156 WRECKED JUNKS 
and the bow sweep was in frequent use. On the 
following day the river was, if possible, worse; but the 
rate of speed was high, about 300 li being made each 
day. On September 12 the boat was made fast off the 
village of Hu-lin, and the people were very disagreeable. 
My dogs were chained up on the beach, and they came 
down and stoned them. Fearing that someone might 
get bitten, I was obliged to move the dogs into the 
boat. 
On the 13th I arrived at Quei-chow-fu, having 
travelled 420 li during the day, and here I was delayed 
till the 16th, the river being dangerously high. I 
found several hundreds of junks waiting here till the 
river should fall sufficiently to make the passage safe, 
and I heard that a day or two ago three junks were 
knocked to pieces at a bad place a short distance 
below. Their crews were all drowned, and one of them 
had a hundred souls on board. Sometimes the naviga- 
tion is stopped here for weeks at a time. There are 
certain marks on the city walls, and when the water is 
above the highest it is not considered safe to descend 
the river; also when it is below the lowest it is 
dangerous. 
On the 16th the water had fallen a little, and it was 
considered safe to travel. A run of 420 li was made 
during the day, and on the 17th, which I thought the 
