EXPLORATION OF LEW CUEW. 183 



gunpowder, and tlie use of our cutlasses ; but during our journey we never saw a single weapon 

 of any kind. There is said to be a small garrison of Japanese soldiers, both at Kapha and 

 Sheudi ; but^ if so, they were carefully kept out of the way. 



The Pe-ching, who soon afterwards came up, informed us that we had come 30 li, and that 

 Sheudi was still 60 li distant, and we could not reach it on the following day. Learning, 

 however, that there was another Cung-qua. 20 U further, we decided to rest an hour or two, and 

 push on to it the same evening. The people brought two fowls, with abundance of eggs and 

 cucumbers, and, hungry and tired as we were, we made a most palatable meal. 



We left again at half-past four. The road was broad, well beaten, and shaded by a double 

 road of pine trees. It ran in a southeastern direction, parallel with the coast, and about two 

 miles inland. The country continued open, sliglitly undulating, and pleasantly diversified with 

 groves of pine for four miles, when we came suddenly upon a deep glen, traversed by much the 

 largest stream we had seen upon the island. The road crossed by a massive stone bridge, of 

 three arches, remarkable for the size and rude strength of the piers, each of which had, on the 

 inner side, in order to protect it from floods, a triangular abutment, projecting ten or twelve 

 feet. The sides of the glen were nearly perpendicular, and covered with wild and luxuriant 

 vegetation. Towards the sea, under a range of broken limestone crags that hung high over the 

 stream, were several ancient excavated tombs. A spring of excellent water gushed out from the 

 foot of one of these crags. Mr. Heine took a sketch of the place, which was remarkable for its 

 seclusion and picturesque beauty. The natives called the stream the ''Fi-ija." 



On reaching a height overlooking the sea, we were agreeably surprised with the sight of the 

 squadron, lying off the furthest point to the southwest, and between fifteen and twenty miles 

 distant, in a straight line. This encouraged us to believe that we could reach Napha at the 

 time ajjpointed, and we pushed on rapidly and cheerily, for it was now growing dark, and no 

 appearance of the Cung-qra. The road approached the shore, and became a raised causeway, 

 passing through rich rice swamps. The natives whom we met in the dusk of the evening took 

 to flight on seeing us. At last, at half-past seven, weary and spent with a tramjD of twenty- 

 seven miles, the native herald who ran before us turned into a gateway, over which towered a 

 magnificent banyan tree. We followed, and discharged our pieces in a general feu-de-joie, on 

 seeing a Cung-qua with the lamps lighted, attendants waiting with their trays of tea-cups, and 

 a polite old gentleman standing in the verandah to receive us. The Lew Chew mats were never 

 so soft, nor the cups of unsugared native tea so refreshing, as on that evening. Eggs, cucum- 

 bers, rice, and fowls were immediately forthcoming, and our men concocted a soup which, to our 

 minds, could not have been improved. The old Pe-ching made his appearance at a late hour, 

 nearly as fatigued as ourselves, but overflowing with cordiality and good humor. A company 

 of native guards kindled a fire under the banyan tree, and prepared to spend the night there. 

 Our men were so fatigued that, in anticipation of another hard journey on the morrow, we dis- 

 pensed with the usual watch. It was the less important, as we had found the native guard 

 exceedingly vigilant in keeping away all stragglers from our vicinity. The light of the ruddy 

 camp-fire, playing over the spreading boughs of the banyan-tree, brought into strong relief the 

 groups of swarthy faces clustered around it, and presented a i)icture so fantastic and peculiar 

 that I sat looking at it long after I ought to have been asleep. 



The sound of rain upon the tiles of our Cung-qua awoke us frequently during the night, and 

 when we arose at daybreak the sky was overcast, the roads flooded, and a steady dismal storm 

 had set in. The Pe-ching and his associates wished us to stay at "Pi-ko," as the Cung-qua 



