While in Hongkong we were joined by Wu Hung-tao, of Shanghai, who acted as interpreter and "head boy" as well as a general field manager of the expedition. He formerly had been in the employ of Mr. F. W. Cary, when the latter was Commissioner of Customs in Teng-yueh, Yün-nan, and he was educated at the Anglo-Chinese College of Foochow. Wu proved to be the most efficient and trustworthy servant whom we have ever employed, and the success of our work was due in no small degree to his efforts.
We left for Tonking on the S. S. Sung-kiang, commanded by Harry Trowbridge, a congenial and well-read gentleman whose delightful personality contributed much toward making our week's stay on his ship most pleasant. On our way to Haiphong the vessel stopped at the island of Hainan and anchored about three miles off the town of Hoi-hau. This island is 90 by 150 miles long, is mountainous in its center, but flat and uninteresting at the northwest.
A large part of the island is unexplored and in the interior there is a mountain called "the Five Fingers" which has never been ascended, for it is reported that the hill tribes are unfriendly and that the tropical valleys are reeking with deadly malaria. The island undoubtedly would prove to be a rich field for zoölogical work as is shown by the collections which the American Museum of Natural History has already received from a native dealer; these include monkeys, squirrels, and other small mammals, and bears, leopards, and deer are said to be among its fauna.
The next night's steaming brought us to the city of Paik-hoi on the mainland. In the afternoon we went ashore with Captain Trowbridge to visit Dr. Bradley of the China Inland Mission who is in charge of a leper hospital, which is a model of its kind. The doctor was away but we made ourselves at home and when he returned he found us in his drawing room comfortably enjoying afternoon tea. He remarked that he knew of a Chinese cook who was looking for a position, and half an hour later, while we were watching some remarkably fine tennis, the cook arrived. He was about six feet two inches high, and so thin that he was immediately christened the "Woolworth Building" and, although not a very prepossessing looking individual he was forthwith engaged, principally because of his ability to speak English. This was at six o'clock in the afternoon and we had to be aboard the ship at eight. The doctor sent a note to the French Consul and the cook returned anon with his baggage and passport. Obtaining this cook was the only really rapid thing which I have ever seen done in China!
When the Sung-kiang arrived in Haiphong the next afternoon we were besieged by a screaming, fighting mob of Annamits who seized upon our baggage like so many vultures, and it was only by means of a few well-directed kicks that we could prevent it from being scattered to the four winds of Heaven. After we had designated a sampan to receive our equipment the unloading began and several trunks had gone over the side, when Mr. Heller happened to glance down just in time to see one of the ammunition boxes drop into the water and sink like lead. The Annamits, believing that it had not been noticed, went on as blithely as before and volubly denied that anything had been lost. We stopped the unloading instantly and sent for divers. The box had sunk in thirty feet of muddy water and it seemed useless to hope that it could ever be recovered, but the divers went to work by dropping a heavy stone on the end of a rope and going down it hand over hand.
After two hours the box was located and brought dripping to the surface. Fortunately but little of the ammunition was ruined, and most of it was dried during the night in the engine room. Because of this delay we had to leave Haiphong on the following day, and with Captain Trowbridge, we went by train to Hanoi, the capital of the colony.
Hanoi is a city of delightful surprises. It has broad, clean streets, overhung with trees which often form a cool green canopy overhead, beautiful lawns and well-kept houses, and in the center of the town is a lovely lake surrounded by a wide border of palms. At the far end, like a jewel in a crystal setting, seems to float a white pagoda, an outpost of the temple which stands in the midst of a watery meadow of lotus plants. The city shops are excellent, but in most instances the prices are exceedingly high.
Like all the French towns in the Orient the hours for work are rather confusing to the foreigner. The shops open at 6:30 in the morning and close at 11 o'clock to reopen again at 8 in the afternoon and continue business until 7:30 or 8 o'clock in the evening. During the middle of the day all houses have the shutters closely drawn, and because of the intense heat and glare of the sun the streets are absolutely deserted, not even a native being visible. In the morning a petit déjeuner, remarkable especially for its "petitness," is served, and a real déjeuner comes later anywhere from 10 to 12:30.
About 6 o'clock in the evening the open cafés and restaurants along the sidewalk are lined with groups of men and women playing cards and dice and drinking gin and bitters, vermouth or absinthe. There is an air of happiness and life about Hanoi which is typically Parisian and even during war time it is a city of gayety. An immense theater stands in the center of the town, but has not been opened since the beginning of the war.
We had letters to M. Chemin Dupontès, the director of the railroads, as well as to the Lieutenant-Governor and other officials. Without exception we were received in the most cordial manner and every facility and convenience put at our disposal. M. Dupontès was especially helpful.