THE CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 
169 
very severe, the temperature sometimes falling as 
low as ten degrees below zero. Our exploration 
was limited entirely to the coast, which is flat and 
level, but inland the country is described as very 
mountainous, the peaks of the Shan- Alin range 
being twelve thousand feet high and covered with 
snow which never thaws, even in the summer. 
The bear and the deer are in undisputed pos- 
session of the forest lands, and herds of half-wild 
cattle range undisturbed these vast solitudes. We 
examined the rich pasture lands and wild savannas 
of the coast-line ; but of the inland regions our 
information was very scanty, as we had no opportu- 
nity of penetrating into the interior of the country. 
The villages, however, are said to be large and 
populous, and the land is rich and highly culti- 
vated. The population of Manchuria is estimated 
at fifteen millions. 
Kenowned for personal bravery above all the 
peoples of the Mongolian race, this obscure region 
nourished those conquering Tartars who changed 
the ruling dynasty of China ; and to the present 
