apparent' ease, heat schools and wells developed vill ages, and into the Hochow Gores with the swirling rapids 2,000 feet below us.
The whole country is rough hilt and. mountain country marvellous): cultivated in millions of terraces mos: of which are watered at this time of year. The configurations of red Liis with streams between and around reminded one of the heavier embossed Agures on a colourful Peiping rug. The new motor road made conspicu: ous appearances frequently with its straight brown course like a hall carpet laid across the brown floors of flooded elds.
Speeding at 100 m.p.h, Hochow is just above the gorges at the parting of the river, a large and apparently prosperous ety witt many junks drawn up along its ware: front." We lew over here about half' an hour after starting. Then besa ur, struggle with the clouds. Despit3!
steady climb at a speed of 90 oF! 100 miles an hour the clouds were Able to climb almost as fast." Wheti hibited without permission. these Innocent bits of white Tuff' and cation which we are aecuslomed admire against a plus sky, close in about and completely envelope a moving plane they become a terrifying while dragon, clutching at the out stretched wings, hissing in our ears, spitting upon the window panes and pounding with a fury that makes the Little ship bump and stagger and the rider involuntarily grip the arms his seat, But the motor does not falter. Our nose ig kept straight fallend and upward. Presently there fg blue sky and sunlight ahead, and on below a marvellously beautiful sen of billowing clouds dazzling under the direct rays of the mid-day sun.
'AL one o'clock we flew low over the splendid city of Suintng and easily noted the well-laid out mission prem-fses with school houses and foreign residences to tke north of the com Pact city. Very soon our course tured sharply away from the river and began a bee line westward te Chenstu.
In the region of Suining the valley {is broad and flat and the fields much larger than elsewhere. We flew ove? the bu River and then the range of mountains that forma the eastern tit of the Chengiu plane, Siena aad ara Ingle Mo The popular impression is abroad break its way back through the clouds that Chinese peasants all live in villages, that there are no isolated form touses in China." This. we found {0 be far from the truth in the hill country over which much of our course took us. All through the mountainous country between Ietan and Chengtu there are myriads of single houses, often very far removed from any other. A' single root may cover a horde' of people. but it probable that the rough hillsides and small fields cannot support more than single families. 'The situation is very. different in the Han River Valley where the typical village is a long single row of houses, sometimes stretching for several Li along' are row street or some waterway, and in the Chengtu plain where the villages luster in such large numbers fas to leave little doubt that this Is tone of the richest, most densely Populated farm areas in the world, There was little time to contemplate these things, however," before on pilot pointed ahead to the long grey Line of tke massive city wall, "W? made a big circuit over the north= eastern section of this stately elly which gave us a good view of tx straight, broad streels and substan-Wal, old-style buildings, Dimly we made out the more elaborate structures on the campus of the West China Union University outside the southern wall. Then we swung off to the north a couple of miles, banked over the army aviation field, narrowly missed an observation plane returning from the Red army front near Yochow, and landed with fa taxi run in to the C.N.AC. station. From here, the company ear drove us t0 our journey's end in Chengtu. Our flying time from Chungking, over the country that takes ten days! for a sedan-chair journey and which had recently required five days for n arly of Canadian missionaries to negotiate by: moter (ruck, had born just two hours.
Blinding Bank of Fog The return journey can be brierly recorded. On Monday morning, t3¢ the first time in the week since we eft Hankow (save for that memorable half hour when we flew out over the clouds), we saw the sunshine. the way back "visibility" was very munch better than' on the" up-Wip. We did have to plow up through blinding fox bank again before reached Suining, but that was for but a fow minutes. Our flight Chungking was in the second of the Stinsens, sister ship to that which had brought us up.
Once more fortune smiled and we found a good boat leaving for down iver that evening. We boarded her before dark and had two wonderful days coming down the rapids and throug the gorges. On the secon day, while we were inthe massive 'Wushan Gorge the Chungking bound plane sailed 1,000 feet or more above Us, and half an hour tater' the downs plane roared past us so close that the pilot in "his white coveralls might have thrown over" a message onto the desk of the steamer. "It was sharily after thie that we sw snow on tke mountain tops above us, and We wondered if the pilot T: ad com? lowe to keep warm!
30 Minutes Ahead of Schedute We were shopping on the streets of Ichang the next day at 1230 pu, when we suw our' plane heading down river to the river landing at the installation plant, half an hot ahead of schedule time." We hastily snatched our bags, jumped into the Mectest rickshaws available, and Faced the two miles through fowl and along the river bank, The Jamphibian biplane, ike a. huge reen and yellow frog, eroached beside the pontoon waiting for us, This lane has seats for six passengers Dut we two and our baggage and a ttle mall with the two pilets.con-uted our load. On the other planes we had been #0 generously (Continwed"on page 34)
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.