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| The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.2 |
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Citation Information
174
MARCO POLO BooK II.
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under General Regulation, Steamers, 4710 ; 4,413,452 tons, of which Chinese, 924 ; 794,724 tons ; sailing vessels, 1793 ; 294,664 tons, of which Chinese, 1771 ; 290,286 tons ; under Inland Steam Navigation Rules, 2920 ; 39,346 tons, of which Chinese, 1684 ; 22,776 tons.—H. C.]
NOTE 4.—±12,000 cantars would be more than 500 tons, and this is justified by the burthen of Chinese vessels on the river ; we see it is more than doubled by that of some British or American steamers thereon. In the passage referred to under Note 1, Admiral Collinson speaks of the salt-junks at I-ching as " very remarkable, being built nearly in the form of a crescent, the stern rising in some of them nearly 3o feet and the prow 20, whilst the mast is 90 feet high." These dimensions imply large capacity Oliphant speaks of the old rice-junks for the canal traffic as transporting 200 and 300 tons (I. 197).
NOTE 5.—The tow-line in river-boats is usually made (as here described) of strips of bamboo twisted. Hawsers are also made of bamboo. Ramusio, in this passage, says the boats are tracked by horses, ten or twelve to each vessel. I do not find this mentioned anywhere else, nor has any traveller in China that I have consulted heard of such a thing.
NOTE 6.—Such eminences as are here alluded to are the Little Orphan Rock, Silver Island, and the Golden Island, which is mentioned in the following chapter. We give on the preceding page illustrations of those three picturesque islands ; the Orphan Rock at the top, Golden Island in the middle, Silver Island below.
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CHAPTER LXXII.
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CONCERNING THE CITY OF CAIJU.
CAIJu is a small city towards the south-east. The people
are subject to the Great Kaan and have paper-money.
It stands upon the river before mentioned.1 At this place
are collected great quantities of corn and rice to be trans-
ported to the great city of Cambaluc for the use of the
Kaan's Court ; for the grain for the Court all comes from
this part of the country. • You must understand that the
Emperor hath caused a water-communication to be made
from this city to Cambaluc, in the shape of a wide and
deep channel dug between stream and stream, between
lake and lake, forming as it were a great river on which
large vessels can ply. And thus there is a communica-
tion all the way from this city of Caiju to Cambaluc ; so
that great vessels with their loads can go the whole way,
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