From Hong-Kong to the Himalayas:

CHAP. XII. Homeward Bound — - --- 8

I2I

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

The Taj-Mahal from the River Frontispiece, page i

Map 7

Hong-Kong Harbor and Victoria Peak 13

Canton and the West River 23

Riding in a Wheelbarrow - 43

Room in a Chinese Mandarin’s House 77

Riding in the Palanquin — 109

Hindoo Temple and Tank 127

Hindoo Burning Place 139

American Mission Home, Calcutta — 147

The Bhistie, or Water-Carrier — 159

Tope of Sarnath 171

Temples at Benares 183

A Fakir 191

Brahmini Woman Going for Water 207

The Pearl Mosque 223

Gateway of the Taj-Mahal - - - 227

The Taj-Mahal 233

Mogul Palace at Gwalior — — 241

A Street in Delhi - - 247

Jumma-Musjid; Great Mosque of Delhi - 255

The Kootub-Minar 267

Lower Section of the Kootub-Minar 271

Elephants Carrying a Log - - - 283

Mission Station, Dehra-Doon 289

Elephants Travelling 297

S110W7 Range, from Laltiba 317

The Abode of Snow - - 323

Source of the River Jumna - 331

Tower of Silence, Bombay 347

Cave of Elephanta - - 353

Tanks at Aden, Foot of the Red Sea 361

Hong- Kong to the Himalayas.

Chapter I. The Island Of Hong-kong

“ VoilX, Hong-Kong !” exclaimed the officer on board the French Messagerie steamer Hoogly, as we moved swiftly onward towards a bold, rocky island rising abruptly from the sea.

It was a clear morning in March, and the early dawn brightened the eastern sky, sending a gleam of silvery lustre across the waters of the wide Pacific.

Three days before, we had left the port of Shanghai, with its long line of shipping and beautiful gardens, and sailed southward through the channel of Formosa, where naught could be seen save the distant and indented coast-line of the “ Celestial Empire,” and curious Chinese boats with bamboo sails, lo FROM HONG-KONG TO THE HIM ALA VAS.

rolling and pitching on the rough waves, through which they slowly ploughed their way.

On the morning of the third day we passed through the narrow strait separating Hong-Kong from the mainland ; and the harbor, shipping, and colonial settlement were spread before us as a picturesque panorama.

The island and city belong to Great Britain, having been ceded to that country by the Chinese government. The location of the island is a little north of the mouth of the Pearl River, and nearly one hundred miles from Canton.

The city of Hong-Kong presents a beautiful appearance, rising by a succession of handsome terraces from the water’s edge towards the lofty “Victoria Peak,” whose rugged slope forms the background of the scene. Interspersed with the white fronts of residences and long lines of “hongs ” and warehouses, are gardens, and trees with heavy foliage, the dark green tints of which, together with the shadowy slope in the rear, combine to set off the light and airy appearance of the place to advantage.

The island, as seen by one approaching it from the sea, has been compared to an “overgrown Gibraltar;” but the peculiar type of architecture presented by the buildings reminds one rather of the “Arcades” at Berne. No windows or doors are discernible, but every building has three balconies, with regular archways opening out towards the harbor. The sidewalks are covered ways, the roads are macadamized, the shops are high and spacious, and contain large assortments of foreign goods, and the general aspect is such as to impress one with the opulence and substantial character of the colony.

The shipping in the harbor is less than at Shanghai ; nevertheless it comprises all varieties of craft, and the number of vessels daily arriving and departing from this port is surprising. Besides the extensive coasting trade — in which scores of native and foreign vessels are engaged, running to Amoy, Swatow, Foo-Chow, Ning Po, etc., on the north, and Manila, Macao, Saigon, Penang, and Singapore, on the south — this point is the terminus for some of the longest lines of steamers in the world ; viz., the Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company, from Southampton, England ; the Messageries Maritimes, from Marseilles, France ; the Holt’s line, from Liverpool ; and the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, from San Francisco. There are also mercantile lines of steamers run by private companies to Calcutta, and engaged in the opium trade. With such an influx of commerce, raising it yearly in importance, it is no wonder that the barren rocks of Hong-Kong soon became beautified with the residences, villas, and business hongs of the foreign merchants, who (when the trade monopolies were in their hands) lived here in the style and opulence becoming princes. Under British auspices, and the stimulus of foreign trade, quite a flourishing native settlement has sprung up also on the island. English rule usually carries security and prosperity wherever its authority is felt.

