RETURN TO SAIGON.
The French expedition, finding further progress impossible, resolved
at length on retracing its steps to Saigon, and accordingly set out in
that direction on the 15th of March. On the 3rd of April it arrived at
Tong-chuen, where Lieutenant Garnier heard of the death of his chief,
M. de Lagrée. Four days later, the gallant little band, several of its
members suffering from fever, resumed its march. On the 9th, M. Garnier
crossed the deep swift waters of the Ngieoo-nan in a ferry-boat, which
runs on a cable moored from bank to bank. On the 11th he reached
Tchao-tong.
~AT TCHAO-TONG.~
Here he and his comrades met with a kindly welcome, and were
lodged in the house of a native priest, who had charge of the few
Christian inhabitants of the town. The crowd, as usual, displayed an
extraordinary amount of curiosity and importunity. The _tche-hien_, or
administrator of the Tchao-tong district, paid them a visit immediately
on their arrival, and invited them to dine with him on the following
evening. The repast included fourteen courses at the least, to say
nothing of the cucumber-seed, the mandarinas, and the li-tchi, served
up as preliminaries. There was nothing, however, peculiarly worthy of
the attention of gourmands, except a dainty dish of pigeons’ eggs, and
a particular kind of fish, caught in a neighbouring pond, the flesh
of which had a peculiar flavour. During the repast, the ladies of the
household closely scrutinized the features of the strangers through a
lattice, laughing heartily at their awkwardness in using the Chinese
utensils.
Tchao-tong, like all Chinese towns of importance, is surrounded by a
bastioned wall, of rectangular plan, measuring about a mile and a half
each way. Considerable suburbs prolong to the north, east, and west
the streets which abut on the gates of the town. The latter has never
been captured by the Mohammedans, and its inhabitants cherish a fierce
hatred against the rebels of Taly.
The plain of Tchao-tong seems to be the most extensive in Yunnan,
and is carefully cultivated--a large portion of its area being
appropriated to the growth of poppies for the manufacture of opium. Its
inhabitants complain of want of water; and, in fact, their only sources
of supply are some tiny rills, almost dry in the hot season. There are
extensive deposits of anthracite and peat. A small pond, abounding in
fish, lies to the south-west.
[Illustration: MERCHANT TRAIN IN YUNNAN.]
~ARTICLES OF COMMERCE.~
Tchao-tong is one of the most important commercial _entrepôts_ between
China and Yunnan. Enormous convoys of raw cotton, of English or native
cotton stuffs, and of salt from Se-chuen, are here exchanged for the
metals--tin and zinc more particularly--furnished by the environs
of Tong-chuen, the medicinal substances which come from the west of
Yunnan and the north of Tibet, and the nests of the _coccus sinensis_,
which yield the pe-la wax. This insect breeds on a species of privet
which grows in the mountainous parts of Yunnan and Se-chuen, and
is thence transported to other trees favourable for the production
of wax, which flourish in the warmer lowlands. Necessarily, these
nests must be conveyed from point to point with great rapidity, lest
the newly-hatched insects should die before arriving at their new
abode; they are stored away in large baskets, divided into numerous
compartments, and their bearers frequently accomplish thirty or forty
leagues at double quick marching step.
* * * * *
~THE JOURNEY CONTINUED.~
Resuming their journey, M. Garnier and his companions traversed a
country of great beauty, studded with villages, and broken up into
romantic highlands and wooded valleys, watered by copious rivers.
On the 20th of April they reached Lao-oua-tan, a busy town on the
Huang-kiang, at the point where the navigation of the river begins.
Here they embarked on board a large boat with a capacity of thirty to
forty tons, and began the descent of the river, admiring the skill with
which the Chinese carried them through the successive rapids. In a
couple of hours they arrived at Pou-eul-tou, a small port on the left
bank, where Garnier and his companions landed, while their baggage and
a part of the escort continued the journey by water. Garnier pressed
forward through a truly Arcadian valley to Long-ki, the residence of
the Vicar-Apostolic of Yunnan, Monseigneur Ponsot. It is needless to
say that he was received with the warmest hospitality.
~THE BLUE RIVER.~
The next stage was Siu-tcheou-fou, a lively and busy town, where
several Roman Catholic missionaries are stationed. Thence, in
a couple of junks, the travellers descended the Blue River to
Tchong-kin-fou, the great commercial centre of the province of
Se-chuen. Resting here a while, they then continued their voyage to
Han-keou, entering a region which has been carefully explored and
described by officers of the British navy. The river all along its
course presents an animated scene,--the junks ascending the stream
being towed by boatmen on the banks, who time their steps to a rude
and noisy song. M. Garnier arrived at Han-keou on the 4th of June,
and once more entered upon the enjoyment of the comfort and security
of civilized life, after a long, difficult, and perilous expedition,
in which he had added largely to our knowledge of a region of vast
commercial resources. On the 10th he embarked on board a steamer
for Shanghai,--arriving there on the 12th. After a week’s stay he
set out for Saigon; where he presented himself on the 29th, and was
received with the honours due to his courage, his patience, and his
perseverance. He has shown that the Mekong must hereafter become
an important highway of commerce, and one of the great channels of
communication with Yunnan and Tibet.