Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-14
CLIFF JEWELLERS IN CHINA.

A Strange Settlement Like . Colony
of Land Swallows. q
From the Springfield Republican.
Professor G. Frederick White of Oberlin,
who started on a tour around the world
several months ago, reached China just be-
fore the Boxers outbreak had assumed
dangerous proportions and at once made
an excursion into Mongolia. returning later
to Tien Tsin. From there. on June 2. he
sent an account of a singular and interest
ing village OF Catholic clif dwellers which
he visited in Mongolia 1t Is quite probable
that the native Christians he describes have
since been massacred. Professor White
prefaces the description Of the village with
a few brief paragraphs about the curious
nature of the territory in which 1t is situat-
ed:
The eastern border Of Mongolia and the
northeastern part Of China are largely COW
cred with los (loess), one of the most inter-
esting and puzzling Of all the geological de-
posits. Its German name comes from the
valley of the Rhine, where loess is found
in considerable quantities. The Inhabitants
of the Mississippi and Missouri valleys OF
the United States are familiar with the de-
posit in the bluffs at Vicksburg. Kansas
City, Omaha and Sioux City. During the
siege of Vfcksburg the people took refuge
in spacious rooms dug out in the deposit at
a considerable depth below the surface. At
numerous places along the Missouri river
it stands in perpendicular exposures more
than a hundred feet high. and city streets
are cut through its long, perpendicular sides,
which stand like wall for many years ::
When section breaks of from the cliff 1t
always leaves a perpendicular face.
"Yet the deposit Is so soft that its surface
can be readily cultivated, and it can be
handled with a shovel at any depth The
ma terial principally consists of extremely
fine sand. with a little lime Intimately
mixed with it. 1t is SO porous that the
| rain which falls upon the surface passes
entirely through the deposit, preventing the
fOrma tion SnrnQS until i'm
pervious stratum is reached underneath 1T
all. 1t endures drouth better than any
other soil.
'"The most extensive development of the
loess anywhere in the world is in Mongolia
in an elevated region from 5000 feet to
400 feet above the sea, but it has been
into very uneven surface, with numerous
narrow valleys from LOCO feet to 1900 feet
deep, with innumerable tributary gullies
coming down the sides of the intervening
ridges. Many isolated peaks, also rise to
an absolute height of from 5000 feet to
1000 feet above level. Into this rugged
region has drifted during recent epoch an
immense amount of fine dust which con-
stitutes the loess. That it has been blown
in by the winds is evident from the posi-
tons in which it lies. 1t appears almost ex-
that have accumulated behind the barriers
which have caused lulls in the wind. per-
hitting the suspended particles to settle in
protected places. while it has been swept
bare from the exposed positions.
'These deposits of loess are specially val
liable because of their fertility. But in
northern China it is of especial interest in
furnishing cheap, comfortable and salubri-
Gus dwelling places for multitudes of peo-
pie. In a recent excursion through the
eastern part of Mongolia, outside the great
Chinese wall, in the vicinity of the famous
city Of Kolgan. l saw large number Of
such villages excavated in the drifts Of
loess hanging on the Sues of the noun
tains. In walking over the grassed surface
it was no uncommon thing to stumble
against chimney protruding from habi-
tation below. From a distance the side Of
the hill looked like an exposed bank pierced
with innumerable swallows nests. The in
terror of the houses are clean and comfort
able. When the walls have been moistened
and smoothed over with a trowel they have
hard finish which does not crumble off
The rooms are uniformly dry and are warm
in winter and cool in summer. On the slop-
ing back of hill several stories Of such
houses are often seen above and slightly
back of each other, the roof of one being
the front dooryard of the house above it,"