American river-boats run daily between Hong- Kong and Canton, a distance nearly equal to that between New York and Albany, Nothing seemed more homelike than these side-wheel boats, where everything was characteristically American, and one might easily have imagined himself pushing up towards the wharves of Albany, rather than towards the dingy maze of oddities awaiting him in the most populous city of the Chinese Empire. Breakfast was served on board, in true Yankee style, as we steamed up the river ; and the beefsteak, fishballs, hot muffins, and waffles, were in pleasing contrast to the impressive, but “ Frenchy ” style on the Messagerie S. S, Hoogly. On the latter vessel

THE ISLAND OF HONG-KONG.

we were served by French waiters with white gloves, swallow-tail coats, and white cravats, who presented palatable dishes with unpronounceable names in all the elegance of a Parisian caf^.

The only points that were not truly American about our river steamer were the name “ Kiu Kian,” and the two big eyes painted on the side of the boat. The Chinese say that if “ boat have no eyes, no can see !” Therefore they paint great staring orbs, wide open, upon the prows of all their junks and smaller craft, and would scarcely feel secure in a “ blind boat ” that had no organs of vision. Out of respect to this strange prejudice, the foreign river-boats, plying between their ports, have gorgeously-painted eyes, in which the Chinese passengers have about as much confidence as they have in the pilot.

Our boat glided up towards Canton with an easy, rapid motion, quite free from the usual rolling accompaniments of the sea. She was a pretty steamer, light and airy as a bird. Among the foreign passengers were some Parsees, with curious coalscuttle hats and a separate eating-table ; and on the lower deck were five or six hundred Chinese, who paid only a dollar a head for a trip of ninetyeight miles. On public holidays, sometimes as many

Rcng-Koof, <?tc.

as twelve or fifteen hundred are taken up the river at once. On our forward deck a sentry with loaded musket paced back and forth, and the hatchway was secured with iron bars and padlocks ; the afterhatches were likewise closed with gratings, and a guard, with bayonet fixed, was stationed there. The pilot-house appeared like a small armory, with swords, pistols, and repeating rifles ranged on the wall, and things looked a little warlike for so peaceable a boat.

On asking the captain (who was a Massachusetts man) what he meant by making things appear so fierce, he replied, “ Pirates and to show that these precautions were necessary, he narrated the particulars of the capture of their little steamer, the Spark, some time ago, on one of its regular trips from Canton to Macao. The Spark left the former place one morning with the usual number of Chinese passengers on board, and with only one or two Europeans. The “ pirates” took passage with the rest of the Chinese, and concealed their arms and intentions until the vessel had passed some distance beyond the “Bogue” forts. Then they raised a disturbance in the general cabin, which drew the captain there. He was at once knocked down and killed, and the purser, steward, and two other for-

THE ISLAND OF HONG-KONG.

eigners, were either murdered or left for dead. The pirates robbed the boat and Chinese passengers of what they could get (having been mistaken, however, in the amount of money they supposed to be on board), and then left in a native junk, which had pushed off from the shore to meet them by previous agreement. Two of the firemen then crawled out from near the boiler, where they had hid themselves, and started the Spark back towards the nearest port.

The affair caused considerable excitement in the neighborhood. Some of the pirates were eventually captured and executed, others were not, and extra precautions were taken afterwards to guard against a similar occurrence, but these were more showy than sure, and if the pirates took a notion to try again, there would not be very much to hinder them on the vessel itself ; and these steamers are known frequently to carry large sums of money. We had that very day nearly half a million of dollars on board.

