Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-04-28
ACROSS ASIA ON A BICYCLE.
A Journey Undertaken BY two Amer
can Students.

- -Ftf 0sA &EaA
students started from New York,
June -. 1890 on one of the most re-
markable journeys Of the century.
Three years afterward. lacking TWEEN
Ety days. these young men returned to
New York. by way of San Francisco,
Arizona, and New Mexico. having en-
compassedthe world. They had trav-
eled on bicycles no less than 1904
miles, which is said to be the longest
continuous land journey ever made
around the world. But this was
merely incidental; they were inspired
by higher purposes than record
breaking
Messrs. Allen and Sachtleben. aged
twenty-five and t~wenty-four a re-
spectively, were graduated from
Washington University in St. Louis
on June 10, 1850. They had obtained
a thorough theoretical college training
and they wanted to see the practical
side of life and TO study the peo-
pies of the Old World. They decided
to do all Of the travelling possible on
bicycles, although neither one Of them
had yer ridden a wheel, in order to
see the countries through which they
passed more thoroughly, and TO
c me into closer relation with the
in '%iabitants. II never>was their in
tie alton simple to make a "bicycle
to Ir around the world They were
following the example of the medic
val scholars who roamed afoot through
Germany !, France and Italy. But they
were to a field of which their
prototypes had never dreamed, and so
they called in the bicycle to their
aid.
The day after they received their
degrees they started out ON their Jour
ney, and a week later sailed for Liver
pool. After they had wheeled through
Great Britain, they perfected their
plans for crossing Europe and Asia.
The most difficult part of their jour
ney, they we'll knew, would be that
portion ofthe route which lay through
western and central China and the des-
erts of Cobb. By the kindly aid of
Minister Lincoln, who ~endeavored to
convince them Of the dangers that
were in the way and to dissuade them
from their attempt. they obtained a
special passport from the Chinese
ambassador in London.
When they had seen southern Eu-
rope from a better point Of vantage
than a car window, they set out from
Constantinople OF their long, perilous
and arduous journey. They were the
first from another continent since the
days of Marco Polo to cross the Chi.
nese empire IRON the western bounda-
ry to the capital. Peking.-and in
many places they followed close in the
footsteps Of the great Venetian travel.
er. Civilization has made but little
progress in this region Of the world
since the thirteenth century and their
eyes rested upon some of the self same
sights that awoke the establishment Of.
the emissary Of Kublai Khan.
Messrs. Allen and Sachtleben have
written a graphic account Of their re
markable journey from Constantine
pie to Peking, and this will be pub.
lished in The Century, beginning
with the May number. They met with
many curious and startling adventures
and these they tell with a simple
ity and modesty as if they were not
unusual episodes in the rounding out
OF a college education. They took
more than $500 photographs Of seem
cry and phrases Of life that curious
European eyes had never looked upon
before, and many of these will be pro-
duced.
The young men served, in a meas.
ure, as the advance couriers of Ameri-
a progress. They bore the ''stars
and stripes strapped to the handle
bars of their bicycles, to people who
learned for the first time of its signih-
canoe.