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The Granger Report-1stQ/2001
 
1st Quarter - Jan. 15, 2001
 
Masthead photos: Walter and Anna Granger, ca. 1900.
 
FOSSIL-HUNTER'S GUIDE TO THEYANGTZE PATROL, 1923Yangtze River, Sichuan Province,March, 24, 1923, early afternoon
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-Walter Granger and his party finishtiffin aboard their rented junk asthey sail down the Yangtze fromWanhsien (Wanxian).The day before, Granger had justescaped a week-long entrapment atthe outskirts of a warlord battle forcontrol of Wanhsien. As the fightingeased, Granger was able to leave hishighlands base camp for the river tomake his way back to Wanhsien. Hewas now evacuating his expeditiondown river: wife Anna, Chineseassistants James V. Wong,"Buckshot" (Kan Chuen Pao) andcook "Chow", and a large cargo of fossils and other specimens.The way to relative safety downriver in Ichang took them throughthe Three Gorges. This section of Yangtze river travel posed specialdanger. Canyon walls narrowedthrice to create separate systemsfeaturing ferocious rapids,whirlpools and shoals, each of theNEW BOOK FORTHCOMING
Based on Walter Granger's 1907 expeditiondiary and photographs. For children andadults, 32 pages of text, color illustrations,running glossary. Softcover. Scheduled forpublication in spring of 2001. Price about$16.95 plus shipping and handling. Add$5.00 for autographed copies. Please directinquiries and orders togranger@nh.ultranet.com.
 
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The Granger Report-1stQ/2001
three specializing in one over theothers. Armed bandits, renegadesoldiers and hoodlums also layhidden along the riverbanks waitingto fire at boats hoping to disableand crash them against one shore orthe other.Granger was wary: he hadexperienced all this before. Ininterludes before and between hisfive summer expeditions to the Gobifrom 1922 to 1930, he made fourwinter fossil-hunting expeditions tosouthern China (1921-1927). Hispurpose in Sichuan Province was tocollect the Pleistocene mammalfossils -- known to the Chinese as"lung ku" (dragon bones) -- foundburied deep in crevices and pits of the Paleozoic limestone ridgesparalleling the Yangtze River alongthe south bank upriver fromWanhsien. Chinese farmers minedthe fossils in the off-season towholesale to druggists who crushedthem into powder for retail as amedicinal cure.Granger was the first trainedpaleontologist to identify localitiesand collect fossils in SichuanProvince and produced a significantcollection of Pleistocenevertebrates.
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This effort was termedthe "Chinese Branch" of the CentralAsiatic Expeditions, a branch whichincluded expeditions byherpetologist Clifford H. Pope tosouthern and western China. Sinceboth Granger and Pope beganmaking their expeditions in 1921,the Central Asiatic Expeditionsactually ran from 1921 to 1930, not1922 to 1930. That is, there was
continued
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("FOSSIL-HUNTER'S GUIDE TO THEYANGTZE PATROL, 1923.")
Granger notified LieutenantCommander George W. Simpsonaboard the USS Palos stationed atWanhsien of his decision to make therun down river. Simpson immediatelyarranged to escort Granger's junk down as far as Pan Tuo, twenty-fivemiles south of Wanhsien.
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Anna wentaboard the Palos for that leg of thetrip. Granger's junk reached Pan Tuosafely at around noon, followed by thePalos. The two craft were mooredthere, Granger's junk made fast to thePalos, for the rest of the day to allow amuch needed R & R -- hiking trips tothe Hsin Lung Tan or a nearby temple,some duck-hunting, and perhaps abaseball game. A post boat and twoother junks arrived that evening anddropped anchor nearby.At dawn the next morning, two menfrom the Palos went aboard Granger's junk. It was then cast off and headeddown river: the Palos returned upriverto Wanhsien.That afternoon, as they enteredWushan Gorge, Granger and his partyknew they were not yet out of danger.As the river narrowed and the cliffs of the gorge steepened, Granger scannedthe cliffs on both sides with his fieldglasses, rising from his chair andstepping to the open deck space aft of the junk's cabin.Within seconds he sighted a mangesturing to another man aiming arifle. Granger guessed the second manwas a sniper and the first man wassignaling him to prepare to fire and
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The Granger Report-1stQ/2001
substantially more to the CentralAsiatic Expeditions than five trips tothe Gobi.So, by 1923, Granger was well-acquainted with life along theYangtze River. He knew the river notonly for its incredible beauty andmany uses, but for its awesomepower and danger. More than oncehad he shot the dangerous rapids,shoals, and whirlpools of the ThreeGorges. And more than once had hebeen shot at. Robbery andvandalism, he knew, were reasonswhy American and British gunboats,as well as those from other nations,patrolled the Yangtze.Though he generally journeyed theYangtze by junk or steamship,Granger was well-acquainted withthe boats and crews of Americanand British navy patrols. Britain'sgunboats Widgeon and Teal andAmerica's gunboats Elcano,Monocacy, Palos and Quiros wereamong his regular contacts. WhenGranger advised the commander of the Palos of his intention to leaveWanhsien immediately, thecommander offered to escort himout of the city. The Palos was a165.5 foot long, shallow-draft (2.5feet), iron-hulled, screw-drivenvessel, displacing 204 tons andcarrying an average crew of fifty-one. It was built in 1914 and had atop speed of 13.25 knots, barelyadequate to negotiate the Yangtze'srapids.
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But it carried seriousweaponry, and a foreign flag.Generals Chang Chung of the 1stArmy and Yang Sheng of the 2ndshouted an alarm. Anna hurried intothe junk's cabin. She hastily putbedding and pillows against the wallsto slow any bullet that pierced the wall.Less than a minute passed, the junk was now fully within the narrows of Wushan Gorge. A bullet smacked thewater at the stern. Intended for the junk's steersman, the shooter wantedto disable him. Loss of steering wouldthrow the junk into confusion andcause it to wreck.Granger returned fire with his pistolinstantly, as did his Chinese assistantsJim Wong and Buckshot with theirrifles. Anna flattened herself out on thefloor of the cabin just as their Chinesecook Chow hurled himself through theentryway toward the very same spot,nearly crushing Anna. Together theyinched along the floor and down intothe junk's hold. An unarmed Chinesesoldier, taken aboard at Wanhsien afterbegging for a ride, took off his uniformand hid in the cabin.With their automatic pistols, U.S. NavySeaman 2nd class P.N. McRoberts andFireman 3rd class Burt Crabtreereturned fire along with Granger,Wong, and Buckshot. The steersmanturned the junk toward the oppositeshore. Forty-three rounds were firedback at the sniper's position. Only twoother shots came from the bank, bothaimed at the junk's oarsmen. Thesniper did not succeed and it will neverbe known whether he even survivedreturn fire.Why were two, armed American sailorsaboard Granger's junk? "3/23/23 - USSPalos: Pan Tuo. Moored as before. At
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