366 ENTER THE RIVER MIN. [Cuar. XX. 
least surprise, when they saw our men board the 
boat, get her anchor up, and hoist her sail. 
The next morning our pilot got the ship under 
weigh, and took us into the river Min by a passage 
not marked in our charts; he evinced the most per- 
fect acquaintance with the depth of water at every 
part, and at last anchored us in safety abreast of a 
small temple, a few miles from the mouth of the 
river. Before we came to the most dangerous point, 
where we had to pass between two sand banks, the 
captain very quietly informed him, that if he 
made any mistake and got the ship aground, he 
should have his tail cut off—a punishment very 
nearly the greatest which can be inflicted on a 
Chinaman. When told, he shrugged up his shoul- 
ders, gave a sly look, and said, “ Very well; we shall 
see by and by.” The anchorage being reached in 
safety, the old man thought it was now his time 
for a joke, and, turning triumphantly round with 
his tail in one of his hands, exclaimed, ‘‘ Now, what 
about the tail ? is it to be cut off, or not? or are you 
satisfied ?” 
The passage by which we entered the river is 
called by the natives the Woo-hoo-mun, or ‘‘ the 
five tiger gate;” and here we saw a most singular 
rock, or island, which is cleft, as it were, into five 
pyramids, and is much revered by the Chinese 
sailor. In fact, he seems to look upon it as repre- 
senting the gods of the ocean, and he fails not 
to offer up his thanks and his offerings every time 
he passes by it on returning from the sea. The 
