John McKenzie Young 1894 - 1931 Part Two.

"Mac" [John McKenzie] Young.  1930.

In Part One I presented the story of John McKenzie Young as published by Roy Chapman Andrews.  There is no doubt that Young's death deeply affected Andrews, and members of the Central Asiatic Expeditions, Marine Corps, and one suspects, many of the female members of the Peking Foreign Legation social circle.

For longer versions of Young's life and assorted adventures see Andrews:  J. McKenzie Young - Explorer, in: This Business of Exploring, 1932.  Chapter 7, pp. 102 - 118; and Bravest Man I Ever Knew, In: American Magazine June 1955.  I also have a lengthy manuscript by Andrews which is titled "He Danced With Death A Dozen Times"  It has Andrews' handwritten notation that it was sent to Argosy sometime in the 1950's but I can not read the date clearly.  If anybody knows I would be grateful to hear from you.

I have contacted all of the agencies that Young was said to have been a member of.  

I have a copy of his Canadian Military Service Record, his Service Record in the United States Marine Corps., and what little information remains available from the incredibly short-sighted archives and records of the North-West Mounted Police, now known as The Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

S. S. JUSTICIA 1917

S. S. JUSTICIA Dazzle paint, headed for U Boat infested crossings of North Atlantic.  1917

Young volunteered for the Canadian Expeditionary Force, Siege Artillery Draft, at McGill University, on May 21, 1917.  He states that at that time he was a member of the McGill Canadian Officers Training Corps.  He gave his place of Birth as Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  His parents at that time were listed as living in Pittsburgh, PA.

Along with approximately 3, 999 other troops, Mac climbed onboard S. S. Justicia at Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada on June 25, 1917, and disembarked at Liverpool, England on July 17, 1917.
Initially placed in reserve Artillery stationed at Shorncliffe, Kent; in less than a few weeks Young was absorbed into the 13th Siege Battery, which itself was later absorbed into the second 10th Canadian Siege Battery.

His AFB records that about August 21, 1917 a Field Warrant was issued against him, but why is not specified.  CANCELLED was written through it, and Young is still Bombadier Private 2nd class the next day.  It appears that Young did spend a lot of time at various Camps in England, as his record shows arriving in France for the first time on March 15, 1918.

9.2 inch howitzers of a Siege Battery in action on the Western Front.

In a letter to The Major General Commandant, United States Marine Corps., Washington, D.C. dated May 17th, 1926, Young states that he was Twenty-two months overseas, and took part in major engagements at Paaschaendale, Vimy Ridge, Arras, Amiens, Cambrai, and several minor ones.

Major engagements occurred at:
- Paaschaendale:  July and November, 1917
- Vimy Ridge: April 9 to 12, 1917
- Arras: April 9th to May 16 1917
- Cambrai: 20 November to December 7 1917
- Amiens: August 8th 1918

While Young's official military record is difficult to translate; there is a lot of acronyms. it is clear to me that Young was not wounded, and would not have been in any of the 'big' engagements, with the possible exception of Amiens.

Young was field promoted to sergeant  on August 5th, 1918 on the advice of a Sgt. Marshall, but reduced to ranks on August 29th, 1918; no explanation why.

Young did in fact apply to join the Royal Air Force on October 27th, 1918, and did make it back to England, and was about to start training when the War ended.  His record does not show that he ever received any instruction on flying, or was ever in an aeroplane during war time.

Mac Young was demobilized at Toronto in May 1919.  He was given an honourable discharge, ranked as a Sergeant, and awarded the British War Medal, and The Victory Medal.

I conclude that the World War One portion of Mac's story is mostly correct, save for any true involvement in the 'big' battles, and probably never did learn to fly.  It would appear that as told, Mac spent a great deal of time at training depots itching to see the war.

If somebody reading this has expertise in reading military personnel records from World War One, I would be more than happy to put Mac's Records at their disposal for analysis.

How Dodge Put The "Go" In Gobi Part 2

            Despite the ease with which the work in Mongolia began, the expedition had yet to rendezvous with the camel caravan, and establish if resupply by camel was feasible over great distances.

