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

of our depots, though he afterwards returned what he had taken. Traversing the Black Gobi, he arrived in Hami. There he mixed his remaining supply of petrol with paraffin, and continued via Ku-ch'eng-tze to Urumchi.

MONTELL'S and GEORG'S car-trip to the Edsen-gol and back in the service of the expedition has already been mentioned in Part II, pages 165 and 171 f.

In the beginning of 1931 GUSTAF' SÖDERBOM returned from Hami and drove north of the Edsen-gol lakes to Kalgan.

In November of the same year, accompanied by TSERAT and DONGORA, GEORG drove from Kalgan via Unyen-usu in the service of Eurasia, but did not get farther with the car than to Durban-modo, where he had a breakdown. He continued with camels in twenty days to the Edsen-gol, while DONGORA made a forced ride eastwards to fetch reserve parts, so that the car could afterwards be driven back.

In the summer of 1931 GUSTAF SÖDERBOM set off for the second time with several cars, intending to start a regular traffic between Kuei-hua and Sinkiang. When one of his lorries was damaged at Tsondol in Dunda-gung he returned to Tientsin to have it repaired, making a fresh start in November of the same year. He arrived in Urumchi in January 1932, where he remained for a considerable time.

The well-known Paris car-manufacturer ANDRE CITROEN, who had already sent out GEORGE-MARIE HAARDT on a magnificent car-expedition through Africa, was also the leading spirit of the no less celebrated car-journey through Asia, that was carried out under the leadership of the same energetic and capable man as the first. The course of this »Croisière Jaune » has been touched upon in Part II, pages 189 f.

The next car-journey through our tracts was made in the spring of 1932 by the Kohli Motor Company in Kuei-hua, that sent three lorries westwards through the desert by the northern route. Two of them got stuck in the sand and were afterwards brought back. The third, a Chevrolet, reached the Edsen-gol and Suchow, but was confiscated, along with the chauffeur, by MA CHUNG-PING, who nevertheless paid for his booty.

On September 13th 1932 a little expedition started out from Kalgan to Urumchi. Its leaders were two missionaries from the China Inland Mission, Dr EMIT, FISCHBACHER and Mr HUNTER, an old friend of mine. They had two Ford lorries and a crew of eight, the majority being missionaries like themselves. For the stage to the Edsen-gol they had the indefatigable TSERAT' as guide, while GEORG SODERBOM had been at their disposal for the purchase and equipment of the cars. They drove first to Khadain-sume, thence to Beli-miao, and from here they followed practically the same route as we were to take. On September 27th they reached the Edsen-gol just at the place where HÖRNER and CHEN happened to have their headquarters. In his report to the mission Dr FISCHBACHER speaks

1 They spell his name CERAT.

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