124 Land Magnetic Observations, 1914-20 



have three or four stories, which is quite unusual for China, but which is necessary in this 

 case on account of the big floods. The people then move from floor to floor as the waters 

 rise. On August 31, the 42-mile trip up the Ten Kiang was made to Shihsiapa, passing 

 through Tapuhsien, a walled city about 25 miles above Samhopa. Tapuhsien is a ship- 

 ping place for tobacco and paper, and overland travelers should disembark here for Yung- 

 ting and Lungyenchow, instead of at Shihsiapa, to avoid the exorbitant carrier charges. 

 Shihsiapa is built on both sides of the lower end of a narrow rocky gorge full of rocks and 

 rapids. It marks the end of steam navigation. Tingchowfu, about 150 miles up river, 

 can be reached by small boat from this point. 



After considerable trouble with carriers, an overland stage of 14 miles was made 

 to Yungting, a walled city of no importance, where no carriers could be obtained, and 

 the next stage was therefore made by canoe up the Yungting River. Kanshih, a large 

 market village 23 miles north, was reached the following night, after an interesting but 

 cramped trip through a beautiful country of hills and gorges covered with woods and 

 scrub. Thence an overland stage of 17 miles placed the party at Lungyenchow. The 

 country is so gently undulating that the divide between the Han and Min river systems 

 is not readily recognized. Tobacco is largely cultivated in this district, where the very 

 large four-story houses, built of mud plastered white on the outside, are a prominent 

 feature. The walls of these houses are loop-holed and from a distance the buildings 

 look like large barracks. Thej^ were used as places of refuge in less settled times, not 

 very long ago. 



Travel was now irksome. Besides the hot weather and uncomfortable inns, the 

 carriers were very unsatisfactory, each man insisting on carrying a load of at least 100 

 catties (133 pounds), which made progress very slow. None of the party spoke the 

 local dialect, and had it not been for our knowledge of Mandarin, trouble would have 

 occurred. Lungyenchow is a quiet city about half a mile square, walled in, and built 

 at the junction of two mountain streams, in a large valley between mountain ranges. 

 It has but one narrow crooked main street and a few shops. Tobacco and paper are 

 sent south to Tapuhsien and coal is mined in the district. It was entirely due to the 

 good offices of Mr. Chan, the Chinese pastor of the London Mission chapel, that coolies 

 were procured for the next stage of the journey to Yenpingfu. 



An overland journey of 70 miles in 4 days took us to Siaotao, the head of boat 

 navigation of the Yung or Tashi River. On the second day of the journey the country 

 became very mountainous and lonely, with no inns or villages. After leaving the large 

 village of Paisha (27 miles), the road dwindles to a small foot track which follows up a 

 very fine gorge, where the scenery is magnificent and suggestive of the Yangtze gorges. 

 Further on it climbs over wooded mountains, leading through small hamlets and vil- 

 lages, half in ruins, until, about 12 miles from Siaotao, it attains an elevation of 3,800 

 feet on a rocky pass, from which there is a glorious view of the surrounding mountains. 

 This was by far the most interesting stage of the overland trip to Shanghai, though the 

 carriers and chairmen were not backward in expressing their opinion of the roughness 

 of the path and the steepness of the tracks. Each man carried a small sack of rice, and 

 every few hours the caravan would halt near some stream and boil some rice and tea. 

 Wherever the road was particularly bad and steep, these halts became annoyingly fre- 

 quent, and progress was accordingly slow. 



Siaotao was reached September 9, and the journey down river was begun in a small 

 gondola-like canoe, in which one had to sit still to avoid capsizing. The trip to Yungan 

 Fu proved very exciting. The canoe struck rocks three times in the rapids and almost 

 overturned. The river is narrow, flowing between wooded hills, and is a succession of 

 rapids and races. In one place it is particularly dangerous and passengers are requested 

 to walk along the bank. Yungan Fu, a walled city of some importance, is situated at 



