﻿"WHERE 
  THE 
  MOUNTAINS 
  WALKED" 
  

  

  455 
  

  

  WHERE 
  THE 
  BRITTLE 
  GROUND 
  CRACKED 
  LIKE 
  A 
  PORCELAIN 
  DISH 
  

  

  It 
  took 
  months 
  to 
  build 
  a 
  road 
  with 
  a 
  dependable 
  surface 
  through 
  this 
  area, 
  and 
  even 
  now 
  

   a 
  camel 
  or 
  horse 
  will 
  sometimes 
  sink 
  a 
  leg 
  through 
  into 
  some 
  hidden 
  crevasse. 
  Shocks 
  still 
  

   recur 
  in 
  this 
  district. 
  They 
  are 
  attended 
  by 
  noise, 
  and 
  the 
  earth 
  trembles 
  as 
  if 
  a 
  fast 
  train 
  

   were 
  passing 
  underneath. 
  

  

  eastern 
  edge, 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  loess 
  re- 
  

   gion 
  which 
  stretches 
  from 
  central 
  Honan 
  

   almost 
  to 
  Tibet. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  loess 
  area 
  that 
  the 
  immense 
  

   slides 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  terraced 
  hills 
  occurred, 
  

   burying 
  or 
  carrying 
  away 
  villages, 
  cover- 
  

   ing 
  level, 
  farmed 
  valley 
  floors 
  with 
  a 
  

   debris 
  of 
  unvegetated 
  dust, 
  damming 
  

   stream-beds 
  and 
  turning 
  valleys 
  into 
  lakes, 
  

   and 
  accomplishing 
  those 
  hardly 
  believable 
  

   freaks 
  which 
  the 
  natives 
  name 
  the 
  "foot- 
  

   steps 
  of 
  the 
  gods." 
  

  

  Here 
  the 
  Chinese, 
  since 
  their 
  vernac- 
  

   ular 
  is 
  devoid 
  of 
  a 
  technical 
  or 
  other 
  term 
  

   corresponding 
  to 
  ''landslide," 
  have 
  coined 
  

   the 
  expression 
  — 
  the 
  only 
  phrase 
  they 
  have 
  

   for 
  describing 
  what 
  has 
  happened 
  — 
  "The 
  

   mountains 
  walked" 
  (Shan 
  tso-liao). 
  

  

  The 
  northern 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  oval, 
  from 
  

   Kuyuan 
  to 
  the 
  Yellow 
  River, 
  is 
  a 
  rolling 
  

   alkali 
  plateau 
  of 
  clay 
  and 
  gravel 
  forma- 
  

   tion, 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  steppes 
  stretching 
  north 
  

   to 
  Siberia 
  and 
  west 
  to 
  Turkestan. 
  In 
  this 
  

   district 
  the 
  soil, 
  being 
  of 
  brittle 
  but 
  firmer 
  

   texture 
  than 
  the 
  loess, 
  did 
  not 
  slide, 
  but 
  

   cracked 
  into 
  intricate 
  fissures. 
  

  

  The 
  summits 
  of 
  the 
  high 
  Six-Plate 
  

   (Liu 
  Pan) 
  range, 
  consisting 
  of 
  rock 
  of 
  

   volcanic 
  origin 
  protruding 
  several 
  thou- 
  

   sand 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  loess 
  deposits 
  on 
  

   either 
  side, 
  although 
  in 
  the 
  heart 
  of 
  the 
  

   earthquake 
  belt, 
  were 
  not 
  shaken 
  seri- 
  

   ously. 
  The 
  slip 
  apparently 
  occurred 
  in 
  

   the 
  rock-bed 
  underlying 
  the 
  hard 
  plateau 
  

   and 
  the 
  loess, 
  and 
  sent 
  vibrations 
  to 
  the 
  

   surface 
  in 
  varying 
  degrees 
  of 
  intensity, 
  

   according 
  to 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  the 
  soil 
  and 
  the 
  

   thickness 
  of 
  the 
  loess 
  blanket, 
  which 
  acted 
  

   as 
  a 
  cushion. 
  The 
  vibration 
  was 
  only 
  

   slightly 
  transmitted 
  to 
  the 
  volcanic 
  strata 
  

   of 
  the 
  mountains. 
  

  

  NEWS 
  OF 
  THE 
  DISASTER 
  LONG 
  DELAYED 
  

  

  The 
  remoteness 
  of 
  the 
  district 
  in 
  which 
  

   the 
  earthquake 
  occurred 
  cannot 
  but 
  in- 
  

   trigue 
  interest. 
  Although 
  the 
  concurrent 
  

   quakes 
  in 
  Chile 
  and 
  Salvador, 
  the 
  tidal 
  

   wave 
  of 
  Yap 
  and 
  the 
  eruption 
  of 
  Mt. 
  

   Asama, 
  Japan, 
  are 
  all 
  history, 
  the 
  Kansu 
  

   disaster 
  is 
  still 
  news. 
  What 
  actually 
  hap- 
  

   pened 
  in 
  this 
  frontier 
  province 
  of 
  China 
  

   is 
  only 
  now, 
  through 
  the 
  reports 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  