Imperial Valley press., 1937-03-07
ROBERT DOLLAR
THROUGH THE WILDERNESS OF NORTHERN
KOREA TO THE LONG WHITE MOUNTAIN

For days we did not see another sign of fe
The forest became denser at every mile with
more swamps and surface water. Time after
time, our ponies were mired and had to be lifted
out of the MUD Lush ferns and rank grass made
walking dangerous. The trees were interlaced
with great festoons of gray Spanish moss"
which formed thick canopy overhead Down
where we were there was only a gloomy half
light, occasionally shot through with patches of
thin sum- No sounds broke the stiffness except
the calls of the men. No birds or animals, not
even a squirrel. To make matters worse it began
to rain = not hard, refreshing rain, but dull
drizzle which continued for a week.
The men were completely disheartened fright
ened at the gloomy stiffness of the forest and
exhausted by strenuous work. They began to
talk furtively among themselves and, when we
camped were omnously silent If passed their
fire. The interpreter told me they were planning
to desert that night with the ponies and food,
leaving us to die or get back as best we could.
He had overheard their talk the previous eve-
ming It would have been fairly serious to be
left without the caravan could find my way
out easily enough but no game meant possible
starvation.
We were only two days march from the base
of the Paik- -tu-san and had determined to COM
plete my traverse against all odds. To leave 1t
in mid-air meant that all our efforts were
wasted told the men that we must reach the
further, that should watch at night and, If
anyone touched pony, he would be shot without
mercy.
They did not like 1t much. My ultimatum was
received in silence. The interpreter and
watched by turns through the night. Now and
then, one of the men got up to replensh the
fire, but they made no move to leave the camp.
The next night was repetition of the first.
Both the Japanese and myself were utterly ex-
hausted from lack of sleep and hard work We
wondered If we could stick 1t out another twenty
four hours.
In the late afternoon, emgerged into
great burned tract and the mountain rose ma
jestically right in front of Banked to the
top with snow, it looked like great white cloud
that had settled to earth for a moments rest
THE open sky and the mountain acted like
magic on my men. They began to talk and sing
and call to each other in laughing voices. knew
then that the strain was over; they would not
desert me.
In the later afternoon shot roe deer, and
that completed the contentment of our party.
One cannot wonder at the fears of the men. They
knew that objective was the Long White
Mountain, but it seemed hopeless that we could
get there. They had never a compass. To
them, we were merely wandering aimlessly
through the forest When we actually arrived
and ali by means of that little disk with the turn
ing needle, their admiration knew no bounds.
Four days at the Long White Mountain were
sufficient 1t was futile to attempt its ascent for
the snow was piled in great drifts from base to
crown. But in any case, there would have.joeen
little to be gained, for James and Younghusband
had reached the crater from the Manchurian
side. My object had been to find what lay within
that Korean wilderness over which they had
looked thirty three years before. I had compass
line straight through the forest to the base and
a rough map of the surrounding country.
determined not to return by the way.we had
come but to strike through the forest to the
headwaters Of the Yalu River which could not
be far to the west. 1t was difficult trip Just
about like what we had experienced on the way
to the mountain Dense forests swamps and