Sketcher.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 376, 23 July 1903, Page 2

Sketcher.

DB. SVEN HE DIN. || »£»> R. SVEN HEDIN, the Swedish exd|<ift plorer, wbo has lately\*been lecturing on his thrilling adven. tares in Tibet, is in many ways a vsry remarkable man. Not only has he travelled for years at a stretch in regions which no Europeans has ever before penetrated, but he has brought home each. time scientific records of the greatest value, Ha is very versatile, for not only can he speak 'Jagatai Turki' and other languages with fluency, but, thanks to the years of hard study to which himself before setting out on his travels, he is abl? to make astronomical, geological and, in short, every known kind of scientific observation. In his recent addcess before the Geographical Society Dr. I Hedin spoke of his three years* Wanderings in these deserts of Aeia that lie east of Afghanistan and Kashmir, nortn of the Indian Empire, and in the unmapped southern territories oi Russia. The Merccjry Almost Froze,

While Londoners speak of freezing point as 'nipping,' Dr. Hedin calmly observes that when starting out on a journey of 180 miles across a sandy desert, the mercury almost frozj, the thermometer registering 33ieg. below zero, bui that 'on the whole the weather conditions were favourable.' Vsry few people are Vveijoyed' at the approach of a heavy snowstorm, and we imagine that that 'overjoyed' would give a false im-. pressioji of most people's feelings if, owing to the fact that they had no tent to shelter them, they had to dig themselves out of the snow when morning came. Yet, when crossing a portion of the Gobi Desert which had never been crossed before, Dr. Hedin and his companions welcomed a snowstorm because it gave them water to drink, and so enabled them to fiaish their journey. They had been relying for water on blocks of ice carried by camels, but the supply had nearly given out, and until the snowstorm came all thought that they would never get out of the desert alive. The Forbidden City.

While on this journey Dr. Hedin made two attempte to get to the city of the Grand Lama Lbassa, the capital of Tibet. The last Europeans wbo entered the holy city were two French missionarieSi named Hue a?-d Gabet, the former cf whom published an account of his experiences Thia occurred in 1845, and since then no white man has ever entered the city. Our raadera will recall the terrible experiences of Henry Savage Lindor, who tried to penetrate the city in disguise Borne four or five years ago, but was discovered, and had the most inhuman tortures inflicted upon him, a bar of red hot iron being held so close to his eyes that it was feared he would lose his sightDuring the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries many Europeans succeeded in entering the city, one traveller, Dalia Penna by name, succeeding in living.there for no less that twenty-two years. But the Tibetans have become stricter, and wfth every discovered attempt they have grown warier, until Da Hedin has come to the conclusion that it is quite impossible for any European to get into Lhassa, even in disguise. He himself •* made two attempts, both o? which were frustrated. The first time he succeeded in getting within one day's march of L'aasss. He was accompanied by two companions, one of whom had been in the city, and they were disguised as Mongolian pilgrims. In some myst6ricuj manner their secret was found out, and when the city was soon to come in view, and success seemed certain, they were surrounded by a band of armed Tibetans, who threatened them with death if they offered any resistance, The captivts expected death at any moment, and they were kept five days until the Tibetan Governor came, 'accompanied by aixty-seven high dignitaries, all on horseback, and clad in the very richest garments.' The upshot of it all was that thoy were escorted to the frontier and released, being told that if they attempted to resume their journey towards Lbassa th6y would be killed. Few would have darod a second attempt after such a message had been delivered, but Dr. Hedin set out again accompanied by his whole caravan, travelling this time from a different direction. "When three days' journey from lAassa, the caravan was held up by an armed force of 590 cavalrymen ana turned back, the soldiers following them for ten days to Bee tbat no further att mpt was made.

An Eaklieb Adventube.

