The Washington times., 1913-07-28

oscar L. CROSBY, or "arrenton, va
| former Washington society and club
| man, now mentioned for appointment
| as governor general Of the Philippines
! is a daring explorer.
He has climbed ice-bound peaks rear
ing their heads 1880 feet above the sea
| he has scrambled in mountain torrent:
| whose chilly waters swept men anC
| horses from their feet; he has endured
for months a temperature which fire.
quently went to Is below zero; he has
encamped in an arid waste. unable tc
travel further. viewing what appeared
to be starvation's inevitable approach.
These are some of the experiences OF
| this explorer and geographer in an ex'
ploring expedition on the Tibetar
plateau:
'Tt was not his first trip of like char
acter. He also explored the Abyssiniar
plateau, forming the acquaintance oi
King Meneliff and gaining a knowledge
pies that few white men possess. Valu-
| able results followed that trip; geogra-
ply learned of new places and archae-
ology and the kindred sciences gathered
q NV inspiration. Mr.. Crosby's own re-
wards were the satisfaction he derives
| lowship In the Royal Geographical
Society. With these he was we'll con-
tent.
White Desert.
This region of perpetual snow is
known as the Aksal Chin or White
Desert, and the extreme cold and lofty
attitudes and difficulty OF travel, COM
bined with Tibetan exclusiveness, have
! in the past prevented its exploration" "
said Mr.. Crosby, in telling his expert
ences.
I'VE found that the movement of the
mountain chains, marked on the maps
as north and south. is really east and
west. We discovered two large lakes.
hitherto unknown, and located the head
waters OF the Karakash river, which
runs for 300 miles into the Taklamachan
desert We were able TO supply other
missing information as 10 this cluster
Of mountain ranges, that marks the
northern boundary OF Tibet. So that,
after all. our hardships were not alto
gether In vain"
Mr.. Crosby left for London in May Of
1900. He Travelled by rail to St Peters
burg, and thence to the terminus of
During the journey he met Capt. Fer
nand Anginieur. and officer Of the
French army, who was travelling in the
Caucasus. They were thrown together
on the train, and Mr.. Crosby revealed
the project he had in mind. 1t appealed
with powerful effect to the romantic
temperament and scientific easerness of
the Frenchman, and at his suggestion
Mr. Crosby accepted him as a conpan-
ion. 1t is possible that had Captain
Anginieur known by what a narrow
margin he would escape death and that
a permanent lameness was 10 be one Oh
the inheritances of the expedition. some
of his enthusiasm would have waned.
Hope Mark Start.
But II was high and glorious then and
the start was made. Through Russian
Turkestan to Kashgar, in Chinese Tur-
kestap, the trip was made with a hired
caravan. Here were noticed every
where the evidences of Russian actiy-
tty. Gangs Of workmen were busily
employed In laying a line OF telegraph
from Andijan across the frontier In
Kashgar, penetrating LIS miles or more
Of Chinese territory. The line was de-
signed to connect various military posts
in the two Turkestans.
Even in Chinese Turkestan Russian
influence was obviously paramount. AT
Kashgar the Russian officials were
dominant In power, and a Legation
guard" of fifty Cossacks was maintain
ed Everywhere the Russian officers
were most courteous and helpful, aiding
in every way in speeding the expedition
on and providing for the purchase of
supplies Through Kashgar. Yarkand.
and Khotan, Turkestan cities all at an
of oh Qh0Va
level, the travellers passed hurriedly.
and at Polu, a village at the foot OF
the Tibetan plateau, the permanent car
aVan was organized
up to this time" said Mr.. Crosby,
"alI had been relativesly easy sailing,
although our road would not have geen
described, by those with a bigoted re-
gard for the truth, as a primrose way,
But at Polu our troubles began.
Our party consisted of sixteen horses
and six men, one of whom was to act
as guide We had a slender store Of
provisions. consisting for the most part
OF canned goods. bread, and tea. An
auxiliary donkey caravan, that was to
follow us UP the steep ascent OF the
mountain range that we faced, carried
grain for the horses, and was to return
when the ascent had been completed
and we stood on the plateu.
Very Difficult.
THE ascent, which was up the steep
gorge Of a mountain torrent, was Of
unparalleled difficulty. We were bur-
dened with horses and supplies. the lat
ter ece3sarily heavy and cumbersome,
the former required by the difficulty of
breathing in the high attitudes. which
would have rendered anything like rea-
sonable progress on foot an impossi-
bility. We passed the auxiliary caravan
as we went up, and reached the top
after arduous labors.
Then we sat down to rest and wait
the arrival of the donkey caravan with
the grain. Finally we sent two Of our
men down to look for il, and they found
tw0-thirdS of the grain, but neither the
donkeys nor their drivers.
I'VE were somewhat discouraged. but
determined to keep on toward Rudak.
village in Tibet, where we might re-
plenish our stores and then make FOR
Lahassa, the Tibetan capital. | never
had hope that | would be permitted
to enter The Forbidden city. but l
thought | would approach il as nearly
as possible and gain all the infOrma-
tion | II ight on the way. This, how
ever. was another of my dreams, des-
tined to be frozen by the cold of those
icy solitudes.
Two DAYS later befell the next OF
our misfoTtunes. Former experiences
had tnsttlled into me an abiding dis
trust OF native guild in all little known
countries. and as an extra precautlon
| had tied Mahammed All to the leg OF
Taf Nl,z- tN..t