHIZ.. 233
CHAPTER XXXIV. RETURN TO KASHGAR.. 238
ACROSS THE TAKLA-MAKAN DESERT.. 243
CHAPTER XXXV. TO MARAL-BASHI 243
CHAPTER XXXVI. AN EXCURSION TO THE MASAR-TAGH.. 249
CHAPTER XXXVII. THE SHRINE OF ORDAN PADSHAH.. 257
CHAPTER XXXVIII. ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE DESERT.. 263
CHAPTER XXXIX. THE START FROM MERKET.. 271
CHAPTER XL. SKIRTING THE DESERT.. 277
CHAPTER XLI. AN EARTHLY PARADISE.. 285
CHAPTER XLII. IN THE BAN OF THE DESERT.. 291
CHAPTER XLIII. THE CAMELS BREAK DOWN.. 297
CHAPTER XLIV. NO WATER LEFT.. 305
CHAPTER XLV. THE CAMP OF DEATH.. 314
CHAPTER XLVI. THE CRISIS COMES. 322
CHAPTER XLVII. A DESPERATE MARCH.. 328
CHAPTER XLVIII. HUMAN BEINGS AT LAST.. 336
CHAPTER XLIX. WITH THE SHEPHERDS OF THE KHOTAN-DARIA 343
CHAPTER L. A RESCUE PARTY.. 351
CHAPTER LI. DOWN THE KHOTAN-DARIA.. 357
CHAPTER LII. FROM AK-SU TO KASHGAR.. 364
PREFACE
This work does not claim to be anything more than a plain account of my journeys through Asia during the years 1893 to 1897. It has been written for the general public and presents nothing more than a description of my travels and the more memorable of my experiences — not by any means the whole of my experiences. To have recorded everything that I set down in my note-books would have swelled out the book to twice its existing length. Nevertheless, those portions of my journey which I have merely touched upon, or have passed over altogether in silence, will not, I trust, be altogether lost. If this book is received with the Indulgence which I venture to hope for it, I propose to issue a supplementary volume, to contain a multitude of matters of varied interest and of not less importance than those contained in these pages.
For these reasons the great bulk of the scientific observations I made find no place in the present volumes. All the same I believe the geographer will be able to discover in them something or other that will be of interest to him.
In this place I will content myself with a bare mention of the scientific labours, upon which the chief part of my time, energy, and attention were constantly expended — the drawing of geological sections of the meridional border ranges on the east side of the Pamirs and of the mountain-chains of the Kwen-lun system; the collecting of anthropometrical measurements from a number of Kirghiz; an inquiry into the periodical migrations of the nomads; a study of the etymology of the geographical nomenclatures; measurement of the volume of every river I crossed; bathymetrical soundings in the lakes; and the collection of botanical specimens, more especially of algae from the lofty alpine regions of the Pamirs and Tibet. Moreover, I devoted special attention to the taking of meteorological observations regularly three times a day. These Dr. Nils Ekholm has kindly undertaken to work out for me. Another important task was the collection of voluminous materials dealing with the geographical character and extent of the Desert of Gobi, as also with the complicated river system of the Tarim, which I was enabled to study at many different points all the way from the Pamirs and the highland regions of Tibet down to the termination of the stream in the far-distant lake of Lop-nor. Further, I noted the periodical fluctuations in the volumes of the Central Asiatic rivers; how during the summer they swell to flood-like dimensions, and then during the winter dwindle away to, in many cases, paltry rivulets, or even dry up altogether; and how these fluctuations occur with unvarying regularity — the ebb and flow, as it were, that accompany the heart-beats of the mighty continent.
The astronomical observations, which I made for the purpose of checking and controlling my instrumental calculations, consisted of determinations of latitude and time in seventeen several places. The instrument I employed was a prismatic circle, and the object I observed the sun or failing that the moon. Mr. Rosen, who has kindly calculated my results, is satisfied that the errors in the latitudinal observations are in every instance less than fifteen seconds, and in the temporal determinations in all cases under one second. The longitudes of certain of the stations were already known with scientific exactitude; these data I employed as bases for the determination of the longitudes of the remaining places. By this means too I was enabled to check more effectually the accuracy of my chronometers, a circumstance the more needful seeing that these latter were frequently subjected to the rough vicissitudes of travel through difficult regions.
I brought home latitudinal observations for seven fresh places, and longitudinal observations for six.
As soon as I passed beyond the fairly well-known regions of the Russian Pamirs, I took up, in the summer of 1894, the strictly topographical division of my labours, and with diopter, plane-table, and calculation of paces measured the environs of the lake Little Kara-kul; next I mapped the glaciers of that king of the Central Asiatic mountain-giants, Mus-tagh-ata. After that I surveyed every route I travelled over during the years 1894, 1895, 1896, and the early part of 1897. These important labours were never for a single day remitted.
Throughout the whole of the long red line, which marks my travels through Asia, there is not a single break right away to the day (2nd March, 1897) when I rode in at the gate of Peking and recorded my last entry on the five hundred and fifty-second sheet of my field book or surveying journal.
In making these measurements I used only a compass and a baseline. The latter varied from 200 (656 feet) to 400 (1312 feet) meters, and was in every case accurately measured with the meter-measure. After measuring my base-line, I carefully noted the time it took the caravan, properly laden and travelling at its ordinary average pace, to traverse it from the one end to the other; at the same time I was scrupulous to make all due allowance for the inclination of the ground and other inequalities of the surface.
As a rule I laid down my maps on the scale 1: 95,000. Across the level expanses of the deserts, however, I worked to the scale 1: 200,000; and in mountainous regions, where the road wound through defiles, where numerous side-valleys joined the main valley, and where the morphological character of the surface underwent frequent and varying changes, I used the scale of I; 50,000. The aggregate distance of the route I mapped in this way amounts to 1049 Swedish miles, or 6520 English miles; that is to say, nearly four and a half times the distance from London to Constantinople, two and a half times the distance from New York to San Francisco, and one and a half times the distance from Cairo to Cape Town, in other words, more than one quarter of the earth’s circumference. If to this be added more than 8000 miles which I travelled by carriage or rail in the better-known portions of the continent, we get for the entire extent of my travels a grand total of 14,600 miles, or more than the distance from the North Pole to the South Pole. The rate of travel of my caravans, calculated from the results of the whole of the journey, averages a little over two and three-quarter miles an hour.
