ACROSS MONGOLIAN PLAINS
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| By Roy Chapman Andrews |
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| ACROSS MONGOLIAN PLAINS |
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| CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA |
| [With Yvette Borup Andrews] |
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| WHALE HUNTING WITH |
| GUN AND CAMERA |
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| |
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| D. APPLETON & COMPANY |
| Publishers, New York |
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T245
[Illustration: A NOMAD OF THE MONGOLIAN PLAINS]
ACROSS MONGOLIAN PLAINS
A NATURALIST'S ACCOUNT OF
CHINA'S "GREAT NORTHWEST"
BY
ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS
ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF MAMMALS IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL
HISTORY, AND LEADER OF THE MUSEUM'S SECOND ASIATIC EXPEDITION.
AUTHOR OF "WHALE HUNTING WITH GUN AND CAMERA,"
"CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA," ETC.
[Illustration]
PHOTOGRAPHS BY
YVETTE BORUP ANDREWS
Photographer of the
Second Asiatic Expedition
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
NEW YORK: LONDON: MCMXXI
COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO
Dr. J. A. ALLEN
WHO, THROUGH HIS PROFOUND KNOWLEDGE, UNSELFISH DEVOTION TO SCIENCE, AND
NEVER-FAILING SYMPATHY WITH YOUNGER STUDENTS OF ZOÖLOGY HAS BEEN AN
EXAMPLE AND AN INSPIRATION DURING THE YEARS I HAVE WORKED AT HIS SIDE.
PREFACE
During 1916-1917 the First Asiatic Expedition of the American Museum of
Natural History carried on zoölogical explorations along the frontiers
of Tibet and Burma in the little known province of Yün-nan, China.
The narrative of that expedition has already been given to the public
in the first boot of this series "Camps and Trails in China." It was
always the intention of the American Museum to continue the Asiatic
investigations, and my presence in China on other work in 1918 gave the
desired opportunity at the conclusion of the war.
Having made extensive collections along the southeastern edge of the
great central Asian plateau, it was especially desirable to obtain a
representation of the fauna from the northeastern part in preparation
for the great expedition which, I am glad to say, is now in course of
preparation, and which will conduct work in various other branches of
science. Consequently, my wife and I spent one of the most delightful
years of our lives in Mongolia and North China on the Second Asiatic
Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History.
The present book is the narrative of our work and travels. As in
"Camps and Trails" I have written it entirely from the sportsman's
standpoint and have purposely avoided scientific details which would
prove uninteresting or wearisome to the general public. Full reports
of the expedition's results will appear in due course in the Museum's
scientific publications and to them I would refer those readers who
wish further details of the Mongolian fauna.
Asia is the most fascinating hunting ground in all the world, not
because of the _quantity_ of game to be found there but because of
its _quality_, and scientific importance. Central Asia was the point
of origin and distribution for many mammals which inhabit other parts
of the earth to-day and the habits and relationships of some of its
big game animals are almost unknown. Because of unceasing native
persecution, lack of protection, the continued destruction of forests
and the ever increasing facilities for transportation to the remote
districts of the interior, many of China's most interesting and
important forms of wild life are doomed to extermination in the very
near future.
Fortunately world museums are awakening to the necessity of obtaining
representative series of Asiatic mammals before it is too late, and
to the broad vision of the President and Board of Trustees of the
American Museum of Natural History my wife and I owe the exceptional
opportunities which have been given us to carry on zoölogical
explorations in Asia.
We are especially grateful to President Henry Fairfield Osborn, who
is ready, always, to support enthusiastically any plans which tend to
increase knowledge of China or to strengthen cordial relations between
the United States and the Chinese Republic.
Director F. A. Lucas and Assistant Secretary George H. Sherwood have
never failed in their attention to the needs of our expeditions when in
the field and to them I extend our best thanks.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Bernheimer, who have contributed to every
expedition in which I have taken part, generously rendered financial
aid for the Mongolian work.
My wife, who is ever my best assistant in the field, was responsible
for all the photographic work of the expedition and I have drawn much
upon her daily "Journals" in the preparation of this book.
I wish to acknowledge the kindness of the Editors of _Harper's
Magazine_, _Natural History_, _Asia Magazine_ and the _Trans-Pacific
Magazine_ in whose publications parts of this book have already
appeared.
We are indebted to a host of friends who gave assistance to the
expedition and to us personally in the field:
The Wai Chiao Pu (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) freely granted permits
for the expedition to travel throughout China and extended other
courtesies for which I wish to express appreciation on behalf of the
President and Board of Trustees of the American Museum of Natural
History.
In Peking, His Excellency Paul S. Reinsch, formerly American Minister
to China, Dr. C. D. Tenney, Mr. Willys Peck, Mr. Ernest B. Price
and other members of the Legation staff obtained import permits and
attended to many details connected with the Chinese Government.
