132 Through the Yang-tse Gorges 



on a rock midst the roar of rushing water under the opposite 

 left bank, until we brought up at the village of Lu-tze To. 



Distance run, 120 li (thirty miles) ; total, 414 miles. 



Saturday, April 1th. — Between Ichang and Chung-king 

 the Yang-tse is universally known as the " Chuan Ho," or 

 River of Szechuan. Above Chung-king it is commonly 

 called the " Seng Ho," or River of the Provincial Capital, 

 i.e. Cheng-tu-seng. The junks only attempt sailing when 

 going up-river with a fair wind, when they hoist large square 

 lug-sails without any bamboos, not unlike those of the 

 picturesque Japanese junks, except that the foot is stretched 

 on a yard, which is lashed to the mast amidships and stayed 

 by two guys (they can hardly be called sheets) leading aft. 

 They are useless with the wind abeam, and are simply 

 lowered and furled when the wind ceases to be fair. How- 

 ever hard the wind blows, it never seems to raise any sea ; 

 the Chinamen say because the river runs too fast, but the 

 cause is the perpetual " chow-chow " or vertical motion of the 

 currents, due to the sunken reefs, which effectually check 

 each nascent ripple. Aided then by an up-wind, we tracked 

 up the fierce " Yeh-lo tze" ("Wild Mule Rapid"), the river 

 and banks being strewn with rocks, and rowed through 

 the " Tung-lo hsia " (" Brass Gong Gorge "), a short but very 

 picturesque gorge, with nearly vertical walls, between hills 

 about eight hundred feet high, and entered the expanse 

 of " Tang chia t'o " (the Loch of the Tang Family) in the 

 steep hills, surrounding which are many lime-kilns.* 



Thence we passed into a tamer reach, with low, steep, 

 conical hills on the left bank ; and low, rounded hills, highly 



* Since the formal opening of Chung-king in 1891, the Imperial 

 Maritime Customs have opened a station at this place, in charge of an 

 European. All " chartered " junks, i.e. junks under " foreign " flags, 

 have now to report at this station for examina,tion of cargo and 

 "papers." 