            While Granger continued searching for fossils, Andrews and the rest of the expedition set off on a 400 kilometer journey to the meet the caravan.  Andrews feared that it might be attacked by bandits, or lost in the desert.  To their great relief, the caravan was waiting.  All seventy-five camels with intact supplies had arrived a full hour before the cars.

            Using this leap-frog technique enabled the expedition to cover more than ten-thousand miles during 1922 and 1923, far more than Andrews had originally thought possible.   Overburdened with equipment, specimens, and staff, the Dodge cars had performed heroically, exceeding all previous expectations.

Crossing The Ongin River.            

Once, while returning to China,  Andrews and his passengers discovered that their oil had leaked out of its cans.  It would be impossible to go much further, but as they were debating what to do, they came upon a Mongol encampment.  Knowing that the herdsman would have sheep, and mutton fat, Andrews queried “why not use that for oil!”

            An obliging herdsman soon had a great pot of  mutton fat warming over a fire.  When it was liquefied, “We poured it into the motor and proceeded merrily on our way.”  The Dodge did not notice the change in diet, but there was one serious obstacle to the enjoyment of its passengers.  “We had had very little food for some time and were very hungry...”  As their engine warmed up, “a most tantalizing odor of roast lamb arose from the car!”,  and Andrews imagined he could smell mint sauce.

Showroom Brochure. Dodge Brothers. 1925

            Similarly, the expedition once found itself without cup grease for the cars.  Cold cream and Vaseline that had been prepared for the summer was sacrificed, Mongol cheese was also substituted, apparently with good results.

            By the end of the second field season, the Dodges had given a Herculean performance without any major mechanical problems.  However, it was felt that it would be safer to retire them and purchase new ones for the next field season. 

            The well-traveled Dodges were sold as they stood, to Chinese importers of wool and furs from Mongolia.  Remarkably, they sold for more than they were worth new.  “After all,”  Andrews records the buyers saying, “we know these cars can do the job because they’ve already been there.  Perhaps new ones won’t be as good.”

            Returning to New York to raise additional funds, Andrews barely arrived at the museum before a representative of Dodge Brothers called on him.  Dodge was delighted with the news coverage their cars were receiving, and realized it was priceless advertising.  Dodge Brothers wanted to be a sponsor.

Centerfold of Showroom Brochure.  Dodge Brothers 1925

            “I’ll play ball,”  said Andrews, “if you’ll give us a new fleet of cars, made to our specifications.”  Two years of work had shown where the cars needed changes - all in the body, and none in the motor.  “I need eight new cars,”  Andrews went on, and “[Dodge]  jumped at the suggestion like a trout taking a fly.” 

             Colgate and Andrews went to Detroit to see Fred Haynes, then president of Dodge Brothers.  Haynes’ greeting was “Now gentleman, Dodge Brothers employs twenty thousand men.  You tell us what you want and we’ll build it.”

            Colgate knew exactly what was required.  Seven of the new cars were to be an open express body with eight-inch sides of heavy screen wire.  Springs, both front and rear, were made heavier than commercial cars.  In addition, on each rear spring, inside, were iron bumpers lined with pieces of heavy tire, to give a heavily loaded car additional support, and leather snubbers were installed to prevent wild rebounds. 

            Gasoline tanks were increased to twenty-one gallons, four strong hooks were bolted onto the chassis member to aid pulling out of mud and sand, and each car was given two complete spare wheels, mounted either side of the driver’s seat. 

            The eighth vehicle was an ordinary five-passenger touring body.  This lightest member of the fleet would be used during advance reconnaissance.

            The Gobi savaged ordinary tires, but Dodge provided the relatively new 33 X 4.5 Royal Cord.  Balloon-type tires had not proven practical.  Although they held a car up better in sand, they increased fuel consumption, and were easily cut by stones.

            Dodge’s support saved the expedition about fifty thousand dollars.  In return, Dodge Brothers used images of the expedition vehicles, with quotes from Andrews, in advertising brochures, calendars, and magazine ads.  Andrews later speculated that the expedition’s endorsement sold thousands of cars for Dodge.      

Sales Brochure April 1937

            Equipped with the new fleet of Dodge Brothers cars, the expedition worked in the Gobi during 1925, 1928, and 1930, and continued to make major scientific findings that established Asia as an important dispersal centre of animal life. 

