EXPLORATION OF LEW CHEW. 179 



but he came up after an hour, and set himself to work with great good humor to supply our 

 wants. In order to shield themselves from the heat of the sun, some of his attendants had tied 

 hanana leaves around their heads, and they all complained of fatigue. 



We left Ny-komma, as the village was called, about half past two. At this, the most 

 northern point we reached, we could not have been more than eight or nine miles distant from 

 Port Melville. The intervening land was low, and another day would have enabled us to 

 reach the head of that harbor. The native officials explained to us by signs, and by tracing 

 lines on the sand, that the I'oad to Sheudi lay along the beach, and that there was a Cung-qua 

 about 20 li distant. We tramped along sandy beaches and over stony headlands, following the 

 general course of the shore, and never diverging far from it. The bay, or bight, marked with 

 numerous abrupt indentations, presented some fine bold outlines of shore. Off the taany 

 inferiol' promontories lay rocky islets, covered with rich vegetation. The wooded mountains on 

 our left were the same which we had skirted the day previous on the northern side of Barrow's 

 Bay. The lower slopes on this side were partially cultivated, but the principal thoroughfare of 

 the island, which we were following, kept near the sea, and often ran for half a mile through 

 deep sand and shells. The scenery was extremely picturesque, reminding me of the coast of 

 Sicily. Inside of the Sugar Loaf we espied two small boats, with lug-sails of white canvass, 

 which the men declared were our ship's boats; but this has since proved to be a mistake. 



Notwithstanding the sultry heat of the afternoon, the Lew Chew coolies kept pace with us, 

 under their heavy loads, while our lazy and complaining Chinamen lagged behind. These 

 coolies were mostly boys, from twelve to sixteen years of age. I noticed as a curious fact that, 

 in spite of the heavy loads they carried, and the rough by-ways we frequently obliged them to 

 take, they never perspired in the least, nor partook of a drop of water, even in the greatest 

 heat. They were models of cheerfulness, alacrity, and endurance, alwaj's in readiness, and 

 never, by look or word, evincing the least dissatisfaction. Our official conductors drank but 

 two or three times of water during the whole journey. Tea appears to be the universal 

 beverage of refreshment. It was always brought to us whenever we halted, and frequently 

 offered to Mr. Jones, as the head of the party, in passing through villages. Once, at an 

 humble fisherman's village, when we asked for mid, which signifies cold water, they brought 

 us a pot of hot water, which they call yii, and were much sui-prised when we refused to drink it. 



After a march of ten miles along the picturesque shore, we reached one of the loveliest spots 

 on the island. It was a village perched on a bold promontory, overgrown with the pine, banyan 

 and sago palm, at the mouth of a charming valley which opened up between the hills to the 

 base of the lofty peak behind Barrow's Bay. A stream of sweet water threaded the valley, which 

 was covered with the freshest verdure, and overhung with beautiful groves of pine. It was a 

 picture of pastoral loveliness, such as is rarely found in any country. Nothing struck me more 

 during the journey than the great variety of scenery which the island encloses in its narrow 

 compass. We passed through, at least, four different districts, which bore but the slightest 

 resemblance to each other, either in features or character. We had both the o-roves of the 

 tropics and the wild woods of the north ; the valleys of Germany and the warm shores of the 

 Mediterranean. 



The village was large, thriving, and as neatly laid out and hedged in as an English garden. 

 The scrupulous neatness and regularity of the Lew Chew villages was doubly refreshing to one 

 familiar with the squalor and filth of China. The sight of the Cung-qua, which occupied the 



