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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

ever, given me an unexpectedly free hand in the most important point, namely, the movements of the expedition and the length of its stay at various camping-places. Sm PING-CH'ANG agreed straight away to my proposals, and if ever he expressed a personal wish I supported him whole-heartedly. In a word, there was always the completest harmony between us throughout the whole period of our collaboration.

Clause c) was only to the advantage of the expedition, for it is obvious that negotiations with local authorities in distant parts could always be managed better by our Chinese comrades than by us foreigners. To be able to have recourse in such situations to reliable and friendly disposed Chinese was a most invaluable asset for us Europeans. As regards transports of collections (clause d), all questions of the sort were resolved automatically by whatever transport possibilities there happened to be at the different places.

6.  This paragraph was naturally of great importance for the Chinese, and no-one could expect them to bear any of the costs for an enterprise that in reality was European. It was therefore self-evident that I should pay all the costs. Equally just was the Chinese claim for salaries to the Chinese members when the Europeans were paid. The general agreement to which I came with Professor Liu Fu was that 35o Mexican dollars be paid out in the field to the Chinese members, while he was authorized by me to withdraw 50o Mexican dollars per month from the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank in Peking for the members' families at home. Strictly speaking, this original sum of $85o a month should have been reduced in proportion as the Chinese contingent grew smaller, as its members returned home one after the other; but since nothing to this effect had been mentioned in the contract, and since our expenses were in any case lessened by this successive reduction of the Chinese membership, I did not bring the question up at all.

7.  According to the contract, we were to follow the route Peking, Pao-t'ou, Sogho-nor, Hami, Urumchi, Lop-nor and Charchan. The projected route was also followed at first; and if the preliminary expedition had been followed by an air-expedition the route would have been sufficient. But when our flying plans were afterwards disallowed, and the expedition was thus changed into a purely scientific expedition, or rather a series of many different expeditions without other connection than the common command, our activity extended its scope enormously, and spread out over the whole of innermost Asia between Chuguchaq, Kucha, Aqsu, Kashgar, Yarkend, Khotan, Western Tibet, Karakorum, Ladakh, Northern Tibet, Tsaidam, Tebbu, the Nan-span, Kansu, the Gobi and the whole of Inner Mongolia and Jehol. The liberties we took without once asking The Board of Directors did not lead to the slightest criticism or complaint from their side. At the very beginning of the expedition one had the definite impression that The Board of Directors had forgotten the existence of an agreement, and neither Professor Liu Fu nor any other member of the committee ever referred to its paragraphs.

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