A Great Explorer.

Manawatu Herald, 19 March 1904, Page 2

A Great Explorer.

Dr Sven Hedia is looked upon by “ Knowledge ” as the most remarkable explorer now living. From an early age he adopted exploration as a profession, and Asia as a specialty. His training to this end has made him able to perform single-handed extensive journeys into unknown parts of Central Asia, which have * yielded splendid scientific results. His organising powers are great. As a topographer be has no rival, while he is also able to undertake successfully the work of a meteor- . ologiat, geologist, biologist, ethnologist, archaelogist, and many other specialities, and thus is empowered to give an accurate picture of the country through which he travels. From the middle of 1899 to the middle of 1902, Dr Hedin was travelling almost incessantly, his various routes in Asia extending to a total of some 600 miles. The narrative of these journeys, contained in two fine volumes of over 600 pages each, is in the form of an orderly journal, solid with fact and detail, but at the same time vividly written, so that one’s interest in the chronicles of each day’s doings in held to the end. The narrative, in fact, not only gives a lifelike picture of the country through which the explorer passed, and of how he got through it, but reveals besides many a deep insight into Asiatic character, while of his own character the author unconsciously draws a most interesting picture great ds« termination and degged pluck, with now and again a suspicion of rashness, untiring energy, a keen foresight, cheerfulness under all circumstances, a singularly humane and sympathetic nature, are among the characteristics displayed.