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

PEKIN
CHINESE HORSE-DEALERS. 377
CTIAPTEE XXVni.
A JOURNEY TO THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA.
is not very far from the famous wall tliat was bnilt to keep
the empire of China from the hands of the Tartars. It is commonly
mentioned as " The Great Wall," and certainly it is clearly entitled to the
honor, as it is the greatest wall in the world. To go to Pekin without
visiting the Great Wall would be to leave the journey incomplete ; and,
therefore, one of the first things that our friends considered was how they
should reach the wall, and how much time they would require for tlie
excursion.
We shall let the boys tell the story, which tliey did in a letter to their
friends at home. It was written while they were on the steamer between
Tien-tsin and Shanghai, on their i-eturn from Pekin.
" We have been to the Great Wall, and it was a journey not to be for-
gotten in a minute. We found that we should have to travel a hundi-ed
miles each way, and that the roads were as bad as they usually are in most
parts of China. We went on horseback, but took a mule litter along for
use in case of accidents, and to rest ourselves in whenever one of us should
become weary of too much saddle. There are no hotels of any conse-
quence, and so we had to take the most of our provisions from Pekin.
We did the same waj' as when we went from Tien-tsin ; that is, we hired
a man to supply all the necessary horses and mules for a certain price
to take us to the wall and back; and if any of them should fall sick on the
road, he was to furnish fresh ones without extra charge. We were ad-
vised to make the bargain in this way, as there was a danger that some of
the horses would get lame ;
and if there were no provision for such a case,
we should have to pay very high for an extra animal. The Chinese horseowners
are said to be great rascals—almost equal to some American men
who make a business of buying and selling saddle and carriage aniuials.
Doctor Bronson says he would like to match the shrewdest Chinese jockey
we have yet seen with a horse-dealer that he once knew in Washington. He
thinks the Yankee could give the Chinese great odds, and then beat him.