Mr. A. M. Guptil acted as our Peking representative while we were in
the field and assumed much annoying detail in forwarding and receiving
shipments of supplies and equipment. Other gentlemen in Peking who
rendered us courtesies in various ways are Commanders I. V. Gillis and
C. T. Hutchins, Dr. George D. Wilder, Dr. J. G. Anderson and Messrs. H.
C. Faxon, E. G. Smith, C. R. Bennett, M. E. Weatherall and J. Kenrick.
In Kalgan, Mr. Charles L. Coltman arranged for the transportation of
the expedition to Mongolia and not only gratuitously acted as our agent
but was always ready to devote his own time and the use of his motor
cars to further the work of the party.
In Urga, Mr. F. A. Larsen of Anderson, Meyer & Company, was of
invaluable assistance in obtaining horses, carts and other equipment
for the expedition as well as in giving us the benefit of his long and
unique experience in Mongolia.
Mr. E. V. Olufsen of Anderson, Meyer & Company, put himself, his
house, and his servants at our disposal whenever we were in Urga and
aided us in innumerable ways.
Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Mamen often entertained us in their home. Mr. and
Mrs. E. L. MacCallie, who accompanied us on one trip across Mongolia
and later resided temporarily in Urga, brought equipment for us across
Mongolia and entertained us while we were preparing to return to Peking.
Monsieur A. Orlow, Russian Diplomatic Agent in Urga, obtained permits
from the Mongolian Government for our work in the Urga region and gave
us much valuable advice.
In south China, Reverend H. Castle of Tunglu, and Reverend Lacy Moffet
planned a delightful hunting trip for us in Che-kiang Province.
In Shanghai the Hon. E. S. Cunningham, American Consul-General,
materially aided the expedition in the shipment of specimens. To Mr.
G. M. Jackson, General Passenger Agent of the Canadian Pacific Ocean
Services, thanks are due for arranging for rapid transportation to
America of our valuable collections.
Roy Chapman Andrews
American Museum of
Natural History,
New York City, U. S. A.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface vii
INTRODUCTION
Early conquests of the Mongols--Why their power was
lost--Independence of Outer Mongolia--China's opportunity
to obtain her former power in Mongolia--General Hsu
Shu-tseng--Memorial to President of China--Cancellation of
Outer Mongolia's autonomy xix
CHAPTER I
ENTERING THE LAND OF MYSTERY
Arrival in Kalgan--The Hutukhtu's motor car--Start for the
great plateau--Camel caravans--The pass--A motor car on
the Mongolian plains--Start from Hei-ma-hou--Chinese
cultivation--The Mongol not a farmer--The grasslands of
Inner Mongolia--The first Mongol village--Construction of a
_yurt_--Bird life--The telegraph line 1
CHAPTER II
SPEED MARVELS OF THE GOBI DESERT
Wells in the desert--Panj-kiang--A lama monastery--A great herd
of antelope--A wild chase--Long range shooting--Amazing
speed--An exhibition of high-class running--Difficulties
in traveling--Description of the northern Mongols--Love of
sport--Ude--Bustards--Great monastery at Turin--The rolling
plains of Outer Mongolia--Urga during the World War 13
CHAPTER III
A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS
Return trip--The "agony box"--The first accident--My Czech and
Cossack passengers--The "agony box" breaks a wheel--A
dry camp--More motor trouble--Meeting with Langdon
Warner--Our game of hide-and-seek in the Orient--An accident
near Panj-kiang--We use mutton fat for oil--Arrival at
Hei-ma-hou--A wet ride to Kalgan--Trouble at the gate 27
CHAPTER IV
NEW TRAVELS ON AN OLD TRAIL
Winter in Peking--We leave for Mongolia--Inner Mongolia in
spring--Race with a camel--Geese and cranes--Gophers--An
electric light in the desert--Chinese motor companies--An
antelope buck--A great herd--Brilliant atmosphere of
Mongolia--Notes on antelope speed 38
CHAPTER V
ANTELOPE MOVIE STARS
Moving pictures under difficulties--A lost opportunity--A
zoölogical garden in the desert--Killing a wolf--Speed of a
wolf--Antelope steak and _parfum de chameau_--A caravan--A
wild wolf-hunt--Sulphuric acid--The Turin Plains 50
CHAPTER VI
THE SACRED CITY OF THE LIVING BUDDHA
A city of contrasts--The Chinese quarter like frontier
America--A hamlet of modern Russia--An indescribable mixture
of Mongolia, Russia and China in West Urga--Description
of a Mongol woman--Urga like a pageant on the stage
of a theater--The sacred mountain--The palace of the
"Living God"--Love for western inventions--A strange
scene at the Hutukhtu's palace--A bed for the Living
Buddha--Lamaism--The Lama City--Ceremony in the temple--Prayer
wheels--Burial customs--Corpses eaten by dogs--The dogs of
Mongolia--Cleanliness--Food--Morality--"H. C. L." in
Urga--A horrible prison--Mr. F. A. Larsen 62
CHAPTER VII
THE LONG TRAIL TO SAIN NOIN KHAN
Beginning work--Carts--Ponies--Our interpreter--Mongol tent--Native
clothes best for work--Supplies--How to keep "fit" in the
