Chap. X. 
CHUSAN ARCHIPELAGO. 
163 
CHAPTER X. 
Chiisan Archipelago — Storm in a small Boat — Nearly upset — 
Kin- Tang, or Silver Island — Its Inhabitants — Their Surprise on 
seeing a Foreigner — Yang-Tse-Kiang lliver — Its numerous 
Sand Banks — Our Schooner aground — Novel Method of getting 
Assistance from the Chinese — Village of Woo~Sung — Opium 
Station — Remarks on the Opium Trade — Its Effects upon the 
Chinese. 
In the summer of 1844 I was frequently engaged 
in exploring the islands of the Chusan Archipelago, 
more particularly that portion which lies between Chu- 
san and the opposite shores of the main-land. It was 
of course necessary for this purpose to employ Chinese 
boats, which are not very trustworthy. The distance 
from Chusan to the town of Chinhae, at the mouth of 
the Ning-po river, is about thirty miles. A sail across a 
sea such as this is generally pleasant enough, because the 
water, which is hemmed in on all sides, is frequently as 
smooth as a mill-pond. Sometimes, however, the wind 
comes down in gusts from the openings amongst the 
hills, and then the little China boats are all laid nearly 
upon their beam-ends before the sail can be taken in. 
Once, in particular, I had a narrow escape from a watery 
grave amongst these islands. I had engaged a boat to 
take me across from the city of Ning-po to Chusan ; and 
as I was in a hurry at the time, I was anxious to reach 
