M. Bonvalot's Travels in Tibet

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 288, 6 December 1890, Page 3 (Supplement)

M. Bonvalot's Travels in Tibet

Tub ' Journal cles Debats ' has received a long and interesting letter from M. Bonvalot, who, accompanied by Prince Henry of Orleans, has for the last year or more bcoa travelling through Ruseia and Siberia into Thibet and China. A short iinie ago, M. Bonvalot was able to telegraph his arrival at) Yun-nan Fu, and ho is now on the road to Hanoi; but this letter is dated the 2Sbh of Juno, and was written at Ta-Tsien-Lou, which is on tho frontier of the Tibat Marches, and is occupied by a Chinese garrison ; whilo it is also the headquarters of the lloman Catholic Missions in Thibet. Avoiding the Errors of Former Travellers. I remember (says M. Bonvalot) vaguely having sent you some news of ourselves about" October or November last, and no doubt I then told you of our intention to make our way in a south-easterly direction toward Batang". In any case, I did not tell you thafc, while looking towards Batancr I casb secret glances at Lhassa and especially at the lofty unexplored tablelands of Thibet. Prjevalsky, tho Kussian, and Carey, the Englishman, were the first and the last sinco the day of Fathers Hue and Gabet, who have attempted to visit these unknown regions. A perusal of their narratives had convinced me that tha difficulties they had had to surmouns wore nothing new or uncommon to mo. ... I was firmly

resolved to avoid tho errors into which these travellers foil. Both had run short, at a given moment, of provisions, guides— and prudence. So we had to carry with us ample provisions for man and beast, and then forgot the dictates of prudence. So we loft; tho Lob-Nor with about six months' provision of food, and ready to run any sorb of risk. It is said that to venture is to succeed : wo have ventured, and wo have succeeded. FiiiBEJT Hundred Milks Through an Unknown Country. We have been able to traverse about 1,000 miles of desert, at an altitude varying from 13,000 ft to 19,000 ft. Wo reached the south of Lake Tengri-Nor, which is only a day's journey on horseback from Lhassa,

and if we did nob viaifa that place it was no'oly taoeauso we dul nob Cltl'6 to do 80. Wo then mado eastward by a now route, and ib was only at Tchang-cha(t/he Kwankfa of fcha German maps) tbab we rejoined the main roato formerly followed by fclio many French missionaries, such as Hue, Gabefc, Biofc, etc., who do bo much honour to our country. From Tchanp-cha we went to Batang, and by Li-Tang to Ta-Tsien-Lou, v-horo, as 1 havo said, wo foil in v/ibh some compatriots. Although we have travelled about 1,500 miles in an unknown region, ncurly half tho way without a guido. TERRIBLE PIUVATION. Ili i= truo that we have had a terrible winter, tho quicksilver freezing, and we have boon assailed by terrible sfeorms which took our breath away, which blinded us, and which made it still more trying to walk at so great an altitude- Wo can etill hear in our ears the howling of the wind which blow from the west, and we can feel in fancy the sand being dashed up against our hoods. Such were the conditions under which we had to seek our way ; at timea we could not distinguish a man ten yards in front of us ; sometimes we could not even open our eyes, so it ia not surprising if wo lost some of our men and cattle and wore in a constant abate of apprehension. For a period of two months we made our tea with ice, which was generally dirty and mixed with sand and earth, so that a bit of pure ice was a great treat, and we filled our bags with it whenever the opportunity offered. Our bcast3 of burden, camels and horses, alike, were decimated, or, to speak more accurately, every one of them died of fatigue, thirst, and hunger. The snow was svrepb off by tho wind, and the animals had nothing to drink; upon the other hand we had nob enough combustible <ar limo to melt) tho ico for them even when we happened to be near a frozen pool. Twice we had hot springs close to our camp, and the horses which elaked their thirst at them died on tho following day from over-drink-ing themselves. Two of our camp-followers died. A Chaos of Mountains. We lived up on the tableland of Tibet amid a chaos of mountains ; vvq traversed numberless passes so high that one seemed to be mounting up to heaven, there being ono chain after another; with summit overtopping summit.. Tho only inhabitants of the deserts were herds of antelopes, vast troops of yaks, a few crows, and native birds. Seme days we saw nothing, not even the crows, which follow the caravans as a shark cioos a ship, tho solitude being almost overwhelming, so that after a few days of it our men were on the lookout for some human form, just as ship-wrecked men look for a sail upon the ocean. Needless to tell you that my companions, Prince Henry of Orleans, Father Dedeben, of tho Belgian Missions, and my worthy Rachmed, are very pleassa to have succeeded, and thab we have already forgotten ail we have gono through. We believe that we have dons credit to France, and that is suffioieafc compensation for all our hardships.