Some years ago foreign vessels were frequently captured by the pirates who infested the coast, and little mercy was shown to any who fell into their hands ; but of late the British gunboats have pretty well “cleaned out” these banditti of the sea, and

1 8 FROM HOxXG-ICOXG TO THE H IMA LA VAS, the Chinese government, having now secured some fast steam-yachts, have armed them heavily, and by vigilant watch on the rivers and coast, prevent further depredations.

We passed the forts of the “ Bogue,” or, rather, what remains of them, for they have been destroyed three times during the past thirty years by British squadrons. These forts are placed on each side of a narrow channel in the river, just before it empties into the broad, delta-like bay. Of the batteries, formerly famous in these parts, nothing is now left but huge masses of broken masonry and piles of stones and earth. A low wall extends over the hillslopes in the rear, and stone encasements line the water’s edge. A few parapets also remain, but otherwise the forts are just as they were when last knocked to pieces, for the English stipulated that they should not be rebuilt.

Below the “ Bogue” the Pearl River expands to a breadth of several miles, being joined by numerous channels of the lower “ West River,” until it is finally lost in the sea. The breadth of the estuary or delta is more than seventy miles. At the extreme eastern limit lies the island containing the colony of Hong-Kong, forty miles to the westward of which is the peninsula of Macao.

THE ISLAND OF HONG-KONG.

Approaching Whampoa, which is twenty-eight miles below Canton, we passed the United States frigate Hartford lying at anchor, with her clean spars, big guns, unfurled flag, and band of music, which played some national airs as we went by. There was on board a party of young people and merry folks, some of whom we recognized ; handkerchiefs were waved and smiles interchanged as our boat steamed on its way. Ugly-looking junks were passed, with great eyes at the prow, and immense sails made of matting, supported by long bamboo strips.

One would hardly venture a description of the motley array that awaits the stranger in his first glimpse of Canton. It seemed at first sight as though half the population were afloat on the river, for such a dense mass of dingy boats could never be imagined, and how our steamer ever reached the dock without crushing scores of them was almost a miracle. There were long lines of curious, covered boats or scows on the right and left and everywhere, some moving and some motionless, and all crowded with swarms of men, women, and children. This “ floating population ” of Canton is the most characteristic feature of the city. Owing to the compact manner in which the place is built, and the crowded condition of the population, thousands of the poorer people find it convenient and economical to live in boats which line the river banks. These boats vary in size and pretensions, some being quite small, and others as large as canal-boats, and gaudily painted. A covering of bamboo matting arches over the centre of the boat, forming the little “ house ” in which the family sleep. A small clay fireplace in the stern, and a few rude dishes packed away under the seat, form the furniture of the kitchen and diningroom ; all parts of the boat may be called the “nursery,” for the number of babies clambering and sprawling about the floor is surprising. These children have very limited opportunities of amusement, so they spend much of their time in splashing their hands in the water or climbing over the sides of the boat. Of course they are in constant danger of falling overboard, and their mothers sometimes tie them to the small mast, or fasten them to a floating bottle-gourd. Little fellows were seen with shaven heads and miniature “ pigtails,” the ends of which were fastened to an upright stick, giving them just enough tether to kick and splash without falling into the river. When the boys occasionally tumble overboard, they can be pulled out of the water by their cues ; the

THE ISLAND OF HONG-KONG.

girls, however, “don’t count” for very much in the Chinese estimation, and if they fall overboard few efforts are employed to save them ; they are left to the merciless “ river god,” who is said to drag them down.

The swarms of boats were ranged in regular rows, and banked off in blocks, having canal-like streets running through them ; and although to a stranger it appears a bewildering maze, yet every boat has its appointed place, and the floating city of 100,000 souls has its own regulations and even its petty rates of taxation. Multitudes of people are born, live, and die on this moving flotilla : the men go ashore and work during the day, and the women “paddle their own canoe” in the midst of the river shipping, finding small jobs and picking up a few pence by carrying goods or passengers. The cheapest and pleasantest way of going about Canton proved to be by means of these boats. Round-faced and muscular women with brawny arms rowed the “ sampan ” (as the boat is called) from place to place. The women often had children strapped on their backs, or sprawling in their laps, as they rowed, yet they pulled steadily and slowly against the swift current, sometimes singing a plaintive sort of lullaby. Their bare feet

22 F/WM HOA'G-KOXG TO THE HIM ALA VAS.

were large and fat, and never bound up or dwarfed like the “little feet” which characterize the Chinese ladies.

