New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-02-10
THE ROOF OF THE WORLD.
A TOURNEY IN ASIA.

r IA usraons Nv Albert Pepfn Two volumes
Inn imp. svo PIP xii, asi~x, aS5: A. C. Armstrong
Tn the wears 1901 $50 Messrs. Bonvalot and
Capas travelled extensively in Centrai ASIA
Starting from Moscow they entered Turkestan from
the Siberian frontier traversed part OF boKhar"'
explored the mountains of konistan, ana uhe
Tchatral and on their return, starting from lash-
bond visited Samascand Bol1hara, and TehardJu1,
descended the ANN, stopped at Khiva, and finally
crossed the desert of Ust-Urt, in the middle OF
winter. The narrative OF these travels was SUD-
seouently published In two volumes, and the
public showed so much interest il the work tha'
the travellers melted doubtless by their own IN
clinations likewise determined TO make anouner
expedition in which the region south oil une
Oxus should be explored. Their orlglnal purpose
was to cross Afghanistan into lndla, ont I'D uiiS
tbev reckoned without the Afghans who took
Il nnon themselves TO alter the itinerary. The
travellers started from Batoum, crossed the eau
casus nv rail then took horse and skirted the
rasniap gradually from Reshd, striking further
inland INIT keeping between the coast and the
e,eat calf desert after leaving Teheran. Thence
thew made their way to Meshed, Sarokha, ana
New coming in contact with the Russians, who
treated them Hospitality, and with whose progress
in pacifying and civihzing the region SO recentiy
harriod By the Tekke Turcomans-now the moSt
peaceable and industrious of people-they were
much impressed.
An attempt to enter Afghanistan encountered
a check on the threshold. They were stopped
at once and detained until orders could be oo-
tanned from Ishak Khan, the chief who suose-
ouentlv revolted against Abdur-Ra Khan.
After tedious detention, which the Frenchnfen
endeavored TO tighten in all possible ways, orders
arrived for the expulsion of the party ms was
done courteously, but peremptorlIy, ana men, az
te- considerable discussion with their Russian
friends. the travellers determined to attempt me
crossing of the Pamir though many persons de-
clared the journey impraeticable on accouhO oi
the snow. They were not to De deferred, however
and having obtained guides who were familiar WIN
the great plateau and the difficult approaches 10
f. and provided an amount Of warm clothing
proyisions. etc, sufficient apparently Tor an
Arctic voyage, they proceeded to the further end
of Ferghana and made the small foot-hlll towh
of Osch their point of departure Ihencelor"'ro
difficulties accumulated. The crossing OF the Alal
Mountains and the Alai plateau was enough 10
have taken the heart out of less resolute ad-
yopturers They had to struggle day after day
+brougb snow often more than six feet deep IN
the shallowest places; where horses and men were
continually plunging into fathomless drifts, from
which they had to be hauled or dug out; wheie
the cold was SO intense that more than once the
mercury froze; where, because of the low tenn
rerature, it was hard to get food cooked properly
and where the least exposure OF cheeKs, nose
Hps or hands to the cir was followed by frost-
bite or blisters or peelng away OF the Skin
The climate was amazing. Sometimes the
mercury would show 100 degrees in the sun, and
several degrees below zero in the shade at the
same time The binding glare of the snow
seriously affected the eyes of nearly all the party,
notwithstanding the constant use Of colored spec
faeles After making an elevation OF ten thousand
feet above the sea level the severe eXerton OF
wndinc through the snow and climbing was at
tended with pulmonary pains. Several hau
hcmorrhagcs, all had splitting headaches; they
suffered from parchng thirst, which could not
be quenched by eating snow. Presently the
horses began to give out, and many Of the poor
animals had to be abandoned The Kirghnz whom
the travellers had engaged to cut and beat paths
through the Alai soon had more than enough
of the severe labor, and those who were WIN
the pack-horses showed some national traits Dy
slyly dropping sacks Of barley and other pro
visions along the route, of course, with the inten
ton of recovering and appropriating the plunder
later Everything, even to wood for fuel had
70 be carried, for not until the Pamir was reached
could they hope to find the fuel Of the region,
which consists of sheep chips" Of the kind pro-
yided by the buffalo of our Western plains when
the buffalo stin existed
The cold was bitter Through the narrow,
rocky passes up which they were struggling the
wind rushed as with conscious hostile purpose
and when the snow fell, too, the situation was as
exasperating and almost as disheartenng as can
be imagined But though the Kirghiz formed a
plot to abandon the expedition and but for a
fortunate espionage might have carried it out
the explorers refused hear of stopping, and the
strong European wills backed by repeating rlhes
and revolvers, inevitably carried the day. The
Pamir was at last reached, and while this was
really only the beginning of the journey it was
regarded rs assuring success to the expedition.
OF eourse there was the usual trouble with guides
and natives of all sorts. The Pamir is desoiate
region generally but it is doubtful whether lts
loneliest parts are not preferable to those whlcn
are inhabited: for, according to NJ Bonvaiot' IL
is a kind Of Asiatic Alsatia, or No-Man's Land,
where all the desperadoes and fugitive criminals
from Afghanistan, Bokhara, Kashgaria, China,
the Taldik and elsewhere, are in the habit OF re-
sorting, as to a country where no sherifs writ OF
kings or emir's mandate runs These tough
characters have regular scale Of treatment for
travellers If the latter are weak, they are muir
dered II they arc strong, they are III possipiel
blackmailed The staple recourse is to pretend
that some neighboring ruler puts veto upon the
advance Of the travellers; or that they must halt
until instructions are received from the said ruler
NJ Bonyalot usually adopted the practical course
of paying as little attention as possible to their
demands If it was convenient for him to hai'
a day or two. he halted. If he did not hnd II
desirable to halt he went on
He OF course avoided open quarrels as care
fully as possible, but when he wanted Yak mer
to carry his baggage, and the Mrghiz would moi
hire them to him. he sometimes requisidoned
them after the practice familiar in our time ano
he always made the semi-savages he met nnder
stand that if they pressed him too hard nc va
ready and able TO fight. In reading his narrative