The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-06-11

base and distributing point. and Il has
been predicted that In time Il viii becoms
the great commercial city Of eastern Cen
trail Asia AZ wuchang Ne were re-
ceived by the vsceroy, Chang shis -Tung,
and 6h<ng TaJen. Of the Imperial railway
department.. The ytceroy In one Of tho
noted men Of China He II q very able
man. having taken Arvs place In hts year
u the Picking examinations. Being the
nrst scholar Of China is the highest In.
teiiectuai honor Aftain&bie and carries
with IL political credit ~ veil. He u also
said 70 possess the virtue. 20 rare among
Chinese ofkicials. Of administering his af-
fairs with absolute integrity: In ether
words. he doesn't squeeze He u, be-
side. progressive and proforeign. "A .
sample OF his progresseveness I may say
tina: ~ Wuchane ha has established an
agricultural college. where . stan Of three
American experts teaches young Chinese
the most recent scientific methods Of agrf-
culture. At Hanyang he has also es-
tabttshed steel works on modern lines
which was installed by Europeans. but 10
now managed by Chinese entirely. He re-
cetved u with great courtesy and showed
marked interest In the railway project
In fact he has h<en one at the leading
spirits In the enterprise since II WAS drst
proposed.
Our interview With him was most In
tefesting. Under the guidance Of Denby
We had been brushing up on etiquette.
ana the FIRST ordeal came when we were
presented. II II the polite thing for the
yiceroy 10 insist that you be seated nrst.
and the polite thing for you to decline
bow and insist that he Mt down nrst
AZ result thefe 10 q profrected session
Of bowling that ends In compromise. for
finally you all take seats 1T the same
moment. The aged vicer3y sat ~ the
same table with US, and b<gnn by warn
n
provinces OF Hupei and Huhan. where
our course lay, on the mission to Canton
He assured u.s. however. that We should
have all the protection that he could give
or influence. and want 10 say that he
kept his word and that II proved amply
sufficient. We talked for about IN hour
and d half and said al the pleasant
things that we could think Of He gave
us sweets. champagne and cigars and. a.
II the usual custom. dismissed " by cere-
moniously drinking our health In cup
Of tea. 6heng Tajen II an extremely
clever man also and. unlike moet Chinese
knows enough about foreigners TO talk
directly to the point. He Was Invaluable
TO us in the ANAL preparations for the
trip.
I'VE we're only In Hankow for q few
days. and were rather sorry 10 leave. for
we had been very Hospitality treated by
the Chinese officials American Consul
Wilcox and the members Of the English
colony. Then We anticipated serious trou.
bic In crossing the provinces Of Hupei
and Huhan. People who understood the
scope OF our project freely predicted that
we would never carry out our plans. The
country We were to penetrate. particularly
the province of Huhan. had never been
invaded by foreigners. and II was doubted
whether the natives would permit ns 10
intrude upon their privacy. Our route lay
due south from Hankow. through three
Of the central states Of the empire. with
Canton on the southern coast for q ter
minus, 4 distance OF al miles. Possibly
the difficulties were exaggerated, as We
did not encounter any very formidable
obstacles. Only In one or two instances
was there any show OF hesiilities by the
Chinese and no trouble resulted then.
No doubt the fact Of our having an escort
OF soldiers snintm!xed any danger. and the
further fact that the various viceroys
sent letters ahead warning the people OF
our approach and ordering that We be re-
ceived with honor and properly treated
"A circus in q country town never at
tracted half the attention that our party
aid IN those remote districts OF China
The people would gather around w In
hundreds and follow us for miles. jah.
ber.ng n II We were creatures from an
other world. happened TO Be the only
blonde In the party. and was. indeed.
typical foreign devii'-the kind they have
heard about In . fAiry-t sort OF way
with white skin blue eyes. light hair. red
beard and sufficient height They have
heard nothing but evil Of foreigners. such
N our appetite for habtss and powers
akin 20 the evil eye, ana their dislike IN
partly due TO fear. We were constantly
on tho alert to discover their temper.
used all the tact We possessed ard. ~
ruie. got on we'll with them In spite OF
their pretudscss against us Fortunately
they were usually good -nafursd and easily
amused. and we always tried TO Get them
laughing with us instead OF 1T us. II
didn't take us long to learn that there 10
q saving place in humor even among these
people Of such . different race and civil
nation.
The f.rst Of us got away on December
II In an advance party under Mr.. Hunt.
and the rest Of the expedition joined us
a week later AZ . hend In the ranssse.
for.v miles up stream. We really worked
Tn two parties throughout the trip. Our
course ut f.rst Was southwest. following
sae Yangtse We had two acusssoass
which 60 show our Am.sicanssu. ve
called the Mary Ann and the Daisy.
Later cur nc,sisa was Joined by a couple
az Chinese ganbcass We secured the lat
ter for protection and also for use IN
saigt,nk officials and cities along the
route We made poor progress At arss.
principally because we did not know the
country We had 80 rely upon what ths
officials told as and Chinese maps which.
aisneuas picturesque, are rot accurate.
We were deceived 81 30 distance princt-
rally ard were greatly inconye1ieccsd
nv failure 20 connect with cur soa;a Our
rmr Was to rwtofn she hcats nightly ana
a,sc to connect With a town where our
soldiers who numbered l@ and cur
coolies who tctaied ATTY. coaii set faed
ara shelter Frequently after working all
ssay on the lire had 70 walk from SIX
20 ten miles 10 reach Tire boats The bot
TEN, lsssss al the Tanxs.e through which
we went are Hooied In summer ana in
winter are rus with series ef rivers and
fahe. and IL MAS necessary 60 make ffs-
uusns detoars 20 carry ca tse wera
rn~r. toe. we were retarded by officials
Who rracrssttrmsed ard sought 10 delay
r~ ana swerws IA from our purpose but
Gen Ysr.ons, with characteristics deter
ss,sns.inn pressed forward. Two weeks
saw II. away fr0n lake and sfke ara
sr,n AsxNer Levels The hills and rssun-
tsss1~ began ~ attract as BY Their beauty.
ard Al ore place NC gained there were
nvv distinct ranges - view.
.syyn.n we crossed the barber into ire
~. A. 40