The Elbert County tribune., 1912-08-09

the world wide demand for more details The
news spread to Morocco, and English anthor
and traveller. Fellow of the Royal Geographical
Society. who more interested in the archaeo
logical research In that section than In the recov
cry of the vast treasures tried through the Lon
don papers to get more definite data, but the mat
ter had been forgotten by that time treated
Joke
It months before the truth was forthcoming.
Then II was found that Spauding. bringing the two
rribesmen. had arrived in Bokhara from Samar-
cand by caravan from Kashgar and that the won
derful IND was approximately sixty miles north
cast OF the Bashmir border instead of Bokhara,
on the way Yarkand in the Chinese portion Of
Turkestan; in other words. in the heart of almost
rnexplored and unknown Asia Bokhara was the
FIRST point OF touch with the outside world and
Spauldlng had come there to raise money and
organize expedition. This he had little trou-
BILE In doing for all that part of the world has
been dreaming for centuries of the recovery of
The treasures OF the Khans. He was last heard
from three years ago and 1t is now believed that
he and the with him died somewhere in the
wilds of the Dapsang
The unadorned tale of the adventure of the
two hllmen reads like chapter from the Arab
ian Nights" The two men belonged to trading
caravan and being dissatisfied. left 1t and set
out for Yarkand. which is a town on the Yarkand
river. one OF the main tributaries of the Tarim,
mighty stream draining region twice the size
of the state of Texas and emptying into the Lob
Nor, which has no visible outlet They got lost
in the mountains and turned into trail hewn
In the rock wide enough for but two men to pass
abreast and. travelling for some time along the
def1le. they came to great cave with number
OF huge images in row before the door.
The entrance square. open portal. and
within were series Of tombs each with Its pock-
cts in the rock filled with many objects Of great
value. They said that they more than enough
precious stones to load sixty cames, yet all that
they could bring away with them what they
could put into the receptacles of their clothing.
and many Of these they lost before they found
again the regular route to Yarkand. They made
careful observations OF the trail and left heaps
of stones to mark 1t to a certainty. Even when
def1le, they came to greta cave with number
of the value of their find.
When discovered by Spaulding he had great
difnculty In persuading them to go with him He
feared to organize an expedition in Yarkand, as
they reached the market town they had idea
there danger of his being murdered and
robbed by the halfsavage men he would have had
to employ. There are many persons In the re-
gion who believe that he found the tombs, secured
portion of the treasure went on into the Brit
ish Indian state of Nepal and robbed and
murdered there, as many very large stones and
pieces of Tartar-worked gold have been coming
out of that state In the past two years without
any adequate source being ascribed to them.
1t is just south of the region described that
the Karakoram Mountains lie. but where is the
lost city of Caracarum Karakoram, the
cent capital OF the great Tartar state? Where
are the enormous treasures lost at the time of Its
destruction? History shows that It a very
large stonebuilt city. that It stood within sight,
at least OF the mountains that bear its name. and
that 1t was the wealthiest OF all the cities Of eCn
tral Asia Marco Polo visited it on his famous
journey about 1892 A. D. and on his return to
Europe described It In detail to his chronicler
friend, Rustcano
Eight hundred years ago 1t was the capital OF
ehe Tartar Empire and literally reeked with
wealth. all established under the financial genius
of that strange half-mythical character Presbyter
or Prester John. MGioo Polo told OF In
which the decorations heavy embossngs In
xold snd silver set with great Jewels, and his
references show that he surfeitsd with the
sight Of the wealth displayed.
Tho city fell before the assaults of the wild
troops Of the ambitious and ruthless Umcan or
Um-Khan Previous to the attack all the treasure
that could be assembled put under the great
stairway in the center of tho city and when the