Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-07

geStl0n tnat the M0r0en-Clark ASlatlc
Expedition of the American Museum
of Natural History was organized. The
distance we had set ourselves to ira
,yerse-from India to Hamt-was something
over 5000 miles.
It was our plan to make that on foot on
horseback, on yaks and camelS and in CARTS
depending upon which Of these means of ma
tive transportation was the most feasible in
whatever section we were travelling. As q mat
ter of fact, we used all these methods and one
or two more, and the distance we actually
travelled from India to Peking was 5000 miles,
3.40O of which lay through q land where auto
mobiles are unknown, and to which railroads
have never penetrated
Because of an adventure that very nearly
ended in the death Of both Bill Morden and
myself, We were forced, after having completed
most Of our program, to change our route
and do something that certainly had not been
q part Of our original intention. Further
more, We had planned to be In the interior
Of Asia for about five months. It actually
took US nine to get from the Vale Of KaShmir
which was our starting point, to Picking, where
our crossing Of Asia actually ended.
It was about the middle Of october when we
arrived at Kuchengtze, which lies on the edge
of the desert almost as q seaport lies beside
the sea. We were DESTROYS of being able to
push on at once, for Winter was on the way,
and more than 800 miles of trail lay ahead
Of us-most Of 1t across the Cobb Desert.
QUITE aside from the time required for trav-
cling. too, was the time we would need
in order to hunt for several animals of that
reek1n. We wished to obtain, If possible,
specimen or two of the rare saiga antelope
We wanted to hunt the wild camels that range
that desolate land, and we wanted several
other specimens in order to make our crossing
of such region worth the time and effort
it would require. So we set about organizing
our caravan at once
The Kashmiri hunters and servants who
had accompanied us from India had been sent
back to their native land with the specimens
that we had so far obtained, for we had no
desire to risk the fruits of our labors in a
land we did not know, and of which we had
such unsatisfactory reports. The result was
that we were now accompanied only by Mo-
named Rahim. an honest and sturdy Ladakh
we had hired at KaShgar shortly after leaving
the Pamirs. But Mohamed was host in him.
self, and did what neither Morden nor had
been able to do in getting US started on our
way.
It had been our idea to obtain a camel cara
van in order to take us across the desert, and
we began optimistically enough, for we were
assured by an officer assigned to us by the local
official, or amban, that we should have our
caravan promptly. But day after day slipped
by without results. Every morning we were
assured that the camels would be ready by
noon. Every noon when they failed to appear
we were told that they would certainly be
ready on the following morning. But they did
not materialize. We spoke to the amban and
the amban'S representative. We offered more
nssftey than enough, but still nothing happened.
Why we were so deceived and detained neither
of us has ever learned, but 10 days went by
without any results at ALL
1t was at this time that Mohamed Rahin
stepped into the breach, and began to look for
camels himself. It did not take him long to
find man who had 30 able-looking beasts,
nor did it take us long to come to an agree
ment with him. We had learned by this
time that to cross the desert was not consider
ed an easy task, even by those whose business
1t was to cross it. As a matter of fact, net
single caravan in year had been across the
land we wished to traverse. The Mongols had
seeded from China, and had set up a sort
of government of their own, with Soviet assist