DR STEIN'S JOURNEY IN CENTRAL ASIA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 64, 10 April 1909, Page 6

DR STEIN'S JOURNEY IN CENTRAL ASIA.

BURIED CIVILISATION. Dr.'A. M. Stein, the leader ol tile J Indian Government Mission to Central , Asia, of whose lecture before the Geo- { graphical Society the cable recently adI vised us, 011 his return to London last January described to Renter's represens tative his expeditions in Central Asia, , involving three years' travel and the , covering of 10,000 miles in some 01 the 1 wildest and bleakest regions oi the j earth's surface. By a curious irony oi . fate the explorer received his only seri- , ous injury oil the very last day of lus work, when engaged in surveying an unknown range at an altitude of over 20,000 ft. After this accident the explorer had an arduous mountain journey of eighteen days before ho could receive medical assistance. He then underwent an operation, from the results of which lie is still lame. The story of his excavations amid the sites of buried and ancient civilisations is among the most fascinating oi modern records. One result of his untiring energy in the mysterious borderlands he lias been exploring is the greatly extended knowledge from a geoi graphical point of view of this part o5 , the world, which is shown by the fact, ■ that he has prepared no fewer than 130 sheets of maps of the standard size on a scale of four miles to the inch. Discussing his work the explorer said : "As an example of the difficulties to r be overcome I may mention that for tho sake of exploring the region which lay on a long-abandoned ancient trade ■ route from China to the north end ot . the Taklamakan I had to keep fifty men for over three weeks at work at • ruins which were situated eight long marches from the nearest drinkable | water. This was a period of extreme , hardship. The wind was awful, almost beyond description, and tie tnernio- , meter ranged down to 48 below freezing point. The traces of ancient river beds, . which were marked by dead trees, and I which we crossed again and again, gave . striking proof of Ihe desolation which ■ bad overtaken the whole of the region. ■ The llnds of implements of the stone I age in a region far removed from any . water, fresh or salt, called up pictures of a life like that which might have been ! lived by late dwellers in prc-historic i periods. " Perhaps the most fascinating part . <if the archaeological work was that • which was carried out during the spring _ and early summer of 1007 in the desert i which extends between the salt marshes ; of Lob Nor and the' Tun Huang (basis, . marking the extreme west of the Chinese ■province of Kansu. There 1 was able to trace over a distance of more than 300 miles the remains of that ancient frontier wall which at the end of the second century before Christ had been constructed by Chinese for the purpose of protecting the newly-opened route towards t'he west. This was a period when China was making various efforts to extend her power and trade towards Western Asia. Near the watch towers I found relics left behind by the Chinese posts which then 1 garrisoned this awful region. Documents in wood and bamboo, from about 100 B.C. down to the middle of the century after Christ, when this defensive line appears to have been definitely abandon--1 ed, were excavated. These I found in ' hundreds within the little office rooms [ of the guard houses, or outside; them, in the ample rubbish heaps which tvic Chinese soldiers had left. Tile distribution, organisation, and commissariat arrangements of these frontier forejs can be exactly traced in the official orders, indents, and otlcr relics which I found, and many curious tales of life along this miserable frontier can still be recovered." THHA&I'HE CAVE. " One of our most profitable iinds was the exploration of what has proved) to lie a treasure cave, literally crammed with ancient manuscript, painting*, and other liiuldiiist remains. These had been deposited and hermetically nulled up in a side chapel of one great Buddhist sacred cave. Here 1 found the whole of a large temple library, with other valued relics, which had been deposited Mere ' towards the end of the tenth century of our era, evidently to save them from a threatened barbarous invasion, and which have ever since remained absolute--1 Iv protected both against men and the ravages of the desert. The manuscripts which we recovered from their imprisonment of centuries frequently dated in their oldest portions as far hack as the first century after Christ, but owing to the great mass of the records it was ijuite impossible to make a thorough examination. The books were done up in bundles, and were practically as fresh as when deposited. The number of manuscripts exceeds 4,000, and as far as can be told are approximately in about seven different languages.- The way in which this great treasure was recovered was one of romantic interest, and was only possible through the exercise of the greatest secrecy. After a return to the northern parts of the Tarimbasiii during the winter of 1007-08 there was more opportunity of exploration at a number of spots along the great caravan route, and this still further increased the collection of frescoes and ancient sculptures, etc. Then came a hazardous inarch right through the Taklamakan from north to south, during which the endurance of all, of us was put to a very severe test. My camels had to march for nearly two weeks without water fond ipractiicalhj without food, and this alone enabled us to arrive safely at the point where the Kariiii Kivcr dies into the sands. CI rent legions of dead river courses, which the river had formed since early periods, formed perhaps the most dismal ground ' which it lias ever fallen' my lot to visit. imagine hundreds of square miles covered with absolutely dead, demise ( scrub, and by the gaunt skeletons of ■ great poplar and other trees which had been left behind by the ancient courses of the ever-changing river. It was a veritable tropical delta, stricken Triili , death, and the dead and leafless forests, | with no trace of life except the tracks j of wild camels. made a scene which eau | never be forgotten." 1 i I