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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by C. D. Jameson 



TAMPING TUK LAYERS OF EARTH ON NEW DIKE WORK ALONG THE YELEOW RIVER 



A circular disk of iron or, stone, about eighteen inches in diameter and from two to two 

 and one-half inches thick, is attached to some ten pieces of rope with a man on each rope. 

 With a song to keep the laborers in time, the disk is thrown into the air and falls with a most 

 efficient thud. Piles of from four to six inches in diameter are often driven in this manner, 

 the weight bring slightly guided in its fall by one of the men. 



pilgrims whose offerings support such a 

 vasl and wretched throng. 



TEN THOUSAND PILGRIMS A DAY 



The great pilgrimages occur in Febru- 

 ary and March, as many as 10,000 per- 

 sons per day making the ascent. The 

 contributions of the faithful, even after 

 deducting a good slice for the local ■au- 

 thorities, not only provide the upkeep of 

 the numerous buildings scattered from 

 base to summit and of the far more 

 numerous priests, but have sufficed for 

 the construction and maintenance of one 

 of the most remarkable mountain roads 

 in the world, the Pan Lu, which, begin- 

 ning just outside the north gate of the 

 city, winds up to the very summit, some 

 six miles of a broad, evenly paved path- 



way, the steep parts, which are frequent, 

 since it rises 4,700 feet in five miles, con- 

 sisting of well-laid steps, of which there 

 are some 6,600 in all. 



Every few hundred yards in the lower 

 part' is a temple, the most prominent be- 

 ing known as "Little Tai Shan," chiefly 

 patronized by old women and young 

 girls who can go no farther. Another of 

 these lower temples is known as "The 

 Hall of Ten Thousand Fairies" and an- 

 other as "The Place of Thanksgiving." 



All the way up, one is struck with the 

 great number of inscriptions cut in the 

 face of prominent rocks, sometimes in 

 the most inaccessible places. These have 

 been done at the instigation of pilgrims, 

 who thus vie with each other in exhibit- 

 ing their devotion. 



