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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books
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The heart of a continent : vol.1 |
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about the route across the desert from Kwei-hwa-cheng. It
is extraordinary how devoid the Chinese are of anything like
an instinct for geography. Anything beyond a man's own
town or the road he works on has no interest for him, and
he knows nothing of. Caravans start regularly from Kwei-
hwa-cheng across the desert to Hami. Kwei-hwa-cheng is only
a week's journey from Kalgan, and Kalgan is a great trading
centre, and yet nowhere in the place was information to be
obtained of the route by which we had to go. How different
all this is from what one sees in the bazaars of Central Asia,
where the merchants—some from India, some from Turkestan,
some from Afghanistan—meet and talk over the countries
they have travelled over and the state of the roads, and
where a traveller can always obtain a fair general idea of any
caravan route now in use!
A feature of travelling in China is the elaborate agreement
which has to be made with the carters. Before leaving Peking,
Mr. Hillier, who in such matters was one of the most obliging
and careful men I have met, had drawn up a document which
appeared as comprehensive as a royal proclamation or a
lawyer's deed. But even in that the carters found a flaw,
and Mr. Sprague informed me that unless I paid some more
money they would not land me on the date mentioned. So
this was rectified, and on April 10 I started from Kalgan.
We now left the great caravan route from Peking to Siberia,
and ascended the broad valley of the Yang-ho. Here each
village was walled, and towers were scattered over the country
—speaking of troublous times and predatory bands. The
fields were poorly cultivated, and the people less well-to-do.
Although we were well into April, the weather was still cold,
and streams were covered with ice in the morning. No leaves
were on the trees yet, and, although I was wearing a leather
coat, cardigan jacket, flannel shirt, and vest, I still felt it
cold riding along beside the carts.
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