Out of the above-mentioned 6520 miles no less than 2020 were through regions which no European had ever before visited. Over certain portions of the remaining 4500 miles one traveler had preceded me, over other portions two travelers, but in no case more than three. Despite that, my observations along even those stretches may claim to possess a certain degree of originality; for being able to speak Jagatai Turki with fluency, I was independent of the errors and willful deceits of interpreters, and consequently was in a position to gather a good deal of information of a more or less important character which will be new to most readers. For one thing, I was able to record a vast number of geographical names, none of which had hitherto appeared on any map, European or Asiatic.
As a curiosity, I may mention that the 552 sheets upon which my route is laid down measure 121 yards in length; and this does not include the maps I made of the glaciers of Mus-tagh-ata. For the present these sheets and such other cartographical materials as I brought home with me are lodged at the famous geographical institute of Justus Perthes in Gotha, where they are all being worked out in detail; and the results will be eventually published in "Petermann's Mitteilungen."
Although fully conscious of the mistakes of my journey, and of the shortcomings of this my book, and whilst aware that a more experienced traveler would have reaped a richer and a more valuable harvest from the fields upon which I laboured, I nevertheless comfort myself with the reflection that I believe I really did my best as far as lay in my power.
A word or two as to the accessories of the book. The two principal maps have been prepared at the Lithographical Institute of the (Swedish) General Staff, under the superintendence of Lieut. H. Bystrom; my original place-determinations being embodied upon Curzon’s map of the Pamirs, and Pievtsoff’s map of Central Asia, as foundations for the two maps respectively. Their primary purpose is to illustrate and make clear the routes I followed. Hence, they do not claim to be accurate in matters of minute detail; indeed they could not be so, seeing that my cartographical data have not yet been completely worked out.
In consequence of the generosity of my publishers, I am fortunately enabled to impart a fuller measure of life and reality to certain exciting and characteristic incidents of my story by means of pictures drawn by Swedish artists. The illustrations to which I allude must not however be regarded as mere products of the artistic imagination. For each of them I supplied sufficient material in the nature of sketches and photographs, and where such were wanting I furnished precise and detailed descriptions. In a word, each individual picture has come to life as it were under my own eye and under my own controlling hand; and I cannot help expressing my admiration of the quickness of apprehension and the lively interest which the several artists have manifested in their work.
For the original calculation of the altitudes, which occur throughout these pages, I am indebted to the kindness and skill of Dr. Nils Ekholm. For the conversion of the metric heights and other measurements into feet, miles, etc., and for the conversion of the Celsius scale into the Fahrenheit scale, as well as for the transliteration of the placenames, the translator is responsible.
Finally, it gives me pleasure to acknowledge a special debt of thanks to Mr. J. T. Bealby, u.a., sometime of the editorial staffs of the Encyclopedia Britannica, Chambers Encyclopedia, etc., for the ability and experienced and conscientious care with which he has rendered my original Swedish into English. In the translation of a portion of the book Mr. Bealby was assisted by Miss E. H. Hearn.
SVEN HEDIN.
Stockholm, 1st May , 1898.
CHAPTER I. RESUME OF CENTRAL ASIAN EXPLORATION
A new era is approaching in the historical development of geographical discovery. The pioneers will soon have played their part; the "white patches " on the maps of the continents are gradually decreasing; our knowledge of the physical conditions of the ocean is every year becoming more complete. The pioneers of the past, who cleared the way through increasing danger and difficulty, have been followed by the explorers of the present day, examining in detail the surface of the earth and its restless life, always finding new gaps to fill, new problems to solve.
Although many regions have already been the object of detailed investigation, there are several still remaining in which the pioneer has not yet finished his work. This is particularly the case with the interior of Asia, which has long been neglected. Immense areas of the almost inaccessible Desert of Gobi, and endless wastes in the highlands of Tibet, are to this day as little known as the Polar Regions.
It was with the view of contributing my little to the knowledge of the geography of Central Asia that I set out on the journey which this book describes. I had prepared myself for it by years of work in my study; and in 1890-91 I made a reconnaissance into Russian Turkestan and Kashgar, in order to examine the suitability of those territories as a base of operations for exploring unknown country.
After my return from Kashgar, my chief concern was to procure the necessary means for carrying out my undertaking. To His Majesty King Oscar of Sweden and Norway I accordingly addressed the following particulars of my plan, which I give here, as they will best show how far and in what manner I succeeded in fulfilling the task I set myself. Somewhat abbreviated, my memorandum ran as follows: —
In the heart of Asia, between the two highest chains of mountains on the earth, the Kwen lun and the Himalayas, is the most stupendous upheaval to be found on the face of our planet — the Tibetan highlands. Its average height is 13,000 feet, and in the north it attains as much as 15,000 feet. Its area, therefore, of 770,000 square miles (two and a half times that of the Scandinavian peninsula) is on a level with the highest peaks of the Alps. According to the Chinese maps its northern parts, which constitute one of the least known tracts of Asia, appear to consist of a system of uninhabited lake basins possessing no outflow. Farther south the Tibetan and Mongol nomads lead a wandering shepherd life; and it is only in the extreme south of the region that there is any population.
Tibet lies aside from the great highways used by travelers of the nineteenth century. Only a few of the more adventurous Europeans have done their share towards collecting the scanty material upon which our present knowledge of the country is based. Its desolate scenery, its lofty, inaccessible mountains, and its extreme remoteness, situated, as it is, in the heart of a vast continent, have deterred travelers, and driven them to find scope for their activity in other parts of the world — in the Polar Regions, among the oceanic islands, or where the coast has provided a certain point of departure to unknown regions lying within comparatively easy reach. And yet there is scarcely any part of the world in which the explorer is so richly rewarded for his pains, or finds such an inexhaustible field for observation of every kind, as in Tibet; the country whence the light of holiness streams forth upon the world of Lamaism, just as its waters, in the form of mighty rivers, stream forth to give life and nourishment to the countries which surround it. Many important problems in physical geography still await their solution in Tibet and in the Desert of Gobi, each of which would be a distinct gain to science. In a strictly geographical sense, Tibet is one of the least known regions in the world. Even the maps of Africa cannot now show a white patch of such vast extent as occurs under the name of Tibet on our maps of Central Asia. In this respect the Polar Regions alone are comparable with Tibet. The itineraries furnished by the Roman Catholic missionaries, at a period when the country was more easily accessible than it is at the present time, cannot be followed on the map with absolute certainty, and from a geographical standpoint are often of little value.