field--Accidents--Sain Noin Khan--The first day--A night
in a _yurt_--Cranes--We trade horses--Horse stealing--No
mammals--Birds--Breaking a cart horse--Mongol ponies 84
CHAPTER VIII
THE LURE OF THE PLAINS
Trapping marmots--Skins valuable as furs--Native methods of
hunting--A marmot dance--Habits--The first hunting-camp--Our
Mongol neighbors--After antelope on horseback--The first
buck--A polecat--The second day's hunt--The vastness of the
plains--Development of a "land sense"--Another antelope 99
CHAPTER IX
HUNTING ON THE TURIN PLAINS
Mongol hospitality--Camping on the Turin Plains--An enormous
herd of antelope--A wonderful ride--Three gazelle--A dry
camp--My pony, Kublai Khan--Plains life about a well--Antelope
babies--A wonderful provision of nature--Habits--Species in
Mongolia--The "goitre"--Speed--Work in camp--Small mammals 116
CHAPTER X
AN ADVENTURE IN THE LAMA CITY
An unexpected meeting with a river--Our new camp in Urga--"God's
Brother's House"--Photographing in the Lama City--A critical
moment--Help from Mr. Olufsen--The motion picture camera
an instrument of magic--Floods in Urga--Duke Loobitsan
Yangsen--The Duchess--Vegetables in Urga 133
CHAPTER XI
MONGOLS AT HOME
The forests of Mongolia--A bad day's work--The Terelche
River--Tserin Dorchy's family--A wild-wood romance--Evening
in the valley--Doctoring the natives--A clever lama--A
popular magazine--Return of Tserin Dorchy--Independence--His
hunt on the Sacred Mountain--Punishment--Hunting with the
Mongols--Tsamba and "buttered tea"--A splendid roebuck--The
fortune of a naturalist--Eating the deer's viscera--The
field meet of the Terelche Valley--Horse races--Wrestling 143
CHAPTER XII
NOMADS OF THE FOREST
An ideal camp--The first wapiti--A roebuck--Currants and
berries--Catching fish--Enormous trout--A rainy day in
camp--A wapiti seen from camp--Mongolian weather--Flowers--
Beautiful country--A musk deer--Habits and commercial
value--A wild boar--Success and failure in hunting--We kill
two wapiti--Return to Urga--Mr. and Mrs. MacCallie--Packing
the collections--Across the plains to Peking 161
CHAPTER XIII
THE PASSING OF MONGOLIAN MYSTERY
Importance of Far East--Desert, plain, and water in Mongolia--The
Gobi Desert--Agriculture--Pastoral products--Treatment of
wool and camel hair--Marmots as a valuable asset--Urga
a growing fur market--Chinese merchants--Labor--Gold
mines--Transportation--Motor trucks--Passenger motor
service--Forests--Aëroplanes--Wireless telegraph 175
CHAPTER XIV
THE GREAT RAM OF THE SHANSI MOUNTAINS
Brigands, Chinese soldiers and "battles"--The Mongolian
sheep--Harry Caldwell--Difference between North and
South China--The "dust age" in China--Inns--Brigand
scouts--The Tai Hai Lake--Splendid shooting--The sheep
mountains--An awe-inspiring gorge--An introduction to the
_argali_--Caldwell's big ram--A herd of sheep--My first
ram--A second sheep--The end of a perfect day 184
CHAPTER XV
MONGOLIAN "ARGALI"
A long climb--Roebuck--An unsuspecting ram--My Mongol
hunter--Donkeys instead of sheep--Two fine rams--The
big one lost--A lecture on hunting--A night walk in the
cañon--Commander Hutchins and Major Barker--Tom and I get
a ram--The end of the sheep hunt 205
CHAPTER XVI
THE HORSE-DEER OF SHANSI
Wu-Tai-Hai--The "American Legation"--Interior of a North Shansi
house--North China villages--The people--"Horse-deer"--The
names "wapiti" and "elk"--A great gorge--A rock temple--The
hunting grounds furnish a surprise--A huge bull wapiti 219
CHAPTER XVII
WAPITI, ROEBUCK AND GORAL
Our camp in a new village--Game at our door--Concentration
of animal life--Chinese roebuck--A splendid
hunt--Goral--Difficult climbing--"Hide and seek" with a
goral--The second wapiti--A happy ending to a cold day 230
CHAPTER XVIII
WILD PIGS ANIMAL AND HUMAN
Shansi Province famous for wild boar--Flesh delicious--When to
hunt--Where to go--Inns and coal gas--Kao-chia-chuang--A
long shot--Our camp at Tziloa--Native hunters--A young
pig--A hard chase--Pheasants--Another pig--Smith runs down
a big sow--Chinese steal our game--A wounded boar 241
CHAPTER XIX
THE HUNTING PARK OF THE EASTERN TOMBS
A visit to Duke Tsai Tse--A "personality"--The _Tung Ling_--The
road to the tombs--A country inn--The front view of the
_Tung Ling_--The tombs of the Empress Dowager and Ch'ien
Lung--The "hinterland"--An area of desolation--Our camp in
the forest--Reeves's pheasant--The most beautiful Chinese
deer--"Blood horns" as medicine--Goral--Animals and birds
of the _Tung Ling_--A new method of catching trout--A forest
fire--Native stupidity--Wanton destruction--China's great
opportunity 256
Index 271
ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING
PAGE
A Nomad of the Mongolian Plains _Frontispiece_
Roy Chapman Andrews on "Kublai Khan" 8
Yvette Borup Andrews, Photographer of the Expedition 9
At the End of the Long Trail from Outer Mongolia 20
Women of Southern Mongolia 21
The Middle Ages and the Twentieth Century 34
A Mongolian Antelope Killed from Our Motor Car 35
