from Yii-lin Fu. Mi-chih Hsien, a walled town of about two thousand 
inhabitants, was reached after a long march of over twenty miles. As at 
Lin Hsien, the wall encloses the hill behind the town. In this case, however, 
the hill is extremely steep, and rises to about 700 feet above the valley. 
Satisfactory quarters having been secured at the inn, it was decided to remain 
here for two days. Moreover, it had been found that in this class of country 
Hazrat Ali could only manage from eight to ten miles a day, and it was 
thought best that the main body should rest and march on alternate days, 
covering from eighteen to twenty miles at a time; thus the number of our 
halts would be halved, and the surveyor, without losing touch with us, could 
work along daily at the rate which best suited him. During our stay we were 
fortunate in escaping what might have been a nasty accident ; one of Clark’s 
trunks had its bottom burnt through, having been placed on the kang 
immediately over the fireplace; the smell of burning wool was noticed just in 
time for the explosion of a case of Express cartridges in the trunk to be 
prevented. The maximum and minimum thermometer was stolen during the 
night, but on investigation it was ‘‘ discovered” by one of the inn servants 
some twenty feet away from the window-sill, where it had been placed. 
On December gth we left Mi-chih Hsien, and continued our journey 
southward. The road was still excellent, and followed the valley of the Yii-lin 
Ho till Sui-té Chou was reached. Here the Yii-lin changes its name, and 
becomes the Wu-ting Ho (literally ‘river of no certainty.”) This name is 
given to it owing to the uncertainty with which it rises and falls. The same 
features which had characterised the country between Yii-ho-p’u and Mi-chih 
still prevailed, though the valley was considerably wider, and the hills much 
higher. The road in places skirted the edge of the valley, with the river some 
thirty feet below it. Everywhere the country was under cultivation, and the 
villages looked decidedly more prosperous. Sui-té Chou is situated some 
twenty-one miles south of Mi-chih Hsien, and on the opposite (right) bank of 
the river. The walls here are of stone, and embrace a large portion of ridge 
to the south. Just before reaching the town the river makes a sharp turn to 
the east, and is crossed by a temporary trestle bridge, very shaky and insecure. 
The town is a picturesque place of some importance, four high roads meeting 
here, viz., those from Yii-lin Fu, T’ai-yiian Fu, Yen-an Fu, and Ning-ling 
T’ing in Kansu. That a considerable amount of traffic passes through may 
be gathered from the number of inns. Few of these, however, offer 
accommodation suitable for European travellers, and it was with difficulty 
that we managed to secure rooms at all passable in the southern suburb. 
26 
