1809.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 145 



Artenze, situated about Lat. 27° 50' N. and Long. 96° 30' E., and 

 following the banks of tlie Lan-tsan-Kiang as far south as Lat. 26° 40' 

 N. are the following tribes : Mosos, Leisus, Mooquors, Yatzus, Chudzus 

 and Trefans. Then between the same latitudes the country between the 

 Lan-tsan-Kiang and Now-Kiang rivers is inhabited by the wild and 

 powerful tribe of Ludzus who are the terror of all the tribes above 

 enumerated. Beyond the Now-Kiang to the west as far as the borders 

 of Assam, the tribes are mostly tributary to the kingdom of Burmah. 



Of the three great highways leading from the eastern seaboard to 

 Western China, viz. from Canton to Yunnan, through the provinces of 

 Kwang-tung and Kwangse : from Shanghai to Szchuan via the 

 Yangtzu, through the provinces of Kiang-tzu, Ngan-hoei and Hoopa ; 

 and from Pekin to Chentu, the capital of Szchuan through the pro- 

 vinces of Petchcli-chan-si and Chen-si, that of the Yangtzu, with the 

 advantage of water-carriage, is certainly the most important, leading 

 from the east. 



We all know how that by the magnificent steamers, at present run- 

 ning between Shanghai and Hankow, a traveller is hurried away 

 through the two great provinces Kiangtzu and Ngan-hoei, and in the 

 space of three days landed in Hankow, having without a single effort 

 beyond enjoying to his utmost the comfort and hospitality on board 

 these splendid vessels, travelled some 600 miles ; but few know what 

 it is to exchange these floating palaces for the native crafts used as a 

 means of conveyance between Hankow and the upper waters of the 

 Yangtzu. There may be said to be two distinct classes of convey- 

 ances between Hankow and Szchuan — the one used exclusively for 

 i passengers and the other for cargo. Under the first class the Manda- 

 rin Junk, a large unwieldy craft of nearly one hundred tons burthen, 

 highly ornamented and gilded inside, and used almost exclusively by 

 Mandarins travelling up and down the river with their families, may 

 be said to take first rank as to comfort ; and next to it, a boat about 

 50 tons burthen called Passenger Junk ; and, lastly, the little boat 

 generally a long canoe-shaped despatch craft, some 40 feet in length, 

 covered, with bamboo mats, and propelled by two men in the bow and 

 one in the stern. These boats, built of wood which grows in the 

 district of Wa Chien are of such toughness as renders them almost in- 

 destructible, and are by far the quickest means of conveyance, but at 