Watering Camels at a Well in the Gobi Desert 35
The Water Carrier for a Caravan 46
A Thirty-five Pound Bustard 47
Young Mongolia 47
Mongol Horsemen on the Streets of Urga 60
The Prison at Urga 61
A Criminal in a Coffin with Hands Manacled 61
The Great Temple at Urga 72
A Prayer Wheel and a Mongol Lama 72
Lamas Calling the Gods at a Temple in Urga 73
Mongol Praying at a Shrine in Urga 73
Mongol Women Beside a _Yurt_ 82
The Headdress of a Mongol Married Woman 82
The Framework of a _Yurt_ 83
Mongol Women and a Lama 83
The Traffic Policeman on Urga's "Broadway" 98
A Mongol Lama 98
The Grasslands of Outer Mongolia 99
Mongol Herdsmen Carrying Lassos 116
A Lone Camp on the Desert 117
Tibetan Yaks 184
Our Caravan Crossing the Terelche River 135
Our Base Camp at the Edge of the Forest 148
The Mongol Village of the Terelche Valley 149
Wrestlers at Terelche Valley Field Meet 164
Women Spectators at the Field Meet 165
Cave Dwellings in North Shansi Province 184
An Asiatic Wapiti 185
Harry R. Caldwell and a Mongolian Bighorn 185
Where the Bighorn Sheep Are Found 216
A Mongolian Roebuck 217
The Head of the Record Ram 224
Map of Mongolia and China, Showing Route of Second
Asiatic Expedition in Broken Lines 225
INTRODUCTION
The romantic story of the Mongols and their achievements has been
written so completely that it is unnecessary to repeat it here even
though it is as fascinating as a tale from the _Arabian Nights_. The
present status of the country, however, is but little known to the
western world. In a few words I will endeavor to sketch the recent
political developments, some of which occurred while we were in
Mongolia.
In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the great Genghiz Khan and
his illustrious successor Kublai Khan "almost in a night" erected the
greatest empire the world has ever seen. Not only did they conquer all
of Asia, but they advanced in Europe as far as the Dnieper leaving
behind a trail of blood and slaughter.
All Europe rose against them, but what could not be accomplished by
force of arms was wrought in the Mongols themselves by an excess of
luxury. In their victorious advance great stores of treasure fell into
their hands and they gave themselves to a life of ease and indulgence.
By nature the Mongols were hard riding, hard living warriors,
accustomed to privation and fatigue. The poison of luxury ate into the
very fibers of their being and gradually they lost the characteristics
which had made them great. The ruin of the race was completed by
the introduction of Lamaism, a religion which carries only moral
destruction where it enters, and eventually the Mongols passed under
the rule of the once conquered Chinese and then under the Manchus.
Until the overthrow of the Manchu regime in China in 1911, and the
establishment of the present republic, there were no particularly
significant events in Mongolian history. But at that time the Russians,
wishing to create a buffer state between themselves and China as well
as to obtain special commercial privileges in Mongolia, aided the
Mongols in rebellion, furnished them with arms and ammunition and with
officers to train their men.
A somewhat tentative proclamation of independence for Outer Mongolia
was issued in December, 1911, by the Hutukhtu and nobles of Urga, and
the Chinese were driven out of the country with little difficulty.
Beset with internal troubles, the Chinese paid but scant attention
to Mongolian affairs until news was received in Peking in October,
1912, that M. Korostovetz, formerly Russian Minister to China, had
arrived secretly in Urga and on November 3, 1912, had recognized the
independence of Outer Mongolia on behalf of his Government.
It then became incumbent upon China to take official note of the
situation, especially as foreign complications could not be faced in
view of her domestic embarrassments.
Consequently on November 5, 1913, there was concluded a Russo-Chinese
agreement wherein Russia recognized that Outer Mongolia was under the
suzerainty of China, and China, on her part, admitted the autonomy of
Outer Mongolia. The essential element in the situation was the fact
that Russia stood behind the Mongols with money and arms and China's
hand was forced at a time when she was powerless to resist.
Quite naturally, Mongolia's political status has been a sore point
with China and it is hardly surprising that she should have awaited an
opportunity to reclaim what she considered to be her own.
This opportunity arrived with the collapse of Russia and the spread of
Bolshevism, for the Mongols were dependent upon Russia for material
assistance in anything resembling military operations, although, as
early as 1914, they had begun to realize that they were cultivating a
dangerous friend. The Mongolian army, at the most, numbered only two
or three thousand poorly equipped and undisciplined troops who would
require money and organization before they could become an effective
fighting force.
