Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 52 (Color Image)

0052	Among the Celestials : vol.1

28 AMONG THE CELESTIALS. [CHAP. I.

almost black, and, judging from the crops,

must have been of surpassing richness. The

houses were all new, large, and well built, and

provisions could be obtained in plenty. After

rough travelling in uninhabited parts, one really

appreciates being amongst men again, and

seeing active life all round : and here, as

before, we were impressed by the vigour and

prosperity of these Chinese colonists breaking

through the forest. In Asia one sees plenty

of the old age-worn life, but on that continent

it is in but few places that one can see the

fresh young life of a colony pushing vigorously

ahead.

On August 12 we reached Kirin, and the

first round of our journey was completed.

Kirin is a town of from eighty to one hundred

thousand inhabitants, picturesquely situated

among wooded hills, on a bend of the

Sungari, here, only three hundred miles from

its source, a majestic stream a quarter of a mile

broad and twenty feet deep. But it rained

incessantly while we were there, and the filth

and smells of the place, increased in conse-

quence, prevented us from enjoying as we

should have done all its natural beauties.

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