            They uncovered 20,000 - year old stone tools, evidence that the Gobi had been inhabited by people who may have migrated to North America.  Their geological findings confirmed that Outer Mongolia had never been glaciated and was the oldest area on earth of continuously dry land.  

Expedition Vehicles at Headquarters, Peking [Beijing] 1928

            The most spectacular discovery, for which Andrews and the expeditions became world-famous, was of three nests containing two dozen dinosaur eggs, the first recorded by science.  The nine-inch-long eggs were nearly perfectly preserved. 

            During the late twenties, Asia grew restless, and field work in the Gobi became dangerous.  Civil war, banditry, and the actions of  Imperial Japan in China made exploration after 1930 impossible. 

            Roy Chapman Andrews never returned to the Gobi Desert, but did continue his relationship with Dodge after it was sold to Walter Chrysler.  He remained a popular and widely recognized spokesman into the late 1930’s.

National Geographic.  March 1936

            Dodge’s positive experience with the Central Asiatic Expeditions began an era of similar sponsorships.  In the 1930's Chrysler Corporation sponsored expeditions by other explorers such as Armand Denis and Lisa Roosevelt.  Their "Wheels Across Africa" , and "East of  Bombay” documentaries showcase Dodge Power Wagons and Sedans prevailing over impossible terrain, and demonstrated that Dodge’s were “Reliable, Dependable, Sound” as ever.

How Dodge Put The "Go" In Gobi. Part 1

Convoy of Expedition Vehicles.  Folding Panorama from 'New Conquest of Central Asia'.

“ The Dodge Bros. cars climbed like mountain goats, and later, in our enthusiasm, Colgate and I agreed that we should be willing to attempt the ascent of Mount Everest with them if the snow could be eliminated.”

 - Roy Chapman Andrews, 1926 -

            Never before had the Dodge Brothers’ motto - “Reliable, Dependable, Sound” - been so vigorously challenged.  Despite critics who said they might as well search the bottom of the ocean, an intrepid group of scientists gambled their lives, and a fortune to explore one of the Earth’s last unmapped regions - the Gobi Desert  - using Dodges. 

            Conceived and led by explorer Roy Chapman Andrews and sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History, the Central Asiatic Expeditions [C.A.E.] consisted of five separate thrusts into remote Outer Mongolia and Northern China between 1922 and 1930.

            The C.A.E.  heralded a new type of multidisciplinary exploration, with  representatives from eight fields of investigation that included geology, palaeontology, and archaeology.

            With  funds from financial giants like John D. Rockefeller, and public lectures, Andrews raised more than $300,000 U.S. [equivalent to twenty times that today], an enormous expenditure for a scientific expedition even during the heady 1920’s.

            Mongolia, which occupies an area larger than Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy combined, is still a difficult country to explore.  Poorly maintained  dangerously-pot-holed asphalt roads run for a few hundred kilometers east and west of the capital.  Communities outside this paved-zone are serviced by rugged trails that meander over steep mountain valleys, lush unfenced grasslands, and arid deserts.

            In 1918 when Andrews first visited Mongolia, there were a few motor cars running infrequently between China and the old capital of Mongolia, Urga.  The ancient caravan route was difficult, and the Ford motor cars that were used had proved unable to meet the severe demands made upon them.  Accidents were frequent and many people had been killed.

            However two Dodge Brothers cars had made it through in 1916.  This achievement gave Andrews the inspiration for conducting explorations of Mongolia using automobiles.  He was convinced that a properly equipped motor expedition supported by a camel caravan could do ten years’ work in five months.  Scientists in motor cars would conduct the actual exploration, while a caravan of camels sent out months in advance would transport food, gasoline and oil to prearranged locations. 

Expedition camel and Vehicle Tyres at Flaming Cliff Camp.  

            Returning to New York, Andrews began looking for a light car with high clearance, great durability, flexible chassis,  and an engine with sufficient power to pull through sand.

            “When it came to choice of cars opinion was strongly in favor of several well known Italian and French makes,” wrote Andrews, although he personally had a poor opinion of  Citroën all-terrain vehicles. Asked to adopt it for the expedition,  Andrews found the car to be absolutely impractical for rough work.  “It is a nice little French Toy,”  wrote Andrews to a friend.

