Evening star., 1914-05-24

n
Had happened. however. 10 find them
in a different mood. the chances are that
should not be here. telling about il So
glihly''
Having seen enough to make her declds
that the Cobb Desert task was not phys
icaily impossible to her Mrs. Bulstroeis
returned to Peking to find out both from
the British and Chinese authorities
whether there was any chance OF being
granted passport: ii was at once evi-
dent that there was not. and few days
later orders went forth from the leSa-
tons that no foreigners We're TO travel
north OF the Great Wall. which meant
that even Kalgan was out of bounds
Both the British legation and the higl,
chinese officials were annoyed that She
should have ventured into Mongolia with
out official sanction.
Il know now" she said tina; they
were right. If | had attempted to cross
the desert in the unsettled conditions,
constant fighting and so forth which at
the time prevailed, | should most proba-
bly, have been killed.
SO she changed her plans. and. in com
pany with an Englshman belonging TO
the Chinese customs service named Gull.
set off for northern Mongolia The Jour
ney thither was 4 stiff and exciting one
To begin with. they- took train to werk-
neudinsk. in Siberia. and then went up
the Selenga river in n Russian steamer "A
up WHICH lasted tnree DAYS and half,
and so reached Kiachta. where they had
a lot of bother with the Russian customs
on account of the arms and ammunition
they carried
x
Eventually. however. they hired a ia
rantas." or cart with three horses. and
set out for Crga, the capital of Mongolia
and by far its most important town. This
took them eight days. the rivers, the
Hara-Gol and the Ura-Gol being in food
and having to be forded-no pleasant lob
They met Russian emigrants on the way
to the Mongolian gold mines and bartered
timed meats with them for fresh mutton
One rather funny incident happened
over deal in eggs. knowing no Rus
sian. little Chinese and only a few words
OF Mongolian. Mrs. Bulstrode was in the
habit of making drawings of what she
wanted. generally with as much success
as if she We're Gibson himself But she
drew an egg in an egg cup. and was met
with looks of blank surprise Then her
companion had a brain-wave. He tapped
his arms as though they were wings and
cried coek-a-doodie-doo" and eggs were
at once forthcoming
So they reached the holy city of Ursa,
where this traveller saw at least one sight
which she declares she can never forget.
for IN the prison at Crga, to which she.
the first white woman to enter it. sue
ceeded in gaining admission only after
the greatest difficulty. is meted out what
Mrs. Bulstrode thinks and probably cor
rectly. must be the most cruel punishment
on earth.
THE Mongols' she said have il In
them to be most diabolically cruel, and a
more terrible fate than befalls the Mon
gol malefactor at Urga is difficult OF
conception. Within small compound
n hx- hio1,
hve or six dungeons There are human
beings in those dungeons who are shut
up for the remainder of their lives in
heaVy. lron-bound collins. out of which
they never under any conditions or for
any purpose move. They cannot sit up
right they cannot lie down fiat, and they
see daylight for only few minutes when
their food Is thrust into their coffins-
twice in the twenty-four hours.
These dungeons are pitch dark Mrs
BulStrode added, and upon entering the
first one We could see nobody-only the
coffinlike iron-bound boxes on low tres
Ties. each with a hole about the size of
a mans head in the side In the five
dungeons l counted about fifty of these
cofflns. all occupied. What makes 1t ali
the more horrible. too, is that many Of
these prisoners are educated, cultivated
menChineSe merchants, who are i'm
prisoned for political offenses. as well az
the Mongols. who are in for serious
thefts or for such offenses as shooting
animals on the sacred mountain. or for
murder.
X X
"One unfortunate is said to have exist.
ed in this living tomb for twenty wears
though that seems incredible. With Mr.
Iull as interpreter. | managed to talk
with one or two of the Chinese prisoners
and found them in a deplorabie condition
and quite hopeless
Their abject misery she adds. ..n,ada
it easy to understand the ligbt-ba.rtod-
ness with which three Mongol soldiers
went to their execution a few d.yS 1...
DIX months previously they had murders
ed their general. and in. the intery.I IT,.
iito oeen dragging out a rnisera bIe ax;s,
ehce IN the coffins. They looked pb.s,,,,
enough after their incarceration and 10
sLheeuii! tne 1ood which was offered to
them when they We're taken out nj ~,
carts One of them shouted rjhala III
official capacity. f'e"' III MS
..,r, Soine out and watch Us die" he ieered
mat is what you are here for, Do,.r
stop sulking in that tent Ona of a.
LINERS liners remarked to the lama who held
the sacred picture of Buddha before bis
eyes e lew minutes prior to execution.
so,Sie,,. Ioi mind thlhd dylns. but want to be a
so.alef when L am born again.
Inc lamas, Mrs. BuIsrrode deoI,raS
ar the dominating factor of Mongolia
Every lamiiy contributes at least one
SON 10 The priesthood, which is said To
Iepresent approximately 10 per cent of
IN aiie male population of the country
Ihere are said to be 5000 lamas In
Ifea alone. whose great temple too is
me pace OF worship of the supreme head
OF the sect BoGdo. the living god Of
the Moneo!ian Buodhists.
AS 1t happened. Mrs. Bulstroda arrived
IN urga at the time of the semi-religious,
seini-athietic festival of Tsan Haren. or
sacred dance, when lamas congregate in
vast numbers to pay tribute to Bogdo
whose private life is a bit of a scandal.
Now dissipated looking old fellow. and
nearly blind. Mrs. Bulstrode gathered
that Bogdo was selected in some fashion
when quite a child, and was specially
brought up and trained in the functions
ne was to exercise. Nominally he is sup
posed to be celibate, yet he has a wife,
and at the time of our travellers visit the
whole town was excited over the ap-
preaching birth of a son. Nor was any
concealment of this anomalous state of
Things attempted-in fact, in the new
temple. which had just been built at
are Two thrones. one for the Bogdo and
one OF equal grandeur for his wife Fac
ing the thrones is an enormous figure Of
Buddha, the largest in the world.
The Bogdo in fact. made anything but
q faVOrab bic impression Mrs RIl-