The boy travellers in the Far East : adventures of two youths ... - Library

348
THE BOY TRAVELLERS.
follows and captures tlie rnnaway, punishing liini soundly for liis niiscon-
duct. Wlienever a bird catches a fish and brings it to the raft, he is re-
warded with a mouthful of food. In this way he soon learns to associate
his success ^vith something to eat ; and a cormorant that has been well
trained has a good deal of fidelity in his comj)osition. I am uncertain
which to admire most, the dexterity of the fisherman in handling his raft,
or the perseverance and celerity of the cormorants."
On her arrival at Han-kow, the steamer was tied up to the bank in front
of the portion of the city occupied by the foreigners. Ilan-kow is on a
broad tongue of land at the junction of the Ilan with the Yang-tse. On
the opjiosite side of the Ilan is the city of Han-yang, and over on the
other bank of the Yang-tse is Wo-chang. Here is the brief description
given by the Doctor in a letter to friends at home :
"A hill between IIan-ki;)W and Ilan-yang rises about six hundred
feet, and affords one of the finest views in the world, and, in some re-
spects, one of the most remarkable. We climbed there yesterday a little
Ijefore sunset, and remained as long as the fading daylight and the exigen-
cies of our return permitted. At our feet lay the Yang-tse, rolling tow-
ards the sea after its junction with the Ilan, which we could trace afar,
like a ribbon of silver winding through the green plain. Away to the
west was a range of mountains, lighted l)y tlie setting snn, and overhung
with golden and purple clouds ; while to the south was an undulating-
country, whose foregi'ound was filled with the walled city of Wo-chang.
The crenelated walls enclose an enormous sjiace, much of which is so des-
olate that foreigners are accustomed to hunt pheasants and hares within
the limits. They say that at one time all this space was covered with
buildings, and that the buildings were crowded with occupants. The
three cities suffered terribly during the rebellion, and more than three
fourths of their edifices were levelled. Looking from the hill, it is easy
to see the traces of the destruction, although twenty years have passed
since the insurrection was suppressed. The populatiou of the three cities
was said to have been foui' or five millions; but, even after making allow-
ance for the density with which Chinese cities are crowded, I should think
those figures were too high. However, there is no doubt that it was \'ery
great, and probably nuiro people lived here than on any similar area any-
where else in the world."'
Ilan-kow is a great centre of trade. Frequently the mouth of the Ilan
is so crowded with junks that the river is entirely covered, and you may
walk for hours by merely stejiping froiu one boat to another. The u]iper
Yang-tse and the Ilan ijriug down laig'o (puintities of tea, fui's, sillc, wax.