To convert the brine into salt for With {1s thousands of salt wells, Sppearance—(above) some of 1 buffaloes, as they go "ground, and the shouts of their drivers, makes on one " the impression as of its all being some fantastic dream.
300 1b, of Brine The end of the rope near the tube ig marked with wisps of strate, 30 that the man watching at the mouth the well can warn the buffalo-drivers when to slow up. As soon fs the tube is clear of the well, he forces the valve open with on iron hook and the brine 1s let out into o large "wooden tub, The buffaloes rettiin to their stables, and the bamboo tube and rope descend again Into the well at tremendous speed.
their own weight. The whole process of raising and lowering the Damboo tube which holds about 300 Wb, of brine takes from ten to 20 minutes—according to the depth the well—or as one man told me Tong as it takes to walk two li.
The brine and gas wells being scattered about indiscriminately, with out plan or forethought, over this hilly" and indented" country the brine generally has to be taken considerable distances often over intervening. ridges, to the evaporating pans. of the refineries which are heated by the gas from the gus wells. The pipelines carrying the brine are composed entirely of bamboo tubes which pun for thousands of yards all directions, The brine is raised to the required height solely by hand, by means of relays of endless chain-buckets (of wood), which are worked treadmill fashion by two or three naked coolies: perched at the top under an awning. Each set raises the brine 20 to 20 fect at most, and in one place I saw a relay of as many as sever such tread-mills in' succession, Near the top of a hill, or where the brine has to be raised particular. ly steeply, there is another kind of pump-tower. "Tt isa vertical chain-bucket, about 50 fect high, with a small House at the top. On ascending the ramp leading to the tiny shed, tone is surprised to find 9. buffalo going round and round turning a wheel which works the chain bucket. sale 1s quite a lengthy process. There is frst of all the business of raising the brine from the well. This is done by means of a bamboo tube about 30 feet long and three inches in diameter (itting the diameter of the well), closed at the bottom by a valve and open at the top, which serves as bucket. A rope made of plaited bamboo strips fastened to the Upper end of the tube passes over a pulley at the top of a 60-foot derrick and down to a large vertical drum and from there to a huge horizontal drum. of bamboo. wickerwork standing in a large gloomy shed at the back of the establishment.
Tu this same shed are the stables of the water buffaloes. When the tube with the brine is to be raised, the. buffaloes, from four to five in umber, are' brought out of their stables, yoked to spokes on the wheel,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.