Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-17
Painted Like a Native, Wan
derS in Land of the Llama.
DISCOVERS LAKE CHUNITSO
Mountain Range of Ninchan Tangla
Crossed Eight Times.
BARELY ESCAPES DETECTION
Learns That the Charta Tsanpo, a
Tributary Of the Brahmaputra,
Comes From High Snow Peaks.

LONDON, September IA special dis
patch from Simla, British India, says that
by deceiving the Tibetans regarding his
intentions Sven Hedin, the Swedish ex-
plorer who has just arrived there after
extended explorations in Tibet, was en-
abled to evade the Tibetan spies when he
started in December 1907. A short dis
lance from Karakoram Pass he turned
due east. and in a continuous fall of snow
and amid great hardships he reached
Aksai Chin lake in January. From that
on the snow obliterated the roads and the
caravan was in terrible straits.
Some of the party suffered from frost
bites and DR.. Hedin's feet were frozen.
1t became necessary to kill off their flock
of sheep for food. Eventually, however.
they reached Shementso. Here friendly
nomads resupplied him with animals. and
a twenty-day march east and southeast,
passing Lem Chang lake, brought the eX-
peditlOn TO point where a plunge into
the unknown had to be made
Disguised as a Native.
After burning their European clothes
and everything indicating their national
ity, and hiding their money and instru-
ments in rice bags, DR.. Hedin adopted a
disguise of common ladakhi, daily paint
ing his hands and face a dark color and
pretending to be the driver of animals.
When wandering tribes met them Karin,
trustworthy man. familiar with Tibet,
was posing as the head of the caravan
Thus they travelled without discovery for
two months in furious gale through an
unknown tract, ending at Tongsto.
From March they traversed the north
ern edge of a great tract between lati-
tndes 20 and 30. stretching from his old
route to the Bra hmaputra. which was the
great object of his Journey The ex-
plorers then marched due south, crossing
several ranges running east and west.
and passed the enormous ice mount aims
known AS the Shakangsham on the east,
from which point flowed a big river
Thence they crossed Ladang pass into
an open valley and Bongda province.
which no European had ever entered. lay
before them Here precautions were re-
doubled, and the explorers had several
narrow escapes from discovery by the
watchful Tibetans.
Lake Chunitso Described.
DR.. Hedin discovered Lake Chunitso
and followed its west shore for a whole
day. and first heard of the great salt lake
of Tabia Tsakha, which Is a source of
considerable wealth to the government
through the salt exports. Two more
ranges were crossed and an open plain
was reached which was bounded on the
south by mountain range 1000 miles
long, stretching east and west. the grand
est physical feature north of the Brah-
maputra valley. Snow and glaciers ev-
erywhere bounded the horizon
DIR. Hedin was rewarded by discovering
the continuity Of this chain, which no
explorer hitherto had approached from
the north. He crossed the range eight
times at various points, naming it Origi-
naily the Ninchan Tangla.
The success with which he had met in
his explorations stimulated him to at
tempt the solution of the problem of the
course Of the Charta Tsanpo. big tribu-
tary of the Brahmaputra. He found that
its course has been wrongly marked on
the maps and that 1t Is fed from huge
snow peaks, lake being formed from
whence the river reaches the Brahma-
putra.