Opium no longer is a novelty. Great opium bands make regular trips to Yunnan, where the drag is cheap; and return, with tons of it. 'The caravan often' numbers from a few hundred men to 2,000, Each band is heavily armed' and well loaded down with this merchandise. The opium is carried by pack-horse through Yunnan to Kuangsi border cities where it is met by the local caravans. Coolie carriers each ith a load of 600ounces then carry it through to its final destination. Tons of it finds its way, through Lungchow or towns near by, to Nanning and cities i Kuangtune, Large profits are made, in that the price per ounce, here, and in cities farther inland, is about one dollar. The tax being paid and a receipt for the same being shown, the merchant is free from further molesting by the authorities, Opium is smoked openly on all river boats and the air reeks with its sweet sickly smell.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.