ACROSS THE ROOF OF THE WORLD.
Across the Roof of the World. By Lieut. P. T. Ethertoa. (Constable and Co. 16s.)—Lieut. Etherton made a remarkable journey from Lansdowne in the Himalaya foothills to the Altai Mountains in Mongolia, when a blizzard and frost-bite prevented him crossing the Altai Range and descending the Yenisei to Krasnoiarsk on the Trans-Siberian. The author is of the stuff great travellers are made of, and we can only regret he tells us so little of the countries he passes through. His principal aim was to shoot ovis poll and the wapiti of the Thian Shan Mountains, and the ideas of sportsmen do not include much attention to scenery and vegetation. It is a straightforward account, but lacks variety and detail. Could he not have told us more about the Thian Shan, its trees and its natural history P It approximates remarkably to the haunts of the American wapiti, and a little trouble would have afforded us a most interesting parallel. The actual relation of so strenuous a journey takes up much space, but there would have been room for facts, for which we are so dependent on observant travellers. Such journeying is arduous we know full well, but the standard we require of those who travel has risen. Lieut. Etherton has no difficulty in reaching that, but we cannot acquit him of neglecting some of his opportunities. Doubtless, too, his contemporaries will argue that he committed a grave error of judgment in attempting the last stage of his journey—to Rohde— in the face of continuous warnings, and at a time, "the turn of the year," the very worst he could have chosen in such a. country. The illustrations are good and characteristic. Physically, the book is one of the heaviest, for its size, we have handled ; it weighs more than three and a half pounds.
Previous page
