the whole city, but a missionary who served as guide begged them
to spare the place. So grateful were the inhabitants for his kindly
intervention that they bestowed on the mission a large plot of
ground--showing that, however easily wrought up, they were not
altogether destitute of the better feelings of humanity.

Continuing our journey through half a dozen considerable cities,
at one of which, Shunteh-fu, an American mission has recently been
opened, we reach the borders of the province of Honan.




[Page 41]
CHAPTER VIII

PROVINCE OF HONAN

_A Great Bridge--K'ai-fung-fu--Yellow Jews_

Passing the border city of Weihwei-fu, we find ourselves arrested
by the Hwang Ho--not that we experience any difficulty in reaching
the other bank; but we wish to indulge our curiosity in inspecting
the means of transit. It is a bridge, and such a bridge as has no
parallel on earth. Five miles in length, it is longer than any
other bridge built for the passage of a river. It is not, however,
as has been said, the longest bridge in the world; the elevated
railway of New York is a bridge of much greater length. So are
some of the bridges that carry railways across swamp-lands on the
Pacific Coast. Bridges of that sort, however, are of comparatively