THROUGH THE LAOLIN (WILDERNESS) 241 



Our objective for the day was some lead mines, but early 

 in the afternoon it became evident that we could not reach 

 them before night was well advanced. Darkness overtook us, 

 and we had visions of spending the night in the woods, which 

 bound the torrent ; suddenly, however, the welcome glare 

 from a charcoal-burner's hut gladdened our hearts. Scrambling 

 somehow down the steep slope, and across the torrent, we 

 quickly reached this haven of shelter. It proved a wretched 

 hovel, but the warmth from the charcoal pit was comforting 

 since we, and all our belongings, were wet through. My bed 

 was fixed up in a shed where prepared charcoal was stored, 

 the men taking possession of the hut, thankful that a refuge 

 of some sort had been found. 



Much of the day's journey had consisted in struggling 

 through brush and Bamboo, and by way of variety wading 

 the torrent was thrown in. Whenever the mists lifted, cliffs 

 and crags, densely covered with vegetation, were to be seen 

 on all sides. The flora is apparently rich, but it was impossible 

 for us to investigate it. All the larger trees have been cut 

 down and converted into charcoal. Davidia, Tetracentron, 

 Cercidiphyllum, and Cornus sinensis are common as bushy 

 trees by the wayside ; Maples are plentiful, and stout climbers, 

 such as Actinidia, Clematoclethra, and Holboellia are rampant. 



Two men were in charge of the charcoal pits. They told us 

 the place is called Tan-yao-tzu, and that we had only covered 

 30 li ! All the hardwood trees having been felled they are 

 now forced to use the softwood of Silver Fir and Hemlock 

 Spruce, which, they said, grow in quantity on the higher crags. 

 The charcoal is all used for smelting lead at the mines. 



The roof of the shed leaked freely, but an arrangement of 

 oil-sheets kept my bed fairly dry, and I enjoyed a good night's 

 sleep. Awaking soon after daybreak we found it was still 

 raining. Leaving the hut (alt. 7250 feet), we crossed two 

 branches of the stream and scrambled up the mountain-side 

 to rejoin the track. Soon afterwards we entered a narrow 

 scrub-clad valley, at the head of which a precipitous, circuitous 

 ascent brought us to the top of a ridge where the lead mines 

 are situated. In the ascent. Rhododendron Hanceanum and 

 two other species are particularly abundant, forming thickets ; 

 VOL. I. — 16 



