Evening star., 1925-04-17
HIDE WITH COFF|NS
AS BANDITS PURSUE
Dr.. Rock and Aides Have
Thrilling Encounter With
i Chinese Robbers.

Within few days after the United
States Public Health Service an
nounced the release of lepers as
Cured by a treatment which in
eluded the iuse of chaulmoogra oil,
word came from Joseph f. Rock, who
located the chaulmoogra tree in
Burma telling of his narrow escape
from Chinese bandits.
Mr.. Rock was leader of the National
Geographic Society expedition to Yum
nan Province, China which found
blightresisting chestnut trees for
transplantation in the United States.
After a few months in this country
he returned to Yunnan TO seek plant
specimens for the Arnold Arboretum,
at Cambridge, Mass.
Night Among Coffins.
Mr.. Rock spent one night in di-
1apidated village temple, full of cof
fms. His native guard deserted him;
outside the town the heads of native
victims, captured some days before,
We're hanging from poles.
From Tungchwan to Chaotung is
five days journey, and two days out
of Tungchwan l had the most terri
BILE experience of my life" Mr.. Rock
writes.
with much misgiving l left
Tungchwan. The first day passed
without incident, but the second had
much in store for us. After lunch
under an old walnut tree we, made
our way over the mountains with my
l. Nashi men, 26 mules. 40 soldiers,
and all the followers who took ad-
vantage of my going and joined on
for the sake of protection which the
soldiers gave.
Robbers Pursue Caravan.
We had not gone very far when
my head muleteer came and said that
robbers were behind the caravan.
waited for the mules to catch up with
MS, and as they came in sight l rode
on, but not for long, as my boys
yelled Robbers are coming" and at
that moment they opened fire on US.
My native soldiers behaved rather
bravely. / must admit, climbed to the
ridge and opened fire on the brigands,
but we soon found that the brigands
outnumbered US considerably and that
the battle was to be a one-sided af-
fair.
I'VE pushed on under fire as best
we could through, pine-covered
slope while the soldiers engaged the
brigands, the latter pursued US, and
we retreated all of US, soldiers in
cluded. under the fire of the brigands
down a deep ravine which we had
TO cross and up the other side over a
most terrible rocky trail. The firing
continued the rest of the afternoon.
Thanks to the bad aiming of the.
brigands, we lost only one soldier. We
reached the small plain of Yichesun,
on the edge of it being a small ham
let called Panpiengai. AS we reached
the plain, l thought, Thank God, now
we We're safe but, alas, the brigands
followed up, they looted the small
hamlet, captured three soldiers with
their guns, and while they were busy
there we reached the village of Yiche-
sun, where we had to stop for the
night.
Brigands Chase Guards.
Just as | arrived and passed
through the dilapidated old gate (but
no walD there also arrived 35 soldier
guards sent to US from Chaotung. AS
I was talking with their officers one
of the Tuugchwan soldiers came run
ming into the village to tell me that
200 robbers We're only one and one
half miles from this village and
that they could not hold them back.
/ sent the Chaotung soldiers to help
the Tungchwan soldiers, but soon
they all returned with the robbers
al their heels.
Il was quartered in a miserable old
temple full of collins in the center
of the village. The brigands came to
within one-half a mile of the hamlet
where there was a large temple and
of this they took possession. Dark
ness came on. l never spent such a
terrible night in all my life. At mid
night the officers of the soldiers came
and announced that the brigands were
outside and that they could not hold
the nlace and that they could NOT nrn.