国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

south. The Chinese settlers have advanced so rapidly here that in this originally Mongol country they already out-number the Mongols by a hundred to one.

On August 23rd the little party turned eastwards. They had to go round several canals that measured only one meter across, half a meter in depth, and with banks of about thirty centimeters in height. Settlements grew more and more numerous as they advanced. One of these boasted a brick-kiln and barracks with Kuomintang's blue and white flag. The irrigation canal at this place was three meters across. After this, sand-dunes alternated with grass-grown clay country.

To the right of the road stretched a long, ten meter high sand-dune at the eastern end of which they found the monastery Meiling-miao, two hundred years old and inhabited by a hundred and thirty lamas. Beyond the monastery they had to cross a fifteen meter wide canal, Yang-chia-ho-tze. There is a ferry at this point, that is drawn across with a cable. It took an hour and a half to get the camels over, and it was only with great trouble that they could be induced to step on to the ferry at all.

On the other side of the canal lies the village San-tao-chiao with its four hundred inhabitants and barracks lodging a company of one hundred soldiers, most of them quondam bandits. Their leader was WANG YING, of whom we had heard in Pao-t'ou, and who was said to reside in Wu-yüan.

The canal runs from S. S. W. to N. N. E., and is said to be one hundred and eighty li in length. It had been for generations under construction by the family YANG, from whom it had also received its name. The work was begun a hundred years ago and the canal was completed in 1917. The YANG family resides in the village Yang-kuei, thirty li to the south.

The Belgian mission station lies in the eastern part of San-tao-chiao. It is surrounded by a three meter high wall with look-out tower, embrasures and reinforced gates just like a fortress. In the four year old station our travellers were hospitably received by Père HuAnt= RODTS, with whom they spent the night.

E. N. E. of the village and visible from there lies the little town Shan-pa-t'ang; it reckons seven thousand inhabitants and has barracks and a Belgian mission station. In this part of China there are thirteen Belgian mission stations. The distance to the present bed of the Huang-ho is ninety li.

On August 24th the party set out on the return journey. On the first day's march they followed the same route as on the outward journey, but thereafter they kept westwards of their former route and rode past the monastery Nar-sume. They skirted the mountain-foot of the Lang-shan and found that the old Huang-ho bed is clearly distinguishable though insignificant. After doubling round a headland they turned N.N.W. and proceeded up a narrow glen with a brook, beside which they pitched camp.

On the last day they rode northwards in the same glen, which is called Budungmodo and is cluttered with sand-dunes. In one place the valley was blocked by a

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