But even this country, jealously closed as it is by fanaticism, has been compelled to open its doors to the persistency of European inquiry. The western and eastern parts in particular have been traversed by English, Russian, and French travelers. In modern times the only explorers who have gained entrance to Lhasa (Lassa) have been a few Indian pundits, trained by British officers. The jealous apprehensions of the Chinese Government, the religious fanaticism of the Tibetans, and the wild nature of their country — these are the factors which have kept Tibet in isolation longer than any other country in Asia. At a time when the influence of neither Russia nor England was so great as it is now, more than one European succeeded in crossing the country, and even in reaching the capital. The first European to enter Lhasa was a monk, Odorico di Pordenone, who travelled from China to Tibet in the first half of the fourteenth century. In 1624 the Spanish Jesuit Antonius de Andrade went from India to Tibet; and in 1661 the two Jesuit missionaries, Grueber and D’Orville, made their remarkable journey from Peking to Lhasa by way of Koko-nor (Koko-nur), Tsaidam, and the country of the Tanguts. They remained in the capital for two months, and then returned by way of Nepal to Agra, and thence to Europe, In the eighteenth century the mysterious city was visited by several missionaries. Desideri lived in Lhasa from 1716 to 1729, and Della Penna from 1719 to 1735, and again from 1740 to 1746; they, however, have left no writings, except a few letters. Between the years 1729 and 1737 the bold Dutchman Van der Putte travelled from India, by way of Lhasa and Koko-nor, to Peking, whence he returned through Farther India to Lhasa. On his return home he burned all his papers, under the impression that nobody would believe his wonderful narrative. In 1811 Manning reached Lhasa; and in 1845 the two French missionaries. Hue and Gabet, made their celebrated journey from Peking by way of Koko-nor, Burkhan-buddha, and Tan-la to the capital of Tibet, a journey which Father Hue described in an interesting book. Since then no European has succeeded in penetrating to Lhasa. Every subsequent expedition which started with that city as its goal has been compelled to turn back, its mission unaccomplished.
As I mentioned before, the outlying parts of the country have been visited by several European travelers, not all of whom, however, have done scientific work or brought home valuable information. The extreme west of Tibet was explored in 1856 and 1857 by the brothers Schlagintweit, in 1865 by Johnson, in 1868-70 by Shaw, in 1868-70 by Hayward, and in 1870 and 1873-74 by Forsyth and his many associates, in 1885-87 by Carey and Dalgleish, in 1888-90 by Grombtehevsky. Kishen Singh, an Indian pundit, who was a member of Forsyth’s expedition, succeeded in penetrating somewhat farther into the country than the others. One of the most remarkable journeys ever made in Tibet was that of the pundit Nain Singh, who had taken part in Schlagintweit’s and Forsyth’s expeditions, and was sent by Captain Trotter in July 1874 from Leh in Ladakh to Lhasa. His caravan consisted of twenty-six sheep, carrying light loads. Only four of them survived the journey, which extended to a thousand miles and lasted four months. The animals subsisted on such herbage as they were able to find on the way. At the town of Niagzu, on the boundary between Ladakh and Tibet, they met with both forest and pasture. The tract east of Lake Panggong was uninhabited, except by a few shepherds and their flocks. The natives called themselves Changpas or Northmen; but to the inhabitants of Turkestan they were known as Taghliks or Mountaineers. The Tibetan plateau stretched away east for 800 miles, to the sources of the Chinese rivers and the Burkhan-buddha Mountains. As far as eye could reach, it appeared to consist of a grass-grown plateau region diversified by hills and valleys, with snowclad mountains in the distance. Occasionally a shepherd’s tent was seen; and antelopes, wild asses, and wild sheep abounded. The results of the journey were 276 determinations of latitude, the mapping of 1200 miles of unknown country, 497 observations for altitude with the boiling-point thermometer, and a series of meteorological observations.
Among those who have travelled in eastern Tibet the Russian General Przhevalsky (Prjevalsky) ranks first. The 17th (29th) November 1870 he started from Kiakhta with three Russian followers and passed through the Desert of Gobi by way of Urga and Kalgan to Peking. After a trip to Dalai-nor, he left Kalgan in May 1871, and travelled west, through the mountain chains of In-shan and Muni-ula, then up the Yellow River (Hwang-ho) until he reached the country of Ala-shan, and its capital Dyn-yuan-in. He afterwards returned to Kalgan. Then after a good rest he went back to Dyn-yuan-in, where we find him in June 1872. Here began the most remarkable part of his travels, the country which he next traversed being little known. He first explored the highlands of Kan-su, a well-wooded mountain region lying north-east of Koko-nor; then, having made the circuit of the lake, and crossed the Southern Range of Koko-nor, the expedition reached the great swamps of Tsaidam, whence it ascended into the higher regions of Tibet, the home of the wild yak. Several of the mountain-chains of the Tibetan highlands were crossed on the way to the Yangtzekiang, which was reached on January 10th (22nd), 1873. Although it was Przhevalsky’s intention to penetrate as far as Lhasa, which he approached within twenty-seven days’ journey, he was constrained to abandon the plan owing to his caravan animals becoming exhausted and his provisions running short. Przhevalsky’s first journey terminated at Irkutsk in Siberia, at which place he arrived on October 8th, 1873.
For three years the expedition had struggled against difficulties which seemed almost insurmountable; had defied the summer heat of the Mongol desert, the winter cold of the Tibetan highlands; had spent months in a small frail tent, often at a temperature of forty degrees below zero (Fahr. and C.), living on game killed by members of the expedition. The energy and endurance' which Przhevalsky showed are worthy of every admiration. It is evident, he was swayed by a clear understanding of the great importance of his undertaking. Although surrounded by a hostile population, and exposed to every kind of danger, he disregarded both, and amid the pestilential smoke from the argal (dry dung) fire in his tent went on working out his memoranda and sorting his collections. It was a geographical achievement which has rightly placed Przhevalsky’s name in the forefront of Asiatic exploration. The most wonderful thing is, that this journey, which amounted to 7350 miles, cost very little more than 6,000 rubles (say; £600), a proof that it is possible to travel inexpensively in Asia, if you only know how to set about it.