The Chinese were not slow to appreciate these conditions and General
Hsu Shu-tseng, popularly known as "Little Hsu," by a clever bit of
Oriental intrigue sent four thousand soldiers to Urga with the excuse
of protecting the Mongols from a so-called threatened invasion of
Buriats and brigands. A little later he himself arrived in a motor car
and, when the stage was set, brought such pressure to bear upon the
Hutukhtu and his Cabinet that they had no recourse except to cancel
Mongolia's autonomy and ask to return to their former place under
Chinese rule.
This they did on November 17, 1919, in a formal Memorial addressed to
the President of the Chinese Republic, which is quoted below as it
appeared in the Peking press, under date of November 24, 1919:
"We, the Ministers and Vice-Ministers [here follow their names and
ranks] of all the departments of the autonomous Government of Outer
Mongolia, and all the princes, dukes, hutukhtus and lamas and others
resident at Urga, hereby jointly and severally submit the following
petition for the esteemed perusal of His Excellency the President of
the Republic of China:--
"Outer Mongolia has been a dependency of China since the reign of the
Emperor Kang Hsi, remaining loyal for over two hundred years, the
entire population, from princes and dukes down to the common people
having enjoyed the blessings of peace. During the reign of the Emperor
Tao Kwang changes in the established institutions, which were opposed
to Mongolian sentiment, caused dissatisfaction which was aggravated
by the corruption of the administration during the last days of the
Manchu Dynasty. Taking advantage of this Mongolian dissatisfaction,
foreigners instigated and assisted the independence movement. Upon the
Kiakhta Convention, being signed the autonomy of Outer Mongolia was
held a _fait accompli_, China retaining an empty suzerainty while the
officials and people of Outer Mongolia lost many of their old rights
and privileges. Since the establishment of this autonomous government
no progress whatsoever has been chronicled, the affairs of government
being indeed plunged in a state of chaos, causing deep pessimism.
"Lately, chaotic conditions have also reigned supreme in Russia,
reports of revolutionary elements threatening our frontiers having
been frequently received. Moreover, since the Russians have no united
government it is only natural that they are powerless to carry out
the provisions of the treaties, and now that they have no control
over their subjects the Buriat tribes have constantly conspired and
cooperated with bandits, and repeatedly sent delegates to Urga urging
our Government to join with them and form a Pan-Mongolian nation.
That this propaganda work, so varied and so persistent, which aims
at usurping Chinese suzerainty and undermining the autonomy of Outer
Mongolia, does more harm than good to Outer Mongolia, our Government
is well aware. The Buriats, with their bandit Allies, now considering
us unwilling to espouse their cause, contemplate dispatching troops to
violate our frontiers and to compel our submission. Furthermore, forces
from the so-called White Army have forcibly occupied Tanu Ulianghai,
an old possession of Outer Mongolia, and attacked both Chinese and
Mongolian troops, this being followed by the entry of the Red Army,
thus making the situation impossible.
"Now that both our internal and external affairs have reached such
a climax, we, the members of the Government, in view of the present
situation, have assembled all the princes, dukes, lamas and others
and have held frequent meetings to discuss the question of our future
welfare. Those present have been unanimously of the opinion that the
old bonds of friendship having been restored our autonomy should be
canceled, since Chinese and Mongolians are filled with a common purpose
and ideal.
"The result of our decision has been duly reported to His Holiness
the Bogdo Jetsun Dampa Hutukhtu Khan and has received his approval
and support. Such being the position we now unanimously petition His
Excellency the President that the old order of affairs be restored."
(Signed)
"Premier and Acting Minister of the Interior, Prince Lama
Batma Torgoo.
Vice-Minister, Prince of Tarkhan Puntzuk Cheilin.
Vice-Minister, Great Lama of Beliktu, Prince Puntzuk
Torgoo.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Duke Cheilin Torgoo.
Vice-Minister, Dalai Prince Cheitantnun Lomour.
Vice-Minister, Prince of Ochi, Kaotzuktanba.
Minister of War, Prince of Eltoni Jamuyen Torgoo.
Vice-Minister, Prince of Eltoni Selunto Chihloh.
Vice-Minister, Prince of Elteni Punktzu Laptan.
Vice-Minister, Prince of Itkemur Chitu Wachir.
Minister of Finance, Prince Lama Loobitsan Paletan.
Vice-Minister, Prince Torgee Cheilin.
Vice-Minister, Prince of Suchuketu Tehmutgu Kejwan.
Minister of Justice, Dalai of Chiechenkhan Wananin.
Vice-Minister, Prince of Daichinchihlun Chackehbatehorhu.
Vice-Minister, Prince of Cholikota Lama Dashtunyupu,"
Naturally, the President of China graciously consented to allow the
prodigal to return and "killed the fatted calf" by conferring high
honors and titles upon the Hutukhtu. Moreover, he appointed the Living
Buddha's good friend (?) "Little Hsu" to convey them to him.
Thus, Mongolia again has become a part of China. Who knows what the
future has in store for her? But events are moving rapidly and by the
time this book is published the curtain may have risen upon a new act
of Mongolia's tragedy.
