Peking to Lhasa : vol.1 / Page 295 (Color Image)

0295	Peking to Lhasa : vol.1

THE LAST TREK 211

tributaries of the Yangtze. At 12 miles there

was another rise to about 8000 feet, and the road

then kept high up along the top of the Ch'a-fen

Shan, with a deep valley on the left and beautiful

views to the south and west over many ranges.

At 17 miles there was a gradual descent with

picturesque views over the broad fertile Ma-t'ou-

shan valley, and at 19 miles came a steep stony

descent down zigzags to the valley. Ma-t'ou-

shan is a valley of forty families, at an elevation

of 4964 feet.

Next day he made a short march of 9 miles to Ma-

Kai, now called Yüan-mow-hsien, down the same

fertile valley. It rained all the morning and the

roads were very muddy. Ma-Kai, a town of eight

hundred families, had been pillaged by brigands

from Szechwan in April, and some houses in the

centre of the city had been burnt. His escort

was now again increased to thirty, and on July 23

he marched 134 miles to Wu-mo, down the fertile

Sha Ho valley, 2 or 3 miles wide. It was a

fine hot day and the going was good over an un-

paved path. The cultivation was mostly rice and

maize. At 6i miles the Sha Ho joins the So-Ling

Ho, which is the main tributary of the Yangtze,

and drains the Kun-yang Lake, and is contributed

to by the Fu-min Ta Ho, the Lu-feng Ta Ho and

the An-ning River. At 81- miles he left the road

to Chengtu by Hui-li-chow and crossed the So-

Ling Ho by a ferry. The river was here 100

yards wide and 8 feet deep. There was only

one small boat, so the sixteen animals had to

swim. He then left the So-Ling valley and crossed

a low hill into a small fertile valley, and crossed

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