The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1920-11-26
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wishes seriously to study Asiatic 10
ol0gy one must 20 to the British Mu.
scum OF London. II is hoped that this
expedition will bring to New York the
greatest natural history collections
which the world has ever seen and
Will make New York the center Of
Asiatic scientific activity.
One Of the reasons why so little is
known "f the fossils Of China and
interior Asia is that material Of this
sort Is Uf considerable value to the
Chinese. Fossils are supposed to have
wonderful medicinal qualities. They
are known as dragons bones" and
whenever II fossil yielding locality has
been found. it is carefully concealed.
nevertheless during the last three
years DR.. !. G. Anderson. Mining Ad.
wiser to the Chinese Republic. has
been carryin. nn Investigations on be.
half OF Swedish, institutions and has
made some remarkable discoveries. DR..
Anderson is practically the first sci.
enlist who has ever collected fossils
personally IN China.
We know almost as little about some
of the living natives of Asia as about
t:le fossil history Of the country. Long
before the Chinese arrived. China was
Inhabited by aboriginal tribes, which
were pushed south and west Just
as III" Indians were driven westward
by the white men when they adj.
vanced across the American continent,
The remnants OF nenrly thirty Of
these ancient tribes. such rs the I.olos
M"s"S. Lisos and others. are rapidly
disappearing and yet almost nothing
is known of their origin, life Or Gus.
toms.
Keep Chinese Out.
Although many of the aborigines
were scattered among the mountains
Of iunnnn and kweichow and along
'he Tihetan frontier, the L0los still
maintain an independent, territory in
Szrchuln. one OF the richest and most
p"pu!oUs provinces If China. No Chi
neSe is permitted to cross the invisible
lines of their "kinsdom" without the
probability Of mourning violent
death. Continual raids are carried on
back and forth along the border, Per-
hHps the Chinese will capture i, score
or more of l.olGs who hav' ventur..d
to glimpse the world beyond their wild
hills and valleys. In retaliation. u few
nights later. the I.olOs will hurn II
whole Chinese village. kill all the men
and carry the women into slavery.
Thus the l.olOS have earned II rep:ta.
ton as hnrbnric savayes. And yet n
French explorer who crossed their
territory, properly "chaperoned." re-
ports them to he n charming people. If
hospitnbIe temper and high mentality.
Tie is one f the few scientists who
have penetrated the land of the I.n!os
and live to tell the tale. Mr.. Andrews,
who has hunted with l.Olos In Yunnan.
found them independent. to be sure.
bnt delightful in their native courtesy
and simplicity.
lie says: ut is impossible not to be
interested in this strange people. They
they are tall and slender. with long
faces and pAtrician noses. and they
show every Indication, Of Caucasian
blood. If they have it. where did it
come from: This is one Of the q,,es.
lions that should be answered before
the I."'"s disappear. as the other tribes
as rapidly doing"
There are many reasons why Cen.
trail Asia has remained scientifically
nncXpIored tor so long II time. 1t is
$" remote and difficult Of access that
tho cost Of conducting work on a
large scale is enormous. Moreover,
the country and its inhabitants pre-
sent unusual obstacles to Scientific re-
search. Not only are there vast in
tersecting mountain chains. waterless
deserts and treeless plains. hut in
many parts the climate is too cold for
effective work In winter. In some
places the natives are exceedingly
suspicious Of foreigners: religious su.
perstitions greatly handicap resea rch
and make IT decidedly dangerous.
Chinese superstitious.
The Chinese have many supersti-
tons regarding the ground. The feng
shut. the spirits of the earth. wind
and water. must always be- favorable
before burial takes place. and It il
exceedingly uniucky to disturb the
ground In the region Ut a cemetery.
Though our pale0ntologists are Ger.