Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-07-28

Yellow River - Condition of Chinese
Roads-various Grades of Inns and the
Comforts They Afford.
Our party consisted of Lieut. F. w.
Nichols of the United States navy, who was
kindly permitted by Capt Higginson Of the
gunboat Moncacy to accompany Us; Wang
tuyeh, a mandarin of the sixth rank; Lii
Chung-Iing, Chinese Interpreter; Hsieh So,
an intelligent mechanic from the 1ientsin
arsenal; a cook, two boys, a SER ant, two
'mafoos," or horse boys, and six carriers,
making, with the writer, sixtee persons in
all In addition We had six Chinese carts,
two mules to each, and six saddle ponies,
together with the he cessary supplies of -four,
biscuits, sugar. timed soups, fish, meats,
and vegetables for sixty days absence, it
being understood that the Chinese members
of the party would get their Gaily meals at
the inns by the wayside
Our route lay along the general course of
the canal and Yellow river to kaifung foo,
the capital of the providence of Honan,
thence eastward TO Lung mum Kou, the
point at which the river left its old bed in
1874, and thence to Tung Ming, where
disastrous breach occurred in its southern
embankment last year. From this point,
struck across the country to Ginning Chou
on the canal, and from there made a visit
to Chu foo, the home and burial place of
Confucius, and also to Cal Shan, the sacred
mountain of China Retracing our path
We returned to the canal Nan Shan, and
turning north fol owed it to the \ elbow
river at Shih-li pu From this point we
skiIted The river closely as possible, going
northeastward through Ping vim and Chang
Ching To Chi-nan foo, the capital of Shan
tung After examing the entertainments
near the city we recrossei the river at
Chino and returned through Ter Chou tat
which place we intersected our route to the
southwark to Tientsin, having been gone
forty five days and Travelled something
over 400 miles
THE CONDITION OF CHINESE ROADS.
The roads were found to be in an excel
lent condition for Chinese roads, dry. hard,
and dusty, but very crooked, as is generally
the case throughout the country. There be-
ing no fences, no heigerows, or bitches to
mark the boundaries, of farms or gardens,
and apparently no work done upon the
roads either in their original construction or
for their maintenance, every one feels at
liberty to mark out a road for himself and
this is liberty OF which every one is COM
pel d to avail himself in the rainy season,
when the alluvial soil of the plains becomes
a sea OF mud. The consequence is that it
is no iIfrequent occurrence to see road go
around three sides of field instead Of along
the fourth side, or run Zgzag like ship
lacking against a heavy wind Even the
roads laid down on the maps as imperial
highways unnecessarily crooked
They are neither paved nor gravelled, even
har ha lie In. h.
macadami2ing seems to be entirely IN
known. Indeed, it is not too much to say
that roads in China are never worked.
During our entire journey we saw only
one stretch of road about ton miles LONG,
which showed that it had been laid out,
heaped up in the middle and ditched, and
that was through an unusually low and
deso.ate portion OF the plains, Which would
have been impossible otherwise during the
Iuiny season. Judging from the crooked
ness OF the canal embellishments, as wei as
of the roads, it is difficult to believe that the
Chinese who laid them ever bad the slightest
conception of the fact that right line is
the shortest distance between two
points. There are few running streams and
no mud, and as the pains are every where
as fiat and smooth any floor, wheeled
vehicles can drive indefinitely in any direc-
ton. 1t is curious that the Chinese never
use springs in their carts, and, in fact seem
to be ignorant of their existence or of the
use which is made of them in other
countries
COMFORTS AFFORDED BY THE INNS
The inns are generally found at the larger
towns. and are of various grades, but ali
constructed on the sane plan. They con-
sist of a compound wall of sun burned brick
I...~ Al
to which is through a pair of large DOORS
which may he closed and barred. Some
times there is an inner yard or court The
principal guest rooms in low, single
storied house opposite the entrance. We saw
one and only one two-storied guest house on
the trip The house is divided in the better
inns into two and sometimes three rooms
the middle one containing a square table
and two chairs or benches and the end ones
containing a kan two trestles, covered
with coarse mats upon which the guests |
own bedding is spread by his own serv ants
The smaller houses have only a single ROOM
in one end of which is the kang or trestle |
and in the other the table and chairs. The |
rooms are lighted from the front by square
windows, with paper panes, and heated
if heat is required, by a pan of charcoal
burning in the middle of the floor, which is
sometimes of brick, but generally of clay.
The kang is a raised platform across the |
end of the room, of the same kind of brick !
the house itself is built of, and that is gen
orally of sun dried brick. In theory 1t is |
supposed to be provided with furnace and
a flue come ting with the open air, for the
purpose of burning millet stalks or grass, |
and thus heating the body of the kang; tut |
in practice the furnace is rarely ever found, /
and W zen found it is generally impossible to |
use During all our travels south of the
Yellow river we saw only one kang, trestles
being used instead. ON either side of tine |
compound are the rooms for servants and !
carriers, and also for guests who do not alb.
solutely care for the Lest The carts are
placed in front of the rooms, and the mules
and horses are fed in movable troughs
which stand in the open court, or under the
sheds which are sometimes found. The inn
keeper furnishes hot water, charcoal, and
Chinese meals for such guests as want them,
and provides for the animals ami all al
reasonable rates,
During the night Waterman goes around
the premis4 IS ire iuently, beating piece of
hollow wood with a small stick i'll peculiar
rhy thmical manner, which is everywhere
the same. and is sometimes quite annoying
The scene presented by an inn yard full Of
carts, horses. and mules is quite animated,
but by no means suggestive of extraordi-
nary comfort or cleanliness The inns them
selves in the winter are generally dirty and
cherries ana always cold and damp, so that
the travellers only refuge is to so to bed rs
soon as he gets his supper. The best and
neatest inns are everywhere kept by No
hammedans, but they do not serve pork
in any form, the Chinese carriers and man.
foos viii not patronize them if they can
find any other inns open.-Cor. New YORK
sun
The mouth OF the Mississippi river IL
again filling up with sand and debris, dess-
pite the Eads system Of clsarage