Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-12-30

D1O V0s W DOO
sian Countess Plans niz-
ardous Journey
London, Dec. 29.-Two Of the most
intrepid explorers living. half a dober
others who are slightly less vel
known, and one of the greatest author
tiles on geography and travel gen
orally" have been spending most Of
their time lately in attempting tt
dissuade a rich, titled, young. and at
tractive woman from attempting a
project which she has set her heart
on carrying out. OF course, the. whole
lot Of them have failed.
The two explorers in question are
Henry Savage Lander and Harry dc
Wtndt, while the great authority OF
travel who is Joining his protests Std
theirs is DR.. Scott Kettle, the secre'
tary CT the Royal Geographical socie.
ty, and the woman whom these ex'
perts have been attempting to dissu'
ade from what they describe as delib'
crate suicide, is the Countess Molitor.
whose late husband was the owner
of a big estate near Moscow, and who,
although she is just out of her TWEEN
ties, already has risked her life more
times than she can keep count Of.
longs tor Solitude.
Besides her estates in Russia, which
she now is selling as rapidly as posi-
BILE, the countess has a villa in Italy
and a third home in Germany. Yet
she declares that she longs for. moth
ing so much as a wandering life in the
midst of comparative solitude-any-
thing so long as it is not our humdrum
This craving it was which first made
the Countess Molitor half decide to
be a missionary, explorer, and to at.
tempt practically alone to wrest its
secrets from one of the earth's last
UNEMPLOYED and admittedly most dan.
gerous regions, the great desert of
Arabia, called by the Arabs who live
on its fringe ''The Dwelling of. the
a region that is three times as
large as Great Britain, and upon
which no European foot is known to
have trod.
Only three travellers have claimed
to have gazed upon the utter
most fringes Of this vast desert,
Has Had Many Marrow Bscapes.
These facts. however. do not deter
the Countess Moliter, who already
has wandered with only small escort
Of native bearers through savage
southern Africa and been captured
there and held for ransom by native
tortues5 who has ventured, too, among
the Turegs of the Sahara, known al
the most bloodthirsty tribe on earth
who has crossed the Alps in q balloon
made between sixty and seventy
flights in aerorlanes and waterplanes,
been attacked by Apaches in Paris,
and narrowly escaped from them, and
who has nursed in the hospitals OF
Germany and craried on rescue ork
in the .slums of London.
At the outset, by the bye, she
thought of gratifying what she calls
"the strain Of gypsy in me" only by
taking a trip around the world-and
the blame of putting the across the
Arabian project into her head at the
door of. DR.. Scott Keltie,saalthnughsssaae
soon as the famous secretary Of the
Royal Geographical society found that
the countess not only was taking his
suggestion seriously, but going his
original idea about 1000 per cent bet
ter, he hastily tried TO pour cold wat
er on the project.
Arabia Almost Unknown.
Once the coast has been left be-
hind, apparently, the whole land OF
the Arabs is practically unknown ter.
whose most similar areas have
been crossed, as one writer puts 1t.
ALWAYS in haste and often in fear
and no doubt when som eseven weeks
ago, the Countess Molitor came over
from Paris and told ID. Kettle that
she,awanted, please! to do some ex.
ploring, the latter in mentioning
Arabia had in mind some compare
lively short journey inland.
But once Dr.. Kettle, carried On by
the gecgrapher's5 enthusiasm, had
spoken of the great Ruba el.Khai de-
sert, some 100000 square miles in
extent. which it is considered doubt
full if any native, even, ever has cross.
ed, with its possible buried cities and
probable mines Of precious metals,
and its tabled inhabitants, he kindled
flame which he couldn't extinguish.
So the countess made up her mind
to. attempt the 1,1OO mile journey be.
tween Jedda on the RedEsea and Mus.
cat on the Gulf of Oman. She has de-
cided to sail from Southampton for
Port Said before the end Of December,
and hopes by Jan. 8 to- reach Jedda,
where she erpects to devote seven
days to buying camels and getting
men.
Going Without European Aids
At present, in spite OF being every
where -counseled to have at least a
male European companion, she lie plan
Ynll have not