The sun., 1899-01-22
rnn Rorrs TO rExrN.
Naval Oficer's Description of the Hard
nond to Chinn's Capital.


Road to Chinn's Capital.
Recently there appeared in THE Sun an ar-
tice entitled The Route TO Pekn." The fol-
lowing is an extract from letter written early
in December by wel-known naval officer to a
| friend In this city giving description OF the
! journey as seen through the eyes OF sailor
and man OF the world:
AS we lay OF Taku Bar. which stops the
| mouth Of the Pei-ho. the CAPTAIN sent word to
me that he would like me TO Join him In a jour
| neY to Pekin. As neither the CAPTAIN nor the
surgeon. who was TO be of the party. had
been to Pekin. and had already made the
| journey. was able to warn them OF the pros
pective dscomforts. The Captain thought
my description exaggerated. hut / bided my
time and was fully vndicated.
AS the tug that takes one across Taku
Bar can get over IL only at high tide. we had to
time our departure from the shin In accord
ance with this fact. so it was o'clock In the
morning when we scrambled down a rope lad
der astern and dropped into the tossing and
pitching little boat that took us alongside
the tug. At & o'clock we reached Tonkin.
where we were to take the railway train. We
had to wait two hours for It, which did not
seem long to me. as had once waited five
hours for the same train
I'VE found the cars cold and uncomfortable.
and the pace slow: in fact we did not reach
Tentsn. twenty-seven miles from Tonkin.
until l o'clock in the afternoon. There an
imperial post car" not unlike q parlor car at
home. was attached to the train. and we found
ourselves fairly comfortable Our speed was
higher. too, than on The journey to ToDkin: in
fact. we went pretty fast.
I'VE reached the terminus Of the railroad
at p. NJ, to learn that our telegram OF notin-
cation to Minister ConGer. to whom we were
In n,tr aytlpuflv had
reached him. for there was no one present
from the legation TO meet us. In the ordi-
nary course of events. when the Minister Is
expecting visitors he sends his 'mafoo.' or out
side head man, with cart or pony to convey
them to tbr legation. AS 1t was. we stenped
onto the station platform into two or three
inches of mud. and struggled with a bowling
mob OF Fekn cart drivers, all bent on convey
ing us to the capital 1 engaged four carts.
one for each OF us and one for our boys and
our baggage. A Pekin cart is hut op heavy
wooden wheels. This hut is wide enough for
one passenger. and so low that the pa ssenger,
sitting on the floor with his legs extended. can
lust keen his body g erect without thrnstne his
with blue cloth and completely inclosed
save IN front, so that messenger has
over the back of the mule that pulls him.
'! have seen what they are, pleased to call
in Io,ea. but / never saw q worse piece Of pub
lie highway tnan that which leads from the |
Tmpre There IS hut oGe track and that Mere
into ruts always ful y foot deep. sometimes
six or eight inches deeper. II going in these
ruts is bad. going across them Is worse. and
they must be crossed manv times; in fact as
often as one meets cart coming in the other
"As had intimated to the drivers that our
party was royal and the pour boire would be
Chinamen did their best to make haste. Ny /
man worked his arms like 2 jumping lack.
out an instants intermission. |
Half way to our destination we reached a |
gate In the cit wall and entered the capital OF
paved way twenty-five feet wide. The pave
ment. was made Of great blocks three feet long
inches thick; There is Chinese ,proverb
which says, that such n road is good for ten
particular road must be several thousand
years old; for II is as bad as the prov erb indi-
G tme fNe
are deep ruts AS the stones break joints.
these ruts alternate with bits OF stone some
face. so that progress is one Of sudden and vio-
lent jolts TO make matters worse: every
is a cling-hrle.' deep enough TO wreck any ye-
hicle save springless Pckn cart. On the day
with a smooth, and decept!ve, surface Of semi
liquid mud which concealed ruts and cling
and eyr whees 1ps them se aSh
was the journey. indeed. that the Captain. who
Is a heavy man. was nearly done up when /
helped 70 drag him out at the embassy
But once inside that comfortable abode a
hearty American welcome. hearth fire and
sundry other warm and cheering things made
amends for the discomfvrts Of the journey
Our legation fronts on Legation street The
is inclosed by hiGh wall which on
one side is very near the city wal Just across
the street is the Russian Legation. All the
houses within the compound are of one story
with thatched roofs. plain without. but rich
and luxurious within The compound has
clean ,Rravelled walks in pleasing contrast
with the muddy streets outside.
When the ladias of the legation go to the
elaborate dinners. receptions apd balls of the
foreign Official colony they must pass through
Ian chairs or In the springlesS carts Luckily
some OF the carts are high enough to enable
he occupants to sit in an armchair. 1t is odd
20 woman in full dress thus enthroned
passing from one brilliant social scene to an
)ther through the narrow. muddy streets of
his most foreign of foreign capitals.
When the people Of the legation need ex-
'rcise they take it in the compound or on the
,ity wall. This wall Is forty feet high. and
'ather m ore than forty feet wide at the top,
With rampant more than shoulder high on
zach side. and within and without a deep
nuat. that within little better than muddy
Itch. Once on the wall one escapes the dis
comforts Of the city streets. There is no mud,
mi even the asserted evil smells that assail
he nose at the street level are har ly noticea-
'le As one walks on the wall ones eyes take
n upon one aide the picturesque variety OF
he huddled city and on the other the country
about the capital outside the wall"