The sun., 1908-04-26


captured Constantinople about the middl
Of tho fifteenth century. In Africa tot
there have been and still are Mongols
theoretically at least the Turkish Do
minion exists in Egypt and In Tripoll. No
restricted 10 the Eastern Hemisphere, the
word Mongol Is now often used 10 inoud'
aboriginal man In America. Thus thiI
great aggregation Of human beings q
found In all parts Of both hemlspheres, ano
the Mongols cannot be considered his
toricaly In q wide sense OF the name unless
We consider all mankind.
Turning now TO the original and narrow
est sense Of the word, our author reoog-
niEes that the term was first applicable
only 10 those Mongols who during twelve
centuries or more have inhabited the country
Immediately south Of Lake Balkal and
north OF the great Cobb Desert. It Is from
these Mongols propeS that the appellation
has at last been extended to the whole
yellow race In both hemIspheres. II is
often said that the word Mongol was coined
by the Chinese, but Mr.. Curtin deems this
doubtful. He admits, however. that the
Chinese made the name known 10 the OUT
side world. and thus opened the way TO
the wide application now given it. In
the Middle Kingdom, the Tang dynasty
lasted from A. d. els TO A, d. eO7, and left
an interesting history Of it's own. In which
the term Mongo appears as Mong-ku,
whereas In the annals Of the Khitan dynasty,
which followed the Tang, the form used
is Mong-ku-li The Khitans were sue
oeeded by the Golden Khans, or Khin Empe-
rors, and In the annals OF their line the
Mong-ku are very often mentioned.
There seems to be no doubt that the
Mongols began their career somewhat
south Of Lake Ba 'kal, in region where six
rivers rise In a very remarkable mountain
tract. Three Of these the 0non, the lngoda
and the Kerulon, are the main western
sources Of that immense waterway the
Amur. which enters the Sea Of Othotsk and
thus finds the Pacific. The other three
rivers, the Tula. Orion and Selinga, flow
into Lake Baikal and thence. through the
Lower Angara and the Yenissei, are merged
in Arctic waters, directly in front Of Nova
Zembla. These two water systems begin
In the Kentei Khan Mountains. which have
as their most elevated peak Mount Durham.
The sI rivers, while flowing either toward
the Amur or toward Lake Baikal. water the
whole stretch Of country whore, as far as We
know, the activity Of the Mongols began
There they moyed about with their large
and small cattle, fought, robbed and hunted
ate and drank and slew one another during
unreckoned centuries. In that region Of
forest and grass land, Of mountains and
valleys. Of rivers, large and small, the air
is bracing, though pieroingly cold during
winter and exceedingly hot in the summer
months. There was subsistence enough
for a simple life in that country, but men
had 10 fight for II savagely. Flocks and
herds, when they have grown numerous
need immense spaces 10 feed In, and the
necessary areas Of pasture land caused un-
ending struggle and bloodshed.
This grabbing Of pasture and forest,
this stealing Of cattle and capture Of women
continued for ages with no apparent results
except those which we're personal, localand
transient, till Temudjln, the great Mongol-
better known 10 us as Genghis Khan
appeared In that rough mountain country.
This man summed up in himself and In
tenEihed to the utmost the ideas, strength,
temper and spirit Of his race a. they had
been presented In action and life up 10
his day. He placed the Mongols on the
stage Of the world with a skill and a power
that were colossal and all conquering. The
results which he achieved were immediate
and terrifying. As Mr.. Curtin truly says,
no man born OF woman has had thus far in
history a success 80 peculiar, 90 thorough
and perfect, 90 completely acknowledged by
mankind, as the success won by Temudjin,
We seem to feel in his career an Irresistible
sequence, q finish, q oneness Of character,
that sets II apart among all the careers Of
those mighty men in history who worked
for this life and no other, who strove for
no object save that which IL tangible, ma
terial and present-success Of such kind,
and success 30 enormous, that a common
intelligence might yearn for II but would
have no more chance Of winning II than
OF reaching the stars OF Of seeing the sun
at midnight. Almost all thoughtful men
will concur with the author Of this book
in pronounoing the career Of this Mongol
unique on this earth, unapproachable.
since its object was unmiIed and immedi-
ate and his success in attaining II was N
great that II appears, we might almost say,
The story Of Genghis Khan, as here re-
is followed by the story Of his sue
including, OF course, the famous
Tamerlane down to the fifteenth century.
During some two hundred years Mongol
princes strove increasingly TO regain lost
dominion. yielding to China when sufficient
force was sent against them or attacking
border provinces Of the empire when thoss
provinces were left unguarded. AZ last.
toward the middle Of the seventeenth CEN
tury. when the Ming dynasty was nearing
Its downfall in the Middle Kingdom, the
Mongols found themselves divided into
groups under various small ohieftains, each
Of whom bore the title Of Khan. After the
Manchu dynasty had won control in China,
about the middle Of the seventeenth cen-
tury, II took under its protection. the eastern.
most Mongols and with their aid conquered
nearly all the rest. Since i7o0 most OF the
Mongols proper have been subject to China,
while remnant is under Russian rule.
II was Mr. Curtin's conviction that, re-
az has been the part played by
he Mongols In history, the part yet to be
played by them may be far more memoir
lble. How great and how varied that part
nay prove and Of what character is one Of
he secrets Of the future
"