Evening star., 1924-07-27
Valuable Specimens From China

(Continued from First Page.)
novels where human dirtiness, squalor
and distress reach their lowest level.
WHAT were the thoughts of the
explorer in this land? Let US
glide up behind him as he wrote on
Christmas eve in Nguluko:
ut is late in the evening, the wind
is bowling furiously. the house shakes
as IL moved by rthtremblers. and
1t is impossible for me to sleep.
Clouds have been driven together
around the giant peak on the slopes
of which my little Nashti house is
perched, and ere the sun rises, all will
probably be covered with snow. No
other sound Is audible save the furi-
Gus bowling Of the wind.
ITO all the people of this village
this day. or evening does not mean
more than any other day OF the year.
They are all ignorant of the meaning
of Christmas eve! And as l sit alone
by my little lamp / feel doubly lonely,
as there is not even a soul with whom
I can talk. In order to pass the time
away l looked over my last collection
Of plants, made in the last days of
autumn, and among them found many
CHEEKY little friend. picked during
my wandefings over the flower
strewn glades of this wonderful
mountain range,
"Soon it will be time to pack and
wander again over many mountains
and valleys, this time to leave for
the outer world. Will i like it?
know l will be dreadfully lonely and
longing for the far-away hills of this
wonderful country, to breathe it's
fresh air. to wander over it's alpine
meadows with their myriads of
flowers and listen to the songs of the
birds in the high alpine spruce for
ests among the SHOWS. / shudder
when think of landing in San Fran
CISCO
DANGEROUS adventures and mar
- row escapes from bandits which
IL
graphic Society explorer did not alter
this frame of mind, even though
when facing dangers, he wrote, God
knows where I will emerge" In
Likiangfu, China, he wrote:
"I have just returned from an ex-
citing trip to the Lachiming salt
mines. Money is dreadfully scarce
paper is useless, as none will take it,
especially up here with all these
tribespeople. L decided to risk IL
and make a dash for Lachiming, in
the heart of the widest mountain
ranges imaginable, to get funds to
carry on this work and see me
through to wherever God knows
will emerge. had four Chinese
drafts on the Lichiming salt mines
from the Tall salt Office.
AT first the Likiang official refused
to give me an escort, and said he
feared for my life and would mot
let me go. Finally l said I must have
money and would risk it. He gave
me two opium-sodden, disreputablt
wretches of soldiers as escort. They
| were simply a nuisance and expense
They were, Of course. only to go as
| for as the next magistrate. at Chier
| Chilean. There ] got four soldiers as fal
as I.auping, which place is not on any
map, being in unsurveyed territory. Al
LaupinR, five days west from Likiang
! got five soldiers. and thence we start
ed through the widest country imas'
Unable to Lachiming. Dense forests
deep ravines, high mountain passes
the loveliest and weirdest imaginable
1 was not afraid going to Lichiming
! but 1 feared the. return with ABOUT
$4,000 in silver in my trunks.
| "I took seven Of my Moso men and
the Ave soldiers from Lauping, be-
sides myself, SO we were 13 people
| in all. We reached Lichiming safely
and had no trouble in getting the
money. But it was at time when
the roads were watched by the brig
ands as the date on which money IL
| usually dispatched. 1t is exceeding
| ly dificult to keep things secret. we
| had no sooner arrived in Lachimine
than everybody knew why we came
1 did not stay longer than 1 had to-
to prevent the news travelling faster
| than we did, so left the next morn
ing with an additional escort. Thanks
to the gods, I reached Likiang with
out mishap. I put four scoundrels
into Jail in Lauping. where they got
| a beating as they tried to foul me
! but I got ahead Of them, SO here
am with the cash with which to
carry on"
On his trip up the Yangtze and
the Yundodye River toward Chung
tien, DR.. Rock met on the road the
grand lama, who informed him that
not q house had been left standing
in Chungtien. The whole place had
been burned, and the Chinese officia,
sought refuge in Likiang, while
1000 Tibetan bandits were five day,
| to the north.
! ''It is certainly problem how t
get out OF this country without los
ing eDe's life or all his belongings,'
wrote DR.. Rock that night How
lever, our collecting goes on apace