Items

• 1913 Dr. E. Kyle Simpson's First Yangtze River Voyage
  Rev. Dr. Edward Kyle Simpson (known as Kyle) was born on the Scane Sideroad in Howard Township, Ontario, in 1883. After receiving his teachers’ certificate, serving a year as a student minister in Essex County, Ontario, and receiving his medical degree in 1912, Kyle joined the Canadian Methodist Mission and embarked for China in January of 1913. His steamer, the SS Monteagle, set ground in Tokyo on Feb. 12, 1913. Kyle and his party spent some time in Tokyo visiting sites and resident Protestant missionaries. The party then pushed on to Shanghai where Kyle purchased some supplies before boarding a steamer for travel up the Yangtze River towards Sichuan. It is not clear how long Kyle spent in Shanghai or on board the steamer to Wuhan (Hankow), and then on a smaller steamer to Yichang, which he reached by Feb. 23rd, 1913. In Yichang, Kyle’s party transferred to a smaller houseboat to traverse the Yangtze Gorges. They stopped in Chongqing long enough to visit the missionary community across the river from the city, and then continued by houseboat to Luzhou, where he was stationed for language study for several years, while conducting some medical work among the Chinese. This event presents the photos that E. Kyle Simpson took and acquired of his first trip up the Yangtze River. He was a keen observer of culture, history, economic pursuits and engineering, taking photos of interesting things he encountered along the way. Most of the photos of the missionary party were taken by someone else with him in the photo.
• Cargo Boat on the Upper Yangtze
  A Chinese boat with a tall sail and long pole off the back end navigates the waters of the Upper Yangtze west of Chongqing. Rolling hills spotted with trees can be seen in the background.
• Boats Moored at the Shoreline
  Three boats loaded with people are moored at a beach on the Yangtze, possibly waiting their turn for passage through the Gorges.
• Yangtze River Shipping Operations
  Taken from the boat, the photo depicts a low water shoreline with goods staged for loading onto a ship or carriers, including at least one hog. A horse and numerous workers are on the shore. A cargo boat is moored ready to receive goods. Farmers' fields are growing crops in the background.
• Broken Statues at Shabaozhai Temple
  The camera looks down a cavity behind a tall wooden fence with open slats. There are numerous broken statues on the ground in the cavity. In the foreground, one statue is standing, but its head has been broken off. The caption implies that it was revolutionary rebels who perpetrated this damage.
• Missionary Woman Holding a Child on a Steamer
  A woman holds a young girl on the deck of a ship or steamer. A cluster of Chinese boats float on the expanse of water in the background.
• Summer Cottage in the Chongqing Hills
  Large brick house at the top of a hill with stairs leading up to it. The house appears to be a single-story building with extremely high ceilings. A person standing in front of the outbuilding provides a sense of scale.
• Group of Missionaries on Hilltop Overlooking the Yangtze
  Six women and two men pose amongst large rocks on a cliff overlooking the Yangtze River. The river and the opposite shoreline can be seen in the background.
• Bishop Harris Holding Two Children
  Bishop Harris holds two young girls, one named Ossa and the other Margaret. They appear to be aboard a ship or steamer. Ossa appears to have Asian facial features, and is probably Japanese.
• Guizhou Seen from the Yangtze River
  Seen from the river, the small town of Guizhou sits on an embankment above the shoreline and nestles up into the mountains behind.
• Two Missionary Women wearing Pith Helmets
  Two women pose for the camera on a grassy hillside wearing cardigans and pith helmets. A path can be seen winding among the hills in the background.
• Emerging from the Wuhan Gorge
  View from the front of a boat showing a tall mountain directly ahead behind another mountain that juts out forming a curve in the river. Two boats are on the river before and in the pass. The trackers' path can be seen carved into the hillside on the right.
• Dr. E. Kyle Simpson Party Arriving in Yokohama
  Dr. E. Kyle Simpson poses with a group of missionaries, including four women and two other men, at the top of stairs leading from the steamer. The women wear winter coats, large hats and fur muffs. A banner proclaiming the brand of steamer is partially cut off, but probably said "Asian Pacific Line."
• Two-Boomed Houseboat in the Gorges
  A houseboat on the Yangtze River has a large rectangular sail on a vertical mast, and a triangular sail on a boom extended from the bottom of the vertical sail. Houseboats are distinguished by their wooden cabins through their middle and back ends. The rocky cliffs of the Yangzi Gorges are in the background.
• A Team of Trackers on a Yangzi River Bank
  A large team of trackers seen from a boat on the river pulling an unseen boat on the river behind the camera. The team is divided into three fan groups, consisting of about thirty-eight men. Amidst large boulders on the shore behind, there are makeshift houses of bamboo mats that will be dismantled when the water is high.
• A Team of Trackers Seen from the Front
  A large team of trackers seen head-on as they fan out across a path pulling ropes that attach to a boat down below (not in sight). Their head leader stands at the front of the team with his back to the camera. Two more leaders are positioned, one on each side of the team. The river and mountains can be seen in the background.
• E. Kyle Simpson Riding in a "Pekin Chair"
  E. Kyle Simpson is tucked tightly into a wooden chair carried on bamboo poles by two men. The man in front appears to be wearing a Western-style fedora hat with bamboo sandals. The chair is in poor condition with holes on both sides.
• Cargo Boat Shooting the Rapid in Xiling Gorge
  A large Chinese cargo boat emerges from between a narrow passage where it "shot" the Chin Rapids. The boat has three compartments covered with bamboo mats. Boatmen are using oars in the back of the boat to steer.
• Approaching the Chin Rapids
  Taken from the front of the houseboat, the photo depicts calm waters in the foreground, approaching turbulent waters rounding a peninsula on the right and mountains in the background.
• Chinese Mausoleum on a Hillside
  The gravesite of a wealthy Chinese family is a stone semi-circle with two pillars topped by a pair of lions in the center. These pillars, representing Heaven's Gate, flank an engraved stone plaque. A trough around the outer rim appears to protect the grave from water damage. In the background are Western-style gravestones on a grassy hillside.
• Fuzhou Parliament in Session
  A large assembly of men in a room with a half circle of desks facing a raised platform with men at desks. The men all have papers on the desks in front of them. They wear queues, which suggests this took place during the Qing Dynasty when queues were mandatory, before the 1911 Revolution.
• Language Teacher Sent from Chengdu
  This is a faded version of a photo of Alice Estabrook's first language teacher. On the loose photo, Alice had written a paragraph about him (see the record for the other version).
• Canadian Women's Missionary Party on a Sampan
  Three foreign women and a Chinese servant peer off the front of a sampan. The woman at the head of the boat employs a pair of binoculars to gain a better view. Large rocks on the shore form the foreground, and other boats appear in the background.
• Luzhou Mission Station House Back View
  A two story brick residence built in combination Western-Asian style with large balconies surrounding first and second floors. There are two chimneys on the roof. An outbuilding and clothesline can be seen to the right and a wall to the left of the house.
• Luzhou Mission Station House Front View
  A two story brick residence built in combination Western-Asian style with large balconies surrounding first and second floors. There are two chimneys and a dormer window on the roof. An outbuilding can be seen to the left and a wall to the right of the house. Alice Estabrook was stationed in Luzhou before marrying E. Kyle Simpson.