ACROSS
MONGOLIAN PLAINS
CHAPTER I
ENTERING THE LAND OF MYSTERY
Careering madly in a motor car behind a herd of antelope fleeing like
wind-blown ribbons across a desert which isn't a desert, past caravans
of camels led by picturesque Mongol horsemen, the Twentieth Century
suddenly and violently interjected into the Middle Ages, should be
contrast and paradox enough for even the most blase sportsman. I am
a naturalist who has wandered into many of the far corners of the
earth. I have seen strange men and things, but what I saw on the great
Mongolian plateau fairly took my breath away and left me dazed, utterly
unable to adjust my mental perspective.
When leaving Peking in late August, 1918, to cross the Gobi Desert in
Mongolia, I knew that I was to go by motor car. But somehow the very
names "Mongolia" and "Gobi Desert" brought such a vivid picture of the
days of Kublai Khan and ancient Cathay that my clouded mind refused to
admit the thought of automobiles. It was enough that I was going to the
land of which I had so often dreamed.
Not even in the railway, when I was being borne toward Kalgan and saw
lines of laden camels plodding silently along the paved road beside
the train, or when we puffed slowly through the famous Nankou Pass and
I saw that wonder of the world, the Great Wall, winding like a gray
serpent over ridge after ridge of the mountains, was my dream-picture
of mysterious Mongolia dispelled. I had seen all this before, and had
accepted it as one accepts the motor cars beside the splendid walls of
old Peking. It was too near, and the railroad had made it commonplace.
But Mongolia! That was different. One could not go there in a roaring
train. I had beside me the same old rifle and sleeping bag that had
been carried across the mountains of far Yün-nan, along the Tibetan
frontier, and through the fever-stricken jungles of Burma. Somehow,
these companions of forest and mountain trails, and my reception at
Kalgan by two khaki-clad young men, each with a belt of cartridges
and a six-shooter strapped about his waist, did much to keep me
in a blissful state of unpreparedness for the destruction of my
dream-castles.
That night as we sat in Mr. Charles Coltman's home, with his charming
wife, a real woman of the great outdoors, presiding at the dinner
table, the talk was all of shooting, horses, and the vast, lone spaces
of the Gobi Desert--but not much of motor cars. Perhaps they vaguely
realized that I was still asleep in an unreal world and knew that the
awakening would come all too soon.
Yet I was dining that night with one of the men who had destroyed the
mystery of Mongolia. In 1916, Coltman and his former partner, Oscar
Mamen, had driven across the plains to Urga, the historic capital of
Mongolia. But most unromantic and incongruous, most disheartening to a
dreamer of Oriental dreams, was what I learned a few days later when
the awakening had really come--that among the first cars ever to cross
the desert was one purchased by the Hutukhtu, the Living Buddha, the
God of all the Mongols.
When the Hutukhtu learned of the first motor car in Mongolia he
forthwith demanded one for himself. So his automobile was brought
safely through the rocky pass at Kalgan and across the seven hundred
miles of plain to Urga by way of the same old caravan trail over which,
centuries ago, Genghis Khan had sent his wild Mongol raiders to conquer
China.
We arose long before daylight on the morning of August 29. In the
courtyard lanterns flashed and disappeared like giant fireflies as the
_mafus_ (muleteers) packed the baggage and saddled the ponies. The cars
had been left on the plateau at a mission station called Hei-ma-hou
to avoid the rough going in the pass, and we were to ride there on
horseback while the food and bed-rolls went by cart. There were five
of us in the party--Mr. and Mrs. Coltman, Mr. and Mrs. Lucander, and
myself. I was on a reconnaissance and Mr. Coltman's object was to visit
his trading station in Urga, where the Lucanders were to remain for the
winter.
The sun was an hour high when we clattered over the slippery paving
stones to the north gate of the city. Kalgan is built hard against the
Great Wall of China--the first line of defense, the outermost rampart
in the colossal structure which for so many centuries protected China
from Tartar invasion. Beyond it there was nothing between us and the
great plateau.
After our passports had been examined we rode through the gloomy
chasm-like gate, turned sharply to the left, and found ourselves
standing on the edge of a half-dry river bed. Below us stretched line
after line of double-humped camels, some crowded in yellow-brown masses
which seemed all heads and curving necks, and some kneeling quietly on
the sand. From around a shoulder of rock came other camels, hundreds
of them, treading slowly and sedately, nose to tail, toward the gate
in the Great Wall. They had come from the far country whither we were
bound. To me there is something fascinating about a camel. Perhaps it
is because he seems to typify the great waste spaces which I love,
that I never tire of watching him swing silently, and seemingly with
resistless power, across the desert.
Our way to Hei-ma-hou led up the dry river bed, with the Great Wall
on the left stretching its serpentine length across the hills, and
on the right picturesque cliffs two hundred feet in height. At their
bases nestle mud-roofed cottages and Chinese inns, but farther up the
river the low hills are all of _loess_--brown, wind-blown dust, packed
hard, which can be cut like cheese. Deserted though they seem from a
distance, they really teem with human life. Whole villages are half
dug, half built, into the hillsides, but are well-nigh invisible, for
every wall and roof is of the same brown earth.
