Page:Across Thibet Vol. 2.djvu/228

Rh saw no display of the sentiment which certain people call altruism. In these populous regions of the Setchouen no one has time to think of others, the difficulty of getting a bare subsistence being so great that it seems to have hardened men's hearts towards their fellows.

Our carriers are poor wretches who have been recruited specially for the work, and have scarcely a rag upon their bodies. They feed on dried biscuits, Indian corn cooked in oil, and what rice is to be had at inns on the roadside. But they all have their opium-pipe, and when the imperious need for the drug begins to make itself felt, they quicken their steps so as to reach the inn where the contractor is awaiting them with the opium which constitutes the bulk of their pay. These inns, in which we try to sleep, are, however, so infested with vermin that we cannot, as a rule, close our eyes; so we even look back with regret upon those of Thibet, which at the time seemed so revolting. We are much struck by the enormous loads of tea carried by men over very steep paths. It appears that these men belong to families in which the occupation is hereditary, and that they form a corporation.

At Fou-lin we quit the high road, which goes on east, and make our way towards the Yunnan over the highlands of the Tien Shan. On the road we come upon Chinese towns and villages formed chiefly of emigrants from the Setchouen, the mountain being inhabited by the Lolos, a tall race of men with long feet, very energetic and warlike, and inspiring great terror among the Chinese, whom they rob whenever they get the chance.

The Chinese whom we encounter in this district appear to be a most wretched set of beings, very small, eaten up with fever, and disfigured by enormous goitres. They are, as a rule, inoffensive, but we meet with occasional difficulties in the populous places, the inhabitants sometimes insulting us, and throwing stones at the doors of the inn where we are lodging,