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The Hunho or Muddy River Known to most residents of Peiping asa" broad white belt of sand, sometimes nearly a mile wide, shimmering in the distant plain. To those who have seen It as such, it will seem almost incredible that only 4 fow miles further up this same river is In places restricted to less than a hundred yards in width. But 1 g0 it Is, For the Hunho which rises far away north on the "Mongolian plateau, on its journey south, breaks Aheough the Western Hills for nearly ity miles of Its length, emerging Into the plains near Mentoukuo, to the west of Peiping.
'In spite of this comparatively' short Ajslance and although it is bounded at both ends by thickly populated plains, there Is no communication for the whole length of its course from its entrance to its exit from the hills, "Indeed, the upper part of Mts. passage through the hills is searcely known and has been rarely visited, Most-of the maps show this part" of the river's course quite wrong.
The reason for this is that in this portion of its course it fows through narrow winding defies where preelpitous cliffs rise sheer from the water's edge: to a height of three to four hundred ° feet, Across these there is no path; at most some narrow goat tracks offering a dificult scram lo over precipitous rocks. Few small villages along the banks lie off the eaten track, in the literal sense of the word. The paths which run at right angles to the river and connect, them withthe outside world only: serve the {immediate needs of the few dozen Inhabitants and are. therefore often. mere narrow footpaths unsultable for transport animals. Although {ess than fifty miles in a straight line from teeming centres such as Peiping these villages are as isolated communities og one could find anywhere the world.
Of this little visited course of the river, T had done the lower half as cliffs with a friend last year. During 4 trip In the hills this autumn planned to complete my acquaintance "with the Hunho and do the remaining half. from where it enters the hills to Yenhocheng.
Maps Very Inacourate Going by the very inaccurate maps which exist of these parts I" had selected a fort on the: Great Wall, called Yuancheng, as the best place from which to mike the attempt, It appeared -to: be-within easy reach of the river-only two miles away, But when T arrived on the ground things took on quite a different: aspect from what they had-when reading the map ina comfortable arm-chair at home. Range upon range of formidable-ooking mountains seemed to separate from the river, while the local guide T-had taken' on was vague and essimistle, Two local inhabitants whom I mbt at the fort and who seemed to know something of the country clinched the matter, Tt was, they said, just possible to follow the river scrambling over the hills, but not with transport. My caravan would have to make a wide detour; which would take Toast two days. Going without one Daggage.tor.one night was no great hurdahip, but to let the caravan with all my Bélongings wander round by itself for two whole days in this wild and diffoult country in which ocenalonal footpads are by no means unknown, was quite out of the ques~ lon, I therefore reluctantly dropped. the Idea of attempting to follow the whole course and decided to try Toast to cross it in the gorges, Select {ng a gulfable erossing place presented no diMiculties, as there.were only two-on this whole section. I chose the one lower down near a village called Fonlen (Buddha's DMllistone) which although only three miles away fas the crow fes was to take us seven hours hard marching.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.