The Meeker herald., 1900-07-28


not les than III million human beings,
MAXIM it the most dense!y settled of
any part of the world of the same size,
its Inhabitants amounting TO nearly two
thirds Of the entire population OF
Europc
OF sTRArEGICAL IMPORTANCE.
The most wonderful feature in the
physical geography of China is the
existence Of a vast region of loess in
this portion of the Empire. Loess is a
very sohi but friable earth, brownish
yellow in color and is found in many
places from 800 to 1000 feet deep. The
loess hills rise in terraces from 20 to
several hundred feet in height. Every
atom of lOess is perforated by small |
tubes after the manner of root ibres,
only tue direction Of these little chan
nels Is always from above downward so
variaUiy vertical. The locss region of !
China is perhaps the most broken
country in the world. with its sheer
cliffs, and upright walls, terraces and
deep cut raVines. Owing to the ease
with which it can be worked, caves
made at the, bases of straight cliffs,
afford homes 10 millions of people in
the densely populated northern pro-
viDces where the Boxers have thus far
been most active. Whole villages clus-
ter together in carved out chambers,
some o. which extend back more than
'Hin 1T az a in,
a country such rs this, where an inyad-
ing army must necessarily becsme lost
and absolutely bewildered in the tangle
of interlacing ways and where the de.
Tenders may always remain, concealed
or have innumerable means of escape is
peculiarly significant at this time when
consideration is being given to a con-
quest of China.
1t may not be generally known that
the Chinese were the discoveries of coal
as fuel The Venetian traveller Marco
Polo says, 1T is fact that all over the
country of Cathay (China) there is Il
kind of black stone existing in the beds
of the mountains which they dig out
and burn like firewood. This stone
burns better ard costs less"
GREAT RIVERS.
The rivers of China are her glory and
there are few countries in the world so
WE watered and none with such, splen-
did natural water transportation facili-
ties. The three great rivers of the
Empire are the Yang tse Kiang Child
of the ocean,, the Hoang Ho yellow
Riyer) and the Chu Kiang pearl or
Canton ,is.ry. on these the Yang-tse
is much the largest, flowing through ex-
tensye and fertile plains and finally
emptving into the Eastern Sea, after
traylrsing distance of over 1000 miles.
Its discharge is estimated at one million
cubic feet per second. The banks of
the Yang-tse are crowded with towns
and villages, the most famous of which
are Nankin and the new treaty port of
Hankow, The Hoang Ho or yellow
Rive is noted especially for its frequent
and yioIent floods. Its current is very
rapii aud Its course sinuous, nearly ap.
proaching in length the Yang-tse The
PENN or Canton River while not nearly
an lorre as the others is stream of
rrent Importance and innumerable
vessels trade upon it's waters. AT some
nointi it spreads into large lakes; in
others it masses between narrow gorges
vbicb If damned would afford large
storgpe capacity for irrigation. The
C,drpse. however. have not practically
worked ont irrigation in its different
nbasps IA completely as would be ex-
nec, s1 of snch an agricultural people.
IRRIGATION. nevertheless, is practiced
to a considerable extent through the
use Of the waters of the Grand canal
and nv wells. The Grand or Imperial
canal il a work of great magnitude. 1t