| OCR Text |
Show UA The terraced cliffs of the Valley, Of the famous loess soil, were carefully cultivated to .quite a heighth. Higher s t i l l there were numerous cave dwellings, fa called one day upon a young matron with whom the lady we were aith eaa acquainted* and were invited into her cave home. It ©as dean and very comfortable, except for lack of light frcro aay side cut the front, (There ?ere ©II time apartments in this country that had light tram but two sides, front and bnck#| These caves are cool in summer and warm in winter. The husband af t h i s young woman' waa the leading man of the village, so they lived in a cave from preference rather than from necessity. His rank as a wealthy (?) man was manifest in that in his courtyard was on a of tine aforementioned fanning mills, which, I think, he allowed the villagers to UEO. AS he had cone by his affluence through having b^en a servant for an American Dentist in Tientsin, he and his wife had lived in that Metropolis. Sale, aal the fact that his l i f e had had som« achool advantages her© in Shansi before her marriage, made her feel a b i t superior to her neighbors, ffcea she came to the Mill to return »ur call, aba leaked a i t h score at sore of her fellow countrymen who were admiring the Red Cross car, aal were deeply interested In i t s mechanism. She was overheard to say that she had "seen a real automobile!" , She evidently pitied a l l of us whom she thought had been less privileged. Instead of neighbors on a parallel street of the same level, i t eaa possible to stand on the narrow path on the terrace .rhich served as a s t r e e t before the caves, and drop an apfie on the head af & child playing in the court of the row beloa. The .only way they could have neighbors "across the street" was•that there might poaaibly be caiies in the cliff on the opposite side of the Valley,- » . "rHys Off. These c l i f f s are terra cqtta, which suggests a reay land- fa climbed to the top once and found remains ol an old fort into which villagers and their animals could be gathered farm-protection in case of being beseiged by their enemies. Before you sigh <ind say you do not wWMt to go to Shansi, where they have ro&ds too rood to ase, let me say that that ?as in the beginnings of things. Until some highways were fsreparel, automobiles,- which seme Americans consider as necessary as breed* could not be brought into the Province. How, if you go there, you will find private cars and baaaas to take you about on the reels that were constructed then. One of the Fenchow ladies invited a party of ladies to accompany her home to spend a day in the city. The men sent the Car back for us, WW we f e l t flattered to have an auto ride over the new road. Our f i r s t view of the city eaa of the grmn t i l e roof of th© fine new Mission Hospital near the city wail, fta called at the Red Cross Office, which was in on© of the dwelling houses in the Mission compound. fhen funds were sol i c i t ed for Fanin© Belief by the Red Cross Society In this country tea-well-known Chewing Gum manufacturer instead of giving money sent Chewing Cumi This huge case of his product was shipped across the water and up the railway, but the Society had th© expense of getting i t from th© railroad to Fanchow by team. The message which came with i t was, 'Teach the Chinese to chew gum and they8II not be so hungry!" How was that for a Baai- -ness Go-getter! The men in the office tried the experiment by feeding us from their supply, though they also sent over hot food prepared by their c#ok for their mess* fa l i g h t have registered as teachers, end have gone out to give lessons in this American Art (Gum maatieaxion, not cooking. It would be hard to compete with the s k i l l of the Chinese in the l a t t e r .) There was a deluging rain, which seemed almost • cloudburst, while werwere in Fenchow, eo severe that the Red Cross mm decided to remain in town over night l e s t thay lift relax,\%[ft X i f ^w T "*? * **** •***>**' N U * " **• * * " must return to to© Valley, bat the mm feared to hare us s t a r t . ffhetherthe chauffeur aal a sweatneart at Yiitaih0, or not, I know not, but he seemed anxious to go there, and offered to risk taking us bask. Bidding the friends "adiau," we ventured forth. Instead of wash-outs, when we had gone a mil© we found the road perfectly dry. There had |
