I2i8 
THROUGH ASIA 
the cart across. The same procedure had to be gone 
through with each of the succeeding carts-; so that it 
took us four good hours to get them all safely to the 
other side of the river. 
The road, we were travelling on was the great highway 
to East Turkestan, Urumchi, and Kashgar via Liang- 
chow. It was bordered the whole way by telegraph-posts 
with their humming wires, and so imparted a touch of 
civilization to the desert. I could not help thinking, that 
the labour would have been better spent, if, instead of 
building that gigantic wall (which indeed now lies for 
the greater part in ruins), the Chinese emperors had 
made a good road and built bridges across the rivers. 
On December 12th, we emerged from the mountains 
into the level plains, which stretched away in every 
direction to the horizon ; and two days later we drove 
through the fine entrance gateway of Liang-chow-fu. 
Here again it was my good fortune to be hospitably 
entertained by English missionaries, the Rev. Mr. and 
Mrs. Belcher of the China Inland Mission, and to make 
the acquaintance of their assistants. Miss Mellar and 
Miss Pickels. These two young ladies lived together 
in a house situated at some distance from the mission- 
station, and had none but Chinese servants. But neither 
was in the least degree apprehensive for her safety. 
In Liang-chow-fu I was detained against my will for no 
less a period than twelve days, which severely tried my 
patience. The cause of this long wait was the almost 
absolute impossibility of hiring camels for the journey to 
Ning-sha. Camels there were indeed in plenty ; but none 
of their owners was willing to hire fewer than forty at 
once. They refused to divide their caravans ; and as 
Ning-sha lies aside from the great highway, they were 
afraid they would not be able to obtain transport back 
again, and consequently demanded double prices. 
The days were long and tedious. Still I enjoyed the 
full sympathy of the missionaries ; but their church, in 
which I was lodged, was bitterly cold. At the time I 
arrived, Mr. Belcher was absent in Lan-chow ; but he 