Przhevalsky’s second journey lasted from August 1876 to July 1877. Although it extended to less than 2650 miles, the cost was more than 19,000 rubles (or about; £1900); but this time his equipment was more complete and his escort more numerous. The results of this journey also were of extreme importance. The region which he added to the domain of geographical knowledge was one of the least known in Central Asia. Previously our sole conceptions of its nature were derived from hearsay, from Chinese maps, and from tradition.
From Kulja his route led through the Ili valley to Yulduz, afterwards south by way of Korla, and along the lower Tarim, to Lop-nor (Lob-nor) and the Altyn-tagh. When Przhevalsky saw that it was impossible to reach Tibet, and particularly Lhasa, the object of his desire, by way of Lop-nor and the desolate region south of the Altyn-tagh, he determined to try what he could do by way of Gutshen and Khami; but he was taken ill on the road and was constrained to return to Russia.
The crowning feature of this expedition was the discovery of the new Lop-nor, and of the great chain of mountains Altyn-tagh, which has so greatly altered the appearance of our maps of Central Asia. He also discovered the existence of the wild camel, a discovery afterwards confirmed by other travelers, viz., Carey, Younghusband, and others.
Przhevalsky ’s third expedition lasted from March 1879 to November 1880, and covered some 4750 miles. On this occasion he was accompanied by twelve natives, and had a sum of 23,500 roubles (£2350) at his disposal. He chose Saisansk on the Russian frontier as a point of departure, and travelled, by way of Bulun-tokhoi and the Urungu river, through Dzungaria to Barkul, and thence over the Tian-shan Mountains to Khami. After that he crossed the Desert of Gobi, touching his former route at a couple of points. This time he penetrated much further to the south, namely, across the Yangtzekiang and the Tan-la Mountains as far as 32° N. lat.
Przhevalsky’s fourth and last journey began in October 1883, and ended in the same month two years later. With twenty followers, most of them Cossacks, he accomplished a distance of 4850 miles; the cost of the expedition being 42,250 roubles (£4225).
From Kiakhta he crossed the Gobi by the same route he had taken on a previous occasion, and went on further through the highlands of Kan-su as far as the two lakes of Tsaring-nor and Oring-nor, the twin sources of the Hwang-ho. This was the culminating point of the fourth journey. After a deviation to the Yang-tse-kiang, he continued on through Tsaidam, thence over the Altyn-tagh to Lop-nor and Khotan, at the northern foot of the Kwenlun Mountains, and finally down the Khotan-daria and over the Tian-shan Mountains.
The extensive journeys in 1878-82 of the intrepid Indian pundit Krishna, commonly called A — K, were of the greatest importance for the geography of Northern Tibet. In the spring of 1878, he was ordered by the Indian Government to explore the territory bordered on the north by Przhevalsky’s journeys, on the east by the routes of the French missionaries Desgodins and Durand and of the Englishman Gill, on the south by the Sang-po (Brahmaputra River) and the Himalayas, and on the west by the meridian which runs through Lhasa and Lop-nor. In more recent years this region has only been crossed by Hue and Gabet, and by Bonvalot and Prince Henry of Orleans.
Disguised as a merchant, and provided with plenty of money and instruments, A — K went, by way of Sikkim, to Lhasa, reaching that city in September 1878. There he stopped for a whole year, waiting to find a large and well-armed caravan with which he might travel northwards, as the Tangut robbers make the roads in that direction very unsafe. On September 17th, 1879, a Mongol caravan arrived. A hundred of its members, Mongols, with a few Tibetans, were going back at once. All were mounted and all armed with spears, swords, and firearms. A — K seized the opportunity. Great caution was observed during the march; patrols were sent on ahead, and a watch kept at night. The route which was followed at first coincided with that of Nain Singh in 1875, when he journeyed from Tengri-nor to Lhasa. South of Tan-la A — K touched the route taken by Przhevalsky on his third journey. The highest pass in the Tan -la, 16,400 feet, marked the watershed between the upper Mekong and the Yangtse-kiang. After five months on the plateau, he reached the Anghirtakshia Mountains over a pass 15,750 feet in altitude. A halt was made at Tenghelik in Tsaidam; but just as the caravan was on the point of starting again it was attacked by two hundred robbers, who relieved A — K of all his goods and baggage animals. He managed, however, to retain his notes and instruments, and in spite of his reverses determined to persevere with the solution of the problems which had been set him. He wintered on the western shore of the Kurlyk-nor until March 1880. Thence he intended to steer his course towards Lop-nor; but his Indian servant deserted him, carrying off most of his possessions. He himself was obliged to take service with a Mongol, who was going to Sa-chow. There he was well treated by a lama but was compelled by the Chinese governor to turn back. This turning-point is of importance. It was from that region Przhevalsky made his journey towards Tsaidam and Tan-la in 1879-80; and in the same quarter Count Széchenyi’s expedition through China came to an end. With one faithful follower A — K started on his return journey; but was again compelled to take service with "Chinese Tatars." Finally, however, he reached Darchendo (Tatsien-lu) in safety, and at the mission-station there received every help from the bishop; and thence returned by way of Batang and Darjeeling to India.
In 1888-89 the American Rockhill made a journey into eastern Tibet. Starting from Peking with only one follower and a few horses, he proceeded to the Koko-nor and Alak-nor, crossed the Yangtzekiang, and eventually got back to Shanghai. He could speak Chinese and Tibetan and travelled in disguise. He did some first-rate mapping, measured heights, made notes, and says that previous European maps are incorrect and unreliable in respect of both orography and hydrography.
Several other travelers, induced by the desire for research or by ambition, have of late undertaken journeys into inner Tibet and towards Lhasa. Many have failed, while others can show good results. The most successful expedition was that of Bonvalot and Prince Henry of Orleans, which crossed Asia from north-west to south-east. The expedition followed Przhevalsky’s route along the Tarim as far as the Lop-nor and the Altyn-tagh. On November 17th, 1889, they set out from the Lop-nor, and on the 23rd crossed the Altyn-tagh, leaving Przhevalsky’s and Carey’s routes behind them. They then struck a direct course to the south across unknown country and without guides. This march lasted till February 17th, 1890, and extended to two days’ journey south of the Tengri-nor. The Tibetan plateau, on which they were travelling for three months, nowhere falls below the altitude of thirteen thousand feet. Some of the mountain chains of the Kwen-lun system were crossed by passes at more than 18,000 feet in altitude, and numerous lakes were discovered. The country was barren in the extreme, totally devoid of trees or bushes; it did not even provide sufficient provender for the camels and horses of the caravan, which, in consequence of the fatigue, the privations, and the severe cold, gradually died off until very few were left. From December 4th to January 30th not a human being was encountered. Two days’ journey south of the Tengri-nor the expedition was stopped by the Tibetans, and in spite of negotiations lasting nearly seven weeks it failed to obtain permission to continue its march to Lhasa. The travelers were therefore obliged to make a considerable circuit, and reached Tongking in September.
