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Show a. Our new route l i e s over a rotd b u i l t by French end- Jefcglnn engineers/ and they are proud of their achievement, and well they may be. It is a Harrea Gun^e road, a thing not often encountered nowadays, but i t makes th© grade, an3 that i s what It must do to get over the mountain range ahead of us. Governor Yen, of Shensi, i s said to be the most progressive provincial governor in th© Republic, aal he has been in office many y e a r s . He must have "laughed in h i s sleeve" many tim^s that the r a i l s leading t© h is c a p i t a l are net of the same guage as thase in ©ther parts of the country. His engines and cars just will not f i t elsewehere. Fighting *#er Lords" have »ere than once been known in other provinces,then there w©re "aara or rumors of w»:r," to s t e a l locomotives and r o l l i n g stock ceding t h e i r way, thereby fcaaferlnar the moving of troops by t h e i r en* emies, and f a c i l i t a t i n g transportation of t h e i r can srmies there they f i l l . This has iver happened in Shansi. , One i s fortunate if he speaks French m t h i s t r a i n with i t s French conductor, but as he invariably speaks some Fanglish and more Chinese, 3>ne i s not greatly inconvenienced. Meals are not a la carte in the Diner, French as i s that term. One pays a fixed price of perhaps |&*Pi (local currency) and if his capacity does not k<s®p pace with th© possibly ten courses on the Menu, i t is just too baaA t& the p o l i t e Chines© waiter does not"savie" e n e ' s abjections, nor regard amissions suggested. He brings you ev®ey course, and makes ne skips. (Perhaps be is the tinner by your i n a b i l i t y to uue \Xl you have paid for.) The views from the vindows ar^ what i n t e r e s t the t o u r i s t . te go up an J up and frequently see veins of coal exposed en the surface, so aa r e a l i z e why Shanai has long been known as the richest province, and AS th© "Pennsylvania af *hina." Anthracite brings an advanced prtee there as here* The van/ "agyisaneaf" of the land is a r a l i e f after having lived on the dead level of Chihii (now Honei ) P r o l i n e s. The things- •/rich happen along the «ray, not on the schedule, add zest to th.3 day. At one s t a t i o n at Thich we stopped seme excitement waa noticed. Do?;s were barking, and man rushing aXl in ©as j i r s c t i o n , that eaa i t a l l ©bent? Ah, there i s a skinny fox! This i s rot a t y p i c a l " t i d i n g t e the Heanla Scone" ©f red csated horseback r i d e r s , s u ch as we read of in England, and as is s t i l l occasionally staged in th© Southland of the United States. Doubtless t h i s i l i t t l e mischief-maker aal molested a hen-raest, or a flock of limbs. The men BH** Ices ware fsinlng ea the rogue. He couLj see that the poor l i t t l e chap was limbing as one leg kni he*in mounded. It did seem i Pity to miss th© f i n i s h , for i t vas time for us te s t a r t . The Conductor standing on the platform just below lay window seemed to feel as did I , for ha nodded that w© would delay a b i t , and wait ** Hi t i l l "the tumult and the shouting" died! Then he waved to the "engine driver" as they say instead af engineer, and we hopped along fast enough to make up squander©! tin e • Late that afternoon we arrived at Ytitze, the s t a t i o n where ended the f i r s t stag© of our tour. Had we romainad another hour on the t r a i n aa should, have reached the terminus, Taiyuin, the c a p i t a l el Shansi, the c i t y famed for i t s University, i t s Normal School sponsored by Gov. Yen, and many improvements such as few i n t e r i o r Uhina c i t i e s can beast. I t i s bat twenty-five miles to ^th^re I fas headed that lay, but - *ith three 11 te a mils, the Chinaae laf i t is aoventyfiv© jU, mi thai tcaads more formidable. Ift char*- l o t haa* not arrived, so there ami nothing to do but seek a hotel for th© night. Runners aara at th© s t a t i o n from numerous Inns, each shouting th© merits of his hostelry, but 1 had been previously advised of on© 1 might seek, g© asked for that eaa ani 4 a a l i n ed a ll other bids. For a foreign lady to be t r a v e l l i n g ftlana in a straaga land vaa queer, and I 'iim.it th-it I had not sven a servant .?ith me t h a t t i n e. I t was not a p a l a t i a l tavern, but as Chines© Inns go, i t fas not too bad, and by mentioning the rime of an American family I was going to see in Tsiku (pronounced Tie-gu) a widely kno^m aal much loved physician, nothing the plac*? had to offer was too ^ood for me. Of course i t did not help any for me to say I "men Dr. Heaingaay, but h i s Chinese |