278 
WANDERINGS IN CHINA. 
Chap. XVII. 
CHAPTER XVII. 
Sail for Foo-chow-foo on the River Min — Novel Mode of engaging 
a Pilot — Entrance to the River — Scenery on its Banks — 
Bridge of Foo-chow-foo — Chinese Chairmen — Insults received 
from the Natives — City and Suburbs — Native Trade — Fishing 
Cormorants — Bank Notes — Character of the Natives — The 
Ladies, and their Fondness for Flowers — Population — Remarks 
on Foo-chow-foo as a Place of foreign Trade — Government Spies 
— Deceit of the Mandarins — Leave Foo-chow-foo for the Tea- 
Hills — Mountain Scenery described — Black-Tea Districts — 
Agriculture of the District — Native Fruit. 
When I liad finished my business in Slianghae I left 
that city, and sailed for Foo-chow-foo, on the river Min. 
Foo-chow-foo is the capital of the province of Fokien, 
situated in 25° 30' N. latitude, near the celebrated 
Bohea hills, and about half-way between Chusan and 
Canton. On approaching the entrance to the Min, we 
anchored under the lee of some islands named the 
White Dogs, for the purpose of procuring a fisherman 
who could pilot the vessel into the river, as the entrance 
is rather difficult for a stranger, having been until very 
lately but imperfectly surveyed. Going to the shore for 
that purpose in the ship's boat, we found a small fishing 
village inhabited by men and boys, most of whom had a 
piratical and forbidding appearance. It seems that 
