STURGEON 67 



me. For the third time I was in a crowd of natives, 

 who appear to quickly assemble in cases of the sort, 

 and after more nuid-throwing and insults, my boatman 

 got two coolies who eventually carried my things down 

 to the boat, where I arrived at 11.30 I'.m., after a most 

 disagreeable time, and having had nothing to eat all 

 day. The farmhouses in the district through which 1 

 passed appeared to be better and more substantially 

 built than usual ; but the natives are undoubtedly hos- 

 tile to Europeans, and, among other things, they are 

 given to assemble on the banks of the river to pelt with 

 stones the steamers running between Hankow and 

 Ichang. 



On November 20 I commenced my return journey 

 up the stream, and after a few miles found a fisherman 

 with a freshly-caught sturgeon still alive. This is the 

 fish which, as I have mentioned before, I was unable to 

 purchase. It weighed about 200 catties (260 lbs.), and 

 was between eight and nine feet long. The captor had 

 hauled it up on the bank previous to cutting it up for 

 sale. The boat was secured for the night at a village 

 called Da-ku, and on trying to proceed the next morn- 

 ing I found that the wind was too strong to allow 

 tracking up-stream, so the boat was huloed over to the 

 other side to try on the more sheltered bank ; but it was 

 of no use, and she had to be secured in a creek until 



