Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-05-22
CHINA'S GREAT WALL.
HENRY NORMAN DESCRIBES THE CAM
Ell TRAINS OF MONGOLIA.
A Wonderful Work Wrought by Human
Hands Of Long Ago-rhe Grand Tombs
OF The Great Mings
Pittsburgh Dispat,h. ]

OF The Great hings
pittsburgh Dispat'h.l
The first time / met O camel train
near Peking / reined up my pony and
Toasted my eyes upon it. And although
! have seen thousands since then, find
them Just as amusing as ever. The two
bumped or Bactrian camels Of Northern
China are much bigger than those we
know at home, and | have seen few
sights 30 picturesque as a string OF them
approaching over these brown plains A
dozen are fastened together by a cord
attaching the nose of one to the tail OF
the other; bell. couple of feet long,
Is hung around the neck Of the last TO
warn the driver in front 10y its ceasing
il the line breaks anywhere n medley
of bales and boxes and clothing IS slung
on their backs ruddy-fGced Moneols
dressed IN scarlet and yellow, with orna-
ments Of gold and silver in profusion.
sit up aloft and smile at you rs you pass
the great shaggy beasts step softly
along, ingeniously out Of step. lifting
their sponge-like feet and dropping them
again with perfect and unvaryIng de-
liberation, the whole train moving with
the silence OF dream, broken only by
the iang-jang of the solitary bell. Their
big brown etes look you straight in
the face, and there is something pathetic
and reproachful in their glance. You
are laughing at me, ~ they seem to say,
"and 1 know l am an extraordinary
looking creature. But then. II Won only
knew it. so are you, and 1t would be
kinder TO think of my services than to
laugh at my shape" All day long one
street of Picking is filed with these PIC
turesque processions-gaunt, wretched
creatures. with WORKOUT coats aud cover
ed with cOal-dust, carrying sacks OF coal
from the western hills into Picking, and
the far finer and hctter-kept animals
bearing tea away mp into the North.
During all my stay IN Peking | lOuRed
for the moment when ]. too, should ride
awav at dawn toward Mongolia IN the
worn tracks OF these strange beasts and
their merry masters.
TRAVELLING THROUGH A LABYBINrH.
Ny pony WAS n little creature not much
BIGGER than q dog, and with a white coat
rs 'oug and thick as a Polar bears. he
mafoo had bought him few days before
I from q Mongol for % taels, and he had
never had a foreign saddle and bride on
/ till / mounted him. Therefore tho all
/ day ride WAS not SD m0not0nous as
usual. and for the first five miles 1t was
even exciting. We started al daybreak,
and the sun was well above Us before
we got outside the two Gates Of Picking.
/ Then the mafoo took the lead. Once
/ in the open country We were on u
great alluyial plain, dotted with mud
/ houses, broken by irregular patches Of
veriure oud cultivation, laced IN all d.
REGIONS by dozens Of bridle-pa,hs, and
ending ON our left in tho dim outlines of
the Western Hills the summer santa
rum Of Feking. We plunged into tho
labyrinth OF roads and tine matOo thread
60 his way among them without mo
msuts hesitation. hfterward ! found
that he had been over them fOrty-sN
times before. but for NY own part could
zee hardly sny signs by which to dlsun-
cuish one from another
Til IL o'clock We trotted steadily on,
reaching then q small town called
Sha- ho. where We stopped an hour for
rest and tidin. Here alrendy foreigners
are scarce, and was the centre of much
curiosity, keen and inquisitiye, but
quite good natured. Crossing a river
over two very old, broad, fiat bridges Of
white marble, built curlouSly at an Obtusa
angle TO each other, We emerged again
into the plain. This grew more uneven ~
40 advanced. till at last We nre RIDING
along narrow path on the sloplng, stony
bank OF dry WateT-cOurse. The stones
crew bigger and more numerous, TILL
they could no longer be naUgated, and
then my guide struck up 10 tho right
and All hours detour across country,
with half q mile OF such bad going al
the end that ! got of and lei my pony
brought MS at 3 O'Clock TO the fortified
city Of Nan-k'ou, thirty miles from Pc
| king, our resting-paco for the night.
PICTURESQUE EAS-K'oU.
Nan-k'ou is q very interesting littIC
place. It's wall is in ruins, but that only
makes it the more picturesque. On thf
hills. right and lett of the entrance &c
the pass which the city is supposed tC
Guard, are two sprightiy little towers
dozen others are Just visible dotted
about the chain OF hills around it.; Its
one broad street, paved once with great
blocks Of stone. now worn away
and UPSET tai pony can hardly
make his way al all over thel
slippery, rolling surface, 10 crowd
cd with traffic Of men and beasts
and every fifty yaris a wide
arched doorway leads into q spaciou.
inward. This street is d part OF the
treat commercial highway between
China and all her neighbors Of the
North. Through it constant stream OF
camels and ponies and dcnkeys, AND
even laden-coolies passes, bringing Mon
gol produce 10 Pekng AMI taking bnck
tea back from Iientsin to hiackta, on thC
Russian frontier. And through TIM
street this stream hos passed for who
knows how many years-thousonds, a
any rate.
Next morning we embarked upon LITTLE
white donkeys, the pass beng lmpractl
cable for ponies. This road IN ITS glory
is said to have been paved with grea
smooth granite blocks; nowin the VALLEY
il is a broken mass of rough stones IN d
riyer-bed, through which d stream runs
while during the ascent and at the heigh
of the pass it is bad mountain roal
obstructel by great masses of Irock
A couple of hours riding and walk
ing brought us to another walleC
town called Chu-yung-kuan, famous 70
a heavy arched stone gateway, the whole
inside of which is covered with sculpture
in low relief and a Buddhist Inscription
in six larguages,Chinese, Ihibetan