Thursday, November 29, 2012

Roy's Rules

Roy Chapman Andrews' Rules for his 1920 Mongolian expedition, according to Alan Nichols of the Explorer's Club:

- No cussing the weather.

- No grouching against the gasoline in the water.

- No profanity (except the picturesque variety).

- All male members must take share in pumping tires and other work not requiring hot air.

- If male members cannot supply fresh meat on any one day, they will not be allowed to smoke after dinner.

The Expedition and each member is required to:

- Have a thoroughly good time.

- Camp early and start late on general principle.

- Stop and investigate or leave the road and explore whenever desired.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rules to live by.

Jim Cornelius
www.frontierpartisans.com

Camera Trap Codger said...

I have also read that some of the expedition's encounters with local brigands were high speed call-their-bluff affairs with guns ready, if not firing. He became Director of the American Museum after the expeditions, but not with the success of his persona as expedition leader. I read his autobiography "Under a lucky star" as a kid. It was well known in the SF bay area that the famous Andrews was retired and living in Carmel at the time. I wonder if he would have liked a visit from a kid like me?

Reid Farmer said...

Very cool!

I've never read "Under a Lucky Star" and now I will have to. He had a profound influence on me as a kid. I wonder if he viewed the many juvenile books he wrote as an investment in developing future scientists?

Jess said...

"- All male members must take share in pumping tires and other work not requiring hot air.

- If male members cannot supply fresh meat on any one day, they will not be allowed to smoke after dinner."

These two conjure up some *really* odd mental images.

What is the difference between picturesque profanity and the regular kind?

Steve Bodio said...

Codger: great to have you back-- I think he like most adventurous scientists would have loved to meet interested kids. Reid (and all): try Charles Gallenkamp's very good and fairly recent Dragon Hunter which includes more than the skimpy Lucky Star and has great photos. Of his own my favorite affordable is the (misleadingly named) On the Track of Ancient Man, mostly about dinosaurs and such. Jess-- I think we are looking at him over a temporal/cultural divide-- I am, and our lives overlapped (;-))