Chap. VII. 
SUIY-KOW. 
117 
On the morning of the fourth day we arrived at Suiy- 
kow. Travellers bound for the towns north of this 
place generally leave the river here, and go on by chair, 
as the rapids are numerous, and boats make slow pro- 
gress against the stream. 
This place is most pleasantly situated on the left bank 
of the river. It is but a small town, and I suppose does 
not contain more than 5000 or 6000 inhabitants. A 
very large number of boats, for the size of the place, 
were moored along the banks of the river. The principal 
trade of the town seems to be in furnishing supplies for 
the boatmen and their passengers, as they pass on their 
way either to the interior or down towards the coast. 
My servants were now despatched to engage another 
boat, while I took a stroll through the town and its 
suburbs. In the course of two hours we met again at 
the landing-place, when I found they had not been 
successful, and were now most anxious for me to proceed 
by chair, which they said was the usual way for travellers. 
As the journey was a long one, I was afraid I had not 
brought money enough to defray the expenses of tra- 
velling in that way, and was obliged, from prudential 
motives, to defer this interesting journey for a time. 
I now considered that the best plan I could adopt, 
under the circumstances, was to send my servants 
onwards by themselves to the fine black-tea country 
of Woo-e-shan- Were I to take them with me by 
sea to Ning-po, and then send them back across the 
Bohea mountains, what guarantee had I that they 
would go there at all ? They would be much more 
likely to provide themselves with plants in a country 
