Page:Illustrations of China and Its People vol. III.pdf/53

 above the bed of the stream. The river at this point is from four to five miles broad, its bottom is hard and pebbly, and dangerous shoals abound.

As it was now getting dark, the men were advised to anchor; but they persisted in pushing on, and at last in mid-stream they ran the boat aground. They had to work for half an hour to get her off again, and then she drifted back to the old spot, and came eventually to anchor. Wang informed us that we must keep strict watch here, for we were in the midst of a region of pirates. We kept watch all night accordingly, and it was my lot to go first on duty. I spent the time in writing letters, with my revolver close at hand. Once, thinking that I could hear whispering and a hand upon the window, I grasped my pistol, and made up my mind to have a dear struggle for life. Listening, I heard the heavy breathing of the men piled in a sleeping mass in the forehold, and unconscious that a scene of bloodshed might the next moment ensue; then there was a noise in the cabin; and at last appeared my companion to relieve me on the watch. He had himself been the author of my unfounded alarm.

Feb. 4 th.— Passed a rocky point, where men were fishing with otters. These animals, which appeared quite tame and tractable, were attached to the boats by long cords. They dived readily if gently pushed by their proprietors, and coming up when they had made a capture, freely yielded their prey to the fishermen. The towns and villages which bordered the river in this portion of the provinces of Hupeh and Hunan wore an air of solid prosperity, which contrasted favourably with the regions below. The same was observable in the well-tilled soil and in the general aspect of the people. The dogs are of a breed which differs from any I have seen elsewhere. They are short-haired, and carry long pointed ears, like the hunting dogs of Southern Formosa.

Feb. 5 th brought us in sight of I-Chang Pagoda. Here the hills on the right bank fall in a series of bold cliffs into the river, and above rise the mountains in a chaos of cloud-piercing peaks and crags. Among other objects we noticed a monastery perched on a pinnacle of rock 1,200 feet above us, and overlooking a precipice 600 feet in depth. This sanctuary perhaps approached as nearly to heaven as it was possible for human hands to convey it. At I-Chang we witnessed a naval review. About a dozen boats, such as that shown in No. 39, made up the Imperial fleet, and I was much impressed with the strangeness of the scene, for behind these puny war-boats the deep blue ranges of I-Chang upreared their lofty masses, and shut us in all round with an amphitheatre of hills. The boats were moored in double line, and each was gay with flags and streamers of brilliant and beautiful hues. Their artillery practice was, however, defective; the firing being very irregular, and the guns, some of them, unwilling to be discharged at all. Indeed, when the sham fight was all over, we could still hear the guns going off at intervals during the night. We visited one of these fighting craft, and among other things which we found on board were rifle-stands supporting wooden rifles, placed, as it would seem, in conspicuous places to strike terror into the hearts of an enemy.

The town of I-Chang sweeps in a crescent shape round a bend on the left bank of the river, and is divided into two halves by a canal. The one half occupies high land, while the other is on lower ground, and comprises a large suburb, which suffered severely in the floods of 1870, but has since that time been rebuilt.