THE FORBIDDEN LAND

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2752, 5 March 1910, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE FORBIDDEN LAND

SVEN HEDIN’S ADVENTURES IN TIBET. Three years ago reaps of ’libet showed a large bla-ule sipace north of the Brahmai>utra, across which trailed the word ‘‘unexplored." Those maps are now out ol : date, thanks to the hazardous and unremitting work of' exploration undertaken by Sir Sven Hedin 'during 1907 and 1908. It was the object ot his life to cross that blank space, an object that we must all congratulate him upon having accomplished with such signal success. On the Geographical Journal’s map he crossed just between the letters “p” and “1, so he tells us, and followed up his traverse of tile immense moutain system of mid-Tibet- by recrossing• it m different directions some eignt times, and affording himself the opportunity of making observations of incalculable importance to science, the bulk o: which are in process of checking the tabulation preparatory to publication. It i s thus not yet possible to realise to the full Dr Hedin’s services to the scientific world, but in the hook that lie has already published, “Trnns-Hi-malaya” (Macmillan, two volumes 80s net), we have a graphic and absoroing]v interesting narrative of adventure that vies successfully with anything in fiction. TH E TR. ANS-HIM A LAY A. Dr Hedin found that almost the whole tract of country, hitherto unexplored, through which he passed in many directions, consisted of ail elaborate system of high mountain, ranges, to which he has decided to give the name of Trans-Himalaya. Some geographers are objecting to the title, but Dr liedin has no fears as to its ultimate general acceptance —witness the characteristic rhapsody: “Go then but into the world, thou ringing and sonorous name for one of the world’s .mightiest mountains systems, and find thy way into geographical text-books,_ and remind children in the schools of the snow-crowned summits on the roof of the world, among which the monsoon st-orms have sung their deafening chorus since the beginning. As long as I live my proudest memories, like royal eagles, will soar round the cold, desolate crags of the Trans-Himalaya.” It was unfortunate for Dr Hedin that at the time of his visit the new Liberal Government had inclosed the path to Tibet from India alter Colonel Younghusband’s expedition to Lhasa. Lin'd Gary.on had promised useful, almost indispensable, co-operation on the part of the Indian Government, and Lord Morley’s subsequent refusal to allow a start to he made from Simla came as a great shock to Dr Hedin. But he was bob cast down altogether. “Hope is the last thing one resigns, and so I stilL hoped that all would turn out well in the end. Failure spurred my ambition and stretched mv powers to the uttermost tension. Try to hinder mo. if you can, I thought; I will show' you that I am more at home in Asia than you. Try to close this immense Tibet, try to oar all the valleys which lead from the frontier to the high plateaus, and you will find that it is quite impossible. I felt quite relieved 1 when the last peremptory and somewhat curt refusal came and put an end to all further negotiations. I had a feeling as though I was suddenly left in solitude and the future depended on myself alone. My life and my honor for the next two years w ere at stake; of course, I never thought of giving in. 1 had commenced the fifth joun.oy with a heavy heart, not with trumpets and flourishes as on the former expeditions. But now it was all at once become my pet child. Though I should perish, this journey should be the grandest event of my life.” He skirted- the land till he could enter .by way of Kashmir and Eastern Turkestan, began to form his caravan at Shrinagar, and had brought, it to full strength at Leh, where he bade a definite farewell to civilisation. He turned sharply to the eastwards, Grossing the ‘Western Tibetan frontier with a band of brave and hardy fellows, whose portraits we are given in the graphic words of their master. There is Mubamed Isa, the caravanleader, old servant of Carey, Dafgleish, de Aliins, Younghusband, llawling, Ryder, and’ others, a hero of Asiatic, travel, whose untimely death cast a prolonged gloom over, the whole expedition, and who was .buried in the shroud that Guffari, a, lively youth of 02, carried with him during the whole expedition in the event of a fatal accident to himself; there is Rehim Ali, too, who is rendered incapable.of movement by fright, falls down flat before a charging yak, and has in a storm to be thrown out of the boat on Lake Listen before he will beach her. There is "also Sliukkuv Ali, the jester of the party, and the exemplary Gurkha whose nose had been bitten off in a playful tussel with a fellow-country-man. These men were of several re--b-ns, sometimes changing from cue to another. PERILS BY WATER. From a score of thrilling descriptions I quote that which shows the reader ho-w Dr Hedin and Reliim Ali felt immediately after a narrow escape irom death by drowning: “The water on the bottom of the boat turned to ice; my fur coat was as hard as a board, and was absolutely useless. Hands and feet- were stiff, and had lost all feeling; we must get up again or we should be quite frozen. There was only one thing to do. In the shelter of the boat I took off my j Kashmir boots and my stockings, and I Rehim Ali shampooed any feet, but I felt no life in them until he had opened his chapkan and warmed them for a long time against his naked body: There was no sign of life anywhere about. Amid the roaring of the surf we had to shout to make ourselves heard. How were we to pass the night with 29 degrees of frost, and wet clothes already stiffened into cuirassesof ice? Could we keep alive till the sun rose Rehim Ali disappears into j the darkness to search for fuel, but he I comes hack empty-handed.. To my joy j I discover that m3 7 ' cigarette-case and j matches are still available; I bad stood- ! in the water only up to by breast, even ; when the last breaker had done its ! best to -wet -me through. So I light 1 a cigarette and give one to Rehim All • to cheer him up. ‘ls there nothing - here, then, that we can burn ? Yes, ! 'wait, we have a wooden roller of the sounding-line and the frame in which it is fixed. Fetch them at once./' Wo