Ten miles or so from Kalgan we began on foot the long climb up the pass
which gives entrance to the great plateau. I kept my eyes steadily on
the pony's heels until we reached a broad, flat terrace halfway up the
pass. Then I swung about that I might have, all at once, the view which
lay below us. It justified my greatest hopes, for miles and miles of
rolling hills stretched away to where the far horizon met the Shansi
Mountains.
It was a desolate country which I saw, for every wave in this vast
land-sea was cut and slashed by the knives of wind and frost and rain,
and lay in a chaotic mass of gaping wounds--cañons, ravines, and
gullies, painted in rainbow colors, crossing and cutting one another at
fantastic angles as far as the eye could see.
When, a few moments later, we reached the very summit of the pass,
I felt that no spot I had ever visited satisfied my preconceived
conceptions quite so thoroughly. Behind and below us lay that
stupendous relief map of ravines and gorges; in front was a limitless
stretch of undulating plain, I knew then that I really stood upon the
edge of the greatest plateau in all the world and that it could be only
Mongolia.
We had tiffin at a tiny Chinese inn beside the road, and trotted on
toward Hei-ma-hou between waving fields of wheat, buckwheat, millet,
and oats--oats as thick and "meaty" as any horse could wish to eat.
After tiffin Coltman and Lucander rode rapidly ahead while I trotted
my pony along more slowly in the rear. It was nearly seven o'clock,
and the trees about the mission station had been visible for half an
hour. I was enjoying a gorgeous sunset which splashed the western sky
with gold and red, and lazily watching the black silhouettes of a
camel caravan swinging along the summit of a ridge a mile away. On the
road beside me a train of laden mules and bullock-carts rested for a
moment--the drivers half asleep. Over all the plain there lay the peace
of a perfect autumn evening.
Suddenly, from behind a little rise, I heard the whir of a motor
engine and the raucous voice of a Klaxon horn. Before I realized what
it meant, I was in the midst of a mass of plunging, snorting animals,
shouting carters, and kicking mules. In a moment the caravan scattered
wildly across the plain and the road was clear save for the author of
the turmoil--a black automobile.
I wish I could make those who spend their lives within a city know
how strange and out of place that motor seemed, alone there upon the
open plain on the borders of Mongolia. Imagine a camel or an elephant
with all its Oriental trappings suddenly appearing on Fifth Avenue!
You would think at once that it had escaped from a circus or a zoo and
would be mainly curious as to what the traffic policeman would do when
it did not obey his signals.
But all the incongruity and the fact that the automobile was a glaring
anachronism did not prevent my abandoning my horse to the _mafu_ and
stretching out comfortably on the cushions of the rear seat. There I
had nothing to do but collect the remains of my shattered dream-castles
as we bounced over the ruts and stones. It was a rude awakening, and
I felt half ashamed to admit to myself as the miles sped by that the
springy seat was more comfortable than the saddle on my Mongol pony.
But that night when I strolled about the mission courtyard, under the
spell of the starry, desert sky, I drifted back again in thought to the
glorious days of Kublai Khan. My heart was hot with resentment that
this thing had come. I realized then that, for better or for worse,
the sanctity of the desert was gone forever. Camels will still plod
their silent way across the age-old plains, but the mystery is lost.
The secrets which were yielded up to but a chosen few are open now to
all, and the world and his wife will speed their noisy course across
the miles of rolling prairie, hearing nothing, feeling nothing, knowing
nothing of that resistless desert charm which led men out into the
Great Unknown.
At daylight we packed the cars. Bed-rolls and cans of gasoline were
tied on the running boards and every corner was filled with food. Our
rifles were ready for use, however, for Coltman had promised a kind of
shooting such as I had never seen before. The stories he told of wild
rides in the car after strings of antelope which traveled at fifty or
sixty miles an hour had left me mildly skeptical. But then, you know, I
had never seen a Mongolian antelope run.
For twenty or thirty miles after leaving Hei-ma-hou we bounced along
over a road which would have been splendid except for the deep ruts
cut by mule- and ox-carts. These carts are the despair of any one who
hopes some time to see good roads in China. The spike-studded wheels
cut into the hardest ground and leave a chaos of ridges and chasms
which grows worse with every year.
We were seldom out of sight of mud-walled huts or tiny Chinese
villages, and Chinese peddlers passed our cars, carrying baskets of
fruit or trinkets for the women. Chinese farmers stopped to gaze at us
as we bounded over the ruts--in fact it was all Chinese, although we
were really in Mongolia. I was very eager to see Mongols, to register
first impressions of a people of whom I had dreamed so much; but the
blue-clad Chinaman was ubiquitous.
For seventy miles from Kalgan it was all the same--Chinese everywhere.
The Great Wall was built to keep the Mongols out, and by the same token
it should have kept the Chinese in. But the rolling, grassy sea of
the vast plateau was too strong a temptation for the Chinese farmer.
Encouraged by his own government, which knows the value of just such
peaceful penetration, he pushes forward the line of cultivation a dozen
miles or so every year. As a result the grassy hills have given place
to fields of wheat, oats, millet, buckwheat, and potatoes.
