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Show y r,aV t V $ V ,.pW5 48,,. trf-- i ,. WM .rtft . "- -- V, & A - r w ongoliaii b it fUL , Trussed Ropes and BuntedJWitfr Scalding Water the Harrowing Experiences of Several American Scientist-Explorer- s While Held Prisoners in Central Asia by Cruel Oriental t t' f : TribesmenThiFTKnllirig Stoiy of TheiFEscapF t ? " Up With - r ; ? A Told mencaa Museum of Natural History TRUSSED dreS water and iortlred h riirV York, City, v. "and to , anteht.Jamaf J1 at of tho Amer- - ssist,a VSt Wfllrnm juA returned tothls We left Urumchi, the capital of Chinese Turkestan, where our expedition - waa in October, and then left Kuchengtio, where camel transport was obtained for the journey into Mon-roli UU in ctobr- - We entered outer NJVember j928' nd 5 Russian into not to pmmirAf telling os lhat those who invodo toat territory Were always under stts- picion and in danger of their live- suspected of looking for Thy oil or gold, wanting to start a railroad n Morden, of "T H iL rri ,brinS scars of their harrowing experience in or warfare, , the wastes of the Mongolian desert, We had gone about one hundred miles scientist-exploreThe were captured i and held to forty hours by the Mon- and were in a particularly wild snd deserted spot one jnight at dusk, when, golians during one of fW moat hazardous and adventurous expeditions ever under- just as we were wondering where our taken by staff members of the museum. caravan could put up to the night, we suddenly surrounded by about It was the first American expedition were ever to travel in the forbidden Russian fifteen or twenty armed men. This was at Post, just south of the Pamirs, a wild, remote region in NorthThese men golisn Altai Mountains, western Mongolia. The trip was made wore discarded uniforms and the the to collect scientific specimens of large with the star of the Russian soldier, animals of the Pamirs of the Thian Shan caps and looked to be half savage a de Mountains and of Central Asia in cidedly motley crew. f general, with the special object of coa llecting complete series of Ovis poll were now beginhing to get a 7irE Marco Polo's shospV in the ynounteipi , r bit wary, end called upon our of Turkestan, v interpreter to find out what the trouble Mr. Clark, safe in his office at the was. But everything was happening so museum, related the thrilling story of fast that we eould get little information bis experiences with the cruel Oriental from him; in fact, the Mongolian soldiers savages, the exciting narrative sounding gave us little opportunity to communialmost like a movie thriller. .The cate with him. We tried the sign museums assistant director has the language, but they ignored us. We then weather-beate- n complexion of the typical ,sked f the chief officer, but this He had not fully recovered explorer. WM ignored. Our passports meant qurt from his experience snd one hand torn nothing to them. Neither did the toby the ropes with which he was bound formation that we were explorers froih on the desert, was not entirely healed, the United States. They had never even COURtry rs u Tr tu.hu.,. to see Mr. Mordens hands," said Mr. Clark, minimizing his owii injuries. "One of his hands still bears a long scar, the result of an infection which set to from" the d ropes cutting Into his flesh. But Ill start my story at the be. ginning of the tnp. We wanted Ovis poll, roe deer, ibex, gazelle -- and other large animals to the museum collection. water-soake- 't - We knew we would encounter perils from storms in the black passes between India and Turkestan, intense hefct and burning sun on the plains, below-zer- o weather and encounters with unfriendly natives at every stage of the journey,, but ere were willing to take a chance. the trip were made 7 The first plans by Mr. Morden when he was working to the Himalayas in 1923. We left the United States January 80, 1920. Our original intention wag to to .. hoisted to our feet and one big fellow took a swing at my face. I dodged, and the bowl of my pipe was knocked off. 1. stood there with the stem still held between my clenched teeth. Then the fel- knocked the pipe stem from WJr mouth- - wcr uttiR2 - A11 th ite! rope, my n k, up J arms .Id bto shoulders. The Mongolian soldiers studied us and - rr. - j X I felt that they were more and growing excited by these first acts of cruelty. Then Morden and I noticed they were boiling water on a stove. Soon one of them approached Mr. Morden