The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1850-06-13

CANTON, China, Nov. 26, 40.


Some TIVE or three weeks since, quite
distinguished myself by going around
the walls of this great city-a circuit of
some seven miles. l did not walk all
the way, but had chair till passed be-
yond the crowded and narrow streets Of
the suburbs. For two or three miles on
the north west Of the city it is as quiet
and unfrequented as one ofour most Sc
cluded country roads, and on the north
side we ascended a steep hill, from
which we could overlook the whole coun-
try; and beautiful view il was-much
fined than we could have found it to have
gone inside the walls themselves &: for
Chinese city or town must always be
viewed from distance, to have a pictur-
esque effect. The dirty and mean how
els are most offensive, upon close in
spection; but nothing can be prettier
than the landscape from the hills back of
the city upon which we were. We could
see for miles, (quite down to Wampoa
in one direction)-The scene beautiful
ly diversified with water, islands, villa
ges, many in number, and the bright
green rice fields, with their boundaries
of orange and other fruit trees. Then
the fine, large trees about the villages
appeared in beautiful contrast with the
fields of lighter green. Every Chinese
village is empowered In these fine old
trees, almost the only evidence of refiu-
ed taste one sees about them; for when
you come near the town, however small,
is crowded together III narrow lanes or
streets not over five or SIX feet wide, and
perfect beds Of filth most of them are at
this. Then the houses are close and i'll
ventilated, seldom having more than a
door to admit all the light and air, with
mud floors, pigs, children. and all, mix
ed in one mass, so that you can scarcely
tell the human from the animal. One
don't know what dirt is, (applied to the
body, till they have seen the beggars
and poorer people Of China. But to re-
turn to our walk. We had a pleasant
ramble over the ground they use for the
exercise of their troops in archery and
horsemanship. There arc number Of
acres used for this purpose alone, and
very pleasant and retired spot il is. We
met not person for mile or more
Then we visited the temple erected over
the graves of two thousand Chinese who
were burnt at the theater inside the city
in iSIf. Their blackened bones were
all collected and placed here in one
mound. There are tablets with the
names Of seventeen hundred in the tenn
pie; the rest were not recognized, or
were strangers visiting the city at the
time. An awful scene this must have
been: but to the heather the hand of
God did not appear-it was only fate,
sed on as tale that was told We fol-
lowed close to the walls for two or three
miles, (as there are no houses on the
north-east.) 1t is a most formidable
structure, some twenty feet in height,
with massive watch-towers every few
rods. When we came to a gate we
could look inside, and the walls were
some twelve or fifteen feet thick al the
base, narrowing as they 60 up. The
outside Of the wall is in most places
quite overgrown with vines and shrub
berry of variety of kinds. In some pla-
ces it is so completely covered with the
green as to look like a steep bank of
earth, till you get close enough to see
the stones and bricks underneath. The
lower part of the wall is Of immense
stones, for six or eight feet in height
after that it is of brick to the top.