IX. Urga – Yum-Beise Küren

George Roerich — Trails to the Inmost Asia

On April 13, 1927, everyone in the expedition rose before dawn. We hoped to start early in order to cover as much ground as possible. The first stretch of the route lay along the valley of the Tola River and according to our informants was comparatively easy for laden cars. The three trucks of the expedition were loaded the day before, and there remained the two Dodge touring cars destined for the members of the expedition and their light baggage which was to be tied on the running boards. By eleven o'clock everything was ready and the large gates of the expedition headquarters were opened to let the cars out. Friends, both Europeans and Mongols, assembled to bid farewell and Godspeed to the members of the expedition. The Mongols were chatting with their relatives, and lamas were seen murmuring their prayers and hanging ceremonial scarfs or khatags on the expedition cars. Our Tibetans were surrounded by a crowd of their countrymen who had come to see us off. The Tibetan personnel of the expedition was very proud of the rifles and insisted on riding with fixed bayonets, decorated with khatags attached to the rifle barrel. Our men looked very martial in their khaki fur coats and ammunition belts. The whole presented a colorful scene, in which were blended European and Asiatic elements.

Suddenly a disagreeable surprise was sprung by one of the motor car drivers. The man had forgotten to renew his Mongol passport and obtain a frontier pass for his car. Two weeks before our departure we had warned the drivers to have all their papers ready before April 13. Only two days before I had asked the men if they had done so and they all assured me that they had passports for themselves and frontier passes for their cars. The whole affair was very disagreeable for we had to postpone our departure until late in the afternoon and rush to the Government Transport Office to get the required passes without which the custom authorities would not allow the expedition cars to leave the city. There was no probability that the required motor car passes would be obtained in such a short time. The usual procedure took about three or four days. But thanks to the untiring help of our Mongol friends and the courtesy of the Mongolian Minister of Finance, they were issued and signed.

About five o'clock the expedition convoy of cars started on its long track across the western Gobi. For some distance it was accompanied by our friends and co-workers, Mr. and Mrs. Lichtmann of New York, and Dr. Jamtsarano, secretary of the Mongolian Scientific Committee, and other friends from Urga.

At a point beyond the Tola River bridge, we all alighted from our cars and bade a last farewell to the civilized world and our American friends who were to return by airplane from Urga to Verkhne-Udinsk.

"Greetings to all friends in New York! Await our future news!" were the last words of Professor Roerich, when the expedition column started westward along the valley of the Tola. The heavily loaded trucks with men perched on top of the loads moved on like huge monsters.

For the first five miles the route was good, notwithstanding the melting snow that made it muddy and slippery. On the seventh mile we ran into a thick patch of snow; one of our touring cars sank deep into it and had to be rescued. We all tried to pull it out, but met with little success. The hind wheels were buried deep. Meanwhile the three trucks, which delayed a little at the Tola River bridge chose another circuit route following the bank of the Tola River and were now some distance ahead of us. We fired several shots to attract their attention. One of the trucks stopped and men came running with spades and ropes to our assistance. It took some time before they reached the spot where the car was stuck. With united efforts we pulled it out and were able to continue the journey. It was getting late and we could hardly see the road ahead of us. About ten o'clock in the evening we decided to camp close to the river bank under some willow trees. These were the last trees we saw in outer Mongolia. The day's march was short, only some twenty miles, but we were all glad to be again in open country and feel the desert ahead of us.

After considerable hustle in the darkness, all the tents were pitched and we could look for a well-deserved rest after a tiresome day. Some six miles away on the farther bank of the river we could see the dim lights of the Sangin Veterinary Station. Southeast of our camp rose the western offshoots of the massive Bogdo ula and toward the southwest were the dim outlines of rolling hills, through which lay the valley of the Tola. The night was beautifully clear but bitterly cold, the thermometer registering some -25°C.