The times., 1898-12-04
~In tse Forbidden Lana.u


Some months ago the English-sSelkiEg
world was horrii;ed by the news that an
English explorer. Henry Savage Landor
had been crueliy tortured and all but
murdered by the inhabitants of Tibet,
and 1t was added that Mr.. Landor was
the only white man who had ever visited
the Part Of the country in which he was
captured and lived to tell the ta'e. The
story of his explorations, suiferinSs and
final escape is now told in n book, Illus
trated from drawings and photographs
made by the explorer himself. The book
is in two large volumes, and viii prove
extremely interesting 10 all who enjoy
tales OF adventure.
Nine out OF ten CT those who read the
newspaper accounts Of Mr.. Landor's per-
nors journey probably asked what was
the object OF 1t. Why should a civilized
man, OF education and position as well
as 4 moderate fortune, want to
leave civilization behind him and brave
starvation, death and agonies worse than
death In order to examine a most unat-
tractive country inhabited by repulsive
and savage people? Why should he for
the opportunities for useful and beneh-
cent work, and go poking his nose into
territory where he emphatically was not
wanted and where nobody wanted him
TO go? 1t does not appear that he ex-
pectcd to benefit the inhabitants or him.
self in any material way. There IS moth
ing in Tibet worth taking, SO far as any
one knows. and although life among some
savages may have wild charm attract
ion
al man. it does not appear that the Tibe-
tsns were that sort of savage. Aitogeth-
.er. it will be a mystery forever to most
people why Mr.. Lander ever undertook
the journey which 50 nearly caused his
death
The explanation lies just here: 1t is the
nature OF the Englishman to explore
strange countries. Like the mongoose of
India ne has as his family motto, Run
and find OUT and while there is, of
course, large conservative class in Eng
land which is rooted fast to the soil of
the old country, there is in most of these
conseTyat tive families at least one person
in whom the old Viking instinct for dis
covery and adventure crops out and sends
him flying TO the ends of the earth. II
he is a peasant he goes into one of the
regiments ordered to India or South
Africa, or takes passage for Australia, to
become a bush-farmer in that new conti-
next; if he belongs to the middle class he
has a commission in the army, or post
in the Indian civil service, or takes his pa
trimony and goes to spend it in seeing out
of the way corners of the world. These
men are The advance guard Of England $
government. They spend their money,
their lives and their strength with the
recklessness of the true prodigal, and
sometimes they make records of what
happens to them, and maps of the coun-
try they have traveTsed, and sometimes
they do not; but at all events they blaze
the way for the next Englishman who
travels that road. 1t is this same Viking
instinct which has helped to people the
Western States in our country; but, as a
rule, the American wanders not from the
mere love of adventure. He has some
thing to gain. Either he believes that
there is gold in the country he explores
or he is hunting rare specimens of plant
or animal life, or he is on mission, or
he means to write a book or go on the
lecture platform. AT bottom his motive
Is the same old 'Wanderlust,' but he has
usually an apparent object, that his coun.
trymen may not be scandalized by the
spectacle of an American spending his
life in fruitless meanderings over the
surface of the globe.
There has been so great a need for this
type of man in our own country, to dc
the useful and necessary work of build
ing railroads and towns, fighting Indi
ans, and mining gold and silver. and W,
have SO few young men with an assured
income, like that OF the English younger
son-an income which can be spent eacf
year with the Comfortable security thai
more will be forthcoming next year-tha
We have not developed the gentleman-ad
venturer Of the Landor type in any grea
numbers. And thus the oldest thint
which strikes an American in reading
this book In the Forbidden Land" is the
apparent lack of object in the hero!
travels. Determination he has in abund
ance; courage, pluck endurance. re
sourcefulness, scientific knowledge. pa
tience, tact. wisdom in dealing with men
and he willingly spends himself for wha
might almost seem a mere whim-th
purpose to go where no whit
man has ever, been before, t
see what no civilized man ha
ever seen. He may have been the un
conscious instrument in some might.
plan. but he does not know or care 70
that His sole satisfaction is in the &C
complishment of what he has set himsel
to do. The geographical results of his ex
pedition, as recounted by himself, are a
follows:
The solution of the uncertainty regarding tn
division Of 1he Mansarowar and Rakastal Lakes;
The ascent to great altitude %, 90
feet, and the pictures of some of the gres
Himalayan glaciers;
The visit to and the fixing of the position
the two principal sources Of The Brahmaputrs
never before reached by European.
The fact that with only. two l was abl
10 travel so long in the most populated part {
Tibet.
To the general public this will seem bu
small reward for the sufferings and ex
ertions of such q journey. But after al
in the ordinary life of commerce, lives ar
spent daily for mere petty, personal end:
which advance not in the smallest degre
the interests of civilization, and perhap
give no more real satisfaction to tn
worker than Mr.. Landor gains froI
knowing that he is the only Europea
who ever saw the source of the Brahma
putra The Viking instinct is health
and brave, and saves a nation from be
coming decrepit and sluggish. It is tn
outcome of a strong and fearless life
And that is the real reason why, by thei
comfortable firesides. men will lay asid
their newspaper and their magazine I
read this story of adventure. 1t stir
some responsive feeling in the heart c
every normal human being, and on
catches something of the explorers ow
enthusiasm in reading its pages, an
feels. as a boy does, that he would like [
be the partaker of just such dangers.
The other curious thing about the stor
IS -he evtrao-Finary strength of min
and mental poise which its author seen
10 ,.ase s.vsei ca in all his miseries. II
remembers clearly all the details {
scenes which would have driven most me
TO insanity; and less than a year after h
narrowing experience can command h
brain and hand to write and illustrai
this history of his travels. He does NJ
IL. =,