The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1908-06-27
TRAILS
OF AN EXPLORER
FRANK N. MEYER RETURNS FROM
RANSACKING PRIMEVAL FOR
ESTS OF ASIA.

SAN FRANCISCO, June 12.-There
arrived here yesterday from the far
east a passenger on the Standard oil
tseamer Ashtabula, Frank N. Meyer,
an explorer in the service of the de-
partment of agriculture, who for the
last three years has been ransacking
the primeval forests of Asia in the
interests of Uncle Sam and the people
of this country. He brought back
with him a story of adventure on
hitherto untrodden trails, tales of hard
ship and suffering and a collection of
young trees that he believes will be
invaluable additions to the forests and
orchards of America. He also brought
two monkeys, guaranteed immune
against any ordinary kind of cold and
able to whistle tunes. The whistling
is United States, the tunes Chinese.
Among the agricultural specimens
brought home by Meyer are bamboo
trees of different species, and this
bamboo the explorer regards as the
most valuable part of his collection.
BAMBOO FOR LUMBER.
"A lumber famine in the United
States is a certainty" said Meyer, be
fore many years, and it will mean
much to the country if before that
time we can introduce the bamboo
tree. The bamboo i sthe most useful
| tree in the world. 1t grows quickly
and there is no limit to the purposes
for which it can be utilized. In
China the bamboo is used for making
! stakes, fences, baskets, roof tilins,
water pipes, rope and hundreds of 9TH
er purposes The green sprouts OF
J the bamboo are edible and boiled or
fried are to be preferred in my opinion
to asparagus"
FINDS MONKEYS IN SNOW
Meyer also has brought large num-
Der of ornamental trees, such as dwarf
lemons and spruces. The monkeys he
caught in the mountains north of
! Peking, where they live in the snow,
He brought them for the geological
gardens in Washington, where the
climate has hitherto proved too trying
for the ordinary monkey. A peculiar
ity of these monkeys is their ability tc
whistle.
Meyer was treated with the great
est consideration in China, but in Man
churia and Korea Japanese officials
: put every obstacle that they dared il
his way. He was obliged to go to Por
Arthur for military passport tina
: would take him through ManchurIa
Even his credentials, the best tha
, Uncle Sam could furnish did not en-
tirely disarm Japanese suspicion.
WOULD KEEP HIM SAFE.
They refused him what he wanted
r but with great politeness. Americi
and Japan, they told him, were yer,
, good friends. AS an American citizel
he was dear to them, so dear, in fact
that they could not think of allowin
him to risk his life on the untrodde
= trails OF Manchuria. He was allowe
= to visit Mukden and Liaoyang, bu
compelled to travel on the main roaC
In Korea he travelled on civil pass
port granted by Marquis Ito, but eve
J. that did not save him from frequer
detention and insult at the hands
: Japanese officials.
Meyer was attacked by outlaws
Khabarowsk, in Siberia. One of thel
e threw bag over his head, while tw
u others grabbed his arms. He maj
e aged to get one arm wee. With tn
e he drew ms dagger and drove tn
Il blade through the body of the man
Il front of him. When this man fell II
l. others fled. During the last thrt
a a weeks in the wilds he lived entirely c
. boiled oats and arrived at Vladevistc
in a state of exhaustion.