In May 1890 the Russian Captain Grombtchevsky endeavoured to penetrate into western Tibet from Polu, but being unsuccessful, he turned aside to Khotan, and spent July and August in exploring the Tisnab valley, the upper Yarkand-daria, and the watershed between these two rivers. After a visit to the Pamirs, he proceeded, by way of Kashgar, to Tashkent (Tashkent), where I met him at the end of the same year. He had covered a distance of more than 4700 miles, and his researches form a connecting link between those of Kuropatkin (1877), Forsyth (1873-74), Przhevalsky (1885), and Pievtsoff (1889-90). He met the last-named in Niya, where the two travelers were able to compare notes and place-determinations.
In 1889 and 1890 General Pievtsoff, accompanied by Przhevalsky’s companions, Roborovsky and Kozloff, and by the geologist Bogdanovitch, made a journey into East Turkestan, crossing the Tian-shan Mountains, proceeding up the Yarkand-daria to Yarkand, thence to Khotan, and wintered at Niya. From the northern foot of the Kwen-lun Mountains they made several expeditions on to the Tibetan plateau, and explored, in particular, that part of it which lies to the north of the Arka-tagh. The return journey was by way of the Lop-nor, Karashahr, and Dzungaria. Pievtsoff’s journey is one of the most important that has been undertaken in these parts, and no traveler has made such reliable place-determinations as he.
In the Altyn-tagh and the tracts south of them Przhevalsky’s route in his fourth journey was crossed at several points by that of the Englishman Carey. Accompanied by Dalgleish, who was afterwards murdered, Carey crossed the Altyn-tagh, the Chamen-tagh, and the uninhabited plateau between these two ranges of mountains, before he was able to reach the Kwen-lun proper and the Tibetan highlands. He passed over these chains at a point rather more to the west than that chosen by Przhevalsky, and afterwards intersected Przhevalsky’s route on the plateau between the Chamentagh and the Kwen-lun Mountains. Carey afterwards proceeded to the east along the foot of the Kwen-lun, went a short distance between this range and the Koko-shili, and crossed the pilgrim road from Mongolia to Lhasa immediately south of the point where it climbs over a pass in the Kwen-lun Mountains. At the river Ma-chu he turned northwards and traversed a portion of A — K’s route. This journey took place in 1885-87.
Captain Younghusband, whose name is well known from his travels in the Pamirs, travelled in 1888 from Peking, via Barkul, Ak-su, and Kashgar, to India; and Captain Bower, between June 1891 and March 1892, crossed Tibet and China from Leh to Shanghai.
The expeditions which I have here summarized are the most important within the regions which I propose to visit.
It would lead me too far were I to endeavour to render an account of the great problems that still await solution in the interior of Asia. The discovery of new chains of mountains, lakes, and rivers, of the traces of an ancient civilization, of antiquities which might possibly throw light on the great migrations of the races through Asia, the identification of old disused caravan roads, and finally the mapping of an entirely unknown region — all this possesses an irresistible attraction for the explorer; but I can only touch upon one or two questions of peculiar interest.
In the Asiatic highlands the geologist has unique opportunities of studying phenomena of the greatest possible interest, interesting not only on account of the processes of evolution which the mountain chains are actually undergoing there, but also for the reason that those mountain chains themselves are so little known. The tableland of Tibet rises like an enormous platform up to a mean height of thirteen thousand feet above the lowlands of Hindustan on the one side, and the desert of the Tarim basin on the other, the latter being one of the lowest depressions in the interior of any continent. Lake Lop-nor has an absolute altitude of not more than two thousand five hundred fejpt, and at Luktchin, south of Turfan, a depression has been found which actually lies a considerable distance below the level of the sea. On the side next the Tarim basin the Tibetan highlands are bounded by the Himalayas and the Kwen-lun, whose western extremities meet in the Pamirs and the regions south of it. While the older geographers and discoverers bestowed their attention upon little else save the topographical appearance, or at most the surface elevations, of a country, modern geographical discovery claims from its surveyors reliable knowledge of the original causes of the present condition of the surface of the earth, and the genetic connection, origin, age, and relation of the mountain chains to each other. There are important questions still to be solved in High Asia on these points, and a long period of time must necessarily elapse before these problems can be brought within measurable distance of solution. During the last twenty-five years only jour geologists of standing have devoted any attention to the region of the Kwen-lun system, namely, Stoliczka, Von Richthofen, Loczy, and Bogdanovitch.
But vast gaps still divide the regions which they have severally investigated. It is my intention during this projected journey to contribute as far as lies in my power to the filling in of these gaps, where every observation, every contour line, is of the utmost value.
Another problem intense interest is the Lop-nor question, which was raised by Baron von Richthofen.
I will mention here some of the points set forth in his article entitled "Bemerkungen zu den Ergebnissen von Oberstleutnant Prjewalski’s Reise nach dem Lop-noor und Altyn-tagh " (Verhandlungen der Ges. für Erdkunde, V., 1878, pp. 121 et seqq.).
Marco Polo was the first to make the Lop desert known to Europeans, and on D’Anville’s map of Asia Lop-nor with its rivers is found for the first time, though in latitude 42° 20' N. Shortly before Przhevalsky’s journey the lake was supposed to be situated in an enormous basin, and at a greater distance to the south than to the north of the mountains which bounded it. Przhevalsky, however, found that the lake lay much farther south than was supposed from the maps and Chinese accounts, and the result of this and his other expeditions was, that the maps of the interior of Asia came to present quite a different appearance from what they had heretofore. The territory between Korla and Altyn-tagh was quite unknown; as was also the fact, that the lower Tarim ran for such a long distance in a south-easterly direction. The discovery of the Altyn-tagh possessed equal importance as a contribution to the knowledge of the physical geography of Asia as for the comprehension of the position and direction of the ancient trading-routes. It now became clear why the ancient silk caravans from China to the West kept so near the south of Lop-nor, necessitating their passing through the much-dreaded desert between Sa chow and the lake.
