The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-08-16
ON ROAD 10 PEK'N
Continued From Second Page.

time these rough sarcophagi become
broken, and the bones litter the ground.
Ho-Si-Wu is a town of considerable
size about fifty miles from Pekin.
Anting is small place on the railroad
some fifty miles from Tien Tsin, which
may figure in the march Of the allies
1t was near this village that my nors-
trils were assailed by the odor from
great distillery where they make shan
SUI the Chinese form of whisky, which
is distilled from millet- 1t is very strong
and much more smoky than the coarsest
Scotch whiskey. Its odor can be perceived
miles away, but it is not unpleasant to
me. The Chinese never abuse 1t ana
never get drunk. It is freely supplied TO
laborers on buildings, and yet they never
get drunk. The distilleries are common
feature of the country.
The next pace on the route is Huang-
Tsun, sixty-four miles from Tien Tsin-
1t presents no peculiar features OF inter
est marking it off from the other small
places 1 have mentioned.
After that we come to Tung-Chow,
eixty-seven miles from Tien Tsin and
thirteen miles from Pekin. This is likely
to figure prominently in the present troub
les. Here the land rises steadily toward
Importance, because 1t Is the limit or
travel by river to Pekin. All house boats
with supplies for the embassies and uro-
peans in Pelin disembark their contents
here, which are loaded on carts.
Tung- Chow has about 10000 people and
is the headquarters of the brigand indus
try. Travellers are very likely TO be
robbed of all they possess here, especially
If they delay setting out for Pekin until
after unset. The proper thing for a for
eigner going through this country used
to be to get his consul to hire guard
for him. This costs 500 or $500. The
guard consisted of brigands, and when
paid they made it a point of honor to
defend their patron properly. They con-
sidered it proper to have their customer
make a good appearance, and if necessary
they would supply him with fine European
clothing and many trunks just to dis
play on the journey. The state of things
changed good deal after the building
of the railroad, but the Boxer outbreak
is an expression Of desire to return to the
old order of things.
It is here that the famous marble
causeway begins which continues all the
way to Pekin. 1t was built by the En-
perOr Che Wang Te about 1900 years ago.
He wished to keep his feet dry after a
great food The embankment is formed
of clay covered with slabs of white mar
bic. 1t stands six or seven feet above
the surrounding country. 1t rises by a
gradual incline from sept on the banks
of the Pei-Ho river, which is there
crossed by bridge. The causeway is
deeply rutted, and has not Undergone
much repair in the last two thousand
years and no one uses it who can avoid
doing so.
The Pei-Ho river is crossed by many
marble bridges, which are deliberately
carved. They are pretty to look at, but
are more ornamental than useful. Some
of them still bear the marks the French
and English cannon balls made during
the sixties. This is the case with the
bridge at Tung Chof
At this point the natural route of the
army turns westward. Feng-Tai seven
ty-four miles from Tien Tsin. is situated
on top of ridge, from which PeIds comes
suddenly into view. The sight of this
great and mysterious city. with its walls
and quantity rooted temples. is one that
cannot fail to create a deep impression on !
the traveller. It makes one think of a
traveller in ancient days coming in sight /
of the sacred city of Jerusalem.
Here the arm will have to cross the |
Grand Canal, which is great artificial |
waterway connecting Pekin with Nankin.
1t is carried between entertainments which
rise high above the surrounding country. |
inc Of he 7har II Sc
cred with a vast fleet of junks, some Of
which are bigger than a large ocean |
steamer. They draw as much as ten !
feet of water. and have an immense
length and beam.
Thefamous west gate of Pekin is the |
one through which the ordinary traveller |
from Tien Tsin makes his entrance, but |
it will hardly be suitable for military |
purposes. TIE gate as the thickness of a
New York city block, and in the passage |
through it there are a dozen gates of diff |
ferent patterns, some opening in the mid |
die, some working on hinges, and others
falling like portcullises. The walls rise |
TO a height of eighty feet, and over the !
gate there is a temple eighty feet high, |
with trees growing around it on top of the |
wall.
The most convenient place for any
army attempting to storm Pekin fould be |
a weak spot in the wall, well around to-
ward the northwest. ThewaH here was |
battered many years ago by the Tartars, |
and has fallen away in many places. 1t |
would take but few shots from modern |
guns to batter the whole thing down. It |
must be remembered. however, that there |
is another wall surrounding the imperial |
city which must be passed before the |
British legation, where the European and |
American prisoners are, an be reached by |
the relieving forces.
When the soldiers are in this quarter |
they VIII be in sight of the great wall of |
China loop OF it comes down here to /
give double protection TO Pekin.
D. MACKENZIE DAVIDSON.
Retired colonel in the Chinese war de- |
partment and engineer Of the Imperial 1
Gunpowder Works at Tien Tsin.