As I came down from Soochow on a boat, which was one of a string of seven towed by asteam-tug, I was awakened about midnight by suppressed sharp cries, Hi! Hoh! Hoh!" The tug with its string of houseboats was trying to pass the large clumsy stern-wheel crat propelled by men working on the treadmill principle. Twenty-four half-naked coolies in four rows were treading as if for life. The helmsman stood in the moonlight onthe top of the boat-roof near the stern. There was an evident. determination on the clumsy craft not to be passed by the tug. The coolies were acting on a plan of their own changing the workers a few at a time so that no one man had to tread longer than fifteen minutes. The usual plan is to tread one hour before changing. The helmsman said nothing but- occasionally -he - would stamp fiercely upon the boards and his men -would respond to this call by frantic energy. Nothing however was heard except the sharp "Hi! Hoh! Hoh!" Con. tending against this force was one man
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.