The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1892-02-27
SELE251z!2Y!1 !!iY
MYSTERY oE rHg LAMP ROCK.
An Intrepid and Daring English Traveller
Explodes an old Tradition.

An Intrepid and Daring English Traveller
ExpIodcs an old Tradition.
An interesting note comes from Cap.
tain F. f. Younghusband, of the Kings
Dragon guards, who is again on his
travels of exploration in Central Asia.
He writes from his camp in the Kashgar
mountains, dated the 9th of October.
1890: "From the Alichur Pamir / re-
turned eastward. crossed one of the
branches of the Upper Oxus, and made
for Lake Rangkul. On the shores OF
this lake is the famous rock known as
the Lamp rock of Central Asia, so called
because from a cave in its side a per-
petual light shines forth. Ney Elias
had passed by this in 1885, and had
thought it might possibly be phosphor-
esceut light; he had not time, however,
to examine it properly. When | ar
rived at the lake l saw this rock stand
ing up by itself about two hundred feet
in height, projecting out from the mount
ain side, about one hundred yards from
the waters edge,
High up on the steep cliff l was
shown the cave, and sure enough there
was a pale light visible, looking very like
a phosphorescent light. l asked the
Kirghis if any one had ever been inside
the cave. They said: No; it is the
dwelling place of a demon who guards
vast treasures which arc slowed there,
and the light comes from diamond
stuck in his forehead. No one dares to
90 there We'll, l am going there at
any rate, and started off to climb the
rock. 1t was pretty easy going till with
in about twenty feet of the mouth of
the cave, now hidden from view by a
projecting slab of unbroken rock, which
| it looked impossible to surmount. Luck
| ily, however, a Pathan servant had ac-
companied me.
He took off his boots so as to be able
to get better grip with his feet, and
then proceeded to climb the rock. fol-
lowed, but must confess that it was far
from pleasant work, though l had also
taken off my boots, and had only my
socks on. The rock was rough, and
luckily firm; but it had no ledges which
could support even half ones foot; more
over, it stood up almost perpendicularly,
so that a false step or slip would have
meant certain death. All we could get
was II precarious purchase for the tips of
our fingers and our toes in the inequali-
ties in the surface of the rock. In this
way-the Pathan, a born mountaineer,
leading-we climbed the rock like cats
and entered the dragons cave.
"Then we saw the light, and found II
to be neither phosphorescent nor that
of diamond set in the head of demon
but the pure and unadulterated light Of
heaven coming from the other end of the
cave, which was in fact no cave, but {
tunnel right through the rock. From
below one cannot see that this is th'
case The light striking up against th'
roof of the cave only is seen. The myster.
of the perpetual light in the famous
Lamp rock of Central Asia is therefor,
solved, though | dare say the supersti
tious inhabitants of these parts will ado
sequel to the old story of how reck
less and possibly insane sahib, accom-
panied by Il Pathan warrior from dis
tant Bajaur, scaled the fearful precipice
entered the cave and fought the might
demon, but failed to take the diamon
from his forehead. st. James Gazette