John Foster Fraser, 1868-1936

Round The World On A Wheel

Being the narrative of a bicycle ride ... through seventeen countries and across three continents (1899)

A blog of notes and higlights about the remarkable adventure of three Englishmen cycling around the world in the earliest days of bicycle touring, using their single-speed 'safety' bicycles.

Round the world on a wheel : being the narrative of a bicycle ride ... through seventeen countries and across three continents (1907)
by Fraser, John Foster, Sir, 1868-1936

Image 184 - 184_961429814140837888.jpg
Image 185 - 185_961429814140837888.jpg

Fascinating account with photographs of Sir John Fraser Foster meeting "Red Indians" for the first-time on his world-wide bicycle tour, late 1890s. Completely unlike the Fenimore Cooper stories he'd grown-up reading. (Pages numbered except first)

Quite a journey, cyclist Fraser met Leopold II of Belgium after leaving England. Colonialist Leopold II founded "The Congo Free State" and under his regime millions of the Congolese people died.

Not far from where they passed going to border town Aix La Chapelle (Aachen) is 3 country point, where Belgium, Germany and Netherlands meet (northernmost point) and s strange maze. Wouldn't mind cycling there myself.

He mentioned a song when in Mainz:

Charles De Ville Wells (1841–1922) is one of the men who broke the bank at Monte Carlo, in a series of successful gambles in 1891, made famous by the song.

They got taxed by customs officials (checkpoint pictured) at the Austro-Hungarian empire border town Braunau where Hitler was born (memorial stone) just a few years earlier and described a devout expression of faith by locals.

I could only dream of the kind of welcome (or any kind of welcome) as this cycling trio received in Vienna! Bicycle touring I have found really breaks down barriers between people though, and have fantastic memories of my own too.

Image 200 - 200_961725048976564225.jpg

The cyclists passed through a Jewish town and got drunk on wine. Interesting town coat-of-arms and of the wine (Tokaj) also description of the gypsies! Occult and
#signs #symbols

Crania americana; or, A comparative view of the skulls of various aboriginal nations of North and South America. To which is prefixed an essay on the varieties of the human species. (1839)
by Morton, Samuel George, 1799-1851; Combe, George, 1788-1858

They expected problems entering Russia in case they were Nihilists?!

"After the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881, the Nihilists were known throughout Europe as proponents of the use of violence in order to bring about political change."

"Up to then I had only a fanciful acquaintance
with Paradise. Now I have a clear notion of what it must
be like. Whether Paradise is formed from plans of the south
coast of the Crimea, or vice versa, I don't know, but they must be from the same design."

When your world reserve currency isn't acceptable - "faith in Bank of England notes was shaken."
Ekaterindar is now Krasnodar. Interesting how much names, places and frontiers have changed since the 1890s.

I would love to bicycle through The Darial Pass in the Caucus Mountains too.

Some say they are The Gates of Alexander

Tiblisi was known as Tiflis. "There are fifty-six separate languages in Trans-Caucasia, and
about a dozen of them are spoken in Tiflis."
On Georgian women:

Etchmiadzin in Armenia is the oldest cathedral in the world.

Mount Ararat is nearby too.

Must remember to take a revolver on my next bicycle trip, at least through Persia.

Image 20 - 20_962101447948161025.jpg

Teheran in the 1890s doesn't sound like a good place to commit crime. Eye-gouging, chopping hands, ankle crushing were the normal punishments.

Image 21 - 21_962102995797323776.jpg

Quite interesting to read a first-hand account of nephew of his wife was Mohammed Mossadeq, the Prime Minister of Iran during the Pahlavi dynasty that was overthrown by a coup d'état staged by the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1950s.

Account of "The Sun (wrongly called Peacock) Throne" of The Shah of Iran

The real Peacock Throne was looted from India and lost in history.

Whenever I bicycle-toured or lived in a foreign country I faced this situation and response fairly often. I usually explain how unlike other European foreigners most Brits who leave the UK to live don't ever want to return...

Conversation with older brother of Shah of Iran:

Image 30 - 30_962134268360232961.jpg
Image 31 - 31_962134268360232961.jpg

A short true story of a homeless beggar in 1890s Abadeh, Persia.

Things like this still happen today.

The legend from antiquity surrounding the birth of Persian Shiraz wine. The Islamic Revolution brought a halt to its mass-production, although Christians are permitted to make wine in Iran. Modern wine labelled Shiraz stole the name.

On meeting the Thathanabaing of Burma, head of the primary Buddhism school, on accusations of idolatry from Christians.

Better quality photos in this earlier 1899 scan of "Round the world on a wheel"

"It is the ambition of every Chinaman to enter Government
employ...It is money that makes the world go round in China as well as in England. With money, says the Celestial proverb, you can move the gods ; without it you cannot move
a man."
Today they join the CPC...

Image 36 - 36_962740341219749889.jpg

Chang Yan Miun - 7 feet 1 inch (215.9 cm) He became known as the giant of Yunnan. At the time of the photo (probably 1894?) the giant was 30 years old and living in Tong-Chuan, China.

"Whenever we saw
a beaming Chinaman, his little eyes twinkling over a blubber
face, we would address him, "Hallo, Wong, you're a nice agreeable old boy, aren't you ? " And Wong, or whatever his name was, rose and shook hands with himself, and kow-towed,
and looked pleased."

Image 40 - 40_962784387581599744.jpg

Some interesting anecdotes of the cyclists travelling east from San Francisco, 1898. Tramps, gold-rush, women with liberty, little culture.

Image 41 - 41_962811241680003077.jpg
Image 42 - 42_962811241680003077.jpg
Image 43 - 43_962811241680003077.jpg
Image 44 - 44_962811241680003077.jpg

Interesting their description of Rock Springs,
which only a few years before was the scene of race riots against Chinese, "The Rock Springs Massacre"

The section of Chicago in 1898 is great.
"That'll give you some idea of what we Americans are
in trade. We feed the world."

Image 46 - 46_962821452260151296.jpg
Image 47 - 47_962821452260151296.jpg
Image 48 - 48_962821452260151296.jpg
Image 49 - 49_962821452260151296.jpg

Image 186 - 186_961477217770459137.jpg
Image 187 - 187_961477217770459137.jpg
Image 188 - 188_961477217770459137.jpg
Image 189 - 189_961477217770459137.jpg

Later Sir John Fraser Foster met some more "red indians" as he passed through Elko, Nevada on his bicycle. This recent video happens to show the basketball team "Home of the Indians" 2.6% 'Native American' now.

The 'Piute' Indians
probably have descendents in "The Duck Valley" Reservation

He recalled: "Nick of the Woods; or, The Jibbenainesay is an 1837 novel by American author Robert Montgomery Bird. Noted today for its savage depiction of Native Americans, it was Bird's most successful novel and a best-seller at the time of its release."

James Fenimoor Cooper - His historical romances of frontier and Native American life in the early American days created a unique form of American literature.

He wrote "Last of the Mohicans"

Nick of the Woods (1837)
By Robert Montogomery Bird

Previous Post Next Post