The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-21

every year, and the sea is colored yellow for
from thirty 10 fifty miles on each side of
their mouths. At the mouth of the Yangtse
Kiang the water is as thick as pea soup,
and all along the mighty river men are
seen dipping it up, pouring it into bitches,
in order that it may be carried of and
spread over the land.
l have travelled more than 1000 miles
upon these wonderful rivers of China.
The scenes along their banks are ike those
of no other streams of the world. Irriga-
ton goes on everywhere and the fertiliz-
ing material which they contain rejuve-
mates the Chinese soil as the Nile does
that of Egypt. The Great Plain of China,
which, by the way, is the most thickly pop
ulated part of the empire, has been built
up from the sea by the Chinese rivers. 1t
runs along the Pacific coast for about 700
miles, and it is from 800 to 500 miles wide.
1t is one of the richest plains of the world,
and its soil is mixed with salts and the
evidences of decayed vegetation. 1t comes
from the Loess region in the far interior
of China. This region is a vast territory
covered with a yellow earth about 1000
feet deep. This soil is very fine and when
4 stream flows into it it seems to split
open vertically, and the rivers which run
through it pass through gorges of sand
500 feet deep. From time to time the vel
low soil splits off in sheets from the sides
of these gorges and 1t is carried down to
the sea. During the hot season the winds
blow through the Loess region and carry
the dust over China. This aids in its fer
tilization.
The silt carried down by the rivers to the
sea is so great that the land every year
inches 100 feet upon the sea, and this has
been going on for ages. Near Shanghai
there is large island which has been built
up by the Yangtse Kiang, and the land
north OF this IS. to a great extent, the pro-
duct of the Hong Ho and the Peiho The
Yangtse Kiang River is said to be $500
miles long. The Hong Ho rises in Thlbet,
within 100 miles OF the mouth of the
Yangtse, and it is almost of the same
length. 1t flows as far as from New York
to Denver before 1T gets a large branch, and
by the time it has reached the sea, it has
gone as for as from New York to San
Francisco. 1t is only navigable by small
boats, and a great part of its course is
through the Great Plain. 1t has vast en-
bankments to keep it in its course, but
every year or so a flood comes and hun
dreds Of thousands, and sometimes mil
lions, OF people are swallowed up by it.
When l first visited China | arrived Just
after one of these big floods. Abouty 90
100000 people were ruined by the river,
and millions had been drowned. During
my trip of last year l sailed up the Peiho
great flood of the year previous. This
covered the plains surrounding Tientsin.
1t ruined hundreds of villages and at one
time it seemed as though it would endan-
ger the great city of Ii Hung Chang, which,
you know, contains million people
Right below Tentsin 1 saw thousands of
graves which had been washed out by the
flood. The collins were lying on the
ground, and during the food the dead
hoated by the thousands to the sea.
The Pelho River is the one which flows
from near Picking on down to the sea- and
up it all the freight which supplies the
northern provinces of China must 90. 1t
is winding, muddy stream, navigable
only for large ships about fifty miles. or as
far as Tientsin There is bar at its
mouth, and it is only at high tide and
with proper wind that you can get over
this. During my trip this summer we Law
for two days outside the bar, under the
shadow OF the Taku forts, before we could
get over, and in coming away we had to
wait two days for the proper wind and
flood to get outside of the river Secretary
Foster and party were on the same ship.
We had cargo of bones for Japan, and
betwixt the smell and the sea the delay
was by no means pleasant. In going up
the Peiho you wind your way through a
low, fiat plain, which is covered with one
story houses of mud. These houses are
DtiliI IiSuI dIOnS the DdnKS OF the river
and the land back of them is divided IN
into farms and orchards. The blossoms
were out during the time that | went nm
the Peiho, and the brown plain was SPOT
ted here and there with vast patches of
white and pink flowers. Half-naked chill
dTen squatted on the banks, and there were
thousands of people at work in the fields.
In the early morning you could see them
going out to work from the villages. They
marched by the hundreds along the paths.
going always in single file.
At Tientsin l found an ocean of shin
ping lying at the wharves. There were
boats of all kinds and from ali parts of
China; there were acres of RATS made of
logs, which We're to be sold as lumber:
there were great barges and junks loaded
with all kinds of merchandise, and as we
neared the city we came into forest of
masts, among which swarmed tens of
thousands of blue-coated brown-skinned
men, loading and unloading the ships to
which they belonged. There were so
many of these coolies that they made me
think of a swarm OF ants, and they were
quite as busy as ants at their work. Every
man went on the trot, and saw them at