collected in South China. 



i75 



during six months of the year. There can be uo doubt that 

 it is slowly and very gradually filling up, especially in the 

 northern half, where the waters of the Yangtse river bring 

 down vast quantities of silt, which is deposited, as the current 

 is checked, on meeting the water of the lake .... 



" The country between I-men (a place three marches south- 

 west of Yunnan city ) and Ching-tung is terribly fatiguing 

 to travel over — a continual up and down 2000 to 4000 feet 

 every two days' march. The highest point crossed by me 

 during this portion of the route (and, indeed, during the 

 wliole journey from Hankau to Bhamo) was just east of the 

 Ching-tung valley, where the road reached 8400 feet, and 

 the highest peaks of the range were probably 10,000 feet 



above sea-level. The next highest range was crossed just 

 west of I-mcn, at about 8000 feet, the highest peaks being 

 1000 to 2000 feet above the pass. Taking a bee-line from 

 Yunnan city to Kun-lung ferry, on the Salwin river, 

 I should put the average height of the more important 

 ranges at from 7000 to 8000 feet, and the average depth of 

 the main river-beds below the general level of the plateau 

 2500 to 3000 feet. 



"In Hunan and Eastern Kweichu I encountered con- 

 siderable opposition from the people, who objected to ray 

 plane-tabling and photographing; but we never came to 

 blows, and^ all things considered, except in three or four 

 towns, they behaved fairly well. Chen-yiian district is one 

 of the most disturbed and rowdy. In Kwei-chu and Yunnan 

 no diflSculty was encountered, so far as the people were 



2 II 2 



