of livelihood to turn brigands. Sometimes the defeated army has been forced to play the rôle of brigands, so that it often happens, as the varying factions obtain the upper hand, the soldier of yesterday changes rôle with the brigand. Then, if the successful candidate is not strong enough, he may come to terms with some of the leaders of the vanquished force and get them to join his force. This, for example, has happened recently in Yunnan, where the brigand chief who seized the Hudson Taylors last year with a view to political eventualities is now an honoured General on the side of the victorious Governor. However, matters vary in different provinces. Szechwan is probably in the worst state of any province, as there are so many different factions, none of whom are strong enough to establish themselves in power for any length of time. There the various Generals are constantly making new combinations and it is impossible to keep track of what is going on. They are totally engrossed with their own affairs, and none of them have any time to cope with the brigand trouble, beyond sometimes calling in a band of brigands to help them as a temporary measure. As a result, organised bands of brigands hold the Yangtze, especially between Lu Chou and Chung-king, and perhaps the worst spot is Miao-erh-hsia, only 30 miles west of Chung-king, where the owner of the Chinese steam launch on which I travelled told me he had agreed to pay the brigands a subsidy of $200 for every trip from Chung-king to Sui Fu and back. It is not surprising, therefore, that these brigands are becoming more arrogant as they realise that nothing can be
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