国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

DEPARTURE OF THE DETACHED COLUMNS

The north column left on July 1st. Besides NoRIN, it consisted of BERGMAN, who was to concentrate on archaeology, Major HEYDER, V. MASSENBACH, TING, the palaeontologist, CHIN, the digger, a cook, two coolies, two Mongols and twenty-five camels.

This party had the hardest work, for angle-measurement requires the most scrupulous accuracy.

YUAN's column set off on July 3rd, taking HUANG, the archaeologist, CHAN, the topographer, CHUANG and PAI, both diggers, a cook, two coolies, two Mongols and fifteen camels. The mapping work carried out by this party was also to proceed from HEYDER's fix-points.

Both columns were to keep in constant touch with us through Mongol messengers. Water and pasture were as usual the two factors that determined our camping-sites. In other respects we were independent of one another. We agreed, however, that all three columns should meet half-way to the Edsen-gol, at the great Lama monastery Shandai-sume (Shande-miao) .

KAULL's, HASLUND's AND SÜDERBOM's JOURNEY TO PEKING

On June 6th we sent HASLUND and SöDERBOM to Pao-t'ou and Kuei-hua respectively, while KAULL was despatched at the same time to Peking and Tientsin. They were to fetch $9,000 in silver, our post, and carry out a host of small commissions — such as, for instance, taking in a box chronometer that refused to function for repair. In Tientsin, too, several purchases had to be made to supplement our wireless and instrumental equipment. The travellers were to be back by June 25th, but we heard nothing from them either then or for the next few days. When five and then six days had passed we began to feel uneasy, and the missing three became the general topic of conversation in the camp. Finally, LARSON proposed that two of our best Mongols should be sent to Kuei-hua with a letter to the Belgian physician, Dr KAISIN, asking whether and when our missing members had left the town, and, if they had not yet left, what was the reason for the delay. A well-mounted Mongol should be able to reach Kuei-hua in three days, perform his errand and rest for a night before returning in three days again.

On July 4th, then, we sent off two Mongols to Kuei-hua on horse-back. One of them, SARAN GEREL (Moonbeam), was to hand over my letter to Dr KAIsIN; the other, TSERAT (Morning Star)1 was to proceed from Kuei-hua to Peking with a letter to one of my friends, asking him to try and procure a theodolite, either in Pe-

1 In previous publications the name has been spelt SEiAT (by HASLUND: TSEREAT). According to kind information from Dr K. GRONBECH its proper spelling ought to be TSERUr. F. B.

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