I cannot tell, but they left him and came to me. I had not a single cash in my pocket, and, Sing-Hoo being far behind, I did not know what to do. I, however, closed my eyes, and feigned to be fast asleep. When they held out their baskets for alms I was of course sleeping most soundly. "Loi-ya, loi-ya,”* they bawled in my ear, and did their best to awake me; but finding the tongue of no avail, they beat the sides of the chair with their hands, and at last got hold of my clothes. I have a great horror of being touched by a Chinese beggar, who is generally filthy beyond description. Starting up, I nearly capsized the chair, greatly to the annoyance of my bearers, who immediately forced the beggars to desist and to go away. When we reached the top of the pass I desired my bearers to put me down and to rest themselves. There was a pretty little house, or traveller's resting-place, just on the summit, from which I obtained an excellent view of the country. In the valley beyond me lay a small town, named Yuen-shan. At first sight it appears to be completely encircled by hills; but this is not the case, for the mountain stream which I have just noticed passes the town, and winds round the hills on its way to Hokow. Descending the hill on our way to Yuen-shan I had another encounter with beggars, but having provided myself with a few cash I easily got rid of them. Many of them were lame and blind, but somehow or other all managed to get close to my chair. We now came to an archway erected over the * A term applied to a mandarin or government officer. road near the base of the hill. As I was passing through this archway an old man, a priest, came out and struck a bell three times. Whether this was done in my honour, or to propitiate the gods for my safety and success, I cannot tell, but it was evident the priest expected something for his trouble, and Sing-Hoo, who pretended to be a good Buddhist, gave him a few cash as we passed under the arch. We now entered the town of Yuen-shan. It is about 60 le distant from Hokow, and stands on the banks of the mountain stream. Though not large, it seems a flourishing place. It is on the highway from the black-tea country of Fokien, and nearly all the teas brought thence on the backs of coolies are here put in small boats and conveyed to Hokow. Owing to there being a water-communication between these towns, I did not observe much traffic on the road. I was now, however, about to enter upon a crowded and bustling thoroughfare, like that between the sources of the two rivers described in the last chapter. As it was mid-day when we entered Yuen-shan, I went to an inn, and had some refreshment, while the coolies had their dinner. When we resumed our journey, we found many travellers on the road, going and returning from the tea-country in chairs. All of them seemed to be sound asleep. This is a common practice amongst the mountain travellers, the chairs being constructed so as to enable them to do so comfortably. Coolies were now met in great numbers, loaded with tea-chests. Many of them carried only one chest. These I was told were the finer teas; the chest was never allowed to touch the ground during the journey, and hence these teas generally arrive at their destination in much better order than the coarser kinds. The single chests were carried in the following manner. Two bamboos, each about seven feet long, had their ends lashed firmly to the chest, one on each side. The other ends were brought together, so as to form a triangle. By this means a man could carry the chest upon his shoulders, with his head between the bamboos in the centre of the triangle. A small piece of wood was lashed under the chest, to give it an easy seat upon the shoulders. The accompanying sketch will give a better idea of this curious mode of carrying tea than any description. When the coolie who carried his burden in this way wanted to rest, he placed the end of the bam boos upon the ground, and raised them to the perpendicular. The whole weight now rested upon the ground, and could be kept in this position without any exertion. This was very convenient in coming up the steep passes amongst the mountains, for in some of them the coolies can only proceed a few yards at a time without resting, and if they had not a contrivance of this description the loads would have to be frequently put down upon the ground. When stopping at inns or tea-shops for refreshment, the chests carried in this way are set up against a wall, and rest upon the ends of the bamboos. All the low-priced teas are carried across in the common way; that is, each coolie, with a bamboo across his shoulders, carries two chests, one being slung from each end of the bamboo. Whenever he rests, either on the road or at the inn, the chests are set down upon the ground, and consequently get soiled, and do not arrive at their destination in as good order as those carried in the other way. The route we pursued was now in all respects a highland road. At one time we were passing through a beautiful valley, at another our road wound round the mountain side, and frequently it boldly breasted the hill, and led us over into another valley beyond. As we went over the passes we always rested while on the highest point, from which we obtained a view, not only of the valley through which we had come, but also of that to which we were going. The long trains of coolies laden with chests of tea and other produce, and with the mountain chairs of travellers, presented a busy and curious scene, as they toiled up the mountain side, or were seen winding their way through the valleys. These were views of "China and the Chinese" as they are seen in everyday life. After leaving the town of Yuen-shan we entered a large tea-growing country. The shrubs were dotted on the lower sides of all the fertile hills. Sometimes they were growing on level land, but that was invariably dry, well drained by its position, and much higher than rice-ground. The soil of these plantations consisted of a red-coloured loam mixed with a considerable portion of gravel and sand. Many of the tea-farms had been but lately formed, and the cultivation of the shrub in this district is evidently on the increase. Tea grown and manufactured here can of course be conveyed to the great export marts of Shanghae and Canton much quicker and more |