230 YANG-TSE-KIANG RIVER. [Cuar. XII. 
their fears. My young friend the grass cutter was’ 
very shy at first, but we parted excellent friends. 
' The port of Shanghae is situated about 80 or 
100 miles to the north-west of Chusan, the latter 
being in lat. 30° north, and the former in 31° 20”. 
On leaying the Chusan group of Islands, and sailing 
to the northward in the direction of Shanghae we 
pass the Bay of Hangchow on the left, and enter the 
mouth of the noble Yang-tse-kiang, the “ child of 
the Ocean,” as its name implies. Thecountry, which, 
up to this degree of latitude from the south, is very 
mountainous, now changes, and becomes perfectly 
level. The shores of the river are, in many places, 
lower than the river itself, which is kept within 
its bounds by large and strong embankments. 
The mountainous scenery disappears entirely, and 
even from the top of the highest mast of a ship, no 
hill is seen to bound the distant horizon—all the 
view is a vast level plain. .This is what is called 
the valley of the Yang-tse-kiang, and is the great 
northern Nanking cotton district. The land is a 
deep rich loam, and is without doubt the finest in 
China, if not in the world. 
At the entrance of the river, the navigation is 
rather difficult, particularly in thick weather, 
owing partly to the numerous sand banks, which 
are all covered at high water, and partly to the 
difficulty of getting prominent land-marks. Since 
the opening of the trade in 1843 several ships have 
.got entangled amongst these banks, and have been 
totally wrecked. When I first visited the Yang- 
