242 Notes on the Biver Yang-tse-Kiang. [No. 3, 
but the channel appears clear and there is plenty of water ; the 
breadth of the stream opposite Nachi is GGO yards. 
The river An-lui-kilow flowing from the South falls into Yang-tse 
a$ the town af Kiang-an (hien) ; the country is hilly, the hills well 
watered and extensively cultivated with rice ; the people were in a 
great state of alarm about the rebels ; on the hills many new re- 
doubts had been constructed, and men were on outpost duty on the 
river in boats. 
From the town of Nanki (hien) hills can be seen in the interior 
rising to a great height ; a short distance above Ifl-chuan-pa, a small 
town, coal is worked. 
Suchow is a large town on the left of the Y r ang-tse and Min-kiang 
which here falls in from the North ; it is at all seasons navigable for 
large junks as far as Kiading, a town about 100 miles from its mouth, 
and, when the water is high, up to Chingtu, a canal having been cut 
from the river to the town ; when the water is low the communica- 
tion above Kiading is kept up by means of small boats. 
The navigation of the Yang-tse from Chung-king to Siichow would 
not be difficult for steam vessels ; there are rocks in places, but 
seldom under eight fathoms water in the channel, and near the sides 
rarely under three ; the average rate ot the stream in this part of 
the river is perhaps five and a half miles an hour. 
Suchow (foo) is a large town at which in quiet times a large 
amount of trade is probably carried on ; a great number of junks 
were waiting here in the hope that the banks of the IVXin river 
might be deserted by the rebels so as to enable them to pioceed to 
Chingtu or Kiading, which place was held by them : they were said 
to have detached parties much nearer Suchow, and to be robbing 
and murdering every one they could lay hands on 5 headless bodies, 
with their hands tied behind their backs, floating down the Min at 
all hours, plainly showed that there was some truth in the stories we 
had heard on our way up ; the gates of the town were closed, and 
there were no means of ingress or egress but by a rope over the walls ; 
a strong garrison of braves from Sz chuan and Yunnan were quarter- 
ed outside the city, and fighting among themselves ; an engagement 
took place between them during our stay, and the Yunnan party 
had to be removed by the authorities ; on our return they attacked 
our boats with stones, but the sight of the rifles, &c., put them to 
