TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION E.—PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 517 
Section E.--GEOGRAPHY. 
PRESIDENT OF THE SecTion.—Colonel Sir Duncan JonNnston, 
K€.M.G., C.B., R.H., E.R:G:S. 
THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 
The President delivered the following Address :— 
Ir has been usual for Presidents of this Section to make some allusion 
in their addresses to the principal matters of geographical interest which 
have occurred during the preceding year, and I propose to follow this 
custom before proceeding with the rest of my address, which would hardly 
be complete without some allusion to the great geographical achievements 
of the past year. 
I doubt if there has ever been a year in which more important additions 
to geographical knowledge have been made than those resulting from the 
journeys of Dr. Sven Hedin, Dr. Stein, and Lieut. Shackleton. 
Dr. Sven Hedin’s previous explorations had deservedly gained him 
such a high reputation as an explorer that it seemed almost impossible 
for him to increase it, yet his recent expedition in Tibet, extending over 
two years, has enhanced his already great reputation. 
Refused permission to enter Tibet from India, he was not to be deterred. 
Travelling round to Leh and making that place his starting-point, he entered 
Tibet and traversed in various directions a considerable tract, previously 
unexplored, of that country, making a good reconnaissance survey of the 
country he passed through. ‘ 
A large part of his journey was through a bleak and inhospitable 
region, where he encountered intense cold and yery great privations. At 
one time he went for eighty-three days without meeting a living soul, and 
the cold and hardships were such that out of ninety-seven ponies and 
mules with which he started only six came through. Yet in the following 
year, in the depth of winter, Dr. Sven Hedin again traversed this terrible 
country. In doing so he ran imminent risk of starvation, as his last 
sheep was killed a considerable time before he got through to country 
where he could obtain fresh supplies. 
Dr. Sven Hedin’s tact and resource were as great as his fortitude and 
courage. He made friends wherever he went, and, although the Tibetan 
Government sent orders over and over again that he should be turned 
back, he succeeded in spending two years in exploring the country, main- 
taining the most friendly relations with the Government officials and 
others whom he met. Besides exploring and surveying a large tract of 
previously unexplored country, he investigated the sources of the Brahma- 
