Chap. X. 
HOKOW. 
161 
other merchandise either eastward to Yuk-shan, or 
westward to the Poyang lake. Hokow is to the inland 
countries of the west what Shanghae and Soo-chow are 
to places nearer the sea. 
On the day after our arrival I proceeded to a hong, or 
inn, in the town, and engaged a chair and coohes to 
take me across the Bohea mountains to the town of 
Tsono^-o^an-hien, near Woo-e-shan. One of the men was 
to carry our luggage, including the large package of 
grass-cloth. When we were making our agreement with 
the innkeeper for the men and chair, he informed us 
that the distance between Hokow and Woo-e-shan was 
320 le, and that, as the road was very hilly in many 
parts, we should require four days at least for the 
journey. As I had been frequently consulting my map 
and measuring the distances, I was surprised to hear 
that we had so far to go, but when I gave the matter a 
little consideration I had reason to believe that the inn- 
keeper was perfectly correct. In calculating my distances 
I had not taken into consideration the many hills and 
mountains we had to cross on our way, which not only 
impeded our progress, but made the road much longer 
than it appeared on the map. 
It is no child's play to cross these mountains, and 
therefore, before we started , the chair had to be examined 
and made as strong as possible. Chairs used for long 
journeys of this kind are constructed in a different 
manner from those seen in towns and in the level 
districts of the country. The common mountain-chair, 
which consists of little more than two stout bamboo 
poles and a cross-bar to sit upon, is very well for a short 
