Discipline of Szechuan Crew 31 



either end, a fine draught is always blowing through. Having 

 heard much from the few Europeans who have travelled 

 there, of the superiority of the Szechuan people, as possessing 

 an approach to that manliness and good breeding which is 

 so markedly deficient in the Chinese with whom we come in 

 contact in the coast provinces, I examined our crew, the 

 first specimens of the " Four Streams " (Szechuan meaning 

 Four Streams) province I had yet met, with some interest. 

 The Lao-ta and his brother, the former of whom steered 

 while the latter stood all day in the bow helping, with a 

 long iron-shod bamboo pole, were both tall, fair-skinned, 

 with pleasant voice and quiet manner when giving their 

 orders, which were obeyed by the crew with an alacrity and 

 silence that formed a great contrast to the frightful noise 

 and confusion with which any manoeuvre is carried out in 

 China generally, on board boats or elsewhere. The men 

 jump out with the tow-line, and set off with a swinging step, 

 wade through the water and jump on board, and are off 

 again in a fresh spot with scarcely a sound. They tow from 

 dawn to dark, only coming on board for meals three times 

 a day, at which times, unless the wind is strong and fair, we 

 moor to a stake driven into the bank, the boat not being 

 weighted with anchor or chain. The most important part 

 of the gear are the tow-lines, and these are of plaited 

 bamboo, almost indestructible but for the jagged rocks 

 against which in the upper portion of the river's course they 

 are gradually frayed out. We proceeded up the river, 

 which is here about three-quarters of a mile wide, past the 

 walled city of King-chow Fu, which, however, lies hidden 

 behind the embankment, until seven miles above Shasze, we 

 passed the Tai-ping ho (River of Peace), a " cut off" a 

 quarter of a mile wide, with high artificial banks, about 100 

 miles long, through which the junks sail in summer to the 



