20 Through the Yang-tse Gorges 



rocky point round which the creek rushes, called Hwang 

 Sheng Kang ; having accomplished in this our first day's 

 journey the very respectable distance of eleven miles. This 

 rocky point is remarkable in standing out isolated from the 

 plain at not more than ten feet above its general level, and 

 large enough only to afford room for a small temple and 

 picturesque two-storied Ting-tze or pavilion, with a light- 

 house in the shape of a square paper lantern : a useful 

 beacon to the belated mariner when the waters are out and 

 the floods extend to the horizon. 



Wednesday, February 2%th. — At daylight a heavy snow- 

 storm rendered progress impossible ; the whole country was 

 covered three inches deep, and I lay confined in the dark, 

 owing to all the mats fore and aft covering the boat. At 

 length, at ten o'clock, the weather cleared, although the 

 clouds hung ominously low on the neighbouring hills. The 

 stream here widens out to about 200 yards, and the current 

 slackened to about two knots, rendering progress by coolies 

 tracking along shore comparatively easy as compared with 

 yesterday. Notwithstanding we only made twenty li, say 

 six miles, in four hours ; after which we again came to a 

 halt at a place called P'u-tan, sixty li from Hankow, say 

 seventeen miles. This place turned out to be the home of 

 our " Lao-ta " (old-great) or captain, and this necessitated 

 his spending the night ashore. We did not, however, lose 

 much, as, after sundry hailstorms, heavy rain set in at four 

 o'clock, and continued throughout the night. The country 

 through which we passed to-day forms in summer the bed of 

 a vast lake, out of which rise, like islands, isolated barren 

 sandstone hills of from ten to 200 feet high. On one of 

 the former is built the village of P'ut-an, at the height of the 

 summer floods. It has an untidy, dilapidated look, like a 

 place that has recently been under water, the stone bunding 



