OUR COMIC SECTION
D
Interference
THERE l NOW MAYBE.
HIS LAST QUESTION
V
El CAN
Mud Watch Towers
(Prepared br "e NMInnal Oeoaraphle
Society, Wnlnlon. D. C
WHERE In all the world It to
be found scenery comparable
to that which awaits the ex
plorer and photographer In
northwestern Yunnan province, China,
and In the mountain fastnesses of
Turning, In southeastern Tibet?
Few have been privileged to climb
the towering ranges separating the
mightiest streams of China, If not of
Asia. The Jole region, so geologists
tell os, was once one vast, high pla
teau, now Intersected and eroded by
some of the longest rivers In the
world.
Those rivers changed this high pla
teau not merely Into a land of lofty
mountains, but of deep valleys with
gloomy shadows and forbidding gorges
never trodden by human foot.
In these trenches the Salwln, Me
kong, and Tnngtie, cutting through
mountain ranges 20.000 feet In height,
make their way to the oceans. These
three rivers, flowing parallel, north to
south, for some distance In western
China and southeastern Tibet, at one
place come within 48 miles of each
other, as the crow files, and yet their
months are separated by thousands of
miles.
It wss this region Into which the
National Geographic society recently
sent Its Tunnan province expedition
under the leadership of Joseph F.
Bock.
No white man had previously had
glimpse of many of the scenes
photographed by the expedition, for
the few explorers who have penetrat
ed these terrifying fastnesses have
done so when the snow-carped peaks
were bidden from view by the en
reloplng monsoon clouds of summer.
All three of these rivers have their
origin In the high plateau land of
Tibet, but their ultimate sources are
still unknown.
The Salwln. which flows for a long
distance through Tltiet proper, enters
Tuonan south of Tibet In Its south
ward course It becomes part of the
Bunnc Siamese borders and finally en
ters the Indian ocean at Jloulroeln.
made famous by one of Kipling's
poems.
The Mekong parallels the Salwln to
about the twentieth degree of lutltude;
then turns westward, forming the hor-
der of three countries Burma, Slam,
and Indo-Chlnn and Anally enters
the tropical South China sea near
Saigon.
Twists of the Yangtze.
The Yangtze, the mightiest and
longest of them all. Is also the least
consistent It flows parallel to the
Mekong to a point near Shlku, snd
thence maker a sharp curve, turning
directly north; describes a huge loop
which adds hundreds of miles to the
length of the river; returns to the
south, then turns to the east, becom
ing in port a boundary for the prov
inces of Yunnan and Szechwan, and at
length bends to the northeus: and en
ters the I'aclflc ocean near 8lianghal.
Of these rivers, the Salwln Is the
least known, It Is navigable for only
a short distance above its mouth. The
Yangtze, on the other hand, Is navig
able for distance of some 1..HI0 miles,
to Chungking, and thence by small
boats as far as Sulfa. Beyond that
row boots ply as fur as Muehang. In
eastern Yunnan. In the north, near
Iiutung, tt Is navigable by skin boats
or coracles, hut only for short dis
tances. Extensive stretches of this
river, which is more than 3,000 miles
long, are unknown and purts of Its
course appear on accurate maps is
dotted lines.
Much lias been written about the
Yangtze gorges la the vicinity of
Ichang, so well known to tourists, but
very little has been said about the
murh grunder gorges north of Llklung.
Few have penetrated even part way
Into this most terrific of all canyons,
among the first being J. Ilucot and
Doctor Hundel-Mnzettl, who ventured
as fur as the hamlet of Djlptilo, while
Itock continued the journey to near
Taku.
That long fctrcteh of the eastern
most arm of the greut loop, from
Fungkou to Tsillklang. has also been
unexplored, epeclully south of l.apo.
Tills the National Geographic society
expedition followed loarly all the way,
bringing hurk the first photograph
of Hint part of the Yangtze which
flows through arid gorges, the walls
of which are partly covered with
cuclus, a species of opuntis native to
America, but now widely distributed
In Yunnan by birds, which feed on
the succulent fruits, disseminating the
unharmed, undigested seeds.
