CHAPTER XI.

ARRIVAL IN YUN-NAN.

66

"A man of Nineveh wrote on bricks of clay,

Fire-tried and hardened, to preserve his fame; But nothing of his record's left to-day

To stir man's praises or evoke his blame.

"A man of Memphis heaped great piles of stone
That memory of his deeds might never die;
But changing years that record have undone
And made it barren to the human eye.

"A man of Galilee wrote on the sand,

Sad faced and thoughtful, recking not of fame;
And, lo! the world still has His message, and
The nations know and revere His name!"

About the first of December, 1896, Miss Leffingwell began her preparations for the long overland journey from Luchow to Yun-nan. This was no slight undertaking. It was about seven hundred miles, over very high mountains, far in the interior. and through a country where the natives were none too friendly to foreigners. This journey must be made in chairs, carried by natives, and the accommodations over night must be mostly such as they could obtain at native inns.

The party traveled only fifty li (about three li to the mile) the first day, and at night stopped at a

native inn. These inns are far from comfortable ac cording to European standards, and those that they found on this journey were about the average as they are found in China. The rooms are usually without natural light, and are never heated, the floors are earth or sometimes brick; usually they have a door, but sometimes this is simply a hole in the wall. One night Miss Leffingwell called the landlord's attention to this lack, and she asked, "Where is the door?" "Oh," he calmly replied, "There is no door. It is not important. No one will enter." He well knew, however, that both his servants and the neighbors would crowd in at every opportunity.

A Chinese dining table is usually circular and will seat about eight by crowding, a condition to which they do not seem to object. The food is placed in dishes and bowls in the center of the table, and all help themselves with their chopsticks. It is a special mark of honor and respect for your neighbor to place some portion of food from the dishes in the center on your individual dish, and it is always done with the upper ends of the chop-sticks, which have not been in the mouth.

The second morning they were up as soon as it was light and made twenty li before breakfast. At this time she writes to her friends: "The weather is exceedingly fine, like the brightest day in June. We have beautiful flowers as large as wild roses, and some that grow on branches in bunches like wild cherry blossoms. The country is hilly but all terraced into tiny gardens, irregular in shape, but green with growing vegetables. We get oranges

here at about two cents (American) a dozen. These prove to be most excellent as a partial substitute for water, which is not the best."

At another inn, things were not as comfortable as usual. She says: "The mud walls of my room are neatly whitewashed, but the floor, which is the natural earth, is cold and damp, and the room is totally dark except for a small hole cut into the wall, opening into the side hall, and this I soon stopped up with a shawl in order to shut out a large number of eyes that are too inquisitive for my comfort. At a suitable time, however, we are glad to invite the women and children into our room and to have the privilege of giving them the gospel, even this once.

"A tiny, shallow dish, containing enough oil to burn about one hour, the wick of which was the pith of a reed, was brought in by a servant. Surely if the lamps used by the twelve virgins in Bible times were like these they must have needed replenishing frequently. As soon as my light is extinguished (or has burned out), the rats in my room convince me that their name is legion. I now congratulate myself that I wrote that cheerful, pleas ant letter to-day. I also now remember that my valise was left open and that it contains a few imported candles, besides some other things I do not wish disturbed by the rats. I crawl from my plank bed and close the valise, wondering if I have shut one inside. You may wonder about my mentioning this, but notes from China are incomplete if no mention is made of these pests, and one must get used to rats in China."

An incident occurred soon after they started, illustrating Chinese official character and actions: "The next day as the river flowed along our course, we decided to use the river to Lui-Fu, as it would be cheaper than being carried in chairs. The mandarin had offered us a boat free of charge, and we are carried on board in our chairs, the blinds and curtains all closed, for we are now nearing the lo cation of the Li Chuan riots, and we must be cautious. After hours of waiting and no captain appearing to move our boat from its berth, we begin to be anxious, and we urge the captain's brother, who seemed to be in charge of the boat, to start us on our journey. He answers us that he would not dare to do so as his brother owns the boat.

"Finally the two men missionaries go to see the chief official, while we two women remain on the boat, wondering what the outcome will be. The official told the two missionaries, just as if he thought they would be pleased, that the captain would be beaten, but they replied they did not desire him beaten, but that they wanted to go on with their journey.

"Finally the captain's brother, who had been arrested by the officials, begged the missionaries to intercede for him and offered to start the boat. This they did, got him released and he started the boat. It was now night. We could hear the roar of the rapids. The boat was small and crowded with coolies and baggage. The only available space for us ladies was under the bamboo poles of our chairs. Here we spread our mats and with an oilcloth over the handles of the chairs for a canopy,

slept as best we could. Even while we were praying we bumped upon a rock, fortunately without danger. The next morning the captain came aboard, looking good natured, and talked in a laughing way about the affair of the previous night.”

Soon after leaving Lui-Fu they begin to ascend the mountains. The weather now is colder, so that occasionally they find snow, and the journey is necessarily slower and more uncomfortable. In one place they ascend two thousand feet, much of the way by stone steps along the side of the mountain. Sometimes these steps go up and up almost direct, at other places they are cut zig-zag across the face of the mountain.

They reach a particularly unfriendly town one day, and much caution is required. Miss Leffingwell writes about this as follows: "To-day we pass through a town in which we are told it would be better if we are not seen, on account of the hostile feeling existing here against foreigners. With windows closed and curtains carefully drawn, we sit in our chairs. A crowd of men assemble and try to peer through our windows. But I am very happy, for I can trust the same hand, that has led me safely thus far, to lead me all the way and to keep me safely even in the hollow of His hand."

They reached Chang Tung for Christmas, having successfully accomplished the most difficult half of the journey. Here they received a hearty welcome, both from the missionaries and from the native Christians. Miss Leffingwell, as a matter of course, was especially interested in the natives, and she speaks of some whom she met as follows: