Page:Through China with a camera.pdf/213

 The women wear a profusion of dark brown or black hair, combed straight back from the forehead, and caught up and folded in behind the head. Then the long tresses are twisted into a sort of cable, into which a strip of red cloth is entwined, and the whole is then brought over the left ear, passed like a diadem across the brows and firmly fixed up at the back of the head. The effect of this simple head-dress is very striking, and contrasts well with the rich olive skin of its wearer.

The Chinese say the women are extremely barbarous, be- cause even the finest of them never paint. Time appears to deal hardly with them as they advance in years ; toil and ex- posure rob them quickly of the attractions of their youth, but yet their hair is dressed neatly and carefully to the last, and they fight a stubborn battle against the encroaching hands of fate.

The men now came trooping home in greater numbers from the fields, tall erect fellows, wearing an air of perfect good- will, frankness and honesty. In spite of their horny hands and poor clothing, there was a manly grace in their demeanour and a perfect gentleness, a heartiness, and a simple hospitality which it was truly touching to observe. In these respects there was a marked difference between the different villages. Thus, where the Pepohoans had come into closer contact with the Chinese, they were better dressed, but less friendly than in those villages where we encountered the aborigines alone. Sin-chun invited us into his cabin, and there I lay down on a mat to rest, and soon fell fast asleep. I awoke again with a start as a gust of fetid air passed across the apartment. These natives, I must tell you, have a way of salting their turnips and placing them in a jar of water, where they are kept till they decompose, after which they eat them as a relish to their rice.