The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-06-28
HOUSEKEEPING ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD
By VEN HEDIN

cession Of waterfalls was encountered. but
the "Kanhyi" was equal to the task and
slipped over the laundering cascades as
gracefully as party of toboggoning young
ones. However. at the bottom of the last
fall, we met with an almost serious acct
dent, being thrown violently against the
shore, so that my writing desk and instru-
ments could be saved by heroic efforts only.
At that point, the river branches out into
two arms. The one we selected was so
narrow in spots that all hands had to go to
work with poles to squeeze the ferry
through, while the other was even more
dangerous on account of driftwood, giant
poplars for the most part. At the point
mentioned, again entered upon the unin-
habited regions. The prevailing stiffness
during daytime was most appalling. Not
bird, not a jumping fish, no single insects.
even, for frost had killed off the Mosquitoes
and the ferry made no manner of noise,
gliding along in ghost-like calm.
But of nights big cats and other animals
made things lively. BY the light of the
fires on the poop and water edge, we Wit
messed exciting hunts; mighty tigers chas-
ing the graceful antelope, ferocious bears
attacking wild cats, deer and roe to wallow
in their blood. The entertainments were COW
cred with virgin forests forming a contin-
uous black thicket the tunnels and CORR
doris of which no sunbeam ever penetrated.
Thus we went on day after day. week
after week. through mystic forest thorough
fares that in more than one respect re-
called the streets of ancient Venice, her
palaces transformed into trees, her quays
into banks of golden bulrushes. When the
current was slow, saw my gondoliers lean
lazily on their poles again, when the wind
was high, the Jaskent Darja was sometimes
covered from shore to shore with yellow
leaves and greens like the Sargossa sea.
The further got, the more complicated
was the serpentines, described by the river.
At one time we sailed LAO meters to cover
a distance of $50 meters-one-ninth more
and we would have made perfect circle
and not infrequently we passed at IL a. m,
second time the spot from which we had
started at o'clock.
Arriving at Nasar-tag, / decided to lay
up for few days to revive my charts. Dur
ing the night of the 18th to the 18th of Octo-
Der, the thermometer dropped below zero.
In the evening of Oct. IL, late, we noticed
fiery tongues between the trees on the
embankment, the phenomenon being due to
peculiar apparatus used by the savage
herdsmen of Turkestan to brighten away
the tiger. threw a quantity of oil on our
cook stove to make the fire flare up, but
strangers no sooner saw our boat with it's
ghost-like cabin when they fled into the
| forest, leaving their sheep behind. / tried
my best to reassure these innocent people.
but succeeded not. Let us hope that none
| of them were eaten by the fierce cats on
our account.
| This adventure only increased the anxiety
1 felt for meeting the strange inhabitants
of Tarim virgin forests, yet to attain that
end we had to turn man-stealers, confess
with shame No matter how we approached
them, or what inducements we offered, the
herdsmen would run like frightened ante
| lopes as soon as they caught sight of us or
| our ferry. So nothing would do but to am
bush a handful of them and carry them
triumphantly to the boat, where they were
Toasted and amused until they lost their
shyness and became tranquil. To these poor
| men 1 am obliged for many geographical
fl cts spread on the pages of my diaries.
AS we entered upon the neighborhood of
Arrat, we fell in with party of horsemen
belonging to the local governor-picturesqu
cons and eagles upon their heavily gloved
wrist-like knights and DANES of the middle
ages. The world, you perceive, is going
round and customs abandoned by us to-day
are likely to be adopted as quite new by
our antipodes sooner or later.
A few days later we ran into miles upon
miles of wild geese, travelling Indiawards.
They must have seen us first, for, suddenly,
there a shrill signal; the bird cloud
shot up high in the air, and thereafter
maintained distance of from four to i've
hundred feet from our masthead.
Talk of tactical maneuvers by the great
generals of the day! 1 never better
disciplined troop, more regularly divided into
army corps, divisions. regiments and COM
panies. And as to the field marshals, they
were as sure of the road as the waters
from melting glaciers seeking the bed of
the Lop-nor.