Basing his deductions partly on certain geological laws and partly on a large map of China and Central Asia published in Wu-chang-fu in 1862, Von Richthofen says:
"The most remarkable thing about Przhevalsky ' s Lop nor is that he discovered a freshwater lake, where we are constrained to assume the presence of salt water. It is an absolute impossibility that a lake-basin, which for a series of geological periods has acted as a reservoir for the deposition of salt from a great river, should contain fresh water and be the resort of fish. This would be inconceivable even though the whole course of the Tarim lay through regions which in the general estimation were quite free from salt. But as a matter of fact all the regions whence the lake gathers its drainage are so saline that freshwater springs are quite an exception and occur only close to the foot of the mountains. Now the water of the Tarim must contain a greater quantity of salt than almost any other large river in the world. The concentration of these saline ingredients by evaporation must take place to a very great extent in the last reservoir of the Tarim, and the continuation of the process from time immemorial must therefore have caused an unusually large deposit of every kind of steppe salt. From the remotest ages the Chinese have called Lop-nor 'the Salt Lake.' . . . Contrary to all theoretical conclusions and historical accounts, we now have from the first European eye-witness, who is furthermore gifted with uncommon powers of observation, the distinct assurance that the last basin of the Tarim is a freshwater lake. There must therefore exist peculiar circumstances to account for this apparent contradiction."
It might perhaps be supposed that during the winter, when the evaporation is slight, the fresh water rises and spreads above the salt water; but the inconsiderable depth of the lake sufficiently nullifies this supposition. Another explanation is that the Tarim, which often changes its channel, has abandoned its former reservoir in favour ofanother, the present one, which is supposed to be of comparatively recent formation.
The most probable explanation is that, besides the two reservoirs visited by Przhevalsky ( the Kara-buran and Kara-kurchin, i. e., Kara-koshun), there is yet a third, into which an arm of the Tarim debouches. No Chinese map shows a southern branch of the Tarim; but a large lake is indicated on latitude 41° N. , i. e., in the direct line of any continuation of the Tarim and is called on the maps Lop-nor . The circumstance, among other things, that Przhevalsky did not find the name of Lop-nor in use also points to the same conclusion. On the other hand, he did hear the name in use for that part of the Tarim which lies east of where the real Lop-nor should be.
Another important argument is implicit in the fact that the Tarim, at its confluence with the Ughen-daria, has a breadth of three hundred to three hundred and sixty feet and a strong current; but below the junction of all its various tributaries a breadth of only one hundred and eighty to two hundred and ten feet and a slow current. It is possible that, when Przhevalsky journeyed amongst these tributaries, or rather anastomosing arms, the most easterly branch discharged a part of its water eastwards through another and separate channel into the inaccessible salt desert, and that the traveler overlooked this channel. Von Richthofen concludes his investigation with the words, "However highly we may value what Przhevalsky has done towards the exploration of the Lop-nor, we cannot consider that the problem, for the sake of which he underwent such great hardships, is as yet definitively solved."
The three expeditions of Carey and Dalgleish, Bonvalot and Prince Henry of Orleans, and Pievtsoff, each of which has visited Lop-nor since Przhevalsky, have not added to our knowledge of this remarkable lake, for the reason that they all followed the same route that he took.
The solution of the Lop-nor question is still a desideratum for all who are interested in the geography of Asia.
The future traveler to Lop-nor must not content himself with proving the existence of the basins discovered by Przhevalsky; he must make a systematic and accurate investigation of the districts north of them, in order to try and find the lake into which the Tarim, according to Von Richthofen, empties a portion of its waters. This lake, too, is marked on the Chinese maps, which as a rule are remarkable for their great topographical accuracy.
CHAPTER II. THE PLAN AND OBJECTS OF MY JOURNEY
For several years I have been occupied in studying the geography of Central Asia, partly at home and partly at the University of Berlin, under Baron von Richthofen, the celebrated authority on Chinese geography. I have also prepared myself by two journeys to Persia and Central Asia, in the years 1885-86 and 1890-91 respectively, the latter after the conclusion of Your Majesty’s mission to Shah Nasreddin of Persia. During these journeys I had the opportunity of becoming accustomed to Asiatic travel, to association with the natives, and of learning one or two of the most important languages. In the hope of being able to make these preparatory studies of use in the cause of science, I have ventured to seek Your Majesty’s protection and support for the execution of a scheme which, if all goes well, will reflect honour on our country, and contribute to disperse the clouds which still rest over a great part of Central Asia. An expedition into that part of the world, which was the cradle of the Aryan race, and from whose dim interior the Mongols streamed out over the whole of Asia and part of Europe, and where there is such a host of geographical questions still awaiting solution, is one of the most important undertakings within the domain of geographical discovery. The object of my prospective journey is to traverse Asia from west to east, from the Caspian Sea to Peking, and in particular to explore the intermediate regions which are least known.
The Swedish expedition should, if possible, leave Stockholm in the month of May of the present year (1893). Its equipment should be completed in Turkestan and Ladakh, and nothing need be taken from Stockholm except instruments and firearms. Accompanied by one assistant, whose duty it would be to take astronomical observations, I propose to travel through Russia to Baku, across the Caspian Sea to Usun-ada, and thence by rail to Samarkand. It is my intention to drive through West Turkestan in a tarantass by way of Tashkent, Kokand, Margelan, and Osh, and thence over the pass of Terek-davan — all places well known to me — to Kashgar in East Turkestan, the termination of my former journey in 1890-91. In Kashgar I shall hire a horse caravan to take us, by way of Yarkand and the Karakorum pass, to Leh, where there are an English agent and English merchants. The journey to Kashgar will take two months to accomplish, thence to Leh one month, so that, if all goes well, the beginning of August should see us in Leh.
It was also my intention originally, from the region around Lop-nor, to try and penetrate over the Kwen-lun Mountains into Northern Tibet. But in December of last year, whilst on a visit to St. Petersburg, I met General Pievtsoff, who in 1889-90 made the expedition previously mentioned into East Turkestan. General Pievtsoff advised me against attempting to carry out my plan along the lines which I then unfolded to him. He had had unfortunate experience of the difficulties which travelers encounter in those regions, having endeavoured unsuccessfully to penetrate into the country with horses and camels. Train animals perish in great numbers owing to the difficulties of the country, the inclement weather, the rarefied air, and the almost entire absence of pasturage. General Pievtsoff advised me to make Leh, in Ladak, the starting-point for my proposed expedition into Tibet. There one can procure not only the necessary provisions and articles essential to an adequate equipment, such as tents, saddles, furs, felt carpets, household utensils, boxes for collections, etc., but also reliable men, natives of the adjacent provinces of Tibet. Above all, he told me, that tame yaks were also procurable at Leh, animals to which the rarefied atmosphere is natural, and which find their way with inconceivable sureness of foot in places which seem quite impassable. In regions which to all appearance are absolutely barren, they are further able to find mosses and lichens, which they lick from the rocks. The expedition will require a caravan of fifteen yaks, and an escort of six well-armed natives.
