THIRTY THOUSAND MILES IN CHINA I '.l 



caravan was probably taken for that of a Chinese. I do not 

 know what credence to give to this idea. 



After gathering up what the bandits had left, the cook 

 and muleteers reported the incident to the magistrate at 

 Mienchuhsien who immediately sent out a posse of two 

 hundred to hunt for the robbers. He also ordered the road- 

 side houses to be razed on the principle that their tenants 

 were responsible to know what sort of characters congregated 

 there, even if they were not actually in league with the band. 

 The magistrate made a complete inventory of all that was 

 left, forwarding one copy to the Commissioner of Foreign 

 Affairs at Chengtu and one to me. He also furnished suffi- 

 cient funds to feed the mules and men as far as the next 

 magistracy where again money to carry the caravan to the 

 next place on their way to join me was given. 



We made an early halt for the night on the day that I 

 met the mules and on going hastily through the boxes I 

 found things in such a state that about two or three entire 

 boxloads had to be thrown away as debris, and the cook and 

 "crew" had to be supplied with an entire new outfit of 

 blankets and bed-skins and extra clothing as they had been 

 left only what was on their backs. 



When we reached Kwanhsien in the late afternoon of 

 February 29, we found the city in a state of siege and it was 

 only after considerable difficulty and long waiting that we 

 managed the next morning to get to the China Inland Mission 

 in the suburb for assistance and advice. It was rumored 

 that a band of 1,800 ex-soldiers were threatening the 

 city for its loot. As soon as our observations were finished 

 and we had inspected the irrigation works at Kwanhsien 

 as the best we could under circumstances we hastened 

 on to Chengtu. Arriving there in the mid-afternoon we were 

 forced to wait hours at the city gate. Finally we were allowed 

 to enter and found a hearty welcome from the foreigners 

 residing there, especially from Postal Commissioner Doodha 

 and his staff, the French and British Consul-Generals, and 

 the Faculty of the West China Union University. 



All of these were exceedingly helpful in their respective 

 ways. The University folk made me feel entirely at home 

 and on their campus I established my observing station. 

 Mr. Doodha had heard of the attack through Chinese sources 

 and had at once sent word to the post-offices in that region 

 to render me every possible aid in case I turned up in their 

 district and had even on his own initiative sent fifty dollars m 

 notes to the office where I was most likely to apply, so that 

 I mioht have money to come on with. Mr. Smith, His 

 British Majesty's Consul-General, counselled me regarding 



