St. George Littledale

• Illustration — St. George Littledale, Elim Demidov and his wife Sofiaon the sandspit at Petropavlovsk, Russia For 30 years the Littledales mounted expeditions in North America and Asia, constantly collecting for museums. They began with the American Rockies, Yellowstone, and Alaska, where they gained experience and honed their skills. These trips were followed by expeditions in the late 1880s in the Caucasus, the Pamirs, and Russian Central Asia and Mongolia (Alai and Altai). In 1887 Thomas Moore, Director of the Liverpool Museum, introduced Littledale to Albert Gunther, Keeper of Zoology at the Natural History Museum in London. From then on, Littledale was considered a professional collector. Both he and Teresa took it seriously. It validated their expeditions and gave purpose to their lives. Working as a team, they were willing to collect anything. In addition to mammals, they collected birds, insects, reptiles, fish, and long lists of plants for the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Littledale then began collecting more than museum specimens. In 1889 he wanted to cross the Pamirs from north to south from Russia into India. In order to boost his chances of gaining permission, he offered to gather intelligence. Although the Foreign Office approved his proposal, the Government of India rejected it, so the Littledales changed their plans and went to Russian Central Asia and Mongolia. In 1890 permission was granted for the Pamirs crossing, the first of the Littledales' three greatest journeys. It was the height of the Great Game, a cold war between Russia and Britain over the vast lands known as Central Asia. The rivalry between the two powers was approaching its climax in that remote desolate region and the Littledales' feat created a sensation in the press. The Littledales spent 1892 at home because of a cholera epidemic in Russia, where they had planned to go. St. George used the time to study map making with John Coles, curator of maps at the Royal Geographical Society. From then on he took great pains to make careful route maps of the unknown areas through which he travelled. In 1893 the Littledales travelled west to east across Russian and Chinese Central Asia and continued all the way to Peking. Littledale brought home the Asian wild camel. Their greatest exploit was a 14-month journey to Tibet in 1895. With them was W.A.L. Fletcher, Littledale's 25-year-old nephew, one of Oxford's greatest oarsmen. They also brought 7 Ladakhi servants, 3 Pathan sepoys, and Tanny, their fox terrier. They were attempting to reach the forbidden city of Lhasa. It was the great goal of Central Asian explorers but all had failed. The Littledales crossed the Tien Shan to Kashgar, went on to Cherchen, and headed south to cross the desolate Chang Tang, the Tibetan Plateau. Littledale had selected the route to avoid meeting Tibetans until they neared Lhasa. Along the way Littledale measured Ulugh Muztagh, a high mountain in the remote Kun Lun range of northern Tibet, but exaggerated its height. Eventually the party encountered 150 armed Tibetans at a 19,000-foot pass. They were allowed to continue over the pass to a suitable stopping place. They were within 49 miles of Lhasa, closer than any other foreigners since Huc and Gabet in 1846, until Sir Francis Younghusband marched in with the British Army in 1904. During a harrowing retreat out of Tibet, Teresa was so ill from dysentery that she had to be carried for 1,200 miles. In June 1896 the Royal Geographical Society awarded its Patron's Medal to St. George Littledale for his three great expeditions. In 1897 the Littledales travelled with Prince Elim Demidov and his wife Sofia to Siberia and the Mongolian Altai. Teresa was older and this was her last expedition. In 1900 Littledale joined the Demidovs on a trip to Kamchatka. In 1901 he went to the Tien Shan alone and brought home a large collection of mammals, including a record Asiatic ibex. Teresa had been the primary plant collector but this time Littledale collected a long list of plants. The Natural History Museum decided one of the sheep was a new variety and they named it after him, calling it Ovis littledalei (now known as Littledale argali, Ovis ammon littledalei). In 1902 King Edward drove to the Littledales' house for lunch. He asked for Littledale's prize trophy, the record ibex head from the Tien Shan, and Littledale had to oblige. In 1903 the Littledales visited New Zealand, where St. George suggested that the climate and terrain were suitable for the importation of certain game animals. He now became involved in the collection of live animals. It was a complex international project, during which he developed a long friendship with President Theodore Roosevelt. Littledale hunted in Newfoundland in 1907 and then in the East Caucasus in 1908. The Littledales continued to travel extensively together to far-flung places but not at the expedition level. In 1919 Littledale became a Justice of the Peace for Berkshire. A fine expedition leader, he now established a reputation as a judge for being thoughtful, kind, and judicious.