Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1894-10-18

The threatened advance of the VIC
torious Japanese army on h very cap
ital of China invites attention to that
historic city, says the New York Jour
nal.
reKin, the northern capital, has held
its supremacy as seat Of government
almost continuously since the year 1Ol2,
when by capture it became the head
quarters of the Liaus. Succeeding dy-
nasties ruled from them until h over
throw Of the Mongols by the Manchus
in the thirteenth century, when the lat
ter selected Marking, a city on the
great Yang-tse-Kiang, as a more suita-
BILE site for the premier city OF the en-
pire. EARLY in the fourteenth century,
however, the restoration Of Pekin was
undertaken, and in q few years ii again
became the center of government and
recognized emporium Of Northern Chi
e.
The city stands on a sandy plain
twelve miles from the Peiho river,
and 40 from the sea, and in Asiatic
warfare would be impregnable. The
walls, which are Of considerable thick
ness, are built of earth and brick n
are supposed to he well mann "a. The
city proper is divided into two sections,
forming. as it were, two entirely differ
EFT towns. The ~nOrtlerly division Is
Occupied almost exclusively by Ia t3rS
and is called the Tartar City. The 9th
err is reserved for the Chinese. To a
stranger these distinctions seem more
sentimental than real, but they exist
all the same.
The two main divisions are again
subdivided into numerous smaller ones,
each having a distinctive appellQtion
indicating its particular purpose. The
population is estimated to be 100000
and the circuit of the city walls about
twenty English miles.
The immediate surrounding country
Is m~Onotonously level and unintercsting,
and from the fact of the town having
been built on sandy wastes 1t follows
that every passing breeze carries with
1t clouds of dust which not infrequent-
ly envelop the entire capital.
Walking Impossible when 1t Rains.
In wet weather the narrow streets
become quagmires, owing to the accu-
mutation of dust, and If not impassa-
BILE are at least too forbidding for q
foreign pedestrian to attempt them.
And as a matter Of fact little or no
walking Is INDUCED in by foreign resi-
dents: the sedan chair, as in other parts
Of the country, being the recognized
means of locomotion.
There are many picturesque mosques
and palaces to be seen, but much of
their natural effect is lost owing to
the dirt and dingyIiess of their sur
roundings. The city is noted for its
filth and fetid smells. which in the
summer months pervade every hole and
corner; while in the outlying suburbs
matters are much worse. These are
of considerable extent and consist prin-
cipally of an agricultural population
which, of course, supplies the teeming
cities with fruits and vegetables of
every description.
The lands are everywhere irrigated
and by this means heavy crops Of
maize, millet, cotton, wheat, yams,
sweet potatoes, peanuts, etc. are grown
from what was nee a sterile and bar
rem plain. Trees are also largely cul-
tivated and grow with great rapidity.
The greater part Of the food supply,
however, come from the southern prov
inces. There are no local manufac-
lures to speak of, for foreign enterprise
has not yet been allowed to pollute the
sacred atmosphere.
Admittance to most Of tile historic