Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1901-04-25
CLIFF JEWELLERS IN CHINA.
A Strange Settlement in Mongolia,
Like "a Colony of sand
Swallows.

Prof. G. Frederick White, Of Oberlin.
who started on a tour around the
world several months ago. reached
China just before the Boxers outbreak
had assumed dangerous proportions.
and al once made an excursion into
Mongolia, returning later TO Tientsin.
From there. on June 2, he sent an ac-
count of a singular and interesting vii
lage of Catholic cliff dwellers which he
visited in Mongolia. says the Spring
field Republican. 1t is quite probable
that the native Christians he describes
have since been massacred. Prof. White
prefaces the description of the village
with few brief paragraphs about the
curious nature Of the territory in which
il is situated:
THE eastern border Of Mongolia
and the northeastern part Of China are
largely covered with los Qoess), one
of the most interesting and pulling Of
all the geological deposits. Its German
name comes from the valley of the
Rhine, where loess is found in consid-
cradle quantities. The inhabitants OF
the Mississippi and Missouri valleys Of
the United States are familiar with the
deposit in the bluffs at Nicksburg
Kansas City, Omaha and Sioux City
During the siege OF Nieksburg the peo-
pie took refuge in the spacious rooms
dug out in the deposit at a considerable
depth below the surface. At numerous
places along the Missouri river il
stands perpendicular exposures more
than a hundred feet high, and city
streets are cut through its long, per
pendicular sides. which stand like a
wall for many years. When section
breaks off from the cliff ii always leave
" perpendicular face.
yet the deposit is so soft that its
surface can be readily cultivated and il
can be handled with a shovel at any
depth. The material principally con
sists of extremely fine sand. with a lit
tie lime intimately mixed with it. III
is SO porous that the rain which falls
upon the surface passes entirely
through the deposit, preventing the
formation Of springs Of water until an
impervious stratum is reached under
meath it all. 1t endures drought 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 TO 5,400 feet above the sea, but il
has been croded by water during long
geological ages into a very uneven sur
face NTH vrfn,,atte ,,orro,,- ,.a11a,s
from 1900 feet to 5000 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
10 1000 feet above sea level. Into this
rugged region has drifted during re.
cent epoch an immense amount Of fine
dust which constitutes the loess. That
it has been blown in by the winds is
evident from the positions in which i'll
lies. 1t appears almost exactly like
q series of immense snowdrifts that
have accumulated behind the barriers
which have caused lulls in the wind.
permitting the suspended particles to
settle in protected places. while it has
been swept bare from the exposed po-
sitions.
"These deposits Of loess are specially
valuable because Of their fertility
But in northern China il is Of especial
interest in furnishing cheap, comfort
able and salubrious dwelling places for
multitudes OF people. In recent ex
eursion through the eastern part Of
Mongolia, outside the great Chinese
wall. in the vicinity Of the famous city
Of Kolgan, | saw a large number Of such
villages excavated in the drifts Of loess
hanging on the sides Of the mountains.
In walking over the erased surface
II was no uncommon thing to stumble
against a chimney protruding from a
habitation below. From distance the
side OF the hill looked like an exposed
bank pierced with innumerable swal-
lows nests. The interior Of the houses
are clean and comfortable. When the
walls have been moistened and
smoothed over with a trowel they have
a hard finish which does not crumble
off. The rooms are uniformly dry and
are warm in winter and cool in sum
mer. On the sloping back a. tn hi
several stories Of such houses are often
seen above and slightly back Of each
other. the roof Of one being the first
dooryard of the house above it,
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