carrying b a pan of ib and Mr. Morden suddenly cried out to me: - Theyre going to scald me. "A soldier carrying a pan approached me, and began pouring the hot liquid over ' the popes which bound my wrists. I saw they were doing the same thing to Morden,, This wss to shrink the ropes and make them bite deeper into tbe flesh. The wet ropes sank deeper. My hands felt like balls of fire, and those terrible shooting pains! I am still troubled by the nerves to one aboub They roughly pushed our passports hand and mm, and you can stick pins aside, and then we learned that they into the hand and wrist and I dont feel it, while at other times the sharp. had stripped our guns rad revolvers -and bags from pur satAes, and taken everything from pur camels. Then they A SERVANT bad been talking to one began to whisper mysteriously, eye , of the men, and when I questioned us ta a strange way. They would rush ' to and out of the yurt, or hub and hold him about what he had learned about more whispered conferences. I told Mr. our ultimate fate, he told us we were to Morden that I thought trouble was be killed. The men began to fed of brewing to ua, and started to leave. our hands, now swollen, and one of One of the men ebontod at me, and aft the wretched Mongols knocked Mr. other struck our native servant to tbe .Morden down, ' -- Now our hands caused face. . r uj more ex. Then we knew that w were ta for cruciating pain as the hours went by. lb But as we were now unarmed and outnumbered, we decided to be aa docile as possible under Hie circumstances. Wa began to study the faces of the men to the dim light, and saw the cruel gleam in their eyes, the savage expression on their faces. It was then we began to realize we were at the mercy of uncivilized Mongolians, too Ignorant and excitable to take the trouble to find out who we were or why we were there. connect, if possible, September 1 with the Third Asiatic Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History, " under Roy Chapman Andrews, at Hami, Chinese Turkestan, but this was prevented by tbe internal conditions to Bo onr expedition, the first China. QHORTLY things began to happen, American one to traverse and operate There was suddenly much shouting. to tbe forbidden Russian paroirs, and the first to traverse Central Asia from and men came in with ropes, and several the Indian Ocean to the Yellow Sea, a of them got behind me. At first I distance of 7888 miles, started off with- thought they were going to strangle me out us dreaming of the experience to with the tope. I noticed that one of the savage spat several times on the ' store for us. , We left Srinagar, Kashmir, ta rope he held, I decided that he waa . March. We were ta the Russian Pamirs putting a curse on ib Then two of the men threw me down, more than a month, entering May 4 by a route from Kashmir, and several others did the same to Mr. the the first American expedition to he Morden. They tied the rope around car PWU by CMrtwjr iMfkM Ml Mr- - Clark mounted on a yak hunting the Oris granted Hie privilege of transporting fall wrists, pulling it tighb This they did boots on our , equipmeA over this difficult route. We by putting their heavy feet in the Russian pamirs crossed the Burzil Pass, between great arms and jerking the rope. They were . - muscular fellows, and did their work front feet f high, 16,000 Kazimir peaks ' ' to April to the midst of terrible storms, wslL The rope began to cut my wrists, He screed that he would ureter We Were so rretohed mw being the first expedition that year, and it was very painful. All the time w kept aakmg them to get their chief that death didnt seem such terrible we never J Af tr 4 GUgit-Hunz- trussed up aa we were, cramped, our twelve days. At Kobdo, through the to t bands nearly frozen, pains shooting tervention of the Busslans, who were through us, the ropes entting into our . outraged at the way we had been treated of Koiotm! History flesh, the fcy atmosphere of the tent . by the Mongolians, we were released. enveloping na and onr fate still a mys- Wa then made our way by wagon to poii at 16,000 then by sleigh to Biisk In tery to us, A long, long night of tor7, ture! But It finally came to an end, Siberia, the end Of the branch line of the n Railroad. We arrived to and with the morning came a faint . of hopeT The men untied us and Manchuria to December, and Peking in j spark ? !? gave us some hot tea to drink snd some January of this year, after nine months