Evening star., 1932-03-16
EXPLORER HAARDT
|. f.D|ESAT HONGKONG
Gable to Head of Geographic
Society Tells of Famed
Leaders Passing.

and leader of the Citroen- -Haardt
. Transasia Expedition, which had just
completed the first motor crossing of
the heart of Asia, entering many
Hinalaya points for the first time IN
wheeled vehicle, died suddenly at Hong
kong, China, according to cable re-
ceiyed here by DR.. Gilbert Grosvenor,
president of the National Geographic
Society, which co-operated In the
French expedition. ,,.,.
Z. For his previous African expedition
he had won the pseudonym OF The
Motor Car Livingstone of AFRICA. -
, A message to DR.. GroSvenor from
Audouin Dubreuil said, with deep sor-
row announce death of our leaoer,
Haardt. who highly valued National
Geographic Society cooperation III ms
greatest achievement" -.,
A second message from Anore Cltroen'
French motor manufacturer, who re-
Gently visited this country and was the
chief patron of the expedition, SAID: i
have the deep sorrow to announce 10
YOU the death of Georges-Marie Haardt,
who died in Hongkong this morning
March 16) at 3 40 o'clock. Haardt SUI
fered from influenza, which rapidly de-
veloped into pneumonia. His Is an i'm
mense loss to us, for all his friends, for
our country, for science. ANDRE
g1TRoEN."
Achievements Cited.
Or. Gilbert Grosvenor, president OF
the National Geographic Society, said:
Georges Marie Haardt has won
! name among the great world explorers
by three major geographic acmeVe-
sments. He was first to cross the great
Sahara Desert by motor, he was first to
traverse the length of Africa by motor,
he has Just completed his historic cross
ing Of Asia by specially built tractor
cars, visiting places that have not been
studied since the days of Marco Polo
and entering Himalaya Mountain areas
: that never before saw a wheeled vehicle.
s IN. Haardt's expeditions were note
worthy, like those of Admiral Byrd,
: for careful planning, and for their
equipment with every instrumentality
. of the regions through which he passed.
The photographs alone, obtained on the
Asia expedition, shedding new light on
the people, their customs and ways OF
Hfe, In themselves made the project
worth while.
sThe National Geographic Society
was proud to be associated With this
enterprise, and to have an American
representative among the personnel,
which, otherwise, was entirely composed
of French. We had the honor to have
him come from France in 1880 to ad.
dress the society in Washington and
show the photographs taken on his
remarkable journey in Africa. feel
a deep personal loss at the death OF
O great leader, an able explorer, and a
loyal friend"
Started Last April.
The Pamir unit of the Citroen-
Haardt trans-Asiatic expedition left
Beyrouth, Syria, April =. 1891. with
seven light tractor cars. Two days later
the leadership of Lieut.. Comdr. Victor
Point, left Peiping, China, with seven
heavy tractor cars. The two units were
to move to a common rendezvous in
Sinkiang (Chinese Turkestan), never
before penetrated by motor vehicles.
I The Pamir unit Travelled 3,445 miles
from Beyrouth to Srinagar, Kashnlir;
paAde steady progress across the Deserts
Rk lraQ and Persia and traversed almost
unknown trails through Afghanistan,
long forbidden land to the white
man.
North OF Srinagar loomed massive
mountains with scarcely foot path
through them. Five of the cars were
left in Srinagar and two others pushed
on along into the Pamirs Steadily they
climbed up 35-degree inclines, scaling |
Rrzil Pass, 1875 feet high, In waist |
deep snow. Finally the cars arrived at |
the mountain town Of Gilgit, being the |
6fst wheeled vehicles to reach this re- |
mote outpost 200 miles northwest Of
Srinagar.
Beyond Gilgit the trail became mere
scratch along the vertical mountain
sides and the two cars finally had to be
abandoned. Leader Haardt and few
Of the others Travelled on yaks and
ponies during the next 1000 miles to
&aShgar and Aksu.
Plenty Of Trouble.
At the latter place they met the
heavy tractor cars Of the China unit,
which had been proceeding westward
across China under Comdr. Point.
. The China unit had had its share OF
troubles At Urumchi. Chinese Turkes-
tan, officials had stopped the cars, per-
mitting only four of them to proceed
TO Aksu. On the return trip scross
China the two units, now travelling as
one, had several narrow escapes from
bandits, and the supplies and new
tractor bands for the cars. sent to them
from Peiping, were stolen.
The combined expedition reached
yeiping February IL. Original plans
called for a southwark crossing OF
China and a return trip to Beyrouth,
Syria, via Indo- China, India and South
ern Persia. Due. to uncertain political
conditions In China the cars were
njAced on boats at Tientsin for ship
uiett to Hanoi, Indo- China. The ex-
pedition sailed from Tientsin February
% for Hanoi, French Indo-China.