Great Mountain Ranges.
The grandeur of the deeply en
trenched rivers Is enliunred by the
Mighty ranges with anow-clud peaks
whic h separate them. One of the flnest
Is undoubtedly the Kniikerpil range,
separating the Kulwln from the Me
kong, und which must reach an eleva-
In Mekong Valley.
tlon of 2-1,000 feet, the highest peak
of that range being Mount Mlyetzlnm.
The Mekong-Yangtze reache Its
highest points, some 20,000 feet, In
Mount Telmashan, while the Salwln-
Irrawaddy divide culminate In Mount
Kenylchunpo, nearly 20,000 feet In
height, the eastern branch of the Irra
waddy flowing parallel to the three
greater streams for some distance.
especially In the Chinese part of It
course.
Lured by the magnificence of the
mountuln ranges and the weird and
little known chasms In which these
mighty rivers flow, as well as by the
strange tribes living on the slope
of their gorges and In their valleys,
early one October the expedition lead
er left his headquarters In the little
Nashl hamlet of Nguluko, on the Ll
klung snow range, to explore and to
photograph.
The monsoon rnlns were not yet
over when the party of fifteen men
set out accompanied by a large car
avan, which carried supplies for more
than three months. The trail took
them down the Llklang plain to the
hamlet of Poshakal; thence over
small spur, on the top of which the
noonday meal was taken at a Nashl
wayside kitchen.
The paved road was execrable and
the rain made the much-worn rocks
so slippery tlint whenever possible a
narrow track beside the pavement was
used. Thus, roads In this part of the
world are often entirely abandoned
and new ones made by the constant
trot of passing caravans,
The following day the party climbed
high spur, reaching an elevation of
10,000 feet and passed through eoun
try where enormous sinkholes filled
with shrubbery afforded excellent hid
ing places for roving brigands. A well
graded rock trail led down Into the
Yangtze valley, and along the left bank
npstream to the hamlet of Shlku. or
Itock Drum.
It wos market day In Shlku and It
single street was crowded with men,
women, mules, pigs, dogs, children,
and what not The crowd was com
posed mainly of Nashl, Lissu, and Lolo
trlbespeople, who brought vegetables,
pigs, etc., to the market.
In the central part of the town, built
out into the main street, I an open
air theater. Since there are no step
to the stage, the photographer of the
party climbed over memorial tone
giving the names of the donors and the
amount of money donated toward the
building of the theater, and took pic
tures to his heart's content, while the
crowd at the foot of the stage looked
on.
Funeral In Budtuolo.
At Budsuolo, Nashl Tillage furth
er up the Yangtze, some one had given
up his mortal toll; mourners were
parading around In graylsh-wblte gar
ments and headdresses, while leaning
against the wall of the deceased'
house was a long row of almost life
size human efllgles made of bamboo
framework covered with paper. There
were also huge paper hones, sedan
chairs, castles, and tower of paper,
all to be burned at the grave. These
Imaginary servants, horses, etc., were
to minister unto and comfort the de
parted In the shadow world.
The fifth day from Llklang the party
reached Chutlen, on the banks of a
tributary of the Yangtze, along which
the trail now followed a mountain
range, op end down through valley
and villages, till It led out upon the
plain of Lutlen and a much-acattered
village of the same name, nestling on
the slopes of the Mekong-Yangtze
divide.
Below lay a beautiful amphitheater;
to the right an Imposing building on
the hillside, a lamasery, the first out
post of the Tibetan church.
The way now ascended through pine
and spruce forests to th summit of
the Yangtze-Mekong watershed. Lltl
plng, as the divide Is known, I one
broad, undulating range of alpine
meadows, some 11,000 feet In eleva
tion, bordered by a dense forest of the
loveliest hemlocks.
The undergrowth consist mainly of
a cunehraku (Arundtnarla), while a
thick carpet of moss cover the ground.
The meadows were one sea of blue
and white, for the gentians a well
as the edelweiss were all In bloom.
