The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1912-08-08


news spread to Morocco, and English author
and traveller, a Fellow Of the Royal Geographical
Society, who was 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 was treated
joke.
1t was months before the truth was forthcoming.
Then 1t found that Spaulding, bringing the two
rribesmen. had arrived in Bokhara from Samar-
caDd by caravan from Kashgar and that the won
derful find was approximately sixty miles north
east Of the Kashmir border instead of Bokhara,
the way to Yarkand In the Chinese portion OF
Turkestan: in other words in the heart of almost
unexplored and unknown Asia Bokhara was the
first point Of touch with the outside world, and
Spauldng had come there to raise money and
organize expedition This he had little trou-
bic 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 it is believed that
he and the men with him died somewhere in the
wilds Of the Dapsang.
The unadorned tale Of the adventure of the
two hill-men reads like a chapter from the Arab
ian Nights" The two men belonged to a trading
caravan and, being dissatisfied left 1t and set
out for Yarkand, which is 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 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 time along the
defle, they came to great cave with a number
of huge images in row before the door.
The entrance was square, open portal. and
within were a series Of tombs each with its peck
cts in the rock filled with many objects of great
value. They said that they saw more than enough
precious stones to load sixty camels yet all that
they could bring away with them was 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 certainty. Even when
defile, they came to greta with number
of the value of their find.
When discovered by Spauding he had great
difficulty in persuading them to go with him. He
feared to organize expedition in Yarkand
they reached the market town they had idea
there was danger of his being murdered and
robbed by the half-savage men he would have had
10 employ. There are many persons in the re-
gion who believe that he found the tombs secured
q portion of the treasure, went on into the Brit
isl Indian state OF Nepa and robbed and
murdered there, 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.
II Is lust south of the region described that
the Karakoram Mountains lie, but where is the
lost city of Caracarum or Karakoram, the an
cient capital of the great Tartar state? Where
are the enormous treasures lost at the time Of it's
destruction? History shows that 1t was a very
large stonebuilt city that 1t stood within sight
at least of the mountains that bear its name, and
that it was the wealthiest of all the cities OF eCn
trail Asia. Marco Polo visited 1t on his famous
tourney about 1892 A. ID. and on his return to
Europe described 1t In detail to his chronicler
friend, Rusticano.
Eight hundred years ago Il was the capital OF
the Tartar Empire and literally reeked with
wealth. all established under the financial genius
of that strange, halfmythical character Presbyter
ar Prester John Marco Polo told Of In
which the decorations were heavy embossngs In
gold and silver set with great jewels. and his
references show that he was surfeted with the
sight of the wealth displayed.
The city fell before the assaults Of the wild
+roons of tho ambitious and ruthless Umcan
Trm.Khan Previous to the attack all the treasure
,ha, could be assembled put under the great
stairway in the center OF the city and when the