50 Through the Yang-tse Gorges 



CHAPTER IV. 



ABOVE ICHANG. 



Start for the gorges— Grand coup-a'ceil—Tomki's inscriptions— A 

 factory of boulders — Advantages of a light boat — A Temple 

 School— A " Feng Shui " problem. 



St. Patrick's Bay. — A lovely summer morning with dew 

 on the grass and fragrance in the air ; violets everywhere. 

 Finished writing my mail, and despatched it by the overland 

 post — a courier who performs the overland journey to 

 Hankow in five days. After breakfasting ashore with my 

 kind host, I now at last set sail direct for the gorges and the 

 Far West. A still sunny day, with a breath from the east- 

 ward barely sufficient to fill our big lug-sail ; but our crew 

 having been reinforced with three additional rowers, we 

 made good progress crossing the now submerged sand-flat, 

 which two days ago seemed to occupy a fourth of the river's 

 width. For the summer rise has begun, and the level has 

 risen five feet during my short stay at Ichang, and the width 

 is increased by several hundreds. Poling and rowing over 

 this bank, we avoid the deep water and strong current of 

 the cliff-lined shore opposite, until after a distance of three 

 miles, we were compelled to cross the river, and the trackers' 

 labours began. Jumping on the rocks, they scrambled with 

 the tow-line around immense boulders, and along narrow 

 ledges, which afforded a bare foothold to the sandal-shod 

 of our active Szechuan crew. 



