The heads of the mail service in itener China are better posted han any others regarding the con-ition of the roads and travelling facilities generally, so I went imjeiliately to the local post-master jit information. When I asked if mere were bandits about I received consoling news that there Jertainly were; 500 of them in the ity at the time, and they were parting out on the next day along by own route towards Pike, This Kasiering piece of information, suggesting that the bandits had Jontrol of the city itself, called up sions of a 10 days tramp back to Hinchow if, having gotten inside walls, E might be lucky enough get safely out again, But in ality it amounted to the announce-lent of a most fortunate developent which enabled me to pass on rough country which I never ould' have covered at any time lier during the past three months.
transpired that the reports of scent wholesale banditry in this Jrction were entirely true; Some Szechuanese here they had fled across. the' fordes and split up into gangs hich had kept the country terri-fed for some weeks. But the farious local magistrates, backed the merchants, had" adopted ingenious measure for getting of them as quickly as possible. stead of attempting the long anc ficult task of hunting them down, ith insufficient troops, they had tablished recruiting stations in jory centre and widely advertised!
clothes, with good food and all who would imand "no qu If the rovers had been lured back discipline and as rapidly as sible were being sent south to fore central concentration camps om where, in the end, they would ly. back, ito their own turbulent province fo take a hand in the next squabble fiat. might arise between rival The magistrate cugzestthat I should wait until the resent force moved forward, nich time those still at large ould give the road a wide berth, ud I might safely follow a day behind them.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.