But Dr. Hedin has been nearer to death than this, From 1893 to 1897 he made a journej from Orenburg, on the Ural Biver, right across Asia by way of L >pNor and Tibet to Peking, the distance covered on this journey beihg 14.600 miles, or furtler than it is from the North to the South Poie. In his book * Through Asia' Dx\ Hedin gives a thrilliug account of Lis crossing of the Takla-Makan Desert. A start was made from Merket on April IOSh, with four followers, aad eight eimels carrying previsions, and enough wattr to last fifteen days. His object was t) reach a mountain called Masar-Tagh, Dr. Hedin hoping to find traces of an ancient civilisation in its vicinity. As the Khotan-Darii KWer was calculated to be bat fifteen days' march in this direction, the water supply of 100 gallons was deemed sufficient. Bit the desert tamed tut to be more difficult to cross than was supposed, on account of the immense sandhills which had to be traversed, some of them b3ing as high as 200?t. Tnis mado the journey last nearly twice as long, and the sufferings of the party from hunger and thirst were terrible in the extreme. After a few days' travel, the Eandhills became so steep and difficult for the camels to climb thac toe animals were continually falling down. Every trace of li?e, animal or vegetable, was lo3t sight of, and nothing could be seen but sandhills everywhere. Oj April 25 ;h the startling discovery was made thac only enough water remained for two days, aud consequently the camels' supply of water was cut off: The provisions were also found to bs running ont, and, with the danger of Lunger and thirst atariHg them in the face, the party gave up their quest of the mountain, their hope beiag; to reach the Kfaotan-Daria Eiver befqre-the crisis came.

Left to Die,

One camel after another had to be abandoned, and the baggage had. to be lbffc behind, for the oflly concern of the J;rave'lers was the safety of their own 'lives. On and on they stumbled, the surviving cauiols being too weak to carry them. Nothing was to be seen bui; interminable wastes of ssnd, and no sound could be heard but the camol bolls, which seemed to ba ringing their death knelli On April 30fch about a tumblerf nl of water remained, and the men, to assuage their thirst, drank rancid camels' oil. Two of the men, -unable to proceed further, had to be left to their fate, the others baing unable to give them any help owing to their exhausted condition. Matters came to a cusis, and all the camels and another man had to be abandoned, while Dr. Hedin and his remaining follower set off by themselves in search of the much-needed water, their only means of subsistence

being a tin of lobster, a box of choooTaie, a sheep's fat tail, two or three pieoes of bread, and a lump of coagulated sheep's blood. The next day, howevar, .thersaw ahead the green folia of tamarisk tree, which infused them'with new hope, bat another two awful days were passed and still there was no water. By this time Dr. Hedin's last follower was sinking fast, and, to add to their terrors, they found that they had for some time been walking round in a circle. Water at Last. x

At last the man Kisita'a strength gave out, and the undaunted explorer was obliged to continue his search alone. Before long he saw in the distance the dark line of a forest, which told him he must be near the Biyer, and this he reached, all but dead. In describing the effect of his first draught of water, Dr. Hedin says:—' My blood, whioh"had lately been so sluggish that it was scarce able to creep through th«i capilaries, uow coursed easily through every bload .vessel, my hands, which had been dry, parched as hard as wood, swelled out again, my skin, which had been like parchment, turned moist and elastic. In* a word, I felt my whole body wai imbibing fresh health and strength. It was a solemn, an aweinspiring moment. Never did life seam to m) richer, mora beautiful, than it did that night in the bed of the Khotan-Daria.' After drinking enough to recover his strength, Dr. Hedin filled his boots with, water and hastened back to his dying follower, who at once emptied both bootß without stopping, and whose life was thereby saved. But this w>s not all, for the pangs of hunger now made themselves felt. Again the man Kiaim had to be left behind, he was so weak, and again did the gallant Hedin set off alone. On May 8 th, after travelling for a week with nothing to eat, he came to some lonely shepherds' hats, and his terrible experience came to an end. Kasim was recovered from the desert, as were also one camel and another follower, who, with the energy born of despair, had struggled on and by good luck had fallen in with a band of mer. chants.