Observers' Field Reports 123 



aboard at Sheklung, only to be forcibly ejected, the trip proved unexciting, in spite of the 

 supposed activity of the pirates who infest this section of the river. The next up-river 

 boat was taken to Waichow, a much larger city, in which one finds electric lights, drug- 

 stores, modern barbers and dentists, and here a transfer was made to another small 

 launch, in which the journey was continued, after an escort of soldiers had joined the boat. 



The river flows from the north, winding through low hills of granite and red sand- 

 stone, with mountain ranges visible to the west. At intervals of every 3 miles are small 

 white forts, built by the old Manchu government to put down the pirates infesting East 

 River. Since the Revolution, however, they have fallen into disuse and at the present 

 time conditions are as bad as ever. 



On the evening of August 21 we arrived at Hoyun, a walled city from which pigs 

 and sugar-cane are exported, and where furniture and buckets are manufactured. A flood 

 in the main streets, with water knee-deep in places, discouraged exploration of the city, 

 and learning that a small launch was leaving next morning for Laolung, 72 miles up 

 river, the opportunity was taken, as further up-river sailings were very uncertain on 

 account of low water. The steamer sailings from Waichow to Hoyun and Laolung can 

 only be depended on during the high-water season in the spring and summer. Above 

 Hoyun the river is from 200 to 300 yards wide, and is full of large sandy shoals, but in 

 places hills close in on either side. Laolung, the head of steam navigation on the Tung 

 Kiang, is a small walled city shut in by low hills, marking the end of the short overland 

 trade route from the upper tributaries of the Han River. The next day a journey of 18 

 miles was made with chairs and carriers to the large village of Kiling, over a well-paved 

 wide road with frequent large and cool rest-houses. The divide between the two river 

 systems is about 700 feet above sea-level, but grades are easy throughout. Long strings 

 of coolies, chiefly Hakka women, were met, carrying paper, cloth, and crockery to Laolung 

 to be shipped to the Canton markets. Kiling marks the head of navigation of the Mei 

 Kiang, the main western tributary of the Han River, also known as the Changlok Ho in its 

 upper reaches. A boat was hired on the evening of arrival (August 24) and a pleasant 

 journey down river to Kaying was completed on August 26, advantage being taken of the 

 bright moonlight to travel also by night. The native boats are wide and very roomy, 

 drawing about one foot of water. Near Kiling the river is barely 100 feet wide, but widens 

 to about 600 feet at Hingninghsien and flows through pleasant hilly country, wooded in 

 places with fir and clumps of bamboo. Kaying is the chief city of the Hakka country, 

 and is a great educational center. It has electric light, drug-stores, dentists' shops, and 

 photographers. Cloth and some crockery are manufactured, but the city is of most im- 

 portance as a transshipping place for tea and tobacco. The people are very enlightened, 

 almost every family having some of its members abroad in America, the Straits Settle- 

 ments, Australia, or elsewhere. The Hakka men are more adapted for merchants and 

 officials than for work requiring manual labor, and thus it is that women do most of the 

 labor in the fields and also act as carriers. Transport charges are comparatively high in 

 this district, each coolie receiving 50 to 80 cents per day. 



The river trip of 33 miles to Tsungkow by launch takes 4 hours and is full of interest. 

 The stream has cut through the reddish hills, in some places with a channel only 100 feet 

 wide, and rapids and rocks are numerous. Below Tsungkow the river scenery is very 

 pretty, grassy and wooded hills rising steeply from the water's edge. The river, nearly 

 100 yards wide, was shallow, with a very strong current. On August 29 we reached Sam- 

 hopa, 23 miles down stream, situated near the junction of three rivers, and formerly of 

 great importance as a transshipping point for all produce from Fukien. Since the opening 

 of Swatow on the coast as a treaty port, Samhopa has gradually declined, till today it is 

 little more than a long business street on the river bank, backed by the old city, whose 

 walls now inclose residences, ponds, gardens, and ruins. The houses on the water front 



