us that in this way English goods were swung clear around the circle and
brought into Russia through the unguarded back door.

With constant wading and tramping, our Russian shoes and stockings, one of
which was almost torn off by the sly grab of a Chinese spaniel, were no
longer fit for use. In their place we were now obliged to purchase the
short, white cloth Chinese socks and string sandals, which for mere
cycling purposes and wading streams proved an excellent substitute, being
light and soft on the feet and very quickly dried. The calves of our legs,
however, being left bare, we were obliged, for state occasions at least,
to retain and utilize the upper portion of our old stockings. It was owing
to this scantiness of wardrobe that we were obliged when taking a bath by
the roadside streams to make a quick wash of our linen, and put it on wet
to dry, or allow it to flutter from the handle-bars as we rode along. It
was astonishing even to ourselves how little a man required when once
beyond the pale of Western conventionalities.

[Illustration: SPLITTING POPPY-HEADS TO START THE OPIUM JUICE.]

From Manas to Urumtsi we began to strike more tillage and fertility.
Maize, wheat, and rice were growing, but rather low and thin. The last is
by no means the staple food of China, as is commonly supposed, except in
the southern portion. In the northern, and especially the outlying,
provinces it is considered more a luxury for the wealthy. Millet and
coarse flour, from which the _mien_ or dough-strings are made, is the
foundation, at least, for more than half the subsistence of the common
classes. Nor is there much truth, we think, in the assertion that Chinamen
eat rats, although we sometimes regretted that they did not. After a month
or more without meat a dish of rats would have been relished, had we been
able to get it. On the other hand we have learned that there is a society
of Chinamen who are vegetarians from choice, and still another that will
eat the meat of no animal, such as the ass, horse, dog, etc., which can
serve man in a better way.

[Illustration: THE CHIEF OF THE CUSTOM-HOUSE GIVES A LESSON IN OPIUM
SMOKING.]

Urumtsi, or Hun-miao (red temple) of the Chinese, still retains its
ancient prestige in being the seat of government for the viceroyalty of
Sin-tsiang, which includes all that portion of western China lying without
the limit of Mongolia and Tibet. Thanks to its happy position, it has
always rap