Page:Ling-Nam; or, Interior views of southern China, including explorations in the hitherto untraversed island of Hainan (IA cu31924023225307).pdf/124

 120 Ling-Nam.

officials there, and you will do a work for which all the good citizens of this and other places along the river will thank you!”

On a proroinent point thirty miles further up stands the Shek-kok pagoda, a striking feature in the landscape. It faces, on the opposite side of the river, the town of the same name, below which, for nearly a mile, stretch the Shek-kok dykes, well known in local history, built at great expense to keep the stream in its proper course. A few years ago the dykes at this place, which had long been neglected, suddenly burst at the time of the spring freshets, causing immense destruction of property. Houses and villages were swept off, people being carried down in boxes, large jars, wardrobes, ete., some of them going fifty miles before they were picked up. Always ready to believe in the marvellous, the Chinese connect the burst- ing of these dykes with the appearance of a great snake, ealled the “rice snake,” which was supposed to live in some interior cavern of the embankment, and whose burrowing there had weakened the wall. As the water penetrated the aperture made by the snake, it appeared on the surface, to the great consternation of the people, who believed disaster would follow. These dykes, av now rebuilt, are a fine piece of work, and should stand for ages.

As we ascend the stream, the Tsing-uen mountains rise in ridges one above the other. Some are covered with tea plantations, others are barren, or clothed only with jungle, in the midst of which tigers make theirhome. It , is a frequent sight in Canton to see men from Tsing-uen with tiger-skins and bones for sale. They hunt them on