It is probably safe to say that there are no
ancient roads in Yuen-nan, in the sense of the constructed highways which
have lasted through the centuries, for the civilization of the early
Yuen-nanese was not equal to such works. As a matter of fact, the
condition of the roads is all but intolerable. Many were never made, and
are seldom mended--one may say that with very few exceptions they are
never repaired, except when utterly impassable, and then in the most
make-shift manner.
My highly-strung Rusty received a shock to his nervous system as I led
him leisurely from the incline leading into Anning-cheo (6,300 feet),
through the arched gateway in a pagoda-like entrance, which when new
would have been a credit to any city. The stones of the main street were
so slippery that I could hardly keep on my legs. Frightened by one of
their number dragging its empty wooden carrying frame along the ground
behind it, a drove of unruly-pack-ponies lashed and bucked and tossed
themselves out of order, and an instant afterwards came helter-skelter
towards my ten-inch pathway by the side of the road. All of my men
caught the panic, and in their mad rush several were knocked down and
trampled upon by the torrent of frightened creatures.
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