Fulton 1 ton truck, used in early years of the Expedition.  Photographed at the American Museum prior to shipment to China.  Ca. 1920

Dodge had an advantage - it had already proven itself capable of the arduous journey to Mongolia.  Additionally, a Dodge had climbed the Twin Peaks of San Francisco higher than any other car, and was the first automobile to reach the floor of the Grand Canyon and climb back out under its own power. 

            After careful investigation, and despite Dodge’s  polite refusal to donate vehicles, Andrews chose five Dodge Brothers’ cars: medium priced, no frills workhorses that were plain looking, utilitarian and rugged. “Those which we used were stock cars with no especial equipment.”

            These vehicles were expected to operate under extremely harsh conditions including: freezing nights, and + 40° C. days, and choking sand storms.  Every imaginable situation was contemplated.  Eventually, Andrews noted, “We carried hundreds of nuts and bolts, almost every conceivable part and the very best tools...short of actual wrecking of the chassis or engine, we were prepared for any emergencies.”

            “Motoring on the Gobi is not quite like rolling down Fifth Avenue.  If anything happens to your car there are no garages around the corner....to be alone on the desert when something is wrong with the digestion of your automobile can have its serious aspects.”

            As scientists were expected to be conducting research, not tinkering with  engines, Andrews hired Bayard Colgate.  A motor enthusiast since his youth, Colgate, already an accomplished mechanic, underwent further intensive training at the Dodge factory in Detroit before sailing for China.

            Andrews purchased new Dodges in Peking at the regular price, but was unable to secure insurance.  Despite arguing, “the moral risk was good because we certainly would not abandon a machine...in view of the fact that the success of the expedition, if not our actual lives, depended upon [them],” Andrews was refused coverage.  The insurers said the risk was too great, he was lucky to have a supporting caravan for he would be returning on camels, if he ever returned at all.

            Despite this opinion, in March of 1922,  five weeks ahead of the scientists in their cars, a caravan of seventy-five camels was sent out across the border of China into Mongolia.   They were instructed to drop twelve cases of gasoline at a telegraph station along the road to Urga, and then rendezvous with the automobiles 150 miles from Urga. The success or failure of  Andrews’ novel plan rested on the caravan’s ability to cross the Gobi Desert.

Pushing Expedition vehicles through sand.

            Thirty-five days later, the scientists and overloaded Dodges slowly climbed westward toward the Great Wall, passed through a stone gate, and rolled into Mongolia. 

            “It makes me shudder even to write about the places through which we took the cars and trucks during the next four hours” recalled Andrews, “There were ravines, ditches, walls, rocks and washouts.  Only Colgates’s good driving and resourcefulness got us through without a disastrous smash.”

            That day’s progress was excellent, until a rain storm caused the ground to become thick clinging gumbo.  The lead car suddenly sank up to the running boards in mud, followed by each of the cars in turn.  They were so badly stuck that they could only be retrieved with block and tackle.

            Four days later the expedition reached the first supply drop at the telegraph station.  The caravan had been there two weeks before, leaving cans of gasoline as planned.

            After pitching camp near the telegraph station, palaeontologist Walter Granger set off to explore the surrounding hills, but was soon back in camp.  “Well, Roy,” Granger burst out, “we’ve done it.  The stuff is here.  We picked up fifty pounds of [fossil] bones in an hour.”  The expedition members were jubilant.           

Collecting Roy Chapman Andrews Part 3

Typical Gobi road, Outer Mongolia.  Photo by Clive Coy.

Mongolia had captivated Andrews, and he became obsessed with the idea of exploring the largely unmapped and mysterious country for the scientific treasures he was sure were buried there.  Despite critics who said that he might as well search the bottom of the ocean, Andrews together with palaeontologist Walter Granger, led five major expeditions in 1922, 1923, 1925, 1928, and 1930  to Northern China and Mongolia, which were commonly referred to as the Third Central Asiatic Expeditions.  The C.A.E.  heralded a new type of multidisciplinary exploration, with  representatives from eight fields of investigation: geography, topography, geology, palaeontology, zoology, archaeology, paleobotany, and herpetology.  These expeditions were the largest non-military ventures to leave the United States until that time; often operating with forty scientists and technicians, eight motorcars, and 150 camels.

