Page:Ling-Nam; or, Interior views of southern China, including explorations in the hitherto untraversed island of Hainan (IA cu31924023225307).pdf/148

 144 Ling-Nam.

village. Two miles beyond this, a stream of some im- portance, called Wong-chai-shui, flows in from the south- west. Its length is about forty miles, and scores of little light draft boats bring down wood and produce from the hill country through which it passes. Three market towns on its banks afford centres of trade for the people ; and a monastery on a picturesque hill near Shui-pin, the first of these markets, supplies the religious element. The people in this valley are all Puntis. The dress of the well-to-do women, of whom I saw a number, is some- what like that of the Tartar women in Cauton. The upper jacket is long, reaching nearly to the feet. Their feet, while bound, are not compressed into such a pain- fully small size as is usual in the southern districts, and not to such an extent as to interfere with their walking.

Leaving this stream, we are soon in sight of the first group of limestone hills, which rise black and craggy, in bold contrast to the smooth, undulating hills of a softer formation near by, One huge cliff partly overhangs the water, and beneath its projecting side, just above the surface of the water, is a peculiar formation, in which we vainly look for a resemblance to an “inverted bonze,” which is the name it has received from the natives. On one side of the cliff is an extensive limestone quarry, and the gleam of the freshly-detached limestone flashes out among the shrubs aud bushes. At this point the river makes a long détour, while the footpath crosses a depression in the hills, and shortens the journey by several miles. Both routes are full of interest. We take that by the river first, and leaving the jagged, pointed