Beatrix Bulstrode – Wikipedia

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Beatrix Timbrell Bulstrode
Beatrix Bulstrode (Mrs. Edward Manico Gull) on a camel.jpg

Beatrix Bulstrode on a camel
Born

Mary Beatrix Nunns

1869
Died 1951
Nationality British
Other names Beatrix Manico Gull
Occupation(s) Journalist and explorer
Known for Travels in China and Mongolia
Notable work A Tour in Mongolia

British journalist and explorer

Beatrix Timbrell Bulstrode (born Mary Beatrix Nunns in 1869, later known as Beatrix Manico Gull after second marriage, died 1951) was a British journalist and explorer. She is best known for her journey through China and Mongolia in the early twentieth century, which she wrote about in a 1920 book, A Tour in Mongolia.

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Biography[edit]

Bulstrode was born Mary Beatrix Nunns in 1869 in Sussex.[1] She later became a journalist and was on the council of the Society of Woman Journalists.[1] In 1891, she married Herbert Timbrell Bulstrode, who died in 1911.[1] Bulstrode wanted to travel after the death of her first husband.[2]

Bulstrode toured Mongolia twice.[3] The first journey used local guides and she was accompanied by a missionary from Finland.[3][4] Her second trip was with Edward Manico Gull, who she later married.[3] On her travels, she carried a concealed Mauser C96 that she was practiced in using.[5] She also had two Colt revolvers and a shotgun.[2] The entire journey cost her $1,500.[2]

Bulstrode began her journey in September 1911, starting out at Hong Kong.[2] She took a boat to Fuzhow, where she was able to tour southern China.[2] She took another boat trip to the mouth of the Yangzste River and then traveled 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometres) up the river part-way with a local crew and later on a British steamer.[2] She next traveled near Yichang and then went back to Hankou.[2] From there, she traveled to the capital, Beijing.[2] From the capital, she traveled through Zhangjiakou in a cart to Mongolia.[2] Once in Mongolia, she traveled 120 miles (190 kilometres) through open country, encountering Nomadic people.[2] Bulstrode decided not to cross the Gobi Desert and returned to Beijing.[2]

In Beijing, she met Edward Manico Gull who worked for customs in China.[2] They decided to travel to northern Mongolia together and felt they each had complementary skills needed for the journey.[2][4] They took a train to Werkneudinsk in Siberia and then traveled up the Selenga River in a steamboat.[2] They came to Kyakhta, where Russian customs held them up for some time because of their weapons and ammunition.[2] Finally, they hired a three-horse cart known as a taranta, and began their journey to the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar.[2] In the capital, she visited a “dungeon,” where she described around 150 prisoners, most with life sentences being kept in small boxes, similar to Coffins.[6] She also related an incident where she watched the execution of three soldiers from this prison.[7] Leaving the capital, they traveled by orton and reached Kyakhta.[2] Then they went back to Siberia, took the Trans-Siberian Railway to St. Petersburg and finally returned to Britain.[2]

Bulstrode published a book about her travels in 1920 called A Tour in Mongolia.[8] She begins the stories of her travels in Beijing.[4] The Washington Journal called A Tour in Mongolia a “vivid account” of her journey.[9]

Bulstrode continued to stay involved with China, working to provide relief work in that country in 1937.[10] Bulstrode died in 1951 in Surrey.[1]

  • Beatrix ready to start her journey with Dobdun.

    Beatrix ready to start her journey with Dobdun.

  • Bulstrode in a Peking Cart.

    Bulstrode in a Peking Cart.

References[edit]

External links[edit]



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