According to Pievtsoff, the autumn is the best time of year for travelling in Northern Tibet. The expedition ought therefore to leave Leh in the middle of August and strike an east -south -easterly line towards the lake Tengri-nor, about the same direction as that taken by the pundit Nain Singh in 1874. Somewhere north of Tengri-nor, in an uninhabited tract, I propose to encamp, and disguised, and accompanied by one or two followers, endeavour to penetrate to Lhasa, returning thence to the chief encampment at Tengri-nor. This somewhat adventurous method of trying to enter the capital of Tibet I shall naturally not resort to unless circumstances are favourable, and the reaching of Lhasa seems likely to prove of undoubted value in the interests of geography. From Tengri-nor we shall strike through Tibet and endeavour to reach East Turkestan over the Kwen-lun Mountains; the town of Cherchen would then be our nearest goal. And there we ought to arrive in February of next year.
After exchanging the yaks for camels, we shall proceed northwards through an entirely unknown part of the Desert of Gobi, until we reach the course of the river Tarim. In the desert there are no roads and no springs, nothing but barren, moving sand-hills. The inhabitants of the Niya oasis on its southern confines, however, told Przhevalsky, that in the winter it is possible to traverse the desert, for there are in that season occasional falls of snow, which render it possible to procure water. It is my intention to study the aspect of this desert and the movements of its sand-hills.
We shall then follow the east bank of the Tarim, in order to discover whether the river does or does not send off a branch to the east, so as to form a lake in 41° N. lat., to the north of Przhevalsky’s Lop-nor. The investigation of the Lop-nor problem should be completed by June 1894, and our expedition will then have accomplished its most important as well as its most difficult objects.
From Lop-nor we shall steer a direct course to the east, and proceed through the unknown portion of the desert known as Kum tagh; then .go on by way of Su-chow (Su-chau) to Ala-shan, where we ought to discover inscriptions and memorials of the earliest times of the Uigurs; then across the Yellow River, through Ordos, where we shall keep north of the Great Wall; and finally through the two northern provinces of China, Shan-si and Pe-chi-li, to Peking, where we ought to arrive in November 1894.
It is easier to devise a scheme of this character at one’s writing-table than it is to carry it out. My programme must therefore be regarded as the ideal which I shall endeavour to attain. If the whole plan cannot be realized, still I will hope that at least I may have strength and energy to execute a considerable portion of it. It is evident, especially in a land so little known as Tibet, that it is impossible to determine on a particular route beforehand, as unforeseen circumstances must inevitably arise, and perhaps necessitate a radical change in any predetermined scheme.
In Peking the expedition may be regarded as at an end. From that city I shall send my Swedish companion home with the collections, notes, and general results. Should my funds hold out, I shall probably seize the opportunity to make acquaintance with southern Mongolia and the Desert of Gobi proper. I propose therefore to return home by way of Khami and Turfan, as in any case I should be responsible for the safe return of my followers to their own country.
The expedition, starting from Osh in Fergana, where Russian means of communication cease, and caravans have to be resorted to, will, I reckon, cover a distance of about 5300 miles. The cost of the whole expedition I estimate at about 30,000 kronor (£1670).
The scientific work which should be done may be comprised under the following heads: —
1. The construction of a topographical map of the entire route traversed. The determination of geographical latitudes and longitudes wherever possible. The determination of fixed altitudes with the hypsometer or boiling point thermometer and three aneroids, and the indication of them on the map.
2. Geological investigations, the sketching of profiles and contours, and the collection of petrological specimens.
3. Anthropological researches and measurements among the peoples we come in contact with. The photographing of various racial types. Study of the religious beliefs of the semi-savage tribes, and their mode of living, etc. Linguistic studies.
4. Archaeological researches. The description, measurement, and sketching of the ruins of noteworthy towns, burial-places, etc.
5. The photographing of towns, places of geological interest, etc.
6. Meteorological observations. Periodical determinations of the temperature of the atmosphere, of the earth, and of river and lake water; ascertaining the amount of moisture in the atmosphere, the direction of the winds, etc.
7. Hydrographical investigations. The depth of lakes, the volume of water in the rivers, together with their variations at the different seasons of the year, the velocity of currents, their direction, etc.
8. The collection of plants, particularly algae,
9. The keeping of a diary during the entire period of the expedition.
This was the scheme which I laid before the King, and which was stamped with his approval. Now that my work is at an end, and I am able to compare the journey I planned with the real journey I carried through, I congratulate myself, that on the whole the two routes coincided fairly well across East Turkestan, Tibet, and Mongolia, although there were noteworthy deviations, caused by the course of events. In the first place, the route I actually followed was much longer than the one projected and included regions which I at first considered altogether inaccessible. Furthermore, I altered my plans at the very outset, and instead of crossing over the Caspian Sea, which I already knew well, I went from Orenburg through the Kirghiz steppe. The Pamirs, which were not included in my original programme, became the object of three extended excursions, during which the eastern or Chinese Pamirs, in particular, were explored in many directions. The Takla-makan, the great western extension of the Desert of Gobi, was crossed in two directions; and there I had the great satisfaction of making important archaeological discoveries. Finally, I made several expeditions into the country between Kashgar, Ak-su, and Khotan.
After the expedition through the desert to the Tarim and Lop-nor, and back again to Khotan, there only remained one of the chief objects of the programme, namely Tibet, unaccomplished. Then I heard of Dutreuil de Rhins’s and Littledale’s expeditions to pretty nearly the same parts as those I intended to visit, and that both had tried to reach Lhasa, and failed. I therefore thought it would be better to work those parts of Northern Tibet which were still a complete terra incognita. Everywhere there, with the exception of the point where I should intersect Bonvalot and Prince Henry of Orleans’ route, I should be the first European pioneer, and every step would be an accession of geographical territory, every mountain, lake, and river a discovery.
