Report 3



	At intervals their were intersections and joining corridors. The extent of this excavation seemed beyond imagining. At several point the shifting of the Earth had opened fissures or had lead to the collapse of some of these side passages. The only brake in this routine of travel was the occasional encounter of a flight of stairs. Our porters were clearly familiar with this obstructions as in little time the would off load the sledges and lead the cows down the stairs with little fuse. Provisions for lowering the heavier items had been left in a previous journey. Ropes with block and tackle of a size well beyond that need for our sledges reveled that our expedition was by no means the most ambitious to have travel this route. In retrospect, the confinement within this tomb like structure with daylight more then a days run distant plays on ones mind, but at the time the monotony of the stone walls lulled one into a sense of security. We traveled on thusly until our guide brought us to the next chamber of rest. his routine continued for several days without variation.Soon we became aware of something we had not heard for many days, the sound of other people. We had been traveling for such a long time in the complete absence of sound not made by our own actions that the sound of the approaching party stuck us as quite profound.		Soon we could make out the light of their lamp in the distance. As we approach their guide and ours both began to shade their lamps as not to blind the on comers. As the two parties grew near we broke into a run to embrace these total strangers. Normal decorum had flown was we exchanged hearty embraces and even kisses. We soon found that we were babbling at each other in tongues that the others did not know. The on comers were able to speak in Cantonese, but in a dialect I had never heard, and our guide spoke to them in some variation of Chinese which I found impossible to comprehend. Later he would explain that their were a group of religious pilgrims from the inner kingdom, and that it was their native language that had confounded me. e traveled thus for many days encountering yet another party headed in the opposite direction. These seemed to be people from the surface. They were all very heavily burdened with parcels and packs I presume filled with trade good from the inner kingdom. Our guide informed us that the activity of travelers varied greatly. Most make the passage but once, but that some like the merchants and himself had made the journey more times then he could count.