Douglas Carruthers and the Outer Mongolia Expedition of 1910-1911
Charlie Mackenzie Portlock
Douglas Carruthers, born in London in 1882, was an explorer and naturalist who went onto become a member of the Royal Central Asian Society (precursor to the RSAA). As a boy he was desperate to be able to explore Africa, Central Asia and the ruins of the ancient world, all of which he managed to achieve before he was twenty-six. As a young man he travelled through Arabia, represented the British Museum while travelling across Africa, followed the course of the Congo River and explored Central Asia.
Educated at Haileybury (now home to the RSAA’s collections) and Trinity College, Cambridge, Carruthers trained as a land surveyor and became an expert taxidermist. In 1910, he set out with Morgan Philips Price (a journalist and politician) and John H Miller (a zoologist) to explore Outer Mongolia and Dzungaria (now Northern Xinjiang), an ancient Mongolian kingdom named after the left (züün) hand (gar) of Genghis Khan’s army.
It was a time of great political upheaval for the region. The fourteen-year Taiping Rebellion had crippled the Qing economy and sowed the seeds of social and political unrest across the empire. Outer Mongolia was suffering from the disintegrating economy, growing debt and increasing tax demands. The Qing government sought to quell dissent and assimilate the region into the empire by settling ethnic Han in Outer Mongolia. However, this triggered the opposite effect and provided the impetus for rebellion. In 1911, taking advantage of the Xinhai Revolution, a Han Chinese rebellion against the Qing government, Outer Mongolia declared independence. A relatively bloodless separation from the Qing Empire led to the establishment of the Bogd Khanate of Mongolia. The 8th Bogd Gegeen, the highest Tibetan Buddhist authority in Mongolia, was installed as a theocratic sovereign and took the title of Bogd Khan or “Holy Ruler”.
Although they had gained independence, the Mongols still had to contend with three historical currents, two of which arguably remain today. First were the efforts of the Mongols to form a greater independent theocratic state which included Inner Mongolia, Hulunbir and Tannu Uriankhai. The second was the Russian Empire’s determination to establish its own pre-eminence in the country, and finally, to come in 1912, was the the newly formed Republic of China’s aim to eliminate Outer Mongolian autonomy and establish its own sovereignty over the region.
Despite the political turmoil, the trio of explorers persevered on their expedition covering thousands of miles on horseback across trackless taiga, freezing steppes and vast deserts. Their journey took them through Siberia, across the Yenisei River and Altai Mountains, along the Ili Valley in Dzungaria and into the Qarlig Tagh at the eastern end of the Tian Shan. Carruthers noted that to make the vast journeys he needed to estimate all expenses six months in advance, which often entailed carrying enough small gold and silver bars to last, as bank notes held little value in the wilderness.
On his return to London, Carruthers recounted this great expedition in his book Unknown Mongolia. It records the cultural and natural uniqueness of the region, from traditional sports to the practices of the Uriankhai reindeer herders, all accompanied by a wonderful selection of photographs. Links to PDF versions of both volumes of the book are below.
Through the First World War, Carruthers worked at the War Office compiling maps of the Middle East. Following the war, map-making became the focus of Carruthers’ work. In collaboration with other explorers he would use information to ensure maps were accurate and to create maps of previously uncharted areas, it was during this time that he developed a friendship with T E Lawrence. Lawrence is known to have drawn Carruthers a map titled Hejaz Railway to Wadi Sirhan which records part of his march in May, 1917, from the port city of al Wejh on the Red Sea toward Aqaba, where the Welsh-born archaeologist-turned-soldier led Arab fighters against Turkish troops. In 1962, the map was donated to the Royal Central Asian Society by Carruthers’ widow and is now part of the RSAA’s collections at Haileybury. Carruthers also collaborated with Harry Philby, Gertrude Bell and Captain William Shakespear.
Carruthers’ expertise and his explorations of the Ruwenzori, Turkestan, Arabia and Mongolia earned him the Gill Memorial Award and Patron’s Gold Medal from the Royal Geographical Society, where he served as Fellow (1909-1962) and Honorary Secretary (1916-1921). The RGS holds a large collection of his papers, diaries, notes and photographs. His explorations also earned him the Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal from the Royal Central Asian Society in 1956.
Throughout his life Carruthers, as a taxidermist, also collected a large number of specimens, some of which are still the only examples of those specimens on display at the British Museum.
He died in London in 1962, aged 79.
Download and read both volumes of Unknown Mongolia in full below.
The opinions expressed are those of the contributor, not necessarily of the RSAA.