National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

was in his district that SJÖBERG (SEEBZRG, a Swedish American), the sisters HILDA and CLARA ANDERSSON and Miss LUND, the missionaries of the Swedish Mongol Mission, were murdered. The deed was, however, probably carried out at the orders of the Boxer leaders. The year before we arrived, the Middle Duke had confiscated four Russian motor-cars loaded with ammunition. FENG YÜ-HSIANG, who was at that time waging war in the tracts to the south of this place, sent a detachment of two hundred men to regain the motor-cars; but these soldiers are said to have met a sad fate.

Leaving the short valley behind us we came out once more on open ground, over which we now directed our course to the south-west. To the north-west, at a considerable distance, one saw the temple Bombin-sume (Bombotei-sume). Formerly it had nine hundred lamas, who owned several thousand camels. Now it was inhabited by a mere twenty monks, desperately poor and complaining of the bad times and the persistent drought. We noticed but little of the latter, however; it had rained only the previous day.

THE TIGER VALLEY

A little later we reached hills, where the route led up a river-valley called Laohu-ku (Tiger Valley). It was sterile and desolate, filled with boulders of all sizes, but picturesque withal in its desert loneliness and wildness. The valley led up to free, open spaces on the Tiger Mountain, where ten antelopes bounded off, light and elastic, at our approach. We crossed a granite ridge, and paused for a moment on the crown, struck with astonishment at another of those endless panoramas that spread out before one from time to time. Far in the west the earth and the sky seemed to merge into each other in a melting haze.

Elegant and elastic, HASLUND sped past on his slim riding camel. Our Danish friend was really ubiquitous. As LARSON led the big provision column, HASLUND managed my section. The Mongols liked him very much, but then he had lived among them for about four years and knew their habits and customs.

Having discovered the position of the well Durbeljin, he came riding back to the caravan, and we camped at this »square well ».

MEETING CARAVANS

On August 13th an east wind was blowing. It is from the east that the rain comes — from the sea. The chains of mountains to the south are called Kharanarin-ula on the map; the Chinese name is Lang-shan. This chain lies immediately to the north of the Huang-ho's great bend.

At Dal-ulan there is a well for the thirsty and a huge obo of stone on a flat hill

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