﻿"WHERE 
  THE 
  MOUNTAINS 
  WALKED' 
  

  

  459 
  

  

  

  A 
  HIGHWAY 
  CARRIED 
  OXE 
  MILE 
  ACROSS 
  COUNTRY 
  

  

  This 
  was 
  the 
  most 
  striking 
  freak 
  of 
  the 
  earthquake. 
  A 
  quarter-mile 
  section 
  of 
  an 
  old 
  

   road, 
  with 
  the 
  big 
  poplars 
  which 
  line 
  it, 
  was 
  cut 
  off 
  from 
  the 
  highway 
  by 
  a 
  landslide 
  and 
  

   carried 
  on 
  the 
  back 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  of 
  earth 
  for 
  nearly 
  a 
  mile, 
  where 
  it 
  was 
  left 
  in 
  an 
  almost 
  

   natural 
  position. 
  All 
  this 
  took 
  place 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  seconds 
  of 
  time. 
  The 
  conformations 
  and 
  

   waves 
  into 
  which 
  the 
  swirling 
  earth 
  resolved 
  itself 
  are 
  plainly 
  seen. 
  

  

  relief 
  investigation 
  expedition 
  of 
  which 
  

   Mr. 
  Hall 
  was 
  a 
  member, 
  being 
  made 
  

   known 
  in 
  any 
  comprehensive 
  way, 
  even 
  

   in 
  China's 
  capital 
  and 
  port 
  cities. 
  

  

  Kansu, 
  in 
  ancient 
  times 
  the 
  buffer 
  state 
  

   between 
  the 
  glorious 
  seats 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  

   Shensi 
  dynasties 
  and 
  the 
  Tatar 
  and 
  Ti- 
  

   betan 
  barbarians, 
  lies 
  to 
  the 
  west 
  of 
  

   Shensi 
  and 
  northwest 
  of 
  Szechwan, 
  

   pinched 
  between 
  the 
  Ordos 
  and 
  southern 
  

   Outer 
  Mongolia 
  on 
  the 
  north 
  and 
  east 
  

   and 
  the 
  Kokonor 
  region 
  of 
  Tibet 
  and 
  

   Sinkiang 
  province 
  of 
  Chinese 
  Turkestan 
  

   on 
  the 
  south 
  and 
  west. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  a 
  country 
  of 
  extreme 
  ethnograph- 
  

   ical 
  and 
  religious 
  interest, 
  being 
  the 
  meet- 
  

   ing 
  and 
  mixing 
  place 
  of 
  Buddhist 
  Tibe- 
  

   tans 
  and 
  Mongolians, 
  Mohammedan 
  Chi- 
  

   nese 
  containing 
  a 
  Caucasian 
  strain, 
  and 
  

   the 
  ordinary 
  Chinese 
  of 
  the 
  ''big-church.'' 
  

  

  Had 
  the 
  quake 
  disaster 
  struck 
  several 
  

   hundred 
  miles 
  to 
  the 
  north, 
  west, 
  or 
  

   south, 
  the 
  loss 
  of 
  life 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  

   negligible. 
  As 
  it 
  happened, 
  it 
  selected 
  

   for 
  destruction, 
  in 
  the 
  asrriculturallv 
  rich, 
  

  

  terraced 
  loess 
  country 
  of 
  the 
  southern 
  

   half 
  of 
  the 
  affected 
  area, 
  the 
  most 
  popu- 
  

   lous 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  province; 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  

   north, 
  although 
  this 
  part 
  is 
  principally 
  

   uninhabited 
  grazing 
  land, 
  several 
  of 
  the 
  

   largest 
  Mohammedan 
  Chinese 
  cities, 
  

   which 
  were 
  leveled. 
  

  

  Although 
  the 
  density 
  of 
  population 
  is 
  

   not 
  more 
  than 
  one-tenth 
  that 
  of 
  Shantung 
  

   or 
  the 
  East 
  China 
  plain, 
  the 
  loss 
  of 
  life 
  

   from 
  landslides, 
  collapsed 
  cave 
  homes, 
  

   and 
  falling 
  buildings, 
  together 
  with 
  death 
  

   from 
  exposure 
  of 
  the 
  unsheltered 
  in 
  mid- 
  

   winter 
  in 
  this 
  high 
  altitude, 
  was, 
  accord- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  official 
  figures, 
  200,000, 
  and 
  ac- 
  

   cording 
  to 
  the 
  estimate 
  of 
  the 
  foreign 
  in- 
  

   vestigators 
  more 
  than 
  half 
  this 
  number. 
  

  

  The 
  reverend 
  John 
  D. 
  Hayes, 
  of 
  the 
  

   United 
  International 
  Famine 
  Relief 
  Com- 
  

   mittee, 
  Peking, 
  and 
  Air. 
  Hall, 
  leaving 
  the 
  

   Kwanyintang, 
  Honan, 
  railhead 
  on 
  March 
  

   6, 
  1 
  92 
  1, 
  took 
  the 
  ancient 
  royal 
  highway 
  

   through 
  Shensi 
  to 
  Kansu. 
  crossing 
  the 
  

   Kansu 
  border 
  near 
  Kingchow 
  and 
  pro- 
  

   ceeding 
  directly 
  to 
  Pingliang, 
  the 
  great 
  

  

  