The French explorer, author and legislator Gabriel Bonvalot (1853-1933) travelled widely in Central Asia in the 1880s. This two-volume English translation by C. B. Pitman of the 1889-90 French original was published in 1891. It describes Bonvalot's expedition across Europe and Asia to French Indochina. Accompanied by Prince Henri d'Orleans whose father, the Duc of Chartres, financed the expedition, Bonvalot left Paris in July 1889. In Volume 1, the expedition crosses first Russia and then Siberia, making its way south to Tibet. The obstacles encountered are considerable, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees below zero (Bonvalot describes how the fat that the expedition eats for butter is so hard that it may be 'used as a projectile') and altitude sickness affecting many of the party. The volume ends as the party enters Tibet, but without being certain exactly where they are.

The French explorer, author and legislator Gabriel Bonvalot (1853-1933) travelled widely in Central Asia in the 1880s. This two-volume English translation by C. B. Pitman of the 1889-90 French original was published in 1891. It describes Bonvalot's expedition across Europe and Asia to French Indochina. Accompanied by Prince Henri d'Orleans whose father, the Duc of Chartres, financed the expedition, Bonvalot left Paris in July 1889. In Volume 2, the expedition succeeds in gaining formal permission to enter Tibet, despite the Lhasa government's usual policy of turning away foreigners. Bonvalot shows himself fascinated with the polyandry and polygamy practised by the Tibetans, saying that they seem 'quite contented with their lot, and gaiety reigns supreme'. The party continues through China's Yunnan province to Tonkin in northern Vietnam, and reaches Hanoi in 1890; they return to France by sea.

The French explorer, author and legislator Gabriel Bonvalot (1853 1933) received funding from the French government to lead two expeditions to Central Asia in the 1880s. This two-volume English translation by C. B. Pitman of the French original was published in 1889 and is a richly illustrated account of the second of the two Asian expeditions, in which Bonvalot and the scientist Guillaume Capus attempted to enter Afghanistan. Although the party was detained and sent back to Samarkand upon entering Afghanistan, they refused to concede defeat, as Bonvalot was determined to reach India via a trail believed to run across the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains. In Volume 1, Bonvalot describes the journey from Marseille via Tehran to Samarkand, interspersing his narrative with observations of the climate and culture they encounter. At the Afghan border, guards warn that 'they will hack us to pieces and throw our bodies into the stream'.

The French explorer, author and legislator Gabriel Bonvalot (1853 1933) received funding from the French government to lead two expeditions to Central Asia in the 1880s. This two-volume English translation by C. B. Pitman of the French original was published in 1889 and is a richly illustrated account of the second of the two Asian expeditions, in which Bonvalot and the scientist Guillaume Capus attempted to enter Afghanistan. Although the party was detained and sent back to Samarkand upon entering Afghanistan, they refused to concede defeat, as Bonvalot was determined to reach India via a trail believed to run across the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains. In Volume 2 the party reaches the remote Kingdom of Chatral, but is imprisoned again. Bonvalot uses the confinement to study the customs of the local people, and eventually, with the help of the British authorities, they are released and allowed to continue to India.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1891 Edition.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1891 Edition.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1891 Edition.

In Two Volumes. Being A Translation Of De Paris Au Tonkin A Travers Le Thibet Inconnu. With Illustrations From Photographs Taken By Prince Henry Of Orleans And Map Of Route.

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In Two Volumes. Being A Translation Of De Paris Au Tonkin A Travers Le Thibet Inconnu. With Illustrations From Photographs Taken By Prince Henry Of Orleans And Map Of Route.

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. TO TCHARKALIK. Kourla?In the Bazaar?Provisioning the Caravan?Parpa?Visit from the Akim of Kourla: A " Mandarinade "?Tehinagai?Music in the Camp?A Forest of Poplars?Crossing the Kutche-Darya and the Intchigue-Darya?Aktarma?The River Tarim?The " Silk Plant "?Arkan?Hard Words and Blows Compared?Talkit- chin?The Hat of the Tarim?At Tcharkalik. October 6.?Kourla is a small town situated in a fine oasis. It is traversed by the Kutche-Darya, over which a wooden bridge has been built, connecting the suburbs on the left bank with the bazaars and the fortress on the right. The population is a mixture of Chinese, Dounganes, and Tarantchis; but, as the Mussulmans form the majority, the chief of the town (the Akim) is of that persuasion. It was he who came and laid siege to us upon our arrival, not giving us time to enjoy the satisfactions and pleasures which an oasis always offers to those who have crossed the desert; and Kourla is charming, with its gardens, its green trees, its fine river, and its bazaars, where are to be found melons, apples, figs, grapes, and apricots, which nomads like ourselves find so delicious. We arrived in the night of this day (the 5th October), having done a stage of nearly thirty-five miles. We are lodged in the house of a Mussulman who is a Russian subject and a merchant in the town. KOURLA. WOMIiX. Or'iober 6.?To-day we received a great many inquisitive visitors. We learn that the authorities are summoned to meet at the Yamen in the evening to take counsel together concerning us, and the chief asks permission to pay us a visit the next morning. "We find ourselves in the flrst bazaar we have seen since we left Kuldja, and we shall not encounter another after we make a fresh start. So we buy and buy in preparation for Thibet, an...