The expedition continued its westward march on February 14th, and after 

 crossing a pass at an altitude of over 5000 feet, and descending into a steadily 

 widening and very fertile vallej^ reached the small walled town of Ho-shui 

 Hsien. The hills on either side of the road were covered with scrub, and but 

 few villages were seen. The road, since leaving Ch'ang-ts'un-yi, had been 

 excellent for mule traffic, whilst the country consisted of loess, with here and 

 there signs of carboniferous bed-rock. There was plenty of water, perennial 

 streams, now frozen over, flowing at the bottom of each ravine, and in every 

 valley. This last stage was nineteen miles. The following day Ch'ing-yang 

 Fu was reached after a journey of over twenty miles through a terraced loess 

 country, which, however, showed few signs of cultivation, and was but 

 sparsely populated. There was every evidence that Ch'ing-yang Fu had been 

 at one time a fine and prosperous city, but its population had fallen victims to 

 a massacre in the Mohammedan rebellion, and the place had never regained 

 its former importance, containing now at a liberal estimate not more than 

 1000 inhabitants. A halt was made here till February 21st, when the journey 

 westward was resumed. Pai-ma-p'u, a miserable village situated on a plateau, 

 was reached that night after a march of fourteen miles through poor country. 

 On the following day Hsi-feng-chen was reached, and here a halt was made 

 till February 25th. The distance between this and the last stopping-place 

 was twenty-one miles along a good cart-road lying over the loess plateau. 

 Many bustard were seen, and Grant secured one at long range. 



On February 25th, the journey was continued still over similar country 

 till T'ai-pei-ch'eng was reached, this being the second village of that name 

 met with in Kansu; it is about sixteen miles from Hsi-feng-chen. Ch6n-yuan 

 Hsien, the next halting-place, was reached on February 27th after a journey of 

 fifteen miles, again over loess plateaux, on the western limit of which the 

 town is situated. It is decidedly more prosperous than any of the places 

 passed by the expedition since leaving Fu-chou in Shensi, and contains a 

 Protestant Mission Station. Between Ch'ing-yang Fu and ChSn-yiian Hsien 

 runs a cart-road, which, although not very good for carts, is excellent for mule 

 traffic. From Chen-yuan it goes southward to P'ing-liang Fu. 



After one day's stay at Chen-yiian, the expedition continued its journey 

 towards Lan-chou. Yang-shu-wan, situated at an altitude of about 5300 feet, was 

 reached on March ist. The country passed through looked much more 

 prosperous, and the land was all under cultivation. The road was good, so 

 that the twenty-one miles between this village and ChSn-yuan were accom- 

 plished in good time, the usual loess hills being encountered. Owing to the 



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