The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-11-08

OF csurse Tang-Tze-Kihns river j. tau
tologous. though II has been so written.
Peking being very sacred capital, Tien
Tsin. on the way to II along the Pei-Ho,
is Heavens Gate, according to one read
ing.
Among the words most commonly
used with the names of towns are three
descriptive terms: Foo, in old time,
meant a city or district of the first class;
Chow, ono of the second order, and
Tsien. of the third; and formerly a chow
contained about $500 families; bat as
towns and cities grow in the process Of
time, even in China, while the language
is said ts be immutable, these titles do
not now express a very exact meaning
as to the sizes Of the places II may as
sist also to note that keou or kow is
mouth or gate: geographically, chan is
island, and hou or hu, lake. in the
title Ta-Lien-Wan, where the papers tell
US the japanese have just landed force
in the rear of Port Arthur, wan means
harbor. and, just as our word indicates
place of shelter. so this character wan Is
built up of symbols for water and to
bend denotng aplace where the shore
curves around body of water, making
a safe anchorage.
"New-Chwang, which auuears on some
maps as Nieou-Tchuang. is reported to be
captured, means Cowtown: Shanghaik-
wan must be intended for Shan-Hai-
Kwan, the place where the great wall
ends at the shore. If IL be true that 40-
900 japanese have landed near it, they
will be less than 200 miles from Pekin.
Takuar, where several Japanese war
ships were reported to have been sighted,
on the 10th instant, must be misprint for
Ta-ku bar, off the mouth Of the Pei-Ho.
If that be true there is little wonder at
the reported CONSERVATION in Pekin, for
IL means that the Chinese fleet is pow.
erless at present. II a Japanese squad
ron has also been seen Off Ning-Po Gran
gull Waves. about 200 miles south of
Shanghai the vessels are no doubt ready
to intercept the southern Chinese men
of-war and coal likely to be brought from
Formosa.
China itself bears several native titles,
which have been translated The Celestial
Empire and Beneath-the Heavens, All-be-
tween-the Four-Seas and the Middle
Kingdom but perhaps among its own
heterogeneous people II is best known as
The Eighteen Provinces. which last name,
II European Jealousy will keep its hands
off and let the Japanese halve or quarter
the empire. will probably have to be
changed provided also that no mistakes
are made by the plucky Japanese. II is
some comfort that the seat OF war has
been removed from Korea, for we had the
most important place there spelt in four
different ways, and other names under
kulStS NHlbi no ltllOW NOulu lilh bhA.
The recent corrected chart issued by the
photographic Office has. however. filled
some blank spots which we have been ac-
customed to see marked Korea
"Our aliases, as has been noted, are Inn
perfect, and even In China there is dearth
of information about its own geography.
More than twenty years ago party of
American naval officers at Tien-Tsin.
wishing to visit the .Kou-pe-lcow and
Nan-kow passes through the Great Wall
Cor Ten-Thousand-Mile RamparO, also
the Ming Tombs and other points of in
terest, and the only guide being absurdly
extravagant in his demands, Minister Low
persuaded US to go without guide, and
after roughly tracing a manuscript sketch
| map Of the roads. etc, which was Dor
rowed from the British legation we sue
ceeded eminently, and the writer had the
satisfaction afterward of helping to make
a more elaborate copy of the map for the
use Of our own legation.
your interesting correspondent, Mr.
! Carpenter, has to some extent described
| travelling In the north of China. The
/ country TO the northeast OF Pekin is gen
! orally fiat, and near the coast of the two
| CULTS, Pe-Chili and Lian-Tung, there are
| salt marshes. over the comparatively
| level plain by which the Japanese may
approach there are dirt roads passable
| for carts, though long use has in some
places cut them below the general surface
| In winter the ground is frozen hard and
! the streams for several months have a
! covering of ice thick enough for the easy
| passage of troops, so that 1t is difficult to
understand what some English journals
mean by stating that Tien-Tsin will be
safe from attack in a few weeks; the
streams could be crossed on foot, and the
| Chinese gunboats could not ascend the
| Pei-Ho to help. On the other hand, II
| the Ta-Ku forts were captured before win
ter large japanese men-of-war, even
after crossing the bar, would probably
not be able TO go up the river on account
of it's excessive crookedness and sharp
bends. AS to the cold, II winter outfits
were forwarded to the Japanese soldiers
IL appears as IL the latter should not have
| great trouble. In parts of their own
| country they have cold and snow, while
! In Northern China, though the tempera-
| ture sometimes falls to about ten degrees,
| it is a clear, dry cold, and there may
may not be a half inch of snow through
| out the winter. In any case, we are not
! likely to walt long now for some decisive
! movements.
DISBURSEMENT has been whispered. and
! already the eagles, the bear, and, Of
course, the lion are preparing to gather
where the carcass is and TO claim slices
of 'rectified frontier, outlying islands, etc.
If these things happens Americans should
not pass on with a feeling of contempt
alone for the huge, rfch populous coun-
| try which may be despoiled. We, With
| our defenseless ports and our handful Of
ships, are living in the same FOOLS para
disc. Let us heed this last grave lesson
while there is yet time" ..t
mt 4. IL \