224

THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE

to

which  foreigners  have  united  to  call  by  the  name  given
it  by  the  Chinese  only  for  the  last  hundred  miles  0  *
course  of  thousands  of  miles  :  Yangtze.  Flowing  f rom  ,  .
extreme  west  of  China  to  the  extreme  east,  it  is  only  wi  1
the  borders  of  Szechwan  that  this  route  presents  an
difficulties,  and  these  are  occasioned  by  the  rapids  ° ve ^
which  the  stream  pours  tumultuously  in  its  passage  throng^
the  famous  Yangtze  Gorges.  Down  stream  the  inheri  e
and  trained  skill  of  the  boatmen  carry  their  frail  cra^
safely  past  dangers  with  the  current  rushing,  in  places  a
at  times,  as  much  as  fifteen  miles  an  hour  ;  but  up  strea
this  skill  is  called  into  full  play,  and  the  boats,  of  a  01
twenty-five  tons  capacity,  pulled  by  a  struggling,  shouting»
sweating  crowd  of  a  hundred  trackers,  more  oi  es  ’
frequently  meet  with  accident  in  the  passage  of  the  rapi
Repairs  are  effected  and  damaged  cargo  is  dried  promp
on  the  way,  but  it  is  estimated  that,  apart  from  total  l° sse  ’
a  full  tenth  of  the  boats  upward-bound  arrive  with  t  e
cargo  more  or  less  damaged  by  water.  Near  each  of  t  #
rapids  is  maintained  an  efficient  life-saving  boat  service,  on
of  the  few  public  services  in  China  of  which  nothing
good  is  said.  The  province  contains  one  treaty  port.
Chungking  (29 0  34'  N.,  106 0  31'  E.)  is  situated  at  1
confluence  of  the  Great  River  (or  the  River  of  Golden  San  ^
as  it  is  sometimes  called  in  parts  of  its  course  throng  ^
Szechwan)  and  the  Small  (or  Kialing)  River.  In  the  Che  0
Convention  (1876)  it  was  stipulated  that  Chungking  sb 011
be  an  outpost  for  watching  trade,  but  that  “  (British
merchants  will  not  be  allowed  to  reside  at  Chungking,  ^
to  open  establishments  or  warehouses  there,  so  long  as  a ,
steamers  have  access  to  the  port.”  The  first  “  steamer
to  reach  Chungking  was  a  small  steam-launch  in  Marc
1898,  and  the  first  cargo-carrying  steamer  was  the  Pio**
in  June  1899,  both  taken  up  by  the  developer  of  Szechwa#»
Mr.  Archibald  J.  Little  ;  but,  in  fact,  the  place  had  bee* 1
opened  as  a  treaty  port,  with  all  its  privileges,  in  March  189*'
It  is  improbable  that,  under  existing  conditions,  steaffi
traffic  can  advantageously  engage  in  the  Szechwan  carrying