The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-04

slVeness may say that at WI Chang he has
established an agricultural college. where O
stan OF three American experts teaches
young Chinese the most recent scientific
methods OF agriculture. At Han Yang
he has also established steel works on
modern lines. which was installed by Euro
peans. but Is now managed by Chinese en-
tirely. He received us with great courtesy.
and showed marked interest in the railway
project. In fact. he has been one OF the lead
Ing spirits In the enterprise since II was first
proposed. Our interview with him was most
interesting Under the guidance OF DENLY we
had been brushing up on etiquette. and the
first ordeal came when we were presented. 1t
is the polite thing for the Viceroy to insist that
you be seated first, and the polite thing for you
to decline, bow. and insist that he sit down
first As a result there Ia protracted session
OF bowling that ends in a compromise. for
finally you all take seats at the same moment
The aged viceroy sat at the same table
with us. and began by warning us that We must
60 slowly through the provinces OF HUI Pei and
Human. where our course lay on the mission
to Canton He assured us. however. that we
should have all the protection that he could
give or influence. and l want to say that he
kept his word. and that II proved amply sufll-
cient We talked for about an hour and a half.
and said all the pleasant things that we could
think or He gave us sweets. champagne and
cigars. and. as is the usual custom. dismis Used
us by tremendously drinking our health in
cup OF tea. Shcng TaIen s an extremely
clever man. also. and. unlike most Chi
nese. knows enough about foreigners to
talk directly to the point. He was in
valuable to us in the final preparations for
the trip. We were only in Hankow few days
and were rather sorry to 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 trouble in crossing the provinces OF
HUI Pei and Human. People who understood
the scope OF our project freely predicted that
we would never carry out the plans. The
country we we're to penetrate. particularly the
province OF Human. had never been invaded
by foreigners. and it was doubted whether the
natives would permit us to intrude upon their
privacy. Our route lay due south from Han
kow. through three Of the central States OF
the empire. with Canton on the southern coast
for a terminus. a distance of TAI miles. Posi-
bly, the difficulties were exaggerated. as we
did not encounter any very formidable OBJ
stacles. Only in one or two instances was there
any show OF hostility by the Chinese. and no
trouble resulted then. No doubt the fact OF
our having an escort OF soldiers mlnimized
any danger and the further fact that the va
rious viceroys sent letters ahead warning the
people Of our approach and ordering that we
be received with honor and properly treated.
"A circus In an American town never at
tracted half the attention that our party did In
those remote districts OF China. The people
would gather around us in hundreds and fol-
low us for miles. jabbering as II we were crea-
lures from another world. l happened to be
the only blonde in the party. and was. indeed.
a typical foreign devil the kind they have
heard about in fairy-tale sort OF way. with
white skin. blue eyes. light hair. red beard and
sufficient height. They have heard nothing
but evil OF foreigners. such as our appetite for
babies. and powers akin to the evil eye. and
their dislike is partly due to fear. We were con-
stantly on the alert to discover their temper.
used all the tact we possessed and
rule got on well with them. in spite OF
their preju6ices against us. Fortunately. they
were usually good natured and easily amused.
and We always tried to get them laughing with
US instead Of at us. 1t didn't take us long to
learn that there is a saving place in humor
even among these people OF such different
race and civilization. The first OF US got away
on Dec. IL in an advance party under Mr..
Hunt. and the rest Of the expedition joined us
a week later at bend OF the Yang-tse.
forty miles up stream. We really worked In
two parties throughout the trips. Our course
at first was southwest. following the Yang-tse.
We had two Households which. to show our
Americanism. we called the Mary Ann and the
Daisy. Later our hotlla was joined by a
couple Of Chinese gunboats. We secured the
latter for protection. and also for use in salut-
ing officials and cities along the route.
I'VE made poor progress at first. principally
because we did not know the country. We had
to rely upon what the officials told us and Chi
nese maps. which. although picturesque. are
not accurate. We were deceived as to distance
principally. and were greatly Inconvenience
by failure to connect with our boats. Our plan
was to rejoin the boats nightly and also to con-
meet with town whore our soldiers. who num-
bcred 100. and our coolies. who mum bered fifty,
could get food and shelter. Frequently. after
working all day on the line. we had to walk
from six to ten miles to reach the boats. The
bottom lands OF the Yang-tse. through which
we went. are flooded in summer, and in winter
are cut with series OF rivers and lakes. and 1t
was necessary to make frequent detours to carry
on the work. Then. too. We were retarded by
officials who procrastinated and sought to de-
lay us and swerve us from our purpose. but
Mr.. Parsons with characteristic determine
ton. pressed forward, Two weeks saw US
away from lake ana dixie and into higher
levels. The hill and mountain began to attract
US by their beauty. and at one place we gained
there were five distinct ranges In view When
We crossed tho border into the province OF
Human the crowds OF coolies that surrounded
us soon became larger and more troublesome.
The people were not yet hostile. but simply
crazy with curiosity. They wanted to feel
our clothing. look through our field
glasses and examine all OF our effects. At
times they almost mobbed us Christmas Day
found US at Ping Shut Pu just over the border
OF Human. We ate Christmas dinner walled In
by a huge mob OF ragged. dirty. Jabbering cool
les. whom we had to placate. The soldiers
forming our escort gave us a certain amount OF
importance. but we had to depend upon our
tact for real protection. These soldiers. by the
way. were one OF the oldest and most amusing
features OF the expedition. They were strong
~ reminiscen OF the army in a comic opera
Their costume was brilliant with orange and
green or blue and red. with white circle of
cloth stitched upon the coat in front and an
other behind. Characters sewn upon this
white circle told the regiment the wearer be-
longed to. Whatever its object it would make
an excellent target for an enemy's bullet
and it is significant that it faces both ways
They were armed with swords. fans and