'The present core and 1d of Islam in China is the City of Hochow, three days' journey southwest of Lanchowfu, in Kansu Province, and the uncrowned king of the Moslems is a lite old mao, with piercing black eyes, a fiery temper, but a very mild exterior, named Ma An-liang. Every man, woman and child west of the Hankow-Peking railway knows that name. There are many in the west who are not yet aware that the Ta Ching dynasty no longer rules, but they all know who holds the Hwei-Hwei in check and who can threaten the peace of Central Asi whenever he likes. In the Gobi desert, in 1914, I met a party of Mongols, who told me they were on a seventy-day journey to the home of Ma An-ling, coming from a prince of the Altai, because it had been rumoured in their remote corner of the world that the Ta Ching dynasty had fallen, that something bad grown up in its place called the Min Kuo and that Ma An-ling, whom they all knew, had been chosen head of this new form of government. They had, therefore, been instructed to sent gifte and pay their ruler's respects. Of Yuan Shih-kai they knew nothing and cared less. They admitted that what I had to tell them might be true, but that they could not accept it officially Chinese trader dare venture.
All up and down the big weet road the traveller meets Hwei-Hwd and after a time he learns to re cognize them by their little muslin caps, by their tremendous encrsy and by the great interest they take in his comfort and well being. The European on the open 1 makes many friends in west Chin but with none so easily as with Hwei-Hwei. They regard thea selves as aliens, living in a heathe land, and every stranger is " fellow outcast to be helped along the bard trails and patronized as much possible. The Chinese have & pro verb to the effect that the Hwe Hwei is bad at heart, and the Turki echo this sentiment, but the Occ: dental who wanders into the 1 mote places, where travel is bed and dangerous, will find hi relying more and more on the nature and godd faith of th Moslems and looking upon theo with a fraternal sympathy a affection.
If the Hwei-Hwei sells " bor of matches at a miserable little ros side stand he makes as much noi and clatter about it as a Chines would en selling a horse. If he bes an cating-house in a town, eve one knows it, for more noise shouting, clatter and merrimeth issue from that establishment thi from all the other eating-hous combined.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.