The sun., 1919-06-16
.ANTELOPES KEPT
PACE WITH FLIVVERS
DR.. Roy c. Andrews Tells Of
His Experience In Crossing
Cobb Desert.

Tales OF the mysterious Cobb Desert
Of little henrys fearlessly tracking over
trails that were old in the days OF
Jenghiz Khan and Prester John: Of
the strange Wild country and the savage
and half savage worshippers of the
Grand Lama, are coming back to the
American Museum OF Natural History
from their adventurer in Mongolia, Roy
c. Andrews.
DR. Andrews II conducting the second
Asiatic expedition OF the museum into
lands long the delight of story tellers
and the despair of historians. In the
last letter received he describes his trip
along the boundary of Mongolia and
across the ancient Cobb:
II have been up in outer Mongolia and
had most wonderful trip. It Is an
extraordinary country, and the most
Interesting i have ever visited. I went
to Urga and from there by auto across
Cobb Desert. The trip to Ursa was by
way OF the old caravan trail across
Cobb Desert, which has been in exist
ence for centuries. and life along Its trail
10 very similar to that OF hundreds of
years ago. Camel trains. OK carts,
Mongol riders and sheep herders are
carrying on their daily life the same as
in the days Of Jenghiz Khan, and into
this Middle Age civilization we injected
ourselves in three Ford automobiles!
"Urga. which Is Just south Of Lake
Baikei In Siberia. is one OF the moat
northern settlements of Mongolia, and
being only a few hundred miles from
Irkutsk has become a rather important
station. as messengers can go from there
to Pekin by way of the caravan trail.
THE COBB Is not a desert in the pop
ular conception Of the word but Is a
vast rolling prairie like those of our
| western states, the only sandy portion
lying far to the west Of where we
crossed. On our outward Journey we
saw upward OF 1000 antelopes OF three
different species. and were successful in
obtaining four or five which we shot
from the auto. II was most exciting
| sport tt run parallel with them at about
forty miles an hour and see them swing
around to cross In front OF the car
| This they invariably did, thus giving us
shots Mt from 400 to 500 yards. I never
before dreamed that an animal could
run so fast. At a conservative estimate
their speed must have reached sixty
| miles an hour, and / believe even more
The Inhabitants Of Urga are wonder
fully picturesque. the population con-
sisting OF about $4,000 lamas, 1000
Russians and 5000 Chinese. The Mon.
| bSi1 anu attractive
people. They dress In extremely bril-.
liant colors, and when they are or
horseback-and they are seldom on the
ground-they appear especially arrayed
for circus exhibition.
The expedition had no difficulty or
the outward journey. but the return trl1
was quite different. All the car trouble
(which II is possible for one 10 have thu
members OF the expedition encount. red
We started with three cars, but tho
only one TO get there was the one used
by myself, On the last day Of the
journey. through sand. ruts and stones
we drove 100 miles and then rode al
night on horseback through driving
rainstorm In order to take the morn
Ing train at Kalgan for Pekin. It wal
the dirtiest trip have ever taken, for
there was little water 10 be had ane
bathing was impossible. For thre,
weeks I did not have my clothes of
sleeping at night on the ground beside