The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-24

timed meats with them for fresh nut ton. one rather funny incident hap- pened over a deal in eggs. Knowing no Russian. little Chinese and only a few words of Mongolian, Mrs. Bulstrode was in the habit of making drawings of what she wanted. aenerally with as much success as if she were Gibson himself. But she drew an egg in an egg cup and was met with looks of blank surprise. Then her companion had brain wave. He Tapped his arne as though they were wings and cried Cock "a doodle doo." and eggs were at once forthcoming
 So they reached the holy city of Urga where this traveller saw at least one sight which she declares she can never forget. For in the prison at Urga, to which she, the hrst white woman to enter it, succeed ed in gaining admission only after the greatest difficulty, is meted out what Mrs. buistrode thinks, and probably correctly. must be the most cruel punishment on earth. ~
 The Mongo1s, she said, .'have it In them to be the most diabolically cruel ana more terrible fate that befalls the Mongol ma1efactor at JTrga if Is difficult of conception. Within a small cornoupd fenced in by high, spiked palisades are live or six dungeons There are human beings in those dungeons who are sbut up for the remainder of their lives in heavy, ironbound cofisn.. out of which they never. under conditions or for any purpose, move. They cannot sit upright they cannot lie down fiat and they seA daylight only for a few minutes when their food Is thrust into their coffins twice in the o4 hours.
 These dungeons are pitch dark" Mrs Bulstrode added, 'and upon entering the first one we could see nobody-onlv the eoffin-like. ironbound boxes on low tres ao rrrff |, I.1J
 of mans head in the side In the five dungeons I counted about 50 of these cohins, all occupied. What makes if all the more horrible. too. is that many of these prisoners are educated, cultivated men, Chinese merchants. who are impris- oned for political offenses as well as the Mongols who are in for serious thefts or for such offenses as shooting animals on the sacred mountain or murder. One unfortunate Is said to have existed in this living tomb for 20 years. though that seems scarcely credible With MT GuI1 as interpreter, I managed to talk with one or two of the Chinese prisoners, and found them in a deploraple condition and quite hopeless
 Their abject misery'' she adds made 1t easy to understand the light-hearted ness with which three Mongol soldiers went to their execution few days later Six months previously tl,ey had murdered their general and in the interval they had been drhgging out a miserable exist ence in the coffins. They looked ghastlv enough after their incarceration and ate greedily the food which was offered to them when they were taken out of the carts. One of them shouted ribald jibes to tie mandarin, who was present in his official capacity.
 Come out and watch MS die" he jeered.
 That is what you are here for Don't stop skulking in that tent" One of the others remarked to the 4ama who held the sacred picture of Buddha before his eyes a few minutes prior to the execu- ton, Il don't mind dying, but I want to be soldier when I am born again."
 The lamas Mrs. Bulstrode declares are the dominating factor of Mongolia Ev- cry family. contributes at least one son to the priesthood, which is said to rep resent approximately 65 per cent of the male population of the country. There are said to be 30,00O lamas in Urga alone, Whose great temple, too, is the place of | worship of the supreme head of the sect. Bogdo the living God. of the Mongo- nan Buddhists. As it happened, Mrs buistrode arrived in Urga at the time of tne semi-reltg1ous semi-athletic festival I or I sam Haren, or sacred dance. when lamas congregate in vast numbers to pay tribute to Bogdo, whose private Iire IS At of a scandal. Now a dissipa ted looking old fellow, and nearly blind. Mrs. Bulstrode gathered that Bogdo was se- lected In some fashion when quite child and was specially brought up and trained in the function he was to exer- else. Nominally he is supposed to be a candidate, yet he has wife, and at the time of our travellers visit the whole town was excited over the approaching Birth of son. Nor was any conceal ment of this anomalous state of things attempted; in fact, in the new temple which had just been built at great cost in the center of the Holy City are two thrones, one for the Bogdo and one od equal grandeur for his wife Facing the thrones is an enormous figure of Buddha the largest in the world
 The Bogdo, in fact made any thing but favorable impression on Mrs. Bulstrode
 The Russians" she says, take advan tage of his great wealth and sell th, living God costly motor cars and cham pagne, while his wife and her inf1uenct are the commonplaces of conversation Yet when the Bogdo makes one of hi rare ceremonial appearances in publid the people fling themselves to the ground in an ecstacy of adoration. and eve, nlgh mandarins trembe with excite ment."
 Mrs. Bulstrode returned by "orton'' posting stages, to Kiachta. a iourne] which took four days. Quite a lot minor accidents happened as Il result o the furious pace which the Mongolia
 post riders" kept up. and a couple Cossacks who overlook the ,arantas one post, had to be called on for as sistance They found the vehicle, how ever, beyond repairs, and the journe was completed in oxcarts, with soli wooden wheels, drawn by ponies Fror Kiachta Mrs. Bulstrode went on to Werl neudinsky, where she joined the trans-S herian railway for St. Petersburg
 She is now in Brittany where she wi set about writing the detailed story her experiences. Meanwhile she has ha the distinction of lecturing to the Roys Asiatic society on her experience, an thinks it quite likely that. after bi she may run across the Atlantic to te Americans of her wanderings. Mean while,'' she said. ''it may possibly be interest to some American woman know that the total expenses of my tr were not over $500 for each of the tw years that was away
 He Calls It Fishing
 From the New York World.
 San Era neisco w H Daveunorf of il