The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-04-22

Evening MALL
Professor Bickmore, the distin
guished traveller in China and in th
islands of East Indies, has been de
EverIng a course of lectures here be
f0re the Lowell Institute, which havr
excited a very general interest. Tha
upon Pekin has been regarded as es
pecialiy fresh and interesting. 81
Professor Bickmore is we'll known IL
New York, and as his lecture present
ed by far the clearest and most au
thentic account Of the largest of the
worlds cities that | have ever seen.ol
heard, procured full report of the
lecture and send you a good part
thereof, as follows:
PEKIN MADE THE CAPITAL.
On the accession of the Ming dy.
nasty, Marking, which was then the
chief city, was made the capital, but
in 1921 the Emperor Xuugloh moved
his court to Pekin, and il has since
remained the capital of the Empire
During the Mongol dynasty it was
called Kbanbalik, or the City of the
Khan." Now it is known to its inhab-
itants as Pei-Chung, or in the dialect
Of the more southern provinces, Pc
king, that is, "tae Northern Capital"
as distinguished from Marking, "the
Southern Capital.
When the Tartar City was first in
closed with a wall it had nine gates,
hence its ancient name, "the City OF
the Nine Gates" The northern part
is now called Tartar City. because
when the present Manchu dynasty
seized the throne, the Tartar officers
and soldiers occupied il to the exclu-
sion Of the Chinese, who were re-
moved 10 the southern city, but the
Chinese are SO much more crafty and
economical than the Manchus that
they now possess most of the area
outside of the Imperial City, and
both races live together in harmony.
1t is quite easy, however, to detect
the differences In parentage, even as
they pass,
THE CITY WALLS.
The wall around the Tarter CITY
averages fifty feet, but in some places
il is sixty feet It's average width is
about forty feet, though it varies
from ffLy-seVen to twenty-five feet.
The outer face is perpendicular, but
the inner face slopes very noticeably
In some places. Thin parapets ex-
tend along both the inner and outer
edges of the terreplain, that on the
outside being loophoIed and crenel-
lated. Buttresses from fifteen to
twenty yards occur at intervals of
fifty or sixty yards, every sixth being
larger than the others. Near the
gates the outer and inner faces are
composed of blocks Of granite, but
most of the wall is faced with large
bricks, eight or ten incnes long by
four or five wide and three or four
thick.
The space between the facings is
filed up, firstly, with a solid body of
concrete about ten feet thick. This
is covered with a layer of about the
same thickness of earth taken from
the ditch on the inside Of the walls,
and thus layers of concrete alternate
with those of earth up to the top.
which Is covered with large blocks of
granite, and closely resembles a
broad, we'll paved street. The con
crete Is 90 compact that the sappers
of the English and. French armies
could not cut a trench through 1t
when they were besieging the city.
Ga either side of the gate is but
tress, and i semi circular wall con-
meets them together, so that at the
gates the wall is really double.
THE ENTRANCES.
At mont cities there is but one en-
trance through this semi circular wall,
and that is usually found on the side.
Only ono of the gates of Pekin has
three entrances, and that Is the Cen
trail South Gate, and the middle one
can never be used except by the EN-
peror. The wall around the Chinese
city is much smaller than that around
the principal or Tartar City, being
thirty feet high aud twenty i've feet
thick az the base, but the inner face
slopes SO much that the wall is only
about fifteen feet wide at the
top. 1t has crenellated parapet, and
large and small buttresses, like the
great wall, but, Of course. of smaller
proportions.
LENGTH OF WALLS.
According to the latest measure
ment the wall around the Tartar City
is fourteen and half miles long, the
enclosed area having a length from
north 10 south of four and one third
miles, and a width of three and two.
third miles. The length of the wall
around the Chinese city, from where
il leaves the larger wall to where it
/ oins again, Is ten miles, and the dis
lance around the whole capital Is,
therefore, twenty miles aud a half.
Over each of the gates, and at the
corner of the walls are pavilions of
two or three stories, which are filed
with port holes, and resemble the
sides Of an old three decked ship-of
the line, but these structures, ike the
walls, are entirely destitute OF all
ordnance, and what first appears to
be the frowning mouth OF a cannon
in each port hole is found on nearer
approach to be merely rude limitations
made with black paint, as Is evident
from some of these painted ports
being raised to admit air.
sTAIRwAYs.
There are esplanades or stairways
at the gate for ascending to the top OF
the wall. and though natives are not
nermitted to frequent It, foreigners
are allowed to walk there, and &c !;
their fayorite promenade, because 1
Is clean and dry, and above the vile
fumes of the filthy aud dusty streets.
SAND MOUNDS.
AS the plain around Pekin Is com
posed of sand and clay. immens'
mounds of sand aud dust are seer
piled up against the walls at various
places, whittier it has been drifteC
like light snow by the heavy norther
" winds that prevail in winter wheI
no rain falls, and for days togethe
not even a cloud is seen In the sky,
A GOOD PLAN.
AS I approached the gate a ragge,
official presented himself and demand
- nnrsnnrt which nv hibernate