Rhododendron bushes, tall anemone,
and Irises formed a border on the out
skirts of the hemlock forests.
The air wa bracing, the sunshine
glorious; birds were singing and all
seemed glud for life.
The view toward the Yangtze In the
east was wonderful, the long range
stretching from north to south a fur
as the eye could see, while below lay
the scattered hamlet of Lutlen, still
enshrouded In morning mist
Egg Bring Relief. .
If the while of uu egg Is applied to
burn or scald as. soon a the acci
dent happens It will euse the pula.
The tourist guide was getting tired.
He had to answer too many dumb
questions.
And Just where did you sny this
boulder came from?" Inquired one
numbskull.
The guide politely replied that a
glacier brought It down.
Then up spoke the Inquisitive one
again: "And where did the glacier
gol"
"Aw," said the gfllde, "It went back
after another boulder,
WORST THING ABOUT HER
"What 1 the worst thing about
berr
"That Insignificant little fercy Snlpp
who I always at her side."
Individual Efficiency
"Efficiency" reward must win.
As 11 fo goes on, throush thick anil thin,
For any man with courage bint.
Who com ahead and does his beet.
No Credit
"Bufus, aren't you. feeling weUr
"Nossuh, ah sunb ain't"
"Have you consulted your doctor?"
"Nossuh, and Ah ain't gwlne to."
"What's the trouble! Aren't yon
willing to trust him?"
'Oh. vasauh. but de trouble I dat
he ain't altogether wlllln' to trust me."
Milt Chameleon
First Merchant 1 have a bookkeep
er In my offlc who has gone gray In
my service.
Second Merchant That's nothing,
old lad. Miss Smith there has gone
brown, blonde and Titian red In my
service. London I'asslng Show.
The Girlt
Marie Hello, Jane.
Jane Oh, I Just yesterday heard
of your marriage. I hop I'm not too
late to congratulate you.
One Not Often Accepted
"Fa, what I a standing Invitation T
"The look a ,lred woman gives the
young man who Is sitting down In
the street car. son."
LEAD UNNECESSARY
Wide George, there's a burglar lu
the pantry eating my pies, I do be
lieve. Hubby Do you think so? Then ll
wont' be necessary for me to give blio
a dose of lead.
Happy Hiitrioa
A sutasman has to take a chance
1 In spoakln for a cause.
The kid who does a son and danc
la sure of hie sppleua. ;
Not a Timoroui Girl
Lady (engaging maid) Itegurdlng
your evening out, I'm quite prepared
to meet you half way. ,
Maid That'll be all right ma'am;
I ain't a bit worried o' coining borne
In the dark.
Gathering Hit Own
Constables-How did you come by
that pot of honey t
Tramp Well, I admit I don't keep
bees, but wol's to stop a bloke iiee
In' it out of the (lowers liUrelf?
Now, Youngtter
Ardent Swain The first time I
looked Into your eyes you set my
pulses racing.
Little Brother (breaking cover) I
nay, Mr. Jones, which of them uul
L'asstng Show.
Heap Big Chief
Htrnnger Ho you are the nostmas
ler, storekeeper, Justice of the peace
and constuDie or tins town.
Native Ynsslr I You might say I'm
the Mussolini of Buckeye Corner.
f SOME BODY
V GUT SOME :
' "N M . 'I
( Si Ja rA? vWJ:9Ml,
itwdHt n tn
THE FEATHERHEADS Something FeUx Shouldn't Have Mentioned
I MO&HT MOUNOBOlLOeQ oU MOUWCf MAVI NlVlO-J
INKS IWItt MOT NWGS J JSWIXPIOGSD" I!
NioM rxavtwa xo moo abooT V 1 J ys. utto as fctaSues- I I
rTjocr wmi wni Co'T cam '
fT wr matt r&y owm A 1 iLavc 1 ,Avl.f, )
FINNEY OF THE FORCE
Peg, Don't Be Cruel
V It VVprt to June- A A touwfcjopwaru - k r tgs-BKT-
' ovHMcos r
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