Chap. VIII. 
THE GREEN RIVER. 
131 
ravines, and forming hundreds of beautiful waterfalls. 
This is a striking part of the country at all times, and it 
is difficult to say whether it is most beautiful in autumn 
or in spring. 
On the evening of the third day after leaving Nechow 
the old city of Yen-chow-foo came in sight. The river 
here flows through a fine and fertile valley, in which the 
city is situated. " This beautiful vale abounds with cam- 
phor and tallow trees." So it is written in a map which 
the learned Jesuits made many years ago ; and such I 
found to be the case. A little below the town two rivers 
unite. One, as I have already noticed, comes from the 
north-west, and rises amongst the hills of Hwuy-chow, 
and it was this one which I ascended the previous 
autumn. The other flows from the south-west, and has 
its sources amongst the mountains bordering on Fokien, 
and partly amongst some hills north-west of the town of 
Chang-shan, where the three provinces of Che-kiang, 
Gnan-hoei, and Kiang-see meet. 
My route lay up the latter and largest river. I was 
now about to enter upon new ground which I had never 
trodden before. Knowing that if I accomplished the 
object I had in view it would be necessary to travel 
upwards of 200 miles by land, and that too over a 
mountainous country, I had determined upon taking 
with me as little luggage of any kind as possible. My 
servant, however, had a strange propensity of accumu- 
lating as we went along. If we started with ever so 
little, his portion was sure to increase to an inconvenient 
size in a very short time. As he had relations in Yen- 
chow-foo, I warned him to leave everything with them, 
