242 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



Lonicera deflexicalyx is also plentiful, and was a wealth of 

 orange-coloured fruit. On humus-clad rocks a pretty little 

 prostrate Gaultheria with snow-white fruits is common. The 

 hovels at the lead mines are miserable structures, but we were 

 glad of their shelter from the rain and cold. The whole moun- 

 tain appears to be full of lead, the ore (galena) being very rich. 

 Well-shored adits are carried for considerable distances into 

 the mountain-side, and the ore is brought out in baskets fitted 

 on runners. The galena is pounded by hand labour into small 

 particles ; the lead is obtained by levigation and stored in 

 large wooden vats. Subsequently it is melted into large 

 oblong ingots, in which form it is carried to Chengtu 

 and Sui Fu. The freight down to the nearest waterway is 

 very considerable. Lead has been worked in this neighbour- 

 hood for many years, and the mines are owned by a man who 

 resides at Kiating. The labourers are paid 1800 cash per 

 month. We were told that the previous year's output was 

 10,000 catties, but little reliance can be placed on this state- 

 ment. Such an output is very small, but the primitive methods 

 employed are slow and expensive. For smelting and other pur- 

 poses the mountain has been denuded of its timber, and is now 

 in its upper parts a grassy, scrub-clad wilderness. I made the 

 altitude of the mines 9400 feet, that is to say, 2000 feet above 

 the charcoal pits whence the fuel necessary to melt down the 

 lead is drawn. The sides of the workings are bare and gravelly, 

 and were covered with rich yellow flowers of a Sedum-like 

 plant, which was new and is unknown to me. 



On leaving the lead mines and crossing a slight dip we 

 reached a babbling brook which forms the roadway for the 

 next few li. On deserting this we made a very steep ascent to 

 the top of a grassy ridge, alt. 10,400 feet, only to find that a 

 deep ravine separated us from the watershed proper. After a 

 most precipitous descent of 1600 feet over a rocky and difficult 

 path, we reached the bed of a torrent, which I take to be the 

 stream we noted at Peh-sha Ho flowing from a southerly 

 direction. 



On reaching this stream the rain ceased, the mists cleared 

 away rapidly, and the sun showed itself for the first time in four 

 days. The surrounding country is savage, and is made up of 



