At 3 P.M. the _Fusiama_ steamer put in an appearance, with the _Faust_ in tow. She was quickly in readiness to proceed, but Risk had too much work to get through, so the early morning was fixed for our next start. _En route_ to take leave of the children, found them with Webb in sad distress over a string of rats secured by wire to a six-foot stick. With the _Faust_ came up two surveying officers, Dawson from _Sylvia_, and Palmer, who had been serving in the _Insolent_ at Chefoo. We managed to get two Chinese pilots, who knew something of the river as far as Yoh-chow, at the entrance of the Tung-ting Lake. We had also our Shanghai pilot, Mr. Pendleton, an intelligent man, experienced in river navigation. With all this staff, and the _Opossum_ some days ahead to look out for difficulties, the knowing ones were betting that I should never reach I-Chang. There is a good and well-conducted club at Hankow. [Sidenote: Mar. 25.] At 8 A.M. we had taken leave of the children and friends; a few minutes after we were on our way to the interior of the Celestial Empire--_Faust_, and a native boat hired by Messrs. Francis and Michi to sleep in, in tow. Cannot say much for the interesting scenery, for though the whole country is scarcely raised above the level of the river from July to October, at the present time we were twenty feet below. Except where there was a village we were steaming between mud walls, on the top of which a few natives, or a boy on a buffalo with the sky for a background, appeared, to break the monotony. When I say between mud walls, the river was seldom less than half a mile wide. We anchored at sunset, having had much bother with the hired native boat. These craft are loosely put together, and do not stand towing at any speed. This one looked like a lashed-up hammock. The woman on board with a child in her arms roared to be released, declaring the boat was filling and calling to her countrymen on the banks to come to her rescue; but when Messrs Michi and Francis went on board the boat was found to be all right, no attention was paid to her, while she continued to roar and wipe her tears with the arm of her child, while her crew joined in chorus: one of them, to prove his distress, lay on his back kicking the air with his nailed boots. [Sidenote: Tung-ting Lake, Mar. 26.] At about 3 P.M. we had struck off from the Yang-tse to go down the branch that leads to the Tung-ting Lake, and five miles farther came to off Yo-chow, situated at the outlet. A high wall hid from our view the city, which appears to have been built on a bluff; for healthiness it must be as well, or better, than any of the towns we had passed. Yo-chow is the great port for the wealthy province of Hainan, and I should imagine well adapted for one of the Treaty Ports, but, opening it would shut up Hankow, where sufficient money has already been expended. [Sidenote: Yo-chow.]