PLATE I
[Illustration: ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS on "KUBLAI KHAN"]
[Illustration: YVETTE BORUP ANDREWS, PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE EXPEDITION]
The Mongol, above all things, is not a farmer; possibly because, many
years ago, the Manchus forbade him to till the soil. Moreover, on
the ground he is as awkward as a duck out of water and he is never
comfortable. The back of a pony is his real home, and he will do
wonderfully well any work which keeps him in the saddle. As Mr. F. A.
Larsen in Urga once said, "A Mongol would make a splendid cook if you
could give him a horse to ride about on in the kitchen." So he leaves
to the plodding Chinaman the cultivation of his boundless plains, while
he herds his fat-tailed sheep and goats and cattle.
About two hours after leaving the mission station we passed the limit
of cultivation and were riding toward the Tabool hills. There Mr.
Larsen, the best known foreigner in all Mongolia, has a home, and as we
swung past the trail which leads to his house we saw one of his great
herds of horses grazing in the distance.
All the land in this region has long, rich grass in summer, and water
is by no means scarce. There are frequent wells and streams along the
road, and in the distance we often caught a glint of silver from the
surface of a pond or lake. Flocks of goats and fat-tailed sheep drifted
up the valley, and now and then a herd of cattle massed themselves in
moving patches on the hillsides. But they are only a fraction of the
numbers which this land could easily support.
Not far from Tabool is a Mongol village. I jumped out of the car to
take a photograph but scrambled in again almost as quickly, for as soon
as the motor had stopped a dozen dogs dashed from the houses snarling
and barking like a pack of wolves. They are huge brutes, these Mongol
dogs, and as fierce as they are big. Every family and every caravan
owns one or more, and we learned very soon never to approach a native
encampment on foot.
The village was as unlike a Chinese settlement as it well could be,
for instead of closely packed mud houses there were circular, latticed
frameworks covered with felt and cone-shaped in the upper half. The
_yurt_, as it is called, is perfectly adapted to the Mongols and their
life. In the winter a stove is placed in the center, and the house is
dry and warm. In the summer the felt covering is sometimes replaced by
canvas which can be lifted on any side to allow free passage of air.
When it is time for the semiannual migration to new grazing grounds
the _yurt_ can be quickly dismantled, the framework collapsed, and the
house packed on camels or carts.
The Mongols of the village were rather disappointing, for many of them
show a strong element of Chinese blood. This seems to have developed
an unfortunate combination of the worst characteristics of both races.
Even where there is no real mixture, their contact with the Chinese has
been demoralizing, and they will rob and steal at every opportunity.
The headdresses of the southern women are by no means as elaborate as
those in the north.
When the hills of Tabool had begun to sink on the horizon behind us, we
entered upon a vast rolling plain, where there was but little water and
not a sign of human life. It resembled nothing so much as the prairies
of Nebraska or Dakota, and amid the short grass larkspur and purple
thistles glowed in the sunlight like tongues of flame.
There was no lack of birds. In the ponds which we passed earlier in the
day we saw hundreds of mallard ducks and teal. The car often frightened
golden plover from their dust baths in the road, and crested lapwings
flashed across the prairie like sudden storms of autumn leaves.
Huge, golden eagles and enormous ravens made tempting targets on the
telegraph poles, and in the morning before we left the cultivated area
we saw demoiselle cranes in thousands.
In this land where wood is absent and everything that will make a
fire is of value, I wondered how it happened that the telegraph
poles remained untouched, for every one was smooth and round without
a splinter gone. The method of protection is simple and entirely
Oriental. When the line was first erected, the Mongolian government
stated in an edict that any man who touched a pole with knife or ax
would lose his head. Even on the plains the enforcement of such a law
is not so difficult as it might seem, and after a few heads had been
taken by way of example the safety of the line was assured.
Our camp the first night was on a hill slope about one hundred miles
from Hei-ma-hou. As soon as the cars had stopped, one man was left to
untie the sleeping bags while the rest of us scattered over the plain
to hunt material for a fire. _Argul_ (dried dung) forms the only desert
fuel and, although it does not blaze like wood, it will "boil a pot"
almost as quickly as charcoal. I was elected to be the cook--a position
with distinct advantages, for in the freezing cold of early morning I
could linger about the fire with a good excuse.
It was a perfect autumn night. Every star in the world of space seemed
to have been crowded into our own particular expanse of sky, and each
one glowed like a tiny lantern. When I had found a patch of sand and
had dug a trench for my hip and shoulder, I crawled into the sleeping
bag and lay for half an hour looking up at the bespangled canopy above
my head. Again the magic of the desert night was in my blood, and I
blessed the fate which had carried me away from the roar and rush of
New York with its hurrying crowds. But I felt a pang of envy when, far
away in the distance, there came the mellow notes of a camel-bell.
_Dong, dong, dong_ it sounded, clear and sweet as cathedral chimes.
With surging blood I listened until I caught the measured tread of
padded feet, and saw the black silhouettes of rounded bodies and
curving necks. Oh, to be with them, to travel as Marco Polo traveled,
and to learn to know the heart of the desert in the long night marches!
Before I closed my eyes that night I vowed that when the war was done
and I was free to travel where I willed, I would come again to the
desert as the great Venetian came.