After I had successfully accomplished this undertaking, although not without great difficulty, instead of following the route I had mapped through Mongolia to Urga, I preferred to strike a more southerly line, namely through Tsaidam, the country of the Tanguts, the territory of Koko-nor, and the province of Kan-su, where on several occasions I could not help following or crossing the routes of other travelers. In Ala-shan I chose a route which had not hitherto been travelled over, and it was not until I reached Ordos, Shan-si, and Pe-chi-li that I entered regions which have long been well known. Between Peking and Kiakhta I travelled through Mongolia proper, and afterwards hastened homewards through Siberia.
Of other discrepancies between my original plan and my journey as actually carried out, I will only mention that at the last moment I decided to go alone. This was partly for the sake of economy, and partly because I did not like the idea of being involved in dangers and hardships which I could endure myself, but in which a companion might not have cared to risk his life.
Moreover, instead of making one continuous journey, as I had originally intended, I found it advisable to break it up into several expeditions. This was rendered possible through the boundless hospitality shown me by the Russian consul-general in Kashgar, M. Petrovsky. He has since been specially honoured by the King of Sweden and Norway for his invaluable services to my undertaking.
After crossing the Pamirs in the winter and spring of 1894, I employed the summer and autumn for a new expedition into the east and middle Pamirs, Kashgar being my point of departure. In the spring and summer of 1895, I traversed the Takla-makan Desert and the north of East Turkestan; and finally, in the summer and autumn of the same year I made a third excursion into the southern Pamirs. In the same way I subsequently made Khotan a new base of operations, leaving there in the beginning of 1896 for my long journey round East Turkestan to Lop-nor. It was only when I left Khotan in the end of June 1896 that I really burned my boats behind me, cutting off every connection with the West until I reached the extreme East — Peking. This arrangement made the journey longer both as regards distance and time; but, on the other hand, the results were much greater, and after each expedition, thanks to the Russian post, I was able to send home my collections. I do not think I am wanting in modesty, if I say that I now look back with satisfaction on the many important geographical discoveries made during this journey, and on the solution of problems which had long been the subject of controversy among geographers.
The breaking up of my journey into several shorter expeditions was a happy thought. After each such expedition I was able to rest and recover strength necessary for a new campaign. I also worked out the results of my journey provisionally and prepared for the work awaiting me during my next expedition; and each time I started off with new interests and new points of view.
In this account of my travels, I have aimed to depict the reminiscences and impressions which I gathered during my long and lonely wanderings in the heart of Asia. It is clear that the results of a journey which occupied three and a half years are too voluminous to be comprised in a single book: and I have thought it wiser to separate the scientific data from matter which is of more general interest. I propose, therefore, to give a description of the journey, the countries I passed through, the peoples with which I came into contact, and the adventures I and my men experienced in unknown and uninhabited regions. The scientific results, which require a longer time for their working out, and which are of more special interest, will be published separately at some future date.
Thanks to King Oscar’s protection and generous aid, I had no difficulty in raising the 30,000 kronor or £1670 I required. More than half that sum was given by the king, the Nobel family, and friends of geography in Gothenburg through Mr. Westin. The other half was contributed by Baron Akerhielm, a former minister of state, and Messrs. E. Cederlund, Treschow, Andersson, J. Backstrom, C. von Platen, Carl Lamm, Sager, and Davidsson, and Mrs. Emma Benedicks and Mrs. Clara Scharp.
Five of these are no longer living; but to the others I desire to take this opportunity of expressing my sincerest thanks.
On my arrival at Peking I was, however, obliged to borrow 4000 kronor or about £220, so that the cost of the entire journey, instruments and equipment included, amounted to 34,000 kronor or rather less than £1900.
Amongst other contributions I must mention a Husqvarna double-barrelled rifle from Mr. W. Tamm, an express carbine from Consul-General J. W. Smitt, an aluminium craniometer from Professor G. Retzius, and an artificial horizon from Baron Nordenskiold.
My luggage from Stockholm was not very great, as the bulkier part of my outfit was to be obtained in Asia.
I had the following instruments: a prismatic circle (Wegener) with two horizons, two chronometers (one Frodsham from the Royal Academy of Science in Stockholm, and one Wirén from the observatory in Tashkent), three French aneroids, a number of thermometers and other meteorological instruments from Fuess in Berlin, among them black-bulb insolation thermometers, psychrometers, spring thermometers, maximum and minimum thermometers. I also took with me a plane-table with stand, together with compasses, a camera by Watson, and a kodak by Eastman, with a complete supply of films and plates, chemicals, and other necessaries. Furthermore I took two ordinary watches, a field-glass, and a small aluminum telescope; about forty pairs of glasses and snow -spectacles; finally, geologists’ hammers, meter measures, a water-colour box, drawing materials, and a number of sketch-books and note-books, etc.
My weapons consisted throughout the entire journey of the two above-mentioned rifles, a Russian Berdan rifle, a Swedish officer’s revolver, and half-a-dozen other revolvers, and two cases of ammunition.
The library was naturally reduced to the smallest possible compass and consisted only of a few important scientific books and the Bible. On the other hand, I took with me a very complete collection of itineraries laid down during the last ten years in the interior of Asia; and also Russian and English survey maps of the Pamirs, maps of the Desert of Gobi and of Tibet.
Thus equipped and provided with a Chinese passport, I left my dear old home in Stockholm on October 16th 1893; and on board the "Von Döbeln " steamed eastwards towards my unknown fate.
It was a cold, dark, autumn evening such as I shall never forget; heavy rainclouds hung over the city of Stockholm, and her lights soon vanished from sight. More than a thousand and one nights of loneliness and longing were before me; everything I held dear was behind me. Yet that first night was the bitterest of all; I never suffered so much from homesickness again.
Only those who have left their country for a lengthened period, and with the clouds of uncertainty before them, can conceive the feelings which such a break occasions. But, on the other hand, the whole wide world was before me, and I determined to do all that lay in my power to solve the problems which I had set myself.
CHAPTER III. ACROSS RUSSIA TO ORENBURG
A n unbroken railway journey of 1400 miles, the distance which separates Orenburg from St. Petersburg, is hardly an unmixed pleasure. Still less is it so at a period of the year when rain, snow, and wind take away all desire on the part of the traveler to while away the time of waiting by promenading the platform; while smoky or overheated stoves make it unpleasant to remain in the carriage.
