Rivers Already Impassable: Floods Feared: Notes on Visit to Tachienlu Fnost Oux Ows Connesroxoene Chengtu, Aug. 22, 'Torrential rains have' been the order of the day for the past month)
our western mountain area. The summer resorts are flooded and very few Pienies have been possible. 'The travellers who have penetrated the big. mountain ranges are returning. with tales of woe—roads washed out, dwellings collapsing, bridges! destroyed, and rocks being hurled down the' mountain side like huge artillery. projectiles.
All the streams running into the Yangtze are swollen. The Tung and the Ya are a series of wild rapids, unlamable. and unnavigable for hundreds of miles. We are afraid this will all have a bad effect down river and cause floods again at" the lower levels like Hankow and Wuchang. It is a for different tale to tell here from the droughts that are reported from other parts of China.
We were glad this summer to have seen Tachienly, the famous. frontier city of the Tibetan marches. This city of 9,000 people, situated at be tween eight and nine thousand above sea level, has an atmosphere! all its own, it is the mecca of the fea trade. The road from Yachow] to Tachienlu might well be called a 'Tea Road, for one passes on a trip thousands' of tea carriers carrying anywhere from 100 to 300 catties each on their backs. This tea is repacked at Tachienlu and penetrates all parts of Tibet, the choicest geting through to Lhass The border treasurer told us that}
500,000 packages come through yearly, and that each package weighs from eighteen to twenty catties. The carriers get on an average one tael (about Mex. $1.40) to carry a package from Yachow to Tachienlu. The principal export is musk of which about 2,000 calties per year come out, and from which fortunes are made because the merchants buy. from the nomads at about Tis. "100 per catty and sell at four tim that figure, and sometimes a great deal more when the deal has been {in trade for silks and cottons. following approximate figures for the tet iret waa ate, aaa Mage Tam Tachlenta Foreigners 'There is a charming forelzn community' in Tachienlu., The Rev. Hand Mrs, Edgar, and the Rev. thd Mes Cunningham of the CAM the border veterans who "Live Inia haute by the def the 08 Sam Fovr sings. in the SDA, Misbecome felond toma
Sion, Mi and. Me, Paul Batiholemove ant Dr and. Mrs. Harold James are fanning the hospital and Feqular work provided also with peivte electric Hight. plant. water which fas given te Idea to the ly, wave now fun a similar plant Sra lave a thousand lecteie Tights Mower' the "frontier town. The French: Re. Mission havea fine Resplat aad cathedral. Faisers and Sisters do an excellent, work 'Amon visitors ave. were fortunate in'mcling! were Messrs. Mandeville tind" Rubin, who became famous. Avengers when the lmesery Was nowt destroyed. Now they are buld-Ing'a skin boat and' will enégavour {en the Tung River in tow water, cronin to come' out at Kiatng, then nto Shanghai with their menagerie tibetan bear, serow, dog. and Sten specimens. if auecessfot "in fins great achteverent they" deserve rear praise for pioneering in the Jack Young and bride, with, Quen-Foung are teapping and hurts Ing in this area and) at present Wiiing the Chi La "iku "Lamasery Where! the annual Devil" Dance Eeremony isin" progeess,_ Another famous visitor is Br: Harold "Seah Uptala University who is busily engaged in collecting botanical speci fron "An visit ton his ey. work: Shop inthe' 'Dorge Drag." Lamasery Wan very evening. Here he" was fately ensconced ina large airy, well Hiestea temple court, wit his ilen-{ihe "apparatus. al about "him" order, with grest piles of specimens Seing' dried Ssu Wis hie Salt" teems fo-work night and. day. fact'he changes the papers covering his spetitens three tines in the Ast ftteen "hours. This accounts for the fine liferlice tints and colours {hatait his specimens retain His fine work reveals him an artist well as a scientist. Both he and Mr. Edgar expect to lecture before the West China Border Research Society at-Chenglu. Union University this fall,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.