Last_month a young American couple, Mr. and Mis. Kraft, with their little boy, George, arrived in Tachiontu to begin work} with the China Inland Mission. The long and tiresome' journey from the plains is usually done in eight days but the small party spent leven weary days trying to get a bunch of opium-smoking coolies to reach this border} town, Mr. Kraft towers above six feet yet his altitude and attitude had little or no effect fon this bunch of coolies who continued to disappear as the days passed. He exercised infinite patience with little or no result.
'Two or three miles from Yachow the chair men put down chairs and loads to rest and drink' a cup of tea. When the start was made coolie No. 1 had disappeared. As he was travelling, however, as an extra man and empty-handed the parly moved forward. The first day saw twelve men arrive at Maliue chang. Before the party reached Huangnepu, two days journey, more desertions had' taken place and before they left this village: to eross the pass, 9,900 fect high, new coolies had to be engaged. The party reached Chhin-Jo on the third day and here Mr. Kraft made the discovery. that something drastic had to be done otherwise Tachienlu might never be reached or reached only after very distressing] delays. The coolies were usually paid each night. Mr. Kraft decided to pay the men next morning, that is, before they started the @ay's journey, and by this means hold on to them If possible, This looked, however, very much like] "Love's Labour's Lost." More coolies deserted the young American and his wife so fresh men had to be hired to reach Netow, stage: No, 4, Here the party. met some Chinese ladies with their Ittle children who had been deserted by their Chinese coolies and lett high and dry on the great highway between, 'Tachienlu and Yachow. Beyond Netow lies high and stil pass, 9,500 feet above sea level. It is a long weary climb to the top' of this pass and the traveller usually encoun-{ers rain before reaching Hualinping on the other side, Of the original coolies, thirteen in number, practically all had disappeared. Leaving Netow with a scratch bunch of coal-Jes the party travelled ten miles and reached 4 little hamlet known as Sanchiohping. this point a mass desertion took place and the young American and his wife wondered they would ever reach Dardzendo (Tachien-1u) oF ever see the Tibetan frontier.
What tales place is something tike this you hire cooties in Yachow for the eight-day Journey right through to Tachienlu, the! agreement being that one pays down one! third and more before the start, one third fon the road, and the last third in Tachienl The arrangement, stipulates so. much pei night and all this is formally written out and sealed, so why worry? A coolie engaged in 'Yachow is always cheaper than a coolie hired along the road and this is where the trouble begins. The hire is $40" per man from Yachow to Tachienlu, a distance of eight days' travel; ten, twelve or fifteen mon Dut the fare is Just the same; you travel out in days and the hire is still $40 per man, Sometimes the coolie agreement is written out like this: $15 down before the start, $15 to be paid along the road and $10 on arrival Dbut this agreement seldom if ever brings the traveller to Tachienlu—$15. down may be agreed to but when you arrive in Dardzendo tired, weary and disgusted, one reckons up accounts and finds that the coolies are some= what in debt, the reason being that the party' had to buy number out of an opium den before it could continue the journey. This is quite a common trick along the road. The coolies enter an opium shop, smoke $1 worth' of the drug and ie there.. fu sheer despera-{ion the group advances $1, perhaps $10, (0 make the sad discovery when still two days Journey feom the border the coolies now owe it money. There is absolutely no use worry ing, one" takes consolation in the good exchange and works out obligations in dollars and cents, and concludes that after all $40 Mex. may be only US§2.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.