LEAVE FOE OMTH-SHAN 215 



food I had been ul)le to obtain, and an at lack ol'dysenleiy 

 at Ta-tsieii-lu had left me m a weak state. Indian-corn 

 cake, rice, and occasionally eggs were the food upon 

 which I had Uxed for months. Beef and pork were 

 procurable, it is true, at times at Ta-tsiendu, but the 

 former, being the flesh of worn-out beasts of burden,, 

 was so tough as to be uneatalde, and as for the pork, 

 no European who has seen the scavenging done by the 

 pigs in towns, would I imagine care to eat it. In the 

 country it is curious to note the difference, for there the 

 pigs are kept very clean and most carefully fed by their 

 owners. 



I should mention that my boat was not moored near 

 the city, but al)out ten li l)elow it, and close to the right 

 bank of the river, on which were growing some remark- 

 ably large and graceful clumps of bamboo, which fur- 

 nished a most welcome shade during the day. The 

 nights were, however, very hot at this season of the year,, 

 and sleep difficult to obtain on account of the perse- 

 cution of a small sand-fly which principally attacked 

 the feet. The bites caused a severe irritation which 

 lasted for about a week. 



On August 6 I left at 9,30 a..m. for Omei-shan,, 

 where I hoped to be able to spend several days in more 

 fully exploring the temples than was possible in ni}'' 

 previous short visit, and also to see how the collector^^ 



