FROM MONGTSE TO SSUMAO 



Yuenkiang. They told us, also, of an ancient copper mine in 

 the river valley, now disused. 



We had the luck to fail in our quest of an inn, so camped in 

 the midst of the tombs on a mound topped by a polygonal stone 

 kiosk, which now contained nothing but a few joss - sticks : it 

 made us a good kitchen. The populace was almost exclusively 

 Chinese, and the gapers were as numerous as usual in that race. 

 A few of them, however, betook themselves from contemplation 

 of us to flying kites, which rose to a great height, and produced 

 a strange humming through a tube tied to the tail. In the 

 same way, the Chinese have a habit of fastening a musical pipe 

 under the tail-feathers of their pigeons. All these loafing fellows 

 were a nuisance, though not hostile as at Setchuen. They did 

 not resent our scattering them, but settled again immediately 

 like flies. 



From Isa to Ta-lan was said to be eisjht stages, at the fifth 

 of which we should rejoin the highway from Yuenkiang, unless 

 a short cut should allow of our avoiding the known routes. 



Having, therefore, replenished our commissariat and disap- 

 pointed the wily Francois, who sought to inveigle us into staying 

 by the tale of a wondrous dragon with a jewel in its head, that 

 we might undoubtedly capture in the vicinity, we set forward on 

 the following day, and, leaving the main road on our right, bade 

 farewell to the river valley, and directed our course to the west. 

 I preceded the main body with Sao, but, owing to the native 

 ignorance of Chinese, our inquiries as to the route met with the 

 invariable response of "Ma chai " ("I can't say"). Eventually, 

 a Chinese innkeeper put us right, and we reached our intended 

 halting-place, a village called Souto. The people were Lolos 

 again, and while waiting for the rest of the party I conversed 



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