Third Asiatic Expedition's Vehicles : 
The original unmodified Dodge Touring Cars, 
and Fulton One Ton Trucks

            Although the expeditions did not discover  early humans, they made major scientific findings that established Asia as one of the chief dispersal centres of animal life.  They uncovered implements dating back 20,000 years, evidence that the Gobi had been inhabited by people who may have later migrated to China, Siberia, and North America.  Their geological findings confirmed that Outer Mongolia had never been glaciated and was the oldest area on earth of continuously dry land.   The rich fossil fields that they discovered produced the first evidence of dinosaurs in Asia north of the Himalayas.  They yielded specimens of  tiny early mammals; the largest mammalian carnivore; skulls and other fragments of the largest mammal known to have existed on land; and  a genus of rhinoceros called Baluchitherium, which lived about thirty million years ago, stood eighteen feet high, and weighed twenty tons.

            The most spectacular discovery, for which Andrews and the expeditions became world-famous, was of three nests containing two dozen dinosaur eggs, the first recorded by science.  Discovered in the Gobi in 1923 and pictured in newspapers and magazines around the world, the nine-inch-long eggs had been nearly perfectly preserved. 

Original 1923 Photograph of Dinosaur Eggs found by George Olsen at Flaming Cliffs locality [Byan Dzag] 
Photo: James Barnes Shackelford, Expedition photographer.

  

            Popular culture has incorrectly attributed Andrews as discovering the eggs.  It was in fact technician George Olsen, an error that Andrews himself was always quick to correct in his books, and lectures.  Nonetheless,  Andrews was responsible for much of the success of  the logistical work and fund raising for these expeditions.  He conceived them, raised the funds, led them through the perils of banditry in Mongolia, revolution and civil war in China; and was adept at obtaining publicity, and achieving prompt publication of findings. Andrews wrote the preponderance of popular literature about the expeditions, but always shared the credit for its success with all members of the expedition. 

            Public demand for information about the expeditions was nearing hysteria by the mid 1920’s.  Newspaper reporters mobbed the ship when members of the expedition returned to New York via San Francisco between expeditions.  Offers reaching thousands of dollars were made for exclusive rights to pictures and stories, but Andrews refused them all, freely giving interviews to as many reporters as he and his staff could schedule.  However, one publisher did have first rights for magazine stories by Andrews, and all photographs taken by the expedition; an incredible arrangement agreed to in the early years of fund raising. 

            Asia Magazine, the official publication of the American Asiatic Association,  was the premiere American magazine devoted to an area that in the 20’s  overshadowed Europe as a popular travel destination.  Catering to wealthy travellers, Asia Magazine reached its zenith during the late 1920’s,  publishing articles by authors such as Pearl S. Buck, and Franklin D. Roosevelt; with cover art  by Frank M. McIntosh.  Liberally illustrated with photographs fresh from the expeditions’ cameras,  Andrews published a total of 25  lengthy articles between 1918 and 1926.  These articles detailed the triumphs and tribulations of the expedition; but most importantly allowed Andrews to reach his prime target audience, the wealthy elite with disposable money to fund such grand adventures. 

Dust jacket of First Edition. G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1926

            By 1926 Andrews was deluged with letters from the public requesting a collected account of the expedition’s activities to date.   On The Trail Of Ancient Man was published as a popular narrative in direct response to these requests.  Much of the text of the book was written on the spot and preserves the atmosphere and excitement of the expedition that was pushing beyond the boundaries of contemporary exploration.  An examination of Andrews original field diaries revealed that in the early years his daily entries are sketchy reference notes; but by 1923 the entries have become volumous detailed narratives that required only minor polishing before becoming magazine articles and book chapters.  On The Trail Of Ancient Man also marked the beginning of Andrews’ association with G.P. Putnam’s Sons, a relationship that produced a total of  six books by 1940.  

Reprint.  Undated [Circa 1930] Garden City Publishing Co., Inc.