Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1910-02-18
DR.. SVEN ANDERs HEDIN.
The Wonderful Young Swedish Explorer
Who Has Been Called "a kipling with
a SeStant"

sven Anders Hedin, the Swedish eXplor-
er-Whose name is pronounced with the
short and the ! Ike double g. with the
accent on the second sylla ble-is not ont
ranked by any other traveller Of modern
times, with the possible exception Of
Henry NJ. Stanley. The medal conferred
upon him. in ahsentia, AT the meeting of
the philadelphia Geographical society re-
Gently was in recognition Of series of
notable achievements, beginning with his
Mesopotamian journeys Of 1888, when a
lad OF 20. and including in the quarter
century since that year the waste places
of Central Asia, Mongolia Siberia and n,
particular the country of Tibet. THE roof
of the world His last journey in North
rrh I1"et from which he has just re-
turned, was in some respects the most
interesting of an
Since the British. under YounphusbauJ
and Macdonald, in 1908 entered the boIv
city "i I-nasa and effected commercial
treaty, there had been an under
standing between the government of maj,
ana that Of Tibet that foreigners were
To he vigorously excluded from the conn
Try. The members of the British exne-
dition Of 1903 had been the first English
men TO enter the sacred city since. i'm
ISIz' Thomas Manning, the friend Of
thafleS Lamb, gaZed upon the gold
rooted palace of the Grand Lama. Ac-
cordingly when Sven Hedin applied 70
the British government for permission 10
enter the country. he was met with a
courteous but firm refusal. He waited
at Simla for some weeks as the guest Of
the Niceroy, the Earl OF Mimic. until the
ultimatum came from the prime minister
himself. in London, that the mountain
passes leading into Tibet were closed an
solutely to the intrepid Swedish traveller
Nothing daunted Hedin procured
through the Offices of the Swedish min
lister in London a passport for Eastern
Turkestan, to the north Of Tibet and m
der preteNt of journeyng thither entered
the forbidden country surreptitiouslv at
the northwestern corner For nearly
three months after leaving the frontier
town Of Leh he did not meet a human
being outside of his own party He fire.
quently encamped at elevations between
1900 and $4,000 feet. The whole country
was dreary, treeless waste, ahsolutely
destitute Of any signs OF previous human
occupancy AS fast as his baggage ami
mails died off. the ravens. Vultures and
wolves made short work Of the remains
the birds beginning their hideous repast
by picking out the eyes OF these faithful
horses and mules, which were gradually
replaced by the shaggy yaks (Tibetan
oNen), purchased from the natives wnen
the caravan came to the first wretched
nomad encampments. OF several score of
animals, six horses and one mule were
left when they reached the town of Shi-
gatse, where the Tashl Lama spiritual
pope Of the Tibetans) is in residence
Dr. Hedin had two protracted interviews
with his Holiness, young man Of 25, of
whose engaging personal qualities he
gives a most enthusiastic description.
The most remarkable contribution 10
geographical science OF Dr. Hedin's ex
pedition-and with the possible exception
OF the attainment of the Poles. the most
remarkable conquest remaining for anv
explorer to make-was the discovery of
a range OF mountains In Northern Tibet
In the white area marked "ITnexplored"
on the Royal Geographical society's man
This mountain range, which its dscoverer
has named Trans Himalaya, is long
enough to reach from Philadelphia 10
Denver and in many places attains an
altitude OF more than 90 900 feet above
sea-level. Until Hedin's lonely and adj
venturous voyage, European geographers
were unaware of its existence
There can be no reasonable doubt of
the authenticity Of Hedin's discoveries
Gifted with the constructive and romantic
Imagination that justifes the appellation