A Quick Descent 241 



was still blowing. AVe pushed out from the shore, and 

 drifted down the formidable " Tsan pei tan," or " Silkworm 

 Back Rapid," — so-called from the formation of the rock by 

 which it is produced — and spinning through the boiling 

 waters, taking two complete turns in the whirlpool below, 

 which our Lao-ta informed us were de rigueur at this spot, we 

 swept past F^ng-tu at four o'clock, doing in a couple of 

 hours a distance which occupied a day on the way up. The 

 maze of reefs, through which we then threaded our way with 

 such painful toil, were now mostly covered, with only the 

 roar of the surging water to indicate their presence. The 

 danger was now much greater, none but a skilful pilot, able 

 to take the right channel in time, being able to pass in safety. 

 To one not familiar with the place, the danger of being swept 

 on a rock and dashed in pieces seems appalling ; only for a 

 few moments, however. Scarcely has one had time to realize 

 the peril, than he finds himself tranquilly drifting in the smooth 

 water below. We passed the twin city of Feng-tu — the one 

 on the hill-slope, with its imposing walls enclosing a vast 

 empty space ; the other a busy trading-mart, squeezed in 

 between the river-bank and the foot of the steep hills behind. 

 Below F&g-tu is a long reach three-quarters of a mile in 

 width, and seven or eight miles long, which terminates in 

 one of the numerous cross ranges through which the river 

 breaks its way, turning off suddenly at right angles, until, the 

 obstructing range past, it takes another sharp turn in the 

 opposite direction, and resumes its original course of E.N.E. 

 The valley here, as throughout the whole distance above 

 Ichang, is no wider than the river-bed. Here the left bank 

 is also steep, with room for a few scanty patches of barley on 

 narrow ledges here and there. The right bank, however, is 

 composed of softer material, and its more gentle imdulations 

 admit of a rich cultivation. 



R 



