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a few hundred miles above its mouth it takes the name of the Golden Sanded. The great lake of Tong ting Hoo is the largest lake in China it is in a mountainous country its waters are clear and limpid. The Yantse Kiang runs tho it. This lake is the Country of the Macoutse. The Macoutse are an independent race in the interior of China. Their country is Mountainous and is surrounded by fortifications. They do not wear their hair like the tartars and Chinese that is half shaved off with a long tail from the back of the head but wear it long all over the head. These people sometimes make war against the Emperor but he always makes out to buy them off. It is usually said that the grand canal of China is 600 miles long but it is a mistake for a great part of what is usually called Canal is a banked up creek. There is an annal [sic] tax to support this canal. on the bank of this Canal where it joins the Yellow River is a splendid temple to the great Dragon King who is considered the father of the waters. there is a city near Peking called Hoagn for the Canal is above this City so that one on the Canal can look down on the top of their houses. The Chinese have traditions of a deluge but they only say that it impeded agriculture and that it took place about 4000 years ago. about 200 years before Christ the Emperor of China in order to keep out the Tartars erected the Great Wall, it is a stupendous piece of work, the wall is built of blue bricks and is 25 high & 20 feet thick. Extending about 1200 or 1500 miles. The City of Peking is in a low sandy plain the Emperor are near Peking but are now in a delapidated state tho they still possess much of their former beauty. Hang Chow is the real silk city of China. Hoc Chow foo is the tea City. The Bohea hills from whence the Bohea tea is bought is near them And the fancy like lake of Syhoo covered with inumerable numbers of boats of pleasure & business lies between them. In the Western part of China can be obtained the cow of Thibet or yak From its tail is manufactured beautiful shawls and carpets. A sort of [?inflamable?] matter is also found in the West of China which the Chinese use to burn in their lamps and call stone oil. In some parts of China they use tea as a medium of exchange The Emperor once per year ploughs a field and sows it he is called by his subjects the divine husbandman. he is also called the ten thousand years, the Celestial father &c. A great many years ago Him Ming a Chinese Emperor was attacked by the Rebels. he retreated to Peking shut himself up and his Cause getting hopeless he stabed [sic] his daughter and cut his throat the same day this happened in the year 1643 this was the last of the Mongol dinasty of Ming. After this the usurper proceeded against the son of