brought us in the afternoon to Bautu, five miles from the bank of the river, and about thirty-four miles to the west of the town of Chagan-Kuren,[1] described by Huc. Bautu is a large town surrounded by a square wall measuring two miles each way. It has a large population, and maintains an important trade with the nearest parts of Mongolia, i.e. with the country of the Urutes, Ordos, and Ala-shan. It contains an iron foundry for the manufacture of the large saucepans in such universal use, but its streets, as in all Chinese towns, are disgustingly dirty.
Hardly had we entered one of the gates, at which there was a guard-house, when our passport was demanded. On delivering it, one of the soldiers led us to the yamen, or public court, where we were detained for the space of twenty minutes, a large crowd assembling to stare at the strange 'foreign devils.' At length some officers of police came out of the yamen and told us that the Commander-in-chief desired to see us. We turned down another street and soon stopped at the gate of the residence of the Chinese general, where they invited us to dismount and enter the court-yard on foot. Our guns were taken from us, and we were then led into the presence of the great Mandarin, who awaited us at the door of his house attired in a crimson robe. Our Mongol attendant at the sight of such an important functionary fell down on his knees; we bowed in the European fashion. The Mandarin
- ↑ Huc, i. 214.