ruthlessly break up the masterpiece of Muhamcd Isa’s skill in carpentry, and hack iu pieces the framo with our knives; we lay aside the-wet shavings, and use tho dry inner sticks as firewood. They make a very tiny heap. Only a cou/ple are. sacrificed at once, and” I get them to burn with some blank leaves from my notebook. Our fire is small and insignificant, but it warms us famously, and our hands thaw again. W r e sit close over the fire, and keep it up with the greatest economy, putting on one splinter at a time. I take off my clothes to wring them as dry as I can; Rehim Ali dries my ulster, on which I depend for tho night; the fur coat is loft to its fate, flow long is it to the dawn ? All, several hours yet. The roller and the handle are still in reserve, but this small stock of wood cannot last long, and I look forward with trepidation to the moment when the cold will compel us to sacrifice the mast and the benches. The 1 time passes so slowly; we say little to one another, we long untile sun.” THE TASHI LAMA.

After weeks of hardship in the uninhabited wilds of Chang-Tang, Dr Hedin got at last into touch with the Tibetans themselves, but quickly met with opposition. lilaje Tsering, the Governor of the province and an old opponent, tried to turn him back, but relented on observing the explorer’s firm attitude. So Dr Hedin won through to tho Holy City of Shigatse, witli its great monastery of TashiLunpo, where he was the only European to witness the great religious festival of the New Year, here fully described. He met, too, the Tashi Lama, or religfeus head of the church in contradistinction to the Dalai Lama, or temporal ruler, now discredited for his cowardice during the British march on Lhasa. Here, is a portrait of this Asiatic Rope, who seems to have impressed Dr Hedin most favorably:— “'Wonderful, never to be forgotten Tashi Lama! Never has any man made .so deep and ineffaceable impression on me. Not as a divinity in human form, but as a man, who in goodness of heart, innocence, and purity approaches as near as possible to perfection ;. it displayed unbounded kindness, humility, and philanthropy•; and I Have never seen a smile, a mouth so delicately formed, so noble a countenance.” His smile never left him; lie s milcd like a sleeper dreaming of something beautiful and desirable, and whenever our eyes met his smile gre-.v broader, and he nodded kindly and amiably as much as to say: ‘Trust in my friendship implicitly, for my . intentions arc -good towards all men. ” A STRANGE SALUTATION. For a fuller record of the results achieved by Dr Hedin and his followers I must refer my readers to the book itself. The vivacity of its distinguished author’s writing is marked, and Jim powers of description are only second to those of his observation. Here is a final impressionist sketch: “Forty Tibetans stood at the camp fire. When I rode up they all thrust out their tongues as iar as they would go and their bright red color formed a strong contrast to the dirty faces. Those who wore caps took them off with the left hand and scratched their heads with the right—another form of saluation. When we spoke with them they repeatedly shot out their tongues but only from politeness and friendliness; they could not do enough to show their goodwill.” Tibet is a strange land—a threatening, gloomy land, but a land, as we •see here, where cheerfulness and humor are not unknown. This great explorer’s record of the 26 months he spent in it cannot he top highly praised. It contains information of the first importance, it is splendidly illustrated, and, above all, it is essentially readable.