Flower -boats, and gayly-decorated craft of larger size, were anchored in the stream, and these were used as places of resort by the more fashionable people of the city. Here music, dancing, theatricals, and other “questionable” amusements were to be found. The occupants and patrons of these larger boats come and go, but the poorer people in the sampans remain always on the river, and know little change save the rising and falling of the tides, the splash of the oar, and the preparation of boiled rice for their frugal meals.

A few years ago a terrible cyclone swept over the city of Canton, and though the darkened sky and hazy atmosphere gave premonitions of the storm, there were few places of shelter whither the boats could flee for safety ; and thousands of them were swamped, blown to pieces, or thrown helplessly on the rude embankments by the great tidal wave that came rushing up the river, carrying destruction and death in its course. Hundreds of people perished in a single night.

CANTON AND THE WEST RIVEH.

CAA'TO.V.

Chapter II. Canton: The Metropolis Of The “middle Kingdom.”

Jumping off the boat which brought me to Canton, I began to thread my way through the motley labyrinths before me towards the house of a missionary friend, trusting more to instinct for guidance than to any knowledge that I possessed of the locality. The first thing I tried to find was a street; and, after pushing along through an indefinite number of passage-ways, I came to a long lane, a few yards wide, in which throngs of people were going back and forth. Joining the Chinese current, I was carried rapidly along, continuing meanwhile my unsophisticated search for a “ street,” until at last it dawned upon me that my notion of what constituted a street was undoubtedly different from the Chinese notion, and that these narrow and dingy defiles, through which the populace were edging their way with wonderful dexterity, were really the avenues for trade and travellers, and must be taken as the celestial equivalent for streets. So, looking

Hong Kons. eto.

as wise and comfortable as the chattering crowd and slippery pavement would permit, I elbowed my way along with perfect gravity, holding on to my pockets, and wondering why the moving and chattering crowd of celestials took things so coolly. I did not seem to be such a curiosity to them as they were to me ; and though some stopped and stared, and others ran away, yet the rabble kept on its course, and nobody cared — much less cleared the road — for a foreigner. In fact, the “get-out-of-the-way” spirit was on the other side of the affair. A mandarin procession came trotting along ; how it was going to squeeze by I could not imagine, for streets two yards wide are not over-accommodating to big chairs carried by coolies. The crowd, however, slipped into little nooks and crevices, and I took refuge in a store, while the mandarin went by, fat and serene as you please, with runners in front, and donkey-mounted secretaries behind him.

The sights of a Chinese street are a marvellous mixture of incongruities, and everything appears crowded up together, as if people scarcely had room to move or breathe. The stores are ranged thickly on both sides, and resemble great booths or stalls, being entirely open in front, and having substantial counters and chairs and shelves. Their goods are

CANTOJV.

ranged on the shelves around the three sides of the room, or else in showcases, so that the passer-by may see at a glance all that the shop contains. Every store has its own little “god-house,” or sacred tablet and inscription, in a prominent place high up on the wall, and before these tapers are continually burning and incense is offered. Another little shrine, with tablet, to the “ God of Wealth,” is also placed at the entrance, and before this tapers and joss-paper are burned each evening, just after the shutters are put up in front of the shop. By far the most striking effect in the street is caused by long sign-boards, which hang down from iron brackets, and are so thick that you can -only see a short distance ahead. These boards are colored green, blue, and red, and are inscribed with heavy gilt letters ; or the names are carved and the alternate characters are colored differently, so that with its variety of hues the crowded causeway has a very gaudy appearance. The Canton streets are celebrated for their cleanliness, but of their odors on a warm day I will not speak. They are all paved with granite slabs, worn smooth and slippery by the tread of generations. These slabs are very long and about a foot wide, and they lie crosswise over the road. Directly under them are the sewers.

