CHAPTER III. 
PASSAGE OF THE YELLOW RIVER—MARCH TO YU-LIN FU. 
N October 29th we proceeded to cross the river, an undertaking which 
required some little management owing to the recent heavy rains. 
Several large ferry-boats were brought over from Huang-ho-yeh, and into 
these the mules and baggage were all bundled without further ceremony; 
though anyone who knows the Chinese boatman, and the Chinese muleteer 
and mule, will realise that the operations were conducted without any very 
elaborate regard to silence. Each ferry-boat was divided into three compart- 
ments, of which two were occupied by the animals, and the third by their 
loads. The crossing—effected by keeping the nose of the boat pointed at an 
angle up and across the stream—was a perilous undertaking. As each of the 
unwieldy craft approached the western shore it was caught in a swirling eddy, 
and seemed bound to capsize, but at this juncture, the ferrymen, bending 
vigorously to their oars, forced it slowly to the land. These oars are effective 
but very primitive in pattern, usually split tree-trunks, one end pared down to 
form a handle, and each is manned by two or three men. The mules showed 
no reluctance to leave the ferry-boats, which, by the end of a passage, 
contained several inches of water. It took five hours to get the whole caravan 
across, and we were fortunate in that no losses were sustained. The current 
was running like a mill-race, and, had one of the oars broken under the strain 
to which it was subjected, the result would have been disaster. 
At last, when all had been landed safely, the pack-train, preceded by the 
Staff on their ponies, entered the mouth of a deep gorge leading westward. 
The walls of this cafion rose sheer for over a hundred feet and the floor was 
very rough, strewn with boulders and square masses of rock. A comparatively 
large stream flowed through the cafion, and the strata, which were of sand- 
stone, exhibited surfaces honeycombed in a peculiar manner. The remains of 
a well-paved road were in places recognisable, and seemed to suggest that this 
had been at one time an important highway. For some distance the cafion 
continued rugged and bare, but at one place, where it narrowed, a small stone 
fort guarded the passage. At last the loess began to show on the sides, and 
we noticed the first village, or sign of cultivation, since leaving Huang-ho-yeh. 
A steep ascent was made and camp was pitched near a village named 
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