We had been hours without , to the interior of Asia. In all, wa had came have' by motor, oa Our hands felt hot and cold" by turns, didnt matter to us whether we were foob on horseback, on yaks, wagons, to whether their chief officer was there or they would feel when they learned what When they felt frown we tried to hold given food or nob but It was good to sleighs and on camels. ' 4 not. had happened to us. Then we began them over the fire, but the men pushed get the ropes off our wrists. One of "After we were securely tied we were wondering whether they ever would us aside. T THINK we owe our lives to the ad-Mordens .hands was very sore, and he We almost prayed to faTnb to that begged for something to put On it. to vice of several older tribesmen not we wouldnt feel the for a while, keep from getting an Infection where of the Mongolian military. I think they pain W would keep quiet as long as 'we the dirty rope had cub He was refused urged the younger and more could, end then one of us would ask ; this. men not to kill us. We gathered this j - ' the other: "Soon my hands were almost back from .their attitude toward us and from Areypn out yetTHow doyou'feelTlo normal, though I stiirhad twitches What" we learned later. Wa can only' tried cheering each other up, but in them and electrical Shocks. Then conjecture as to tbe reason tor our capit wasnt very successful. Our hands and there followed more long conferences ture and cruel treatment at the hands arms were hurting too much; our spirits about us, and we were told we could of the Mongolian soldiers. We have tried " were too low. . , not go back the way we .had come, to reason it out' and hay decided that After hours of this, men came to or proceed forward. They finally told us they thought we were the advance guard, - - that if they let u go we would have of a military expedition. The way they with guns, and Morden said: Heres where we get ib Theyre to go without equipment and accom- searched pur packs for ammunition' and going to shoot us at last 5 panied by a party of soldiers. This wss the fact that we later heard they had , They took us out of tjte yurt and a distance of more than 250 miles over sent lookouts down the line to see if we tied ua back to back to a pole to a the mountains, to temperature sometimes were being followed by a larger force smaller tenb We were sitting down, 40 below zero, and we knew thab while convince us that this was the case. But we wouldnt have missed going our elbows tied together, with ropes the natives could stand the bitter cold, from our elbows to our knees. This we Could, nob But later they agreed on tbe expedition for anything. It wss a much more uncomfortable posi- to let us have our caravan, though under waa a wonderful experience, notwithtion than the one we bad before, for we guard, and we were overjoyed. When I standing our sufferings. While hunting Ovis poli In the Russian pamirs we were were now trussed up like animals. One got to our caravan, I actually cried. of the men flammed my cap down on - sOur sufferings were now almost at at an altitude of 16,600 feet Wa the Great Turfan Depression, the my head, and it fell over my eyes. This an end.- - We were taken to the second made things worse, for it waa nerve- - post, under armed guard of.Mongol sol- - lowest point on the earth's surface which w going pn diers,, where e were held, tor two mor. is Jpt ..under., water, and. -- we era tha wracking not to see wht ' - - - days. At this post we were treated con- - first American expedition to explore this around me. Our, hands were numb and we temptuously, but later those ta charge arid basin. We brought back a comthought them frozen, Id rather die seemed impressed with our passports plete collection of Ovis poli, together than go home to my wife disabled and and letters from Russian officials. Then with other scientific specimens, more be films a burden to her" I told Morden, who we Were sent under guard 250 miles thaa l8d00 feet of motion-pictucaptors smilingly posed for this picture after they had released the e me a bit for looking to far ahead across tha Mongolian Altai Mountains and 4000 still photographs." jibed T" CtavrWM Its rvMt VUne . Tbe night seemed endless, to Kobdo, a very sever journey of wa thab plorers, who were rescued by Russian soldiers , Kask-a-gac- h, 1 Trans-Siberia- ? srJZ'&x. Tanx jt av.- - ffb-vers- -- four of the . - t, Oriental - re ", 4M f 1.5 - fX ' n k ? 7. f. 4 ,1 'A ed 7 V k - W |