28 FROM HOXG-KOXG TO THE HIM A LA which open up to the air through the numerous crevices of the pavement.

The atmosphere is not usually unpleasant though, and there is always so much incense burning, so many fire-crackers exploding, such quantities of sandal-wood, spice, fruit, sugar-cane, and other odoriferous substances exposed for sale, that it takes a long time to discriminate between the scents that, please and those that do not. It must be remembered, also, that most of the streets here — many of them main streets — are scarcely as wide as the sidewalk in front of an American house ; and if one can imagine miles of such lanes, intersected at irregular interv'als by similar crooked and twisting cross-paths, an idea may be gained of what labyrinths Canton is made up. This system is utterly perplexing to a new-comer, and one could not possibly find his way around without an experienced guide ; for there are no parks or open spaces whence a general view of the situation may be obtained. Nothing can be seen above but a strip of sky between the projecting eaves of the houses ; and even this opening is not unfrequently covered with boards or matting.

Canton impresses one from the first as a vast and populous city; and, indeed, it ranks, in most

CAXTOX.

respects, before any other in the Chinese Empire. There is more wealth here and a greater variety of food ; there are also better trading facilities, more general comfort and intelligence in the community, than perhaps at any other point. The Cantonese are not lacking in spirit, and have made no little trouble during past years in their foreign relations ; but the British have given them several severe lessons, by which their haughtiness and contempt for other powers were effectually whipped out of them, and they now have a wholesome respect for foreigners. In former times the East India Company had the monopoly of trade in this neighborhood, and for nearly one hundred and fifty years they sustained a similar relation to the Chinese here, with similar humiliations also, to what the Dutch traders at Dezima experienced with the Japanese during the same period. When their monopoly had ceased, in 1834, and when Chinese insolence could no longer be tolerated, hostilities became rife. During the troubles which ensued a mob attacked the old “factories,” or foreign hongs and residences, and destroyed them by fire. This occurred in 1856, and for it the city was bombarded, and eventually taken by the English, who maintained a garrison there till 1861. Since then peace and quiet have reigned.

The present appearance of Canton, facing on the river, is far from prepossessing, except at the upper portion, where the English and French have constructed an artificial island on what used to be a series of mud-flats. This is separated from the mainland only by a small canal. The length of the ground filled in is nearly three thousand feet, and a wall of solid masonry extends around the whole of it. The total cost of the undertaking was 1^325,000, four-fifths of which was defrayed by the British government. This spot is called Shamin, and is occupied chiefly with English residences. A splendid line of trees surrounds it, and it rejoices in long shady avenues, beautiful buildings, a fine church, flower-gardens and shrubbery in abundance. Altogether, it is called the prettiest place in China. Just off Shamin the river is broad, and affords a commodious anchorage for steamers and merchant-vessels. The Macao Passage opens up on the opposite side.

The appearance and striking characteristics of a great city in China are so totally dissimilar to anything seen by the traveller in the neighboring country of Japan, that no amount of experience in the latter country, or familiarity with its customs and city life, could prepare his mind for the strange scenes and peculiar phases of Chinese life which

CAXTOX.

constitute the scope of his bewildered studies in Canton.

If I ever imagined that a four years’ residence among the Japanese had sufficiently orientalized my powers of observation to enable me to comprehend their neighbors “ the celestials ” at a glance, I was soon to learn that this was far from being the proper conclusion.

Canton is no more like Tokio, or any other Japanese city, than it is like New York. Its streets, houses, shops, social life, etc., are entirely different ; and there is little reason why the two countries, China and Japan, should be so persistently confounded by foreigners. The Chinese are Mongolian, but the Japanese are not; and they are unlike in most of their national and individual traits.

There are certain peculiarities common to most Orientals, which make them appear similar to us ; just as the Jap or Chinaman will insist that all foreigners are alike, whether they call themselves Englishmen, Frenchmen, Germans, or Americans. But the distinctions of race, religion, physiognomy, and national characteristics are frequently more marked in the case of the Asiatic than of the European. We have less reason, in fact, for thinking

32 FROM HOXG-KOiXG TO THE HIM ALA VAS.

the Orientals “ all alike ” than they have for considering us so.

On my first arrival in Canton, I seemed in such a maze of sights and oddities, that it required fully a month of diligent research to initiate myself into the mysteries of Chinese life, and accustom the mind to all the novel scenes presented.

Under the experienced guidance of a missionary friend. Rev. J. C. Nevin, vvhp had resided in Canton for ten years or more, and whose hospitality and kindness made my sojourn there a perpetual holiday, I was enabled to “do up” the city very thoroughly and systematically, and also to accomplish a trip of one hundred miles into the interior of the country.

It is impossible, of course, within the limits of one or two chapters, to give more than a casual glance at the objects and places of interest in so great a city as Canton. The city has a circuit of eight or ten miles, and, including the suburbs, the population on land and water is estimated by Dr. S. Wells Williams to be nearly a million. The older and central part of the city is still enclosed by walls, which run through the most compact and closely-built portions ; their presence would never be suspected, were it not for the massive gateways

CANTON.

of solid masonry occasionally met with in traversing the city. There are no parks or open places whence one may obtain an effective view ; but an endless succession of alleyways form an infinite series of crooked labyrinths, where a stranger becomes hopelessly lost in less than five minutes. Nor can one see the city to better advantage by climbing the “ five-storied pagoda,” where a bird’s-eye view is obtained. Canton looks, from a lofty perch of observation, like a wilderness of roofs and wooden railings, where chimneys, clothes-lines, and cupolas are prominent features of the landscape. No public buildings, broad avenues, or stately trees relieve the monotony of the scene ; but massive templeroofs, tall pagodas, and heavy square towers are seen here and there at intervals. These square towers appear quite feudalistic in the distance, but their imposing character rather loses its charm when we learn that they are “ pawnshops,” and are built in this manner to protect the goods stowed away in them against robbers and outlaws. On top of the towers stones and hand-grenades are kept in readiness to drop upon the heads of persons attempting to pilfer these belligerent “pawnshops.”

On the highest eminence in Canton the French

Hong-Kong, etc.

have established several Roman-catholic institutions, and are now engaged in erecting a splendid cathedral. Its length is 236 feet, width 98 feet, and height of nave and transept 75 feet. The arched roof and graceful spires of this new cathedral are very conspicuous from the river, as the traveller approaches Canton ; and the chaste work in solid granite, with its imposing Gothic architecture, seems in striking contrast to the general shabbiness of tbe Chinese surroundings. The Cantonese say that this cathedral is a “fort,” and that the large round windows high up in the transepts are for cannon (!) ; when the “ fort ” is finished, they say, the French Jesuits are going to capture the city. The Romanists are shrewd and far-sighted, here as elsewhere, and, judging from the progress they are making, one might believe the prevailing fear had some ground of truth in it, although the ecclesiastical “canons” employed would scarcely be of the character suspected.

An ancient Mohammedan minaret is seen in the old part of the city, and near it a mosque and school for teaching the Koran in Arabic. The minaret is perfectly round, and cracked near the top ; a small tree is growing in the crevice (from a seed lodged there by the wind or by a bird) ; its roots will

CAXTON.

Strengthen and expand, causing the tower ere long to crumble. The minaret is very different from the Buddhist pagoda. It suggests that Mohammedanism once had a strong footing in China. There are three other mosques in Canton.

The old mythological name for Canton is the “ City of Rams.” Archdeacon Gray, who is quite an authority on Chinese traditions and history, tells us the story which originated this title : “ Five genii, clothed with garments of five different colors, met at the capital. They came riding through the air upon five rams. Each of the rams bore in his mouth a stalk of grain having six ears, and presented them to the people of the district, to whom the genii said, ‘ May famine never visit your markets.’ Having pronounced this blessing, the genii departed, and the five rams were turned into stone.”

These stone rams, somewhat battered and broken, are still standing (or lying in fragments) in front of five images of the genii, at the temple dedicated to their memory. It' is approached by a flight of steps, at the head of which a tower with an arched passage-way is placed ; in the tower is suspended a large bell, said to weigh ten thousand pounds. The bell has no striking beam or clapper, and a large semi-circular piece has been knocked